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"To have one’s cake and eat it too" is a saying I’ve always yearned to live by but cannot because I am, like we all are, grounded by this thing called 'reality'. This I why I was immediately interested when I saw how Kininaru Roommate was trying to tackle such an issue however this manga was kind enough to remind me it was just a Hentai, Harem.

Beneath all the harem characteristics there’s actually a decent story, following Suguru who was dumped by his girlfriend after failing to get into college. Then whilst feeling dejected he has one of those “chance encounters” you find in a lot of manga, whereby he meets and befriends a hot girl. But it doesn’t end there, because that same girl happens to move into same apartment Suguru’s uncle promised him, so the two end up living together. These turn of events, being rather common and cliché for any harem or romance manga in general, can actually be forgiven thanks to the intriguing developments (both romantic & story wise) that nicely popped up whenever we aren’t too busy tossing off. Unfortunately like in most hentai manga, there’s a sex quota that must be met, so during those 8 or so sex-filled pages the story kindly takes a backseat and waits for the inevitable climax.

Sure this is a hentai manga, so a lot of the sticky handed readers would embrace the sexually explicit moments; but I find it a problem when it affects the character development and even replaces some interesting character developments with annoying sluts. As I stated earlier, this manga unknowingly tackles an interesting issue whereby Suguru wants to start anew with his girlfriend but is also in love with this other girl. If those 3 were the only involving characters then this would have been a great manga however the bloody sluts always appear, to remind whoever is dumb enough to give a damn that it’s only a hentai harem.

The artwork is a tough one to judge because no matter how much I love the way it shows the characters using their bodies, I just cannot ignore all the flaws. I guess that’s what happens after reading so many hentai… you begin to nitpick at every little thing. Even with its flaws; the backgrounds are adequately detailed, the panels nicely arranged and the girls look amazing when playing “hide the sausage” with our protagonist.

All in all Kininaru Roommate is a good hentai, not a great one but definitely one that’s worth your time and attention. This really did seem like a moment I would discover a diamond in the dirt of hentai, yet all I found was some coal to help fuel my increasing frustration with the harem genre. I felt like the mangaka should have named this “Kininaru Sluts”, because the story does a fine job of developing then out of nowhere one of the sluts emerges and proceeds to mate with our protagonist, thus impeding any progress. Well for the average reader my opinions don’t matter, because you’re really just here for the sex.
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What the hell is going on? When will all my questions be answered? Those are the thoughts you can expect to have whilst watching Combustible Campus Guardress. It’s incredibly difficult to get through this Supernatural, Action, Comedy fiesta, without being confused about something fundamental, like the plot.

From what I could gather after the numerous failed attempts at exposition; there’s a world of darkness, which had its gate to our world sealed somehow. Now the “Remnants” want to reopen the gate, to do the usual take over the world thing that all evil seems compelled to do. So it’s all up to the “Guardians” to prevent this from happening. You still following me? … Well this does sound like your average Good vs. Evil standard affair and that’s what it should be however the incomprehensible turn of events and sheer insanity of the actions that drive the story, will leave most people confused. I say that but what really confused the heck out of me was what this anime was trying to achieve, as both a comedy and a serious action drama. For this to be a success, there needs to be a healthy balance of the two aspects however this anime made a mess of the two. Amongst all this mess the one redeeming quality that can be salvaged would be the theme on “destiny”, which gives the series something interesting to work with and some fine developments arise from it. Nevertheless the characters that experience these developments constantly try their best to ruin it.

Ah yes the characters. How could I forget this delightful bunch of misfits who may entertain some but not those with a keen grip on reality. Who would have thought it would be possible, but Combustible Campus Guardress had an entire cast full of annoying characters; some with incredibly annoying voices to match. The story’s heroine (Hazumi) being the most annoying of the lot. For half the show I was unwittingly praying that the god’s of common sense would strike her down with a lightning bolt of logic.

It amazes me by how much Production I.G. got wrong with the series but what they always get right is the animation. Sure the animation is about as out dated as my cassette player but they still manage to pull off some incredibly well animated fight scenes. Just watching buildings crumble when someone is sent flying throw them, is simply worthwhile. On the other hand, when I think about the sound my mind goes blank. A few minutes after finishes the series; no memory of a soundtrack or interesting SFX were available in my mind and all I did remember was the god awful ending theme and second-rate voice acting, which isn’t helped by its mind-numbing dialogue.

In the end this is a series where the writers didn’t believe in such things like: a coherent storyline, funny jokes, logic or even anime logic. Instead they thought giving the characters the most retarded abilities imaginable would make entertainment. Picture this… a girl summoning a barrage of puppies just to be slaughtered by some ambiguous blue blob. You’ll witness a lot of stupidity in this short series, right up until the inevitable climax, where you realize that you wasted your time watching a mediocre series just to be force fed a bullshit ending.
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As the title indicates, Love is for those Over 30 is a Mature, Ecchi, Romance, Slice of Life dealing with the issues of love transcending an age gap; however these issues are so minor, they may fail to arouse your interest.

Sakura Uehara is a hardworking OL (office lady) who’s done nothing but work her ass off, ever since leaving high school, which has left little to no time to forge any romantic relationships. Soon into the story (well a bit too soon) she becomes well acquainted with the new office employee named Yuu Yamada, who’s fresh out of college and in need of some guidance. Despite their age difference they unsurprisingly develop a relationship and they live happily ever after… the end. Now the problem with the story is that it’s too much of a slice of life, with nothing out of the ordinary happening to spice up the romance. It’s just like reading yourself living your own boring life; if you could pry yourself away from a computer long enough to get a job and find a partner. The story is simply about the capable but inexperienced couple, in love, doing what most adult couples do and they do it a lot.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said all that because I’ve pretty much spoilt the entire 6 chapters to anyone who’s interested… oh well… now unto the characters, who are a delightful bunch. Well as delightful as a bunch of 20-30 year old office workers can be. Although it’s really only Sakura & Yuu that you need to care about, since the other characters get as much attention as my dead goldfish. The pair may have some good chemistry with each other but the same cannot be said about their development.

Nevertheless one good thing has developed and that’s Ryuta Amazume’s artistic skill. The artwork is the real stunner of this manga and it’s amazing how much the mangaka has improved over the years. Now not only is he able to draw realistic characters, with similar designs from his other works, but he’s able to portray the style of the said characters from the particular outfits he gives them.

Yet in the end this is a shallow attempt at a good romance, which is sadly overshadowed by tits & ass. It looks gorgeous but is extremely shallow. Themes like the office working environment and the mild stigma around relationship age gaps are barely touched upon, whereas too much emphasis is on the sex. If that’s all you’re looking for, then you’ll come out feeling satisfied but it sure as hell wouldn’t satisfy any of you hardcore romance lovers.
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When asked about the nature of a harem anime, most anime fans think: average guy, surrounded by 3 or more seemingly unattainable girls, in an unusual setting chuck full of breast-grabbing and panty-flashing. Does Princess Lover fall into this abysmal group? Yes, however it had the potential to achieve a lot more than what most harems fail to achieve.

That potential was shown in its characters however that same potential was foolishly squandered with its mediocre story. The story itself is typical, yet intriguing enough to keep most viewers interested. It’s about your average teenage boy named Teppei, living an average life, with his average family... Then shit happens and our protagonist is later forced to live with his super rich grandpa and transfer to some absurd school for the super rich. After watching this I thought the writer must’ve taken whatever he could find from “Ye ol’ book of anime clichés” and decided that was their plot. Strangely enough, it worked surprisingly well when it came to introducing the characters to this profoundly entertaining story. The first half of the story basically sets this kind of tone for an exhilarating short series but in the end it was a wasted effort once the “real” story kicks in and boy, are you in for a ride. By ride I mean a one-way ticket to idiotsville, because only an idiot would throw away an enjoyable story for the garbage that replaced it.

With all that said, this anime didn’t entirely turn into a steaming pile of crap and that’s thanks to the interesting cast of main characters. Harem protagonists usually fall into 2 groups: the losers and the kind-hearted saviours. Yet Teppei initially doesn’t fall into either, because within his playful character is a young lad struggling to deal with his past and moral dilemmas. Not to forget the 4 leading heroines, who were rather well developed, some more than others and 2 of which who seemed similar in design and personality to 2 more well-known characters from other series. Whether that was intentional or not is unknown to me but they happened to be the most interesting of the 4 heroines. However apart from Teppei’s grandpa, the supporting cast turned out to be far weaker than the loosely put together story and if a couple of them were killed off, the story could have done a whole lot better.

The production values are somewhat difficult to delve into since a fairly unknown studio (GoHands) took on this series. The music was just about as memorable as every breath I take and the sound productions overall really isn’t any good. Yet the art style and animation has a unique vibrancy to it, giving a colourful experience that’s pleasing to the eyes. However the jarring simulated camera panning/rotation and the out of proportion bust sizes really brought it down for me.

Overall Princess Lover is a series that I hoped would break the chain of generic harem that seem to appear year after year, yet all it did was add unto the already tarnished reputation of the harem genre. Some of the blame falls onto the villains, who were the worst villains ever constructed but I blame the real villain… the idiot who thought of this crap. Well if you don’t mind all that I’ve said then watch at your own discretion; however I feel it’s more worthwhile to sit wait for the next Key & KyoAni collaboration.
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Girls Saurus DX is the direct continuation of Kei Kusunoki’s Girls Saurus manga and it proved to be just as funny as it’s predecessor but also just as redundant.

Being a sequel, the story continues on through Shingo Chiryuu’s day to day struggles with his girl phobia. Even with this fear of girls he has managed to attract the unwanted affection of various members of the opposite sex, which inevitably results in some hilarious situations. Well that’s the summary of this seemingly interesting Ecchi, Harem, Romantic, Comedy and being a sequel, the mangaka has had the time to correct the mistakes of the past and start anew but instead Girls Saurus DX is more flawed than its predecessor. One flaw being how inconsistent the story is; like when one minute our protagonist doesn’t have a problem telling people about his girl phobia and the next he’s being blackmailed into having it revealed. Just doesn’t add up. Well it’s best not to go into detail about all the flaws yet the one that sticks out would always be the nature of this story. It’s the same old series of self contained chapters where some scenario is established and concluded within 30+ pages. Sure it’s easy to get a few laughs from these oneshots but it’s just as easy to grow weary of the same old recycled jokes. Also like in the previous Girls Saurus, absolutely no significant story progression or romantic development occurs, which doesn’t justify the absurd length of this manga.

The cast of characters are the same interesting bunch as before however instead of developing the one she’s already got, the mangaka decides to add some new ones. This wouldn’t have been a problem if the new characters didn’t comply with the most profoundly annoying clichés in the genre. Just witnessing the same girl trip up at least once every chapter would make anyone value the creative genius of this mangaka. The same can be said about the complete “realism” of the character’s motivations; like getting to 2nd base with the girl who loves you, for revenge.

Well in the midst of these degraded values, at least the artwork remained unchanged but I cannot say if that’s a good or bad thing. Some may like the style; I just think it’s decent enough for the comedy.

In the end this mangaka really hasn’t learnt much, since it is pretty much the same as before. Sure if you enjoyed the frequent panty flashes and humorous moments in the prequel you’ll enjoy them here however if you were hoping for some kind of development then you think too highly of this mangaka. In fact Kei Kusunoki thinks to highly of herself and that’s evident by how big of a deal she made when adding the most annoying character to the story. It is quite sad because there were so many opportunities in this manga to make an interesting story of love & laughs but I guess she just forgot the love… and the interesting. read more

Girls Saurus… This mangaka must have horrible naming sense by trying to cross “Girls” and “Dinosaurs” together, since it really has nothing to do with the plot. Instead this Ecchi, Harem, Romantic, Comedy has a plot that some may either enjoy or find annoying.

We’ve all experienced fears in life and some may even have developed a phobia but Shingo Chiryuu is the unlucky guy to have experienced such a traumatic event that led to his fear of girls. Now all he really wants is to conquer his girl phobia, because the fear of remaining a virgin is the most frightful thought to any teenage boy. As stupid as it may sound I believe that Shingo’s phobia is quite fitting, given what he went through, however this manga has a terrible way of handling things. Like to help alleviate his fears, the school nurse enrols him into some ambiguous club full of girls yet nothing positive comes out it. Sure it’s for the comic relief but comedy without a purpose would produce nothing but unfunny jokes. Perhaps if that was the only problem with the story, this manga would be great but just like most other Rom/Coms Girls Saurus follows a really basic structure. Every chapter has its own simple scenario or dilemma and once it comes to and end, it moves onto the next with little to no progression in-between.

The same can be said about our male protagonist Shingo who rarely makes any progression in getting over his fears. As a guy, I lost respect for him yet he does provide some hilarious moments. As for the girls, they’re all just too weird and unrealistic that it’s natural to think about the weirdness their actions rather than the joke behind it. Well at least they each get their good moments but a lot of those moments are fanservice related.

The artwork of this manga helps produce some decent fanservice but that’s all it’s good for. The scenery/backdrop in the panels are often replaced by some tacky effects and the character designs are rather unappealing but I guess it manages to work in its favour from time to time, like that grotesque looking girl in the 2nd volume.

Overall Girl Saurus is a mixed bag of laughs & annoyances. The laughs come from the few actually funny situations the protagonist gets himself into, yet him constantly being surrounded by bi- *ahem* girls, proves to be the biggest annoyance. Sure this is a harem romance but romance without development is just pointless and for whatever reason this manga just finished… no build-up or conclusion whatsoever but at least there’s a continuation to the story in DX. With all that said you may be wondering if this manga is worth checking out. Well if you’re fond of your typical romantic comedy then sure, since it’s the kind of thing that can be finished in one sitting. read more

All of life’s trivial quarrels can be solved with a simple bet. Well that seems to be the motto, this terribly old-fashioned anime follows. If you’re not into sports anime where there’s always something trivial at stake then it’s best to steer clear of this one.

Slow Step is yet another Sports, Drama from the legendary mangaka Mitsuru Adachi. A man known for creating the classic sports manga Touch, which spawn a hefty number of anime adaptations. This time round the sport of choice is softball, where Nakasato Minatsu is the ace of her High School’s softball team. I would go into how it follows the classic sports drama formula (the underdog team) but in Slow Step the real story lies in the Romantic, Comedy side of things. In the beginning it’s already established that Nakasato is sort of seeing her childhood friend however by some weird circumstances she ends up in a love triangle. Well I say weird because the root of this love triangle dilemma is none other than one of the most widely used clichés (mistaken identity) and from there this series, which initially showed so much promise, gradually diminishes. Not only that but when things sort of become a love pentagon, hexagon, whatever… chances are you’ll stop caring about the outcome.

I wouldn’t really blame anyone for not caring about the romantic outcome, since the characters range from a bunch of immature selfish kids to some really old-fashioned adults. I understand that this was based in the 80’s but when the only appealing character is a typical delinquent student, then that’s saying something.

The art style also reflects the time period it was based on, with stubby appearances and bean shaped heads. At times it does show off some great animation, especially during the games, but these moments are few and far in between. Same can be said about the soundtrack, there were a few good tunes here and there but they’re just a few of them and the same old ones were constantly repeated.

Overall just like the titles says, Slow Step is slow in advancing its romantic plot and any real advancement is due to the sports side of things, where it all comes down to a simple bet. The sports element was interesting, especially when it also went into boxing but don’t expect anything on the level of Hajime no Ippo. With that said, this turned out to be an unsatisfactory anime. Even with five 45min OVAs, absolutely nothing was resolved but keep in mind that I didn’t find it a wasteful experience. read more

The joyful taste of being desired and the bitter taste of desiring... Octave is a Mature, Yuri, Romance that clearly deals with such things as desire and how innocent aspirations can bring forth such bitterness.

Yukino Miyashita is the kind of person that has to feel beloved by someone and it’s that mindset of hers that propelled her into the entertainment industry as an Idol. There she thrived on the attention and admiration but as the saying goes; “what goes up must come down” and having returned back to earth Yukino now lives a humble life but her dream to be beloved by someone is still there in the corner of her mind. So that’s how the journey began for Yukino and there are just a number of life’s journeys that Yukino will embark on during the duration of this manga like the life of a career woman and the hardships that come with loving another person so dearly. As you’ve probably guessed, this manga focuses on same sex relations; but unlike your typical yuri manga set in a predominantly female environment where lesbianism is considered the norm, Octave is as real as it gets (well almost) but that also takes away some of the enjoyment.

At least being able to see such a relationship bare fruit is enjoyable enough for any fans of the genre. It’s also more worthwhile since the 2 main characters are thoroughly developed and you’ll see how they struggle with their inner problems. Unfortunately not enough time and care is spent on other characters and they are used as mere tools for developing the plot, but overall I consider the characters to be a strong aspect.

Even though the characters had a fair amount of depth, the artwork was quite the opposite. This manga had a very minimalistic look to its design and some may appreciate that, however this reviewer is all for: effort, detail, stylizing, etc. Yet none of those words corresponded with the art style found here

In the end, what was found in Octave was a fairly realistic portrayal of a same-sex relationship, filled with hardships and insecurities. This manga deals with such issues in a profound and mature manner, never sugar-coated but getting straight to the point. Sure I did find myself not enjoying some moments but life’s never guaranteed to be full of pleasantries and this manga clearly depicts that. read more

Yet again we have another Yuri, Romance set in an all-girls school and Hanjuku Joshi may seem like any typical sweet story; however there’s more to it than meets the eye and I’m not just talking about the mature, girl-on-girl action.

Yae is a girl who’s never felt comfortable about being such a girly girl, so she enrols into an all-girl’s school, in order to feel more at ease with herself. It’s there that she becomes close friends with Chitose, the tomboy of the school and it’s not long till Yae begins to develop feelings beyond that of ‘just friends’. Well so far there’s nothing out of the ordinary with my synopsis, seeing how most relationships in this medium and in real life start off as a one-sided thing but I liked how in this manga it focuses on more than one relationship. So you’re unlikely to become bored of this story, which is full of the ups and downs of relationships.

During the blossoming of the relationships this manga spends an ample amount of time developing its main characters. Unlike most manga that focuses solely on its main protagonist/heroine, Hanjuku Joshi takes time to provide insight on all characters involved in the story however that’s not a difficult thing to do when there’re really just 4-6 characters in total.

Overall Hanjuku Joshi is a sweet yuri manga that’s able to deal with some complicated issues involved in same sex relationships. Sure it doesn’t delve too deep into the subject but it manages to go deep enough to make an interesting story out of it. The artwork also helps to compliment the story, with the art style that gives off the same feel as a sweet fluffy marshmallow on the tip of your tongue. Yet just like a marshmallow that feeling is short lived, with no long-lasting flavour but an urge for more.

*Note: May edit if necessary ^_^* read more

Ai Yazawa is a mangaka renowned for her diverse range of shoujo manga and here you’ll see the manga that influenced both Paradise Kiss and Nana. Gokinjo Monogatari is a Shoujo, Romance, Comedy Drama that shows an interesting take on dependency however it’s rife with humour that can ruin even the most serious moments.

Just as you’d expect, the story is set in an Art Institute where Mikako Kouda, our eccentric heroine, is able to study fashion design to her hearts content. Although it is known that Mikako hasn’t had the best childhood one can imagine but what has helped her along the way is the support from her childhood friend Tsutomu. This short synopsis does feel like it has been pull out of the “anime cliché” filing cabinet, since a romance story about childhood friends is a fairly common commodity. On the other hand the artistic elements were implemented well enough, so even people who aren’t into art & fashion design are able to appreciate it and even if the story is cliché it does take a few interesting turns that the reader wouldn’t expect.

This mostly had to do with the characters who each had there appealing and unappealing sides. Like this story’s heroine the reader is supposed to empathize with (Mikako), who was cute but personally I just didn’t like her self-centred personality. The good thing is that her and all the other characters around her develop, as they learn more about life’s hardships; and what makes this manga truly remarkable is how it takes a break from the two main characters in order to spend a fair amount of time developing some of the side characters, giving them a story of their own.

The artistic design is certainly able to capture these moments fairly well, including the eccentric style in the earlier 90s. Unfortunately since this is one of Ai’s earlier works, the artwork does suffer from lack of detail. This in turn makes it difficult to tell similar looking characters apart and inconsistencies in the character designs don’t help one bit.

Overall Gokinjo Monogatari is an interesting mix of romance, comedy and drama that has been crudely sewn together. I say this because even though each side of the manga was individually well made, in the end it couldn’t come together as a whole and I believe the comedy is at fault. Sure there’s a whole lot of laughable comedy in this but the mangaka really made it into a running gag to take digs out of her own work (just for lulz) and after a while it became excessive. Good thing the whole “dependency” theme was played off more subtly and didn’t detract from the more prominent “artistic” theme of the story. So if you’ve seen and enjoyed anything made by Ai Yazawa, then check this out. It may not be as good as her newer stuff but it’s a great read for anyone who enjoys a good shoujo/romance.
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