November 13, 2011

Hana to Akuma : It ended on Chapter 58 as one of the best shoujo manga endings. No plot no jutsu, no demon ex machina, no a demon king did it - Humans die. They have lifespans typically ranging between 70 and 90. And thank you Hana to Akuma, for making that a thing of beauty. Who would've thought that in this rather typical set up of a love between a human and a demon I would find such an ending? Watching Vivi blush at a magically transformed Nigou, the demon king messing with Hana, the typical shoujo dramas, the pretty post time skip Hana, I'd say this last chapter is my favorite. So again, hats off to you. While many a series can take us on a wild ride, few can go out with such a memorable closing. (imlookingatyouDRRRangelbeatsetc)

Kyou Koi wo Haijimemasu: Typical shoujo manga where the girl changes and is usually insecure and rivals appear etc etc. But one line I really liked was when she was telling Tsubaki about giving her first time to him, something in most shojo mangas usually result in the guy a)telling her that he'll wait for her b)having sex while proclaiming their undying everlasting love. In Kyou Koi wo Haijimemasu she says "Even if the time comes where our feelings change and we seperate, the fact that my first time was you Tsubaki-kun...I will never come to regret that." I like it when shoujo decides to be realistic. (Although maybe not always so soul crushingly realistic as 5cm/sec, but like that film, people do grow apart. But for her not to regret that decision's she's made no matter what might happen, that's awesome. (Although they won't.)

So you see this generic looking shoujo with its generic problems and generic love story but occasionally surprises you with a bit of deepness the regret part and Ch.67 where instead of reconnecting with his mother and all instead it’s just like if we’re both happy, it’s enough.
“That’s not it. Are you really happy with that person right now?” “That….” “Don’t think about it anymore. Because right now, I am really happy as well. Because of that person. If we are both happy then there’s no need to dig into past pains. So let’s end things here, today. Hm? Mom.” “Uh…right now..I…” “Can’t lost against me in getting that happiness.” “Goodbye”
Although I don’t really agree with not reconnecting with his mother, the goodbye scene was really nicely handled, with it being different from the rest.

Not sure if AKB49 counts as strictly shoujo when it features a cross-dressing guy infiltrating an all girls group but whatevs. It's turning out way better than I expected. Minori is really awesome, or was my squealing a by product of being up at 3am reading manga? Either way though, people are so going to jump him as soon as he reveals his true gender. ROFL. Although re-reading the first chapter, while the part about the member to change history is always cool, the surpassing the beatles part was much too unrealistic. I don’t even like AKB48. xP But I guess that’s the japanese for you. That part about how their concerts were ‘2 hours when all wars disappeared”? That’s totally like Macross Frontier. Like how Ranka did her kira pose and all the soldiers dropped their guns. Really guys? I like Minori though, he makes a great heroine XD He has all the right comeback, raise your spirit kind of moments like the latest one where they came up with the idea with the lipstick.

Say I Love You is a pretty good series too. "To know people…is to know love." It's kind of typical, but pushes the right shoujo-y buttons ;3
You know how I picked Aeris to be the Gold Saucer date for Cloud because it would make for awesome dorama later when she died? That same sadistic tendency for dorama is pretty consistent. I love how I’m reading Say I Love You 14 and Mei is saying how she can’t handle everything and Yamamoto is saying he loves her and it’s cute and all I’m thinking is “please break up.” When Mei moved her hand up I was like “please push him away” When the bracelet broke I was like “please break up.” But they didn’t break up! Oh well, the drama was pretty good while it lasted. I’m a sucker for girls who smile while acting strong. I now also sound like a creepy old man. :T
You’d think that the moment that the manga is named after, when Mei finally said I love you to Yamato, would be a lot more grand and finale like. I however, totally counted on someone cockblocking them. One way or another.
A rival a rival a rival OH YAMATO PLEASE BE JEALOUS. JEALOUSY IS WIN. Keima was right, out of all the seven deadly sins, envy is one that is totally acceptable in otome/gal games
Mei really has gotten cuter with her long hair and all. I’m actually kind of glad they didn’t do a whole sudden makeover sequence with her earlier. It’s way cliché.
One thing that’s cliché but I love anyways is the two friends that the heroine always has in shoujo. Especially since Mei did her whole ‘win them over with her honesty and words’ bit with both aiko and asami. 

Kobato: I don’t know what I expected from the ending of Kobato but I guess I expected something more. I mean the anime was cheesy but it fleshed out the similar ending a bit more. Well Ginsei was cute definitely, and that Suishou and Iorogi are finally able to be together is nice too. BUT STILL SOMETHING JUST FALLS SHORT. Sorta like xxxHolic where I read the last chapter and I’m like “what” except I guess it wasn’t as bad as Holic. D:

0 comments:

Labels

manga (78) anime (64) episodic rant (40) series review (34) mahou sensei negima (12) shipping (12) shounen (12) Naruto (10) games (9) movie (9) live action (8) star driver (8) Bleach (7) ending (7) haikyuu!! (7) one piece (7) detective conan (6) haruhi suzumiya (6) kpop (6) kuroshitsuji (6) shoujo (6) twgok (6) Durarara (5) Katekyo Hitman Reborn (5) Liar Game (5) first impressions (5) fullmetal alchemist (5) light novel (5) 07-Ghost (4) Fairy Tail (4) la corda d'oro (4) season two (4) shugo chara (4) sports (4) D.Grayman (3) OVA (3) angel beats (3) avatar (3) code geass (3) final fantasy (3) kuroko no basket (3) shota (3) tcg/ccg (3) uq holder (3) webtoon (3) Blade of the Immortal (2) CLAMP (2) Inuyasha (2) Kenichi (2) Kobato (2) Magi Labyrinth of Magic (2) Medaka Box (2) Munto (2) alice in the country of hearts (2) animation (2) awards (2) black butler (2) character rankings (2) eyeshield 21 (2) harem (2) higashi no eden (2) hunter x hunter (2) immortal rain (2) korean (2) loli (2) mahou shojo (2) maria+holic (2) natsume yuujincho (2) otome youkai zakuro (2) samurai deeper kyo (2) series comparison (2) shinrei tantei yakumo (2) super junior (2) sword art online (2) tower of god (2) 200 pounds beauty (1) 2014 (1) Code Breaker (1) Hana to Akuma (1) Harukanaru Toki no Naka de (1) IRIS (1) Kaitai Shinsho Zero (1) Kekkaishi (1) Kyou Koi wo Haijimemasu (1) Say I Love You (1) Shaman King (1) Tokyo Mew Mew (1) accel world (1) ah my goddess (1) anohana (1) bakemonogatari (1) bloody monday (1) boys love (1) brs (1) chrono crusade (1) comic book (1) cooking (1) disappearance of haruhi suzumiya (1) doctor who (1) doujinshi (1) fate/stay night (1) free! (1) gaiden (1) ghibli (1) glass mask (1) hatenkou yuugi (1) hellboy (1) k-on (1) kamisama hajimemashita (1) kanata kara (1) love live (1) magical girl lyrical nanoha (1) makoto shinkai (1) mamoru hosoda (1) mei-chan no shitsuji (1) one punch man (1) psycho pass (1) puella magi madoka magica (1) reverse harem (1) rpg (1) sailor moon (1) saint young men (1) saiunkoku monogatari (1) saki (1) series recommendation (1) sherlock holmes (1) shokugeki no soma (1) slam dunk (1) soul eater (1) spring 2015 (1) story tropes (1) suikoden tierkreis (1) suisei no garugantia (1) tekken (1) the elder scrolls (1) toradora (1) until death do us part (1) vampire game (1) vampire juuji kai (1) visual novel (1) yozakura quartet (1) yugioh (1) zombie loan (1)

Popular Posts