Sesho's Anime And Manga Reviews

A few thoughts on Naruto and Shonen Jump anime versions vs. manga versions  Month by month releases of the Naruto Nation media blitz starting this week. Movies, dvds, manga, trading cards, art books, novels, ani-manga, reference works, and games are just some of the Naruto items coming out in the next 4 months. If you're a Naruto fan, please prepare to go without food for a couple of months!

Innocent Venus Volume 1 Anime dvd Review. ADV Films $29.98. Episodes 1-4. 100 minutes. After a series of hyper hurricanes kill off half the Earth's population, nations have to find ways to rebuild. Japan develops power suit and mecha technology that gives them a military advantage over their neighbors. It also gives the Logos, the inhabitants of the cities, power to control the Revinus, the inhabitants living in the slums outside the cities. Jin and Joe are trying to whisk Sana Nobuto out of the reach of Logos and their bloodthirsty extreme ops force, Phantom. My Grade: A-

Strawberry 100% Volume 1 by Mizuki Kawashita manga review.  Published by Viz under their Shonen Jump Advanced line. Rated T+ for Older teen with a parental advisory for Mature content. Price: $7.99 Originally published in 2002 by Shueisha in Japan. Junpei is in his last year of middle school and wants to become a movie director. When he goes onto the roof of his school to watch the sunset, a girl falls from above him and lands on the roof. Junpei becomes captivated by the strawberry panties she is wearing. He doesn't even know who the girl was but when he finds a notebook with the name Aya Tojo on it, he begins his quest to find out who she really was. Smacking more of shojo than shonen, this first volume is an innocent comedy with erotic fixations. My grade: B+

Hollow Fields Volume 1 by Madeleine Rosca manga review. Published by Seven Seas for $9.99. Winner of International Manga Award. Rated All Ages. Lucy Snow gets lost in the woods as she takes a shortcut to the St. Galbat's Academy For Young Ladies. What she finds is Hollow Fields, a school that does not charge its students for tuition,food,board, or books. Everything is free as long as you sign a contract to live up to your academic potential. Lucy signs the contract but soon begins to regret her decision when she finds out that the curriculum is designed for the sons and daughters of mad scientists! The student with the lowest grades each week is sent to detention and is never seen again. Will Lucy be able to make the cut, and will she be able to make a friend? My Grade: A

Manga review for Kamiyadori Book 1 by Kei Sanbe. Translated by Ray Yoshimoto and adapted by Mike Wellman. US edition published by Tokyopop in December 2006. Japanese version published in 2004 by Kadokawa Shoten. $9.99. Rated M for Mature. Contains nudity and graphic violence. Kei Sanbe fashions another apocalyptic world after leaving the CMX series Testarotho with a very awkward ending due to it being cancelled. A virus of tenacious contagion spreads across the world, changing its victims, be they plant, animal, or human into grotesque monsters called kamiyadori. Only a special forces unit of the police known as Right Arms, imbued with the power of the Kamiyadori, can battle on equal terms with the monsters. Their job, to exterminate the infected without mercy or pity. Jillald, a Right Arm, has begun to doubt his purpose and the reason why he has killed so many. His partner, Vivi, an uncivilized Rojek, has no such doubts. My Grade: B

Episode 20: Update on the closing of Anime Avalon in Houston. 40% off everything in the store. 5$ rental anime dvds. General overview of the series Hikaru No Go for readers that have not read any of the previous volumes. Then it's on to a review of Volume 6. Story by Yumi Hotta and art by Takeshi Obata, who also worked on Death Note. Supervised by Yukari Umezawa, a pro Go player in Japan. Price: $7.95 Published by Viz under their Shonen Jump line. Rated: All Ages. Hikaru takes the insei exam to rise up another notch in his quest to beat Akira without Sai's help. Akira has a test of his own as he enters the Shinshodan Series, in which new pros take on veterans as a sort of coming out ceremony.

Gunbuster 2 Volume 3 anime dvd review. Bandai Visual $39.98. Ages 13+. Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki from a screenplay by Yoji Enokido. Animated by Gainax. Supervised by Hideaki Anno. Nono and Lal'c have reversed roles from the early episodes. Nono has been revealed to be the super powerful Buster Machine #7 and Lal'c has been cast aside as a useless and dangerous tool. But she will be called back into service as even Nono's godlike powers are not enough to fight alone against the planet sized Exelio Fluctuating Gravity Well! Visually stunning romp that leaves you with lots of questions but still in awe of what Gainax TRIED to do. Email: seshos@hotmail.com My Grade: B+

Peach Girl Volume 4 anime dvd review. Released by Funimation, Price: $29.98. Peach Girl is based on a popular Japanese manga series released in America by Tokyopop. It is pure unadulterated shojo school romance at its finest. Momo is finally in a stable and satisfying relationship with Kairi but trouble soon develops when she meets his brother, Ryo. Ryo has made a habit of stealing all of Kairi's girlfriends and Kairi tells Momo that he is a female version of the treacherous Sae. But in a role reversal, it is Momo who fails to heed the warnings from someone she loves. Sae becomes involved as well when she falls for Ryo. Why do the characters in this series always trust the wrong people? Even though it becomes a bit redundant, you still can't help liking this show. My grade: B+

Eden Volume 8 by Hiroki Endo manga review. Translator: Kumar Sivasubramanian. Published by Dark Horse. Price: $12.95. Ages 18+. Originally published in Japan by Kodansha in 2003. Elijah prepares to settle the score with Pedro as he is assigned by the government to assassinate him at an airport as he attempts to leave the country with his brother. Then things heat up as Elijah and Helena begin to delve into a more intimate relationship. Graphic sex, violence, emotions are all on display in this volume. But the emotion of love runs as a invisible but powerful undercurrent beneath all the spectacle. Also, I comment on the recent controversy about Eden's rumored cancellation. My Grade: A

Manga Review for Alive: The Final Revolution Volume 1. Story by Tadashi Kawashima. Art by Adachitoka. Published by Del Rey $10.95. Ages 16+. Translated and adapted by Anastasia Moreno. Originally published in Japan 2005 by Kodansha. High school students have to deal with an intelligent alien virus that causes its victims to commit suicide. My Rating: C-

Manga review for Gon Volume 1 by Masashi Tanaka. Published by CMX, $5.99 Rated T for Teen. This first volume chronicles the adventures of the last little dinosaur left on Earth as he fights against those bigger in size but weaker in spirit and power. Story is told completely with art. No dialogue or sound effects. A pure manga experience. My Rating: A

Air TV Volume 1: ADV Films, $29.98, Episodes 1-4, 100 Minutes, Ages 14+. Directed by Tatsuya Isihara. Animation by Kyoto Animation. A down on his luck puppeteer named Yukito comes to a strange little town searching for a winged girl that lives beyond the sky. Instead he meets a bevy of cute girls who all seem to harbor strange secrets. A strangely surreal dreamlike take on harem anime that soothes and perplexes instead of titillates. My Grade: B

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Volume 1 anime dvd review. Bandai Entertainment.Ages 13+. 100 minutes. Episodes 00-3. Directed by Tatsuya Ishihara. Animated by Kyoto Animation. High schooler Haruhi Suzumiya is bored with the normal world and only wants to meet aliens, espers, and time travelers. The guy that sits in front of her in class, Kyon is able to make a connection with her and together they form the SOS Brigade. They recruit bookworm Yuki, big boobs ditz Mikuru, and mysterious transfer student Itsuki to investigate mysterious phenomena at school and throughout the city. My Grade: B

Manhwa review for 10,20, and 30 Volume 1 by Morim Kang. Published by Netcomics $9.99 Ages 16+. Translated by Jennifer Park. 10,20, and 30 follows the adventures of three female characters as they feel their way through life and come to terms with what they want out of a relationship. Rok Nah, 16, is not interested in dating boys yet, even though her childhood friend wants to be her boyfriend. Her mother, Krum Yoon, a rising fashion designer, cannot forget her dead husband, even when the president of the company starts to become fond of her. Belle Woo, Krum's niece, is locked in a dead-end relationship with a man who satisfies her sexually, but brings her no closer to happiness. This is a comedy romance drama that looks at life through female eyes from the perspective of three different age groups. Volume 1 was funny, truthful, and authentic. Does contain cartoony nudity and sexual situations.

Manhwa review for Chunchu the Genocide Fiend Volume 1. Written by Kim Sung-Jae and illustrated by Kim Byung-Jin. Published by Dark Horse Manhwa: $10.95, Ages 16+. Chunchu was cursed from birth with the spirit of a demon. Even though he was the son of the Yoong chief, he was cast out and given to the Mirmidon, a tough and severe clan, where it was thought that he would soon perish. Now Chunchu is all grown up and thirsting for revenge. Or is he merely wondering why he was born? Solid award-winning action title from Korea with lots of violence, characterization, and a tiny smack of romance. My Rating: A-

Episode 10: The Death of Anime Avalon. No, this is not a new anime. This podcast is actually a reaction to the closing of  Anime Avalon, the ONLY store specializing in anime and manga in Houston.  They said they could not compete with the big chain stores anymore. This is a disturbing trend that not only touches manga and anime, but also general independent booksellers and music stores.  Who is right, who is wrong?

Heroes Are Extinct!! Volume 1 by Ryoji Hido. DMP , $12.95, Ages 13+. Originally published in Japan 2003 by Shinshokan. Translated by Melanie Schoen. The Bazue Empire has sent its three greatest Grand Galactic Generals along with a starfleet to conquer Earth. Cassiel, its leader, has watched too much anime and thinks that the earthlings possess superheroes and giant mecha defenders. When he finds out his image of Earth is wrong, he sets out to train his own Power Rangeresque team called the Earth Force Terra Rangers. My Rating D-

Eureka Seven Volume 7. Bandai Entertainment $24.98. Directed by Tomoki Kyoda. Written by Dai Sato. Animated by Bones. Holland awaits the anticipated attack of Charles and Ray, while Renton has to decide if he has the strength to defend Eureka. Dominic investigates Renton's past and meets up with Renton's grandfather. Every aspect of this anime puts it among the elite titles. My rating: A+

Episode 7-- Manga Review of Coyote Ragtime Show Volume 1 by Ufotable. Art by Tartan Check. $9.99 Broccoli Books;Ages 13+. The planet Graceland is going to be destroyed in seven days. Hidden somewhere on Graceland is a lost treasure of ten billion space dollars, left by the deceased Pirate King, Blues. Mister and his pals want to claim the money for the Pirate King's daughter, Franca, but Madame Marciano of the Criminal Guild and her 12 Sisters, android assassins in maid uniforms, want to get their hands on it as well. Email:seshos@hotmail.com

Galaxy Angel AA Volume 1 is a continuation of the Galaxy Angel anime series and contains lots of laughs, familiar characters, and zany situations as the Angel Brigade continues its lackadaisical quest to find Lost Technology. $24.98 Bandai Entertainment. Podcast correction: Bandai Visual is the Japanese fist in America that is charging too much for anime dvds, not Bandai Entertainment.