Manga Discoveries: "God" Controller, Otaku Vampire, and Literature Girl (extra: Hana no Mizu Shiro)

Of course I'm still checking out unfamiliar manga despite my ever so long complete-manga-to-read list, ohohohohoho! *ehem* But before I get into that, I just want to....

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Finally huggles scene in latest chapter of Hana no Mizu Shiro, fufufu~

This is completely under a very different genre compare to where the other titles I'll be mentioning in this post belong to, ahahaha! Anywayz:

From Left to Right: Kamisama Dolls > Bungaku Shoujo > Blood Lad

Favoritism: Blood Lad > Kamisama Dolls = Bungaku Shoujo

[101 Manga in 2011] Coelacanth - Fishy Sheep in Her Delusions

シーラカンス

By SHIMOTSUKI Kayoko

Hisano: I should've died in that gas explosion years ago. If only I didn't bump into a boy and got a piece of his broken toy, I wouldn't have been saved.
Yukinari: You have the piece... that's missing from this old thing!
Hisano: Were you that boy whom I bumped into back then?
Yukinari: Would you believe me if I said I don't remember anything?
Hisano: "That Yukinari guy is lying.", it says.
Kentarou: Who said that? I'm your friend, I'll believe you, Hisano.
Hisano: ........ a sheep.

SETTING: Ordinary neighborhood. Realistic. Present times. ELEMENTS: Explosion, Death, Murder, Hallucination, Sheep, Money Change, Phonebooth, Apartment, Fish GENRE: Drama, Angst, Psychological, Mystery, Tragedy, Romance, Comedy CHARACTERS: Students, Teachers, Prostitutes, Policemen, Journalist, Medical people, Broken Individuals

RATING: B (NICE!) FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> LIKE (4 Hears to Kentarou~)

Coelancath may be more popular for its beautiful illustrations and its dark psychological aspects, but what I think what's more intriguing are its mysteries and twists, and how different characters and events got connected to one another.

[C] - Episode 7

First I'd like to share this interesting post~ It tackled about the responsibilities of the super wealthy, simpler elaborations to the difference between Sennoza's and Mikuni's perspectives (living for the future vs living for the present), the positive side of using an average guy like Kimimaro to make the audience learn about the District, and so on~

Now about the episode, we first got a Mikuni flashback, making us learn more about our possible main antagonist. Then the later half enables us to learn Mashu's thoughts on previous and current events. Though the focus of the episode is in developing those two characters, we still learn more about Kimimaro in it as well. They even bothered to bring back a character, who is usually the type you won't see again if this were the usual shounen series.

(Kimimaro has a plushie xD)

I'm so pleased that this series is more focused on character and story development, and also in exploring its story ideas and concepts, rather than on battle scenes~ Speaking of which, there aren't any Deals in this episode at all! xD

[101 Manga in 2011] White Garden - Princess = Student Council President-ish

Hakuou no Sono

By MIYAGI Tooko

Shirotae: I still don't fit in on my last school.
Shirotae's Uncle: How about if I bring you to the school where I'm a director in?
Shirotae: Whatever. What matters is a school where I can study.
Shirotae's Uncle: It's settled then. From now on, you'll be my school's Princess.
Shirotae: Huh?
Rokujou: I've been waiting so long for you, Princess! I'm so happy I could finally serve you~
Tachibana: You can do whatever you want as the Princess.
Shirotae: Anything I want? Then...
Tachibana: So you must do exactly as I say.
Shirotae: Eh?

RATING: C- (SO-SO!)
FAVORITISM: 2 Hearts ---> DISLIKE

The series seemed political shoujo so I gave it a try~ To my dismay, White Garden just got included in my "Manga That are Pointless to Read" list.

[101 Manga in 2011] GOTH - Highschool Sociopaths and Their Attraction to Murder

ゴス

By Otsuichi and OOIWA Kenji

Kamiyama: I love seeing flesh and blood....
Morino: I love watching people suffer before death and cry in pain....
Kamiyama: I wonder what it will be like to kill....
Morino: I crave for darkness....
Kamiyama: I want to kill Morino.
Morino: Kamiyama and I seem so the same.

RATING: B- (PRETTY GOOD!)
FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> LIKE

Despite the mysterious events and the psychopaths playing their roles in this series, Goth is not exactly terrific as a psychological and mystery series. In fact, it hadn't been intended to be such, since it's more of an eye candy; it's visually delicious to those who find pleasure in watching freaky people doing and enjoying gruesome stuff.

[C] - Episode 6

I know this show's genius. xD You could already see a few of what the staff has researched from the opening theme alone. What I totally didn't expect though, is that the same goes for the ending theme. The colors and the character designs are actually MORE than what they seem O_O

Amazing... amazing...

And the episodes that air each week get more and more exciting~ (No, it's not because of the bloody stuff, silly~ Haha! There are many other things to fangurl about in this episode~)

[C] Episode 6 - Fangurling

I couldn't make a general-episode-only post again for this week's episode because, this time, I just had so many to fangurl about xD Hahahaha!

Mashu's so pretty~ Putting aside her non-human physical traits, her design is very simple... yet she looks very pretty. She doesn't need fancy clothes or big boobs to look gorgeous, she's fine the way she is~

[C] - Episode 5

I saw a blogger mentioning that this series doesn't really have "The Money of Soul and Possibility Control"; rather, it's only "The Money of Soul and Possibility". Come to think of it, this series is sometimes called as "Control", if not plain "C". That makes C = Control (though C could also stand for other words like Convesion, etc., but the main word the series is referring to is "Control"). Besides, the "Control" part was indeed separated from the subtitle. Moreover, if we shall follow the grammar rules of parallelism, if "Control" is indeed part of the subtitle, wouldn't it be more appropriate to phrase it as "The Money of Soul and the Control (or Controlling) of Possibility"? Removing the idea of "Possbility Control" gives a different meaning to the subtitle now. Whoa.... titles could be pretty crucial.

By the way, the first volume of the DVD and Blu-ray of this series will be out on August 19~ For more information and also about the releases of the other volumes, you can just check out their website. I'm pretty sure the main characters get the first volume, then Mikuni and Q would be in one of them. I don't know about the other two anymore, haha.

Alright, now about the latest episode:

It appears that this is the episode with the most fights so far. Not only Kimimaro and Mikuni, but the other Guild members were pretty awesome too. Especially the dude with hearts on his shirt! He was soooo amusing to watch xD Oh I look forward to see how the glasses guy and the information broker do their battles~

[C] - Episode 5 (They're Not What They Seem - Kimimaro and Mikuni Centric)

This is supposed to be an episode (in general) post. But it appears that I had too many to say on Kimimaro and Mikuni alone that I'll have to separate my posts about the fifth episode, haha!

There are more parallelisms between the two, yet more differences are getting revealed. Their relationship isn't exactly as what it appears. They don't seem as they appear either. If Mikuni shall indeed be the main antagonist in the series, what an interesting pair of main protagonist and antagonist we have here~

[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control - Episode 4

At first I thought the battle scenes felt too quick, and then I've realized that I almost forgot that [C] ISN'T a typical shounen series, haha! It doesn't waste time on making flashy fights longer but focused on going deeper to its story and making some plot development.

(Entres coughing "money" instead of "blood" was really WICKED xD)

[C] gets more and more amazing in each episode, and each had been spectacular in their own way. Episode 3 introduced some mysteries behind the Financial District; while Episode 4 shows what the characters, who have the capability, are doing about it. We learn more about the leading character's past and personality in the previous episode; now we see him in a dilemma and finally make a decision on what he wants to do during the Deals.

[101 Oneshots in 2011 + Manga Discovery] Short Stories by Odagiri Hotaru, Kamaro Kikuchi, & Takagi Shigeyoshi (Feat. Demon 72)

I had mentioned on my review of the FLAGS manga that the mangaka should pair up with an author for his new series because even though his drawing skills are cool, his storytelling isn't. As if to answer to my demands, this manga had showed itself to me:

DEMON 72

by Mizunaga Yoshinori and Ueda Satoshi

3.5 Hearts ('coz it's sooo my type xD)

What drew me into this manga is that its plot has references to the Lesser Key of Solomon, which totally reminded me of a favorite series of mine, Makai Ouji: devials and realist. And while reading it, seeing the relationship of the two main characters reminded me so much of Kuroshitsuji (young master + awesome demon), which is yet another favorite series of mine xD A combo of a shoujo manga and a shounen manga in a seinen manga... that had me so intrigued xD
Anywayz, I still think my two favorites are still better (or at least more addicting ;P) than this one. Nonetheless, this has been really interesting and cool in its own way~ I'm so loving this manga~ Wheeeee~

Alrighty, that's the new manga I've discovered to share in this post. I'm still addicted to checking out new titles but now I'm focusing on those that are complete for manga challenge this year, hehe. I'm starting to catch up, and for this entry, I'll be posting the recent oneshots I've read ;D

Majority of these oneshots weren't really... errr... you see, this batch consists of oneshots of the following mangaka: Odagiri Hotaru, Kamaro Kikuchi, & Takagi Shigeyoshi.

I had read Odagiri Hotaru's and Kamaro Kikuchi's oneshots because I THOUGHT they were titles of a series ^^; It turned out that the tankoubon that I was reading which were by them were actually oneshot collections o_O As for the ones by Takagi Shigeyoshi, they were included as extras in the Hana ni Arashi tanks, so I just read them since I enjoyed Hana ni Arashi anywayz. Bara to Dangan, however, is the only oneshot in the batch with "reading a oneshot" in mind, hehe.

[101 Manga in 2011] Lapis Lazuli no Oukan - "My Goal is... TO SEDUCE the Prince!"

Lapis Lazuli Crown

By Kawase Natsuna

Mieru: I want to seduce the crown prince....
Sara: That won't be anywhere near possible if you can't even get into the palace. So enhance your magic skills for you to become a palace magician like me.
Mieru: I'm trying, big sis, but... *destroys something*... looks like my magic sucks that bad. *depressed*
Sara: All you've got is that inhumane strength of yours.
Mieru: Whatever!!!!
***** Mieru goes out
Mieru: *emo emo emo emo emo*
Radi: Hey, I lost someone. Can you help me look for him?
Mieru: I'm no good.... *emo emo emo emo emo* .....so I don't think I can help you.
Radi: You won't know if you try! Come on!
Mieru: *helps out*
***** Later
Mieru: I did something useful *shocked*
Radi: Told you so~ I knew you can do it!
Mieru: Thanks for encouraging me. Now I am one step ahead to my goal of enterting the palace and meeting the prince!
Radi: I'll be waiting for you then...
Mieru: O_O What did you mean by tha-

RATING: D+ (DISAPPOINTING!)
FAVORITISM: 2.5 Hearts ---> NEUTRAL

I see this likened to my number one favorite shoujo series because its heroine wanted to be by the prince's side not just through his favor, but through making herself worthy to be a part of the palace. That's one of the things I had admired with my numero uno shoujo, so I was hoping that this series would be pretty good as well.

To my disappointment, this series is so HORRIBLY written that it felt like a blessing that it only lasted for two volumes. Lapis Lazuli no Oukan is like my numero uno shoujo series alright... but done WRONG.

[101 Manga in 2011] Shirogane no Ou - A King Who Doesn't Want Protecting Hires a Bodyguard

Silvern Kingdom

By Aoto Takane

Mercenary: I'm just a wandering mercenary when suddenly...
Lady: You're a bodyguard, aren't you? *drags him to the fight* Get rid of those bastards!!!
Long-Haired Dude: How did you get in this mess? *surrounded by thugs along with the mercenary*
Mercenary: I have no idea.
Long-Haired Dude: Ah, whatever. Your fault for getting yourself involved in this.
Mercenary: Huh?
*they defeat all the thugs*
Long-Haired Dude: You're pretty good. You should be my bodyguard.
Mercenary: Err... okay.
Long-Haired Dude: I only have one rule: DON'T DIE.
Mercenary: Err... okay.
*Mercenary does his job*
Long-Haired Dude: IDIOT! Protect yourself! Don't worry about me!
Mercenary: But isn't protecting you part of the job description?
Long-Haired Dude: EXACTLY!

RATING: C+ (NOT BAD!)
FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> LIKE

The story may be mainly about a king and his relationship with his servants, especially to the bodyguards, but generally it's more about what the king should be like... and why he's worth protecting.

I'm pretty impressed.

[101 Manga in 2011] Hana ni Arashi - Epic Fail Courting of a Rich Guy to a Common Girl

Flower in a Storm

By Takagi Shigeyoshi

Riko: I just want to be an ordinary girl living a peaceful life. *leaves the classroom*
Schoolmate: Whoooaaaaa!!! Riko jumped from the third floor!
Riko: I am REALLY really trying my best to be normal.
Ran: IS THERE A BEAUTIFUL MAIDEN NAMED RIKO HERE?!
Riko: What the...
Ran: *spots Riko* I've found you, my love~ *goes to her*
Schoolmate: Whoa! That's Ran Tachibana! He's the son of one of the richest men in the world!!!!
Ran: Alright, I'm done with my work (and some underground business). I fell in love with you at first sight so... LET'S GET MARRIED!!!!
Riko: ...... Eh?

RATING: C (AVERAGE!)
FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> LIKE (4 Hearts to Ran for being adorably corny xD)

This is just an average romantic comedy about a rich guy falling in love with a commoner. Its characters are pretty stereotypical and it's rich in shoujo cliches. There's nothing really that remarkable about this....

But it was really fun to read~

[101 Manga in 2011] Only The Ring Finger Knows - A Very Shoujo BL Manga

Sono Yubi Dake ga Shitteiru

By Kannagi Satoru and Odagiri Hotaru

Kawamura: Kazuki's so handsome and cool... so perfect that he should NOT exist!!!
Wataru: Whoa... being a popular guy seems to be pretty hard then.
Kawamura: I really hate that guy! But Mai's so crazy about him!!! This isn't fair!!!
Wataru: Oh yeah, you've got a crush on Mai.
Kawamura: I even bought rings with matching designs! It's a fad noeadays to wear a matchign ring with your significant other!
Wataru: I don't care about that...
Kawamura: You've got a ring that you never take off though.
Wataru: This is just previous to me, okay? It's none of your business.
* Wataru leaves, washes face, then returns*
Wataru: Whoa... my ring doesn't fit anymore!
Kazuki: *enters* Hey you, I think we've swtiched rings.
Wataru: (We have matching designs???) Eeeeeehhhhhh???

RATING: C- (SO-SO!)
FAVORITISM: 2.5 Hearts ---> NEUTRAL

I see many people praising this as one of the best shounen-ai series, if not the best, out there.
Naturally, the huge number of positive reviews got me very curious about this.

This is indeed recommended to those who are thinking of giving shounen-ai a try, especially if you're more used to shoujo.

But putting that aside.... too bad though, in my opinion, it's not really as impressive as they say.

[101 Manga in 2011] FLAGS - Where You Can Find a Flag That Can Slice People

FLAGS

By Ueda Satoshi

Kurou: My dad joined this super tournament. He said he's not coming back until he wins... so I've been waiting for him! Doing that for 8 years now!!!
Nishiki: Hi, we are participating in the super tournament this year. I think you'll be as good as your father, so I wanna recruit you. But before that, I want you to do a very difficult challenge... so that we'll be assured that you're qualified to be part of the team.
Kurou: Really? Okay then *does the very difficult challenge in several panels* Done.
Nishiki: Alright, you're part of the gang. Let's do our best in the fight.
Kurou: Alright!!!

RATING: C (AVERAGE!)
FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> LIKE (4.5 Hearts to favorite character xD)

This series seriously lacks in originality. Many of the overused shounen cliches have been applied on this one.

But it's still pretty interesting and fun to read. So sticking to it~

[C] Money of Soul and Possibility Control - Episode 3

The information broker may not be as hott (maybe not as manipulative either) as my Izaya from Durarara!!, but he's certainly as twisted~ It's also amusing when he fails in capturing the photographs that he wanted to take, haha!