Manga Review: Library Wars

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.

"Keanu Reeves Won't Take on Akira"

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?

Romance Novel...Manga?

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.

A Most Penitent Post

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

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

Valentines by the Numbers

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.

A More Mature Polecat

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.