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Warning: I might end up being kind of bias because I really love this anime. I'm not sure if this clogs my judgment but I thought you should know.

Last summer I had a lot of free time on my hands and I wanted to take that free time and waste it. So I began watching a lot of weekly animes. One of these was Durarara!! which became one of my favorite animes almost instantly.

Durarara!! is about the Tokyo district Ikebukuro and all the strange happenings that occur there. The main character, Mikado Ryuugamine (who spelled that right? I SPELLED THAT RIGHT!), has just moved to ... the area right outside of Ikebukuro and is now attending school there with his best friend Masaomi. These two and their new friend Anri are pulled into the midst of a dangerous game in which only one person, the creepy and possibly insane Izaya Orihara, knows all the players. Some of the interesting entities in this show include a gang whose members are completely unknown, a man with super strength and a bad temper, and a headless motorcyclist who is searching for her long lost head.

So that is the simplest version of this plot which jumps from perspective and to perspective like a rabbit on caffeine. Mikado may be the main character but he is one of the people you know least about because the plot focuses on all characters in near equal amounts.

The animation in this series is wonderful. It's by the same studio who did Baccano and, just like Baccano, it has a very earthy texture and subdued colors. The movement is clean and realistic and the character design is subtle yet distinctive (as in, they all look different, but very few look ridiculous).

The one thing about this series I admire most, however, is it's uninhibited approach to fantasy. Realistically, if strange stuff happened on a regular basis it would eventually become normal and that's how Durarara!! is approached. Even though one of the characters has NO HEAD (I can't stress this enough) the series is never treated like fantasy and the other characters don't treat her strangely either. And even though another character throws vending machines, it's never suggest that this is unrealistic.

And it's not like the characters live in a different reality. This is OUR reality and these people where made to be like normal people. Even though, by our standards they're not.

The main character actually spoke about this at one point. I can't remember the exact quote but it went something like "I always wanted to lead an extraordinary life. I didn't know, however, that something that is unusual is only unusual for a few days and then it becomes normal. I can't live an extraordinary life because, to me, my life will always be 'ordinary'."

So that's Durarara!!. An ordinary tale about extraordinary happenings.

My Girl is about a man and his daughter. The man in question is 23 years old at the beginning of our story. He works at a novelties company, designing product. He specializes in lady bugs, which remind him of his ex-girlfriend, who went over seas to study and never came back. He still doesn't know why she left him and has never been able to really stop loving her.
One day he gets a call from the girls mother, telling him that she's been in an accident and has died. He rushes to the funeral and finds out the girl had a daughter ... who had to be his. He refuses to believe it until he meets the girl and finds that he wants to take care of her.

First I'd like to say the art is AMAZING! The watercolor is vivid and full of the mangaka's style and her art is gentle and soft, with no necessarily sharp edges on any of the characters' faces or hair (something I find quite annoying in other similar series). It also succeeds in being expressive of whats happening in the story. There are full pages with out text that work to continue the story and build on characters. Something difficult to accomplish unless the artist and/or editor is very skilled.

The young characters are deep, accurately portraying the complexities of understanding children, who have very strong emotions, but are not always skilled enough to express them comprehensibly. The older characters are constantly maturing and growing up just as much as the children. A refreshing cast that sometimes frustrates you, but is never all bad.

The only thing that can be wrong with this series is that some people complain it is to mopey and angsty. I personally think that, like all well written stories, there are certain parts that are sad and a little agnsty, but in the end those moments of depression are overcome and dealt with. Even if they weren't, the rest of this series is well worth the few passages of angst, just because it's that good.

No reviews!? NOOOOO!

I read a review for this Otaku USA and really wanted to read it. Then, about a month later, it popped in the local Barnes and Nobles so of course I bought and devoured it!

not simple by Natsume Ono follows two men: One who makes the story and one who writes it. Even after reading it, I'm still not sure which one was which.

First of all, we have Ian. Ian is an Australian with a messed up family. His mother divorced his father and took him to England,even though she despised him, to get back his sister who was in jail at the ... time and who had done something unforgivable. His sister, Kylie, always spent as much time as she could with Ian for she loved him more than anyone else in the world. It was a shock for her when she got out jaill to find out her father and mother had split up and that Ian was in England with the mother who hated him. I took her a while to get to England and get Ian away from his alcoholic mother and by that time Ian was already scared. He then went back to Australia to live with his father, who didn't really care about his family at all, and made a promise with his sister (who was staying to take care of her mother) that he would see her again.

The main part of the book is about him trying to re-unite with his sister. He travels to Australia, to America, to England, back to America, all the while searching for the one person who ever cared for his existence.

The other main character is Jim, the homosexual reporter who wants to make Ian's life into a novel. He first meets Ian at an interview, way back when Ian did sprinting professionaly. He is fascinated by Ian's personality. He says that he is "a person unclouded by too much thought. someone who [is] simply themselves and nothing more... That's the type of person I [want] to be." He becomes Ian's only friend and learns to understand better than anyone else.

The story is tragic. There is no happy ending. No reassurance. Ian's life sucks. No if, and, or buts about it. But this seems to be a book where the story isn't the series of events, but the character who leads them. It's melodramatic and depressing but watching the character through it all, as he keeps coming back and moving forward is beautiful and hopeful. It simply breaks your heart watching this story unfold.

The art in this manga is very refined. It contrasts the stories complex and mature themes and characters by being incredibly simple and childish. You can tell, however, that the mangaka is incredibly experienced. The paneling is easy to read and flows well. Ono, despite the simple art, takes advantage of camera angles and textless panels in a very experienced and professional manner.

The only thing I can say against this manga is that the simple art makes it harder to read emotions, but it is a rare and minor irritation.

Overall, I think that this is a beautiful manga, that any lover of slice of life manga should read.


by the way, the scores i gave this manga where:
Story: 10
Art: 9
Character: 10
Enjoyment: 9 (because it's so freakin' sad!)
Overall: 10

At first this series annoyed me to hell. Not because I'd read it, mind you. But because every time I'm go to check for some freaking updates there would be Kuroshitsuji at the top of the list, taunting me and singing "na-na-na-na you don't read me!". The obvious solution would be to read it but I was stubborn and the title looked like a shounen which i was not in the mood for.

Finally I gave in and clicked the link on onemanga, which gave me the most misleading synopsis I'd ever read. It went:

"To what extent must a housekeeper do things to be acceptable? One ... of the noble families of England: Phantomhive's butler: Sebastian Michaels has got unquestionably perfect knowledge, manners, talent with materials, martial arts, et cetera: but is also able to serve a 12 year old master. Wearing a grey tailcoat, gracefully brewing the worlds strongest red tea, please read on to see how such a perfect butler copes with such a master..." (directly copy and pasted from onemanga, btw)

I thought "Oh! That sounds funny! A really happy manga!" HAHAHAHA! Yeah RIGHT! This thing ended up being one of the darkest, horrific, deep, and twisted mangas I've ever read! And I STILL loved it!

Even though my initial idea of the manga was totally misconceived I still found enjoyment of the highest degree.

What the story is really about is the pair, Sebastian (the perfect butler) and Ciel (the cold, calculating 12-year-old), living in the underworld of high society. Ciel is an orphan with a fortune, an eyepatch, and a deal with the demon Sebastian. In the manga we don't know the details of this deal (and you do in the anime but I don't trust animes) jut that Sebastian has to protect Ciel at all cost until a certain time at which point Sebastian gets Ciel's soul.

Of course, this is all rather heavy for a twelve-year-old (heck, at the time they made the deal, Ciel was 10!) but Ciel never appears to waver. He is strong, smart, cold, and far from merciful.
At least that's what he tries to be. As the story progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that Ciel is desperate to hide all emotion so as to protect himself from the world. His experiences hardened him and much of the series seems to be about him facing his own innocence and realizing his weaknesses.

But where Ciel is an open book, ready to read by anxious readers, Sebastian is closed off and a mystery. His constant smile and dark manor is menacing and you can't help but suspect he's only caring for Ciel for his tasty, tasty soul. But in the anime there are moments that suggest he may actually care for Ciel.

I would like to note at his time that this series is NOT a shounen ai/yaoi. Since the two main characters are a bishi and a shouta and they have a "unique relationship" it is assumed they are taking part in "inappropriate conduct" (aka they're joining NMBLA). I think this is disgusting. I can't believe people wish to think that. Why must all wholesome reltionships be ruined by people and their filthy minds

The relationship between these two is like a forced trust. Sebastian knows Ciel can't hurt him and Ciel knows Sebastian is bound by a sacred contract that can't be broken. Sebastian is the only person Ciel can trust unconditionally and since Sebastien is so strong he knows that if anyone even tries to cross him, they're dead. It's not love, just a partnership.Now that I'm done with that, I'd like to make note of the story. As opposed to most shoujos this series is divided into lots of mini arcs and stories which usually teach you something knew about these characters. They usually start with Ciel being told by the Queen to go do something for her. Then Ciel has to run off with Sebastian and do her bidding. These stories will usually start of with lots of funny, clever comments partnered with new characters to further the story. Then it plunges into some deep, dark plot line from whence are heroes may never return (they always do anyway).

In a lot of ways this manga reminds me of GodChild. Very dark and set in the same period. The only difference is I actually like the art in Kuroshitsuji. The detail is through the roof with high style, delicious sweets, lovely London town, and wonderful style to boot.

I hope you read this series and enjoy it as much as I do! ^_^

I wrote this review on my blog for the anime and manga, and i figured I'd post here:

At first this series annoyed me to hell. Not because I'd read it, mind you. But because every time I'm go to check for some freaking updates there would be Kuroshitsuji at the top of the list, taunting me and singing "na-na-na-na you don't read me!". The obvious solution would be to read it but I was stubborn and the title looked like a shounen which i was not in the mood for.

Finally I gave in and clicked the link on onemanga, which gave me the most misleading ... synopsis I'd ever read. It went:

"To what extent must a housekeeper do things to be acceptable? One of the noble families of England: Phantomhive's butler: Sebastian Michaels has got unquestionably perfect knowledge, manners, talent with materials, martial arts, et cetera: but is also able to serve a 12 year old master. Wearing a grey tailcoat, gracefully brewing the worlds strongest red tea, please read on to see how such a perfect butler copes with such a master..." (directly copy and pasted from onemanga, btw)

I thought "Oh! That sounds funny! A really happy manga!" HAHAHAHA! Yeah RIGHT! This thing ended up being one of the darkest, horrific, and twisted mangas I've ever read! And I STILL loved it!

Even though my initial idea of the manga was totally misconceived I still found enjoyment of the highest degree.

What the story is really about is the pair, Sebastian (the perfect butler) and Ciel (the cold, calculating 12-year-old), living in the underworld of high society. Ciel is an orphan with a fortune, an eyepatch, a noble rule, and a deal with the demon Sebastian. In the manga we don't know the details of this deal (and you do in the anime but I don't trust animes. They lie. A lot.) jut that Sebastian has to protect Ciel at all cost until a certain time at which point Sebastian gets Ciel's soul.

Of course, this is all rather heavy for a twelve-year-old (heck, at the time they made the deal, Ciel was 10!) but Ciel never appears to waver. He is strong, smart, cold, and far from merciful.
At least that's what he tries to be. As the story progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that Ciel is desperate to hide all emotion so as to protect himself from the world. His experiences hardened him and much of the series seems to be about him facing his own innocence and realizing his weaknesses.

But where Ciel is an open book, ready to read by anxious readers, Sebastian is closed off and a mystery. His constant smile and dark manor is menacing and you can't help but suspect he's only caring for Ciel for his tasty, tasty soul. But in the anime there are moments that suggest he may actually care for Ciel.

I would like to note at his time that this series is NOT a shounen ai/yaoi. Since the two main characters are a bishi and a shouta and they have a "unique relationship" it is assumed they are taking part in "inappropriate conduct" (aka they're joining NMBLA). I think this is disgusting. I can't believe people wish to think that. Why must wholesome reationships be tarnished with people's perverted minds?!

The relationship between these two is like a forced trust. Sebastian knows Ciel can't hurt him and Ciel knows Sebastian is bound by a sacred contract that can't be broken. Sebastian is the only person Ciel can trust unconditionally and since Sebastien is so strong he knows that if anyone even tries to cross him, they're dead. It's not love, just a partnership.

Now that I'm done with that, I'd like to make note of the story. As opposed to most shoujos, this series is divided into lots of mini arcs and stories which usually teach you something knew about the characters. They tend to start off with Ciel being told by the Queen to go do something for her. Then Ciel has to run off with Sebastian and do her bidding. These stories will usually start of with lots of funny, clever comments partnered with new characters to further the story. Then it plunges into some deep, dark plot line from whence are heroes may never return (they always do anyway).

In a lot of ways this manga reminds me of GodChild. Very dark and set in the same period. The only difference is I actually like the art in Kuroshitsuji. The detail is through the roof with high style, delicious sweets and lovely London town and when it comes to costumes, I've yet to see it's better.

This series was one I watched because I was bored, but after only a few episodes, it had become one of my all time favorites. It is a series that has literally been written "by fans for fans" and it is impossible not to connect with this series on a personal level.

Story:
The story has relatively simple set up. It starts out as the story of a shy otaku who is unable to admit to his own nerdy self. That is only the set up of he first episode. After that more characters are introduced and the club room, which has served as a retreat for ... this struggling fan, has become the center of all activity. The story spares no censorship as to what exactly the life of an otaku entails. There is hentai, cosplay, doujin, and, of course, anime discussion! All is revealed and it makes for a hilarious, touching, and easy going slice-of-life story.

Art:
The art is not extremly impressive. It has high quality and detail in the scenery and it adjust according to what is happening, but over all it's fairly average.

Character:
The characters in this series are simply amazing! It is clear very quickly that each of the characters in the club is a representative of some sort of otaku type, so we get to see a variety of problems and there various solutions. Even the otaku hater who, due to a series of misfortunes, has been made to join the club, becomes an interesting and fun character. I was actually incredibly impressed by the character introduced in the second season, but I think I will leave them to be discovered and enjoyed by you.

Enjoyment:
I gave enjoyment a 10. It's funny, cute, insightful, and interesting. I highly recomend this series, it's sequal and the manga!

I wrote this assuming you read the description!

I gave this series a 10 in almost every category (the category that I didn't was art, because it was admittedly unimpressive at the beginning, but it does improve). It is my favorite story of all time. It doesn't matter if you bring me novels, animes, comics, cartoons, movies, or anything else, because I'm sure this series will rein supreme.

From the outside it looks like your average shoujo series: cute, optimistic, orphan girl living in bishi heaven and knowing something secret about them. But it's not! Natsuki Takaya writes characters that really take flight into a life of ... they're own. No character is perfect (even miss-goody-two-shoes main character has a few dark secrets).
The "curse" that the family who's lap she's fallen into is under is no laughing matter. Essentially the curse is simply a social setting within the family, only that the members of this social circle turn into the members of the chinese zodiac (as well as the cat) when they are hugged or bumped into by a member of the opisite sex. As the series goes forward this seemingly silly curse becomes something of dark nature and you see that the people living under this curse have had to give up so much, including love, family, memories, and hope.
You see through the eyes of every character from the main characters deceased mother to the head of "Prince Yuki Fan Club". This continuous switching of perspective makes it impossible to hate any character completely for the mangaka always seems to be making you sympathize with them.

Yet the series stays lighthearted. It's sweet, cute and hilarious in the weirdest ways. If you give this series a try i can garuntee you'll never regret it!

I read Fujoshi Kanjo mostly because I'd just read Fujoshi Rumi, therefore I was expecting a similar plot: funny and exaggerated, with little emphasis on the romantic aspect.
So I was thrown off a bit by this manga which had a) a main character who wasn't stupid and/or average b) an actually romantic plot line that expressed the type of relationship that wasn't a "love at first sight" or a "you 'saved' me so I love you" but a simple "you looked like a fun nice person so I want to go out" and c) no love triangles, bullying, or depressing pasts.
Fujoshi Kanjo is ... a really laid back series for people who want the simple pleasure of watching a normal guy get himself into a romantic entanglement with a yaoi obsessed girl. Good for a lover of slice of life comedy.