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“The sun is about to rise…”

Taiyou no Uta, also known as, A Song to the Sun, is about sixteen year old Kaoru, who because of a disease can never be out in the sun. Living all her life in darkness and watching the sun light from afar, she longs for the warmth only the sun can give. The only thing that gives her some sort of happiness is the few hours at night she gets her guitar and goes to sing in the street. One day through her window she sees a boy who emit’s a brightness and warmth that she can’t help ... but be drawn to. All she wants is just to meet him, knowing that’s he can’t. All she needs is a chance meeting.. Just one.

For it being a oneshot it moves at a reasonable pace, except for the whole falling in love thing so fast, that always stumps me.
Kaoru just wants to be like everyone else. Because of her disease, her environment is limited to being indoors away from sunlight. She yearns for the part of life we take for granted, the beauty of daylight.
Koji, who you can't help but like for his sweet smile and good natures is a nice addition to this manga. We get to know him a little bit and we see in such a short time the potential he has for growth as a character.

There are very few characters in this one, centering around mainly her close family. We have actual parents in this one. Parents who are usually a figment of imagination in manga, are present and not in the annoying way they are usually represented in other works or to make the main people’s live miserable. They are caring and nice and actually say more than two sentences.

Art, was pretty but average. There wasn’t anything memorable about the art in itself but the illustrations makes you feel nostalgic at times and that suits the pace and tone of the manga. Which made sense in the way that the art went along with the personality of Kaoru all the way through.

The story of Kaoru and Koji is a very short one. I felt it was too short, Kenjo could have milked this cow for at least one more volume. Maybe it’s me just wanting to read a little bit more of this romance, that ended too soon. Or maybe I was hoping that they took their time in developing more their relationship instead of jumping ships and all.
It has a warm ending, not one of my favorites, but at least it leaves you with closure of sorts.

“I suppose our time, will never coincide with one another’s”

Crimson Hero is a romance, sport, drama, school life, manga. What’s so unique about it? Nothing much honestly. You can pick apart the plot and characters and they won’t be original at all. What’s so good about it? Everything. The story is charming and the characters are funny and creative.
The manga pumps you up and makes you want to pick up a sport, if that makes any sense. It’s driven in the only way sports or arts can be.

Nobusa’s parents suffer from “I want my daughter to hate me so I will force her to be who I want her to be (or, IWMDTHMSIWFHTBWIWHTB ... for short) disease. They run a top , I’ll call it restaurant, in Japan and she is the oldest daughter set to run it. Only problem is that she loves volleyball and wants nothing more than to play. When she enters high school she finds out that her mom forced the school to disband the girls volleyball team.
Being forced into a corner she does what any shoujo lead would do in her situation, runs away and moves into a dorm full of guys as their dorm mother. OK, not exactly like that but the gist of it… Now it’s up to her to fulfill her dream while cleaning up after four guys…

Just going to say that this NEVER happens in real life, so for one I am COMPLETELY disappointed. I’m sure you are too, if not, you are not reading the right manga…

I think where the author went right from the beginning was the lines. The way the story unfolds, Nobusa’s thoughts and emotions stand out and it’s easy for a lot of people to relate. She’s confident even if she herself isn’t really so. She’s a great leader actually and a good friend.
There are characters you love right away and could even tell which roles they’re going to be given; like friend-zoned dude, bee-atch girl, loyal friend… add that to some characters having old history with each other and you know some drama is guaranteed to happen.

The art doesn’t really stand out, and realistically it has too much competition since it was drawn in 2003. That itself leaves a huge gap for “fresher” material art-wise, least I think so. It was nice, the only thing that stands out a lot at first are the characters hair styles, but it's nothing major. The lead does look like the main girl from High School Debut a bit and sometimes acts like her too. Which isn’t a bad but couldn’t help but notice. Though technically this one was drawn first, barely.
Another thing is that the movements look stiff, I know what you're thinking: How can movements be stiff when they're not actually moving?... well they can. Just the drawing itself while they're playing looks too serious when it should have been more relaxed at times.

The ending, don’t worry I can’t spoil it since it’s not done scanlating. Which I didn’t know when I started reading if not I wouldn’t have…

I’ll cross my fingers for it to keep being good. I'll let you know!

I’ll start by saying, I don't usually have a problem with finding anime I like, actually where genre is concerned I'm pretty easy to please. As long as it; Has some funny moments, a cute guy here and there, and a main lead that uses words with more than one syllable (sometimes). I mean that’s not so hard to do. Maybe throw in a cute animal just to add to the overall cuteness. So how, HOW, can a show that the girls kick ass be such a disappointment? For me it was because it just made me feel extra dumb. Hey I'm the first ... to admit I love certain genre because it requires minimal brain usage, no shame in admitting it.
Yeah, so if you plan to watch this one just hit the eject button on that brain of yours, send it out to clean or something and use that in between time to watch shows like this.

What is Master of Martial Hearts about?
It's about the the world of Martial Hearts. What the heck is it? A fighting contest/tournament that one enters which has the prize of a gem that can grant the winner her one and only wish.
The main leads are friends Aya and Natsume who happen to stumbled into the Martial Hearts world by mistake when walking into a fight in progress between a priestess named Miko and a flight attendant. After saving and hearing Miko’s story and the learning about how the tournament is and a few happenings in between they decide to join.
Who will come out victorious?….dah duh dum, wow no one will ever contract me to do soundtracks lol

Requirement to be recruited in the Martial Heart:
-Have knowledge of the martial arts. Which just so happens ALL the girls in this one have. Love it when that happens.
-Be a girl, which is just code for have boobs you don't mind being displayed to the world. And wear tornable (should be a word, clothes that can be easily torn, or made of foam) clothes.
-Have a wish that seems impossible and you want it to come true
-A cell phone, so that they can text you with the contest information
-Appear half naked at impromptu times throughout the day while fighting another female.

How it works when you‘re in?.. It’s not that easy, there are rules people!
They supply you with the money necessary to get ready and you start battling your way up the pyramid. If you end up being the winner you will receive the gem.
-That’s it?
-Yeah…
-But I thought you said it wasn’t that easy?
-Don’t blame me I don’t make the rules. Anyway you have to fight girls in really skimpy outfits. Maybe it makes you uncomfortable…

This contest isn’t for the faint hearted and boys can’t participate. I guess in this anime world boys have no hearts, sorry guys there’s always a next time. Don’t worry I feel insulted for you. But to be fair the fan service is ALL for you.

Actually even above all that it wasn't soooo bad. More annoying with than anything, and for a fairly short show that’s saying something.
For instance, every time (EVERY TIME) they hit, punch scratch their opponent their clothes magically shred leaving them in their underwear or naked, all I can do is call forth the 14 year old dude inside all of us and he'll say, "Boobies!" Fine he probably won't say it, but he'll think it. For those wondering, no, I don’t even take myself seriously sometimes. And with anime like these, that’s a silver lining.

As for the soundtrack and animation. Nothing stood out and the animation is rather plain. It’s not a new anime therefore it’s actually pretty ordinary in character design and color as a whole. No major flaws that I could see but I'll be honest I dozed off a lot of times. No worries when I came back five minutes later I still understood the plot, so no harm done.

The ending is where you get a feel for the main characters and you see they have some depths. It's a shame it's only for 10 minutes and you don't really care at this point.
Which honestly I just didn’t see throughout the show to begin with. Well maybe in a few instances but they get stripped away by battle scenes, pun intended. It’s also at the end where you see the perverseness behind the show, I mean it’s there (duh, the ecchiness?) but it shows you more in the end.
They tried to stuff us with useless plot lines and complicate the story to make it more interesting when if you really stayed and watched until the last second it was probably because you (as I was) were wondering if the "gem" was a symbol for anything but gem. Maybe that's just me cause seriously this was a piece of work... yeah let's go with "work."

What does Aya want as her wish? Watch and find out, why should I suffer alone….

“Hey Midori, why do people lie?”

The double edge sword of seeing a lie. Would you want it?

Saki’’s father left one day with the promise that he’d be back. He didn’t, she waited and waited and no one came. Now a teen and in high school, she has a boyfriend and a great best friend. Life’s great, until lies mess it up for her. One car accident and when she wakes up everything’s the same but different, she could see when someone is lying. That person’s aura change to black right before her eyes. Saki soon realizes that the change signifies a lie. All ... around her everyone is lying and now she can’t escape it.

The plot revolves around the truth that people lie, every day, even about mundane things that don‘t even deserve a lie. Which is probably why to me, this was a very easy to read manga, just sit back and watch the plot unfold. Subject was real-ish enough.
It starts very interesting and you get to see a drama you really wouldn’t want to live through (but it’s ok since it’s not you) untangle.
The beginning chapters are what made me want to read the rest. Come on, she wakes up from an accident and sees people in dark light when they lie. Am I the only one thinking she has her future working as an interrogator set? Human lie detector...

Anyway, towards the last few chapters it wasn’t the same feeling. The mystery wasn’t the same, the wondering. I want to say that it was anticlimactic, if anything it was because I expected something bigger, a bigger secret or lie you can say, but it felt short of my expectations.
I did like the spin on her being able to actually see the lies even if we don‘t find out why it‘s possible, but the way the doctors treated her when she went to them for help was severely messed up. If anything that was just plain weird. Come on doc, at least pretend that since I'm the first case EVER to see people change colors when they lie is a weird thing.

The characters were interesting. Some, most…. They started out interesting but it didn’t end that way. There are a lot of weak characters that don’t serve much of a purpose other than us seeing them as liars. There was one character in particular whose role made me believe was going to have a bigger role or make a bigger difference in the plot but it was just a small addition.

Saki wasn’t an exceptional character but had a very sincere voice. She believed people and didn’t think of the possibility that lies could creep up on her doorstep. Though hating liars because of her father, she never really gave it much thought about the quantity of people in her life that lie so easily, herself included. It was a new and realistic glimpse to see through Saki’s eyes the interactions with people. It makes us wonder how many lies we actually say without even noticing.

Midori’s character was the one I believed was the most important in Saki’s life. He was the exception in her life full of liars. The redeeming for humanity if you will. Even though it could all turn sour with him at any moment he never lied to her, even though she kept waiting for it, sometimes seeking it. Saki saw and believed, and with reason, that most people lie. All the time. But he was honest and sincerely wanted to protect her. To a girl who has no one left, those words and the truth in them were a breath of fresh air. It was Saki’s proof that truthful people did exist.

The art was simple. Nothing ostentatious about it or eye catching other than it was done averagely well. The flashback are really cute though, it portrays their child self perfectly.

Her character learns and grows throughout which in the scheme of things isn't too shabby.

“To inherit a legend is to become a legend”

I first started this anime because I thought it would be about evil fishes, no joke. I translated the words at random and developed this idea that it would be like Finding Nemo with a twist. Don't find that too surprising, it insults my creativity (lets call it that) since my mind read the title as "Aquarium Evil." Anyway, I was a tad disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong; evil fishes would have made my day but I’m trying to be “cup half full” for the New Year’s crap. So I decided to watch even after the first ... five minutes confirmed that evil fishes were, in fact, nowhere present, but it was better in a way.

For those wondering, this is a review based on one episode (long one it is!) that I’ve seen. I know nothing of this genre or if this has any previous works but there’s always a first and I’ll forget to write my thoughts on it later, I’ll share them now:

The first couple of minutes create a sort illusion that Aquarion Evol is just about Sora Amata, who’s name I only remember because of Kingdom Hearts. He’s a loner, who works at a movie theater and is in love with a movie (Skies of Aquaria) and wishes people loved it as much as he does. While talking to a girl about his favorite movie he blushes at something she says and starts floating in air. At first I thought it was a weird-anime-guy-thing and he floated when he got turned on or something, even though that isn’t weird by anime standards (meaning I’ve heard/seen of weirder). I decided to postpone that thought and let the show tell me why he has to stuff his boots with metal pieces to keep from floating up.

The story’s attention shifts and action drops into our lap (finally!).
We learn about their world, how it’s divided and the boys and girls don’t “mingle,” so to speak. How members from their force have elemental powers (can it be called that?). How Aquarion has been battling with beings from an alternate dimension who wreak havoc by kidnapping citizens from Aquarion with spirit like machines called Abductors(not very creative there but it gets the point across and if your memory sucks like mine it’ll also help you remember) and take them back to their dimension. Aquarion fights back and sends their army called Aquaria to defend Aquarion.

Along the way we get confirmation of what we already suspect, that Sora isn’t an ordinary boy but a chosen one who is “destined” to be fighting alongside Aquaria in his own special mecha spirit thing that he eventually unlocks by calling it by its name:

“GO! Aquarion!”
“Aquarion. He knows the forbidden name.” -----Are you kidding me!

The animation is very nice and sort of reminds me of a role playing game sometimes. The characters each have their own uniqueness even in their own particular hair color. It’s a colorful world that’s for sure, but it gives it the aquatic feel to it that the anime wants to express (I guess). Something’s looked out of place for me, like one minute they were in a high tech building where everything seemed robotic or futuristic and the next it looked like a street in Paris. Threw me off a bit but I expected evil guppies so, eh.

The characters, it's too soon to tell and I can't get a feel of them right of the bat, I mean I can make assumptions and say it'll be like so and so but I like to assume they'll surprise me even if they end up not doing it. The main cast pair, you know who it is right off the bat, I wasn't a fan of much after 40 minutes just because the girl is annoying, but she's cute (in an Princess Euphemia way) so that'll make up for it.

The soundtrack is good, but honestly I would only notice something is off if it didn’t belong, like if Taylor Swift started playing during a fighting scene, otherwise I just notice that the music and instruments were in sync with the action scene and the mellow ones.

I wasn’t a fan of all the “aqua” to everything but I was surprised that I was enjoying the first episode more than I thought I would.
Why did I keep watching this show even though I don't watch sci-fi? Well because apart from the fish thing (above) it was the one show that I clicked on that during the first five minutes didn’t use the phrase, “wet panties.”

It’s an entertaining show and even though I am probably not making sense in this review since I don’t review non-romance anything I think it has potential and it reminds me a little of the fighting scenes in Code Geass which is the only other mecha anime I’ve watched, ever. Aquarion Evol is also one of the few anime I liked from the winter lineup.

"Lonely...Empty... Sorrow...Sadness..Helpless... This 'me' only hopes that a person will need me, more than he needs anyone else."

I honestly think what attracted me to this manhwa was the sadness in those words. Thinking that somewhere someone is feeling it, even if it wasn’t me at the moment.

It always gives me a sort of melancholic feel when I read stories like these. This one in particular is about Azayoshi, a girl who feels lost and neglected. Who finds refuge in sleeping with random men for money. Don’t let what she does on her free time fool you, she is smart and a top student at ... her school. Her mom doesn’t know of what she does and believes her daughter as long as she brings home good grades. On a regular, no special day, her life sucks a little more when her mother introduces Azayoshi to her new boyfriend, who happens to be a paying client…

When does the dashing prince come in to save our damsel in distress? Soon, but he’s not so much a prince as a regular guy. Which is fine because she’s just a regular girl. But what happens when the prince is just as screwed up as the girl. What happens when he needs saving too?

I first picked it up because of the title, thinking that it told a sweet story of a girl falling in love for the first time, all happy and deluded. Sure, love can be painful but no one expects their first love to be so… broken.
Then I remembered that she wasn’t an ordinary Jane, she was “dirty” in her eyes and she deserved to feel it.
What I realized is that this could be story of the girl heroines hate. The one that “steals” boyfriends and is known as a whore or slut. But that wouldn’t have been completely accurate because, then who was the other girl? The girl that made her life miserable.
Unexpectedly so, the story takes us on a ride and we see her life. Unedited. The cruelty of the world is not new for her, or she thinks it isn't. The people around her, that share her space, aren’t happy go lucky people that turn a blind eye to what she does, who she is. Life doesn’t turn a blind eye.

The art had no humor, like the manga, only sadness. It was clean and precise as if the author was giving all her attention to her characters and their story.

It isn't beautiful... I think this is always the part that stumps me, how do you explain art? By the strokes and each perfected line or by the beauty in the characters eyes that gave them life? It has both in this one.
It does lack background detail. I noticed more towards the end where there sometimes wasn't much of any, giving it an empty feeling where feelings were suppose to be, giving it a sort of detachment to the scene.

More often than not, the characters are more raw than pretty. They give off a sort of real feel to them, as if steeping out of the page wouldn't be too weird. Although you wouldn't want them to since, as I will state in the next sentence, they're asses who deserve to get shot in the foot, at least.

The characters are mostly despicable human beings in this one (like I not so eloquently mentioned above). Except for a few (no ore than three) and some who don’t get enough lines to matter. Most are egotistical rats who only want to be happy themselves not caring about who the hurt in the process. Gotta love selfishness.
Azayoshi isn’t a happy girl, she isn't even a nice girl sometimes, but that’s one of her charms. If she were, her personality would have been completely different and utterly boring. She isn’t afraid to speak up for herself and more importantly she wants someone to save her, from herself.

I am trying to figure out as I write if my problem was with the story or with the characters and I think it was the latter. Not a problem per-say either more like a justified disdain. The remorse some characters gave off felt fake, as if it was expected at the end so that the manga would wrap up nicely.

It’s suppose to be a short manga, two volumes, four chapters, but by the time you finish it will feel like much longer. Not because it drags on and on but because the journey the characters take, feels longer. I wasn't too keen on the ending. I dislike lack of explanations, even though some may say to fill in the blank yourself, but I don't always agree with that.

Still.

Human emotions at their finest and worst.

Oh Taranta Ranta why did you betray me so…

I actually managed to learn all the characters names and for what? For you to leave me hanging out to dry in the air. What’s the manga synonym for cock blocking? I really need to start rating my reviews…

It was a good premise. Haruki lost her brother two years ago and it’s just her and her mom now. Her brothers absence is a palpable piece in her life, but she’s working on moving on. She meets a guy who resembles her oniisan and he seems to be sweet too. She starts to like him (I can’t figure ... out if I’m creeped out by it or surprised) after he kisses her his attitude does a complete 180 and he turns into a jerk. Is that how her first love ends?

That’s actually the beginning of a story, you can say that meeting him was what set the rest of the manga chains into motion like it usually goes. I won’t say that Taranta is the personification of high school real life because it isn’t. I mean some elements are there and the characters deal with them as best as they can. It has potential to be deeper but it leaves things halfway, specially with her brother or figuring out her feelings. It was funny but it lacked focus. I know this is a shoujo and a romantic one at that, but does the heroine have to fall in love and leave us wondering how it happened in the first place? She loves one, then it changes and she loves someone else. In that sense I think she captures the stereotype of a high school girl completely, making it a little disappointing.

The characters are actually quite charming. I liked a lot of the background characters more than the actual main cast sometimes. They were just funny and got attention from way back there, in letters so small I get so close to my screen I invade my screen’s personal space, so you know they were worth to read.
Hikaru is really average. Not a bad thing but it’s a, been there, done that deal.

The art, was above average. It does have a lot of cute guys so it gets a higher score in the art department just for that. The characters have a lot of detail in the hair since that’s what sometimes differentiates them apart. I really liked that even from far away when characters are in the distance or background the mangaka still gave the art attention and it doesn’t look sloppy.

I wasn’t the only one upset with this ending. But I also don’t think it was all bad. At least they didn’t leave the girl hanging for her life by a small piece of rope(I'm sure there's a specific term) in the middle of climbing Everest. Not that this manga is like Everest...

All I’m trying to say is that it’s a bad sign when I keep clicking the “Next Page” button and nothing happens and I check my computer to make sure it didn’t freeze but it turns out that there just isn’t any more pages. That that is in fact the ending, we Do not pass Go, Do not collect 200 feeling…

"Every minute felt like an eternity time, clearly as if it had a malicious intent, slowly ebbing away from me. I clenched my teeth and keeping myself from crying was the only thing I could do"

It all started when I was discussing the anime with a friend. It turned into a sort of debate on whether the ending to the anime was depressing or happy. Did he move on or just “chicken out.” Did Takaki get the short of the stick or was it really a good thing that it turned out the way it did. It kept going on or a while, in ... the end, we just agreed to disagree, but my curiosity was already stirred. So, I did the one thing I do about everything, I read.

Knowing that the manga went beyond that of the anime, even if it’s only a short time after, I decided to try give it a try. Knowing that any small amount of closure would have been better than none at all. Ready, if for anything else, to at least be swept by the waves of emotions that is, 5 Centimeters Per Second once again.
I was right, but in a whole other way I didn’t even consider. The side characters, more specifically Kanae. While the anime is focused only on Akari and Takaki most of the time. The manga gives us even more of them and a little extra. We get to know and care for Kanae. Who’s role is a combined ten minutes if anything in the movie.

For those that don't know what the manga is about: Takaki and Akari, both knowing the feeling of being the new kids in class, form a sort of bond in a short enough time. Akari has to move away because of her dad's job and they try not to let the distance tear apart their friendship by still keeping in touch through letters and such. Time and distance isn't on their side though and these two are but one example of growing up and apart.

This manga could mean many different things to many different people. That’s actually one of it’s charms. Somewhere along the way we’ve all been dealt a crappy hand in the game called Life (I think I just quoted Eminem lyrics). It flows effortlessly. We see through different stages of life, not the good moments either but more of the moments that change you. Or that you are forced to take action in. How it really isn't just one person living but that (shockingly) there are other people our lives are tied to by an invisible string.

I think what really made me love this manga was the realism of what happens to relationships even if you don't want it to. It was just how it unfolded. It isn't just about their relationship in 5 Centimeters Per Second, we get to experience other characters even if for a short while.

The art is great, beautiful even. The sadness on their expressions is in perfect harmony with the story and dialogue.
If I had to choose, hands down I choose the anime. Because even though the ending is more or less different, the beauty in this anime, what makes it flow together so well. Is not only that the story is lovely but that the music fits the melancholy and nostalgia Takaki is feeling. That the animation is beautifully done and executed to the point that almost every screenshot could be a wallpaper. It’s all those things that made the anime a winner. BUT it has to be said that the amount of detail Shinkai adds to the scenery is amazing. Not many do, some just let characters take the spotlight as a whole.With each passing page I saw myself being drawn not only to the story but I looked forward to the next scene. The next expression, the next sakura tree...

The manga, it’ll break your heart with it’s characters, something that the anime could only graze. But the magic of it, honestly, is in the way the soundtrack, animation (colors), and how it flows together to make it one heck of a trip.

Out of the billions of people on Earth these two people found each other, in one of the most bittersweet manga I have read.

I didn’t think this manga would be as dramatically dark. It was still light, sweet, and funny, but underneath all that, the characters had pain. Enough pain to move you...and make you laugh seconds later. Making you feel a tad bipolar.

When Haine Kamiya was in the 4th grade she was sold to the Otomiya family for 50 million yen to the. Thinking that her father must have hated her, she then turns into a delinquent because honestly if she needed to blow some steam off- how else is a confused and misunderstood kid suppose to do it? In the brink of her sadness she meets ... a person that is pure light in her dark world, Shizumasa Touguu. From that day on she was never the same, she made it her goal to follow him. Not in the stalker type of way, sort of, she just decided to change her life in order to be someone who can stand next to him. When she finally reaches him and enrolls in the same prestigious private school he is, not only does he have the title of “Emperor,” but he is cold and distant. Does he even remember the girl he helped?

At first, I figured it’d be like every other manga and have characters who do things you expect left and right but in such a way that it makes you want to bang your head against the wall. Though there is some instances of predictability it was still illustrated in a pleasant way, changed at the right times that you won’t really notice and just flow with it.
I thought the pain and loneliness in the characters was the nicest thing of this manga. How they all had different circumstances that made them bitter or unhappy in their own way but each of them showed it in their own way. How they dealt with it, sometimes in the most destructive way and how they learn from it, sometimes later, sometimes sooner, and sometimes not before its destructive nature took a few of them for a chaotic ride.
The story has a lot of mysterious things here and there, secrets. To say more on the summary will guarantee I spoil it somehow since adding cast and details will just confuse if I don’t explain more, so yeah I refuse.

It wasn’t perfection personified either. I thought it had a lot of main characters who looked a lot alike, which always infuriates me on some level that I end up ignoring. Also some parts felt rushed while others felt slow. Too much not knowing also can get on your nerves if the timing is not right on how long it takes for more hints to be dropped. In that subject if I were to further dwell in certain areas of it I’d say that the subject of someone’s sexuality is just breezed by and is not realistically demonstrated. Making everyone understanding and loving about it when in reality it isn’t always like that at all. It just depends on how you breeze through it, I prefer not to dissect manga that aren’t serious until serious moments arise. With that being said my rating is based on if the end result of said piece was worth it for me.

The characters are too many to name and looked alike at first. Some characters are there for the sole purpose of shedding some laughter in the otherwise gloomy atmosphere. Others are at both ends of that sphere being just as complex as they are quirky.

Haine was pretty average at first but she has a lot more personality to her. She is also strong willed and I didn’t expect such a cheerful girl to be so full of sadness underneath. I think what amazed me most is that for someone who was always making laugh, she was actually so dark/sad inside and never let herself be happy, not really.

The main cast in itself was solid. Haine's friends and love interest are not only interesting but surprising. Their take on things and their feelings/thoughts will take you by surprise. Because of the summaries I have read, the plot development took me by surprise, which is never a bad thing. Not so much with the main girl (Haine) but with her friends and family. Only a few manga where the parents get a shot at the spotlight. It was to say the list, interesting.

The art, what can I say? It was beautiful. From the clothes to the details in each of the characters hair and poses, Tanemura does an awesome job giving the characters a royalty feel to them. Apart from the some characters looking alike like I mentioned (multiple times) above, I think the art was very nice and clean.

Personally I’d like to see an anime adaptation of it. Just to see it in live and in color, all the time. The ending was a little disappointing in a way. I was just not happy with one of the main characters ending. Or maybe it's just left over nostalgia from it ending to begin with, since finding another manga that I would enjoy is like trying to find my other shoe when I'm in a hurry, not impossible but it takes a while... I think the world needs more anime that we can connect to emotionally, even if just a little It isn’t always like that but through some parts it is exactly like that.

“I named her “Haine.” Because my love with you has been reduced to ashes…”

I wasn’t going to review Chihayafuru yet, but it’s epic-ness needs to be shared with the world, well "the world," is a broad statement, and yeah so is "epic-ness," but either way, it's a really cute anime. So, let me count thee ways of awesome-ness.

Being a fan of both anime and manga (though anime has only a few episodes in as well) I couldn’t pass the opportunity to rant about it.

The story's main theme are on the simplicity of friendship, passion, and dreams, some the things that matter and drive our spirit as a youngster (first time ever to use that word). Not any ... passion, a form of passion that moves us and sometimes helps us achieve things we didn’t think we could, even if we feel that part of us has long ago deserted us.

Chihaya is an outspoken girl who looks up to her model sister and is her number one fan. Her number one dream is for her sister to become a great model.
One day, Arata transfers into her class and automatically because of his shy and none talkative nature he is secluded and picked on., His number one bully is Taichi, Chihaya’s friend since childhood. Through a few random occurrences they end up becoming friends. Arata then introduces her to the world of karuta, a card (sorta) game. Her world is never the same after that.

Chihaya’s point of view is pure, the only type of innocence that a kid can accomplish. The beginning is mainly showing us how karuta entered her life and how it changed her.
Right a way you can tell things are going to happen that are going to test the boundaries of friendship, will, love, and everything in between. Not necessarily romantic love, I mean the love you have for your dreams, goals, and for your friends. How people growing apart and having their own life doesn't mean they forget you . How no matter what the distance, they don't always really lose that part of themselves that made you friends to begin with.


The art is clean and beautiful. I loved to see the transformation into their older self and that they looked different and yet you can tell it’s them and not because they still resemble their old self somehow. It’s very well done. But hands down the anime gives you the full effect of said art. You’ll know what I mean when you see it. Still very cute and charming, just like the story thus far.

The characters are one of the best thing in this manga, though what gives it a nice touch is the karuta element.
Arata , Taichi, and Chihaya are great characters, whose individual persona are what make them a great combination, because they are very different. Chihaya grew up and didn’t forget and throughout the beginning you can tell that she’s the glue, the proverbial glue that holds them together at the end. Her and karuta. It always goes back to that game to the point that it’s character of its own.

I didn't really find anything I disliked with the manga. It's too early to tell what direction it's actually going to go, although we can speculate at this point but I really hope I'm wrong (I like to be surprised!). It has a shoujo atmosphere about it that is a common ground with a lot of manga but it also feels like it'll have more depth just like the first few chapters suggest.

The end of each chapter is a constant reminder that you shouldn’t give up on your dreams. No matter how young or old or in between, dreams are dreams. They fuel us to keep going, to look forward.
The thing to see is if Chihaya, Taichi and Arata can sustain the flow of time and distance…
I can’t say anything else since there are too few chapters out as of now. But it's definitely worth a shot.

“You can’t call it a dream if you don’t work on it yourself.”