Angel's Review: Manga and Comics

Abstraction(2000)
Author: Kago Shintaro
Hentai, Horror,
Key Words: One Shot,
Originated: Japan

Book Volumes: 1


My Thoughts: Um…. What the fuck did I just look at? The whole thing was confusing as hell to me. It started out normal with two characters that liked each other but then something went crazy and it made me feel like I was on drugs. After a while, it was way to hard to even read and got extremely horrific looking with blood, smut and so on.

The artwork was the most confusing to me and it didn’t seem to have any reason to look like that. If anyone has seen the Farscape comics, it was like that with more blood and guts in it. I would say don’t read it unless you want a really strange feeling after it.

Rating:

Link to Wikipedia:

Other Reviews:

May Also Like:

…Curtain(2006)
Author: Mizutani Kyoko
Romance, Josei,
Key Words: One Shot, Smut
Originated: Japan

Book Volumes: 1


My Thoughts: As with all shows and mangas that have more then one story, I will be splitting them up to talk about.

First is Curtain. It’s actually a cute story about how a young girl and her love ends up living under the same roof. Just as a rather young and naive girl can be, she has a lot of problems when it comes to things on her own like cooking so she ends up showing this to her love threw little problems. Despite that, she didn’t really tell anyone about her birthday so when Shibasaki finds out about it; he goes threw all the trouble to make sure she had a cake and candles. In the end, they fell in love, or at least confessed to being in love and that’s when it gets into a bit sexy time. The artwork is rather gentle and sweet, being rather cute at times. The shadows are soft and really bring out the romance within the manga chapter.

The next called Love Duet, the girl is more like a stocker then a naïve girl because she even ends up taking pictures of him at work. She ends up playing the piano with him after his sister has an accident. In the end, its to much for her to bear and she asks for another teacher but with the last performance, he does the music with her. The artwork again is gentle but yet has a lot more comical feeling to it. I was happy that the characters seemed to have a way different personality then the first couple and luckily, this One Shot didn’t really end with sex although they hinted they were going to do it. There was no art of them ‘getting it on’ and that means that the story didn’t need it.

With Sweet Days for You too, it’s a bit surprising that the women seems to actually be the stronger individual. She stops someone who has stolen the guys wallet then finds out that the happy go lucky guy she just helped works on creating spices for her company. Since she is a strong willed and diligent worker, seeing a guy like this makes her think that he is actually not doing his work and so she thinks little of him. Threw him, she learns to slow down at some points, and think about herself rather then work. In the end, he’s the one that rescues her from the problems she had with her boss and they learn to accept each other. If you don’t want a sexual story then this is the one you want because it has nothing to do with that.

Impassioned Drawing is about two architects that don’t really seem to see eye to eye. But unknowing to there company, the two are actually in love and living together. If the company found out, things would be rather bad for the both of them, making one quit and one leave the company for good. When they had to do a big compaction together, it drives them apart and leaves the women wondering what she should do now, leave the company or put her feelings aside. This one was much more drama filled and so it was almost like it would break my heart when the women tried so hard to have the man she loved back in her life. The artwork is pretty much the same as the others so not much to say on that.

This one surprisingly actually dives into the Impassioned Drawing one where we have the came characters. We follow the women wondering if her lover really does love her even if he doesn’t show it. I’m not sure if I understand this because he did all he could for them to be together. This one was a face palm chapter because the whole idea was that the women wouldn’t let him have sex with her till he actually said he was sorry for not showing his feelings. At least the other one didn’t revolve around sex but this one does. It makes the characters feel shallower and breaks the sweet drama they had before.

Rating:

Link to Wikipedia:

Other Reviews:

May Also Like:

Alice in the Country of Hearts(Oct 2007 – Oct 2010)
Author: Quin Rose, Soumei Hoshino
Adventure, Comedy, Reverse-Harem, Fantasy, Romance, Shojo,
Key Words: Gunfights, Warring Factions,
Magazine: Monthly Comic AvarusPublisher: Mag Garden American Publisher: Yen Press
Originated: Japan

Book Volumes: 6


My Thoughts: When I was young, I loved the story of Alice in wonderland because it was a strange storyline that grabbed my attention. Over the years, I loved almost every rendition of the story that came out. The darker the story, the better in my mind for instance, I liked American McGee’s Alice game where Alice was in asylum after her family was killed in a fire. I’m not sure why but when things are rather demented like that; it gives a really nice spin to an already overused story. This one, well, its what you would expect from a manga version of Alice with a Reverse- harem element. All the guys are beautiful men and the girl believes she isn’t work anything.

We start out with Alice waking up from her ‘dream’ and seeing her sister there, reading a book. Ironically, it’s the book Alice in wonderland and so of course Alice believed wonderland to be nothing more then a dream. Even though she only had a dream about a game, she seems to be bothered by a game of cards that her sister asks about. This is where the manga gets a little hairy in continuity or just plain explaining what the hell is going on. We wouldn’t know just why Alice is so jumpy since all we get is a very small bit of her dreaming about a game. Now even more problematic is that she also talks about how her sister was probably a girl all the men would love but when she thinks of an image, we have nothing that would tell us who it is. We can suspect though that it’s a guy she likes. I have a feeling that those that might of played the games this manga was based off of would understand but as of now, I do not believe they have actually come to America and are probably not in English.

As her sister leaves, we get Alice drifting off again to sleep and then she sees a normal white rabbit with clothing on. The story of Alice in Wonderland almost always had her following the rabbit on her own accord, but this one, the rabbit tells her she needs to follow him, then when he picks her up to force her to come with, he turns into a really hot white haired man with glasses! And not only that, but he forces her to drink a strange liquid as well. He calls himself Peter White…. I believe it is a play off of Peter Rabbit and this is when I facepalm because in only about 35 pages, we have a rather ‘erotic’ scene with a name pulled as a spinoff of something else. And yet, this is what Alice in wonderland was made for.

The story goes really fast and really doesn’t have much time to explain what exactly is going on. This is not for people who want things explained right off the back but then again, you wouldn’t like the normal Alice in Wonderland then. Now, there are a lot of things I like about this manga though, including the little touches that the ‘Hatters’ are a family of mafia with the main Hatter as our representative love interest. (Those that seem to ship Alice and Hatter will love this manga.)

I have to say this story reminds me a lot of Kobato where the main character must collect something in a bottle to get back to where she wants to go, STOP THINKING IT PERVERTS! We also have a rather interesting staker who seems to have fallen for her and wants her to stay in the world of Wonderland with him. Of course, in a harem, all the men and some women it seems want to be with Alice including an incubus that creates nightmares. I get the feeling this manga should be a hentai but it never really comes to that. Instead, we have a rather fun and witty dialog between all of the characters. Seriously, a lot of the dialog actually made me laugh at times because it was stuff that I should of figured would happen but I was not expecting it. All the characters turned into loveable characters (Even Peter White in a way) in their childish nature and fun loving self.

In the end, there really isn’t an end and so it keeps on going on about the same. This sometimes bothers me but there are luckily hints that something will be changing at some point in time.

The artwork is actually rather good though pretty standard for the beautiful harem boy. If you consider it against all the other Reverse-harem mangas, then the artwork is just standard. Every once in a while, a character may stand out but it’s hard for them to stand out when they look like many other characters in other mangas. As for in the manga, you can tell the characters apart except for Dee and Dum at times but they are twins. The other characters around them don’t have faces and so it really helps the main characters stand out. It was a interesting way of playing it off.

Rating:

Link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_the_Country_of_Hearts

Other Reviews:

May Also Like: Kobato,


Alice in the Country of Clover(Aug 25, 2009 - )
Author: Quin Rose, Mamenosuke Fujimaru
Adventure, Comedy, Reverse-Harem, Fantasy, Romance, Shojo,
Key Words: Gunfights, Warring Factions,
Magazine: Comic Zero Sum Publisher: Ichijinsha American Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Originated: Japan

Book Volumes: 2


My Thoughts:

Rating:

Link to Wikipedia:

Other Reviews:

May Also Like:

Zombie Powder(Jul 19, 1999 – Feb 8, 2000)
Author: Taite Kubo
Sci-fi, Western, Comedy, Action, Shonen, Supernatural
Key Words: Guns, Swords, Fetch Quest,
Publisher: Shueisha American Publisher: Madman Entertainment, Viz Media
Originated: Japan

Book Volumes: 4


My Thoughts: Automatically, the first few pages reminded me of Trigun in how the main character is portrayed. He’s somewhat flashy, and acts like an idiot in a world of the western gun. Gamma is really comedic and seems to also be a womanizer himself as seen with Elwood’s sister. So, a womanizing, comedic, and almost bad ass of a guy is looking for something around the desert. He is kind to anyone he meets and wears a flashy coat, standing out like a sore thumb. He has armor that is built directly into his right arm and is a wanted man who doesn’t fight aimlessly because of a woman. If that doesn’t explain both Vash and Gamma, then I don’t think anything will. Now, unlike Vash, he isn’t worried about fighting and even carries around a sword that’s more like a chainsaw and he’s mastered a sword style that is extremely hard to learn.

I see Elwood as pretty much Wolfwood in a sense because most of the times he’s talking to Gamma, I can see Wolfwood doing the same for Vash. Still, there are quite a bit odd things that make him his own character. All the characters call him by his middle name it seems since in his BO, his full name is read as John Elwood Shepherd. His drive is only one thing, bringing his sister back to life after feeling very guilty for the events leading up to her death. I somewhat consider him more like our introduction since the story ends with him a bit.

The next character we should talk about is CT Smith who is Gamma’s partner. Why he wears a professional suit in hot dry weather is beyond me but it doesn’t look like he would be very comfortable. He’s pretty smart and seems to look up to Gamma though he somewhat matches him in strength. He also has a really really bad habit of building bombs that never once work right. He has been yelled at by Gamma for that many times.

And last we have Wolfgangina Lalla Getto (Wolfina). Who in their right mind would freaken call there kid Wolfgangina? Anyway, she is paparazzi journalist who has a really strange idea of justice. For example, after taking a picture of a gangboss trying to rape a woman, she doctored it to make it seem that he was a dominatrix.

I had trouble with the name for a rather long time. It really looks like it should be Zombie Power and not Powder, doesn’t it? Even in the description, I had a hard time not writing ‘power hunter’ instead. There is also the fact that the author has for some unknown reason given every single character who is in this manga a full name even if they were only fought for one chapter or has been seen in two or three panels. That’s a bit of dedication right there but I feel it’s unnecessary. Also, this would have been a really good manga if the creator didn’t decide to cut it off so soon. It felt unfinished after the forth episode. In the end, it just needed to keep going and give us more then a preview of what could have been.

The artwork is really out of this world with all the different types of swords and weapons they have. It’s got a really fun steam punk artstyle at times and yet, it isn’t fully steampunk. You can see it in the ‘Jet powered’ swords and even in Gamma’s Chainsaw sword but no one is really

Rating:

Link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombiepowder.

Other Reviews:

May Also Like: Trigun,

Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, Cossette no Shouzou(Aug 11, 2004 – Dec 21, 2004)
Author: Asuka Katsura
Supernatural, Seinen, Psychology,
Key Words: Torture, Gore, Suicide,
Magazine: Magazine Z Publisher: Kodansha American Publisher: Tokyopop
Originated: Japan

Book Volumes: 2


My Thoughts: I have to say that this manga, even though created after the anime was done, actually has much more depth to it. The story starts out with the main character drawing a image of a girl he saw in a painting in the antic store and it feels much more realistic then him seeing the girl in a piece of glass. Not only that, but it’s a painting that was painted with her own blood after Marcello killed her. The painting actually has a background that whoever owned the painting died so it gives a bit more depth to it. It gives the realization that Eiri wasn’t actually chosen out of thin air, although he is still mesmerized by the painting for no real reason.

The manga dives much deeper into these then the anime and Cossette actually seems to have a heart instead of a heartless bitch. She seems to feel sad for the things that her items have done rather then just want to torture Eiri with there pain. And sadly, even though they have a bit more depth to them, I can’t find myself to care about these characters because of the artwork.

Throughout the whole book, we have a sort of Narrator-ish chat going on without any real way of knowing whether its Eiri or Corssette talking. Sometimes it’s a mix of the two though can be just a little hard to figure out how who is. It dives much into psychology of obsession and love with almost a surreal feeling. And yet, it also goes into a rather depressing thought about what it really means to be alive, of course, the only answer this gives is that we live to one day die. That nothing we do means anything in this world because we will all end up the same.

The Artwork is actually really bland compared to the anime, and sometimes feels blotchy. Cossette is the only one that actually is well detailed where as everyone else is bland and uninteresting. The items and background look much more like scribbles a lot of times or are much to detailed for a black and white manga. It’s hard to see many things and so it makes it inconsistent. I half the time have problems figuring out what is supposed to stand out and what isn’t because things that should be in the back, are much more detailed and interesting then things in the front. For a manga where the main character is going to a art school, the manga has a lot of problems with the art.

Rating:

Link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Portrait_de_Petit_Cossette

Other Reviews:

May Also Like:

Looking for the Anime? http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-755352/angel-informational-reviews-anime-and-cartoons?pg=7#40413511

One day, Akuma was sitting in the living room with a manga in one hand and a handkerchief in the other. She was crying so much because of the beautiful story she had just finished reading. As she finished, Kurai walked in and frowned as he saw her crying, "Akuma?" he asked, walking over to her. He hated seeing her crying as she used to so many times before at his Step-Dad's building and this was no exception though it had been quite a while since she had actually cried in front of him.
As he walked up, she dropped the book and flung her arms around him, "Kurai!" she cried out, hugging him even tighter now, "D....Don't ever die!"
Kurai, being really clueless about what manga she was reading and what the hell she was going on about, looked at her confused a little. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and sighed, "What brought this on? I'm not dieing or anything so why are you acting like this?"
She sniffed and pointed to the Manga that now sat on the floor. The title read 'Kieli' and the second one she had finished reading had a boy with red hair on it.
Again, Kurai look dumbfounded, "Um.... so?" he asked, "I never read that."
"Then..... then maybe I should.... give you a review like how Angel does it...... right?" she asked, looking up to him.
"You can if you want to..." he said gently as he sat down next to her, just to be a little kind and to help her stop crying.


Kieli(Dec 6, 2005 – Aug 5, 2006)
Author: Kabei Yukako, Teshirogi Shiori
Adventure, Fantasy, Shoujo, Supernatural, Drama,
Key Words: Spirits, Undead, Religion,
American Publisher: Yen Press
Originated: Japan

Book Volumes: 2


My Thoughts: The story starts out 15 years after a war that depleted the planets resources and a war that created a creature called the Undying. After the war though, the church went on a mass scale killing spree of the undying, much in the same way the Vatican got read of the Knights Templar if you want to link it to our history. In that sense, it makes the manga a bit more believable even if it is talking about the supernatural. It’s interested that before we are even introduced to Kieli, we are given a back story on this world they live on which isn’t earth, it’s a different planet they live on that the church founded itself on. Then it jumps to 80 years, and then another 7 to the time in which the story really does start.

I can see somewhat why Kieli is pretty much a outcast and I don’t think its just because she can see ghosts. She seems to also have a belief that is not the same as the teaching of the church that runs her home. A church with soldiers that will kill someone right in front of a mass amount of people, calling it a justified killing. Her grandmother seemed to try and protect her from them by telling her not to speak of seeing spirits and her beliefs but when her grandmother died, she was left in a care of a church boarding school.

Becca, her ‘roommate,’ sadly doesn’t stay throughout the manga. She is only there during the first chapter and it’s a very heartwarming story with her when she leaves us. A young girl who died from a train accident and then became best friends with a girl who never had any other friends. I could really feel for her and for Kieli when she is leaves.

Harvey on the other hand is a reanimated corpse, the Undying as they are fully called. He has to be very careful because of the church wanting to kill his kind so he seems a bit cold sometimes. Sometimes even, his hunted radio seems to have more tact then he does in the ways of people’s emotions. Even though, Harvey has a bit of a heart and does show some times where he is gentle to Kieli. Another surprising trait is that he is actually warm to the touch. Kieli actually talks about this at one point in the first book and yet, he is supposed to be pretty much a zombie.

The last person I have to talk about is Corporal. Corporal has no other name then his rank but he knows so much from the time before the church had so much power including different types of music and how to understand a persons feelings. I consider him somewhat a big brother or adult to Harvey and Kieli because he does seem to take interest in the two and care for them slightly. Becca called him an evil spirit when she first met him but I only see him as a spirit just trying to find a place to go. He does have a wicked temper at times that he shows in the first chapter but I have my suspicions that it was more on the line of trying to protect Harvey, even if in the flight of rage, he ended up hurting him.

The artwork is actually rather beautiful with large blotches of ink to show blood. The characters are rather detailed but don’t feel as though they stand out of their world. Even the ghosts look as though they are still alive most of the time except for Corporal when he is in his static form.

In the end, this is a very heartwarming manga that will probably make you cry.

Rating:

Link to Wikipedia:

Other Reviews:

May Also Like:

When she finished, she sniffed a bit and looked up at him with big round eyes, "Well?" she asked.
"Sounds like a good story," he said gently, "But I won't die. Trust me on that, ok?"
She nodded and snuggled up to him lovingly, "A...alright."
As she did this, Angel walked by and though she didn't say anything, she sent a rather dark glare to Kurai pretty much meaning not to do something to her sister.
Kurai pointed to the Manga on the ground and shrugged. Angel sighed and nodded, walking away as though she had already read the manga before.