Daydream Sanctuary Features

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Manga Discoveries: Bonded Forever, Sengoku High School, and Stolen Heart (extra: En Passant)

I've been behind on a lot of series I love so I've been catching up on them. One of them is En Passant.
The chess stuff in this series got me interested... it's cool that the main characters actually play chess piece roll, however it seemed to have a poor build-up on how the members are assembled =/ In other words, so far, I think the story and characterization are impressive... only the development is.. weh?
Ah well, I can ignore that if it has been enjoyable to read~
He is.... a very unusual character xD Love him~
It even has twin boys fanservice for me? And I love the leading guy and the leading girl as a couple *often despises shounen leading ladies*? I like that~ Oh I can't wait for the next chapter~

Alright, now onto the manga I've checked out recently~
From Left to Right: Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi > OO Seyo!! Sengoku Gakuen Seitokai > S.L.H. - Stray Love Hearts
Favoritism: OO Seyo!! Sengoku Gakuen Seitokai >>> Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi >>>>>> S.L.H. - Stray Love Hearts

I'm gonna be using different style in writing my first impressions on new manga starting with this post. I've split myself into two persona: Sapphire - the girlie and nice one; Pyro - the boyish and mean/cynical one. Enjoy~



A female vampire puts her poison (in other words, she bit him) onto the leading guy.... and now he's hers forever.
3 Hearts (LIKE)
Sapphire: This is the manga adaptation of oneof the series airing next season. It didn't seem that bad, so I suppose we should check it out!
Pyro: Alright. *reads plot* Seems lame and cliche though.
Sapphire: It might not be as bad as it appears. Go on, read it!
Pyro: Okay. *reads* Pfft! Lotsa cliches indeed. There's even the childhood-friend-who-will-never-have-her-love-returned-by-the-leading-guy thing!
Sapphire: Finish the first chapter at least.
Pyro: Fine *does so* Oooo... the leading guy *spoiler*, eh? This reminds me so much of Kore wa Zombie desu ka. It just has more obvious (not to mention, canon) romance.
Sapphire: And it's pretty romantic, right? They got separated for so long and waited for him~ It has less ecchi too.
Pyro: But I can't like the other female character. She's UNBEARABLY lame.
Sapphire: Well, at least there's our twin boys fanservice. Their relationship's similar to the twins of Shaman King though... not brotherly love.
Pyro: There used to be brotherly love between them though. And I'm fine with evil twins. My problem with these two is that.....
Sapphire: You're referring to their battle?
Pyro: Yeah, it was too fast paced. How the main characters suddenly working together was so... DUH. And the supposedly super powerful villain got beaten up pretty quickly.
Sapphire: There's also this miracle in the end for the sake of keeping the leading guy alive. That's sad....
Pyro: Yeah, but I don't care! It's not absolutely cliche, and it had been enjoyable to read. Looking forward to reading more! The hint of the next villain in the latest scanlated chapter intrigued me~

Historical figures from the Sengoku Era as modern high school students.
3.5 Hearts (LOVE)
Sapphire: Kyaaaa! We already liked this series even before it got scanlated! Now that the english version is out, let's read it as soon as possible!
Pyro: Really? Cool! Finally finally~ *reads*
Sapphire: Kinda like Afterschool Charisma, right? Except that instead of famous historical characters in general, this one only covers historical figures from the Sengoku Era.
Pyro: Yeah. Charisma's still hell better though. But still, the highschool tropes used for these historical figures hadn't been the "annoying stereotypes".
Sapphire: And even though some parts of it seem cliche, it turns out to be pretty impressive.
Pyro: Yeah, not to mention that it's fun to read~
Sapphire: I like Ishida and Ieyasu~
Pyro: Me too (of course). Ishida's such a responsible boy, and more like what a student council president should be. Ieyasu's a jerk.... an amusing jerk, haha!
Sapphire: Oh this is so much fun. Looking forward to read more~

Leading girl's heart was "stolen", and she thinks the culprit might be one of the residents in the mysterious dormitory.
1.5 Hearts (HATE)
Sapphire: Some of our friends seem to like this a lot. Maybe we should check it out.
Pyro: Okay. *reads title* PFFT! What a dumb title. *reads plot* An even dumber plot.
Sapphire: The art looks pretty though. And there are bishies~
Pyro: Alright. *reads first few pages* Transfer student cliche. Ugh. And just looking at that girl makes my head hurt. *drops*
Sapphire: Wait! The bishies seem fun! Their cosplay getups seem cool~
Pyro: Alright. Maybe the bishies would be worth it. *picks up and reads* Oh man *facepalm*
Sapphire: What's wrong?
Pyro: There is no explanation on where the hell the doctor dude got the idea that the girl can see other people's dreams by sleeping with them. And why the hell didn't the girl become suspiscious or ask questions to the doctor for knowing so many things about her? And she EASILY accepted when he claimed to be a sorcerer? PLOT FAIL! Moreover... *headache* Dear lord....
Sapphire: Oh dear, what's the matter now?
Pyro: The doctor suggested that she would SLEEP together with the bishies in the dorm in order to find who stole her heart. Oh gawd, couldn't it be in a different way? Besides, she was able to sleep next to one of the bishies in a garden YET she DIDN'T see his dream. Inconsistency much? Mangaka just badly wants to make her a slut to all the bishies there?
Sapphire: Reverse harem, huh. But it doesn't seem to be smut.
Pyro: Don't care if it's not smut. This is the usual reverse harem crap. And it's so obvious that she's going to be most in love with the Cain dude, since he's mean to her. Pfft! So it even has the "mean but actually kind" leading guy x easy-to-harass leading girl. I can't stand this, Sapphire.
Sapphire: Even with the pretty bishies, it's no good, huh. Oh well, you didn't lke the other works of the mangaka either. Not a surprise.
Pyro: *sees the mangaka* WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO??? I WOULDN'T HAVE BOTHERED TO PICK THIS UP IF THS WAS THE MANGAKA!!!!
Sapphire: I forgot... Sorry, sorry ^^;

6 comments:

Crimson Flower said...

Yep...Aya Shouoto needs to stick to drawing pretty pictures and let somebody write the stories...

Ruby said...

LOOOOL I love how you talk to each other hahhaha so pyro was always the tomboy? XD
All these manga recommendation seems really interesting~ I think I'm gonna read Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi right now ;D and the other 2 another day xD also another good manga I discovered is Ibitsu, it's so creepy 0_0 but I like it ;3

Anonymous said...

Nicely done. Just be careful that you don't develop those split personalities outside of your writing life. People say mean things about you when you go around muttering to yourself.

Anonymous said...

Ohhhh, like those first two titles. Will keep them in my wishlist until they're finished (I'm one of those people where I have to read the series in one sitting or else I'll forget about it xD).

Yeah, SLH is definitely...
Two main reasons I have affection for it is because 1.) the art and 2.) it was my second title I wrote summaries on ~
The end explains why she had to sleep with the guys (hint: RPGs), why she couldn't go into whatshisstupidfacecalled's dream,and who the doctor really is.
What is doesn't explain is why the f EVILBADGUY did all this. The ending was real rushed so expect lots of shit...and plot holes...(if you ever finish it that is xD)

baka-girl said...

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi sounds like a typical vampire story, am I right?

When I saw Shiina Ayumi, I thought she's the one who write Penguin Brothers and Baby Love (so excited because I like her work xD). But the artwork was different... is it the same Shiina Ayumi or another Shiina Ayumi?

For S.L.H., me only read first volume and drop it, the only good point about this series was its artwork, the story was so typical -_- I understand why you hate it :p

I like the new format, just wonder if you really have a double personality or not since I really felt like reading two people discussing something xDD

Sapphire Pyro said...

@ Omari's Sister
I wish that happens one day. I really like looking at her art.

@ Ruby
I thought my comedy act attempt was a failure. Thanks, haha!
Yepz, Pyro's the tomboy. It's also a boyish name after all, haha!
Hope you enjoy them~
Oh! I know Ibitsu! (which reminds me, I should marathon it already) and yes, it's so creepy! I LOVE IT xD

@ abandonedfactory
Haha! Don't worry, I don't "talk to myself" like that in real life.

@ sylphalchemist
OO Seyo's already finished, but not finished in scanlation =( But I don't think you'll have a problem w/ that, hehe.
Explanations on such crucial parts of the story are only revealed in the end? Well, that's not really bad but... ALL OF THEM? Whut.... and the most important mystery not revealed at all? The hell....
I shall resist the temptation on staring at pretty art if constant headaches would be the price T_T

@ baka-girl
Typical vampire story? Hmmm... not really. I mean, typical vampire stories usually have the vampire main character either turn the human main character into a vampire as well, or be incapable of harming the human (out of love, friendship, etc.), but this one had been neither. ^^;
There are a lot of Shiina Ayumi's in the world. Coincidentally there's more than one in the manga world too. I don't think it's the same Shiina-sensei.
It appears that the only thing that's great about SLG is the artwork. But I'm more of a story than an art person, so there's no way I could last long in it x_x
Yay! People like the new format! I had fun with it xD
I don't really have a personality disorder but I suppose you can say I have multiple personalities.... I mean, for example, I like both girlie and boyish stuff... so I can't say I'm totally girlie, I couldn't say I'm absolutely boyish either. I'm BOTH, haha!

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