Friday, November 15, 2013

Peek-a-Boo


I'm back with a ton of goodies to recommend. I have been meaning to come on over and share some wondrous good stuff I've unearthed, but real life has a way of putting a damper on everything. But I am here. Now.

OK!

Let's not waste time with small talk and my paltry excuses! Let's get to the main course.

What do I have for you?

I wanted to write a Halloween post but didn't, but this is wonderful for any dark night: it's an anime called "Ghost Hunt." It's available in the original Japanese on Netflix and it should be watched late at night in a dark room... Think of it along the lines of a Scooby-Doo gang-meets X-files, meets Ghostbusters, but in anime and you can get mildly close to what this is about. It's awesomeness. What a cool series. Considered horror, but not too gory, this anime is about a group of people referred to as spiritualists. Based on a series by Shiho Inada, the anime consists of the adventures of Mai, a young teenage girl who is revealed to be rather sensitive to spiritual phenomena, as she works for a mysterious guy called Naru (for Narcisssist- a nickname that sticks...) at the Shibuya Psychic Research Center. Together, including an intriguing Chinese assistant called Lin, Takigawa, or simply "Bou-san," a formally trained Buddhist monk who also moonlights as the member of a rock band, sensitive spiritualist and famous medium Masako, abrasive and hilarious shrine maiden Ayako, and Australian Catholic priest John Brown (with his adorable Kansai accent), they investigate several unusual cases.

Shibuya Psychic Research Center...and associates?


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Bishie Beat

So I was kind of on a manga hiatus for a little bit, having finished up some long series and wanting to take a break. I was flipping through some older volumes in a kind of "cleaning house" sting operation when I came across a few favorites.

I fell- hard- for Skip Beat. Again.

I started reading Skip Beat a while ago, but never really devoted much of my time to it because I get kind of that way when a series is long and ongoing. I enjoyed it...but only caught up to it a couple weeks ago. And then I decided to reread it, this time straight through...

And I loved it. It made me laugh pretty hard- and I really like all the characters.
Kyoko totally OWNING Love Me Division's ridonkulous pink overalls.



So what is so special about this manga, that makes it stand apart from other shoujo mangas you ask? Come closer my little fuzzy friend- and let's go on a ride together, shall we?...

SPOILERS AHEAD!


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Gaming Old School

So I FINALLY finished all bajillion chapters of Bakuman...And I enjoyed it a lot. I think it gave me a unique perspective into the whole world of manga, its fans, how mangakas work and the whole creative process unfolding...Very neat- it finishes up as expected, but nevertheless triumphantly.

But I'm done!

So I caught up with fluffier stuff I like to read...and while exploring, discovered, via Baka-Updates Manga, a new series I am really getting sucked into.

Chihayafuru is the story of Chihaya Ayase, a beautiful girl who instead of capitalizing on her good looks is out to become the ultimate champion in the game of karuta.

What is karuta? you ask.

Allow me to explain: Karuta is a card game that challenges your speed, reflexes, and memory. You basically play with a set of cards that contains traditional poems and you need to grab the right cards when read by the caller before your opponent does.

Spoilers belooooooow!