Fujoshi O'Clock (8/31/12)

What time is it? It's . . . Fujoshi O'Clock, the biweekly feature at Nagareboshi Review, when I bring to you the latest fujoshi-related news and reviews and various shiny BL-flavored things. Why? Because rotten girls need love too!

This week on Fujoshi O'Clock:

• Brain Vs. Book has an interview with manga-ka est em, discussing her various works and art style.
• Ogiue Maniax's Fujoshi Files continues on with File #52: Chiba Yuki from the manga Fujoshi Rumi, legendary Fullmetal Prince yaoi fangirl, and File #53: Aoi Haruka from Fujoshi Rumi, the author behind Vitamin Wonderful.
• Old post is old, but I found labingi's post discussing the manga Banana Fish to be very interesting and thought-provoking as it discusses Banana Fish's place within boys' love despite technically not being BL.
• The Geek Girl Project also wrote a post on the manga Banana Fish - which apparently had a live action musical? Awesome!

Reviews:

• Connie from Slightly Biased Manga reviews Cigarette Kisses by Nase Yamato, a salaryman threesome one-shot from the good ol' days of Deux Comics.
• Brain Vs. Book reviews Natsume Ono's basso, a cinematic BL experience set in Italy from 2009.
• Dear Author reviews My Darling Kitten Hair by Haruko Kumota, in which the actual story apparently has nothing to do with the title but is still funny and entertaining.

Am I missing your blog? Got some awesome fujoshi-related news and reviews you think deserve a shout-out? Poke me with a link and a bit of description over at my Twitter: @theseventhl. I'm always on the look out for more BL love!

The Story So Far: NakaImo

NakaImo episode 5: He thought it was over but his little sister keeps calling. Shogo discovers someone else has the same prototype phone as Konoe.

NakaImo episode 6: Lyrical Sisters is on the verge of shutting down, Shogo puts together and executes a plan worthy of the Mikadono name.

NakaImo episode 7: Using the school broadcast system, Shogo’s “sister”, has requested he stops looking for her or she will reveal damaging secrets. (Source: Crunchyroll)

My god, it's back! The NakaImo blogging has returned! Because I am very much sure that what Nagareboshi Review readers have missed most of all during my week-long hiatus is a continual blogging schedule around the wonders of moe incest roulette. Right? Yes! And here we come with a trio of episodes sure to both entertain and make you bang your head against the wall with its consistent plot holes and Shougo's continual refusal to actual talk to any of the girls he considers his imouto in order to wind down the list of candidates. Ah, anime! Let us continue.

PR: VIZ Media Partners With Tout For New Neon Alley Social Media Video Sharing!

VIZ MEDIA PARTNERS WITH TOUT INDUSTRIES TO GIVE NEON ALLEY MEMBERS AND ANIME FANS A FUN NEW WAY TO BE SEEN AND HEARD

VIZ Media And Tout Invite Neon Alley Fans To Create And Share Real-Time Video Segments About The 24-Hour Game Console-Based Anime Channel This Fall

San Francisco, CA, August 29, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has teamed with Tout Industries, Inc. (www.tout.com), a prominent social media technology company, to utilize its platform to enable Neon Alley members to share real-time video status updates. Tout is the latest partner to be announced for Neon Alley, the 24/7 anime channel VIZ Media will debut this Fall.

Awesome Piece Of 'The Avengers' News Of The Day

I can't believe that Marvel isn't intentionally leaking these clips, I just can't. Anyway, in anticipation of the upcoming DVD/Blu-Ray release of not only the Avengers but also the impressive looking Avengers Assembled 10-disc box set (with sweet Tesseract action), we have the original opening scene for the film, featuring SHIELD agent Maria Hill being debriefed.

Note: This scene will only be accessible on the Blu-Ray, not the DVD-only release.

So, um, good job Marvel. I kinda wish they had stuck with this as the opening instead of the awkwardly placed opening that hits theatres. Also, JUST TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY.

AMV Of The Week: Back Seat Angels

This week’s AMV is a pick from this year's Natsucon, a beautiful little vid featuring the goddesses and their angel companions from Kosuke Fujishima's Ah! My Goddess series. For someone's debut fan vid, it's made very well and the music fits the story on-screen perfectly.

AMV: Angel Hiding In Your Backseat
Author: Onairek
Music: Noteworthy's "Backseat"
Warnings: Spoilers for the angel arc of Ah! My Goddess.

Hiatus Notice (8/20 - 8/26)

Due to school starting this week and real life obligations getting preference over hobbies, I'll have to put Nagareboshi Reviews on a week-long hiatus. I'm not abandoning y'all completely, believe me! I just would like to focus on my studies and duties as a college newspaper contributor before returning to my reviewing stomping grounds.

The blog will be back Monday, August 27th, with all new posts and episode blogs on the events of Accel World and NakaImo as well as manga reviews and news posts.

So please don't forget me in the meanwhile! As long as there are mysterious imoutos and ability-stealing Brain Burst users to blog about, I will never truly be gone from your Google Reader feeds!

Well, this is a rather downer post. Um. Enjoy this adorable picture of Maru!

Natsucon: Q&A With Brina and Micah

Unfortunately, I did not get the whole thing; my camera can only capture ten minutes at a time. However, what I do got is pretty good. If you do find the whole video on YouTube, look out for Micah's story of how he got his ring tone for Funimation; it's pretty hilarious.

(The video should be live in a few minutes!)

Graphic Novel Review: Avatar TLA - The Promise Part 1

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 1

Author: Gene Luen Yang

Artist: Gurihiru

Dark Horse Comics

76 pages

Spoiler warning: Review contains spoilers for the Avatar: The Last Airbender series up to the point of The Promise.

This series of digests rejoins Aang and friends for exciting new adventures, beginning with a face-off against the Fire Nation that threatens to throw the world into another war, testing all of Aang's powers and ingenuity! The continuation of Airbender and the link to its upcoming sequel, Legend of Korra! (Source: Goodreads)

You have just finished the final episode of book three of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, and are excited for more stories featuring the Aang Gang. You think Legend of Korra looks cool, but you wish there was a story that would link together these separate stories and justify the canon time skip between the end of ATLA and the opening of Korra. Something with your favorite characters, going on adventures and staying best friends in a post-war world.

So you end up months later with the first volume of The Promise in your hands, book one in a three book series, and you wonder if this is what you asked for. The answer to that question, like a lot of things, is mixed. This is not to say that The Promise's premiere volume is a total wash, but for me it was not the successful comic I was looking for as a long-term ATLA fan to satisfy my Aang and friends cravings. Although if you come into it just for Toph, you will not be disappointed.

Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist GN 27

Full Metal Alchemist volume 27

Author: Hiromu Arakawa

Viz Media

210 pages

Spoiler warning: Review contains spoilers for the finale of the Full Metal Alchemist series.

The Final Chapter: With the help of Hohenheim and their allies, the Elric brothers launch a desperate final attack against the homunculus “ father.” But to claim victory, some may have to make the ultimate sacrifice. And when the dust clears, will a happy ending await our favorite characters in the final volume of Fullmetal Alchemist? (Source: Goodreads)

It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that this is the end of Full Metal Alchemist. After twenty plus volumes, it felt like it was going to last so much longer. But all wars much draw to a close, and the Elric brothers' quest eventually had to end. But even though the series has ended, the possibilities for all the characters involved seem endless, and we are left with a story that will continue to draw in readers and linger in their minds long after this final book.

PR: The Summer Continues to Sizzle With New Yaoi Titles Debuting Today fr. SuBLime

Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love
© 2008 Yaya SAKURAGI 

GLOBAL YAOI MANGA PUBLISHER SuBLime CONTINUES THE SUMMER SIZZLE WITH THE DEBUT OF BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE AND

STARTING WITH A KISS

Bold English-Language Yaoi Publisher Will Delight Fans With Both Debuts Available Now In Print And STARTING WITH A KISS Also Available Digitally From SuBLimeManga.com

San Francisco, CA, August 14, 2012 – SuBLime, the global yaoi manga (graphic novel) publisher, delivers more hot summer romance with the debut of Yaya Sakuragi’s BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE, and Youka Nitta’s STARTING WITH A KISS. Both new series launch today, are rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers, and carry a print-version MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN.

STARTING WITH A KISS is also available as a digital edition worldwide from www.SuBLimeManga.com for $5.99 (USD), and is downloadable as a PDF for viewing on any enabled eReader device or computer, as well as accessible via the online manga viewer found on the SuBLime web site.

Fragmentation: Accel World 17

Accel World Episode 17: Haruyuki receives a call from Kuroyukihime, who is away on a school trip. Touched by her kind words, Haruyuki vows to settle the score with Dusk Taker on his own. (Source: Hulu)

Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Accel World's seventeenth episode beyond this point. Read on with caution!

Damn it, Accel World! We were doing so well! And then you ended your 17th episode on that note. To be fair, I can see why it happened. I just wish it had never happened to begin with! However, despite my frustration at the twist of an ending, Fragmentation turned out to be a worthwhile episode. I just wish it had been the episode to properly cap off the Nomi/Dust Taker arc.

Natsucon 2012: The Wrap-Up Post

So yesterday was the last day of NatsuCon, a Midwest summer anime con that is celebrating its fourth year entertaining local otaku and occupying convention centers with geeks in cosplay. It was loud, it was busy, and most of all, it was fun.

Which isn't to say it went without any bumps, but name me one convention that goes perfectly. Hint: there are none. Even Comic-Con has its fair share of screw ups. Despite the flaws, I think this year's NatsuCon was even better than last year. This convention is clearly improving with every passing year, which means 2013 should be very impressive indeed. Especially if they go through with their closing ceremony promise and bring back Micah.

After the jump are some of my thoughts and ideas of how NatsuCon went this year compared to last, and perhaps some things that could be done better in the future (sorry but long post is long).

AMV Of The Week: Nothing I Won't Give

This week’s AMV is one of the many entered into Natsucon 2012's AMV contest, and just the first of many Natsu vids that'll soon be gracing this blog. This is the first one, a masterful FMA vid about the Elric brothers'  unyielding quest to get back their bodies lost to the dark side of alchemy. It also won in the intermediate skill bracket, so congrats on that!
   
AMV: Nothing I Won't Give
Author: Kyle Hinterser
Music: Vic Mignogna's "Nothing I Won't Give"
Warnings: Spoilers for the Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood series; moments of blood, violence, and limb loss.

Natsucon 2012: The Final Day

Today was the third and last day of Natsucon 2012, and I was genuinely saddened to see it end! I was having such a great time, I only wish I had done more. Well, there's always next year. After spending the morning checking out of my hotel room at the Doubletree, it was over to the convention center to see what I could see!

If you have never been to a convention on Sunday morning, let me detail how it looks like in two words: crickets chirping. Seriously, this is the time of the con when the least people all around and the hallways are at their emptiest. They've either gone home and don't plan on coming back for any other panels or events, still sleeping off the previous night's rave, or are jammed in the dealer's room desperate to get a good deal before it's too late. Which isn't to say you can't have fun Sunday morning! Luckily, Natsu had lots of morning programming for con-goers.

Natsucon 2012: Day Two

Y'know, as a short note before I get into the actual day, I realize my criticisms of the convention in my previous post may seem . . . harsh. Brutal. But let me confess: I love Natsucon, sincerely and genuinely. It's a great convention that, quite frankly, is getting better with every year. It knows when to keep the things that are successful and dump the things that aren't. So I don't rip into its faults because I enjoy being an asshole; I do it because I want to see it become better. 

(Also, because I used to work for an anime convention for multiple years. I kinda know a thing or two about how this thing works that other con attendees who have never done work for a con wouldn't think of. Please, don't discount my ideas! I have experience! Not that I'm looking to get back into working for cons because a ha ha ha ha no.)

The day for me started around noon with the voice actor Q&A featuring VA guests Brina Palencia and Micah Soulsod. For the first of multiple times today, I was eternally grateful that I registered in the Doubletree con block, as my key card got me in first before most others - which meant I ended up being near the front of the line for signatures, too. Score!

Read about the rest of day two of Natsucon after the jump.

Natsucon 2012: Day One

Without further ado, Natsucon opened as it usually does: with minimal fanfare, long lines, and a lot of confusion. God bless pre-reg, or else I would have been stuck in line for hours as well!

The first panel would have been Cons 101, but in a fit of irony perfectly befitting this convention, the panel runners never showed. Ha! Let it be said that Natsucon is consistent in its imperfections. So after a bit of wandering about in the noon, I foolishly went into the dealer's room - and came out having spent way too much. The dealer's room this year is actually pretty impressive; despite the smaller room, there were more dealers and more diverse options in merchandise. Seriously eyeing up River Song's sonic screwdriver and an Accel World figure (Kuroyukihime or Chiyu), kol kol kol.

After doubling back to my hotel room to dump off my precious wares, it was time for opening ceremonies!

Fujoshi O'Clock (8/9/12)

What time is it? It's . . . Fujoshi O'Clock, the biweekly feature at Nagareboshi Review, when I bring to you the latest fujoshi-related news and reviews and various shiny BL-flavored things. Why? Because rotten girls need love too!

This week on Fujoshi O'Clock:

• Fujoshi Files on Ogiue Maniax keeps a'rolling with file 51 of this great series: Asada Naoko from Genshiken, someone who knows where Yabusaki's doujinshi is stashed.
• Melinda at Manga Bookshelf updates her Fanservice Friday column with the fujoshi heart of CLAMP, examining the BL elements of this group's manga.
• The Manga Habit posts her list of boys' love manga selections that are fantasy/supernatural, including titles like Mizushiro Setona's Mister Mermaid and Naono Bohra's Three Wolves Mountain.
• The Digital Manga Guild group Sinister Hands posts a preview of I'm The Big Brother, their latest BL project about some major brother complexes.

Reviews:

• Japanator reviews Flutter by Momoko Tenzen, a story of unlikely romance between two co-workers.
• Organization Anti-Social Geniuses reviews Love Full of Scars by Psyche Delico, which seems to be cute and funny although not terribly original.
• Pants Off Review (best blog name ever) reviews the first volume of  Border by Kazuma Kodaka; note that the blog is set to a mature content filter, and some images in the review itself is NSFW.

Am I missing your blog? Got some awesome fujoshi-related news and reviews you think deserve a shout-out? Poke me with a link and a bit of description over at my Twitter: @theseventhl. I'm always on the look out for more BL love!

Notice: I am going to be at Natsucon 2012 all weekend. Expect daily blog updates throughout the weekend and a wrap-up post on Monday!

Imagination: Accel World 16

Accel World Episode 16: Ash Roller takes Silver Crow to meet his master Sky Raker, previously known as the Burst Linker who came closest to flying in Accel World. Sky Raker explains the “Incarnate System,” which allows Burst Linkers access to their hidden powers. (Source: Hulu)

Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Accel World's sixteenth episode beyond this point. Read on with caution!

This episode was actually a pretty fascinating look into a major segment of how the Brain Burst/Accel World verse works, the Incarnate System, which manages to be both new and yet fit seamlessly into the word-building already present. As an added bonus, Haruyuki isn't the insufferable jerk he was last episode; it seems losing his wings has given him some much needed humility.

You can read the rest of my review after the jump!

PR: DMP Joins Comic Publishers On Apple's iBookstore

"I" Manga on iBooks - Digital Manga joins the ranks with other comic publishers on Apple’s iBookstore

Gardena, CA (August 7, 2012) Helping to expand the manga library on Apple’s iBookstore, Digital Manga jumps in to add their backlist of digital content to the ever-popular App on iTunes. Listing their titles in the Comics & Graphic Novels category, specifically in the recent “manga” section created by Apple, Digital Manga titles are now available for purchase for iBooks customers.

Digital Manga’s titles are optimized, fixed-layout ebooks for the iBookstore, which are also designed to allow you to jump to the other side of the book to start your reading in the right-to-left eastern reading format common for reading most manga—combined with iBooks’ superb reading interface, this gives customers a richer experience to reading manga on the Apple iPad, iPhone and the iPod Touch. Download the iBooks app, (http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=460630&expand=false ) available for free in the App Store.

AMV Of The Week: Regulatin' Ain't Easy

This week’s AMV is, plain and simple, a really cool Cowboy Bebop fan vid set to a sweet rap song. Even the moments where the animation lip flapping syncs with the lyrics are cool. It's the kind of vid that really understands the space cowboy life of Spike and Jet.

AMV: Regulatin'
Author: Solidwhitedevil
Music: Warren G and Nate Dogg's "Regulate'"
Warnings: NSFW lyrics. Moments of violence and fan service.

Film Discussion: The Dark Knight Rises

Spoiler notice: Any discussion of TDKR beyond this point will contain spoilers for the film. Do not read without seeing the film first!
  
Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. (Source: IMDB)
 
"When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die."
  
I would argue that The Dark Knight Rises was the most hotly anticipated film of the summer, even more than Marvel's The Avengers. After all, it's the bookend to a wildly popular trio of films by super-director Christopher Nolan, featuring one of the most iconic heroes in comic book history. Given all the hype around it, TDKR had to pull off a lot in order to live up to it all and still successfully bring an end to Nolan-verse Batman. So did it?
 

PR: Viz Manga Starts End Of Summer Digital Sale!

AO NO EXORCIST © 2009
by Kazue Kato/SHUEISHA Inc. 

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES “END OF SUMMER”

DIGITAL MANGA SALE OFFERING UP TO 20% OFF ON ALL VOLUMES ON VIZ MANGA APP AND VIZMANGA.COM

VIZ Media gives readers a fun and affordable way to wrap up the summer reading season with a just-announced “End of Summer” sale on ALL digital manga (graphic novel) titles currently featured on VIZManga.com and available for digital download through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad^®, iPhone^® and iPod^® touch, and now also for Android-powered smart phones!

For a limited time, fans can catch up on favorite series and dive into new ones with this special promotion, which starts today running through 20^th, offering up to 20% off on over 700 digital manga volumes and 80 different series (Reg. MSRP: $4.99).

Included in the “End of Summer Sale” and not to be missed is the debut of Volume 8 of the hit Shonen Jump Advanced series – BLUE EXORCIST. The latest volume of the paranormal action adventure series is available now to VIZ Manga readers more than 3 months ahead of the print counterpart’s North American release on November 6^th!

Destruction: Accel World 15

Accel World Episode 15: Haruyuki rebuffs Nomi’s threat and challenges him to a duel, only to lose in an unexpected way. (Source: Hulu)

Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Accel World's fifteenth episode beyond this point. Read on with caution!

Jesus, I hate Nomi. I really truly hate Nomi. He is a cretin and a terror of the worst kind. Having said that, you know who else I'm beginning to despise? Haruyuki. Sorry, Haru, your personality is wearing thin after ten plus episodes with nothing to show for it. Having said that, it was a solid episode that shows promise for a story arc that so far has been nothing but underhanded bullying tactics.

Read the rest of my review after the jump!

801 Day Is Here (Again)!

Yes, once again it is yaoi day, the day where all rotten girls rejoice and read a ton of yaoi manga like it's boys' love Christmas or something. Fun, right? Yes.
  
As usual, Digital Manga is kicking off 801 day right with their Yaoi Day trivia Twitter contest, in which they're giving away copies of their BL manga for the right answer at the right time. You will have to follow @digitalmanga and tweet the right answer as soon as the question is asked to win, so you'll probably want to keep their Twitter open in a separate tab!


Update: Also, Viz's SuBLime imprint is hosting its own yaoi giveaway, including digital manga and several drama CDs. All you have to do is comment! Oh, and be 18 years of age or older. Should be fun!
  
You can also read fellow blogger Otaku Champloo's post for 801, wonderfully titled "Hello. I am a Fujoshi. Today's my day." Although I think "coming out" as a fan of yaoi is language appropriated from the LGBT movement, her thoughts about letting people in real life know her taste in manga are definitely worth reading!
  
For those looking for something deliciously boys' love today, I have a list of recs below, all readily available for purchase in English from legitimate publishing companies. Enjoy!

• Doukyusei by Asumiko Nakamura. Rating: Teen Plus.
• The Night Before The Wedding by Kou Fujisaki. Rating: Mature.
• Seven Days: Monday-Thursday by Rihito Takarai and Venio Tachibana. Rating: Teen.
• Three Wolves Mountain by Bohra Naono. Rating: Mature.
• Kizuna Deluxe Edition GN 1 by Kazuma Kodaka. Rating: Mature.
• Othello by Toui Hasumi. Rating: Mature.
• Entangled Circumstances by Kikuko Kikuya. Rating: Mature.