Power!!

Kyo Aizawa is very excited about getting to attend Seisyu Academy, which is famous for its adorable girls' uniforms. Her spirits are crushed, however, when she opens the package containing her school uniform to find a boy's uniform.Her father explains to her that, as Seisyu Academy is also famous for its boys' basketball program, he enrolled her as a boy so she can fulfill his own dream of becoming an NBA basketball star. To make matters worse, she has to stay in the boys' dorms, and her roommate is the same boy she came to hate at tryouts.

Kyo is a typical girl until her dad forces her to attend high school as a boy just to be on the basketball team. Kyo succeeds on getting on the boys team but find a rival in Chiharu. To make matters worse, the end up being roomates. Though they continuously fight and argue, they end up becoming friends.

Yura is an outsider who also seems to be quite mental but quickly forms a friendship with Kyo. Hayama is the resident pervert but is also loyal to Kyo. Hikaru is the assistant who hands out towels and she ends up falling for the "boy" Kyo. Persistantly.

This manga is beyond hilarious. I was laughing so much reading it that I didn't want to put it down at all. The artwork was very well done, especially the "scary" faces and the story is very in depth along with the humor and sarcastic wit.

This manga does have some female-upper nudity and male nudity that is blocked/black boxed. Also some "H" material Hayama reads/watches all the time.

Stars: 5/5
Mangaka: Seino Shizuru
Categories: comedy, drama, romance, gender bender, live, shoujo
Volumes: 10

Gaba Kawa

Rara, a girl from the demon world, arrives on earth with only one goal in mind: To do as many bad things as possible. Sound easy, doesn’t it? It doesn’t sound as easy as it seems when Rara starts to develop feelings for a certain someone that she shouldn’t have. "Rara, don’t forget not to let the humans be aware that you’re a demon."

Rara arrives on earth from the demon world to cause havoc and mayhem. In a series of fortunate, or "unfortunate", events, Rara falls for a human. Retsu is the popular outcast who'd rather be hiding on the roof instead of being bombardant with demands for him to join one club or another. Rara is a first curious about this human so she follows him around but her feelings develop into something more. This is against the rules for demons though as Rara finds out the hard way.

Very cute and funny with a bittersweet ending, I really liked how this story progressed. The kind of artwork I really like too with the beautiful shoujo style.

Stars: 4/5
Mangaka: Takada Rie
Categories: comedy, fantasy, romance, shoujo
Volumes: 1

Baby Pop

Cool and gorgeous Nagisa paired with her perverted and stupid step-father Ryunosuke makes for a hip-hop story that presents a father and daughter who cannot be honest with each other.

Nagisa is 14 when she loses her mother in an accident. The only person left is the man her mother had just married and who Nagisa holds little affection for. Ryu has a wild streak and likes women and alcohol a little too much. However, despite his scruffy look, he's barely ever serious much to the annoyance of Nagisa. Is Ryu going to handle the responsibility of a daughter?

This story seemed to end quickly and left open alot of room and questions. Overall though it was really funny and enjoyable. I would have also liked to see some more character development but what was delivered works.

Stars: 3/5
Mangaka: Ogawa Yayoi
Categories: comedy, drama, josei, life
Volumes: 2

Seinin/Josei are for mature audiences only. Specificly 18+. This stories are geared towards adults. May contain adult content and themes.

My Invisible Children: The Rescue Video

On April 25th, Invisible Children held a rally across 9 countries in 100 different cities. People met up at one location and then walked to a "LRA Camp". Participates held onto ropes just like the children in Africa who are abducted. At the camp, the people who abducted themselves waited for someone to rescue them. Many celebrities and politicians have come to the rescue in most of the cities but many of the cities are still waiting as of RIGHT NOW to be rescued.

Here is a video I made and posted on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bUtl3p-4D8

The clips are from Uganda and a few of the rallies around the world. Music is "Rescue Me" by Tokio Hotel

Invisible Children

Approximately 2,000 - 3,000 children are in the LRA today.
In the past 20 years about 30,000 - 50,000 children have been abducted.

For 23 years, the government of Uganda and a rebel group called the Lords Resistance Army, led by a man named Joseph Kony, has engaged in Africas longest war. In recent years, peace was seemingly within reach, largely due to the Juba Peace Talks that began in July 2006. However, despite a ceasefire signed between the LRA and Ugandan government, efforts toward peace through the Juba Peace Talks were stalled on several occasions by Konys refusal to sign the final peace agreement. Konys absence at the peace agreement signing on November 29, 2008 proved his promises to be futile and ultimately disabled the peace talks. Furthermore, the ICC has obtained evidence that Kony used the ceasefire during the peace talks to regroup, regain strength and resume child abductions. Joseph Kony is the worlds first individual indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Since September 2008, hostility in the Orientale province in DR Congo and Western Equatoria in South Sudan has reached a feverish pitch. In apparent desperation and a renewed will to spread terror to DR Congo, the LRA murdered over six hundredand abducted more than one hundred and sixty children to fight amongst its ranks on December 25, 2008. More than 104,000 Congolese have been displaced since Christmas in attempts to escape the LRA forces. A civil war, originally contained within Ugandas borders, has now evolved into a widespread regional crisis. Invisible Children, in concert with other policy organizations including Resolve Uganda, The Enough Project, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, now believes an international effort to apprehend Kony and rescue his child soldiers is the most viable way to end the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today.

Visit http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php to view the documentary and see how you can make a difference!!

Invisible Children will be in Washington DC for Lobby Days on June 22nd and 23rd

Paradise Kiss

Yukari wants nothing more than to make her parents happy by studying hard and getting into a good college. One afternoon, however, she is kidnapped by a group of self-proclaimed fashion mavens calling themselves 'Paradise Kiss.' Yukari suddenly finds herself in the roller coaster life of the fashion world, guided by George, art-snob extraordinaire. In a glamorous makeover of body, mind and soul, she is turned from a hapless bookworm into her friends’ own exclusive clothing model.

Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka starts off with a very high and mighty opinion but eventually grows as she is inexplicable drawn into the world of her newest friends. George Koizumi, Miwako Sakurada, Arashi Nagase, and Isabella. All four attend the arts school Yazagaku and have to enter into a fashion design contest for the senior years. They ask Yukari to be their model and walk down the runway in their dress. At first she very rudely declines but eventually comes around.

George is the charismatic designer whose fashion runs more haute couture than everyday. He's kind a difficult character to understand really. His hypocritical statements will give you some whiplash. His cold personality may be contributed from his mother though because she is in fact a "mistress" and not a first wife.

Miwako is the short, cute and bubbly figure in the group. She is a very loyal friend for Yukari and often helps her out. She doesn't consider herself a very good designer because she usually imitates her sister's colthing brand Happy Berry. So she fills more of a seamstress role within the group and even shows Yukari a thing or two. Miwako aslo happens to be Arashi's girlfriend.

Arashi is the boyfriend of Miwako and can eaily be spotted in a crowd with his numerous piercings and punk style clothes. He is the first one to notice Yukari and ends up chasing her as Yukari runs away from him without listening to what he has to say. Arashi is quite blunt and honest with people and is even the one to tell Yukari off when she laughs at them "playing with sewing machines". Eventually though he warms up to her and even Miwako notices how he doesn't want Yukari to get hurt.

Isabella is the motherly figure and is usually the one to make the tea and food when they take a break. Always there to dispense some advice or a venting wall for Yukari. Isabella always wears high fashion clothing and George's very first dress was made for her back in elementary school. Notably, Isabella is a crossdresser but is very much treated like a lady. He is also the one that makes the patterns for George's designs.

Overall I very, very much enjoyed reading this series. It really does take you on a rollercoaster ride and the comedy in it kept me laughing. Loved the artwork and I really liked alot of the fashion designs Yukari wore. The ending is bittersweet though but despite how I like/don't like it, it works out wonderfully and was really the right way to go. Just as a warning though, this comic does show nudity and adult themes so it is for mature audiences only. 18+ or if you're not into that.

Stars: 5/5
Mangaka: Ai Yazawa
Categories: fashion, drama, romance, shoujo, josei
Volumes: 5

Seinin/Josei are for mature audiences only. Specificly 18+. This stories are geared towards adults. May contain adult content and themes.

Crescent Moon

Mahiru Shiraishi was never an average girl, she can give other people incredibly good luck just by touching them (a fact she sometimes thinks attributes to her lack of such fortune - she gave it all away). And when she has recurring dreams of a demon with fierce eyes, her life is turned upside down. Enter the Lunar Race, and the demons Mitsuru, Nozomu, Misoka and Akira. Mahiru suddenly becomes an object of treasured value in the battle between demon and human.

Mahiru is a highschool junior who has the unfortunete luck of having bad luck. She loves to swim and collect plushies of aquatic animals. One day though, she finds four members of the lunar race. Or rather they find her for a very special reason.

Mitsuru Suou is a tengu who controls wind and electricity as well has having the power to fly. He is the most adamant against Mahiru helping them but he does have a very good reason for it. He is also very hot-tempered which often makes it difficult for him to keep his transformation under control when he gets mad.

Nozomu Moegi is the smooth talking, affectionate vampire of the group. He becomes very protective of Mahiru naturally and even has a bat follow her around so as to be alerted of any danger. Nozomu uses bats for spying and keeping in contact with the others.

Misoka Asagi is a fox demon who has hypnosis and transformations as his power. While he is very short compared to the other members (don't bring it up in front of him), he is actually the oldest and the unspoken leader. He is level-headed and quick thinking.

Akira Yamabuki is the resident comedian and werewolf so of course he has the super-speed/strenght/hearing/smell of his breed. He also takes quite a shine to Mahiru at the beginning and usually is the one to whisk her away if the situation becomes too dangerous.

This series is very well done both in the storyline and the artwork. Definietly one of my faves. It delves into all the characters' younger years and really makes you sad over the plight of the lunar race and why Mahiru is so important. Excellent read.

Stars: 5/5
Mangaka: Haruko Iida
Categories: fantasy, drama, romance, shoujo
Volumes: 6

Clover

In a futuristic world, the government has conducted secret research called the 'Clover Project'. Each Clover is tattooed with a power level by the Five Elders Council. Sue is a Four Leaf Clover, the only one in existence. Ran is a Three Leaf, one of two. Gingetsu is Two Leaf and Oruha is One Leaf. Each book tells a different tale of these tragic children, backtracking from when Kazuhiko takes Sue to Fairy Park to when Ran becomes Gingetsu's ward. Kazuhiko is a former soldier turned private eye who is giving the mission of picking up and delivering Sue to Fairy Park. Sue is part of a race of children called Clovers who are children with special powers, and in this futuristic world, the government is out to control them.

The story to me started out pretty confusing and it wasn't till after a couple pages that I fully came into concept of what this world is like. I liked the idea behind it but did not feel this was explored enough. Again, this story had so much potential to carry on the plot that came to a anti-climatic halt. I picked this series from the picture on the cover since I like this style of artwork and I wasn't disappointed. But it was annoying on just how many pages were dedicated to song lyrics and little sayings that were repeated again, and again, and again, etc. I started skipping over those annoying fillers.

Stars: 2/5
Mangaka: Nanase Ohkawa - Story, Apapa Mokona - Art
Categories: romance, science-fiction, shoujo
Volumes: 4

Family Complex

Akira Sakamoto is an average looking, ordinary high school student who lives an upper, middle-class lifestyle. His father looks young enough to be his brother, his mother is drop-dead gorgeous, his sisters have every guy in town iterested in them, and his older brother is pro model handsome. With everyone in town saying that there's NO way that he belongs in a family with such beautiful people he has developed a deep-seated sense of inferiority.

This manga opens up with how inferior Akira feels amongst the supermodels in his family. Each chapter is dedicated to a different family member and their stories show just how much of a curse their appearances are at times.

I really liked the characters and the shoujo style artwork but there really wasn't so much of a plot. More of a moral story about how looks aren't everything. This could definietly have lead into more of a storyline. Possible Akira finding someone that does like his looks and they fall in love with each other. Ahhhh, I'm a romantic at heart.... *goes and murders a teddy bear*. There much better. J/K

Stars: 3/5
Mangaka: Mikiyo Tsuda
Categories: slice of life, comedy, shoujo
Volumes: 1

Love Luck

Suzuki Nero has had her eye on Kurokawa Yamato, and according to her love horoscope it was the perfect time to confess! She and Yamato were hitting it off well, although she still had the mean Kurokawa Dan who tries to get her attention in all the wrong ways in the back of her mind. She was ready to confess, but suddenly her chance was ruined! Strangely enough, Kurokawa Yamato and Kurokawa Dan got into a car crash together and when Nero goes to visit Yamato, she finally confesses to him. He kisses her and starts laughing, only to reveal that he's actually "Dan"!! Nero would have never guessed that the ruthless Dan and the sweet Yamato had switched after the car crash! What's Nero to do when the personality she likes is Yamato's, but the real Yamato is pretending to be Dan...!?

The manga summary works well so I'm not going to go on about what the books is about. I did like the whole freaky friday storyline but I think it went too quick. Granted there aren't many ways you can keep twisting a story like that but I felt it could have been explored more. Still, it was predictable. Brought a smile to my face, but predictable.

Artwork is well done in shoujo style again though with a little more harshness than fantasy. Much like the manga Five if anyone has read that. There is quite a bit of swearing done at the beginning but not so much at the end. And yeah. That's all I got to say about this one.

Stars: 3/5
Mangaka: Asahina Yuuya
Categories: romance, school-life, shoujo
Volumes: 6

Bitter Virgin

Suwa Daisuke is the ladies man of his small town high school, and he has his eye on most every girl, except for one. Aikawa Hinako isn't his type, but when he overhears a deep dark secret of hers, he finds himself thinking of her more and more.

Daisuke's ambitions involve getting into a good University so he won't have to take over the restaurant his mom runs. Uni means alot of girls too. At the beginning, Daisuke says the only female classmate of his he would pass on is Aikawa. Aikawa is a transfer student you is living by herself. She is very shy and seems to be afraid of every male around her. Even the teacher. While Daisuke thinks this is pretty weird, he brushes it off. One day though, he overhears a confession that changes his world from then on. Now Aikawa is constantly on his mind for reasons unknown to him.

Complicating matters even worse, Kazuki is obsessed with Daisuke. I mean stalker obsessed. Even the innocent friendship that springs between Daisuke and Aikawa is competition to her. On Daisuke's side though, he has Yuzu. His childhood friend and next door neighbor. She's in the background most of the time, watching the drama unfold, but always there to lend a helping hand or advice when it gets to be too much. Then Izumi appears from Tokyo. She is Daisuke's older sister and the surprise she has sets a whirlwind of emotions through the group.

This is the first (lots of first lately lol) seinin manga of mine. I'll admit it. I had to google what that meant. However what I was expecting wasn't what I got. Granted I still agree that this is "18+", it wasn't as pornographic as I was expecting. If anything too, I would say this is closer to josei. This just seems it would be more appealing to women than men. But, hey. Just my opinion. I also found the artwork beautiful and close to shoujo.

Stars: 4/5
Mangaka: Kei Kusunoki
Categories: drama, mature, romance, seinin/josei
Volumes: 32

Seinin/Josei are for mature audiences only. Specificly 18+. This stories are geared towards adults. May contain adult content and themes.

Gravitation

Finally watched the anime Gravitation though I know it's been around for a while now. It is about a boy named Shuichi Shindou. Very hyper and playful with a little kid personality. He and his best friend, Hiro (Hiroshi Nakano) forms a band named Bad Luck. Hiro acts as a guardian over Shuichi throughtout the series. Despereately trying to finish the lyrics to their first song before the Record Company's deadline, Shuichi is lost for inspiration until an encounter one night. In steps Eiri Yuki. Eiri says a rather few harsh words over the lyrics Shuichi has written and walks off.

Obsessed now, Shuichi confronts Eiri about his lyrics and wants him to come to Bad Luck's first perfomance as the opening act for ASK. A somewhat romance blooms between the two but Shuichi's loud and carefree nature doesn't always works well with Eiri's deep and brooding style. Complicating matters more, ASK is going for low blows to knock away Bad Luck as competition. Bad Luck though gets a new, gun-happy manager and the support of Nittle Grasper, a popular iconic band. Ryuichi Sakuma is their singer with an uncanny personality much like Shuichi's and offer's his own advice about singing.

I will admit that this is the first Shounen-Ai (that I can recall) for me. Anime or Manga. And I actually kind of liked it. While at first I didn't really get into it, I eventually got hooked and just had to know what would happen. Plenty of comedy mixed in kept me hooked and the romance wasn't nauseating lovey-dovey either. Overall, a good addition to the shelf.

Stars: 4/5
Creator: Maki Murakami
USA Company: RightStuf
Categories: Shounen-Ai, Drama, Comedy