Kare Kano - the manga

Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (His and Her Circumstance or Kare Kano) is a slice of life high school romance series by Masami Tsuda.  The manga ran from 1995 to 2005 and is 102 chapters long.

    Yukino Miyazawa was the top student in school until her first year in high school where she was bested by perfect student Souichiro Arima.  Yukino works hard to be a model student.  She finely crafted an outward appearance that brings her nothing but adoration and respect.  While in reality she is a bit shallow and doesn’t have any real relationships with people outside of her energetic family.  When Arima out does her in every way she is determined to destroy him so she can return to the top.  In a rare slip of concentration she reveals her true self to Arima.  Instead of exposing her layers of lies to the student body he black mails her to do his homework so he can concentrate more on extracurricular activities.  When Yukino has had enough she tells him off at which point he confesses his love for her.  After rejecting his advances at first she realizes that she has fallen for her rival and they begin dating.  Yukino learns that Arima is also living a fabricated existence when it comes to everyone around him.  They decide to be true to themselves and honest with the world around them as they find a connection with each other they have never experienced with anyone else.

    While the problems between them seem to have cleared up, outside forces start to move against them one after another.  Jealousies and rivalries spring up, trying to thwart their pursuit of happiness.  In the efforts to overcome their challenges they grow closer and more distant with each other.  Yukino grows more from the experiences than Arima and when his dark and troubling past starts to come back his future of happiness seems unreachable.  Can Arima come to terms with his upbringing and will his own feelings and secrets destroy the only person he has ever had any connection with?

    After watching and loving the anime adaptation from the end of the 90’s I have finally read the manga…and man am I happy I did.  While I love the anime and think it does a great job of translating this manga its only half of the story.  The anime came out when the manga was half written, so it only deals with what was published at that time.  The anime ended well but it left you with an impression far different than the manga leaves you with.  The focus of the anime also changes the viewpoint of the story.  You really feel that it deals with Yukino as the main character.  But upon reading the entire manga, Arima is the real many character of the story, especially the second half.  It really shows his development as he tackles his past and tries to figure out his future, but much of that story is told from other people’s perspectives.  As stated, the first half is pretty much exactly what is done in the anime. There are a few issues at that point that break off from the Arima story and flesh out the side characters while jumping the timeline ahead a year and a half.  The second half zeros in on the final year of high school and deals pretty much solely with Arima; his past, present and future.  There was always a layer of comedy in the anime and it shows up here and there in the manga but with the serious and dark nature of the second half this really is a dramatic romance.

     There are some problems I have with the manga though.  The artwork can get a bit…odd.  I don’t have a big problem with the character designs, but at some points it was hard to figure out who was talking and who was who as many of the female characters look very similar.  This story does deal with some pretty harsh slices of reality like rejection, child abuse, suicide and hatred.  But at the same time all of these characters are pretty fortunate in life; regardless of some of the horrible childhoods.  You have the son of a wealthy and powerful medical family who is one of the smartest students in the nation.  You have a girl who comes from an incredibly loving family and is living her life to the fullest, with the world completely open to her.  You have a member of a successful rock band; a successful author, etc, etc.  Everyone really lives pretty blessed lives…not withstanding the pain they feel.  Fortunately the pain they do suffer from really never stems from being a spoiled brat.  Most of the characters problems stem from social/self acceptance and loneliness.  The real focus of the story is how Arima and those around him make the transition from childhood to adulthood and the pains associated with every ones personalities and past problems. 

    I am really happy I finally read the manga, the anime is one of my favorites and the manga just made the story so much better.  I don’t think I will reread it as I already know what is going on and can’t see it being repeatable.  I will probably re-watch the anime at some point down the road though.  This is a great romantic series but doesn’t focus on the romance very heavily.  I highly recommend this series to fans of romances.  But usually this one is one every ones list anyways!  It would be really nice is the manga-ka would release a follow up series…the last chapter of Kare Kano will explain what kind of follow up I am talking about.

    The entire thing is available in North America as is the anime.  So pick it up and enjoy!

Mokuyobi Post - Bastard!

Bastard! Is a 6 episode OVA fantasy series based on the manga of the same name with a peculiar theme...80's metal bands.

    Dark Schnider is a mage who was banished into the body of a young boy by his allies after he helped them save the world and then tried to take it over himself.  He is brought back to the world to fight another evil about to be unleashed.  He must gather his allies to win the battle with everyone worried that he will continue his own goals of world conquest.

    This is an odd ball fantasy action series...odd in it's shtick.  Many of the character and spell names uttered in the series are plays on 80's heavy metal bands.  As I am not a fan of fantasy series this its only quality, sheer comedy.  Other then that this is a by the book fantasy story with lots of demonic monsters straight from Final Fantasy and plenty of action sequences full of blood and power.  to make it even worse the official release by VIZ in North America did not clear licensing rights to use some of the band names so they neuter about half of the series entertainment factor.  While I urge the support of licensed titles, this one is far better off being consumed in its fansub form,

Koizora: Setsunai Koi Monogatari

Koizora: A Sad Love Story is a romance manga based on a digitally released novel written by the enigmatic Mika.  The manga adaptation was done by Ibuki Haneda.  The events of the story are supposed to be either autobiographical or biographical.  In the end it is really unknown how much of the story is based on real events.  The manga was released in Japan between 2007 and 2009.

    Mika Tahara is a first year high school student who is self conscious about her looks and yearns for nothing more than to experience love and grow into an adult.  She ends up getting the unwanted attention of a flashy boy by the name of Nozomu who Mika’s new/best friend Aya has a crush on.  Over the summer break Nozomu drunkenly calls Mika to talk but his friend Hiroki Sakurai takes the phone and apologizes to Mika.  Uncertain as to why, Mika finds that she can trust and confide in the voice on the other end of the phone.  This first encounter turns into a continuing phone based relationship where Mika and Hiro open their hearts to each other.  The return to school means the two will meet each other in person for the first time.  Mika is surprised and concerned that the person she feels so comfortable with is a boy in her grade who has the reputation of a delinquent and gang member.  Hiro sensing her unease persuades her that it’s really him and that she can trust him.  Soon after they begin dating but Hiro’s ex-girl friend exacts revenge on Mika.  Her life starts down a long and painful spiral of misery and sadness as she tries to search for happiness.

    As the subtitle suggests this is a sad love story.  I find it would be impossible for anyone to read through the last few chapters without getting choked up.  I tend to enjoy series with depressing stories over happy go lucky ones because I feel these are more grounded in reality.  Whether or not all of the events in this story are true, it is based in reality.  People do live and die through similar experiences.  If the events are true and are based on the experiences of one person, perhaps not the timing of them or every last detail as laid down in the manga, my heart goes out that person for how much they have suffered.  This is a sobering tale of the dangers people face in life and the act of growing as a person.  While I normally moan about how most anime/manga gloss over hard reality this story grabs it by the balls and doesn’t let go.  It faces head on subjects like rape, drug abuse, suicide, abortion and the fragility of life.  At times it did get a little too religious for me, but that’s just the godless atheist in me.  It felt a little preachy to me at some points but I got over that.  The story is fascinating, painful to read and worth doing so.  It follows about six years of Mika's life, sometimes skipping large sections of time and other times focusing on day to day incidents.  The story really seems to be split between Mik'as time in high school and her time in College, both parts consuming about the same amount of the story.  The weak point of the manga is the art, no disrespect to the manga-ka but her style isn’t to my liking.  It actually reminded me slightly of a cross between Ai Yazawa (NANA) and Yumi Unita (Usagi Drop).  Not a lot of detail in many of the panels, some of which only contain a character and a white background.  But, in many ways the stark and simplistic style presented by the manga-ka flowed with the feel of the story.  You can tell she put her entire heart into retelling this tale.

    This is a very dramatic and sad story, it’s not for everyone.  I think that fans of series like NANA and Usagi Drop (especially the 2^nd half of that story) would read this manga.  The novels were incredibly popular in Japan when they came out in 2005.  Soon after a movie and a 6 episode TV drama were released to mass approval.  Nothing for the story is commercially licensed in North America though.  While this was an incredibly popular story I don’t think it will ever be animated.  That would have happened by now if it was ever seriously considered.  There is also no word on any format of the story being released in North America.

Mokuyobi Post - Gunsmith Cats

Gunsmith Cats is a 3 part action OAV and is based on the manga of the same name by Kenichi Sonoda.  The OAV's were released between 1995 and 1996.

    The Cats are two spunky gun nut, muscle car driving women who run a specialized firearm store on the mean streets of Chicago as well as moonlighting as bounty hunters.  Rally is the gunsmith and May is the explosives expert.  They end up getting wrangled into investigating a criminal racket via a shifty ATF agent and have to take their skills to the underbelly of the city.

    As with everything out of the 90's this is dated.  Whats interesting with this series is the attention to detail put into the weapons, vehicles and settings.  That said, GSC hold a place in my fandom heart.  It was a spin off of Sonoda's failed one-shot OAV Riding Bean.  GCS found a modest amount of success in North America and was a flagship title for ADV at that time.  This is a fan service story of cute and spunky girls with huge guns and plenty of ass to kick.  While old and dated this shot OAV series can still be enjoyed...from a time when anime was quite a different landscape.  It may be due to my age and nostalgia but it was a time when some fun stuff was coming out.

    This has been available in North America almost as long as it has been available in Japan.  The dub is horrible, so skip it.  The DVD is readily available.

GE Good Ending

GE Good Ending is a slice of life, shonen romance manga by Kei Sasuga.  The series spans 156 issues and was published in Japan between 2009 and 2012.

    Seiji Utsumi is a second year high school student who has a secret crush on the captain of the schools tennis club, Shou Ikatani.  He is discovered secretly watching practice one day by club member Yuki Kurokawa.  Instead of exposing him, Yuki tells him shes going to make his dream of dating their senpai reality.  Her first stop is by making him join the club.  When Seiji seems to be more comfortable being in contact with his crush, Yuki forces him to take Shou on a date and then confess to her.  When he is turned down Yuki helps nurse Seiji from the land of despair.  With all the time spent together and the weakness in his heart, Seiji starts to fall for Yuki.  After some reluctance she agrees to date him, but a secret from her past haunts their relationship.  Seiji's previous feelings for Shou, who has also started to experience heartbreak, complicate the tenuous relationship even further.  Can Seiji figure out what he has to do to prevent loosing the girl he keeps falling deeper in love with or will his awkwardness and confusion cause himself and those around him nothing but pain?

    This is a pretty typical shounen high school romance.  Seiji isn't much on anyone's radar and he whiles away his days with his small group of friends.  Much of the plot devices used stem from inadequacy in teen romance, misunderstandings and the difficulties of being children while trying to become adults.  It reminded me heavily of Suzuka, for more than just the sports sub-theme.  While not a harem title there does develop a list of women who enter Seiji's life and tend to cause issues with him accomplishing his goals.  Seiji though, does not fall much into the typical pervert character archetpye.  There was a fair amount of fanservice, but unlike many similar titles not much of it seemed out of place.   Some of it was there for comedic purposes instead of fap material.  At times the road blocks thrown in front of Seiji were a bit frustrating and I am sure if I had read this series on a weekly basis some of the story arcs would have really pissed me off, unneeded story to stretch the title out longer than it needed to be.  While the series wouldn't be hurt by trimming some of these small arcs out they didn't adversely affect the overall feel of the story.  Honestly, this is the best shounen romance manga I have read and I really enjoyed most of it.  My biggest complaint would be the arc before the climax of the story, it seemed a bit out of place and took the series in a direction that seemed wrong.  However, the way it tied into the ending made it less out of place, so it worked out in the end.  This series also seemed to be tied more to reality than many others, dealing with the way people really act and behave.  Many times shounen romances take things a bit...dramatically and frequently use things that wouldn't normally happen.  There are some unrealistic things in this story, like a pretty casual lack of parental concern across the board.  The series does touch on some real and important items which I always like seeing in this large world of fantasy.  Subjects as self image issues, depression, suicide and the always present molestation problem in Japan.  I like seeing these dips into hard reality.  Too much of manga and anime trying to gloss over the darker aspects of society in Japan and I always welcome their inclusion into a story.  Too many people outside of Japan can get wrapped up in this false idolized land where the only problems people face are if the school sells out of melon bread or missing the last train home.  Japan is the same as anywhere else and the people who life there are the same as anyone else.  We all share similar experiences in life and can relate to them across the board, so its great to see that laid bare.

    All in all I really did enjoy this series and would like to see it animated, if done properly.  Given that it recently ended there is a glimmer of hope it could be animated...one can only hope.  As of now though, it is not licensed in North America, but is being released in France.

FLCL

FLCL (Furi Kuri) is a 6 episode sci-fi, action, comedy by the minds at Gainax.  The series came out in Japan originally in 2000 and aird in North America in 2003 on Cartoon Network

    Naota Nadaba is a sullen 5th grader living in a miserable town occupied by a mysterious factory.  His older brother moved to America to play baseball and his perverted father and grandfather run a bakery.  Naota is secretly 'dating' his older brothers delinquent high school girlfriend Mamimi Samejima.  His life is uneventful and dull until one day a crazed woman runs into him with her scooter, then slugs him in the head with a bass guitar.  When a horn starts to grow on his head the crazy woman, calling herself Haruko Haruharu, moves into his family home and pretends to be their house keeper.  Trying to hide the horn and the woman Naota's life becomes more miserable than before.  His situation goes from bad to worse when the horn grows out of his skull and into a robot.  Haruko battles the robot, defeating it but that's only the start...

    I watched this series when it aired on TV in America, it only mildly sparked any interest.  I thought I would watch it again and do a proper review after all these years.  I still have my reservations with this odd ball title.  The constant J-Rock in the background is still annoying but I can still appreciate the scatter brained antics of the show.  As a whole the series is OK, it's unique, or was until Gurren Lagann showed up.  That's to be expected since its from some of the same people and the series has now been trumped again by Kill la Kill.  As with pretty much everything Gainax, the animation for FLCL is better than most of the anime that came out when it did.  Even today it looks good.  The characters are fun, the story is interested but some aspects are confusing until the end when things are explained.  Another interesting note is with the voice acting, it's not in the typical professional style/fashion found in anime.  The voices are sometimes odd and over dramatic but there is a more natural quality to them, as if they were not done by professional seiyu, maybe just Gainax staffers (which isn't the case).

    Either way, FLCL isn't much my cup of tea and like it's brethren series' (Gurren and Kill) I respect the quality of the work and its creators.  So, if you like Kill la Kill, Gurren Lagann, Panti & Stocking with Garter Belt or Puni Puni Poemy you have most likely seen and live this series.  It has been available for a long time in North America on DVD and Blu-Ray in both sub and dub formats.

A Place Promised in Our Early Days

A Place Promised in Our Early Days is a slice of life, sci-fi, romance by Makoto Shinkai.  This was his first theatrical release and originally played in Japan in 2004.

    In an alternate universe, Japan has been split into a Northern and Southern faction, constantly at a state of war readiness.  On the northern most edge of the Southern faction, Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa are 3^rd years middle school students who are secretly building an aircraft to fly them to a mysterious tower located across the straights from their home in the Northern territory.  A classmate, and love interest for Hiroki, Sayuri Sawatari becomes interested in their project and they all promise to fly together to see the tower when the plane is finished.  Before they can do that Sayuri disappears and the two friends lose interest in their goal when Hiroki transfers away for high school.  Three years later, Sayuri’s location is still unknown, Hiroki and Takuya are still separated and the factions are on the brink of war.  Something urges Takuya to find his lost love and fulfill the promise to visit the tower.

    This movie was a little disappointing to me.  It wasn’t bad but I have built up such a high expectation for Shinkai’s work that it fell a bit flat.  I really feel this would have been better as a series of episodes, either TV or OAV, than as a movie.  There is quite a lot going on in the world of this movie that seems to be glossed over and only modestly developed.  So much needed to be explained that I don’t feel the characters were developed very well.  I really didn’t have any care for any of the main characters and whether or not they met their goals.  By the end of it I was more interested to see what was going to happen than wishing for any sort of personal outcome.  The animation also fell a little flat for me, at least in the character details.  The backgrounds are still pretty good.  Shinkai has a love for beautifully detailed scenery.  Something about the detail in the characters seemed shabby though and was disappointing.  That being said, this isn’t a bad movie, just less than I expected from one of my favorite directors.  It’s well written, the concepts are interesting, even if parts of it feel like an homage to or theft of Evangelion, but it just falls a little flat in the feeling department.  It really should have been made into a short series with 5 or so episodes in which to really develop the world and the characters more.

    This movie was licensed and released in North America pretty quickly.  The DVD’s are still around but are apparently out of print and may cost a bit more than one would want to spend on it.  It does come bundled with Shinkai’s almost entirely self made, Voices of a Distant Star OAV, which is fantastic and may be worth it alone.

Yotsuba&!

Yotsuba&! (Yotsuba to!) Is an ongoing comedic slice of life manga by Kiyohiko Azuma who also created Azumanga Daioh.  The series began in 2003 and is published in ASCII Media Works.

    Five year old Yotsuba Koiwa and her father moved from the countryside to a city.  The interesting and unique Yotsuba is about to experience a world she is unfamiliar with. She quickly becomes friends with the family living next door who have 3 daughters of varying ages.  Yotsuba's father works at home as a translator but the curious girl continues to invite herself to her neighbors home, much to their delight.  The series shows the daily adventures of the odd girl and those around her as she explores the world and learns new things, many of which someone her age would already be familiar with.

    This is a really entertaining manga.  Very innocent, enjoyable and funny.  I have kids, so I can completely relate to the dumb shit Yotsuba does and the thought processes she uses.  Her father adopted her and they hint at her origins being from a foreign country, but so far have not explained how he ended up adopting her and where shes from.  The cast of characters are entertaining and memorable, especially the rivalry between Yotsuba and one of her dads friends.  This is very slice of life and the characters are larger than life just like in Azumanga Daoih.  Unfortunately it is released monthly and Azuma-sensei refuses to allow it to be animated.  Fortunately most of the tankobon are available in North America, licensed by Yen Press.  If you loved Azumanga Daioh this is a must, if you are a fan of funny slice of life stories add this to your list as well!

Mokuyobi Post - Guyver

Guyver is a 12 part action horror OAV based on the manga The Bio Boosted Armor Guyver.  The series was released in the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s.

    Sho Fukamachi finds an alien artifact that is a weapon owned by the evil Chrono's Corporation.  The artifact, the Guyver, merges with Sho, giving him unimaginable power.  He must now fight against Chrono's Corporation who want their prized property back.  He must battle legions of genetically modified monsters to protect himself and everyone around him.

    This is an anime that is a direct descendant of the old live action kids TV shows from the 70's like Ultraman.  It is my MOST hated anime...I seriously absolutely despise this entire franchise.  Being from the late 80's and early 90's the animation is horrible, let alone the annoying story concept and well, everything.  Fuck this show...and fuck the fact the manga is STILL being made!!

    This series has come and gone in licensing land in North America.  A number of years ago it saw a small TV reboot in Japan and I don't know or care if it ever got picked up.  Ignore this series if you know whats good for you.

Kids on the Slope

Kids on the Slope (Sakamachi no Apollon) is a 12 episode drama that adds in a nice Jazz element to it.   The series aired in Japan in the spring of 2012 and is based on the manga of the same name by Yuki Kodama

    Japan in the 1960’s, Kaoru Nishimi has been dumped on his aunt and uncle in Kyushu while his dad is away working.  Kaoru is a gifted student and trained classical pianist.  He is also the heir apparent of his families estate.  Even though the world is at his finger tips Kaoru leads a lonely and dejected life.  Moving all the time has not allowed him to become close to anyone and his father is frequently away for long periods of time.  On the first day at his new school he gains the attention of the schools worst student, Sentaro Kawabuchi, who immediately takes a liking to the fearless attitude Kaoru exudes.  Seeing this connection the class rep and childhood friend of Sentaro, Ritsuko Mukae, encourages Kaoru to become friends with the shunned delinquent.  They find a common thread with music.  Sentaro forces Kaoru to break out of his proper shell and explore the world of jazz music with him.  As the three friends go through high school together they experience the normal problems adolescent kids go through.

  This was a pretty well done coming of age story.  It reminded me of a more mature Nodame Cantible.  The themes explored in the story are isolation, love, friendship and trying to find your place in the world.  The series is relatively serious but not overly dramatic, there are no typical high school romance themes and no fanservice.  The animation style is a bit plain, but it grows on you and ends up fitting well with the story.   This series even deals with issues of racism and prejudice, not just with Japanese people and their views on foreigners but on foreign prejudices as well.  In the end I liked the series, not the least because of the fun jazz tunes through out.  It is a well told story with likeable characters and remains constantly in the realm of reality.  The series also seems to be sponsored by Yamaha.

   This is a show that fans of realistic and serious dramas will be happy with.  You may even enjoy it if you liked Nodame Cantabile, even though there is little humor.  It is available streaming through Crunchyroll and is on DVD in North America.  Check it out and get a light lesson in 60s jazz greats and life in post war Japan.