Code Geass R2 08 - Random Comments

Yes, I am a week late. Also, no more posts for the next two days as I will be out of town. Actually, I left last Thursday and these are all automated posts, but I ran out of time to fill up until my return.

Anya continues to write in her Future Diary. I wonder what kind it is. Maybe it's about Suzaku?

I would love to watch this woman leap out ninja style and kill EVERYONE.
She also sounds exactly like Viletta.

Wait, there's a Zero convention in town and I missed it? I MADE my costume unlike you posers. It's obvious you guys bought cheap imitations from China on eBay.

Does anyone else remember that she's like a duchess or something? Diethard said something about it near the end of the last season...



Poor Karen-chan. She finally gets into Zero's pants, and now everyone else is in them too. I'm reminded of a scene from Teen Titans.

--Ou-bento

Love Monster - Manga Rant

Love Monster makes me RAGE (NSFW)
It's the shoujo dream. An average girl is accepted to an elite school for no apparent reason. The prince of the school sweeps her away on day one, announcing to all that she will be his future bride. Turns out he's magical and quite powerful. And everyone else is magical as well. Her? She's got the strongest magic of all, but she doesn't remember it or remember how to unlock it. But that's okay; she has her prince. And as luck would have it, they even share a bedroom. Scandalous. But he's a prince, so he'll always be charming, right? Of course! Except for the part where he ties her up in the bathtub and washes her with his bare hands. Every night.

I already ranted a bit about this when I reviewed AAA, but I'm going to rant even more. Because this really blows my mind in a not good way. I really don't like panty flashes and jiggling breasts, but I can at least tolerate it if the story is good and I know it's just there to draw in a couple more dudes looking for some cheap thrills. But when the lead female of a series geared towards girls is sexually abused on a daily basis and it's okay, then I rage. The lead female Osora is nearly-raped in every other story by some guy or another. And in the end, her beautiful prince swoops in and rescues her. Only to carry her off to their room/prison (it's in a high tower and she can't fly, but he can) where he strips her, plays with her naked body, and sleeps with her. But it's okay because they're gonna get married! :D

Of course, she remembers nothing about this engagement, she doesn't want to be treated that way, and he just doesn't care. Because he LOVES her, and what better way to show a girl love than to tie her up and have your way with her without her consent? Don't worry, she'll like it eventually if you keep doing it! The most disturbing part is that this nightly sexual abuse is okay by this storyline. Osora (the girl) blushes and whines a bit, but she somehow decides that it's fine. Nowhere do we ever find the prince repenting for his actions or Osora actually calling him out on it and telling him that she's not an object. Because in the end, that's really all she is. She's a toy that he plays with and he just doesn't like other guys playing with his property. Osora is tossed around from one pretty boy to the next like a doll and all she does is sit around and be useless. I would almost be able to just walk away from this petty storyline if it weren't for the fact that the story is geared towards girls. The main audience is meant to identify itself with Osora. And it starts out as a lovely fantasy with magic and pretty boys surrounding an average girl. But then to teach girls that it's okay to be treated that way, and that they serve no purpose other than to be a toy for boys to play with? That does not sit well with me at all.

I somehow managed to read 60+ chapters of this mindwashing garbage before I realized that Osora would never actually stand up for herself, and that the story was just teaching girls that being treated this way is not only okay, but desirable. I know Japan isn't really big on empowering women or whatever, but this is painfully demeaning.

--Ou-bento

sola cosplay

sola cosplay

Apparently, there are only two sola cosplayers in the entire world. Okay, there are probably more. But I only found two Matsuri cosplayers. No Aono? : (

--Ou-bento

Detective Conan - Manga Ch646-651

The Return
I'm a huge Heiji fan, so the latest Detective Conan arc made me very happy. Additionally, it features another rare Shinichi apperance, which makes it even cooler. Sadly, this does nothing to advance the Black Organization plot, but it's worlds more enjoyable than another adventure of the Detective Boys.

Someone by the name of Makoto calls Shinichi out to a small village, claiming that he's discovered new evidence in a case that Shinichi solved there a year ago. Makoto claims that Shinichi made a mistake in his deduction and he'd like to reveal the truth. Because Shinichi is not responding to any letters (too busy being Conan), Makoto finally resorts to sending the letter to Heiji in the hopes that Heiji will find Shinichi. And so Heiji and Conan travel to the small village along with the usual gang (Mori, Ran, and Kazuha). Conan is suffering from a cold, but Heiji claims that this mystery will be a good stimulus to get him healthy again. Conan separates from the group to meet Makoto alone, but he is locked in a small cabin by a mysterious person. As he is trying to escape, he starts to feel strange. Elsewhere, Ai tells professor Agasa that the cold medication he gave Conan is actually an experimental antidote to the poison that shrunk his body.

The gang is worried about Conan, but things take an even stranger turn when a naked boy is fished out of the lake. As they approach, they realize that it's Shinichi. However, he seems to have lost his memories. In an attempt to jog his memories, they revisit the scene of the crime, left untouched for an entire year. At the scene, a reporter tells Shinichi that she's not fooled by his game and that she'll reveal everything. The next day, Shinichi is missing. Heiji searches for him, only to find him holding a bloody knife over the blood-stained body of the reporter.

These chapters were a thrill to read and speculate over, and the end reveal involves a little bit of trickery from Heiji and Shinichi to bring the culprit to light. A few of the clues were confusing and it took me two readings to get everything straight. Usually a good Conan mystery clears itself up in one go, but there was alot going on in this one. The mystery wraps itself up a little too conveniently, but I won't complain because it was a lot of fun to read. The character development was nice, especially Ran's and it's nice to know that Ai is making some breakthroughs in an antidote as well.

Thanks to the DCTP for scanning and translating the latest Conan chapters. You can read the full story and the reveal there.

--Ou-bento

Lost+Brain - Manga First Look

Lost+Brain

I rarely go into a manga with many expectations, because I like to give each story its own fair chance. However, I initially leapt into Lost+Brain expecting quite a bit...because I thought it was the sequel to Death Note. Turns out it's not. : (

The story centers around a bored genius teenager named Ren Hiyama who thinks the world is rotten and wants some power to be able to reshape the world to his liking. He then decides that hypnotism is the answer. The end. Okay, not the end. But I've only read the first chapter. So far, it feels like Light decided to give himself a Geass. Basically Ren is a big jerkface to everyone including the school idol who's totally crushing on him. Then she brings in her uncle who is a master of hypnotism to do some show for the school festival or something. Ren decides that he wants to use hypnotism to change the world. One year later, he's extremely popular, kind to everyone, and probably plotting something sneaky. I will continue reading Lost+Brain only to see if the story actually takes off in a direction not Code Death Note. Here's hoping.

--Ou-bento

Soul Eater 07-08: <3 Chrona!

Chrona = LOVE
Chrona is one of my favorite characters from Soul Eater, so I am delighted to see her appear in the anime finally. Her interaction with Ragnarok was well done. I am so far quite pleased with the accurate translation from manga to anime. Maaya voicing Chrona works surprisingly well for me. I can't wait to see more of everyone's favorite gender indeterminate (but probably female) blood-possessed emo child.

--Ou-bento

The World God Only Knows - Manga First Look

The World God Only Knows
Keima is an expert in dating sims. He is able to capture the heart of any virtual girl, and his knowledge makes him famous on the internet as the "God of Capturing Girls' Hearts." A demon from hell misinterprets this title, and approaches Keima in asking for help to capture the hearts of real girls. Unfortunately, not only does Keima have a reputation for being a complete otaku and thus undesirable among girls...he also highly prefers 2D over 3D, so he's not even interested. However, with his life on the line if he doesn't come through, Keima unhappily agrees to partner with this demon and attempt to win girls over. But can an awkward otaku actually apply dating sim knowledge to the real world?

Keima is a classic otaku with no interest in real girls. Unlike other stories about players, he isn't interested in winning real girls over at all. He also has no interest in turning the real world into a game, as he is content with his games to be merely that. Luckily for Keima, the girls he wins forget that they love him after he wins them, so he doesn't suffer the curse of the harem lead. The story is highly entertaining, although the fact that it takes a step further in objectifying females by saying outright that treating them like a dating sim is fine bothers me a bit. However, the bizarre setup is enough to be entertaining so far. It's only been two chapters, and the first chapter involving an actual hunt for a girl's love was much more interesting than the demon girl moving in with Keima (although Keima's mother is amazing). This is looking like a pretty basic monster of the week series with a lot of romantic comedy and light fanservice mixed in. I just hope it doesn't get old.

You can read it online here.

--Ou-bento

Camelot Garden - Manga Review

Camelot Garden
Ryu awakens in a strange world after dreaming of a girl named Claribel. There he finds someone who looks exactly like her...except it's a guy. This guy is also named Claribel, and he offers his blood to heal Ryu. As it turns out, Ryu is trapped inside a strange school and Claribel is the only one who can heal wounds received in the school. Anyone who drinks his blood will be healed, so everyone seeks his favor. The students in the school are ranked like the cards of a deck, and Claribel is the white card. Ryu is given the role of six of spades as the former six of spades was "deleted" by the Joker. A mysterious person who kills anyone who gets too near to Claribel. Ryu is slowly starting to lose his memory, but he knows he wanted to protect Claribel...

This is a one-shot series that gets as close to a shonen-ai story as you can get without being shonen-ai. All the elements are in place. A boy princess who would gladly give up his blood, a young boy who wants to protect him, an all-male boarding school with a strict ranking system, a cold dorm head, a mysterious older man who also wants to protect the "princess" and an evil shota. The only thing missing is the rape scene where the boys all have an orgy together. I, for one, am grateful for that. I was actually not going to read this because it reeked of shonen-ai, but the motif of the Lady of Shalott caught my attention, as I am quite a fan of Arthurian legend. Unfortunately, the theme is very weak and the parallels are almost non-existent. Camelot Garden has an air of mystery, and even a little gothic creepiness, but it doesn't instill the sort of horror that many other gothic tales induce. There is enough mystery to keep the reading occupied, and the final explanation is satisfying, even if it doesn't quite make sense. This story is only a one-shot, and it's the perfect length. Any longer and the story would drag, and cheapen the ending. Any shorter and we just wouldn't care.


The art is beautifully detailed, although I don't really care for the proportions for the most part. Some of the characters look a little squished, and the long lanky bodies aren't my style. Character designs are simple enough with none standing out much more than the average random manga character. They are at least distinguishable from each other. The only character who actually looks interesting is the Joker himself who gets an unfortunately small amount of airtime. Emotions are often stunted by the overly gothic style of artwork in which everyone winds up looking paranoid no matter what.

Anyone who enjoys the gothic art style and atmosphere will probably find this an enjoyable read. If not, there are likely better things to read.

You can read Camelot Garden online here.

--Ou-bento

More DBZ Live Action Scans

DBZ Scans
The latest batch of scans has me a lot more hopeful for this film than the initial image of Goku released awhile ago. I'm still not liking the "badly styled wig" look for Goku, and the dragon ball looks very 'shopped. But hey, this is definitely looking good overall.

More scans here.

--Ou-bento

AAA - Manga First Look

AAA - Manga First Look
Aoi is a smart and energetic girl who's the school president of AAA, a school that prides itself in high standards in academics. Next door is the school CCC, a school filled with delinquents. Aoi dreams of finding her prince, a boy she met during the entrance exams to AAA. She was overjoyed to find that he passed with the highest scores, but he's nowhere to be found. However, there's a boy of the same name next door at CCC...but he's a gang leader who doesn't care about Aoi at all!

It's been awhile since I've reviewed a shoujo manga. This is largely because nearly all shoujo manga looks the same to me. People complain that shonen series suffer from overpowered heroes and tournaments, but at least you can usually tell the characters apart. This is yet again another shoujo series with a plucky lead female, a princely male, and a badass punk guy. The twist this time is that the prince and the punk are the same. Unfortunately, it's not in a multiple personality sort of way that could actually lead to all sorts of hilarity. It's just...he's a punk kid next door. Everything plays out in a pretty standard fashion. Aoi dresses up as a guy to sneak into CCC and the punk kid winds up practically stripping her. But as well all know from shoujo manga, it's okay if a guy sees a girls underwear and then photographs it to keep as blackmail. Because you know in the end they'll be lovers. That's a shoujo trope that has always bothered me. I've never actually liked fanservice, bras, and panty flashes, but I can pretty much understand why they'd show up in stuff geared towards males. However, in a genre directed at young girls, I find it rather disturbing that it's rather easily accepted, and pretty much "okay" even if it's in front of a jerk while being surrounded by delinquent boys. AAA is actually not as terrible as other shoujo series in this regard, but I felt like ranting.

Anyway, the point is that there's really nothing that this story has to offer the genre at all. I've basically seen it all before, and I didn't really enjoy it much then, either. Admittedly, I've only read three chapters, and something mindblowing might be right around the corner. I am curious about why the lead male decided to switch over to CCC, bleach his hair and become a bad boy. But my guess is that he just wanted to be free or something. If it's a better reason then that, this series might actually be worth it. The art is clean and a good example of shoujo work. The story isn't outstanding, but any shoujo fan should gobble it up happily.

AAA is being scanned by Diving Sanctuary.
You can read it online here.

--Ou-bento

Doubt - Manga Review

Doubt - Manga Review

Rabbit Doubt is an online game where players play a colony of rabbits. One player is a wolf hidden among the rabbits, and each night he kills a rabbit. During the day, the rabbits must figure out which of them is the rabbit. If they cannot, the wolf wins. A group of friends decides to meet to play in person, but it seems the wolf is taking the game very seriously. As players in the game begin dying off, will the surviving players be able to figure out who the murderer is? Or will the wolf win?

I play mafia online quite a bit, so Doubt caught my attention, as the game "rabbit doubt" is almost exactly like mafia. And I know that tensions and paranoia run rampant in an online mafia game where we're all friends. When you get a group of strangers together with actual people dying, the emotions must be even more insane. And I love me some insanity. I love a good mystery, and I love a good horror series, so Doubt has made me incredibly happy. I don't trust any of the characters and every spoken word makes me paranoid as well. Doubt is a well-executed mystery/horror and I cannot wait to read more.

The art style is to my liking. Characters look different enough for the most part, although one megane-boy tends to look like the lead when he's not wearing his glasses. Backgrounds are rare, but detailed and the atmosphere and setting are well done.

If you like horror and mystery, you won't regret reading Doubt.

Doubt is being scanned by SnoopyCool.

--Ou-bento

Double Arts - Manga Review

Double Arts
In this world, there is a disease known as "troi" which causes great pain and eventually death. There is no known cure for troi, and if you touch anyone who is infected, you too will be infected. Sisters are girls who are unusually resilient to troi. They travel the world absorbing the poison off of those who have troi so that those people can live happy lives without the pain of troi. Because of this, Sisters speed up their own death, most not living past their teenage years. Sister Elraine is one of these. Just as she is suffering a seizure that signifies her own death, a strange boy named Kiri touches her and her seizure disappears. Additionally, even though he touched her, he doesn't seem to be affected by troi at all. Now they must always be touching, otherwise Elraine will die.

Double Arts is an ongoing series with a very interesting twist of the two leads always having to hold hands. While this of course has all the awkward everyday moments of using the toilet and bathing, things get really hair when the action picks up and they find themselves having to fight assassins from an organization know as Gazelle. While Kiri might not be too bad at fighting, Elraine's abilites are subpar at best. Unfortunately, the ease of which the first two fights were won (once by Kiri and Elraine, and the second by Sui...more on her later) sets Gazelle up to be a not very threatening organization. And if the bad guys aren't threatening, it's really hard to take a fight seriously. As of yet, this mysterious organization hasn't really tipped its hand, but I'm sure they have some diabolical plans in store. This manga is supposed to be an action series, but for the most part it's pretty hard to be interested in any of the action. Thankfully, the intriguing storyline still has me hooked, but I'd like a good fight or two.

Kiri is, of course, the young boy with a mysterious power who wants to be able to help everyone. He's an idealist and something of a dreamer, but he's also used to being very popular in his own village. Elraine is an interesting character. In some ways, she's the useless girlfriend who always needs saving. But in other ways, she's a lot stronger than Kiri. She's not as naive as he is, and she's basically lived her entire life knowing that she was sacrificing herself for the sake of others.

My favorite character, by far, is Kiri's three time ex-girlfriend, Sui. Sui's favorite hobby is confessing to guys, and she tends to date multiple guys at once. She's also unbelievably strong, coming from a race of people known for their fighting abilities and unusual strength. Sui hasn't lost a battle once. She's defeated everyone in the town except Kiri (because he always runs away), and she's pounded every passing soldier or mercenary as well. She defeats the second assassin from Gazelle quite handily, and I'm very looking forward to seeing more of her in the future.

More of Sui. I think I have a mild crush on her. I think this will develop into a not mild crush once she gets more than one chapter of airtime.

The latest assassin from Gazelle looks like he came straight out of a Final Fantasy game. He's also super strong or something. I bet Sui could take him.

Double Arts is still just starting out, and I'm sure there's a lot more exposition and secrets to be revealed before the end. I'm looking forward to a fun ride, and I sure hope the battle scenes are amped up in the future. No tournaments though, please.

You can read Double Arts online here.

--Ou-bento

Code Geass R2 07 - Karen WIN

Lulu = OWNED BY KAREN owo

(P.S. I'm in a hotel and I'll be flying almost all tomorrow. Apologies for the painfully short posts this weekend.)

Zetsubou Sensei Ekaki Uta

I'm overloaded with work today. So enjoy this fandub, please. Unless, of course, you have some bizarre aversion to the English language.

--Ou-bento

MiXiM 12 - Manga First Look

MiXiM 12
MiXiM 12 is the latest series to come from Anzai Nobuyuki (Flame of Recca, MAR). The story focuses on three loser guys who can't seem to get a girlfriend no matter how hard they try. There's the fairly good looking, but extremely strong fighter punk with a soft spot (he collects cute cats and plush animals), the loli shota genius kid, and the long-haired megane otaku with a quiet nature. Their only female friend is a girl who has tastes like a yakuza member (mahjong phonestrap, oni print underwear, and she collects statues of demons). Of course, this just won't do, as anyone who has read Anzai Nobuyuki knows that a pair of oni print boxers is NOT fanservice. This is quickly remedied by a magical girl from the star Polaris who shows up wearing less fabric that it took to make the oni print boxers. She claims that one of the three luckless boys is the prince of Polaris while the other two were decoys to throw off enemies. The prince has a spell cast on him so that he will never find true love on earth so that he will one day return to Polaris. However, there are twelve girls with the mark of Polaris somewhere on their bodies who are immune to this curse. And so the quest for these twelve girls begins in the hope that maybe one day someone will actually score.

Only three chapters of MiXiM 12 are out so far, so this is merely a preliminary look. The idea of a group of luckless guys started out interesting enough, but somehow I feel as if I've heard the "twelve girls with the mark of a magical star hidden on their bodies" trick before. If only I could remember where. Additionally, the "switched personalities" of a cute girl with yakuza preferences and a punk kid with a penchant for cute things is pretty interesting too. I just hope that it actually plays out rather than being a gag at the beginning of the series. At the moment, the opening isn't quite as epic as Flame of Recca or MAR, but it was hinted that there were lots of bad guys who wanted to kill the prince of Polaris, so I'm looking forward to some overpowered fight scenes and maybe a tournament or two.

MiXiM 12 is being scanlated by Snoopy Cool.

--Ou-bento

Vocaloid Kagamine Figures

Volks Kagamine Rin/Len Figures
I am very excited to see some Kagamine figures from Volks being rolled out. Not much information has been released, but they're looking pretty good so far. The detail and folds on their clothing looks nice, but I am a bit worried about the hair, as Len's looks especially flat surfaced. When it comes to figures, the hair is always the most important part for me. Really nice hair can cause a multitude of other errors to be forgiven. Here's hoping the final editions will have much better textured hair. Even if they don't, I might be tempted to pick them up anyway.


--Ou-bento

Aoi Destruction - Manga Review

Aoi Destruction
Aoi Destruction is a one-volume series of short stories. The first three chapters are the titled Aoi Destruction about a manly punk teenager and his trap father. Tetsuo is a strong fighter, and an extremely manly dude. He has a reputation for never losing a fight. His late mother was a strong fighter, but since she passed away he and his father have been given the fate of running her dojo. Unfortunately, his father, Aoi, looks like a shota. With his adorable shota looks, Aoi is an innocent and naive trap who attracts fighters to the dojo who are more interested in the cute girl running it than actually training. Aoi Destruction has a great setup, and the gags are fun. There's not finality in the plot, acting more as the intro to an ongoing series. However, the gag would likely be worn out after awhile, so leaving it at three chapters is just right.
The next three chapters are all one-shots. The first is a somewhat generic shonen story about a boy who discovers he has some magic abilities and fights demons alongside a busty and beautiful sidekick. The main twist is that these demons are sealed in books and he must fold origami in order to seal the demons. Another setup for what could be an ongoing series, but it's best left at one chapter, as it's not a terribly interesting plot.

The second one-shot is the tale of a garage kit-loving otaku who reformed his ways to become the school's idol, only to realize that he should have been true to his heart. This sudden realization comes in the form of an otaku girl who is also a fan of garage kits and who recognizes him as one of the most famous garage kit builders from back in the day until he underwent his transformation. He eventually realizes that all the girls who fawn over him are fake and unkind and he decides to help her with her figure building. A bit predictable, but definitely interesting. Otaku stories always interest me, and in this case it was interesting to see a self-built school prince who realizes absolutely hated his life as school prince.

The third one-shot is about a young girl in ancient Japan trying to carry on her family's dojo. She eventually gains a new sword which turns out to be the spirit of a samurai who never once was able to hold a woman's body. Because of this, the sword is filled with his regret. The sword itself is only able to uh...be firm...when he's held by a good woman. It also grows a lot larger when there are many beautiful women around or it touches various parts of a woman's body. Erm...yeah. That's about it. It's a one-shot, rather perverted gag. A hot sword wielding chick and her perverted talking sword.


Aoi Destruction is neither groundbreaking nor boring. The stories are short and are worth what short stories are. The strongest stories of the lot are the titular Aoi Destruction and the otaku tale. It's not something I'd go out of my way to read, but it's certainly not terrible. If you like tales of traps, at least read the first three chapters.

Aoi Destruction is scanned by Snoopy Cool.
You can read it online here.

--Ou-bento

Code Geass - I propose that it is a trap.

Trap?
If someone could clear this up for me, I'd be ever so grateful. I was under the impression that Tenshi-sama here was a boy. But everywhere I look I see bloggers calling him the empress. So um...what? His character page lists him as 天子 which literally is son of heaven, but basically means emperor. Or am I just taking it too literally and 天子 can also mean a female? Plus, his voice is not very loli. It sounds way more shota to me. Was Tenshi ever referred to as female by anyone else (like Li or something)? Because I really thought it was a boy, but everyone is saying otherwise.

--Ou-bento

Animation Studio/Maid Cafe - Does it get any better?

Popopure


Talk about your otaku culture. Popopure is a maid cafe and an animation studio. This is the stuff manga is made of. In fact, I'm surprised that the studio hasn't made some happy animated series about the daily lives of the maids. However, people who visit the cafe are allowed to dub a short animated by the studio and take it home. They can even have some of the lovely maids step in to voice some of the characters as well. I haven't actually seen anything animated by this place, though. And are the maids any good at voice acting at all?

--Ou-bento

Code Geass R2 Episode 06 - Great Scot, I love Karen

Code Geass R2 ep. 06

Or...Karen Karen Karen Karen Karen.

(Or Kallen Kallen Kallen Kallen Kallen.)

You can keep all your lolis, princesses, and pizza-eaters. Karen is my love. And Gurren Mk. II is a thing of beauty (once it combines with the Lagann, Karen will then be able to shout "NIPPON BANZAI" and kick reason to the curb alongside the Knights of Round). The rest of this post will consist of more glee over Karen's beautiful existence. Thank you for your precious time.

It is so good to see her back in fighting form. If it weren't for her, the Black Knights would have fallen apart in season one.

Her angry fighting face is cute.

Scared Karen is no good at all. Punishment for anyone who makes her scared

Sad regretful Karen is beautiful.

Surprised Karen is very, very cute.

Smirking Karen is a good Karen.

Glaring Karen is beautiful too.

GIGA DRILL BREAKER!!!!

Fighting-wise, I think Karen's a much better asset to the team than Toudou. But he's pretty cool, so I'm not knocking the Toudou man.

You are about to be owned. Please have a nice day.

Ah, what I wouldn't give to see that beautiful smile every day.
(Oh hey, if I watch this episode every day, I can!)

KONO!!! (Boyspeech Karen is also cute.)

Gurren kicks you in the face.

Angry Karen is still cute.

I hope she kills Suzaku someday.

Serious face Karen is also cute.

Ooh, new outfit. owo

--Ou-bento

Publish your own doujin in Japan owo

So for anyone willing to sink a couple thousand dollars for a trip to Japan to sell your own doujinshi at a comic festival, now is your chance. The nice people will even translate your doujinshi into Japanese for you. This actually looks pretty cool. I'd totally go for it if I had that kind of cash.

Speed Racer Movie - First Seven Minutes

Well friends and fans, Yahoo! Movies is currently streaming the first seven minutes of the Speed Racer movie, and I couldn't resist a peek. At the moment...I'm not sure what I think.

This movie is like every ten-year-old boy's dream come true. The racing scenes are pretty slick, but it looks more like Hot Wheels the movie than Speed Racer. Cartoony effects, bright backgrounds and flashing lights complete the effect, and I'm afraid that watching too many races might give me a seizure. I guess I'm getting too old.

As for the acting, I can say I'm not too fond of young Speed, especially in his "take me to the racetrack plz" bit. And speaking of going to the racetrack, what kind of irresponsible brother lets his younger brother steer a racing car on a dangerous track and then offers the advice "close your eyes?" At the moment, I'm not impressed, nor am I completely turned off. I suppose only seeing the full movie will do.

--Ou-bento

Crossover Love?

So here's a thought. Chiri from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Death the Kid from Soul Eater. Huh? Huh?

--Ou-bento

G-gacktpoid..?

Gackpoid
Soo...apparently virtual singers are all the rage these days, huh? A new vocal singing system based on Gackt's voice is being released this June. It doesn't sound too bad, really. But uh...Gackpoid (not Gacktpoid)? That's an odd name indeed.

Edit: The official artwork for Gackpoid has been released. It's a trap. D: Too bad you need a special license to cosplay it.

The official website offers little in the way of any information short of a sample clip. The clip is a traditional Japanese song, Ookina Furudokei (Grandfather's Clock). Compare that sound with the actual Gackt. I'm a bit disappointed at how digital it sounds (and how similar it is to Kermit the Frog). Honestly, it's not too far off from Kaito quality.

--Ou-bento

Mirai Nikki - Manga Review

Mirai Nikki - Providing you with all your yandere needs!

Mirai Nikki/Future Diary is one of those manga series that had better be an anime soon or I'm going to start suffering from yandere withdrawals. Seriously. I'm also really surprised that this series hasn't gotten more attention. It's

Quick summary: Yukiteru is a total recluse who spends most of his day writing down observations in his cell phone diary. His only friend is the master of reality, Deus ex Machina who one day invites him to play a game. Yuki along with eleven others are given the power to see into the future using their diaries. Each player's diary is filled with entries from the future as written by their future selves. The winner of the game gains the power of Deus. However, the only way to win is to kill the rest. Thankfully for Yuki, Gasi Yuno, another diary holder will do whatever it takes to keep him safe.

The story of Mirai Nikki starts out a bit slowly in setting up Yukiteru's reclusive nature. However, once the story gets going, it gets going, starting with Yuki being chased by a serial killer and an insane stalker. As the story progresses and more diary holders show up things really get interesting. Some are "good guys" but most don't have a high amount of moral fiber. And even the "good guys" turn out to be more than they appear on the surface. In the end, it comes down not only staying a step ahead of the others, but also outwitting and exploiting the diaries of the other holders. The wild card in this game is Yuno, who is completely obsessed with Yukiteru to the point that she'd do anything for his sake. And anything means anything, from stabbing little kids to plotting to kill his own mother. Yuno should be nominated for the SaiYandere. In fact, she'd likely beat out fan favorites like Shion and Kotonoha. Oh yes, I said it. And that's why I love this story. Because I love me some yandere. But it's not all yandere and psycho screaming. The constant outwitting and plotting is reminiscent of a good mental fight in Death Note, so fans of that sort of drama will also be very satisfied with this series. Only 26 chapters have been translated so far, and the story still has a long way to go. I'm looking forward to every delicious twist.
Story (as of ch 26): 4.75/5

Artwork is very nicely done. Lines are clean and crisp, and it's easy to tell characters apart. Plus, their designs are nice enough that they stand out as original characters as well. My favorite design is Uryuu Minene, an international terrorist with a penchant for maid outfits (I don't know...just go with it). The action scenes have excellent layouts which rarely confuse me and the expressions of the characters are amazing, especially Yuno's yandere mode. The style is simple and it lends to the story very well indeed. While it's not enough to take my breath away, it is solid and consistent, and I have no complaints.
Art (as of ch 26): 3.5/5


Mirai Nikki has been scanned by various groups.
You can read it online here.

--Ou-bento

Special A - Episode 05

Special A 05
This show continues to be large amounts of ridiculous, and I'm not really sure if I like it. While it had a great setup and I truly enjoyed the manga, something about the anime just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe I'm impatient. I can read manga much faster than I can watch anime, and it's a bit annoying waiting for Hikari to finally figure out that Kei likes her. Even if he's Mr. Perfect, I still pity him for falling for such a clueless girl.


So basically the student council and S.A. are supposed to be working together on the school festival. Kei gets into an argument with the prez and they agree to make planning the school festival into a duel. Hikari, ever one to jump on the opportunity to compete against Kei decides to ally herself with the student council (much to the the blushing president's delight). Akira, ever one to find some time for Hikari lovin' crosses over as well. Kei says he doesn't need any help, so the rest of S.A. disappears, which is a shame because they're a lot more interesting that he is. Stuff happens, Kei totally outdoes the student council by giving away ice cream while they only give away measly cotton candy, and later Hikari says something about how a school festival should be fun and then thanks to her they all work together. Awww...Also, it turns out Kei planned the entire festival with Hikari in mind. AWWWWWWWWW. The end.

Akira Love

Kei regularly defies the laws of gravity in ways that cannot be comprehended and just kinda look stupid.

The school festival takes place at a theme park designed to look like ancient Japan.
After this episode, Kei is sucked into Edo by a demon where he then acquires the power of Geass.
No, I will not quit it with the Jun Fukuyama jokes.

Hikari's actually really pretty.

--Ou-bento

Code Geass R2 Episode 05 - Is that...

Code Geass R2 Episode 05
Dear friends, I once again bring tidings of hidden truths within Code Geass R2. With episode 05, we get a closer look at the pink-haired loli, Anya. And the first thing she does? Check her mysterious gadget. Why...what is that strange device?

Oh hey, it's a diary. :D Looks like Anya's always reading her diary, too. Although I notice that she doesn't write in it. That can only mean one thing...

ANYA IS A FUTURE DIARY HOLDER. SHE KNOWS THE FUTURE! SHE'S A YANDERE WITH THE HOTS FOR YUKI-KUN AND WE'RE ALL DOOMED!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

--Ou-bento

Partner - Manga Review

Partner - Manga Review
Nae is the older tomboyish twin, serious, mature, and a master of kendo. Her younger twin sister Moe is girlish, adorable, and a little bit spoiled. Their closest friends are a pair of male twins, Takeshi and Ken. Takeshi is teasing, playful and sometimes rough while Ken is a perfect refined gentleman. The adorable Moe and prince-like Ken are dating, and Takeshi already has his eyes on Nae. Unfortunately, Nae has feelings for Ken. Nae and Moe get in a fight over Ken, but before they can make up, Moe is killed in a car accident. When her body disappears from the morgue, Nae, Takeshi and Ken are shocked. Especially when the next summer, Ken finds a girl who looks just like Moe walking along the road. But when he tries to grab her, her arm comes off. She calmly picks it up and is carried away in a mysterious white van...

Partner is a manga by Miho Obana, best known for her series Kodomo no Omocha. And while the first chapter reads like an highschool love triangle, the death of Moe turns the plot into a sudden and surprisingly dark direction. Nae, Takeshi, and Ken are dragged to a secret facility where they are cut off from the outside world. Somewhere in the facility, experiments in resurrection are taking place. Takeshi grows more and more obsessed with the resurrected Moe, but Nae is confident that this Moe is not the sister she knows. Meanwhile, romantic tensions are still high, and while Ken and Nae plot escape, Takeshi's mind slowly deteriorates as he is torn between escape and his last chance with the girl he loves. Partner is a series that stuck with me long after I read it, and I really really wish that I could finally get the read the end. @_@ It's been years, and the suspense is still killing me.
Plot (as of ch 06): 4.25/5

The characters are very powerful, and they thankfully don't rely heavily on stereotypes. Moe was the only one who I had no initial fondness for, and her resurrected version is merely a lifeless doll. Nae is strong on the outside, but her inward jealousy of her sister for always being the cute one is a huge conflict for her. The fight between her lover and her jealousy becomes a huge burden of guilt on her, as her last words to her sister were ones of spite. Takeshi starts out as the perfect gentleman, but watching his descent into madness from his feelings over Moe make him less than the perfect manga prince. Ken is the most interesting, playing the joker at the onset, but being the strongest and most tender character as the story progresses. He too is torn by his own emotions, but he's mature enough to deal with them in a way that Nae and Takeshi are not.

Art, of course, is average shoujo sparklies with vaguely distinguishable characters who stand out from each other for the most part but have no features that would make them stand out from any other story. Even though the story is dark, the cute style is actually beneficial to the mood. I was pleasantly surprised that the shoujo style worked so well for such a creepy plot. Some of it's a bit rough, and it's a little old. But still solid work.
Art (as of ch06): 3.5/5

Partner is so very worth it for anyone who wants a horror/suspense/dark/creepy sort of tale. There are no monsters under the bed or brain-eating zombies (yet), but there's plenty of mind-twisting games and disturbing plot to satisfy. I just wish I could find out how it ends. >_>

Partner is being scanned by a Omanga, Certhy, and Shoujo Magic.

--Ou-bento

Whey they Cry Updates

Umineko Page + Higurashi OVA

So Oyashirosama.com has been updated with a page dedicated to Umineko no Naku Koro ni, also known as "When They Cry 3." Of course, this makes me a curious, curious bento. Does that mean there will be an anime series? An OVA? Live action? Is the great Oyashiro-sama behind the legend of the Golden Witch? Most importantly...will there be more Kanon and Shanon? I must know.

In other news, Higurashi gets an OVA. Of course, I'm curious as to how Rei fits in the numbering system. Higurashi was 1, Kai was 2, and Umineko is 3. Does that make Rei 4? It is a mystery.

Either way, I'm looking forward to more Higurashi goodness, plus (hopefully) an Umineko series.

--Ou-bento

Beast Master - Manga Review

Beast MasterSummary: Yuiko is a girl who loves animals, but animals really don't love her. One day she meets a strange and terrifying boy who seems more animal than human. He seems to get along with animals really well, and surprisingly he gets along with her. His name is Leo, and he was raised in the jungle, living a vicious life of a beast. Everyone else is afraid of him, but maybe Yuiko can tame his animal nature.


Shoujo manga is like candy for me. It's a small sweet little bit to nibble on and it's pretty addictive, but it rarely leaves me satisfied, and individual pieces are easily forgettable. Beast Master manages to stand out with a unique flavor with a somewhat more subtle sweetness than the average shoujo manga.

The lead Yuiko never searches for a boyfriend, and unlike many shoujo heroines, she doesn't turn to internal angsting or jealousy as she tries to sort out her feelings. She's more than just a "spunky young heroine," as she proves that she really is willing to put her life on the line because of her love for Leo. Leo, on the other hand is a terribly innocent boy who has little experience dealing with humans. Unlike the cookie cutter bishounen next door, Leo isn't a smooth talker, he doesn't have a crowd of fangirls, and his cheerful honesty about his feelings toward Yuiko is very refreshing. Gone are the flirtatious winks and masculine posturing of most shoujo manga princes. Instead, Leo is just a child trying to find what's important in this world. The strength of the two leads is what makes this story so interesting.

The side characters are also interesting, but they fall a good deal flatter in some areas. The school bishounen turns out to be evil, which makes for an interesting twist, and his vaguely insane girlfriend was enough to keep one chapter interesting. Leo's "keeper" is somewhat infatuated with him to a somewhat awkward point, and there's no solid explanation as to why he even exists. Even so, the supporting cast does a good job of supporting. It's a shame they don't receive a little more development, but I'm thankful for the lack of mindless side stories that attempt to flesh out side characters we don't care about.

The plot itself is a little on the weak side as well, as it's later explained that Leo lived his life in the middle of nowhere to escape being killed by jealous family members who wanted his inheritance. The reasoning is pretty weak, and the jealous family members are never fleshed out enough to provide any real substantive villain to the story. I can't complain too much, as it's obviously just a setup to give Leo his interesting history and personality. I would have liked something a little more solid, considering how much buildup it got, though.
Rating: 3.25/5

Art is, of course, lovely, as to be expected of a shoujo series. The character designs fail to stand out against others (there are times when Leo looks suspiciously like L from Death Note), but thankfully I didn't confuse any characters within the story (which I often do in shoujo series), so bonus points there. The backgrounds aren't as overloaded with detail and sparkles and many shoujo series, but the simplicity is appreciated because I can actually tell what's going on. Fight scenes are well done, albeit woefully short (Leo tends to take people out in one hit), and the drastic expression changes between sweet lovey Leo and his dark side are very well illustrated.
Rating: 3.75/5

Beast Master is a surprisingly sweet story with very little innuendo, despite the somewhat suggestive cover and chapter inserts. This pleases me, as I've never been a huge fan of the "jr. high girl gets raped or otherwise naked in chapter one but somehow it's okay because the guy who did it is hot," sort of tales. The innocent relationship between Yuiko and Leo is fun to read, and lacking in all the frustrations of the average high school romance. While it doesn't move as fast as some romance lovers would like, I think their innocent love is a nice change of pace. If you like shoujo manga, there's nothing wrong with giving this series a try. It has all the cute fluff that you love with strong enough leads to make it stand out.

This series is being scanned by Aerandria.
You can read it online here.

--Ou-bento