Hapi Mari by Enjouji Maki

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get back on track with this blog, so here I am. I've recently entered a relationship, which has made me read a lot less manga lately. It's funny how my relationships correlate to the type of manga I read! Anyway, I still decided to review a manga series I began reading a little while ago, which is why it happens to another shoujo one. It's also another Enjouji Maki manga, like 'Private Prince,' which I adored, if you you remember.

'Hapi Mari' is the story of the unlikely relationship between Chiwa and her arrogant boss, Hokuto. When Hokuto requests to marry Chiwa as a business agreement, Chiwa agrees so that she will be able to cancel her father's debt. However, Chiwa and Hokuto are completely different and neither knows what it means to be married. After moving in together to keep up appearances, Chiwa and Hokuto begin to fall in love, which makes the whole arrangement more than what they had intended. The whole series is really enjoyable and quick paced, but just sums up the love/hate relationship between two really immature people.

While 'Hapi Mari' can't really be considered an original story, as there are many with unsuitable random marriages, Enjouji Maki creates the usual humor, smut, and cute story lines that keep you reading for more. So far, only 15 chapters have been released on the internet.
Read it here: http://manga.animea.net/hapi-mari.html

Sorry for the short review this week! Hopefully it will be enough to convince everyone to read 'Hapi Mari'. I can't emphasize enough that it's one of my favorite series so far, but I also just love Enjouji Maki manga so I'm incredibly biased! :)

Best,
Pseudonymous Jayne :3

Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo

Hey folks,

I missed a week again... I'm pretty sure no one cares, but I'm mad at myself because I'm supposed to follow through with my commitments, right? Anyway, I don't have much time to rant today, so onwards.

This week I want to review 'Hana-Kimi' (aka 'Hanazakari no Kimitachi') by Hisaya Nakajo. Hana-Kimi is one of the most popular shoujo manga series in both the United States and Japan. It's about Mizuki Ashiya, a transfer student from the United States who admires a Japanese high jumper named Izumi Sano who goes to a high school in Osaka, Japan. When Ashiya gets the chance, she transfers to the school in Japan as an exchange student, except there's one flaw. Sano's school is an all boys school, thus begins Ashiya's cross dressing to disguise herself as a boy in order to be near Sano, the boys she idolized for athletics, but later falls in love with. The story continues with Ashiya's risky experiences being a girl in a boy's school and the love that forms between Sano and Ashiya, who ironically end up sharing a dorm together. From the beginning, Sano knows Ashiya is a girl, but throughout the story he helps her protect the identity without her realizing it, because he knows that once the secret is out he'll no longer be able to protect her.

Hana-Kimi is a typical cutesy shoujo series with themes on gender bender and sports. I'm not usually a fan of sports themed manga, so this is one of the first times I actually wanted to recommend one like it. I really enjoyed the art in this manga too, finding myself taking numerous screen shots of the amazing character designs. Overall, I definitely recommend it for a shoujo fan, wants their first taste of a sports themed manga. My only qualm with the series is that it's ridiculously long. I definitely spent a good two months finishing this one.

Read it here: http://www.mangareader.net/279/hana-kimi.html

Well, I can't write much today.
Best,
Pseudo-Jayne

Tamashii no Futago by Mitsukazu Mihara

Hi guys,

I'm back on schedule again! I've been suffering from extreme senior-itis these past few weeks, especially because I only have about three weeks left of school. I also know where I'm going college now, so all of the stress is pretty much non existent. I'm also getting used to the idea of staying in town for college, thus I'm feeling 100% right now. However, I have a looming last calculus test of the year approaching, but instead of studying some more I've decided to blog. It really is a great stress reliever!

This week, I've decided to review Tamashii no Futago or 'The Twin Souls' by Mitsukazu Mihara. The still unfinished series is about two lost souls who both died at the same time, and can only be seen by those who have a 'twin soul' somewhere else. Alex and Rita fly around surprising people who can see them, all the while inadvertently getting closer to each other while helping other souls meet their twins. Because only a few chapters have been released in english (six, to be exact), the back story on how Alex and Rita died is still in question, but we do learn that their deaths were under mysterious circumstances. Both characters seem to suffer some kind of amnesia that even they can't remember, due to the traumatic manner of their deaths.

I'm a huge fan of the art in this manga! Alex dons an old halloween costume and Rita is a little girl dressed in womanly clothes, which makes for adorable, but melancholy character desins. Overall, it's a great beginning to a manga that I'm sure will have a lot of twists and turns as it continues. If you like supernatural and dark themed manga, Tamashii no Futago is for you! My only qualm with the series is that it's a little confusing because of the non-biological twin concept. It takes a very literal meaning behind twin 'souls'.

Read it here: http://www.mangareader.net/1470/tamashii-no-futago.html

Wishing everyone the best,
Pseudo - Jayne :)

Midnight Secretary by Tomu Ohmi

Hi all,

Goodness. I don't even know how to apologize for missing a week (hence, why I posted a little early this week). It's my first time I've completely forgot about blogging here. I'm now running two blogs, though one is significantly less work, through tumblr. Also these past few weeks have been really difficult, because I'm finally getting my college decisions and it seems like I'll probably be going to school in my city (meaning, I'll be stuck for another four years in a place I don't really want to be). Being wait-listed to schools is probably one of the worst feelings, because you realize that you're so close to being in, but not quite... In short, I haven't been blogging on here because my life is not meeting the expectations I want it to. XP But, I'm back now. So, I've decided to review one of my favorite series: 'Midnight Secretary' by Tomo Ohmi.

Yes, the title of this manga is definitely hinting at some smut, which is actually a pretty good tip for this series. However, it's probably more accurately a josei manga. I'm not a huge fan of reviewing my favorite smut series on here, but this one is really good. I feel like most manga readers would love this even with its ridiculously silly name. The series is about Kaya, a very square, but very capable secretary. She finds herself working for a playboy boss of a big company, who usually hires beautiful women to work around him. When he sees how perfect of a secretary Kaya is, despite her meek looks, he is obligated to hire her. At first Kaya hates her boss, Kyouhei, because he is terribly hostile and spends most of his time in "engagements" with women. On one of these engagements, Kaya accidentally spies her boss sucking the blood from one of his women, and thus Kaya learns that here boss is a vampire! (Yes, this is another vampire series... I keep telling myself I don't like them, but I keep finding decently good ones). So, the story continues with Kyouhei needing Kaya's blood, where he realizes she is beautiful when she comes out of her stiff secretary look. Eventually the two fall in love, but against the rules for vampires like Kyouhei, who are only supposed to use humans as part of their diet.

I didn't think I would like this series when I started it, but it turned out to be really intriguing. I loved Kaya's character because she was so sensible at first, and didn't throw herself at Kyouhei (who is not so unique - he's just like any other male chauvinist in manga). Don't expect much as far as plot goes in this series, but the dialog and art make up for the typical plot. Despite its light smut and vampire aspects, it's a very good series that will keep you on the edge. Plus, it has fairytale ending, which I can't help but like. :3

Read it here: http://manga.animea.net/midnight-secretary.html

Well, I'll try not to miss anymore reviews!
Best,
<3 Pseudonymous Jayne

Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Ahoy there!

I want to apologize again for being late in blogging this week, again. My life has been so hectic lately, paired with the fact that I am incredibly unmotivated! Because I'm not done with any of the series I'm reading or watching right now, I'm going to review the series that got me started reading and watching anime: InuYasha. Yes, I realize it's an extremely over rated series and very redundant, but it's close to my heart - literally. I should probably explain why I even picked up the darn series. In middle school, about 7 years ago, there was a boy I was completely smitten over, and he was a huge InuYasha fan. In order to have something to talk about with him, I started reading InuYasha. Instead he ended up thinking I was some kind of stalker and didn't end up liking me until high school, where I it was my turn to think he was a stalker. In short, Inuyasha never got me any action, but I ended up loving manga instead. 

Okay, I'm done with my tangential romance of middle school. Onwards… Inuyasha is a very popular shonen/shoujo series by Rumiko Takahashi. To me, the series is one of the best made because it has everything - action, romance, supernatural, and suspense. The story follows Kagome, an average school girl in modern Japan, who falls into feudal Japan through a well. When she gets there she finds out that she is the reincarnation of a legendary priestess, Kikyo, who died protecting the Shikon jewel. The Shikon jewel allows demons to have their power increased, even making half demons into full demons. However, most demons can't control the power of the Shikon jewel. When Kikyo died, she buried the Shikon jewel with her, so that it could no longer create terrible demons, so when Kagome falls into feudal Japan, demons are drawn to her, because the Shikon jewel has been reincarnated inside her. While running from a demon, she meets Inuyasha, a dog demon that has been held inside a spell for years. Fearing her death, she releases Inuyasha from his spell, where he destroys the demon. This begins their journey together after Kagome accidentally shoots the Shikon jewel into hundreds of little fragments scattered through feudal Japan. The unlikely pair is set on a quest to gather the shards of the Shikon jewel. The romance begins when the learn the back story on how Inuyasha was set under a spell from the beginning, or the romance between Kikyo and Inuyasha before Kagome was reincarnated. The series continues with their blossoming romance, meeting more friends, and a quest to destroy Naraku, a dangerous demon who wants the Shikon jewel for himself. 

A series with over 500 chapters, and over 100 episodes of anime has a long story with many different adventures. I have shamefully read and seen all of them. :3 For those of you haven't seen or read the series, I don't want to tell the whole story (though that would be impossible, because it's just so long). Part of what makes the series so great is the characters. Along the way you'll meet Miroku, the lecherous monk, Sango, the badass woman demon slayer, Shippo, the annoying comic relief, and so many more. The art is basic, part of Takahashi's famous Rumic style, but still enjoyable. This series is really hard to explain, because it has so much going on, so I really can't do it justice. :( I must say that watching and reading it in one sitting can be really redundant, because it seems like the stupid Shikon jewel has a million shards, and there is like a never-ending flow of weak demons flying all over the frigid' feudal Japan. However, I can definitely recommend it! It keeps you reading and the romance between Kagome and Inuyasha will have you sitting at the edge of your seat! 

Read it here: http://www.mangareader.net/226/inuyasha.html

Sorry for the lame and long review this week. I think I'll refrain from reviewing super long series in the future, because I never know what I should leave out! 

Best,

Pseudonymous Jayne

Girl Friends by Milk Morinaga

Hey guys,

So, I'm late in blogging partly because I've been busy, but mostly because I've been distracted by another blogging site: tumblr. It's probably one of the coolest sites I've been on, next to MAL and facebook. :3 I really like it because it's so easy to use! Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to just post new blog entries whenever I can, which will probably be more around Thursday and Friday, than the Wednesday entries I'd planned. It's so hard to keep up with what I've been reading and watching. I always want to blog things I'm not finished with!

Okay, this week I want to blog about, 'Girlfriends' by Milk Morinaga. It's the first girl romance shoujo I've ever read (I think it might be considered a yuri manga) and I was surprised how much I liked it! 'Girlfriends' is about Mari Kumakura, who is a quiet straight A student, who draws the friendly and outgoing Akko Oohashi to be her friend. Surprisingly, they become best friends and Mari finds herself thinking about Akko more and more. Mari evenutally realizes she is in love with Akko. At first, it makes Mari unable to be around Akko, but when she thinks the prospects of going out with Akko are futile, she gets past her love and tries to fall in love with a boy. Akko sees this new relationship, and finds herself jealous over Mari's new relationship, and that's when Akko realizes she too feels for Mari. The story continues with Akko and Mari realizing their love for each other and the hilarious exploits the two best friends go through.

What makes this manga so interesting is how realistic and natural the characters are. They have real conversations about shopping, hanging out, etc. while also expressing genuine confusion over the way they feel about each other. Both Mari and Akko are adorable characters with very different personalities, which only shows that opposites do attract. I was really impressed with the plot, but perhaps it's because 'Girlfriends' was my first girl romance manga. Great series, and I definitely recommend it!

Check it out here: http://manga.animea.net/girl-friends.html

Best,
Pseudonymous Jayne :3

xXx Holic by CLAMP

Dear Readers,

I want to apologize for being incredibly tardy with my posts lately. To say I've been busy is an incredible understatement... Though, without revealing too much over this cyberworld, I can proudly say I've had a fantastic week! :3 Things are a ch-ch-changin' and I'm ridiculously happy! Aside from feeling a little down about relationships (and their lack of) with prom around the corner, I'm also feeling pretty positive. Hence, I've decided to review a series that is, for the most part, without very many romance themes, but includes both comedy and the supernatural (my other favorite genre).

'xXx Holic' is a series made by the famous CLAMP mangakas. They are famous for their work with renowned series: Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Angelic Layer, etc. 'xXx Holic' is nothing short of their other series with its beautiful art, witty comedy, and creative plot. 'xXx Holic' is both an anime and manga, and after watching/reading both, I'm equally thrilled. The story follows the clumsy and lovable Watanuki Kimihiro, who has the ability to see spirits and supernatural entities. This ability has plagued him all his life as they frequently try to harm him. One day on his way home, he feels strangely compelled to enter an odd house where he meets the sultry, but mysterious Yuuko Ichihara. She claims to be able to solve his problem with spirits if he agrees to work for her. This begins the hilarious duo between Yuuko and Watanuki. The story continues with Watanuki's bonding with Domeki, a guy who is able to repel spirits, and Watanuki's love interest, Himawari. Despite the small reference to romance, this part of the story is more a comedic motif, due to Watanuki's unrequited love.

The episodes and volumes continue with Watanuki's various supernatural encounters, which are both eerie and humorous. My favorite quality is the inclusion of mythology, which is cleverly intertwined into the plot. I also have to mention again how beautiful the art is! It's one of the first CLAMP series I read and immediately fell in love with it's unique style, particularly with Yuuko's fashion!
Overall, it's a fantastic series and I recommend both the anime and manga!
Read it here: http://www.mangareader.net/160/xxxholic.html

Sorry for the rushed and late review this week!
~Pseudonymous Jayne