Manga Meditation

Katawa Shoujo is Ready to Play!

2012-01-05T19:35:00.007-05:00

Happy new year, everyone! Just a quick post. Katawa Shoujo, a game I first discovered just under two years ago and wrote about in this post, is finally completed and ready for download! Their site servers seem to be in and out as of this post, probably because people are trying to get the game.

Quality seems to be top notch, and it's totally free! I'm hoping to play it myself and get a review up at some point. In the meantime, try out the game! Be warned that it is advertised as having erotic elements (some even say it's a hentai game), so kids and anyone easily offended should avoid it.

Blackbird.

Cooking for Character Development

2012-01-04T11:45:00.013-05:00

Kimchi! Bibimbap! Jjajangmyun! After watching several Kdramas or reading some Manhwa, my mouth inevitably starts watering. With Manga, I crave Onigiri and restaurant quality Ramen. To satisfy my cravings, I decided to use my vacation break to whip up some of these treats.

On the left, you can admire the mouth watering goodness of my fresh kimchi. I used a recipe from Maangchi, a korean cooking website which I highly recommend. It presents the steps in detail with a photograph for each or alternatively you can watch a video of the preparation. Be prepared for lots of food. The original recipe called for ten pounds of cabbage.

I also served up bibimbap to my family. It was a confirmed success. Good thing too, cause it's hard to use up a whole container of Gochujang (hot red pepper paste) at one sitting.

...But then my mom asked, "Should we be consoling you about something?"

"What?" I naturally replied.
"Well, don't heroines of Korean soap operas cook bibimbap as a comfort food?" she explained.
And that got me thinking.

They do indeed cook bibimbap as a comfort food. They eat it in giant mixing bowls while watching TV in their sweats. It acts as the Korean version of Haagen Dazs boosting them up against the injustice and loneliness of the world, or it confirms them as self-directed women who don't care about their stick-thin figures and the attractive Asian stereotype.

My favorite example of aggressive non-feminine eating is the Jjajangmyun eating contest in Coffee Prince. Eun Chan, the female lead who is frequently mistaken for a boy and disguised as a man for much of the show, takes on her sister's would-be-boyfriend, to see who can stomach five bowls of black bean noodles. She finished with a satisfied burp while the sad loser barfs off screen.

But there's also the inverse feminine food activities, making Obento (lunch boxes) for your boyfriend or chocolates for your valentine's crush.

It makes sense really; why add food to the plot except to advance the narrative? All these different munchies aren't there to make the audience salivate, well occasionally they are, but mostly, they are there to show that the heroine is sad, or independent, or love-struck.

Back to my culinary experiments, kimchi suggests that I have a home building instinct, while bibimbap suggests I'm an independent woman or disappointed in love. Not much of a personality test, but something to think about the next time your narrative instincts kick in in the kitchen.

--Starfish

Mangaka Review: Sahara Mizu

2011-08-01T00:00:00.003-04:00

The author of the series I am currently reading (see banner to the right) is the subject of my review today. Sahara Mizu, also known as Sumomo Yumeka and Sahara Keita depending on the nature of her work, is one of my favorite mangaka out there. Not only does she have beautiful art, but her stories have depth and are thoroughly enjoyable to read.

See? Really nice art!

Before I wax eloquent on what a great mangaka Sahara Mizu is, first I should explain why she has numerous pen names. Sahara Mizu is the name she uses to pen her josei works, Sumomo Yumeka is the name used for shounen ai/yaoi works, and Sahara Keita is used for shoujo works. I've only encountered Sahara Mizu and Sumomo Yumeka as I don't believe there are any scanlated Sahara Keita works floating out in the online manga community. Also, she uses Sahara Mizu and Sumomo Yumeka interchangeably - she's written shounen ai/yaoi as well as josei under both names, so it's not necessarily consistent.

To quickly explain the italicized terms, josei translates to "woman" and refers to a genre of manga that targets older women (20+). The plots and themes are more mature and the characters and romance are more realistic and developed than shojo manga. Shounen ai/yaoi translates to "boy love" and features homosexual romance. Shounen ai is less explicit than yaoi and focuses more on the characters and relationship rather than the sexual aspect.

Anyway, what first attracted me to Sahara Mizu was her art. I randomly saw that there was a manga adaptation of "Voices From a Distant Star" and was really impressed by the cover. Sahara's art is clean and detailed and she has the ability to make her characters look very fluid and natural. Her art definitely lies on the realistic end of the manga art spectrum and it comes off as very elegant and refined. What I also like about her manga is that she chooses interesting layouts for her pages and draws her characters from unconventional perspectives and angles. It's definitely got a different feel from your typical shoujo manga and it's a difference that I enjoy.

But the best thing about Sahara Mizu is that she can also deliver a compelling story. These are not necessarily life-changing - a lot of them tend to be oneshots, so the plots are simple and focus only on a few characters. However, they are introspective and thoughtful and often have a twist that sets them apart from the horde of regular oneshots. Her characters and stories tend toward inward musings and philosophical observations, and some of her works require careful reading to understand what she's trying to convey. Like her art style, Sahara's stories are sort of minimalist, so for those of you who want a lot of action and crazy characters, this might not be for you. What I like most about her work is how pure and sweet the character relationships are. The romance is always slightly humorous, but serious, and it is a refreshing change from how most romantic relationships are portrayed and developed in manga.

One of many heartwarming moments

This is especially true of her shounen ai/yaoi stories. I would actually hesitate to classify her work as yaoi as her works are much more substantive and meaningful than your typical yaoi manga. Most yaoi pays less attention to romantic development and instead focuses more on the sexual aspect, resulting in rather graphic sex scenes between men. However, Sahara makes the emotional connection and the romantic relationship the focus of her works rather than the sex. Her treatment of homosexual relationships is sweet, sensitive, and wonderful to read.

"Same Cell Organism", one of her shounen-ai works

Currently, I am reading "My Girl," an ongoing series that focuses on a young man, Masamune Kazama, who finds out that he has a daughter after her mother (his ex-lover) passed away. The manga follows Masamune as he decides to raise his daughter, Koharu-chan, and how he learns to be a father. Not only can Sahara do romance well, she is also adept at portraying familial love and creating a compelling story out of a father-daughter relationship.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Sahara Mizu (as well as Sumomo Yumeka and Sahara Keita) for those of you who are looking for something more meaningful in your manga. She is one of the rare mangaka who puts a lot of thought and effort into crafting an interesting story and has the artistic and storytelling chops to execute her vision. If you're looking for something with more action or in the typical shoujo style, however, I advise you to look elsewhere as Sahara's works inspire contemplation and introspection rather than squeals and giggles.

Happy Reading!

~Polecat

PS: Here is a list of a few of my favorite works by her. Click on the titles to go to their scanlations on Mangafox.com and Mangareader.net!

My Girl
Nanairo Sekai
Kokoro Kikai
Kon no Ki Konoha

PPS: I couldn't find a picture of Sahara Mizu, but here is how she represents herself in her manga - as a cute stick figure.

A Losing Battle Against K-Pop

2011-07-25T00:00:00.006-04:00

So occasionally, I develop somewhat irrational aversions to things. These aversions are based on insignificant events/experiences which result in the not-so-insignificant effect of me writing off that thing for all eternity. Or at least until my perspective/opinion is amended by some outside force. A few examples are my aversion to almonds (blown out of the water when introduced to amaretto), my dislike of skinny jeans (disappeared when I actually tried on a pair), and my avoidance of cats (overcome when I met Starfish who is a cat lover). One more overturned aversion to add to this list is my distaste for K-pop music.

When I was just a young sprout (or younger - I was in middle school), I was first introduced to K-pop through a few songs that an acquaintance had given me. I don't even remember what songs they were, but I just remember thinking they were bad. Like, really bad.

Funnily enough, this was the point in my life when I would listen to Jennifer Lopez's "Play" on repeat ad nauseum so I really had no right to be judging what was bad or good...but I did.

OH MY GAAAAH DIS SONG SO GUUUUUD

I passed judgment and proclaimed K-pop to be awful, all awful, based on the merits of two songs that I had cursorily listened to.

Like I said, an irrational aversion which resulted from an insignificant experience.

BUT! A number of significant influences had me waging war internally over the K-pop issue. My middle-school-self clung tenaciously to her doctrine of K-pop hatred while my college-self drifted, hypnotized, towards the land of K-pop love. Firstly, Blackbird sent me a few songs that she liked, notably "Gee" by Girl's Generation.

GEE GEE GEE GEE GEE GEE GEE

When I first heard the song, I knew that if I allowed myself to enjoy it, I would become a scab, a sell-out to my steadfast dislike of K-pop. As such, I ruthlessly ignored the fact that I was smiling and moving my body to the beat, and responded to Blackbird's query of "How did you like the song?" with a rather unnecessarily snarky comment along the lines of "Oh, I guess it's alright...you know, if you like that sort of thing." (Sorry 'bout that, Blackbird)

But cracks began to form in my K-pop repellant armor as I listened to a few more songs:

I'm Coming, by Bi (Rain)

Run Devil Run, by Girl's Generation

Lalala, It's Love, by The Melody

By the time I went to an Asian Pop night at a local club, I surrendered to my hidden desires and danced my heart out to the wonderfully upbeat music of Korean Pop (as well as Japanese and Chinese Pop). I knew only a few of the songs, but I sang along anyway and made up my own words. The dam had been breached, the battle had been won, and the war was over - I was ready to declare myself a K-pop fan.

Well, almost ready. My 180 in perspective didn't (and doesn't) change the fact that I am incredibly ignorant of most things K-pop, so I'm not sure that I know enough to qualify as a fan. But whatever. I've opened my mind to the possibilities of Korean pop music and I'm going to have fun facing the music.

~Polecat

PS: If any of you have recommendations on what to listen to, please send them my way! I would love to have a list of things to listen to :D

PPS: The Lalala song is from Coffee Prince, one of the K-dramas I recommended in an earlier post! You now have even more reason to watch the series!

Who am I? I'm their homeroom teacher.

2011-07-18T00:00:00.013-04:00

Gokusen by Morimoto Kozueko is one of my all time favorites, but it took a bit of unpacking for me to figure out why. The ah-ha moment happened when I was watching the drama adaptation. Something was missing. Something even the ultimate cuteness of Matsumoto Jun couldn't make up for. That something was Attitude with a capital A.

The story revolves around a high school teacher and her class of delinquent students. The students are one step away from a correctional facility, and Yankumi, their homeroom teacher, aims to keep them that way. Usually, this would be a Herculean task, but Yankumi has a secret advantage. She is a third generation Yakuza heir, so delinquents are milk toast compared to what she deals with at home. The stories are episodic, switching between Yankumi's struggles at school (Will her class pass basic arithmetic?) struggles at home (How will she stop a rival gang from encroaching on her turf?), and of course, the ever present difficulty of keeping her identity secret.

Unlike Superman who becomes shy and unassuming as Clark Kent, Yanikumi's personality is not under wraps when she assumes the mantle of math teacher. She cheers on classroom fights, knocks her students into line, and uses Yakuza slang liberally. If you're looking for a strong female protagonist, look no further. Yankumi has a personality empowered by iron, if slightly questionable, morals and backed up by a powerful right hook, and that's her charm. She is unapologetic about who she is. She won't compromise her integrity even to achieve her lifelong goal of becoming a high school math teacher. The administration might frown on her beating up rival gangs, but they don't have to know. After all, it's for the good of the students.

All the strong morals run the risk of becoming preachy, but the manga successfully balances Yanikumi's moral lessons with a liberal helping of humor. The delinquents live in more fear and awe of Yankumi than of the police. It's not often you hear an aspiring stickup artist ask himself, "What if my homeroom teacher found out?" Similarly the depiction of the Yakuza is both romanticized and comic. The hardened gangsters weep openly at the ideal of brotherhood displayed by Yankumi's students. Gokusen runs more to giggles than adrenaline.

So what went wrong with the Drama? It had so much going for it. Matsumoto Jun plays Yankumi's most important student Sawada Shin, the son of the police inspector, and he's a favorite here at Manga Meditation, well, at least with me. Polecat bought me his calender for Christmas, so he's smiling down on me as I type. In the manga, his character is the alpha in the student pack. Apparently, he can beat any other student in the class though he's never called upon to do so, and he gets straight A's without studying. His academics and family connections contrast strongly with his personal goals; he wants to be a Yakuza lawyer. Why? Because of his one-sided love for Yankumi. But even my favorite actor as the love interest, couldn't redeem this one.

The first weakness is the ensamble cast. There were simply too many students to develop characters for all of them. Shin is reduced to a cute and enigmatic face sitting in the back row. The rest of the class play up the slap stick without the self awareness of the original. And worst of all, Yankumi's spine collapses into a saccharine puddle of speeches about friendship and loyalty. I did watch it all the way through to the end, but mostly out of fan loyalty. I have no desire to see the two subsequent seasons or the movie. This is a definite case of the book being better than the adaptation.

So here's the final scoop: I would highly recommend Gokusen to anyone looking for a comedic plot with a strong female lead. I promise you'll laugh out loud. And if you want a inspirational drama, with cute boys, I'd recommend you go ask Polecat. She's the expert, and she'll be able to help you find something more worth your while.

--Starfish

p.s. thanks for the images goes to MangaFox and Tobidasu

Insomnia and K-Dramas: Pt. 1 - An Introduction

2011-07-11T00:00:00.017-04:00

Due to the fact that it is crazy-hot in my room, I am unable to fall asleep. Instead of cursing the summer weather and lamenting my lack of air-conditioning like I normally would, I decided to channel my energies into a new blog post that I've been meaning to write for a while on K-DRAMAS.

Winter Sonata - Megahit from early 2000s

K-dramas, short for Korean dramas, are a staple here at Manga Meditation. You may have noticed a previous foray into K-dramas with Blackbird's review of Delightful Girl Chun-Hyang, but believe me, that is only the tippity top of the very large, extensive and all-encompassing iceberg that is the K-drama world. We shall endeavor to delve further, starting with Part 1: An Introduction.

NOTE: There's no way that I'm going to be able to fully cover everything in this post, so I'm going to just hit on the big points and fill in the gaps later. Also, K-dramas are not the only icebergs in the sea - Japanese dramas, Chinese dramas, and Taiwanese dramas are also sizable chunks of ice in their own right, though that will DEFINITELY have to wait for a separate post.

So what exactly is a K-drama?
This is a somewhat difficult question to answer. I guess the closest Western equivalent for the K-drama would be a condensed version of a telenovela or a soap opera. While I enjoy K-dramas MUCH more than I do telenovelas or soaps (no offense to those who like them), the level of drama in these three are comparable. You have love, hate, jealousy - the whole gamut of human emotion that makes these things so darn fun to watch. In a K-drama, though, instead of dragging out the storyline for hundreds and hundreds of episodes, the shows typically last about 16 episodes and only occasionally do they extend past one season.

Anyway, it's impossible to describe everything about K-dramas because there's so much and they're all so different, but the following is a list of things that every good K-drama needs to include:

1) Really Hot People
This is a no-brainer. Like any entertainment venture, you gotta have pretty people for your audience to look at. Here's a quick gallery:

Song Hye Gyo

Lee Min Ho

Bi - Rain

Kim Tae Hee

Whether this beauty is natural or not (a subject for another blog post methinks!), that doesn't change the fact that the people in dramas are capital H-O-T. And this is high praise coming from me, as I have notoriously high standards of pleasing aesthetics (just ask Starfish or Blackbird for confirmation).

2) A Ridiculous Reason for Character Proximity
So even if you have pretty people, it's no fun to just sit and watch them do nothing by themselves. Which is why you need to create a reason, ANY reason, for them to be around each other.

Whether your characters are unintentional roommates...


"Intriguing...tell me more."

...or college students who want to be action stars...

"Interesting."

...or cross-dressing to work in a coffee shop...

"Wait...what?!"

or part of a super secret ancient fox clan...

"#@$%"

...this ridiculous reason will be the framework around which the characters will interact.

"Ahhh...now I gotcha."

By the way, all of the above have actually been used in dramas that I've watched. :P
[Pictured: Seol Gong Chan from the drama, My Girl]

3) A Love Triangle
Love is often a central plot line in K-dramas and where most of the fun is found in watching. While two people getting together without any hitches is hunky-dory for real life, in the drama world, you have to make the characters waver between a bevy of potential suitors. The love triangle is ripe with funny moments, tender scenes, and crying fits galore and serves to add a more interesting spin to things. Love squares are also not uncommon, as well as other love-polygons. I was going to find my own picture for this one, but I think Blackbird summed it up best below (taken from her review of Delightful Girl Chun-Hyang).

TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVES.

4) Awesome Characters
Okay, this one may sound too obvious to list...but, seriously! K-dramas are not watched for their storylines - it's the characters the really draw you in. For me, it's the screen chemistry that is found in these dramas. Full of heart, funny antics, tender moments, and amusing quirks, the characters in K-dramas are truly interesting and make these things SO fun to watch. Even when characters are the cookie-cutter sort, they never fully fall into the stereotype because there is always something that distinguishes them.

Mind you, this list is just a bare skeleton for the components of a K-drama. For the full experience, you should just go and watch one!

So what should I watch?
Well, that depends on what you like! K-dramas cover all sorts of genres, from comedies, to family dramas, to romances, to thrillers. There really is something for everyone - you just have to go out and find it! My personal preferences tend towards the romantic comedy genre though it's easy to get hooked on any genre.

Here is a list (not comprehensive by any means) of some Korean-drama genres:

Sageuk - The history drama. These dramas are usually visually decadent, with heavy emphasis on beautiful costumery and period design. These dramas usually take place during the Choson dynasty, and deal with prominent historical events or people. The most famous of the saguk dramas are Dae Jang Geum, Hwang Jinyi, and Jumong.

Dae Jang Geum - Lookit the pretty costumes!

Makjang - The drama-iest of dramas. These are not for the weak of heart - these are tales full of themes like revenge, fatal illnesses, murder, etc. Sometimes malevolent, always totally melodramatic, these dramas are emotional rollercoasters. Makjang isn't really so much a genre in itself as a description - it can refer to any drama that has an outrageous storyline or plot device. See the full definition here at dramabeans for more information!

Family - These are the dramas that best demonstrate the heart and values of Koreans. Usually featuring huge ensemble casts, these dramas follow the trials and tribulations of a particular family, leading the viewer through death, birth, love, and life. While most K-dramas limit themselves to 16 episodes, family dramas are the exception, as they can run for hundreds of episodes. Popular family dramas include Be Strong Geum Soon! and More Beautiful than a Flower.

Romantic Comedy - My personal favorite, and one of more popular genres. There are LOADS of them, with many of them being quite decent if not great. As with anything, there are only a few that are truly stellar, but really, all of them are absolute fun to watch. I'll save the recommendations for the section below.

Like I said, there are many more, so you should start watching and discover these genres for yourself!

What would you recommend?
I haven't really watched very many dramas recently, so all of my recommendations are a little dated, but they are still as fun as ever, I promise you that. These are the standouts in my many years of drama-watching and you should definitely check them out.

Coffee Prince - Centered around coffee, this drama follows the adventures of a refreshingly plucky heroine, Go Eun Chan, as she starts working at a coffee shop under the guise of a boy! Love and hilarity ensues.

Cream and two sugars, please!

Why I'm recommending it: This drama is one of my all-time favorites and it has the most realistic depiction of human relationships that I have seen. An added plus, the music to this drama is super cute and catchy.

My Girl - Living day to day while evading family debts and impatient loan sharks, Ju Yoo Rin is crafty, resourceful...and the long-lost cousin of a rich family that owns a chain of luxury hotels?! Not really, but she is asked to play the fake cousin by the hotel owner's grandson, Seol Gong Chan, in order to help his ailing grandfather's health. Though Yoo Rin and Gong Chan get off on the wrong foot (aka they hate each other), they can't seem to get away from one another...

Why I'm recommending it: One of the funniest dramas I've seen due to the amazing on-screen chemistry between the two main actors. "Girly Boy" aka Lee Jun Ki plays a prominent role, showing off his beautiful face, and this drama has one of the best drunk scenes ever.

My Name is Kim Sam Soon - Commonly referred to the Korean Bridget Jones, this drama is about a woman with a ridiculous name, Kim Sam Soon. She's a professional pastry chef and through a series of confusing events, she has become the principal pastry chef at a new restaurant, owned by one arrogant Hyun Jin Hun. Though their mutual distaste is almost tangible, they agree to pretend to be lovers to prevent Jin Hun's mother from setting him up. It's the perfect plan because Sam Soon hates Jin Hun...or does she?

Want some cake?

Why I'm recommending it: Kim Sam Soon is a heroine with heart and she has you rooting for her all the way. Full of laughs, as well as tasty shots of delicious cakes and baked goods, this one is a winner.

In Conclusion:

There are a LOT of K-dramas out there, and the only way to find out what they are like is to watch them. Hopefully this post has given you a general idea of what they are like and where to start looking. To finish this horrendously long post, here are some links that you should check out to help you start your own drama-watching journey!

Drama Fever - A godsend for all us voracious drama watchers, this is a site where you can watch basically any drama you want...FOR FREE. You can get them subtitled or unsubtitled, and everything is streamed instantly to your computer in high quality. This is a great place to watch all the popular and recent dramas, so head on over and check it out!

Dramabeans - A wonderfully informative blog run by two drama watchers with rapier wits and scathing tongues. Go here to find drama reviews and recaps, as well as very helpful notes about South Korean culture and references that often come up in dramas.

My Soju - An alternative to Drama Fever, this site has even more selection. If you can't find something on Drama Fever, chances are it will be on My Soju. Subtitles are available for all the dramas, but it is less reliable than Drama Fever and video quality can be hit or miss. Korean movies can also be found on here, as well as Taiwanese, Chinese and Japanese dramas.

Thanks for reading, and look in the future for Part 2 of the K-drama discussion!

~Polecat

Blah blah blah: Crazy Coffee Cat Manhwa Review

2011-07-04T00:00:00.038-04:00

One of the mildly relevant title intro panels.

So far I'm not so crazy for Crazy Coffee Cat, a Korean webtoon written by Um Jae Kyung and drawn by Choi Kyung Ah. As far as I can tell from the few scanlations now available, it's a comic of the soonjung romance, slice-of-life variety. Basically it follows protagonist Kho Yang Yra, a girl who has been given a job at a coffee company. Strangely enough, however, I'm eight strips in (which are essentially eight chapters) and I still don't know too much beyond that.

I think part of it is that I don't really understand where this thing is going yet. The exposition is weird in that it feels as though all of the events just sort of happen, without too much buildup, like there isn't any forward movement or logical progression of events. I can't help but wonder if the writing was really planned beforehand, or if it was written as ideas simply occurred to the writer. Even in slice-of-life pieces there's some sense of forward progression, however small. Regardless, I'm getting the feeling that after eight strips we're still not into the meat of the story, so I'm probably making assumptions too early.

So far in the story, Yra has described to her friends an embarrassing job interview she had with a coffee company. She went to a good school and got all right grades, but she didn't think she'd pass the initial examination to get an interview. As a result, she sort of just put whatever she felt like under the "Why do you want to work with our company?" question of the application, stating, "I am crazy for coffee!" Which, by the way, she isn't. She just wrote that because she needed something there.

My question is, if you really thought you weren't going to do well enough on your exam to even get an interview, to the point that you didn't even try to write something smart on your application, why bother turning it in at all?

Regardless, she's called out on her bluff, and gets increasingly embarrassed as she's one-upped by other applicants in the room and laughed at by the interviewers. She eventually has one of those shoujo moments where she speechifies about how she's still crazy for coffee, even if she doesn't know that much about it, and why can't she say she's crazy for coffee even if she just means the coffee from vending machines?

Blah blah blah. To me, it reads as though she's trying to save face and cover up for the fact that she flat-out lied on her application. The manhwa, of course, paints it as though it's some meaningful, "empowering" moment. Sorry, but I don't buy it at all.

Anyway, she gets the job, probably because she's "spunky" or "has heart" or some other nonsense. Or maybe she's actually the first genius to write, "I am crazy for coffee" on an application to a coffee company, who knows. Anyway, before she leaves for her physical examination for the job, she gets a mysterious text from someone she doesn't know, stating that she should go to Cat's Eye, a nearby cafe.

Tell me: If you got a random text message from an unknown sender, telling you to meet at a random cafe you've never been to, would you go? If you had any common sense, probably not.

But Yra doesn't even consider not going. She's suspicious, sure, but that's about it. She gets the text, wonders who it is for about two seconds, then TRANSITION PANEL I guess she's made up her mind, because now she's at her physical exam and now she's going to the cafe. Ugh. Since it's a shoujo/soonjung manhwa, of course nothing truly bad is going to happen to her. But it isn't just the fact that Yra is an idiot that annoys me, it's also that all of this just happens out of the blue, with no buildup to these "suspenseful" plot points or even the development of those plot point once we get there.

Basically, she goes to the cafe and more MYSTERIOUS things happen, or at least kind-of-confusing things. She meets an apparently famous barista who seems to know her already because of her reputation as being a huge coffee lover or something, and then Yra runs into a celebrity who one of her friends is a fan of, and then, and then, and then... It's just event on top of event with no clear logical progression or connection between them. As I said: Blah blah blah.

Eyes...so...glassy...can't...properly...emote..!

And in case it isn't clear, I really don't like this protagonist. She's pretty, as one of her friends points out, and "spunky" or something, but she's an idiot with no common sense or, it seems, any depth at all. And as far as I can tell, she essentially lied to get her job. My dislike toward her also has to do with the writing of her character, which doesn't bother to make her interesting or original in any way, and doesn't convince the reader that we should care about her, or even believe that there's anything special about her besides the fact that she's pretty and "spirited." Bleh.

The art is something I really disliked at first, but grew on me as I read on, to a small extent. My initial reaction was that it is extremely stiff in linework, coloring, and design. It lacks the sense of movement that I prefer in, for example, Soon Kki's Cheese in the Trap (read my review here), which feels more organic to me. Even the facial design in Crazy Coffee Cat lends itself to looking really frozen; it resembles comic renditions of dolls instead of people. I think the eyes particularly add to this effect, as they often seem glassy and lifeless. Things are almost too pretty for my taste, but I can see other readers liking it. The lines are very clean and precise, and the coloring is often detailed, so take a look if that sounds like your preference.

Hey, man's gotta know how to apply his mascara.

But back to the "prettiness" factor. It's all right in some parts, and generally tolerable, but it's way too prominent on the young men in this manhwa. In other words, the potential male love interests look like girls to me.

And let me be clear: I have a healthy appreciation for bishounen. A well-drawn one, at least. I'm not a crazy fan of girly dudes in real life (see Polecat's post on that subject), but the drawn ones are often quite attractive.

But there's a difference between a girly boy and a boy who looks like a girl. A huge, huge difference. And the young men in this manhwa often just look like girls. Honestly, they have features I would be pretty pleased to flaunt myself: Long eyelashes, pouty lips, and perfectly coiffed hair and eyebrows. For many of these young men, the only difference I can tell between them and the girls is that they have thicker necks, and maybe slightly slimmer chests. There is one guy who's just been introduced thus far who does look reasonably nice, and like, you know, a boy. So there's that one moment of reprieve.

Male trout pout: Yay or nay, ladies?

The art became less obtrusive as I read on. I think I just got used to it, so while I don't have particularly positive feelings toward it now, I rather just don't have strong feelings either way at this point.

Phew. I feel like a lot of this was one long rant, so I apologize if I'm coming off too strong. Anyway, this manhwa was not to my taste. I'm wondering if I've really just completely outgrown shoujo/soonjung manga/manhwa, or if it is genuinely as mediocre as I feel it is.

My sense is that, if you are a fan of shoujo/soonjung comics, check it out, and read at least a few strips before you make up your mind. The protagonist never grew on me, but the art wasn't so bad after I read on. It does seem to have a pretty good number of fans. However, if you have preferences like mine (I personally think Cheese in the Trap is far superior, for example), you probably won't like it.

Links:

Crazy Coffee Cat on Webtoon Live: Find scanlations here.

Crazy Coffee Cat on Mangafox

Crazy Coffee Cat on Naver: Find the original, untranslated webtoon here.

Cheese in the Trap on Mangafox: I couldn't resist including this link; I highly recommend this manhwa. Read my review if you're not convinced!

Blackbird.

American Otome Games?: Harlequin Dating Sim

2011-06-27T00:00:00.013-04:00

Harlequin must really be expanding their product line: In addition to Polecat’s relatively recent discovery of the romance novel manga, I just found out about a Harlequin dating sim, Harlequin Presents: Hidden Object of Desire, while researching otome games for a previous post. The game was released some time last year.

Here’s the blurb from Big Fish Game’s website, the distributor of the game:

“Allie's on a quest to find some breaking news in the Kingdom of Adamas, but must now choose between her friend's well-being and true love! The bachelor Prince of Aristo is the most enchanting man she has ever met, but she must fend off his charming advances long enough to figure out what is going on.”

In addition to the game, I think you're given a digital copy of a romance novel based in the same romance novel universe as the game. More details can be found at this review on the Dear Author blog, including screenshots.

I’m not sure how exciting the whole thing sounds, since it appears that you don’t even have any choice in your love interest. It really is a visual novel, maybe even more linear than most VNs, but maybe that makes sense for a company that makes its money being a factory for trashy books.

Regardless, creating games like these could be a good opportunity to introduce (or I guess reintroduce) the American market to otome-like games. The majority of the very few available in the US are localized titles from Japan, which haven't done so well in the past. The reasons vary, from perhaps poor marketing, a perceived lack of an American audience, a different gaming culture in the US, among other things. So maybe a new approach could be to hook female gamers with games developed in America, catering to and directed at that particular audience.

I'm not trying to say that localization doesn't work; the manga and gaming industries started as translated works imported to the US. At the same time, otome games haven't had success with localization. I do wonder if some of it has to do with how much of a niche market it is; I don't know anyone who is interested in this type of game without already being a fan of manga, specifically shoujo manga. Add to the fact that girls do not usually game as often as boys, and you have a pretty specific demographic you have to hook to fund your entire US industry.

So maybe the solution is, in fact, otome games developed in the US. I'm really not a fan of Americanization (Akira movie, amirite?), but if the issue is, in fact, partly cultural, perhaps it would be best to see more games such as Harlequin's, which already build upon the established romance novel industry that caters to American female audiences. You have to start somewhere, after all, and American-produced otome games could be what it takes to popularize this sort of game, and eventually open up the market for localized works from Japan.

But this is all my making a bunch of guesses and assumptions. Does anyone have a better understanding of all of this, or perhaps played Hidden Object of Desire? What are your thoughts on bringing otome games to America?

Blackbird.

And I'm the Mouse: Cheese in the Trap Manhwa Review

2011-06-20T00:00:00.202-04:00

A promo for the Cheese in the Trap drama CD.
I discovered Soon Kki/순끼's manhwa Cheese in the Trap a while ago, and I have no idea how. All I know is that I had approximately 60 tabs open in my web browser, and that the first one featured Baka-Updates Manga's page on this webcomic.

Yep! A webcomic. It's a format that I think Cheese in the Trap utilizes well, which I'll go into in a little later.

But first, the story. Cheese in the Trap follows Sul, a college student who is returning to school after taking a year off. The circumstances of her leave aren't immediately clear, but they seem to have to do with an upperclassman, a handsome guy named Yoo Jung. Not only is he super cute, but he's apparently very polite, smart, and rich. Despite the fact that the ladies line up for this absolute heartthrob, Sul isn't so taken with him.

Now, doesn't that sound positively boring and cliche? A female protagonist who has a love/hate relationship with an impossibly perfect guy. Never seen that in EVERY SINGLE CHICK FLICK EVER MADE. But that's where the cliches stop.

At first Sul's reaction to Yoo Jung seems typical of a female protagonist in a romance comic. She's highly skeptical of him, and perhaps too immune to the charm that has managed to affect every single girl except her. It seems as though she'll end up learning to love him as his sudden, mysterious interest in her slowly wins her over. However, as the story progresses, partly through flashbacks woven throughout the present narrative, the reader discovers that Sul's disdain isn't so unfounded.

She first meets him through a group of friends at a restaurant, soon after she's returned to school. He arrives late, of course, allowing for that wonderful, full-panel entrance that every main male character deserves in a female-targeted manhwa. He's popular and loved by the other students, treating them all with apparent kindness. As the night wears on, everyone gets pretty crazy drunk, and Sul goes outside to get a breather. While she's there, she notices Yoo Jung speaking on his phone, telling to whomever he's speaking that they're all "indecent." In other words, his behavior with the group wasn't truthful at all.

Even that sounds a little familiar, no? I thought of Kare Kano, for instance, or any other number of "you must learn to show your true self!" manga/manhwa, but Cheese in the Trap makes Yoo Jung much more ambiguous, even unpredictable, as a character. As the story goes on, you realize that Sul isn't, in fact, an airheaded heroine, but rational with a reliable intuition. It's revealed, for example, that previously Yoo Jung had been cold to her; soon after they met, he seemed to actively ignore any of Sul's attempts to be friendly. You start to believe Sul, then, when she suspects that there's something fishy when Yoo Jung makes a total 180, asking her for study and dinner dates.

And it's when he gets friendly that things get weird for Sul. Their budding relationship, or at least Yoo Jung's interest in Sul, spreads rumors at school, especially among Yoo Jung's female admirers. When Sul tries to quell the jealousy of one girl, with Sul firmly stating that she has no interest in Yoo Jung, Yoo Jung happens to pop in, reigniting the girl's anger just as Sul was getting through to her. Situations like that should just seem coincidental on their own, but the issue is that they keep happening. And since Yoo Jung isn't really doing too much beyond popping in at suspiciously inopportune moments, Sul has no evidence that anything strange is truly going on. There are also her moments of pure intuition, the times when she feels that there's something really off about Yoo Jung, but that's not exactly what you'd call solid evidence either.

While there are hints of romance, or at least vague promises of it, my favorite aspect of Cheese in the Trap is the ambiguousness; the best way of describing it is to say that it's a slice-of-life style suspense manhwa. It isn't completely clear, for example, if Sul's suspicions are correct, or if she's just paranoid. But don't let my emphasis on the mystery element deter you: This manhwa is, for a lot of it, fun and lighthearted, but that's what makes the carefully scripted suspense all the more interesting, at times even thrilling.

My main qualm with the narrative has to do with the treatment of time, which is pretty important to the story. Even though I read all of the scanlations in pretty much one sitting, I still found the timelines kind of confusing. While there are clear present and past narratives, marked by white and black backgrounds respectively, both move in time at seemingly different rates, or don't follow a clear order. As the past narrative is necessarily fragmented to faciliate the mystery of the story, it's sometimes hard to know just when certain past events happened in relation to the present narrative, or even with each other. Perhaps this fragmented method is more effective if you're reading the comic from week to week, as opposed to the way I did, which was all at once. At the same time, Cheese in the Trap's use of two timelines is part of its appeal, even if it can be difficult to follow at times. And I admit that it might just have to do with my reading it badly.

Sul and Yoo Jung.

As for the art, it's actually what initially drew me to this webcomic. I love the clean yet sketchy linework and the flat, muted colors used in every strip. The characters are drawn simply but are extremely expressive, both in their faces and body language. And this might be a strange thing to note, but I really like the fact that they don't have weirdly colored hair; the "weirdest" is probably Sul's orange-ish dye, but most everyone else has black hair. It adds a sense that, yes, these characters are supposed to be representative of actual Koreans. Lastly, I like their clothes. They're hip without being hilariously improbable, unlike much of the clothing found in K dramas. Anyway, I'm a big fan of the art in general, and even find it a little inspiring in my own drawing.

Each chapter is formatted as a long vertical strip, which is perfect for an online comic. Not that clicking is cumbersome or anything, but scrolling is something you can't do on anything but a computer; Cheese in the Trap takes advantage of its medium. I also feel that this page layout lets things look uncluttered, but that's also thanks to the way Soon Kki has designed the comic. (Update 6.21.11: I've realized that it's more accurate to call this a webtoon, a particular, Korean form of online comics. See this post on iSeeToon for a little discussion on the difference between Korean webtoons and American webcomics.)

Currently there are 24 chapters translated online by Webtoonlive, but unfortunately the project is on hiatus; as the original Cheese in the Trap is hosted by Naver, the artist is uncomfortable with scanlations by an outside source. Webtoonlive is still trying to ask for permission, so hopefully Naver will grant it. Until then, the original Korean webcomic continues to be updated, and for those who can't read Korean, summaries are dutifully written by the scanlators on Webtoonlive's Cheese in the Trap forum.

For those of you learning Korean, maybe this'll be a good motivator to learn enough to read the untranslated comics! I'm actually using both the translated and original comics to work on my Korean, something I think is unique and useful about the online comics medium, in which both versions are free and available for everyone.

Korean webcomics are something I'm unfamiliar with, but Cheese in the Trap has made me a lot more enthusiastic for this particular form of the medium! There's something appealing about having both the raws and translations so easily available online, which isn't always possible with scanlations of more commercialized works. It's great for learning a language. See Webtoon Live's site for a whole list of other Korean webcomics they're translating.

Overall, I'd say Cheese in the Trap is appropriate for all audiences, though josei readers might find it the most satisfying. The comic is on hiatus for us native English speakers, but I still really encourage everyone to read it. It's suspenseful, romantic, and just plain original, but none of those adjectives convey the experience as well as reading it for yourself. So what are you still doing here?! Go read it now!

Links

Update 1.04.12: Cheese in the Trap scanlations are back (see comments below)! There's a bit of additional maneuvering required to read the translated text, but it's definitely doable. Head to the Odd Squad Scanlations site to get your continued, cheesy fix.

Cheese in the Trap on Mangafox: Best place to get the scanlations while Webtoon Live's site is down (see below).

Cheese in the Trap on Webtoon Live: This is currently down, as the scanlators are trying to get permission to continue scanlating. Regardless, this is the original site for English translations and should post the most up-to-date chapters, should this page return.

Cheese in the Trap on Naver: The original Korean comic, untranslated and I think still regularly updated by Soon Kki.

Webtoon Live's Cheese in the Trap Forum: Read the latest updates on the scanlation project's status, and also get summaries for the comics you can't read.

Blackbird.

The End of Tokyopop Manga

2011-06-13T00:00:00.021-04:00

This is the fourth post I've written tagged with Marmalade Boy, by the way.

If you're savvy on manga publishing in America, you might already know that Tokyopop shut down its US manga publishing operations on May 31.

I became obsessed with manga when I was about eleven. One of my friends, older and more informed than I was about the medium, took me to a Waldenbooks at a local mall. The manga section only took up one small shelf, crammed next to the cash register. I didn't know too much about what I was looking at, since while I was a comics reader, it was mostly of collections of Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side. I had read a little manga at the beginning of the whole Pokémon craze, a flipped version of Ono Toshihiro's Pokémon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu, when I was about six, but I never went too much beyond that and some dubbed episodes of Sailor Moon. I did draw a lot of Pokémon fan comics, but we don't need to go into that.

She suggested Wataru Yoshizumi's Marmalade Boy to me, licensed by Tokyopop. The cover was pretty unassuming, featuring a smiling girl looking at some unknown thing in the corner, but the story intro hooked me in the minute I skimmed its pages in that store, and I bought it.

I finished the tome in one day. From then on I was at the bookstore almost every week, buying new volumes with as much of my allowance as I could squeeze out of my poor parents. Manga had not yet invaded American bookstores, but in the following decade I would see the comics taking up more and more floorspace, with an increasing number of books on which I would spend increasing amounts of money.

Marmalade Boy was really the official start of my manga obsession. Without that, I wouldn't have gotten crazy in love with anime conventions, or have filled tons of sketchbooks with my drawn characters, or have even felt compelled to help start this blog. And none of that would have happened, really, without Tokyopop.

Obviously, the entire credit doesn't just go to a translator or distributor; the original work, the mangaka him or herself, is what makes the manga. But the point is that I simply wouldn't have been exposed to any of it without a US company that wanted to distribute these Japanese comics. It was mostly shounen comics that were in the US market before the recent manga wave, after all, and while I do appreciate them, shoujo comics were the ones that struck the girly chord in my heart.

I was strangely loyal to Tokyopop translated comics. I did a little mental eye-roll when I saw other American publishers get into the manga business. All of them were just cheap imitators, I thought. I wanted the quality stuff, thanks.

But Tokyopop's translation methods weren't perfect, far from it (read this piece by veteran translator Matt Thorn), nor were their business practices (take Manga Pilots, for example). I remember a friend of mine oh-so-lovingly dubbing it "Tokyopoop," citing issues with Sailor Moon translations. The company also had other problems with localization, and with simply staying true to an original work. Those are the complications of translation, especially that for an American audience perceived to be too unprepared for un-Americanized works. Those are debates, however, for another time.

Let's be honest: I haven't bought manga in a while, a long while. I've outgrown a lot of the manga that I used to read as a preteen and teen, and most of what I do read is covered by scanlators; I guess it's a problem not unlike what's happening in the rest of the publishing industry. The bookstore where I used to shop, a nearby Borders, just shut down (and, in fact, the bookstore chain was formerly a major customer of Tokyopop); the Waldenbooks I used to frequent, the one where I bought my first volume of Marmalade Boy, shut down years before that. The times they are a-changin'.

But you never forget your first. And Tokyopop was a big part of a lot of manga firsts for me. Even if manga isn't as big a part of my life as it used to be, I still have my old collection stashed away in a cabinet, tomes that I can't bear to get rid of. It's funny, but I never get tired of reading them.

Blackbird.

The Search for Otome: SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER SEQUEL!

2011-06-09T00:00:00.025-04:00

RE: Alistair++, a free, full-length otome game.

Since the summer's begun I've had lots of time on my hands. Thus far, I've rewatched almost all of the episodes of The Office (US version, if you care to know) available on Netflix. One would think I'd have done more than that, but sitting in front of a computer marathoning a show I've already watched takes up a significant amount of time.

So there's that. And I've also been playing a lot of Chain Factor.

Despite my packed schedule, I've been doing research on one thing I haven't looked at in a long time: Otome games! Free ones, specifically. It seems like there have been quite a few new English options to be released since I last did a post, though that also could mean I didn't do a good job researching them in the first place.

I was originally going to do another big post, but the more I wrote, the more I realized that it didn't make sense to put it all together in just one entry. So in the coming weeks, look out for reviews and other opinionated pieces on just otome games! It'll be really swell, and hopefully a little different from what you'd typically find on blogs dedicated to otome. It's not what Manga Meditation's about anyway, and those blogs already do their job way better than I could.

Speaking of which, here are a few links to games, developers, and other otome miscellanea:

Free Otome Games

Love Blossom Extended

Yep, I've already tried covering this in a previous post, but here are a few more that are available in English. As a little disclaimer, I haven't played all of them. The ones that I have will probably get a review at some point, but until then, feel free (puns!!) to try them out.

Love Blossom Extended: I briefly covered the original game in my last post. Recently, however, the developers at My Neoromance went back and added more events for a little extended re-release. Check out the announcement on their forum.

Lucky Rabbit Reflex!: Okay, I'm sort of jumping the gun on this one a bit, because it just entered beta testing as of this posting. However, I'm super excited about its eventual official release; if you look at my first post on otome games, you'll notice I included a tiny section on it. I played the demo a while back, and it was really cute and clever. I can't wait to do a review on this one! Update: So it looks like this game will be officially released in July, and will not be free. Here's the related forum thread. Update 7.20.11: Official website!

Pacthesis Games: This links to games created by Pacthesis, a user on Deviantart.

RE: Alistair++: I just finished this up. A great game, and one definitely worth a look (and maybe a future review)!

Zeiva Games: This links to Zeiva's games posted on her Deviantart. I suggest playing Other Age. Zeiva actually has her own game company, which features some really awesome looking stuff; see the link under Developers.

Otome Blogs

What I love about these blogs, beyond the fact that they keep up with manga and anime news tidbits, is that they let you vicariously play otome games through fun walkthroughs and reviews (meaning I'm living vicariously through blogs that cover games designed to let one live vicariously? Phew). Many of these games, after all, are only available in Japanese, and usually only for Windows. And the reviews can also be pretty funny, regardless of whether or not you've played.

There are tons of these blogs floating around on the internet, but here are a few that I've enjoyed:

4 Shiki

Kawaii Janakya Dame nano!

Lijakaca's Otome Gaming Blog

White Butterfly

Developers

The Winter Wolves website.

Just to note, this list includes both doujinshi and commerical developers. I suggest checking out blogs if they're available (sakevisual has one, at least), since they give fun development info, including possible free releases! Exciting.

Hanako Games

sakevisual

Winter Wolves

Zeiva Inc

Miscellaneous Links

Most of these are repeat links from my previous post, but they're worth looking at again.

Lemma Soft Forums: Lots of doujin developers post game progress and announcements here.

My Neoromance Forum Thread: I guess it's kind of odd to post a link to some thread, but this one is attempting to collect all English otome games available, both commercial and doujinshi. It also looks like it stays updated.

Otome Games: A good resource for finding out about new commercial releases, and it also seems to be pretty regularly updated.

Ren'Ai Archive: A collection of free ren'ai and visual novels made with Ren'Py.

Finally, here's the original post I wrote a year ago on otome games. It isn't perfect, but there are still some links that I think are worth checking out.

Blackbird.

PS: I'm not affiliated with any of the stuff on here; all of it is just what I've found on the internet!

Manga Review: Library Wars

2011-05-27T01:00:00.019-04:00

DISLCAIMER: To help give some insight behind this review, I'm going to preface it with this: I want to be a librarian. I plan on going to graduate school for library science and I am aiming to be a public librarian (location TBD). As such, my review of this series may be somewhat colored by this fact. Or maybe a lot colored.

Today's manga review is of the series Library Wars: Love and War, a manga based off of a novel series by author Hiro Arikawa and adapted for manga by Kiiro Yumi (click for Wikipedia article). I got this series through my college library's interlibrary loan system and while I normally make it a point not to read things that haven't been fully scanlated or translated, the fact that it was about libraries was temptation enough to convince me to read it.

The basic premise is as follows: The year is 2019, and the Japanese government has imposed strict censorship nation-wide. An evil bureaucratic organization known as the Media Betterment Committee (MBC) seeks to purge all materials that are deemed harmful and disruptive to the public order. Libraries have become the last bastions of knowledge and intellectual freedom - though they are protected under the Library Law, they frequently clash with MBC forces. The story begins with Iku Kasahara, a young woman who is aspiring to become part of the Library Defense Force, a paramilitary organization that protects libraries and their contents from the MBC. Besides her idealistic desire to protect the right to knowledge, Iku's dream to become a member of the LDF stems from a past experience where a mysterious LDF agent defended her in a bookstore during a MBC raid. With this mysterious LDF agent as her idol (nicknamed by Iku as "her prince,") the manga follows Iku through her experiences in the LDF as she defends books and free knowledge in the name of liberty, justice, and all that is moral and good in the world!

So, okay, not really the most original plot in the world. The whole "mysterious-stranger-from-my-past-being-the-motivator-behind-my-actions" thing has really been run into the ground, and I was never a fan of it, in any manga I've read so far. Also, as Blackbird and Starfish so astutely pointed out, both the Library Defense Force and the Media Betterment Committee are government-sponsored organizations. So why are two government-sponsored agencies fighting against each other? I dunno. You would think that would make the government go, "Huh. Maybe we should change the laws so we don't have thousands of tax-payer dollars wasted on two government branches fighting each other." You would bet your britches that if the FBI and the CIA engaged in military warfare, there would be some major repercussions in Congress...but whatever.

Despite some glaring plot holes, shoujo manga isn't really known for the well-developed plots anyway - it's the characters that you get attached to.

Look! It's the Brady Bunch...with guns!

The problem that I have with Library Wars is that while I enjoy all the male characters in the ensemble cast, I unfortunately do NOT like Iku Kasahara. She is the lead role, the protagonist, the catalyst, and the most important player in this manga...but I really DISLIKE her. She's loud, she's impulsive, she's not the sharpest tool in the box, she's always making mistakes, and I can already tell she's going to be the emotionally stunted type who doesn't know how to deal with emotions besides anger and happiness. She's supposed to come off as someone who "thinks with her heart rather than her head" but in her line of work, as a member of an active paramilitary organization, that is A BAD THING. In combat, you need someone who can think with a cool head and doesn't overreact all the time. It would be different if Iku Kasahara wanted to be a teacher or something, but in a military context, her incompetence could have real, irreversible damage, like-oh-I-don't-know, someone getting killed for example?

What really gets me is that the author tries to portray Iku Kasahara as a strong female character, but in reality, she's supported and coddled by all the characters (ahem, men) around her. Every time she makes a mistake, she gets depressed and goes through an unnecessarily angsty period of self-flagellation. Iku always needs someone external (usually one of the love interests) to say something to her or help her recover. To me, that doesn't signify character growth - just the opposite, in fact. It means that the character isn't strong enough to decide on her own what she should do.

Self-flagellation - NEED MOAR

You would think that with such a negative review, I would hate Library Wars. But...I don't. If the premise were about something besides libraries, I wouldn't like it as much. But because it is about libraries, I find myself overlooking a lot of my complaints (hence the disclaimer). As far as shoujo manga goes, it does the job admirably and more. There's a whole bevy of potential male suitors to ogle over, there's a lot of fun action, and it's a straightforward story about good versus evil and a young girl falling in love.

YOUR CHOICE IN MEN

The Dark and Brooding One

The Blonde One

The Spiky-Haired One

It doesn't pretend to be a serious work of literature or depth, and while it does follow the shoujo manga formula, it does so with a fairly interesting cast of characters (Iku Kasahara aside) and occasionally tries to throw in some superficial commentary about censorship and the importance of free knowledge. While my review may not sound like it, I did enjoy reading it - at least, what I've read so far. This may not be anything new for the shoujo manga world, but by golly, it's entertaining.

Credits to mangafox for providing the scanlations and images!

~Polecat

"Keanu Reeves Won't Take on Akira"

2011-05-23T00:13:00.009-04:00

Anime fans around the world...rejoice! The anime world has received its deliverance in the form of Keanu Reeves' rejection of a lead role in Akira (click for the article). Perhaps the Rapture that was scheduled to happen on Saturday decided to exert its divine influence in other areas of life for the benefit of all. By faith, I am most grateful that it did.

This headliner was a shocker for me, as I was only peripherally aware of a live-action version of Akira was in the works. My initial reaction?

WHY would you Keanu Reeves be your first pick? WHY?! I can't imagine anyone less qualified to be part of such a project. I don't even KNOW what Akira is about as I haven't read it (*gasp* shocking, I know), but I do know that it was a huge influence back in the 80s and has an iconic status today. I also know that Keanu Reeves can't act worth mouse shit and would end up presenting the world with a bastardized version of a character that would unfortunately survive in posterity till the end of time.

Why am I picking on poor Keanu, you may ask? Well, because he's appallingly bad, and he's inexplicably a sought-after actor. This point was driven home by Blackbird after she sent me the following link from bestweekever.tv showing how bad an actor he is. You can see for yourself - he's like a wooden board with a brown wig on top.

Facing the truth.

Anyway, we have nothing to fear now - the Keanu-in-Akira-gate scandal has been sidestepped, and hopefully a more worthy actor will come along to sign on to the project. Although, with a production team that considered Keanu Reeves for a lead role, maybe we should be questioning the whole idea of an American, live-action Akira film...

Credits to bestweekev er.tv for making an awesome "Keanu sucks!" compilation, and the folks over at icanhascheezburger for making awesome Keanu-captioned posters and awesome captions in general.

~Polecat

PS: For those of you who are fans of Keanu Reeves, here's a more favorable i canhascheezburger picture just for you

Woah.

Romance Novel...Manga?

2011-05-21T23:43:00.011-04:00

So besides being well versed in all things manga, I am also a bit of an expert on romance novels. And by a bit, I mean that I have read probably hundreds of romance novels. I'm an addict, I'll admit. Though since college, I've been more or less forcefully weaned off them due to lack of time, there's something about them that always has me coming back for more. Could it be the purplish prose used to describe the love-making in which both characters magically attain orgasms that "make time suspend and the heavens shatter (no joke, direct quote) "? Or could it be the Fabio-esque men that adorn the covers, showing off whatever naturally ripply and hardened muscles they have? Whatever the reason, the point is that I enjoy romance novels, and I was quite thrilled to find a new manga genre - the romance novel shoujo manga adaptation.

At first glance, it seems like a logical combination. Romance novels are all about happy endings and feel-good stories and shoujo manga is basically a romance novel with prettily drawn pictures. The combination of these two, as I was imagining it, would produce a wonderfully fluffy manga in which I could get my daily dose of hunky men, cheesy dialogue, purplish prose, sex and happy endings all in one go.

+ = AMAZINGNESS

However, the actual execution of said equation has produced less than stellar results, much to my dismay and disappointment. I reaaaaally wanted to like these happa manga-novels, but instead of the happy marriage of love, sex, and fluffiness that I was expecting, the result was just...sorta awkward. I mean, it's not like I was expecting freakin' Shakespeare or anything like that, but I was expecting something with more finesse.

My main complaint is that these manga-novels have no depth whatsoever to them. Characters are introduced with only a cursory explanation, and then you get maybe one or two pages that explains the childhood trauma/emotional scar/phobia of pink rabbits/whatever it is that prevents them from forming healthy, normal relationships.

The not-so-original...FATHER COMPLEX

Then you get to read the rest of the story which consists of these emotionally scarred characters (who you don't really know anything about) resisting the urge to have sex. These characters don't really talk to each other, but they sure do like talking to themselves as they keep up a running internal narrative in which they comment on how passionate, how smoldering, how attractive, how whatever the other person is.

OMG. HE'S SO HOT. But I'm not going to tell him that.

Basically, what I suspect happened was that a Japanese writer read a romance novel and thought "Aw yis! I'm gonna make a manga out of this!" They then went through the entire book, chose a few random scenes and some dialogue, and then told a Japanese artist to draw it. That's how these things read - there's no continuity between the scenes that are drawn, and there aren't any explanations that are given. As the reader, you just kind of have to assume/guess about things. As a result, these manga novels read like limp fish - it just doesn't cut it.

Here it is, proof of the galling leaps of logic

The page above is the VERY FIRST PAGE of such a manga novel. You don't know a thing about the characters - all that has happened is that the guy apparently said, "You must not fall in love with me...I cannot promise you a future," to which the woman's very illogical rejoinder is "I need to break up with him." For all we know, the guy might be terminally ill. Or he might be a soldier and is about to go to war. Or he might be a recovering amnesia patient. Or whatever. Point is, there has been no explanation to justify why the woman should break up with him and why we should sympathize with the woman. It's just sorta plopped in there, and the reader has to draw their own conclusions.

I guess I shouldn't have expected that much to begin with - if you mix fluff with fluff, it's to be expected that you will end up with fluff. But I wanted so much for this genre to succeed! As such an ardent fan of both genres, the prospect of a romance novel manga proved to be too titillating to NOT expect great things. Well, maybe not great things, but at least entertaining things.

Anyway, I will continue to be a fan of both romance novels and manga, but I plan on keeping them separate from now on, like ice cream and broccoli. And don't let this negative post prevent you from checking this new genre out! It may be that I am completely off my rocker and I have missed all the merits of this manga subset. In which case, you should comment and refute all of my statements. I would so enjoy a blogging comment duel, o ho ho ho.

Many thanks to mangafox.com for providing the images for today's post (from the romance novel manga Fujitsu na Koibito as well as Midnight Secretary)! You can also check out here for more examples of American romance novel covers similar to Jule McBride's Naked Ambition, as well as here for pictures of Fabio adorning romance novel covers of the 80s and 90s. Gotta love the hair.

~Polecat

PS: I do not mean any disrespect to Shoujo Manhwa, the lovely group that scanned a lot of these romance novel mangas - you guys are great and are awesome for scanning stuff for us fans! :D

A Most Penitent Post

2011-05-20T19:21:00.012-04:00

A few days ago, the following conversation took place:

Polecat: Remember that blog we had?
Blackbird: Oh yeaaaah!

Polecat/Blackbird: ...

(Starfish was not present for that conversation, but she would have certainly joined in with us on the ellipsis)

Though it may not seem as such, dear readers, we do remember the existence of this blog. And it is all too clear as to how negligent we have been with the updates...or lack thereof, as it were. It has been more than a year since we last posted, and we are rife with regret, shame, and all other emotions that are appropriate for groveling purposes.

But! Summer is upon us! And unlike the last year and half, which proved to be fallow in terms of blogposts, this summer will be REPLETE with blogposts. Such abundance as you have never seen before! The world will runneth over with sagacious words pouring from our cybernetic hands.

So please, dear reader, bear with us and continue to grace us with your presence a little longer. We will certainly try to make it worth your while. :)

~Manga Meditation

PS: Random aside, here is a picture of an ice cream plant in honor of summer, the ice cream season.

This is what true happiness looks like.

A Valentine Day Special: The Ubiquitous Chapter

2010-02-16T15:02:00.018-05:00

Imagine this scenario: a snow-covered school yard with the faint peals of the afternoon bell ringing through the crisp winter air. A young boy exits the building, his scarf wrapped tightly around his neck as he furrows his brow in contemplation. Suddenly, he feels a tug on his sleeve. He turns around and beholds a young girl standing behind him, with a beautiful heart-shaped chocolate in her hands, her cheeks red from a mixture of the cold and embarrassment. She takes a deep breath, as if to prepare herself for a mighty confession...when from out of nowhere, an elephant stampedes across the yard, grabs the unfortunate piece of chocolate, and hustles out the gate, leaving the boy still expectantly waiting for the now-chocolate-less girl to say something.

PROOF OF MY LOVE

Sound familiar? It should, as it is what happens in many shoujo manga during Valentine's day. Though instead of the elephant, mangaka tend to use SLIGHTLY more realistic diversions (such as a horde of rabid fan girls), Valentine Day chapters in manga tend to be the most roundabout and complicated chapters in which the act of giving chocolate to a chosen target is drawn out to the nth degree. I've almost come to believe that manga editors include a little clause about this in the contracts with their authors: "You must draw a chapter about Valentine's Day. And you must make it as convoluted as possible. Maybe even make up characters specifically for that chapter. Or include blue aliens."

I suppose the danger lies in the inherent nature of Valentine's Day in Japan. If you've been drawing a 30-something volume long series and you've had the characters dancing around each other in the typical shoujo fashion (you know, where both of them like the other but don't think the other likes them back) Valentine's Day presents a threat to the longevity of your series! Confessions are made in the giving of chocolate; you can't spin that as something ambiguous that could be taken as mere friendship! Thirty volumes of work could be resolved in this one day if the two main characters met and exchanged chocolates!

MUST NOT LET HER GIVE THE CHOCOLATE

That's where the confusion (and, I'll admit, the fun) of Valentine Day chapters come in. While no closure is actually reached for the two people in love, these chapters ARE entertaining. And since it is Valentine's day, the author makes sure to throw a bone to all the readers with a cute moment near the end that ALMOST is a confession...but not quite.

Anyway, for all you manga lovers out there, Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day from Manga Meditation!

~Polecat

PS: Credits to mangafox and the series "Valentine Nanka Kowakunai?!" by Ikeyamada Go

Valentines by the Numbers

2010-02-12T00:30:00.017-05:00

For all the math nerds in the house, it's time for a statistical break down. Every year thousands in America rush to their nearest Hallmark store to buy cards, candy, and pink stuffed teddy bears. By doing a quick google, I discovered that Valentine's sells the most flowers and the fourth most candy of any holiday. The favorite flower? Red Roses by 48% of the sales according to aboutflowers.com . No need to guess about the favorite type of candy. It's chocolate all the way.

So sure, Valentine's is commercialized. It's hard to find a holiday on the American calender that isn't (Maybe Martin Luther King Day?). It's also commercial in Japan. While I was there, all the stores broke out elaborate boxes of chocolate. What a tempting sight it was! I almost bought a crate load for myself. Every chocolate truffle, an intricately crafted piece of art, wrapped perfectly in typical Japanese fashion.

In Shoujo manga however, heroines take a step back from the commercialism and cook up homemade Valentine's treats. I've hunted down recipes for a few of the more unusual desserts for your Valentine's consumption.

For those who are not satisfied with mere chocolate decadence, I present:

Sunako Nakahara's Chocolate Monstrosity (aka Devil's Food Cake Cockaigne)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and stir in a double boiler over boiling water.

2-4 oz. unsweetened chocolate,
1/2 cup milk,

1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg yolk

Remove from the heat when thickened.
In separate bowl, cream

1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar

Beat in 2 egg yolks
Add

2 cups flour,
1 tsp baking soda,
1/2 tsp salt,

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the two bowls. Stir until smooth. Whip 2 egg whites until stiff and fold them lightly into batter. Bake in two greased 9 inch round pans for 25 minutes. Spread when cool with your favorite icing.

For a sophisticated flavor, join Ren Tsugura in trying:

Kyouko Mogami's Queen Rosa Jello (aka Gelee au Vin)
Soak 2 tbsp gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water.
Dissolve in 3/4 cup boiling water.
Stir in until also dissolved
1/2 cup sugar.
Let cool. Then, add

1 and 3/4 cups orange juice,
6 tbsp lemon juice,
1 cup well-flavored wine

Taste the combined ingredients and add more sugar if needed.
Pour the jelly into sherbet glasses. Chill until firm. Makes 8 servings.

--Starfish

Thanks to Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer for the recipes.

A More Mature Polecat

2010-02-07T01:27:00.007-05:00

As we venture farther and farther into 2010, the new year always sparks a deep reflection of my growth of a person. Or, in this case, of my change in manga tastes.

From those early days of Cardcaptor Sakura so many years ago, I've read thousands and thousands of pages, spanning all different genres, plots, characters, and art styles. However, no longer am I willing to let anything pass before my eyes. This past year, a sort of filter has grown over my previously indiscriminate manga appetite, and I am no longer satisfied by what I usually read.

What I usually read and seek out is shoujo. Nice, fluffy shoujo manga, the sugary sweet kind that could attract magnets by how polarized the good and bad characters are, and the kind that has lots of emotional anguish, tears, and cookie cutter characters. What I'm craving now is JOSEI.

At first, I thought my growing dissatisfaction had to do with the manga themselves. In a recent conversation with Blackbird, I ranted, "Why can't I find anything I really like anymore? Where have all the good mangas gone? All these heroines are annoying, the guys are too chauvinistic, and I'm tired of screentone doilies!" And in her typically astute manner, Blackbird said, "Well, it sounds like you've outgrown shoujo. Maybe you should read Josei."

And so it was with much trepidation that I opened myself to the genre of Josei. Previously discounted as boring and serious, I have now found my new go-to genre for my manga cravings. Now that I have almost exited the realm of "teenager" and am entering unexplored territories of "adulthood," I find myself drawn in by the relaxed, introspective, yet slightly amused tone of many Josei mangas. No swooning heroines to be found here, much less screentone doilies, and I must say, the change is refreshing. Finally, women with above average reasoning capabilities, and realistic portrayals of human relations.

Like training wheels, once the step has been taken in a certain direction, the momentum is irreversible. I am now firmly lodged in the Josei camp, and I don't forsee myself leaving in the near future. Happy New Year to all, and may your road be scattered with many soon-to-be-discovered manga titles!

~Polecat

For those who are looking to make the transition from shoujo to josei, check out Shuukatsu - Kimi ni Naitei!!! A most excellent read that combines humor, sarcasm, romance, and sweetness all in one. Credits to mangafox.com!

Twisted Romance in Dreamland

2010-02-06T18:01:00.007-05:00

Sympathetic Character = Mad Woman in Attic

We've all seen this scene before: a couple stands at the altar, just about to say their final vows, when a woman/man bursts in, interrupting the ceremony to declare her/his undying love for the bride/groom standing at the end of the aisle. They collapse in each other's arms. The crowd cheers. True love has won the day. In the inverted situation in Jane Eyre, the reader sympathizes with Jane's pain.

In the past, I would have cheered and sighed along with the crowd, but now I say, "Ba Humbug!"

Over the past three nights, I was visited by three dreams. In each, I was a blushing bride in typical wedding day scenarios.

I won't bother you with two of the dreams. They were typical dream fare. That is to say, more than a bit random and nonsensical, but the third proved that my subconscious can tell a good story if provoked.

The scene begins in the chapel. The families of myself and my fiance mill around, presumably waiting for the wedding to begin. I am in deep conference with a former lover in one of the wings.

"My fiance doesn't love me. That was clear from the start. It is after all arranged by our parents," I explain to him, "but he has also told me that I was his second choice. His long time girlfriend turned him down when he proposed. Talk about adding insult to injury."

"Darling," my ex exclaims a bit melodramatically, "Even if you plan to carry through with this marriage in order to preserve the honor of your family. We can dance at the reception. That'll show everyone!" Listening to his brilliant plan, I decide that I wouldn't have wanted to elope with this genius either.

As I reflect on my sad but stoic outlook, I hear the organist strike up "Here comes the Bride", but I'm not the one hurrying down the aisle. It's some woman I've never seen before, and she's wearing a wedding dress.

She falls into a dramatic swoon in the arms of my fiance. "Darling," she gasps, "I've changed my mind! If you don't marry me, my love, I'll never be happy again." Instead of replying, my fiance gives her a passionate kiss. And then another.

The rector interrupts before they start on their third. "Sir, I am ready to perform a wedding. Will you be marrying this young lady instead? It will be a simple matter of changing the name on the marriage certificate."

That's when I lose my cool. I've given everything up for this wedding, for the sake of my family, and this woman thinks she can waltz right in at the last minute and irresponsibly change all our plans? How incredibly rude! I march up to the altar, pull the two apart, and give them a piece of my mind.

"Who do you think you are?" I ask. Then I give her a good one, right in the kisser. KAPOW!
"As for you," I confront my fiance, "Don't think you're getting off easy," but the wedding guests removed me from the chapel before I could carry out my threat.

As I emerged from this nightmare, I was filled with indignation. The ingratitude of my fiance, the inconsiderate nature of his ex-girlfriend, the impotence of my ex-boyfriend, all filled my heart with a lingering anger.

Jane, let the masses cheer for your success. I'll be sympathizing with Bertha Mason.

--Starfish

The Search for Otome

2010-02-05T11:44:00.034-05:00

Heileen, one of the few available English otome titles.

Last semester, Polecat, Starfish, and I found a number of ways of avoiding our always mounting work. In-between playing flash games (Winter Bells, anyone? Drench?), watching movies, reading the news, baking cookies, watching Buffy, and knitting, we sometimes fell into our fangirly, Manga Meditation-ish ways.

While I personally fell off the manga reading train, Polecat and Starfish continued to diligently log onto Manga Fox and One Manga and whatever other scanlation aggregates on the Internet. The three of us also continued our K and J drama nights; we're almost done with Hana Yori Dango 2, by the way.

Starfish took it further and began to delve deeper into the girly comics universe: Dating sims. If you know your shoujo manga, chances are you've at least heard of dating sims, and if you're even more dedicated, otome games.

Otome What?

The game of my childhood.

Otome games are dating sims that are special because, unlike the majority of male-focused sims featuring well-endowed twelve-year-old girls, they cater to girls and their desires for personal bishounen harems. Although made for a niche market, dating sims are extremely popular in Japan. Unfortunately, there are few officially published or original titles in America, and even fewer created exclusively for girls.

As a girl who enjoys playing video games, it's disappointing that American marketers are still ignoring a potentially profitable market. Consider the popularity of romance novels. Otome games are practically the same thing, only they're better because you get to be the girl. There's huge potential here to hook teenage girls and stay-at-home moms onto these games.

Take Harvest Moon 64, for example. I don't think I'm the first to say that, while the farming part is all well and good, what really makes the game is the romantic aspect. Wooing the five potential wives with gifts, stealing them away from your love rival, and keeping an ever watchful eye out for unlockable special events... Dating sims condense all of these aspects, just without the farming.

...And Why?

Starfish soon told Polecat and me about her discovery of these otome games, and her futile attempts at finding such games to play.

A search for "otome game," "otome game download," "play otome game," and other variations generally comes up with unsatisfactory results. While some will direct you to blogs reviewing Japanese games (which, by the way, require the knowledge of Japanese and/or the painstaking search for translations), the majority are download sites, many of which are questionable. And if you have a Mac? Forget it. The majority of dating games created in Japan are almost always made exclusively for Windows.

As mentioned earlier, such games cater to a specific market. I was on the search, however, and my desperation to just play a quality otome grew more and more. When I grew desperate enough, I started looking for just a normal dating sim.

There is the game Yo-Jin-Bo, one of the few Japanese otome games published in America. There are also the more popular Heileen and Sprited Heart games by Winter Wolves. MM tried out a demo of Spirited Heart, which was fun but eventually asked you to pay for the rest of the game. Considering we're poor college students, that was out of the question.

I searched and searched that Google engine dry, about to give up when finally I found...

Doujinshi Dating Games

They're fun! They're free! They're (sometimes) good quality! Did I mention they're free?

After my long, arduous search, I finally found a few quality doujinshi otome games.

Let's be honest here. The majority of amateur works are not the greatest quality. The writing, for one, is usually terrible, poorly planned, and riddled with grammar and spelling errors. The art is usually laughable, and clearly just a supplement to the sub-par writing. Characters are often drawn as variations of the same character, with the appearance of drawings traced by a person with an unsteady hand on MS Paint.

But then came a bright, bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Lucky Rabbit Reflex

Screen of Lucky Rabbit Reflex's dev blog.

I eventually came across this topic at Lemma Soft Forums and a download for a demo of Lucky Rabbit Reflex (see the creator's development blog here; it's worth a look).

It's only a short demo, but the quality is very impressive considering it's all created by one person. If you take a look at the dev blog, you'll see that the creator is adding increasingly complex aspects to the game that require a lot of programming knowledge.

The art is cute, and the CG's are good quality. The art style is not what one would typically expect from a dating sim, but it's an interesting, fluid style that's unique to the creator. Not only that, but the writing is great; while it's still a campy otome game, it has witty humor and fun, interesting characters. The interface is awesome; it's complex yet clean. Needless to say, I look forward to Lucky Rabbit Reflex's official release!

Links:
Game
Development Blog

Love Blossom

I also came across a small list started at the My NeoRomance forum compiling available English otome games. Under "doujin" was something called Love Blossom which led me to this topic at the same forum. The game was apparently created to celebrate My NeoRomance's birthday.

This game is well done considering it's simply a free birthday gift to the members. It doesn't feature any sound, but includes two potential boyfriends, CGs and, of course, multiple endings.

The art looks pretty informal, but it's certainly acceptable for just a fun, quickly put together game. While I prefer Lucky Rabbit Reflex, Love Blossom hasn't had as much time put into it, and it's clearly more just as a gift to the members rather than a widely distributed game. Overall, I suggest taking a look at it.

Links:
Game

Katawa Shoujo

Screenshot found at Katawa Shoujo's website.

Mmkay I might be treading into more controversial territory here for two reasons.

One is that Katawa Shoujo is not an otome game, but rather of a common dating sim format featuring a male protagonist and bishoujo love interests; more than that, it's really more a visual novel than a dating sim since players cannot do much outside of making choices within the plot line. The second reason is the game's topic matter.

The game stars a high school boy who discovers he has an arrhythmia, an issue concerning the rhythm of the heart. He is told he'll never be able to live a normal life again, but he is allowed to go back to high school. The difference, however, is that the high school is made exclusively for disabled students (as far as I can tell it appears to only focus on physical disabilities).

This is where it gets a little tricky. As the developers have noted, the game will include sex scenes with the girls. That in itself is not unique in the realm of dating sims, but having sex with physically disabled girls? I won't use the crude term, but some believe that this sim's premise could easily result in a distasteful fetish game.

I decided to download the demo off of Katawa Shoujo's website, which turns out to actually be Act I of the game.

First of all, this game is incredibly impressive. I don't know how experienced the developers are in terms of game design, but the current product they have on their website practically looks and reads like a professional game.

The art, for one, is the best I've seen out of a doujin dating sim. The character art has a generic style, but its drawn and colored with a lot of skill. The backgrounds appear to be Photoshopped photographs, but they also fit the tone of the story, and the colors complement the characters well.

What is perhaps even more impressive about Katawa Shoujo's art is the amount of variation and detail. Backgrounds have morning, afternoon, and night versions; and characters not only have a variety of poses, they have changing faces, moving limbs, and various combinations of all three. The animation is also very smooth.

The writing is also very good; the style is usually very fluent, and at times even eloquent. It does tend to get a bit verbose at times, but am I really one to talk?

Now for the disability factor. While perhaps there are some things that could have been changed in the game for it to be even more acceptable, Act I is generally sensitively written and at times even realistically written.

The protagonist is characterized as cynical as a result of his degraded health and rapidly changed circumstances. When he comes to the school, he is somewhat uncomfortable with meeting the other students, and often does not know how to act around them. My thoughts may change in the future, but at the moment I think this is a realistic portrayal of most people's reactions.

The disabilities do play a factor in the game, but they usually are not featured in a heavy handed fashion and are often subtle enough to simply be viewed as personality traits.

Of course not everything is realistic; it's a dating sim, after all. But considering how such subject matter could have been handled, the developers did an excellent job. If you are extremely sensitive to the premise of the game (though you could do much worse), you might consider holding off on downloading. However, I still encourage at least a look at the game, even if you're a girl like me looking for an otome game. It's an admirable piece so far, and pretty innocuous in terms of potentially offensive material.

Links:
Game
Development Blog
Game's Wikipedia Page

Otome DIY Adventures

Find developers' games at the Ren'Py's site.

While frustrated by the lack of computer otome games in English (a pretty specific request, I soon found), I stumbled across the Ren'Py Visual Novel Engine, a free program to create visual novels. Many designers, however, use the Python-based engine to create their own dating sims; the three featured in this post all use it. Which got me to thinking:

Why not create a dating sim of our own?

Starfish, Polecat and I do actually posses some semblance of talent which would be useful in creating one. Starfish is our resident programming expert, Polecat has doodles worthy of art galleries, and I'm an aspiring writer. Not only that, but Polecat and I have some experience with Python.

As one should expect, it's been a lot harder getting it off the ground than our initial enthusiasm made us believe. But if one should be interested in putting a dating sim together, the "keep it simple stupid" adage is perhaps the number one rule.

Since finding playable dating sims on the Internet like the previous three, our interest in the project has waned a little (that "life" thing also cropped up once in a while). However, it hasn't been abandoned entirely; I hope that it will eventually see the light of day.

Helpful Hints?

Here are a few resources that I found while on my vast otome adventure. Such things won't be useful for everyone, but you can also just use them to find out general information on dating sims, programming, whatever.

Ren'Py -- The visual novel engine. With the limited exposure Starfish and I have had with the program, it seems that it's most useful if one has a working knowledge of Python.

"Write a Dating Sim" -- An article from TV Tropes. Pretty extensive. While it's not the absolute high authority, there is some good advice on avoiding the usual writing pitfalls.

NeoRomance Forums -- Yeah, yeah, it's a forum. But it's dedicated to otome games! It's also where I found Love Blossom. Take a look at the main My Neoromance page as well if you like.

Lemma Soft Forums -- This is a more broadly focused forum, but it does deal with ren'ai (romance) games, as well as the use of Ren'Py.

Otome Games -- Has good information on officially licensed English otome games. This means you also have to pay for them. Regardless, take a look at the free demo links if you're so inclined; still fun, even if you don't have the money!

And of course, the best resource is your own experience from playing good games. See what you like and what you don't. Don't fall into cliches. Pay attention to your art. Write something original.

Easier said than done. But this is mostly advice to myself.

--Blackbird.

PS: Developers, if you'd like any of your images taken off, please let us know! Every posted image is linked to its source.

Delightful Girl Choon Hyang: Initial Impressions

2010-02-02T03:23:00.021-05:00

Not so delightful.

Well, I've begun the Korean drama Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang, and I'm very unimpressed. I was originally going to write episode summaries, or something semi-regular, but I've decided instead to write one review of the series as a whole once I've slogged through the whole thing, with a separate analysis following.

The reason I abandoned my original idea is that I'm having trouble just watching this thing. With it being one of the most popular dramas in the past ten years, I was expecting something really, genuinely good, something well-written, well-acted, and funny. Something on par with, say, Full House, My Girl, and, while it's a huge stretch, Coffee Prince (we're big fans here at MM). I knew it was too much to hope to see something as good as the latter drama, but couldn't it have at least been like My Girl?!

I've gotten through episodes one and two so far, with a generally disappointed reaction. The main actors are unspectacular, with an insincere and flat-out annoying performance by Han Chae Young as Chunhyang. Jae Hee, playing opposite as Mongryong, is not the worst actor I've ever seen in a K-drama, but most certainly not the best. I might have more of a problem with how his character has been written more than his portrayal. What's with his mega spoiled, bad boy depiction? The only possible explanation is that it's a common archetype in pop K-dramas.

But that's the beginning of the issue here. The whole time I was watching (when I wasn't gritting my teeth during Chunhyang's screen time, that is) I was thinking , "What is so special about this drama? Why was this one so popular among the swarms of dramas that come out every year in Korea?"

This is her "mischievous" face.

Because besides the whole idea of interpreting Chunhyang into modern times, there is absolutely nothing notable or original to this series. The main girl is nothing special in comparison to all other drama heroines; she's poor but spunky, pretty (although I personally think Han Chae Young looks very plastic), and of course the top of her class. She's a hard-worker, and inexplicably unimpressed by the hot boy even though every other girl in her class faints at the mere scent of his pheromones. Her love interest, the hot boy, is troubled and has a bad relationship with his father. Despite his rough exterior, he's a real gentleman at heart. And of course, he is pining for the girl in his past that rejected him.

"But Blackbird," you whine, "ALL K-dramas are like that. Heck, the entire romantic comedy genre is filled with that!"

But that's not the whole point! It's not necessarily the story itself, but the way in which it is told. I think I talked about this in my Chunhyangga movie review. A story like Chunhyangdyun or, say, Pride and Prejudice, is told over and over again in hundreds of different mediums. But what brings people back is not just nostalgia for the story or a just plain short-term memory. It's the actual execution of that story. In the case of K-dramas such as My Girl, which in theory has practically identical characters to those in Delightful Girl, good acting, writing, and general production make that drama watchable and unique, not the story.

Perhaps the Delightful Girl Choon Hyang's director is at fault. Not some, but almost all of the actors are playing their characters with so much cheese that I'm feeling lactose intolerant. Forgive the terrible metaphor. Anyways, I think the general lack of watchable acting across the board is not a coincidence.

The writers might be at even greater fault. The actual premise is only loosely based on the actual Chunhyang story with two young kids getting married, but the reason they get married is ridiculous and not even the acceptable, K-drama kind of ridiculous. I just can't suspend my disbelief here.

In the drama, the two main characters must get married because, after a series of pretty inconsequential mishaps, they accidentally spend the night together. No, nothing happens. They literally just sleep in the same bed together, one sick and the other accidentally drunk. Word gets out, however, and it's a freaking atomic bomb on the school. Two of their friends (who I think represent Hyangdan, Chunhyang's maid, and Pangja, Mongryong's servant) accidentally spread the rumor that Chunhyang may be pregnant.

Notice how many times I use the word "accidentally" here? There's a place for coincidence in K-dramas, but in this drama it's implemented without reason. Rather, it's as if the writers were just going on a whim, not actually planning out the story before writing it.

TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVES.

So all hell breaks loose, to the point that the principal calls a meeting with the two teenagers and their parents (this might be interesting to look at more closely in another post; while the reaction to the news in the school was of course exaggerated for entertainment's sake, it was still hugely over the top in comparison to how I think American schools would react). Instead of rationally ignoring the unreliable rumor (is this really that earth-shattering?), the parents decide that the only way to prevent the expulsion of Chunhyang and Mongryong is, of course, to get married.

What?

Is this actually that easiest option? Is there really just absolutely nothing else that can be done? Do these kids have to be threatened with expulsion for something that happened off school grounds (again, this might be a good topic of analysis for a separate post)? And why is no one talking to the two idiot friends for spreading the rumor? It's not just a ridiculous situation, but one in which the very concept of common sense has been thrown out the window. These characters resemble garish clowns more than people.

What pissed me off was that the parents talk about arranging this marriage as if there is an expectation of Chunhyang and Mongryong eventually getting divorced anyway. In the scene the parents sigh, the lighting slightly dreamy, indicating that a big change is about to occur. In the end their conversation amounts to, "Maybe they can stay married until they go to college."

Okay, so not only has basic common sense been ignored by the writers, but now we're adding the completely superficial pretenses here. Since this marriage holds no meaning as a true marriage to all involved, it means that they really are getting married simply for appearances. Also, who else besides those in the high school know of Chunhyang and Mongryong's little sleepover? No one! So what's the big deal? Since when did a bunch of 40 to 50-something parents care what a bunch of snotty fifteen-year-olds think?

The marriage "ceremony" that can only be described as "creepy."

Argh. I should stop here. I might run out of things to say for the actual review and
rant analysis.

The one part I did like was the very beginning of the first episode, which is set up like a historical K-drama. It shows the scene when Mongryong comes to save Chunhyang from the hands of Hakdo, and includes Mongryong's forces running up the walls, flying (literally) over in huge numbers. The inflated fanfare of it all ends with Mongryong rushing in like a knight in shining armor, only to find Chunhyang standing over Hakdo, harshly scolding her captor. The sense of comedic timing is spot on, and apparently absent in the rest of the series. Any other rare moments of humor are missed in the muck of bad acting.

I must also mention, to relate this to the larger Chunhyang project, that this drama's story has almost no relation to the original Chunhyang story outside of 1) the characters' names, and 2) the two of them getting married. If I missed any other connection I am open to correction.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be off poking my eyeballs out with size 8 double pointed needles as I continue to plod through this drama.

--Blackbird.

PS: Thanks to DramaWiki for the first image! Good resource if you need basic info on just about any drama. I took the screencaps myself from Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, which I downloaded from SilentRegrets.

The Mangaka Review: Yoshizumi Wataru

2010-01-29T00:53:00.078-05:00

The mangaka herself.

Yoshizumi Wataru's mangas hold a special place in my heart. While I had seen and read manga for many years, her works were the first I bought in earnest, back when the manga in bookstores did not occupy five bookcases. Marmalade Boy was not truly a standout manga in any sense, but for my impressionable, naive, eleven-year-old mind, she was a genius.

Perfecting the Cliche

I began to draw silly fan comics as a kid as soon as I picked up my copy of Pikachu Shocks Back at a Toys R Us (I can thank my grandmother for that gift), but it was Marmalade Boy that began my long love affair with shoujo manga... And my varied attempts at drawing it. The first shoujo manga I drew? I'll never tell. But watch a few romcom chick flicks and you'll get a good idea of what the story was like.

Suffice it to say, it was not my destiny to become a mangaka.

Cover featuring the spunky Koishikawa Miki.

Part of the problem, perhaps, is that I tried too hard to emulate Yozhizumi's storytelling style. She knows how to write a clean, consistent shoujo story. In my much less skilled hands, however, it was only another cliche for the throwaway pile. Her works might not be the most original, nor the most emotionally compelling, but they are adequate and certainly entertaining. She has captured all of the shoujo archetypes and perfected them to her style; it is distinctive to her particular works, yet familiar and comforting.

Marmalade Boy, for example, features a young teenager Miki as the star, a girl all sorts of genki. She's a little naive, almost borderline stupid, but earnest, loyal, and above all, super spunky. Her best friend, Meiko, is smart, beautiful, and mature; she comes from a broken family, and as a result seems to hide her problems under a quiet exterior. Ginta is Miki's other close friend. In the past she had feelings for him he couldn't return, but there may be more to the story (you know where this is going)... And finally there's Yuu, clearly Miki's love interest from the beginning. He's cute, sly, popular, and he loves to tease her. And of course, he has intimacy issues.

It all sounds so typical when written out, but many of Yoshizumi's characters and storylines are like that. Her drawing styles follow a similar vein; she is remarkably consistent. Though her style has changed from where she was when she drew Handsome na Kanojo, in general her art has remained very static. Nothing too fancy a la Tanemura Arina, but nothing minimal like Takahashi Rumiko.

Group photo!

Is this good or bad? It depends on one's mood and, of course, age. Personally, when I finished my first volume of Marmalade Boy, I experienced for the first time that unique sort of addiction manga affords. We've all felt it. Try to remember. You close your very first volume of manga and are still in that strange, absorbed state; you remain in the manga's world for just a few seconds after officially leaving it. It's unique, and something you'll never experience in the same way again.

Yoshizumi gave me that experience. And for my little cynical, preteen self, Marmalade Boy was eye-opening; I couldn't believe I had never picked up manga before.

In retrospect, Yoshizumi's works were perfect mangas to introduce me to shoujo. Her stories and characters are not exactly edgy or unique, but they're incredibly well-executed. She writes the true shoujo story, written for the squealing girls who want to fantasize about bishi boys glittering on the page.

That's what I learned to appreciate about her work. Sure, she's not a brooding underground artist tearing up the page and changing the landscape of manga, but just how many indie freaks can there there be in the industry (I say that with love)? We need our comfort foods once in a while too.

On another note, watch for her newest manga, a shoujo series titled Chitose etc.! I have yet to be able to find any scans, but it started only last year. Read news about it at Anime News Network and and its Baka-Updates profile.

Foray Into Josei

I recently read Yoshizumi's Spicy Pink, marking one of my first, earnest ventures into josei manga. I didn't necessarily choose Yoshizumi intentionally, but it was oddly appropriate considering my experience with her shoujo.

The story definitely has the more meandering quality of a slice-of-life manga. It follows a thirty-something mangaka named Sakura and her relationship with plastic surgeon Koreeda. There isn't really a story, the main conflicts consisting of the usual hurdles between the two main lovers. You won't see anything truly sad or even really bittersweet in this story, but it does have an ending that I wasn't expecting. Don't build up your hopes; it's not anything mind-blowing. But somehow it conveyed a certain josei maturity that I was hoping to see.

It was a good, quick read, and I encourage anyone who's just curious about josei to give it a look. Again, nothing awe-inspiring, but I will say that it personally got me more interested to find other josei series; it was a good place to start.

For a more mature storyline, however, look into her recent Cappuccino josei manga. Even shorter than Spicy Pink, this story is also very slice-of-life. It is also more serious, however, and more poignant. It's a very fast read, but that also leaves out some deeper plot development.

The story deals with a de facto marriage between its two main characters, Ari and Sosuke. To be honest it's a bit of a downer ("bittersweet" according to Manga Fox's synopsis), but at the same time more realistic than her other stories. The tone is still consistent to her style, however, which can probably be attributed to her experience in the medium.

The Bottom Line: Read Yoshizumi Wataru's mangas when you want something girly, romantic, and comfortable.

--Blackbird.

PS: According to the Marmalade Boy Wikipedia article, Tokyopop no longer has the licensing rights to the manga or its anime. Unfortunately this means that the English translated title is out of print, but this also means that I can give you the link to its scanlations on Manga Fox!

PPS: Thanks to MyAnimeList for the image of Yoshizumi! I'd never seen a picture of her before that... And thanks to (who else?) Wikipedia for the Marmalade Boy volume cover. Thanks to Manga Fox for the image of the Marmalade Boy cast; however, I cropped the picture myself. Finally, thanks to One Manga for the image from Spicy Pink. You can find scans of Spicy Pink there in addition to those found at Manga Fox.

The Mistakes a Pepper Makes

2010-01-28T03:43:00.016-05:00

Look! Bloopers!

And if you're confused, please refer to this post.

--Blackbird.

Intensive Korean Study: Week 3

2010-01-27T02:55:00.054-05:00

SO.

Late, late, late! The theme of my week. I kept thinking I would get to this weekly blog at least by Monday, Tuesday at absolutely latest, but now it's Wednesday and too late to even be vaguely considered on time. Oh well.

I made more progress on the Korean and all, but am, of course, behind schedule. I'm halfway through the book! Yeah! But I also only have a week left. No!!

I blame it on the knitting. I've been knitting like crazy this past month, to the point of pure addiction. I know I should stop... I see the textbook glaring at me from across the table, the neglected schedule on my computer slouching in rejection, and the piles of knitted garments, symbols of the hours of life spent clicking two bamboo needles together.

EXPENSIVE.

I'm not a huge fashionista or anything, but when you see a mega awesome cute overpriced Anthropologie sweater selling for $200+, and you know you could possibly, just maybe knock it off in your size for a fraction of the price...

But enough, on to the updates.

Integrated Korean: Beginning 1 Textbook

As I get further and further into the book, the concepts get more complicated and dense in each chapter. While my one-chapter-a-day plan is generally working at the moment, I can already tell that I'll have to be spending even more time in the coming week. The current one I am on went through the numbers and counter words.

Korean uses both Sino-Korean and Korean numbers, and each set is used depending on the context. This is something that has stumped me ever since I learned them as a kid. I had previously asked my relatives for clarification, but none of them could really articulate when each set was used. Most Korean questions I have posed for native speakers almost always go unanswered, with him or her apologetically shrugging their shoulders. Granted, I wasn't asking Korean language linguists or anything, and it's hard to dissect a language one has been speaking all his or her life.

But in this case, even after dissection and clarification from a textbook, it still isn't really clear to me. I think the problem is that I'm trying to find some reason as to why people, animals, and items are talked about with Korean numbers and why school years, floor numbers, and the months and days in a date are talked about with Sino-Korean numbers. The issue, I guess, is not a matter of grouping them together, but rather an issue of my finding a method of memorizing which goes where. Without a kind of general system, it just doesn't quite compute.

I'm realizing now is that it's a little hard to talk about Korean grammar. Spanish, a language I began learning at the tender age of six, is at least somehow related to English; besides the many cognates and similar sentence structures, they share larger grammar concepts. Of course Korean has some similarities in having nouns and verbs and such, but sometimes the bigger differences seem too hard to explain.

Random note: I started noticing that when I'm doing my textbook exercises, it's hard for me to construct the sentences outside of the context of the book. Without the guiding exercises divided into each individual grammar concept, at the moment I can't seem to just pull the concept out of a hat and actually utilize it. At least not without some deep thinking, which could really be annoying during a conversation, to say the least.

Sometimes when I'm talking to myself in Korean (I do this, alone, in the comfort of my own home, by the way), I'll try to imagine some sort of scenario in which I might have to speak. I still like to think in English terms sometimes, and more often I'll find myself falling into Spanish and mixing it with my Korean.

Goal 1: Wean myself of this habit before my trip to Korea.

Integrated Korean: Beginning 1 Workbook

Eh, not much to say. Using it periodically, though not as much as I should. The real issue is just time management, as usual.

Chunhyang Project

Uuuuuugggghhhhh. A coming post (EDIT: Here it is!) will elaborate more on this sentiment; it has to do with Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, and it's long-winded. As far as the whole "late" theme goes, I'm really behind on where I wanted to be (in terms of watching the series, that is). I think I'll have to go on a drama-watching binge through the end of the week.

Let's Speak Korean

I haven't been using this as much as I thought I might. I'm thinking it might not be such a bad thing, however.

At the moment I'm studying really basic Korean, and I'm probably learning how to speak in a very proper, regimented way. It's how all language programs work, after all; one must learn the basics before learning how to screw them up with idioms, slang, and the like. I'm probably talking like a heavily accented robot.

Watching some of the Let's Speak Korean videos has, therefore, been messing me up just a little bit. They periodically use similar phrases that I've been learning in my textbook, but without grammar explanation. The textbook breaks down the sentence and teaches me how one may formulate it. Let's Speak Korean, on the other hand, functions more like a condensed traveler's program, like Pimsleur or something. As a result, it just teaches you the phrase as a whole.

In learning how to say "Where is [an item]?" for example, the textbook taught me one way, first by teaching the verb in an earlier lesson, then eventually teaching me how to use that verb in a question. In a Let's Speak Korean episode teaching the same phrase, it taught it with a different verb... Then in another episode, taught it with the same verb and form as in the textbook.

**Is it 어디 예요, or...**

**...어디 있어요?**

The issue, I guess, is that both sounded right to me. I was more used to hearing the Let's Speak Korean version of this phrase when I heard my relatives using it, but the Integrated Korean version I learned still sounded correct, just not quite as familiar. When quizzing myself, therefore, I would fall into the Let's Speak Korean version without thinking, then realized I didn't even know exactly how that sentence came to be formed.

I eventually learned the Let's Speak Korean, unfamiliar version in the textbook. I still don't quite understand the difference between the two, but I think it's mostly a matter of context with slight differences in sentiment.

This is a really long explanation to basically say: I was confusing myself. Let's Speak Korean is still very fun to watch, but as I said in an earlier post it's more to just hear and speak a little more Korean in your day, not actually learn any grammar and whatnot.

NOW Manhwa

Unfortunately, I think this portion will have to be put on hold. I might pick it up someday in the future, but the Korean study and Chunhyang portions of this project are the priority at the moment.

Again, here's a link to some scanlations of the manhwa. Unfortunately nothing new has been posted since June '09, but hopefully a group has picked up the project and will post in the future.

Conclusion

Another week gone quickly by! Not much to say here. Coming soon: My initial impressions of Delightful Girl Choon Hyang. They're not good, to say the least. However, I would love to be proved wrong! Hint hint.

--Blackbird.

PS: SERIOUSLY. WHY IS ANTHROPOLOGIE SO EXPENSIVE.

One of these days I will knock off these sweater patterns, mark my words...

Intensive Korean Study: Week 2

2010-01-16T19:45:00.034-05:00

Another week! I was able to focus a lot more than last week, but it was still a struggle trying to catch up. I'm starting to think I might be trying to tackle too much; the textbook has been taking a lot more time than I expected, as is the Chunhyang side project.

Anyways, on to the progress report...

Integrated Korean: Beginning 1 Textbook

Finally finished chapter 2. I'm actually supposed to be at the end of chapter 4 by this point, but I'm remaining (blindly) optimistic about getting it all done! I actually didn't schedule Korean study on the weekends, so I guess I'll just have to do a bit of work then too. Not a problem.

I came across my first Korean language difficulty this week concerning particles. In Korean, words cannot stand alone. Instead, particles must be attached to them; they help indicate how each word functions in the sentence. It helps to keep everything clear in the sentence, unlike in English in which subjects and objects can be easily confused. There are four kinds of particles: Subject, object, location, and topic particles.

While the first three are pretty easy to understand, the topic particle's function was initially confusing to me. I mean, isn't the subject of a sentence also the topic of the sentence?

When I came across this problem, unfortunately the textbook couldn't really help me. The grammar is given in chunks that somehow feel very jumbled and disorganized to me. While there is a reference page that shows all of the grammar particles, there's no centralized area where I can comprehensively compare different grammar concepts. There also simply wasn't a place where the difference between subject and topic particles was explained.

And so I took to the Internet! I settled on using a site I had stumbled upon before, simply called "Learn Korean Language." According to the article on particles, subject and topic particles are actually not necessarily comparable. Instead, subject particles have the ability to replace any of the particles in the sentence, giving that particular part emphasis in the sentence. If one says, "Ji-eun is reading a book at home," emphasis could be given to Ji-eun, the book, or the home. I guess it's just a matter of context.

Of course there's more to it than that, but that's the gist of it.

Having no answer key has also been a bit of a problem when working with slightly more complicated sentence structures. I mean, it's not extremely complicated yet, but at the moment particles and placement sometimes has been confusing.

Integrated Korean: Beginning 1 Workbook

Finally started using it! Pretty simple, and good for reinforcing concepts. While there are exercises in the textbook, the workbook is definitely useful. Just like the audio files for the textbook, the workbook's audio is available online.

Chunhyang Project

If my Chunhyangdyun movie review is any indication, I'm not exactly a fan of this whole project so far. Regardless, I'm going to get started with watching Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang really soon. Polecat is not a fan of this series, but she was also a fan of Chunhyangdyun; our tastes don't exactly match up. So who knows? I'm hoping to like it since I'll have to watch all 17 episodes by the end, and those could be some looong 17 hours.

Let's Speak Korean

I've decided that I'm a fan of the inclusion of season three's Blake Minich. He is the resident "student" of the show, hosted by Lisa Kelley and Young Kim. Blake adds a really silly element to the show that makes it a bit more entertaining to watch and a little less cringe-worthy than, say, season one with pushy salesman co-host Stephen Revere. It also just makes it more of a television show with entertainment value than something resembling an informational VHS. I admit that I laughed at some of the parts including Blake. All three of them seem very unrehearsed and therefore genuine, and there is also a nice rapport among them.

Go season three! I'm a fan.

I also had never watched an episode from this season to the very end, and I really like the inclusion of cultural lessons as well. This show packs in a lot considering each episode is only about ten minutes long. With the exception of actual grammar lessons, Let's Speak Korean has just about every element you'd expect from a textbook, including the one I'm using, in fact.

It's also nice to be able to learn some useful phrases. Seeing a real person talking, sounding out the words to you, is quite helpful.

"It matches my personality? And the tail's been cut off too."
"...I was hungry."

NOW Manhwa

I tried to get through the first chapter of volume 1, and it was tough! I didn't bother to try to understand every word; for me, it was mostly sounding out the words aloud, and also reading at a good pace. My reading is... stilted, at best, but I'm trying! I can understand a few verbs and words, both from what I've learned from my textbook and what I already know. To be honest, at the moment I read so poorly that I don't even understand the words I already know, even when I read them aloud.

My spoken Korean is so bad I actually don't even understand myself. Damn.

I think I might just forgo the first volume since, in my opinion, the series doesn't get good until further on anyway. I'll probably feel more inclined to actually understand the words if I need to know what's going on, which will be past volume five.

Conclusion

The week went by too fast, again. I feel like I'm getting more used to the pace, but I also only have a few more weeks left! Agh.

--Blackbird

Chunhyangdyun Returns!: The Analysis

2010-01-16T19:07:00.027-05:00

I admit that my review of Chunhyangdyun might have been skewed by the Chunhyang story itself. After all, it was a little hard for me to like the folktale considering the incredibly antifeminist message of the story. Many fairytales and folktales include those elements, but I guess what disturbs me more is that Chunhyang herself is meant to represent the ideal Korean woman.

There are a few details in the movie that initially suggest a break from the mold. When Mongryong first sees Chunhyang, his servant Pangja tells him that Chunhyang is not too easy to woo; although she is a courtesan’s daughter, she is “well read, and writes poems.” While the subtitles also note that she is “arrogant,” you could also interpret it to mean that she is headstrong compared to other women of the time.

Awesome! An educated, self-assured heroine. What’s not to love?

But the awesomeness sort of stops there. I’m not sure if the original Chunhyang story includes the supposedly headstrong and educated heroine, but this specific interpretation certainly does not suggest that she is anything but pathetic.

The fundamental problem is that, while the story is supposedly about Chunhyang, it’s more about what happens to Chunhyang. She is a victim, her life completely dictated by or revolving around a man. She is tortured by a man (Governor Hakdo) for not having sex with him. Even when she is doing something “noble,” that is, staying faithful to her husband, she is still under the influence and control of that very man (Mongryong). She is chaste, but her entire existence is somehow dictated by Governor Hakdo or Mongryong. Without her husband around essentially constructing her identity, giving her rights through him, she has none.

It’s messed up. While the ideal Korean woman, then, is incredibly loyal and chaste, she is also a servant lacking an individual, independent identity.

Tangent Alert!!

From what little I understand, however, the ideal is changing in modern South Korean society. With the greater amount of Western influence, women are gaining more rights in all areas. At the same time, rapid change (especially change that, in my opinion, is happening so quickly that there is little reflection or actual consideration of the implications of these changes) isn't necessarily good. Divorce rates have skyrocketed, when before divorce was unthinkable. Beauty standards are also becoming more and more unrealistic (hopefully there'll be a future post on the popular ssangapul surgery).

What’s interesting to me is the fact that South Korean society remains conservative in other ways; for example, while divorce rates are way up, cohabitation before marriage is still frowned upon (see this BBC article). The combination of Western and South Korean cultures creates a society that I imagine (emphasis on imagine since I have no firsthand experience) is extremely complex and, perhaps, contradictory. Here's an article on the Shinsedae, the generation of South Koreans born in the 1960s with particularly conservative values. The article's author Park Sun-Young discusses the contradictory aspects of this modern generation of Koreans (namely a new form of nationalism), stating that "the new generation. . .would go to McDonald’s for hamburgers after burning the U.S. flag at a candlelight vigil in a protest against America. They do not think it is contradictory to accept the American culture on one hand, while claiming to condemn a U.S. action."

When I go to South Korea this summer, I really have no idea what I’ll find. I’ve only heard of Korea from other people, through academic articles, watching subjective K-dramas, and reading flippant little blog posts like this one. I’m curious to see how what I’ve read, how this combination of “Western” and East Asian/Korean cultural influences, actually pans out.

The End (of the tangent)

So yeah. The whole antifeminist thing is not the only reason I didn’t enjoy Chunhyangdyun; it really is just a poorly made movie. But it certainly gave me more reason to dislike it.

--Blackbird

I got nothing: A Chunhyangdyun Review

2010-01-12T03:23:00.030-05:00

Pretty poster, boring movie.

People can usually appreciate a respectable work of art. I’m no aficionado, but it usually doesn’t take a scholar to recognize beauty.

No matter how beautiful, however, no matter how original, without depth or meaning a piece of art is useless. I like a good still-life, but see if I’ll sit around and stare at it for two hours.

This is the sentiment I had while watching the 2000 movie Chunhyangdyun. Directed by Kwon-taek Im, the movie adapts the old Korean folktale of the same name. The general story is that Chunhyang, a young courtesan’s (kisaeng) daughter, marries Mongryong, a governor’s son, in secret. Mongryong soon after follows his father to Seoul to complete a government exam, but Chunhyang cannot follow him; if their marriage is found out, Mongryong will be banned from taking the exam and also be disowned by his father. After Mongryong leaves, the replacement governor, Hakdo, makes advances on Chunhyang. She rejects him, remaining loyal to Mongryong, and is beaten and eventually sentenced to death for her disobedience. In the end, however, Mongryong comes back and saves Chunhyang.

No, I didn’t put up any spoiler alert stickies. The reason, however, is because every Korean, the likely target audience, knows this story; it is even said that Chunhyang represents a Korean woman ideal, the ever-faithful woman. When adapting this widely known story, what is important is not the story itself, but the way in which it's presented.

Perhaps the selling point of this movie, then, is the mixture of a pansori performance and a dramatized, cinematic performance. A few shots show the pansori singer with the drummer playing by his side, performing and singing to his engaged audience. The rest of the movie resembles more of an actual feature film. The pansori singer narrates and sings over these cinematic sections, his words perhaps even directly lifted from his performance. It blends the two formats of the movie together, and the presentation itself is original.

However, there isn’t anything compelling beyond the visual and musical aspects. What separates Chunhyangdyun from, well, good movies, is like what distinguishes a lasting piece of art from a simple painting. There is no substance to Chunhyangdyun. There is nothing evocative, meaningful, or lasting.

The acting, for one, is subpar. I will admit that it may have to do with the direction, and that the stiff movements and the shallow delivery of lines are meant to infuse the movie with a dignified quality, almost a reverence for the historical Korea this movie is portraying. That is all well and good, perhaps, but only to an extent. With the unbelievable quality to the script delivery, I don’t believe in the characters, and therefore I don’t feel for them. Governor Hakdo, played by Lee Jung-hun, comes the closest to being somewhat believable, but with so little screen time it’s not as though he could have developed his character that much anyway. In the end, the characters truly resemble statues, the actors neglecting to give them any depth.

The worst part, however, is the pace. The story itself is not very long or detailed, but people stay for a two hour pansori performance for the way in which it’s presented; the talent of the singer, the quality of the music, and the poetic lyrics make it worth watching in full. Heck, most people know an opera’s entire story before the performance even starts. The audience stays not for the plot’s twists and turns, but for the amazing singers, beautiful music, maybe even for the sets.

But in Chunhyangdyun, this story is just dragged through the mud (maybe even car-dragged Hana Yori Dango-style), and there’s nothing really stellar in the movie for me to overlook this fact. The dialogue is not compelling in any capacity, for one, and lacks emotion and even subtle tension. And not only that, the main conflict of the movie doesn’t even show up until forty minutes in! Before that is the incredibly boring courtship between Chunhyang and Mongryong. There is some romantic tension and whatnot, but so little that it's negligible. What’s worse is that the movie is incredibly forgettable even after there is a more tangible conflict; the slow pace prevents any effective buildup to the climax.

Maybe I should just blame the premise of moralistic stories in general. What is there to work with, I suppose, with a folktale in which the good are purely good and the bad are purely bad? There is no room for developing round characters. In an adaptation like Chunhyangdyun that is apparently meant to stay faithful to the original work, perhaps this is much more of a masterpiece than I am giving it credit for.

In the end, though, this movie is one still-life that got way more attention from me than it deserved.

--Blackbird

PS: Thanks as usual to Wikipedia for the poster image.

PPS: If you’re interested in finding this movie to watch, keep in mind that it is now ten years old and also was not widely released, as far as I can tell. It is, however, available on Netflix, and some sites do sell the DVD.

For the Love of Peppers

2010-01-12T02:33:00.022-05:00

Here's a quick post before the long Chunhyangdyun movie review coming up.

We here at Manga Meditation love K and J dramas almost as much as we love manga. And true to MM form, we also (lovingly) criticize those very dramas for their sometimes-more-than-campy qualities. It's part of their charm, after all!

The following video is a great K-drama parody titled Gochu (or "pepper" in Korean) by Unit 5 Films, submitted for a contest held by the magazine KoreAm. Think of this post as Manga Meditation's introduction to future K-drama critique. Enjoy!

--Blackbird

Intensive Korean Study: Week 1

2010-01-10T00:38:00.074-05:00

And so ends my first week of intensive Korean study! Sort of. I only started Wednesday, and the whole process is taking a lot longer than I expected. Also, I just got the textbook’s accompanying workbook in the mail Thursday or Friday, so I haven’t gotten a good look at it yet.

Before I start my review of this week's progress, though, I should probably describe my previous experience with Korean. As a kid I was taken to Korean school to learn the basics of the language. To be honest, the only information I really retained was the reading and writing aspect which, if you know anything about Korean, is not that difficult in the first place. Basically, a dedicated person can learn Han’gul in a week. The rest of Korean that I know is thanks to the Korean I heard as a kid. Even though I don’t understand a lot of it or the actual grammar, it doesn’t sound unfamiliar to me, and I already understand sentence structure.

Anyway, this is what I've been up to...

Integrated Korean: Beginning 1 Textbook

Okay, so first for the textbook. My objective was to get through the first two chapters by the end of the week, since I assumed that I wouldn’t have too much trouble with the basics. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the long introduction chapter into account when I was scheduling everything, and each chapter is pretty dense as it is. Aaand I admit it’s been hard getting focused.

So yeah. Only got through the first chapter by the end of this week. I skipped a lot of the introduction chapter, which involves learning Han’gul, pronunciation, and reading rules, so I only picked and chose what was useful to me. However! I feel pretty accomplished right now. It’s nice to finally actively know how to formulate a sentence instead of just trying to feel my way through. Ask me how to say “Yumi Kim is Korean. Steve Wilson is not Korean.” Go on, ask!!

The only real problem I’m finding with this textbook (and workbook) is the lack of an answer

How I really spend my time.

key. Some of the exercises that involve talking to a partner make it obvious that it’s meant to be used in a classroom context with, I guess, the professor having to check everything. However, if I were to use this in a Korean class, I’d want to be able to study on my own without the instructor, which isn't as easy without an answer key.

Anyways, the lack of one requires diligent checking back to the information in the textbook. While that might be all right for the basics, I wonder how well that works with more complicated lessons.

Overall, though, I’m liking the textbook so far. It uses pretty straightforward language and is uncomplicated, and it has cute little pictures to go along with the lessons. There are short passages on Korean culture, too, so that seems useful. Finally, all of the textbook audio files are online. For me they’re only useful to check my pronunciation, and more so in understanding the natural pauses and breaks someone makes while speaking.

And as a side note, I've also download the ProVoc vocabulary software. There's one particular file made for the Integrated Korean textbook (albeit the first edition), so that'll save me some index cards for vocab review.

Let’s Speak Korean

So I went on a slight Korean learning binge and started looking up other places to learn or practice. I stumbled upon a mini show on the Internet that airs on Arirang TV (I’ve never heard of it before, but it’s apparently an international English-language channel dedicated to Korean-based programming) called Let’s Speak Korean. It's currently hosted by Lisa Kelley and Young Kim. I think. There are a lot of different seasons of the show and two versions of it (basically two formats), and it's a little confusing as to what's the current season. Regardless, I've lately been watching episodes on Youtube of the newer version.

Let's Speak Korean is a show that is meant to supplement one's Korean studies; it assumes that you know Han'gul and the basics. Each episode is only about ten minutes long, and seems to focus on a few key phrases or sentences. From what I can tell, for each season they try to have a new little gimmick, including "K-drama" segments, a "student" who's more like a co-host, and a game show (the current theme). While it's a pretty informal series and not particularly helpful in learning real grammar, it's still enjoyable to watch and an easy way to expose yourself to a little more Korean in the day.

Lisa Kelley has been in every little episode I've seen so far, and she's peppy (more so in recent seasons) and usually fun to watch. Young Kim, the current co-host and also the co-host of season three with Lisa, is also congenial on camera.

There have been two other co-hosts with Lisa I've seen, the first being Kim Young-chul. I think he was only on season four, and he's a little less serious than Lisa or Young and more there for comic relief. The other is Stephen Revere, who co-hosts with Lisa on the first season. He's pretty loud and obnoxious, and sometimes uncomfortable to watch. He sort of resembles a car salesman in his approach.

But since I personally like to watch bad co-hosting, here's an episode when Stephen was still on!

But since I also like happy endings (for the most part, at least), here's a better version of the show with the mellower Young Kim.

Of course I'm being overly harsh, and I probably need to see a few more episodes with Kim Young-chul and Stephen Revere as co-hosts to really form a solid opinion.

NOW Manhwa

Cute girl! Big sword! Innuendo!

Now to tie in some of Manga Meditation's purpose into this post! I found the NOW series, written by Park Sung-Woo, when I was in my early teens, I think, and picked it up mainly because 1) It was a manhwa, something I had very limited exposure to, and 2) the art looked interesting. Beyond that, the story isn't particularly remarkable.

It's a typical boy's comic about some mysterious power that a bunch of people are trying to get, and there's a troubled boy and a cute girl and a cat girl. It's interesting enough when one wants something mindless, but otherwise it's not really emotionally gripping. The art, however, is pretty cool. I particularly admire the way Park draws action sequences; they're very fluid, and he has a really good eye for page layout.

Anyways, I got through the first four or five translated volumes when I noticed that none of the following ones showed up in the bookstore. I looked it up and found out that NOW's American publisher had gone out of business! I still wanted to know what happened and was kind of bummed.

So that summer some of my relatives were off to Korea. I usually don't have any gift requests, but I was hoping that they would be able to find the series while they were there; I knew it might not happen since Korean publishers often only publish a manhwa series for a few years before completely stopping production. Anyways, if they were able to get it I told myself that I would just suck it up and wade through the Korean.

It was found! And it was a lot longer than I expected; 25 volumes, actually. But that plan to practice my Korean? Never happened. The books have literally collected dust over these many years, and they're sitting in a brown paper bag right now. So with the recent Korean studying I'm doing now, I figure this will be a good time to actually pull these volumes out of their shrink wrap and find out what happens to Bi-Ryu and Ah-Rin! I'll try and track my progress (i.e. how much Korean I understand) in these weekly posts. By the end, I might even know enough to write a review.

While NOW was picked up by another publisher, it looks like they've fallen through too, so you won't be able to find this manhwa anywhere but online.

Conclusion

Phew. I wonder if all my weekly posts will be this long. I'm always so verbose! Anyways, this week could have been a little more productive, but I think I've at least started building the foundation for my studies for the rest of the month.

--Blackbird

PS: Thanks to UH Press again for the workbook image (which looks a lot more yellow on the computer than in real life) and Wikipedia for the NOW cover image.

PPS: I FINALLY FOUND OUT HOW TO DO FREAKING IMAGE CAPTIONS IN BLOGGER. THANK YOU HEAD-LIGHTS.

Wearing the Hyphen

2010-01-06T14:27:00.029-05:00

Growing up as a "hyphenated" American is a unique experience, and one that can cause one to constantly feel that they are living at the margins of society. As a Korean-American, I had trouble reconciling both labels of my identity as something singular rather than as separate parts. There was the Korean side of me, which consisted of my family and the celebration of special traditions that I assumed other people would not understand or accept. The other half of my identity, however, constantly yearned to be accepted as not the "other," but someone as legitimate as anyone else in the United States.

Though I wanted to feel "American" in my own right, whatever that meant, the racial stereotypes in the media, the blatant stares, the simple tugging at the eyes, told me that I would always be different. Of course, as a child I didn't think of it in articulate terms.

It has only been recently, however, that I've begun to accept my identity as a combination of two elements. I realized that there were people outside of my family that were like me, and in that way I felt less isolated in my experience. But in trying to shape my identity as an American, my "outer" identity, the one I felt I had to exclusively wear, I neglected to also fully develop that related to my ancestry, the "inner" Korean identity that I used to think I could only show to my family. One might even say that I, myself, marginalized my own Korean half.

I've always been interested in my family's history; I'm close to my grandparents, both sides of which immigrated to the US in the 1960s, and they made sure to instill some sort of Korean pride in me. And it's also nice to be able to root for two countries and increase one's chances during the Olympics (I love speed skating!!).

Anyways, this brings me a little closer to the point of this post: I've been given the opportunity to assist English classes in a Korean university this summer. Not only would this mark my first trip to Korea, it would also force me to use Korean for the first time. And no, I do not speak it. Since I would look no different than a native Korean (I would look like everyone else, which to me is a novelty), I also wouldn't be able to avoid using the language.

And so, during this special month of January, I'll be teaching myself the very basics of Korean. While the language does not sound unfamiliar to me and I know a little bit of baby-speak, I still need to do a bit of more formalized training. To help me, I'll be using the Integrated Korean: Beginning 1, 2nd Edition textbook, and I'll track my progress every Friday of January in this blog. By the end, hopefully I'll be able to hold an embarrassingly short and awkward conversation, or at least know how to ask to go to the bathroom.

And, by the very, very end, I might even feel I can do my hyphen proud.

--Blackbird

PS: Thanks to UH Press (the publisher) for the textbook image.

Chunhyang Filler a.k.a. Thank Goodness for Wikipedia

2009-11-30T17:36:00.007-05:00

Hello readers!

This is just a little heads up (and filler, since we suck at regularly updating) to talk about an upcoming post series!

Ever heard of Chunhyangga? Depending on your knowledge of Korean folklore and/or pop culture, you may know that it's one of five remaining pansori performances. Pansori (판소리) is a Korean musical storytelling performance consisting of a singer and drummer. Chunhyangga in particular is interesting in that, according to some interpretations (maybe I'll post a link or two if I can find any) the main character Chunhyang supposedly represents the ideal Korean woman.

Chunhyangga is a sort of Cinderella story (sorry for the ethnocentric comparison; it makes it easier to describe); Chunhyang, daughter of a lower class kisaeng, and Mongryong, son of a high-class magistrate, fall in love and eventually marry in secret. However, after Mongryong is called to Seoul, he is replaced by an evil magistrate who forces Chunhyang to become his mistress. She refuses and remains loyal to Mongryong despite the consequences, and eventually love triumphs and the two live happily ever after.

But enough background info. The point is that Chunhyangga has been recreated many times over the years in various formats. This coming post series, then, will be my various mini-analyses of these adaptations! What I'm looking at right now are Chunhyangdyun, a movie made in 2000 that pretty much sticks to the traditional telling; Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang, a very popular k-drama that gives a modern retelling of the folktale; and finally Legend of Chun Hyang, a very, very loose manga interpretation by CLAMP.

Anywho, it'll be nice to spread our critical wings to Korean dramas and cinema. Look for it sometime beginning in December or January; get excited yo!!

Until then,

Blackbird

PS: And muchos thanks to Wikipedia since it's easily the easiest/laziest way to get information. For more information on the original Chunhyangga pansori, just look at the Wiki page I got it from! And, of course, Google.

Score One for the Anti-Twilightists

2009-11-29T23:40:00.012-05:00

Just a short video to share. It's been around, but it deserves a thumbs up. To quote a friend, "It's what Bella should have done when she met Edward."

Dewey Decimal be my Valentine!

2009-10-16T15:43:00.020-04:00

I gobble up scanlations at such a rate these days that I'm continuously browsing for the next, but the browsing process is labor intensive. OneManga has more than 900 separate manga while MangaFox has upwards of 2000 with more added all the time. There's a lot of overlap, but there's no denying the swamp of available scanlations.

Now when I'm in the mood for manga, my craving is often very specific. For example, I might be looking for a plot about a love triangle in the entertainment industry. It's not an uncommon plot; I could read Skip Beat, Ashita no Ousama, or Cat Street to name a few. How do I find these manga? I use the search terms shoujo, josei, or romance and I wade through the slew of results for the next couple hours.

MangaFox has 36 genre tags. They describe the publisher's idea of the target audience (shoujo, seinen), basic plot ideas (romance, adventure), special interests (sports, mecha) and broad literary categories (tragedy, comedy). My first pick today, Skip Beat, is tagged as Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life. Comprehensive? Hardly! This list covers the bare minimum. A search with the same list returns Gokusen and Fruits Basket. What do a yakusa school teacher, a shape-changing family, and an aspiring actress have in common? Well, aside from those search terms not much. Considering the number of recycled plot devices in the average manga, it should be relatively easy to establish very specific sub-genres, but starting with categories like Romance, it's hard to see where to start.

Supernatural is a genre of a more manageable size. Just by looking at the titles of supernatural manga, a few sub-categories readily present themselves. Vampires, ghosts, or shinigami all feature heavily in the titles of members of the supernatural genre. Obviously, each unearthly species needs a tag. Then, if I consider one species, vampires for example, I can tighten the net further. There are vampire assassins and vampire high schools and vampire Chibis. The possibilities for sub-categories are endless.

In the new and improved search menu, I would chose from a list similar to the following:

The protagonist is:	spunky a vampire an only child an aspiring actor/actress
The romantic interest is:	rich a vampire younger a member of a motorcycle gang
The comic relief is:	nerdy a vampire older brother
The plot is:	protagonist vs. antagonist protagonist vs. nature protagonist vs. self Cinderella

Thus by cross referencing sub-genres, the search algorithm could pick out the perfect manga for me every time. Now, all I need to do is compile the algorithm and enter all the necessary data from the 3000+ available scanlations. Just imagine my savings in time and effort!

--Starfish

An Ode to Anime Conventions, or My Disillusionment

2009-10-03T02:42:00.008-04:00

WARNING: The following is a long post that is long overdue. But it's finally here! The Animazement report thing! Please don't be discouraged from reading. Or skimming. Or commenting.

Quite an impressive spread.

Back in Manga Meditation's blog drafts are two entries detailing Polecat's and my (Blackbird) recent adventure to Animazement, a now twelve-year-old convention newly located to the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, NC. These posts, however, haven't been published like we had promised earlier. The reason? To be honest, they were a little boring to write. That, and the descriptions were becoming a little mean.

When I was twelve I followed my much cooler and wiser friend to my first anime convention. She dressed up, what as I can't exactly recall. Cosplay was something I first thought was somewhat strange, but also something I learned to accept as I immersed myself in the strange world of all nerd conventions. It was actually cool to like manga and anime! I could wear silly hats with cat ears, don pins with Edward Elric's scowling face, and get my ass kicked by thirty-year-olds at Super Smash Brothers in the game room and still be considered normal.

I even tried to acclimate myself to other strange rituals. I was hugged by a random girl while in line for the cosplay event simply for wearing a Yuki mouse hat from Fruits Basket. I got Watase Yu to sign one of my tankubon and got my picture taken with her. The year after, I invited one of my male friends who I had enthusiasticaly encouraged to come to the convention. "It's sooo much fun I spend sooo much money," I told him. While waiting in that tedious, long line for the cosplay show, one of my other friends, a fan of yaoi, jokingly encouraged him to hold up a sign reading "man sex please." We began a mini rave in the otherwise demure line, and my poor friend was subjected to some fake, um, anal penetration by an older guy passing by. A strange and disturbing event that the two of us remember so many years later, a fond memory we'd both like to forget.

Regardless of all those oddities, at the time I couldn't think of anything else that was as fun as that convention, an event that spruced up an otherwise drab middle school life. I saved up all of my money every year for four years in anticipation of the event, and I allowed myself to relax and have fun with friends with whom I shared an obsession.

I saw many adults milling about the convention and thought, "Yeah, I think I'll be into this stuff when I'm that age," without a shred of irony.

Going back to Animazement this year was a poignant experience. It was as though I was confronting this event, something so prominent to me in my awkward preteen years, something I had not gone to for a few years and had forgotten. Now, not only was I in a different stage in my life, but the convention itself was now literally, for the first time, in a different location. No longer in the small Sheraton Hotel in nearby Durham, Animazement had moved to the much, much larger and nicer location in Raleigh.

I wasn't sure how to feel about it. The new space was so large that it became tiresome to go to each location. Finding the dealer's room, the anime nerd mecca, was frustrating and not as easy with the multiple flights of stairs and expansive carpet floors.

However, the space was also much more impressive, if a little overwhelming. Artist's Alley, formerly the narrow hallway to the dealer's room, now occupied a large room of its own with all of the artist's dealing their wares in a setup not unlike the dealer's room itself. The real dealer's room was much larger than in past years, but not necessarily in the number of dealers; about a third of the room was empty. Regardless, they sold what dealers always sell including cat ears, busty figurines, and of course manga and anime. Polecat and I even bought some stuff. Admittedly it was mostly Star Trek posters and cute Japanese planners, but at least we bought something.

Instead of having to get food at that one hotel cafe that smelled like vomit (I KID YOU NOT MY SANDWICH WAS IMBUED WITH THE PURE STENCH OF STOMACH BILE), or live off of Pocky and Ramune, the dinner of choice in past years, convention attendees could now get overpriced pizza and hotdogs at a small food court. I suppose this was all right, but I feel like some of the Animazement character was lost when they decided to actually institutionalize the food. Call me a romantic.

While this was all okay, a little boring but a good way to kill a few hours, there was one thing that ruined our otherwise innocuous day.

Uchuu Sentai NOIZ.

I don't ever remember concerts coming to Animazement. This had to have been a result of the much larger digs. I can't go into detail for why this band irked me so (not yet, at least), mostly because I don't have our copious notes, and I might become a little too derisive here. Basically, the music and environment reminded me of carefully sliced, moldy bread dusted with glitter. Now try eating that and you'll know what it's like to listen to Uchuu Sentai NOIZ.

The one thing that Polecat and I thought we would be able to depend on was good photographs. I buttered up the cosplay she was going to see, and we were deliriously happy with the prospect of putting up photos without having to put credit or having the fear of being sued. However, our photographic endeavor became somewhat derogatory and really just a transparent way to make fun of people. We became a little ashamed of ourselves, to be honest. It was then that we came to a realization.

As much as we tried to enjoy the convention, even as the Manga Meditation brand of the "self-aware fangirl," it seemed that it was impossible to enjoy the convention without already being completely immersed in its culture. We were outsiders looking in as we always had been, but this was the first time that we were truly confronted with that role.

Perhaps one day those two convention reports will be published, but I think this post is a better reflection of my experience there. And at the end of the day, I think that's more important than a detailed account of the day's events. If anybody really, really wants to see them, please leave a comment! Or tell us what you would like to read about!

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT PLEEAASE.

I apologize for the lengthiness of this post. I just wanted to do my twelve-year-old self some justice, you know?

Until later,

Blackbird

The Megane-CHANGE!

2009-09-28T20:23:00.007-04:00

I got my first pair of glasses when I was in 6th grade. Completely innocuous on the shelf, my pair of choice had light blue frames, rounded triangular lenses, and a polycarbonate coating to prevent scratching and chipping. When they arrived, all shiny and new, I innocently put them on without even thinking about the consequences. However, as soon as those baby blue frames settled on my face, a drastic transformation took place. My hair became rattier, my skin became mottled, my face broke out, and a group of boys running by yelled "HEY THERE FOUR EYES!" at me. Mortified, I quickly snatched off my glasses...and watched as my hair smoothed out, my skin cleared up, and the group of boys immediately changed directions and asked if they could take me roller skating. "Ahhh," I thought to myself as I fended off my new-found suitors, "so THIS is the transforming power of removing your glasses."

Obviously, the above story is a load of shenani-bull-crap, but I made it up to demonstrate a common plot point in many many MANY mangas I have read: the transformation that the main female character undergoes when she removes her glasses. For some inexplicable reason, the accessory of glasses does much to dissuade the attentions of other people, either platonic or amorous in nature. Those two pieces of concave glass do much damage indeed to one's social calendar, for the bearer of such unfortunate but necessary evils is regarded as an uninteresting, socially inept, total freak-o nerd girl, not worth the attention of anyone in her school, and certainly not worth the attention of the most handsome boy in the school.

Such a transformation!!!

But wait! Once she removes her glasses, be it by force (such as a group of boys teasing her about her glasses and snatching them off), accident (tripping or falling such that her glasses go flying), or by her own volition (oh, I have something in my eye and I must remove my glasses to get it), she becomes absolutely irresistible.

"Such beauty to behold behind those glasses!"

"How could we have missed it?"

"Ah, it was those clear pieces of glass that were obstructing our view!"

At this point, half the school then becomes enamoured of the former bookworm/social pariah, and her life is duly transformed. All because of her glasses.

This isn't just a Japanese/Korean comic thing; Hollywood pumps out numerous chick flicks every year, and a lot of them focus on this drastic transformation of sans glasses. "She's All That," for one, epitomizes this change, as the main character morphs from a geeky, artsty fartsy, nerd girl to a siren-in-a-red-dress-and-heels. Sigh. Preposterous. But entertaining.

My personal pair of beauty masking lenses: they have eggplant colored frames!

Now, as a glasses wearer going on 8 years here, I can definitively assure you that this has NEVER happened to me. If it had, I would be whipping my glasses off left and right in front of every cute boy on campus. Actually, I would probably go and stalk all the available men in Hollywood and make them succumb to my charm (Target #1: George Clooney, the perpetual bachelor). But that's not how it works. And that's not how things will EVER work. For ANYBODY who wears glasses.

I suppose it's an easy way to somehow get two characters interested in each other. It certainly has entertainment value, as the idea of the school nerd and school prince getting together is bound to raise some blood pressures, inflame passions, and provoke the extension of claws among the more catty. We'll have to wait until a new way is developed to incite romantic interest in the removal of another accessory, such as your earrings, or maybe contacts even (so much is concealed behind those concave, clear sheets of silicone!). But until then, glasses it is.

~Polecat

PS: Manga featured - Kare First Love, by Kaho Miyasaka. Credits to onemanga.com!

MJ EVA AMV

2009-08-03T02:43:00.056-04:00

I remember closely following my friend’s silhouette as she led me into the cool, dark room filled with booming music and sweaty anime nerds sitting in front of a large screen. As soon as I walked in I found a place along the perimeter of the room, folding my arms with insecurity. I was preparing to be bored, I admit, but instead I found myself somehow transfixed to that large screen.

Anime music videos. I never really expected to develop a crush on them, not at my very first convention of all things, but for some reason the combination of music and video, when done right was, I realized, kind of cool.

(Apparently I had never heard of this thing called a “music video,” but whatever.)

The video that played was amazing to my young, impressionable ears. Awesome. Cool. Exciting. When it finished I’m not exactly sure of how I felt, but I wanted to watch more. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I quickly forgot my euphoria as my friend led me back into the mass of anime and manga that was the rest of Animazement.

That night was the cosplay contest, and while that was fun and all, I was more excited to see the AMV reruns. I read every preceding title card carefully, taking note of the song and artist. And you know what? The anime in that AMV looked pretty cool too. It would be in my best interests to at least check it out while I was off looking for that song, too.

But when my favorite music video, the one from earlier in the afternoon, began to play shortly after that title card reading “‘Scream:’ Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson,” I couldn’t believe it. That was Michael Jackson? And the anime? Neon Genesis Evangelion.

What is a little hard to account for is the fact that I couldn’t recognize both a) one of the most famous entertainers of all time and b) one of the most famous animes of all time, both of which were contained in that video. But I was also more interested in Marmalade Boy and Cardcaptor Sakura pins at the time, so yeah.

My first true love.

Of course, all of this is just hindsight. Because at that moment, I didn't know anything else except that I loved that video. Every second, every lip-synced moment, every musically-coordinated robot fight was the coolest thing ever, period. That video alone is what spawned a love for AMVs that, I admit, still persists somewhere in the depths of my increasingly cynical heart.

And that, my friends, is my modest tribute to Michael Jackson. I know that it all seems a little late, and a bit trite, considering the intense media coverage and the fact that he passed over a month ago. But I thought it would be appropriate; it was an interesting, if insignificant, coincidence that he died only a month after I attended what will probably be my last Animazement, and probably anime convention.

I also think that my experience is a bit of a testament to his work. His music was so universally appealing that even an anime nerd in the far reaches of civilization, in the dark caves of AMV viewing rooms, could love his song. And not only that, it couldn’t have been more appropriate that, as the undisputed pioneer of the music video, a Michael Jackson song was the soundtrack to my first AMV. I like to think that it was my little MJ moment. Which could possibly be the cheesiest thing to say right now. Oh well.

--Blackbird

PS: And of course, the music video above belongs to its creator, Ermac Studios, and I own no rights whatsoever to any part of the little masterpiece(s) contained in that there video.

Epilogue

“Speaking of conventions,” I hear you say, “didn’t you kind of sort of promise me, the loyal reader, a convention report of sorts? Or are you some kind of liar?"

I’m very, very sorry for this delay. I promise, there is an Animazement 2009 convention report, ready for editing, sitting somewhere. It’ll surface one day. Please don’t hate me.

It's about time...It's about CHANGE....of hair?

2009-07-21T11:58:00.019-04:00

At the end of the school year, after the stress of finals was over and the scent of summer was in the air, the atmosphere here at Manga Meditation was one of anticipation for change...a change in hair! The arrival of summer had effectively chased away all need for the heat-retaining, long and bushy look, and all three of us were itching to try out cute summer cuts, similar to the edgy new haircut of pop singer sensation Rihanna. A short journey to the beauty salon later, all of us had chopped off the excess keratin and now sported beautiful, swishy, shiny, bouncy bobs!

While it is easy for us to cut off our hair, it is not so simple in the manga world. Characters often look similar (if not exactly the same) without hair, and a signature hairstyle, be it short, spiky, long, curly, or blue often times is the only way to distinguish characters...especially in shoujo manga.

However! Not only is hair an important characteristic in physical distinction, it also creates certain impressions regarding the personality of a character. Based on the manga that I've read, I've compiled a list of character hairstyles and the personality traits that seem to correspond most commonly.

I'm cute with long hair, but even cuter with short!

Short Hair: The boy cut, most commonly found in characters who are well-liked, gregarious, yet hopelessly naive and ignorant in terms of social relationships outside of friendships. Usually denoting athletic excellence, the short hair is also often paired with the alpha female personality, the "cool beauty" that other girls have semi-serious-but-not-really crushes on. (Shown: Mizuki from Hana Kimi)

I look 16, but I act like I'm 30!

Long Hair: Most commonly found in the beautiful, these girls walk into a room with their hair floating behind them, often times when there is no wind and their hair should be stationary. Screentone bubbles and fuzzy geometric shapes are usually added as well to show the arresting affect they have on everyone. Long haired girls tend to have more persnickety personalities, although they also tend to be more mature. . Besides the long haired beauty, there is also the long-haired bitch. With the same social viciousness with which the Plastics attacked each other in the brilliant movie, Mean Girls, these characters usually have long hair so they can flip it over their shoulders after delivering a particularly biting remark. The largest color gradient is found in this category, from teal to purple to blue. (Shown: Meiko from Marmalade Boy)

Chin Length: Chin length hair means you have glasses, which means you are studious, which means you are not very interesting, which means you are a secondary character. You stand around giving sometimes-helpful-but-not-really-because-the-main-character-always-does-whatever-they-want advice, but your interaction is mainly limited to saying, "Oh ho ho, how entertaining," in regards to the (often romantic) situation that the main character is embroiled in. Basically, this is the generic hairstyle that mangakas use for filler characters.

Such innocence! Who can resist?

Curly Hair: Meant for the innocents, the characters who are cute as buttons, perfect in every way, and are as sugary sweet as Shirley Temple. Often times, they are romantic rivals to the girls with short or long hair, resulting in the development of an inferiority complex in the short/long haired girls as they always feel like they can't compete with such perfection. Not much depth is placed in this character, as they are usually whisked in and out of the story within a couple of volumes (Shown: Rumi from Akuma de sourou)

Boyaaa, I can KICK yo ASS

Straight forehead bangs: You are a warrior, a master at martial arts or kendo, and you don't take crap from anyone. You also misinterpret every little interaction with the opposite sex as threatening or inane. (Shown: Akane Tendo from Ranma 1/2)

I must remind the reader that these are, of course, my own personal observations, and as always, there are exceptions to the rules. Many people fall into neither category, as I have short hair and I am neither a cool beauty nor a perky, naive athlete.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Other characters that fall or don't fall under these stereotypes? Pray, leave a comment before the summer days carry you off!

~Polecat

An Apology of Sorts

2009-07-19T08:53:00.008-04:00

To our devoted readers:

As you may have noticed, our little online community has been sorely lacking in any type of updates much to the chagrin of us administrators. The seductive powers of summertime have proven to be too powerful for us and the goal of "updates once a week", which seemed laughably easy at the beginning of June, has now become a feat equivalent to Hercules' 12 labors.

However! A recent meeting of minds over the tesla-magnetic-supersonic-ultra-complex waves of Skype has rearranged the priorities in our respective summertime schedules, placing this blog at the top of the list. No longer shall we give in to the smell of barbeque in the backyard. No longer shall we be tempted by the sight of our swimsuits and towels and the idea of a day excursion at the beach. No longer shall we run outside to catch fireflies every time we see a flash outside our window. We serve a higher purpose, and by hook or crook (or by excessively guilt-tripping each other) we shall fulfill our quota of one post per week.

So away with ye, summer distractions. And onwards with our continuing mission to explore the manga world, to seek out new series and artists, to boldly mock where no one has mocked before (yes, even more than two months after the Star Trek movie, we are still slightly obsessed).

--Manga Meditation

STOP THE PRESSES: Veritable Star Trek Word Vomit

2009-05-17T23:28:00.031-04:00

Blackbird's computer wallpaper

Blackbird: After all this time, we apologize in that the following post is not actually about manga. Instead, we have jumped on the modern geek bandwagon and would like to write about the recent Star Trek (the 11th in the series) reboot movie!

Starfish: Of the three of us, only I have been a long term Trekkie and mostly in response to Next Generation and Voyager. I always found the original series a bit dated. Kirk's interaction with the female characters was too much for the feminist in me to handle. I couldn't identify with the disposable, mini-skirt-wearing sex symbols.

Polecat: I hadn't had very much experience with Star Trek previous to the movie (aside from the few episodes and movies that Starfish showed me) and I wasn't really sure what to expect. Doubts aside, however, Star Trek was PHENOMENAL. As a person with previously lukewarm feelings towards the original cast and series, I can now say that I have succumbed to the lure, and I am a definite fan of Star Trek.

Blackbird: My interest in the movie actually originated with Polecat when she told me of the quality of the recent reboot. Much to my surprise, it was received very well. Earlier in the year, Starfish had added slightly to my Star Trek knowledge (beyond what my Trekkie uncle had taught me), and I felt mildly compelled to research the movie. It was then that I stumbled upon the Spock of all reboot Spocks, Zachary Quinto, and my obsession continued from there.

Polecat: I can attest to that, for as finals drew nigh and eventually arrived, I believe Blackbird still spent numerous hours on the internet, surfing the web diligently for choice tidbits on Zachary (yes, we're on a first name basis with him here at Manga Meditation), and finding smolderingly hot pictures of him as Spock with the pointy ears and the perpetually arched eyebrows. I must admit, I looked at these pictures and the information quite reluctantly in the beginning; I didn't find Zachary to be very attractive, and I was more concerned about passing my Spanish final than ogling Vulcan youths. However, after the movie, I must revise my opinion as I am an unabashed fan of Zachary (though not to the extent of Blackbird still). His Spock embodies the perfect blend of emotion and logic, of angst and clearheadedness, and he is one of a very select few that can TOTALLY rock the bowl cut.

Starfish: Ah, yes. I think one blogger put it best. Spock (the character) is "a man so arch he has permanently raised eyebrows" (Entertainment Weekly). Zachary (the actor) may not be able to properly separate his fingers for the famous Vulcan greeting, but he can still pull the Vulcan suavity or, that is, the half-Vulcan suavity. Over the years, Spock has always been a fan favorite, and I doubt that this will change any time soon. The other characters are also well cast.

Blackbird: Which is something I have very much to say about! In regards to my Zachary Quinto obsession, I think he is the perfect Spock. The depth that the writers added to his character, namely the internal fight between his human and Vulcan sides, is perfectly and subtly conveyed. Sulu, the pilot and somewhat token Asian, actually leaves his desk... And fights! For real! And it's not kung fu! While his character could have been slightly more developed, I think that it was appropriate to the story and the fact that Sulu himself is not that major of a character anyway. The man who plays Chekov, in addition, adds that Chekovian spunkiness and youth while not becoming the typical and flat nice guy.

Starfish: With added character depth, better special effects, and a new exciting plot... what more could a potential fan ask for? Well, longtime fans may notice that the plot isn't exactly new as such. The character of a man driven to madness by his hunt for revenge against the killer of his wife is strangely reminiscent of an earlier Star Trek movie, namely The Wrath of Khan. I think the new take is different enough to keep the plot exciting, but Abrams' comments (link here) about potentially reusing more plots and character are worrying to me. Continuously rehashing plot ideas will eventually grow old even if they have better special effects than the first time round.

Blackbird: Anyways, the reason this post was born was because of another blog post that I found at E! Online discussing why Z-Pine, the extremely clever name for Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine, who plays Kirk, is not as hot as Robert Pattinson, the dude who plays sulky Edward in that crappy franchise named Twilight.

Polecat: One quote that I found particularly infuriating, "The Star Trek heartthrobs—alone or as a combo, with or without a nickname—do not have the same heat as R.Pattz." This blog post then went on to describe how Robert Pattinson's film credit as the sparkly (read: LAME) Edward Cullen, vampiric love interest of all prepubescent/teenage girls, trumps the masterpiece work of Quinto and Pine...something that is totally, uncompromisingly, and irrevocably FALSE. Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine could take on Robert Pattinson by themselves, blindfolded, in unattractive bowl cuts and red jumpsuits, with one hand tied behind their backs and STILL come out leagues ahead of Robert Pattinson's lame-o sparkling and bloodsucking abilities. As you might have guessed, we here at Manga Meditation have less than complimentary attitudes towards the Twilight series, and we believe that this sacrilegious comparison between Quinto/Pine and Pattinson is an egregious travesty on the part of E! Online.

Blackbird: And with that I would like to address the weak points made by the, um, "AnswerB!tch" (seriously).

"Unlike Z-Pine, who look like real grownups who have real sex, R.Pattz—thanks in part to a role as a perpetual teenage vampire—comes off like a kid. A nonsexually threatening kid."

Wrong. It is exactly for "Z-Pine's" more blatant sexuality that I am far more attracted to Spock and Kirk than to the creepy, manipulative, and overall immature Edward Cullen. My god, why the hell would I be attracted to a dude, "a kid," that is perpetually sexually and emotionally unavailable?! And yes, I totally have a chance with Spock.

"Z-Pine is nice, but Z-Pine never played Edward Cullen. That's a problem...'He's the personification of this literary character that girls were already obsessed with,' says Lawrence."

Have these people never heard of Star Trek conventions? And as Starfish pointed out to me, Spock may not exude blatant sexiness, but there is a definite attractiveness to him; he's both intelligent and charming. This constant struggle, as well, translates well into subtle sexual tension. He has a manly sensitivity, you could say.

"Seriously, did I mention Edward Cullen? 'The passion that Edward and Bella share is intense,' Lawrence explains. 'Like that all-consuming, trite, cliché, teen-girl love where everything is so emotional and so dramatic that they would die without each other.'"

Sorry, but I am really not into the highly childish, intense, and unrealistic relationship (really, why the hell are they even attracted to one another in the first place?). The relationship shown between Spock and Uhura in the new movie is mature, realistic (though some true Trek fans may have something to say about that), and still highly romantic and sexy.

Overall, this B!tch (her words, not mine) seems to think that all fangirls are screaming tweens with the dreams of being saved by a sparkly vampire who thinks you smell tasty. Instead, we here at Manga Meditation think of ourselves as "mature fangirls" (thanks, Starfish) which, I think, is the whole point of this blog: Not all fangirls (or boys) are as mindless (or threatened by sexuality) as people like to think. Yay for my making this post sort of relevant!

Starfish and Polecat: Points indeed!

--Manga Meditation

PS: Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for the image! And mega mucho thanks from Blackbird, because she can't stop staring at her screen...

Our name is Manga Meditation, and you are...?

2009-05-14T04:59:00.012-04:00

Hey... Remember us?

For those of you who might be reading our blog on a semi-regular, sort of passing basis, you may have noticed that we haven't updated in... Over two weeks. Which is totally our bad. But this blog is not dead! We are simply very busy, mostly as a result of the hell that is finals week. Which may explain as to why I am writing this at 5:00 in the morning.

But might the promise of an awesome post in the future entice you (a lame, vague reference to Flight of the Conchords)? Something like an... ANIME CONVENTION REPORT?!

That's right folks! For the low, low price of free, you too can read about the glamorous goings-on at one of those little nerd gatherings with overpriced plushies and dudes in Sailor Moon outfits. Who can resist?! NO ONE! ONLY LOSERS!

So come back once in a while, maybe even as soon as tomorrow... For our cynicism can only be silenced for so long.

--Blackbird

All the Pretty Boys

2009-04-27T12:38:00.008-04:00

The definition of a bishounen (courtesy of Wikipedia) is "a Japanese term literally meaning 'beautiful youth.'" Popular amongst Japanese pop culture subscribers, these delicately featured boys are objects of affection for all us hormonal women, bringing sunshine, butterflies, and screentone doilies into our humdrum lives. The bishounen who make my insides go all mushy include Sohma Ayame from Fruits Basket (love the hair), Suou Tamaki from Ouran Koukou High School (you can call me commoner anytime), and Sano Izumi from Hanazakari no Kimitachi (the ultimate roommate!), just to name a few. All these characters are an appealing mix of brooding, flamboyance, sensitivity, and of course, pleasing aesthetics, meant to arouse our darkest desires (or simply to entertain us).

Hey there Sano...

Either way, mangaka have definitely realized the marketable potential for these alluringly effeminate characters, as they are generously scattered throughout the manga canon. However, there remains the undeniable fact that these characters are not and will not ever be REAL. Sigh. So, rather than mooning over these unattainable paragons of male beauty, I have decided to create a list of real-life bishounen to ogle over.

Airbrushing: check, mascara: check...

Lee Jun Ki
Affectionately known as "Girly Boy" here at Manga Meditation, I was introduced to my first, real-life bishounen through the popular South Korean drama, "My Girl." I was calmly eating some Lay's baked potato chips, enjoying the antics of Lee Da Hae when HE came on screen. I promptly spewed potato chips all over my computer screen, slammed on the pause button, and felt time suspend as I beheld a face crafted by hands divine.

Okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration...but seriously guys, this man is incredibly beautiful. Just look at him! This is top-of-the-line, grade A, kobe beef, 1500 thread count, five star and everything else high quality rolled into one!

I sense evil...again

Orlando Bloom
Forever immortalized as Legolas from the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, Orlando Bloom is on this list due to his...well, basically because of Legolas. The blonde hair and the blue eyes were a 1-2 punch to my bishounen radar, and his physical attractiveness overrode his inability to act and his proclivity towards stating the obvious ("The winds have changed, Aragorn. I sense evil in the air" and oh look! That's because a hord of Urukhai are headed RIGHT AT YOU). Mental deficiencies aside, Orlando Bloom can really work those pointy ears.

I can't write music worth crap, but I sure look pretty!

Teddy Geiger
Even though this guy has seemingly dropped off the face of the earth and had rather questionable talent in terms of music, I still remember him for his sensitive, girly looks. It infuriates me that he looks prettier than me, but I am able to find it within myself to forgive him because of his bishounen status.

Come hither, child

Mika
Unlike the aforementioned Mr. Geiger, Mika is a singer that I actually enjoy listening to and looking at! His song, "Lollipop," is a sure-fire way to lift me up out of the doldroms...as well as the stunning combination of dark curly hair and intense brooding looks.

There are plenty of hunky manly men around, but these sensitive, effeminates are not as liberally spread in the male population as I would like. These four men represent my personal picks of the pack, those distinguished from their rippling muscly peers with their soulful eyes and cupid bow lips. Though there will always remain a soft spot in my heart for Sano, Ayame, and all those other shoujo manga bishies, I believe I will now transfer my affections and hopes to real flesh and blood, and leave the characters for the many fans in their respective stories.

~Polecat

When No Means Yes

2009-04-25T00:40:00.011-04:00

I was recently browsing through manga on a scanlation site when I came across a maturity warning for Haou Airen. It read "WARNING: This series contains strong "consensual rape." Consensual rape? What does that even mean? It's like jumbo shrimp, an oxymoron. Luckily, the author of the warning wasn't completely oblivious to the ridiculousness of the statement. But why use the phrase in the first place?

In many shoujo manga, sexual harassment, abuse, and even rape is a plot trope. A common scene involves a boyfriend saving his about-to-be gang-raped girlfriend at the last moment, but the women are abused not only by antagonists but by their friends, co-students, employers, and future consensual partners. That's right, the men are forgiven and remain possible boyfriend material.

The women's response to rape by antagonist or protagonist varies. Typically, the women feel disgusted and dirty when touched intimately by antagonist, but find themselves enjoying the interaction against their will when the male protagonist is involved.

Even in consensual situations the women are rarely active participants. They almost never initiate sexual situations. In sex scenes, they lie passively while they are seduced and caressed by their partner. Women should seemingly be unconscious of their own bodies and resistant to the idea of their own pleasure.

Blackbird suggests that men in shoujo are physically potent while emotionally stunted, and women are the opposite. The man acts as the physical activator of the woman while the woman acts as the emotional activator of the man. For this example, imagine David Attenborough narrating: Enter popular male jerk. Enter sensitive outsider female. Female is sensitive. Male is shocked by her sympathy. Male is physically attracted to female. Male touches female (the level of intimacy of the touch depends on just how smutty the manga is). Female experiences physical attraction to male. After much unnecessary conflict, they live happily ever after.

This explanation covers the female protagonist's reaction to the antagonist as well. She has no conscious or unconscious emotional response to him. At whatever point in the plot, she may not have recognized her emotional response to the protagonist, but the author makes it clear that the emotions are coalescing in the background.

It would be interesting to contrast this dynamic to American romance novels. I don't have space to go into it now, but briefly, I think that the emotional/physical motivations are similar. The women are more aware of their desire and act more frequently on it, but it all starts with the physically/emotionally charged gaze that the protagonists share across a crowded room.

--Starfish

The "New Deal" of Japan's Economic Crisis

2009-04-20T15:39:00.006-04:00

The leader of a noble cause, Taro Aso

Japan Looks to Manga Comics to Rescue Ailing Economy:

"While other countries bail out banks, slash interest rates and prop up struggling industries, Japan is pinning its hopes for economic recovery on a less likely source: manga comic books."

Rejoice, fellow readers! For Japan's solution to the economic crisis means oodles and boodles of more manga available to us voracious fans. As is evident from this quote, Japan aims to increase revenue by capitalizing on the guilty pleasures of the global public.

During the Great Depression, in the midst of all the unemployment, falling wages, and general despair, people found solace and comfort in the movies, making the film industry the only one to profit during those terrible times. What prevents manga from becoming the new film industry of today's crisis? Manga books (shoujo manga especially) are like movies: they have attractive characters, witty repartee, incredibly contrived situations, and happy endings. Actually, I would maybe make the claim that manga books are BETTER than movies because they are portable! A rectangular book fits much better into your last-season Burberry tote as opposed to a whole theatre. And I think pretending to be a hapless heroine like Tohru in Fruits Basket or Mizuki in Hana Kimi with beautiful boys at your beck and call is loads more fun than being Katherine Hepburn verbally parrying with Cary Grant (though if I could have Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, and Gregory Peck, there MIGHT be a possibility for retraction).

This manga tsunami is predicted to crash against each respective continent within the next decade or so, sooner if Prime Minister Taro Aso had his way. A self proclaimed "manga addict," PM Aso evidently keeps some of his favorite titles in the back of his personal transportation vehicle (I suppose the road is the only time available for him to page through those well-thumbed leaves).

This leads to a rather intriguing question: what if more people in power were manga aficionados? What if President Obama, instead of listing "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison as one of his favorite books, listed "InuYasha"? Ahhh, the possibilities...

This coming decade holds great things in store for us, fellow readers, I can FEEL it. Anticipate this 15 trillion yen investment, and help to spread manga love!

~Polecat

PS: Picture credit to mexicansamurai.com!

Korean Manhwa Returns: A Counterposition

2009-04-19T13:45:00.008-04:00

A few posts ago, Polecat argued that Manhwa was cliche and repetitive. Well, that's one side of the story. This post reflects a long standing internal argument at Manga Meditation. Manhwa is one of my favorites. Polecat can't stand it. So while Polecat might have some valid points in the earlier post, I'm not convinced that her viewpoint is unbiased. In the interest of balanced debate, here comes the smackdown-- Polecat vs. Starfish.

All of the issues Polecat raised about Manhwa have equivalents in Japanese Manga. Recycled plot, standard character designs, and exaggerated stylistic choices are old standbys. Where would we be without blackmail based relationships, half-siblings in love, the perky naive heroine, or the brooding secret-ridden rich male lead? This list represents a small handful of the cliches that build Manga's foundation. The broken record has a larger context than just Manhwa. Japanese manga also repeats themes... also repeats them... also repeats... also... also...

Ahem, excuse me. Anyway, Polecat's next issue is the uber-exaggerated artistic style of Manhwa. Visually, what makes manga recognizable as manga is unrealistically stylized cartoon depictions of life. Looking at Chibi and Bishonen styles as the two extremes of the illustrated spectrum, I think we can make room for starry eyes, especially when the background is a floral screentone. Oh, don't forget that big hands mean big... well I'm sure you get the idea.

As Polecat noticed, Manhwa seems to have a higher percentage of spunky heroines than Japanese manga. Unlike Polecat, I always find myself cheering for the tough girl. I get annoyed with whiny, weepy antics of the common clingy Shojou heroine. A girl who can stand her own or at least gets a few snappy lines once in a while is much preferred. In addition to the Manhwa Polecat listed, other manga with plucky women include Gokusen, Miriam, Bleach, Akuma de Junai, Nana, and Rose of Versailles. I'll give some ultra-quick summaries anticipating longer reviews later. Gokusen is about a high school teacher with a Yakusa family background. Miriam is about a young orphan who resolves to save the world. Bleach's supporting character, Rukia, is not a girly girl. In Akuma de Junai, Aki has a split personality one of which kicks ass. Nana has one weak lead and one strong lead, and finally, Oscar from Rose of Versailles is famous for her strong personality. I haven't actually read Rose of Versailles, but it's on my to-do list. These are just a few off the top of my head. I'd be interested in expanding the list. Send me your recommendations!

Back to the Manhwa issue. I've only read the tip of the iceberg. As I read more Manhwa, I'll keep Polecat's complaints, make that criticisms, in mind, but to extend her metaphor, despite Zoolander's limited repertoire, he's still one of the hottest models around.

--Starfish

Wish, A Celestial Shoujo by CLAMP

2009-04-17T20:47:00.012-04:00

Ah, what to do, what to do. This manga holds intense sentimental value for me, as it was one of the very first series that I bought…yet even that cannot disguise the many flaws and problems that are present. However, do not fear, dear reader: I shall do my best to stay strong and remain as clear headed as possible.

Plot/Story:
An angel and a doctor is a rather strange pairing, but those are circumstances that our two protagonists, Angel Kohaku and Doctor Shuichiro, find themselves in. Kohaku is on a mission from God (sorry Blues Brothers fans, it's not to get the band back together) and while carrying out her mission, she is saved by the gallant Shuichiro. The title is derived from Kohaku’s desire to repay Shuichiro for his kindness as she declares she will grant one wish for him. So, the gauntlet has been thrown, the cards have been laid, the chess pieces are in motion, and the Jenga tower has been constructed. As far as plots go, it's not the most original, but it does the job considerably well.

However, there are some problems that arise. CLAMP makes heavy use of the “I’m-about-to-say-something-INCREDIBLY-important-so-listen-closely-to-me…” and something always always ALWAYS interrupts. ARGH. It’s okay to use it once, but it’s like an extra life in Mario: once you use it, you can’t use it again! There’s also the rather strange division between the first three books and the last book. From the way the first three books developed, I thought the story was going in a certain direction…and then BAM. The fourth book blindsides you like a bowling ball out of nowhere, crams a bunch of events in, and then wraps it all up in the very last chapter. It’s somewhat bewildering, and I felt that maybe CLAMP hadn’t quite planned the story out completely at the start and were kind of left scrambling at the end.

Characters
The cast of characters grows exponentially with each book, creating those huge networks of personalities that Clamp is so well known for. Though all these characters are very prettily drawn, I felt like they were somewhat lacking in terms of spice, zest, oomph, zing and other things that make people interesting. I’m not saying that these characters weren’t likeable, but they were just all the same. Kohaku and Shuichiro were both incredibly naïve and sweet, and the rest of the cast were…well, ANGELS. Literally and figuratively. No one had any faults whatsoever, and even the devils (literally devils; where there’s a heaven, there’s gotta be a hell) were essentially pure hearted and kind. The worst thing that anyone ever did was shrink someone with a shrinking potion. OOH. SCARY. Of course, this series was only 4 volumes long, but still, I prefer some character variation, where different sides of personalities are revealed, not just the sugary sweet part.

Drawing Style
As I mentioned before, the characters are drawn very prettily, and this series is unique in that it showcases the talent of Mick Nekoi, the puppy dog girl from CLAMP’s many omake! Extremely detailed and delicately drawn, the series is quite a piece of eye candy. My only complaint is that sometimes Shuichiro’s shoulders were RIDICULOUSLY large. But that’s my only one!

Eat your heart out, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Enjoyment
Like I said earlier, this manga holds great sentimental value for me. I enjoyed it then, and I still enjoy it now; it’s one of my “Ho-hum-I’m-feeling-blue-let’s-read-something-happy” books. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a sweet story with a happy ending.

~Polecat

PS: Pictures taken from Mangafox!

Oh, Yuu Slay Me: Fans with Low Self-Esteem

2009-04-16T17:30:00.028-04:00

In creating this blog, I inherently had to admit a bitter truth to myself. After many years of my almost unhealthy manga and anime obsession, I finally kicked my addiction and lived a few years clean of screentones and clichés. However, my former fixation began to creep back into my life, and it is with this very recent reentry into the world of Japanese/Korean comic fandom that I have had to face a few demons.

My love for anime has always been a bit closeted. I remember my slow descent, the feel of the pages of Marmalade Boy rubbing coarsely against my fingers, the acrid smell of money full of the scent of a thousand sweaty hands as it slowly dripped through my pockets and seeped into the bank accounts of manga translation companies. You know what I mean. Like, I spent a crapload of money.

No one around me, save for a very few friends, shared my love. I never fell into a true anime culture, retreating into my own bedroom to burn through pages of Bleach like the soles of tennis shoes wearing down on a racetrack, to sigh over Yuki and Kyo and uselessly try to decide which one I would like more in real life (answer: Neither). Seriously, though. I was way embarrassed. As a result, I relinquished my manga tankubon for cooler endeavors, and even though I could fake it for a while, it really didn't fit. I would use another extended metaphor here but I think you guys get the point.

It was while coming back from a concert this past summer that I finally admitted my more-than-a-crush on manga and anime to one of my friends, and ultimately began to admit it to myself. I can’t say that my life revolves around manga and anime like it used to; a slight amount of my former shame still resides in the back of my skull like… You know. It’s sitting there, figuratively. I shouldn’t have to explain that one.

But I like to think that my love for manga and anime is like becoming friends with a former crush. No longer the focus of my passions, manga and anime is my totally-for-sure-platonic buddy, the friend I call when I’m down, the one who still kind of gives me mixed messages that makes me both love and hate it. And not only that, I've realized something that might be sort of elementary: I can love something without having to be part of that "culture," without fitting that image. My manga and anime obsession is just a part of me, not a definition.

But enough about me. If you've made it this far down the post, congratulations! Because now I want to hear from you. Has anyone gone through anything remotely similar? I think my conflict is pretty common, no? I mean, sort of angsty, but who hasn't had an awkward, angsty phase? Share your experience. We love comments!

And by the way, if you get the reference in the subtitle of this post, you’re awesome. Did you know they’re making a movie of it? Hell yeah.

--Blackbird

PS: Picture of Yuu courtesy of Bishounen Garden. Character is copyright to Yoshizumi Wataru, of course.

Korean Manhwa: Zoolanders of Shoujo?

2009-04-13T22:44:00.024-04:00

I'm pretty indiscriminate when it comes to reading manga, but I find it difficult for me to remain as open minded with the Korean counterpart, manhwa. My first exposure to manhwa was Narration in Seventeen, and while I did finish it, there was nothing truly remarkable about it. After that initial series, I have read numerous other titles in manhwa, among which include Goong, Bird Kiss, It's Love, You're So Cool, Hwa, Utopia of Homosexuality, Hot Blooded Woman, and Red Lion. Looking back on all these different titles, I have arrived at the conclusion that Korean manhwa is rather bland and recycled, uniform in both story and art and lacking sorely in originality. Similar to how Derek Zoolander, that infamous male model, claimed to carry a repertoire of modelesque expressions that turned out to be the same face over and over again, I am overcome by an unshakable feeling of déjà vu as I read through series after series of manhwa.

The most striking similarities appear in the art. Many manhwa character designs have triangular shaped heads, with all the features drawn towards the bottom of face, resulting in huge foreheads and an ape-like impression . There also seems to be a ridiculous elongation of body parts, especially in regards to the head. Typically, a human body is about 7 or 8 heads long, whereas manhwa characters are stretched out like Gumby on the Inquisition rack to lengths of 10 or 11 heads . There's also a tendency to make hands GIGANTIC, sometimes larger than the character's entire head.

My masculinity is defined by the length of my...finger!

Another tendency in style is to emulate the starry-eyed doll look from the 80s in Japan, calling to mind styles like that of Candy Candy or Glass Mask. The pronounced eyelashes and sparkly eyes seem like an updated style of Japanese retro.

Glass Mask's Himekaw..err, actually no.

Repetition is also seen in plot, and character type. For some reason, there is always some sort of turf war going on between the main protagonists, as they are all members of school gangs. Reminiscent of the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story, jjangs (gang leaders) are expected to uphold gangster honor, and engage in rumbles (with physical violence, not just snapping and singing like West Side Story). Almost always, a girl catches a guy's eye due to her ability to kick his ass or physically injure him; his sustained injuries light the fires of passion (read: masochistic) within his soul, and the story progresses from there. These heroines are always loud, rude, obnoxious, eat a lot, sleep wherever, and are completely opposite to every single other girl presented in the series. The typical male response? "Wow, here is this girl who isn't afraid to tell me what a complete jackass I'm being! She's rude, loud, obnoxious, and completely not what South Korean culture promotes in a woman...but no one has ever done that to me before! I am seized with an undefinable emotion! This must be LOVE!"

Of course, like that well known spelling rule "I before E except after C," there are always exceptions. But I feel like there have been enough "I before E" cases for me to make this generalization, and the "after C" exceptions have not been remarkable enough to entice me to read as much Korean manhwa as I do Japanese manga.

In general, I place Korean manhwa lower on the graphic novel hierarchy due to the aforementioned reasons. I shall still probably continue to read manhwa, as I am a sucker for cliches and the so-unconventional-she-is-convetional heroines, though these thoughts will still run through my mind every now and then.

~Polecat

PS: credits for pictures go to mangafox and onemanga!

Hold the mayo, please: A Mars Manga Review

2009-04-13T22:01:00.022-04:00

It's that time again! Here's another subversive (hardy har har) review, posted yet again on Baka-Updates Manga, now of the classic manga Mars by Soryo Fuyumi. Though not quite as disdainful as Polecat's review of Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers, I think this review makes at least a few valid, and perhaps some uncommon, points. Perhaps it shall inspire discussion? Maybe it will compel someone to actually read our blog?

Probably not. But since you happen to be here, beautiful denizen of the glorious Internets, why not have a little looksee, hm?

Plot/Story
The overall story in Mars is a pretty typical one in shoujo manga: Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl deal with some mega serious shit, and so on. I have to state clearly now, however, that I don’t know the ending of Mars, though I can guess that it doesn’t catch you totally off guard. I stopped reading Mars at book 10, because at that point, while the characters were not unbearable, I simply was not interested in reading about them any longer. Anyways, the story begins interestingly; the development of Rei and Kira’s, the protagonists, relationship is fairly original in shoujo manga. In some ways, despite the sometimes ridiculous surrounding events, the actual development is realistic and often sweet. The story also takes darker turns that do not feel unnatural and are executed fairly well. However, such promising starts cannot always make up for the grief characters may cause a reader.

Characters
Rei is your motorcycle riding tough boy while Kira is the sweet, sensitive artist. That’s pretty reductive, though not far from the truth. While initially their characters have endearing quirks that make us, the readers, care about them, such traits eventually become tiresome. The particular trait that began to bug me the most was Kira’s constant crying.

Yeah, yeah. Crying is good for you, we shouldn’t hate people for crying a lot, I know, I know. However, Kira’s crying becomes awkward and, to be honest, if I met someone who cried as much as she does in this series, I would feel extremely compelled to tell this person to grow up, and then I would probably slap said person. For every occasion there apparently needs to be some reason to have Kira cry: Rei loves me? BAWWW. Rei wants to take me on his motorcycle? BAWWW. They put mayo instead of mustard on my sandwich? BAWWW. Of course there are times when her crying is particularly appropriate (though I won’t give those times away), but her habitual crying really detracts from moments that could have been more meaningful.

There are, however, some great, dark characters that are deep and compelling; Rei himself has some interesting points to him (though his story also begins to feel a little repetitive after a while), and another character, Masao, adds a dark tone to the manga that few other manga-ka have been able to emulate.

Even though the story is pretty good, sometimes the characters themselves (okay, really just Kira) caused me to roll my eyes so many times that I needed corrective surgery.

Drawing Style
Fuyumi Soryo’s drawing style not only is often anatomically correct (which can be a hard find in shoujo manga), but her actual style is quite pretty. Her eye style is particularly interesting and fairly original. Overall her style and layout are well executed, although sometimes pages do look a little boring for lack of texture or great amounts of detail on the people beyond their facial details. Anyways, her actual facial style is pretty darn lovely.

Enjoyment
This manga, overall, is an enjoyable read. The characters, for the most part, are interesting and deep, the story is developed well and still ridiculous enough to fit the typical shoujo manga model (no, that’s not a bad thing), and the art is original and sometimes even beautiful. However, for mangas of this length I expect something to keep me reading. Maybe I have a short attention span, but after about eight books or so the story began to feel somewhat stagnant action-wise and basically repetitive. Readers, should I get past book ten? Does something happen that will compel me like the first few books did? Because at moment I really feel no reason to go back to this manga and Kira’s crying ways.

Overall
While my review may not completely show it, I would probably recommend this manga. Seeing as it is, after all, a “classic,” I think this series would be a good intro to those just starting to read manga. However, as someone who is trying to read this manga critically, especially in comparison to other works that I’ve read, the only reason I can think of calling this manga “classic” is for its “classic” shoujo manga elements and, really, just its sheer popularity.

--Blackbird

The Logistics of Gender Bending

2009-04-12T11:36:00.013-04:00

One theme that has been firmly established in the shoujo manga canon is gender bending. Executed with the same finesse with which Neo dogded Agent Smith's speeding bullets in that iconic scene from the Matrix, these resourceful heroines (for it is most often a girl posing as a boy) navigate the stormy waters of a male dominated environment with their androgynous looks, incredibly perky attitude, and a few other important details. For your convenience, especially for those who are planning to enroll in an all male high school and are of the XX chromosomed sex, I have compiled the following checklist for your perusal.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR SUCCESS AT GENDER BENDING:
1) ACE Bandages: Fleshy in color and fastened with those evil-looking metal prong thingies, these stretchy pieces of synthetic material are surprisingly constricting when wrapped at maximum tightness around Thelma and Louise (the mammographical sisters). You won't be able to breathe, but by golly, you'll be as flat as a board!

2) Birth Control Pills: These little hormone cocktails will help to elongate your menstrual cycle so that you'll only have to worry about your period every six months, maybe even a year! You run the risk of making your breasts grow as well, but you can always buy more ACE bandages.

3) Allergy to Chlorine: A situation will arise where swimming is unavoidable...unless you have a doctor's note saying that chlorine is a no-no. Find a family member (or an MD of questionable moral values) to fake this note for you, and you'll be safe.

4) Loose, Voluminous Clothing: Though you may be somewhat slender in build, there are just some basic differences between men and women that can't be changed. Wear big, baggy clothes so you can hide that universal womanly characteristic that is your HIPS/ASS.

5) Short, Nondescript Bowl Cut: You should take before and after pictures. Seriously. The change is remarkable. With your long hair, you are a very pretty girl, with a round face, no adam's apple, and no defined jawline. However, once you cut your hair short, you will automatically be transformed. This drastic hair cut will completely, utterly and UNQUESTIONABLY disguise the fact that you have significantly higher amounts of estrogen rather than testosterone in your body.

6) Athletic Talent: This is absolutely imperative for a smooth transition into the all male environment as well as a sure-fire way to establish your harem. Track and field, soccer, baseball, or even something as obscure as loogie hacking is your key into a group of extremely attractive alpha males, of which three will become enamoured of you, and one will become your significant other for life.

7) Clumsiness: This is necessary to establish a protector/protectee relationship between yourself and the object of your desire (which is a member of your now established harem if you are following this checklist in order). You sleepwalk, run into doors, eat messily, trip over nothing and fall off cliffs while he urges you back to bed, scolds you for not paying attention while walking, wipes the rice off your face, catches you with one arm as you're falling, and leaps after you with arms outstretched as you careen down the side of the mountain, eventually catching hold of you and pulling you closer to him. This will eventually become an ingrained habit, and he won't want to do anything else except watch out for you.

8) A Healthy Amount of Naivete/Being Incredibly Dense: Ah, the one quality that both endears and frustrates the alpha male in pursuit, as well as all the rabid fans who all recognize the fact that you are in love with the guy, and the guy is in love with you...but for some reason, you never pick up on the bajillion hints/implications/outright confessions that are scattered throughout the 40 volume plot line.

Train hard, o aspirers to gender bender success. Once you reach step 8, I guarantee that you'll have all the emotional anguish, angst, and boy trouble that you could ever wish for.

--Polecat

PS: Photo courtesy of SuperStock.

A Call to Arms

2009-04-12T01:48:00.023-04:00

I'll be the first to admit that I have an addiction to Shoujo manga. My addictions are usually on a six month cycle. I jump from addiction to addiction, from soap operas, to webcomics, to paperback romances to scanlations. I have yet to have an addiction to blogging. Maybe blogging will be the next wave.

Addiction is a strong word, but for those who doubt, let them know that I spent five hours reading scanlations the night before a term paper was due. Such addictions can be hard to admit to friends and relatives. Saying, for example, "I read six romance novels this weekend" leads my father to ask what I intend to do with the rest of my life. Is it just me? I know otherwise. Those who are with me in loving these belittled art forms, we must reclaim our self-respect.

Values can be redefined. "High art" is a historical term. No one today would claim that paintings with biblical subjects are of more artistic value than genre painting. Two centuries ago, the superiority of history painting was taken for granted. Contemporary art historians are exploring the decorative arts (read crafts) as a new field of study.

I am not suggesting that in the future, "Fruits Basket" will be judged by the same criteria as "Girl with a Pearl Earring", but manga certainly can be viewed with an analytical eye.

As we redefine our fandom, the key is to move beyond blind obsession. Our unconditional love should be tempered by full disclosure of flaws. It is with this goal in mind, that I urge you to take up the yoke of a critical fan. This is not a burden to be assumed lightly. We must build consciousness among the sheep. We must fight for recognition as a legitimate topic. We must learn to hold the interest of dinner table conversations.

Together, we can discipline our addictions and turn them into something more.

--Starfish

Hating the HYD Wave

2009-04-11T13:43:00.019-04:00

The following review was originally posted on Baka-Updates Manga in response to the overwhelmingly positive reviews of Hana Yori Dango, a manga that has been firmly established as a shoujo classic. As a member of the astoundingly small group of people who weren't completely enchanted by its wiles, I felt compelled to write the following review.

Plot/Story
I have been puzzled by the overwhelmingly positive response to this manga. As I am a fan of shoujo manga, Hana Yori Dango did not slip under my radar when it hit the US market a few years back. I started reading it then, when it was first licensed, and I got through a few books. After about 6 or 7 volumes, though, with no hint of an impending resolution, and a rather lukewarm response to the story, I dropped it, and didn't come back to it for a few years. A couple summers ago, however, I noticed all the raving reviews about this particular manga, and I decided to give it another go. However, time has only served to reaffirm my original assessment: I find this manga to be a story of cruelty, violence, and emotional manipulation. Shoujo manga in general has rather ridiculous plot lines, and bullying, physical and emotional, has become a staple in the genre. Nevertheless, I thought that the bullying in Hana Yori Dango was especially harsh, and I can't really get over the way in which things that would have been incredibly scarring were glossed over and forgotten, as if they never happened.

Characters
I don't think there was a single character that I even remotely identified with in this manga. I don't think any of the members of F4 knows what it means to be truly human, to treat someone with respect and be mature enough for normal emotional relationships. The leader of the F4 in particular had a ridiculous proclivity for violence, and all of them inflicted countless emotional traumas for their own personal entertainment, as I recall, in the form of those red tags. All of the supporting cast as well were completely removed from the normal range of human experience; all of the biting remarks, the cattiness, the socio-economic prejudices...I just don't understand the draw of these manipulating, overbearing characters who aren't mature enough to see past the outer shell.

Drawing Style
I actually didn't mind the drawing style in this manga; it was the one thing that I didn't have too many complaints about. It was clean, though a little simple, and it wasn't unbearably stiff.

Enjoyment
Everytime I think of this manga, I can't help feeling slightly depressed or disgusted due to horrible events that some of the characters are subjected to. I know that this is a work of fiction, and it is meant to be read for enjoyment, but I can't draw enjoyment out of a scene where someone is about to be raped, or someone is dragged behind a car, or beaten with bats. It's not even thought provoking to me; it's senseless violence and disregard.

Overall
I have many problems with other series and manga, series in which certain situations aren't treated the way they should be, and where established societal codes of behavior and moral standards seem to dissolve and disappear. However, Hana Yori Dango is one series that takes this to a new level, in which morals are shifted and created as the characters see fit.

--Polecat

Orientation

2009-04-11T01:12:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone.

Consider yourself fortunate. For you have stumbled upon the veritable source of the future manga revolution.

You may scoff, but we fart in your general direction. For we are here to destroy the integrity of the mangas which you hold so dear through analysis, sarcasm, and the occasional punchline.

Having said that, we think some introductions are in order. Your guides to your true manga disillusionment are:

Polecat: The oldest of the bunch. Full of incomparable wisdom with a proclivity for pretension. Loves bubble tea, scruffy men, and of course, delving deep into the world of manga. Has managed to write this blurb without using subjects, a wondrous feat indeed.

Blackbird: I love you. You love me. We're a happy family. Barney once said that, and I hope that it one day holds true for this little (extremely little, like pretty nonexistent) manga community. We're kind of jerks about manga, but we have good hearts.

Starfish: So, you've heard from the intellectual, the humorist, and now me. I toe the line as a radical feminist. Oh, I also like kiwis.

So, to conclude: We might take our manga a little too seriously, but hopefully not ourselves.

Thanks for visiting, and come back soon! Please hand us your valet ticket.