Hello!
Welcome to The Anime & Manga Review!
It has been my dream to create a world on TheO where users can go for anime and manga reviews and finally here it is! I plan to make this world an active, exciting and helpful place for learning about and finding entertaining manga and anime to read/watch.
So this manga… It possibly has the silliest name of any manga I’ve read… (except maybe Banana Bread Pudding…) And it has, if possible, almost as strange a premise.
Ok now bear with me here cause the plot is gonna lose you for a second but this is definitely a series worth a gander. (or two)
So ok this is how it starts, a man named Mr. Fredward (who despite this old man name is a total Bishounen hottie) puts out an ad looking for a housekeeper, and who answers this ad? A talking duck named Rosemary. (Don’t leave me yet!) So long story short, he hires the duck and the story begins. Now instead of being what many of you are probably imaging, this series is not a comedy romp through the happy land of a man and his duck. This is a very intense and surprisingly heart felt manga from the early 90s.
This manga really caught my attention shortly before the main plot started with a well balance plot about animal cruelty from the point of view of Rosemary. It also contains some exciting stories with interesting supernatural twists!
From there the main story arch begins! (Fairly late in the story but its all good! Lol) What is that? Well Fredward ran away from home as a child and lived on the streets in a kind of gang. He visits an old friend from that time and discovers the older boy who protected him, and who he respected, has died from a drug overdose. He also discovers that this friend had a child. Feeling indebted to his friend he begins a quest to search for the boy to make sure that he is ok being taken care of and happy.
Trust me! This is a very bittersweet story that will warm and break your heart! It takes on some extremely difficult topics of the 90s and beyond… SPOILERS (Aids, being homeless, suicide, family etc.) On top of that the 90s shoujo art style is very pretty and nothing makes me smile like Rosemary’s enduring personality!
You would like this if you are a shoujo, josei, or drama fan.
If you’re looking for a man and duck comedy I’m afraid you’ll have to search a little longer. Give it a try its quite a pleasant surprise!
Hi all!
I just wasn’t sure what to talk about this week… I had a few series in the line of “I want to review this so people read them” list but a lot of them are heavier dramas and I need to make sure I have fun things on this world too!
So I decided why not share some of the weirder things I’ve seen in manga?
This week has been a busy week as far as me finding… unusual manga moments, so why not share!
Not in any particular order here are some of the weirder things I’ve seen this week!
Enjoy!
1. The comedian ghost ballerina
The above description says it all I think… See the pic at the bottom of the page… and all will become clear! From the series Kyoukai no Rinne 2. Einstein in manga form…
Einstein… in a manga… a shoujo fantasy manga… The series (no lie) starts off with him giving two mysterious pills to two young boys… and then he dies in the hospital. (The pills let the boys live forever and age sloooowly. Get yur mind outta the gutter! Lol) From the manga Global Garden. 3. Yoda in a panda suit
His name is yoda… he wears a panda suit. He can also fly. Need I say more? From the series Tokyo ESP 4. Donyatsu the donut cat
It’s a donut cat living in a post apocalyptic world. Seriously a donut cat… he’s made of donut! He meets a bagel cat! They have to survive in a brutal worls after all humans have died out… its a comedy. From Donyatsu. 5. A very troubled Centaur…
It’s about a troubled centaur. It’s an adorable and weird slice of life manga that takes place in an interesting alternate reality. It also answers all the questions you didn’t know you had about how a centaur would: get dressed, used the restroom, sleep, get upstairs and much much more! Including fanservice… it is a sienen after all.
From Centaur No Naymi. (Or Woes of the Centaur)
Hello!
Today’s manga series is Tista! A psychological, action, drama and one of my favorites! When I was browsing through series trying to figure out what I should share with you this week, I came across an old top ten list of mine and Tista was number 8 on my list. “Oooooh! I forgot how much I like this one!” I thought and promptly reread it so I could talk about it properly.
Oh man! This is a great short series! While it is only 9 chapters long and is a “young assassin associated with the church” manga it is really really good! The plot follows Tista a college student/assassin who inadvertently becomes friends with a senior at her school who dreams of becoming a big time artist.
Where this series sets itself apart from some others in its genre is in how the mind of Tista is show in the series. What she’s thinking and feeling and seeing is all very cleverly (And coolly!) shown through visual metaphor and literal hallucinations. It’s really fun to read and watch this character just struggle with morals and her feelings of revenge mixed with guilt and obligation. (Trust me its awesome!)
The artwork is nice too and filled with dark thick lines and moody shading. ^-^
This is just such a cool series! And it’s nice to see a female killer with practical clothes! Lol This series is emotional and hard hitting without being a downer and I highly recommend giving it a try!
Sorry this review is short, but I don’t want to give spoilers as it is a good read!
Also thank you once again for the views!
Got something you want me to review?
Leave me a comment or pm me!
I shall watch or read the series and before you know it you’ll have someone to talk to about that obscure thing you love!
Wow! Thank you all so much!
Thanks to your support this world is right on the brink of 2000 views! *bows* I know I’m getting redundant but… thank you for helping me keep this world running!
Tell you what when we make it to 5000 views I’ll do something ultra special!
Ok to the point! A little mini article to celebrate!
Manga VS Anime
Which do you prefer?!
You just heard about that new good series, there’s an anime for it and there’s a manga for it! Which do you decide to check out?
I know a lot of us turn to the internet or a friend to tell us which is better, but lets face it, there are always people who vote on either side and in the end you have to make to choice yourself.
So is it manga or anime?
Lets look at some pros and cons of each.
Anime
PROS
It’s awesome to see our favorite characters moving.
Color! Its sooo much fun!
CONS
Takes a long time to watch
Isn’t always true to the manga (may not apply depending)
The episodes may release slow.
Those rehashes at the beginning reminding us what happened (I just don’t like those…)
Manga
PROS
Usually by the time there’s an anime adaptation there’s quite a few chapters released! (Binge reading time!)
More detail, the story has more time to be fleshed out
Faster to read than to watch. (you can read that DBZ battle in less than an hour to the 3 or 4 in anime for example)
CONS
It doesn’t move or talk… and that’s fun in anime
More reading (I don’t mind it but hey we all get tired during those really wordy chapters when its all talk and explaining)
Again possible slow chapter release
So which do I prefer?
I’m a manga reader. I read a (probably) unhealthy amount. (I read on average a series or so a week, plus I keep up with weekly updates) >.> I am such a terrible terrible geek… *cough* To the point! Manga to me tends to be better than the anime, as it tends to be more detailed. Of course there are a handful of series to which I would say skip the manga, but those tend to be series that are manga adaptations of the anime or and anime and a manga based off the same light novel. For instance, the Darker than Black manga…. (at least the first one) just isn’t that good, or at least nowhere near the awesomeness of the first season of the anime.
There are also series where I feel both have merit in one area or another.
Now mind you! I still go all google eyed when my favorites get the anime treatment!
The anime’s out! The manga is available!
Which do you grab?
~Tsu
PS. There will still be a regular review this week. No idea what it will be yet… I should get on that…
Well as I’ve mentioned on some other posts I’ve made, I took a trip to a near by bookstore that gets Japanese imports and right around the corner is an Asian video store that has anime, dramas and just about everything else. (Including a rather large selection of plushies) And I saw it! Director Makoto Shinkai’s latest work, The Garden of Words! (The same director as of The Children Who Chase Lost Voices, which I reviewed several months ago. Check it out!)
Not surprisingly his work is once again gorgeous! I knew I was in for a treat when the salesman got really excited while I was holding it and came up to me and said “That’s my absolute favorite. It is so beautiful.” Nice to know anime can still bring people together lol.
Oh man! Even having seen his work before I was utterly blown away by the animation! I actually paused it in several places to make sure it wasn’t actually live action! (No lie I really did that)
While this movie is worth watching for the animation alone, I really enjoyed the plot as well. It’s about a high school boy who ditches school one mourning to enjoy the rain and work on his shoe designs. (He wants to design shoes for a living) He goes to his favorite spot near a pond and finds a woman already sitting there. Not to be deterred, he sits down anyway and sketches. He soon finds himself curious about her afternoon beer drinking and chocolate eating habits and before you know it, they begin to talk to one another.
Unlike Children Who Chase Lost Voices, a kids/family movie, I feel like this film was aimed at an older audience. Not because it’s got mature action or anything like that, if anything it is a very tame PG movie, but because the subject matter is more about real life. The story is very simple but has that “yeah this could really happen” vibe that makes you think of similar things that may have happened to you. And that realism is a rare thing to see in any film.
Seriously watch this, its only 46 minutes and is lovely!
While my personal favorite is still Lost Voices, this movie was still just wow!
