Today Genshiken volume 6 enjoyed its American release, and it is very, very good. Character development is the name of the game in this volume, and it's even funnier than the rest of the series, if that is possible. I'm going to go through chapter by chapter, doing the first half tonight. I also took all the pictures used in this myself; it was with a camera so there is often some skew in the picture. I touched them up the best I could in Photoshop: forgive me!
Ohno's jealousy is so wonderful. We rarely get to see the tsuntsun side of Ohno, so this chapter was a real treat for me. Ohno is upset that Tanaka was hiding the fact that he made a ton of costumes for Ogiue and that they were all of the lolicons Ohno is too busty to cosplay. Of course, Ogiue thinks cosplay is perverted; however, Saki convinces her to try some on.
Ogiue doesn't accept her otaku self in this chapter, but she moves towards it. She also has amusing confrontations with every female character in the series, not only Saki and Ohno, but Sasahara's imouto as well.
Madarame and Saki have it out because Madarame ignored her in public, afraid he'd be brushed off as the otaku friend. Later, they have dinner together, Madarame finally has a proper conversation with her, and confronts his feelings of jealousy. It ends in a very slice-of-lifey manner of the two silently riding the train.
Ogiue insists she won't set foot inside the "abyss of sexual desperation" that is comicfest; however, disguised, she sneaks in only to be knocked down by Ohno's humongous breasts and discovered by the rest of the Genshiken with Yaoi doujinshi sprawled out in front of her. She is so embarassed she runs away, but this later leads to her accepting that she is an Otaku!
This is the chapter I've been waiting for. Ogiue finally accepts herself and is set up to become Sasahara's girlfriend as he kindly returns her glasses and offers to help her collect the spilled doujinshi.
Well that's the first half of this little summary / review. I suggest everyone interested in Genshiken to purchase it.
There are a few universal truths of School Rumble: Tenma, Harima, and Hanai are idiots, Karasuma is an alien, and Lala Gonzales is the best character. Many don't share in this belief of mine, and the recent character popularity poll doesn't reflect it either; however, this doesn't make it any less true. Lala's coarse nature ensures that she is one of the most hillarious characters, but she also has a touching backstory. Furthermore, Lala is undeniably cute and sexy, a hard combination to come by. I would say she's a tsunderekko, but that is so cliche. Ichi-Jou~!
This is all well and good and true; however, Lala ranked a mere #21 in the recent popularity poll. Here's the list:
- Yakumo
- Eri
- Harima
- Tenma
- Mikoto
- Ichijou
- Sara
- Itoko
- Akira
- Asou
- The Nurse
- Sagano Megumi
- Iori
- Napoleon
- Hanai
- Karasuma
- Imadori
- Saeko
- Harry Makenzie
- Nakamura
- Lala Gonzales
Some other notable mentions are 27. Satsuki, 37. Madoka, and 39. Harima Shouji & Pyotr.
I am happy that Yakumo placed high, although Tenma's placement near the top brings me back down. Clearly this list is absurd; Lala's placement is unforgivable! Here is the correct version.
- Lala
- Yakumo
- Satsuki
- Eri
- Akira
- Ichijou
- Harima
- Imadori
- Pyotr
- Iori & Napoleon
I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so this isn't much of a post. If it was on Wikipedia, it'd be a stub. Perhaps I'll have something better tomorrow.
Of the things to know about 4chan, the most important to keep in mind is that it is anonymous. This anonymity breeds trolling, flamewar, and cruelty. Coincidentally it's also a lot of fun. I took note of a thread a few days ago; the request was simple enough: What's the title of this anime?
The Results
- Immoral Sisters
- It's either Azumanga Daioh or Bible Black. I'm pretty sure it's Bible Black, though.
- Immoral Sisters, if you were looking for a serious answer
- Amazing Danish
I'm sure there were lots of other good ones, but Iaziness prevents me from finding the thread again. Anyways, considering the most popular boards on 4chan are hentai related, I shouldn't be surprised at the high amount of hentai titles posted. Oh, and someone did give a real answer, but he's lame.
Another comparison between anime and film: I'm a one trick pony. Let's begin with Ayu.
The radical difference is too heartbreaking to even comment on, so let's move on to the other love interest, Hagu.
I don't think I can judge Morita's actor until I actually see the movie. If he's silly enough, he'll pass.
Before I begin, the source of the top 10 manga based on sales (in Japan) is ComiPress.
Top 10 Manga this Week Based on Sales
- Honey and Clover vol.9
- One Piece vol.42
- XXXHOLiC vol.9
- Death Note vol.12 (end)
- Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE vol.15
- Lovely Complex vol.14
- Aria vol.9
- Fist Of The Blue Sky vol.15
- The Wallflower vol.16
- Gintama vol.13
Top 10 8 Manga this Week Month (from the scanslation community) Based on Otaku
I was wondering where the fanservice show this season was, and since I didn't really like Amaenaideyo, I had high hopes when I started this. This won't be a long summary, for that has already been written. Basically our cute protagonist Kazuki has been waiting for ten years to meet her childhood love Yuuji, but he has become a pervert, souring their reunion. Tonagura! has about everyone one could ask for in an ecchi anime; in the first couple of minutes alone we see an apron (with a giant bow!), school swimsuits, and the yuri scene depicted above. The character designs are great, and panty shots are not pictured, but they are plentiful.
I like Kazuki's onee-san; She's an "Ara" character and brings the truth behind Kazuki's constant denial of feelings to the surface, causing her to blush a lot which is just too cute.
While stoic lolis (or lolis period) are in vogue right now, this makes two series where gothlolis have guns. It's almost too much for one man to ask. Marie hides hers inside a teddy bear; think of her as Nagato Yuki with a cute hat and an automatic rifle.
Disregarding arguments of whether or not it's possible to make a good movie (or anime) of Death Note, I think everyone can agree that the guy playing L is simply fantastic.
This post is long and sad but ultimately entertaining. And yes, these are ranked from best to worst.
- Honey and Clover II
How could this not be at the top of my list? The second season is looking to be every bit as good as the first was. Even Yamazaki gives it a thumbs up. - Ouran High School Host Club
Number two, and showcasing my love for shoujo style shows is Ouran. This one has everything: bishounen, cross-dressing, wonderful humor, and Nekozawa. - Mushishi
Slow paced and emotional, this is simply beautiful. Plus, Ginko is the best character ever. - School Rumble 2nd Semester
Another sequel to an insanely popular show, and I eat it up. - Coyote Ragtime Show
The main enemies are fighting gothlolis. I don't know if there is anything more I can say about this one. - Zero no Tsukaima
The concept of a human being summoned as a mage's familiar is an interesting one for a love comedy. Also, the fanservice isn't bad, and one guy has a diglet named Belldandy for his familiar. Okay, so maybe it's a mole cricket, but I can dream can't I? - .hack//Roots
Well, It's not better than Sign, but it's a helluva lot better than Dusk. The episodes seem to range from great to pointless. - Sugar Sugar Rune
As this one is meant for little girls, it's one of my guilty pleasures. - Muteki Kanban Musume
Perhaps a bit too much slapstick, but I'll watch it anyways for now. - Le Chevalier D'Eon
I'm not so sure on this yet, but I have plenty of time to think on it since the next episode doesn't air for a month.
Well, that's the end of a very long list. I might have to trim it down when school starts back. There are a couple of new shows I have yet to watch: Welcome to the NHK, Kirarin Revolution, Binbou Shimai Monogatari, Bokura Ga Ita, and the new Powerpuff Girls anime. I'm witholding judgement on those for the time being. Shows I most definitely will not watch include Tsuyokiss, and pretty much just Tsuyokiss.
I've been watching the Byousoku 5 Centimeter (5 Centimeters per Second) trailer over and over and over. Being directed by Makoto Shinkai, the same gentleman who did The Place Promised in Our Early Days and Hoshi no Koe, 2007 can't come soon enough.
Makoto Shinkai became well known when he created Hoshi no Koe, a short science fiction anime film about a couple separated by a war who send messages with increasingly long delays across the void of space. What was unusual about this was that he did it all by himself using his home computer, yet the visuals and storytelling were still amazing. The original voices were even done by him and his wife. This is all from memory, so I might be a little wrong.
Regardless, I've spent a lot of time crawling the official webpage. One thing I cannot recommend enough is to download the movie in high resolution (1280x720 24.3MB). The site also offers wallpapers and screenshots.
