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.
Towa no Quan
Sometimes seen as Towa no Quan and Towano Quan
Towano Quan is a series of 6, 45 minute (Time wise it works about to be the same as a 12 episode anime) movies about a group of humans with supernatural ester (they're psychic) abilities. They are hiding out from a secret organization that is hunting them down, capturing some and killing others depending on their ability and danger level. The organization uses cyborgs to fight these dangerous "inhuman" espers. Anyways, to delve into the plot a bit more, the main character Quan, is the appearingly young leader of the group of espers. He has a dark secret and idealistic dreams as he and the other espers try to learn to control their power and survive while fighting this secrete organization and cyborgs. (How can you not want to see that?!) Also the cyborgs have a very fleshed out story arch themselves and produces my favorite character in the series.
This series has a lot of similarities to things like X Men and Tokyo ESP. So if you like those or are a fan of action/supernatural this is absolutely one to watch!
The animation is really cool! Especially a certain flashback scene that is stunning and different!
The story has quite a few anime cliches but this didn't bother me at all. I didn't think the recognizable cliches distracted or detracted from the story and I found them very enjoyable!
So in conclusion this action, supernatural, cyborgs, and scifi movie series is a really fun, action packed anime is really worth a view and I kinda even want to watch it again as I'm writing this.
Check this one out its worth it!
~Tsu
ps. Sorry this review is a bit shorter than usual as I am currently a bit busier than usual.
Next week I plan to do something WEIRD! So yeah look forward to that! ^.~
Not the best trailer but it does showcase the animation and basic plot of the first movie.
Hello all! I recently finished reading Vampire Knight (probably the most popular shoujo vampire series) and I thought to myself "Golly!" (I spent a while in a place where they say golly) "What are people going to read to get their vampire fix now?!" Then I realized I know tons of vampire series, shorts and one shots, and hey I can totally help out! XD
So long story short, I have searched through my surprisingly long list of vampire manga and have collected what I think are some of the best for every genre, because let's face it, no matter your favorite genre you need more vampires in your life!
(oh and I am not counting Vampire Knight on this list)
(This list is in no particular order)
Vampire Princess Miyu
By: Kakinouchi Narumi
Shoujo
Vampire Princess Miyu is a classic Japanese vampire series, I believe the anime version of it was the first vampire anime, and it does not disappoint!
Following the story of the vampire Miyu and her servent/protector Larva, this manga combines traditional Japanese myths and demons with Western vampire lore. (Fun fact! Japan is one of the few countries that do not have a native vampire lore, the closest thing to it are blood and flesh eating demons that usually did not resemble humans)
Miyu attends high school by day to blend in, and fights demons that are not following the rules by night. Vampire Princess Miyu is a beautiful manga that has a very engaging and unique take on vampires. (The anime is also amazing!)
Hitsuji no Uta
Also known as Lament of the Lamb in English
By: Toume Kei
Sienen/psychological
This series is another one that plays around with the idea of the vampire. In Hitsuji no Uta the vampires are a pair of siblings, and they are far from the idea of a traditional vampire. (Think Dracula for traditional) They are victims of a hereditary genetic disorder that causes pain that can only be abated by drinking human blood. It is so interesting to read this and watch the siblings dissent into darkness (both mental and physical) as the story is about this mental breaking point more than anything else.
Read this to enjoy a great dark, twisted and fresh vampire tale!
Vampir
By: Itsuki Natsumi
Techically seinen but as far as seinen go, it's very light… it's more like a weird cross between a shoujo and a shounen
Vampir is yet another non traditional vampire manga. (Can you tell I like those yet? lol) The story begins when a young guy who almost dies getting hit by a suicide jumper. He then wakes up in the hospital with red eyes and blond hair (he had glowing green eyes and snow white hair! *cough* wrong series…) It turns out he is now a half vampire or vampir. In this universe, vampires are people who have died and then had the soul of one of these powerful vampir spirits combine with their body. Rather than a complete take over, however, it is more like a combining of personalities. Since our main character didn't die all the way however he is neither living nor dead and the spirit is left in a kind of limbo.
This series is a fun read, again, with a fresh take, and I definitely recommend it.
Kurobara no Alice
Also known as Black Rose Alice
By: Mizushiro Setona
Josei (some websites say shoujo but I've read it and its more adult than the average shoujo)
The story begins with Dimitri, a famous opera singer, and his tragic love triangle, where due to his station he will have to watch his love marry his best friend. Not giving spoilers but skipping ahead a bit, he becomes a vampire, which, in this series is a corpse that is filled with bugs the animate the body. I know that sounds really gross but trust me when I say the artwork in this manga is gorgeous and the bugs aren't that bad, and I hate bugs. I would love to give more of a plot synopsis but I really can't without taking away the intensity of the beginning. So read it for a twisted romance with spice and great art!
Crimson Cross
By: Negishi Kyoko
Shoujo (ok some sites say it is shounen ai, but as there's not even anything implied… I am going to say I don't think it counts at all, but you might be able to argue it is)
Traditional vampires done right! These vampires burn in the sun, fear the cross, drink blood, and are basically the opposite of Twilight vampires. The story follows Carl Van Helsing who has been hunting the vampire Elliot. Elliot turned Carl into a vampire as a way to pass the time and loves causing him torment.
Sooooo good! I love it, I think that other vampire fans will love it. Read it for awesome art and an amazing story! Oh and great action scenes and a couple werewolves too.
Hope these help you find a great vampire manga to read this week!
~Tsu
Next week there is a 90% chance the review will be Towan no Quan.
This age old question is a favorite breaking the ice conversation starter both online and at cons. No matter who you are, no matter how long you've avoided the question, if you're an anime fan and talk to other anime fans you WILL be asked this… so subs or dubs?
Well as some sub person will say "Only noobs watch dubs! American voice actors suck" and as dub people will say "I don't want to read while I watch tv! Besides American voice actors are awesome" (I've seen both soooo many times)
And with that I have boiled down the biggest stereotypes of the subs vs dubs people.
Dub people all hate reading and sub people are kinda snobs.
While I have met dub people who annoy me with their "I will ONLY watch things in English" and sub people with their "Subs are for the REAL fans" attitudes most people enjoy a healthy mix depending on the show, its availability in their home language, and whether they are a fan of that particular voice actor.
So what are the real pros and cons to subs and to dubs?
To answer this I shall focus on the positives!
Subs
PROS:
You tend to get a better flavor of the actual dialogue being spoken.
You're not limited to what has been dubbed, one of the biggest changes I've noticed in anime DVDs over the last few years is that their are more movies being translated but not dubbed. (Oh yeah and the internet)
Dubs
PROS:
You do not have the fight between written words and images which does give the benefit of being able to focus on the artwork.
It's kind of nice not having to read….
So time for the big question! There's the DVD menu, haunting, offering the dub or sub option…
So which side am I on?
Well honestly, I am a sub person.
I prefer the Japanese voice actors to English ones 90% of the time. Full Metal Alchemist, YuYu Hakushou and Rurouni Kenshin I will only watch in english. (And Descendants of Darkness because the voice acting is so miscast and awful that its kinda amazing.) On the other hand I would never dream of watching Trigun in English, the Japanese voice actor for Vash gives such an amazing and powerful performance that I just can't…
I have also come across censorship in dubs as well as official subs in the past, and since I have some knowledge of speaking Japanese (Two years and a minor later...) I can catch some of these in the subs whereas I can't in a dubbed version.
Which side are you on?
~Tsu
PS.
I will still be doing a review later this week. (Probably vampire manga or Towan no Quan) But I had some time and was thinking about this so… XD
Also I do want to try a little video, but despite all this time I have floating around I've just been a bit lazy. lol
Today I'm sharing a manga series that is near and dear to my heart. The first time I read it my head wasn't in a good space and recently I got some troubling news about one of my cousins, he will be losing his right foot in the near future as a blood vessel in his leg was severely damaged several years back and his foot is now slowly rotting away due to lack of blood, and I thought I'd share with you guys a series that not only puts a smile on my face but I think is well written and drawn!
^-^ After all as my avatar states "Laughter is Healthy"
Ok so as mentioned I wasn't in a happy place when I first read this, nothing serious, but hey everyone has those bad months, and I stumbled upon The Violinist of Hamlin. Also, little fun fact, this is the only series that has made me cry both in laughter and in sadness. Another little fact, this series tends to be a love or hate it series. People either love the off beat humor mixed with amazing action and touching moments and totally unserious ones, and others hate it… a lot!
I am on the love side! ^-^ (I was reading the last chapters at like 3am and into the wee hours of the dawn pacing around my room worried about the characters like they were real people. I was all crying and going "If things can't end happily for them what chance does my life have?!' <--- Waaaaaay being over dramatic. lol My roommate thought I was craaazy) I get very attached to series when I marathon them and since I read this series in an amazing 2 day marathon of barely seeing daylight (or sleeping) I got my emotions all tangled up in the epic story!
Anyways lets get to the nitty gritty, before I ooze too much about why I think think this series is great, and talk about the plot. At its heart Violinist is a Dramedy (comedy drama)
The story follows Hamel a goofy (for lack of a better word) young man and anti hero, with a dark past, as he travels to the Northern kingdom of the Mozoku (the demons). He travels carrying a giant violin which he plays and uses its music to defeat foes. He eventually meets up with Flute and other new friends that will eventually help him on his quest to destroy Kestra the king of the Mozoku. (Kestra's name is a terrible pun for Orchestra and most of the characters are named after an instrument of some kind)
Sounds pretty standard for a shounen series right?
Well in some ways it is. Where this series breaks away to be, in my opinion, one of the best series, is in its character development. All the characters have serious personal flaws. (I've had a friend tell me she hated the main character because he is an ungrateful #@$^@&!.) However, how each character starts off the series with whatever flaws they may have be it selfishness, pride, cowardice, one minded vengeance, or uncertainty just makes how much they change through the course of the series seem so amazing. The author does this so skillfully and slowly you don't even notice it until you're at the end looking back. Unlike in some other series I've read, grudges are not easily let go and sadness not easily lost.
I really buy that these characters could be real people. I buy their emotional struggles, I buy their reasons for over compensating their sad times with humor and I buy their changes and growth as people. At the end Hamel says something that never fails to make my heart melt with how sincere it is. in fact, all the sincere moments just feel all the more impactful due to the way it is.
Oh and let's not forget this manga is hilarious and jokes hit just right most of the time!
Violinist plays with the extremes of comedy and drama having them play off each other and this is where the love it or hate it aspect comes into play. The very dramatic scenes and the very bloody scenes often get broken into by humor, jokes, and puns. Personally this doesn't bother me. (Think of a YuYuHakushou that is both more extreme, in terms of how much there is, with the drama and with the humor.) I think laughter in the face of great odds or sadness is important, not just to cope, to actually heal and thats so often looked over. So it doesn't bother me when they do this in the manga.
At any rate, this series made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me hopeful again. It will always have a close place to my heart and I hope you will give it a read!
If you decide to give it a shot please give it until chapter 6, thats where it really gets the plot rolling!
Dawn Tsumetai Te (loosely translates into something like: Dawn- Cold hands; or “Unfeeling Hands,” personally I think the latter is more true to the feeling of the story) is the story about a high school boy that gets more than he bargained for one night when he encounters the serial killer that has been on the prowl lately and ends up killing him after getting bitten. This series takes a lot of cues from the disease zombie in that people are being taken over by a kind of parasite that feeds on humans and much like a virus lives only to spread itself.
The main character Nagasawa soon discovers that he has also been infected. A government organization agrees to give him the drugs to slow its progress in exchange for his cooperation killing the Nightshift (the name they give the infected) He then tries to come to grips with balancing his secrete cover with his regular life all while becoming more and more aware that he might not be human anymore.
This series really stands out because of it's excellent balance between the character's emotions and the action/horror element. I often find that series with the horror/action feel don't give enough time to character development and I am happy to say I was pleased with Tsumetai Te's attension to that! ^-^
For the most part I really enjoyed this series and do recommend it to zombie, supernatural and action fans. If I had to give one critique it would be for SPOILERS AHEAD a slightly disappointing ending that felt a little too good to be true for my tastes but in the end I am glad I read it and have even reread it. And fear not the fact that its classified as a Josei (a manga aimed a women, the grown up version of shoujo) I actually thought this was a seinen and I think this is a manga that transcends these male/female genres.
If you’re shy of blood or action isn’t your thing this isn’t necessarily for you but the romance, action and drama really bring the world to life and I know I loved reading it!
However if you love your action, supernatural, horror and/or your zombies, READ IT! You won’t regret it!
Have you read it? COMMENT! ^-^
Did you read it after reading this? PLEASE SHARE!
Got a series you want me to review? PM or comment!
Good or bad I like hearing your opinions!
Wanna find another series to read or watch? Check out my other reviews on this world! ^o^/
Want to just chat? I’m game! Lol
