Book Sprites: Loveless, Heartless, Laughless

Some times, you have time to write a 1,000+ word review of a single book. Some times, you just don't. For those times, we have Book Sprites, compact book reviews for the discerning reader with no time to lose. No major spoilers lie here!

In this post, we have a triple threat with volumes of Loveless, Strobe Edge, Shugo Chara-Chan!, and Blue Exorcist/Ao No Exorcist.

Loveless volume 10 by Yun Kouga: In this volume, our protagonists are reeling from the latest series of events regarding Seimei as well as Kio's kidnapping and subsequent rescue. Just when Ritsuka is getting back into the groove of things, Youji and Natsuo end up transferring into his class and causing trouble for him. Plus, the team known as Moonless moves into action to pit Ritsuka against Seimei, whom he still loves despite what has been going on in the past couple of volumes.

I was ready to think lowly of this volume with the first half, which involves a lot of "I still love Seimei, that jerk!" apologia and Youji/Natsuo being absolute asses to Ritsuka and Yuiko for no reason. I honestly am not a fan of Youji and Natsuo as characters. They are obnoxious and rude and it's played off as "oh, those boys!" far too often for my liking.

Book Sprites: Natsume, Shugo Chara Chan, Blue Exorcist

Some times, you have time to write a 1,000+ word review of a single book. Some times, you just don't. For those times, we have Book Sprites, compact book reviews for the discerning reader with no time to lose. No major spoilers lie here!

Shugo Chara Chan! volume 2 by Peach-Pit: If you liked the first volume of Shugo Chara Chan! - surprise, it's more of the same! Amu's guardians take a antic-filled trip through the various seasons and their respective holidays, and in their usual fashion, make a mess out of everything. It was cute and fluffy and ultimately forgettable. Thank goodness for the Kodansha Comics' habit of giving us end notes because this volume is swimming in Japanese cultural references, ones that entire jokes hinge upon understanding.

The crossover chapters with various manga titles like Arisa and Hell Girl were entertaining enough. Maybe we'll get lucky and get a crossover with Yuu Watase... Or is she even Kodansha? Hrm.

Blue Exorcist volume 5 by Kazue Kato: I can see where the anime deviated from the manga, because this is a piece of action sorely missing from the animated adaptation. We're seeing the repercussions of revealing Rin's devilish heritage, and the affect of it on his classmates are very palpable in this book. We also see more of the Rin/Yukio brotherly dynamic, as Yukio continues to fight to become a better exorcist and go against his own blood. The hunt for a demonic eye with terrible powers takes Rin and his group to Kyoto and into even more family drama, only with Bon and Shiwa.

Looking forward to how Bon will deal with his personal issues before the fight to regain the eye commences. Also, damn Yukio, you even make an oversized Hazmat suit look good. Ah, Cross Academy, how we love your attractive glasses-wearing instructors.

Natsume's Book of Friends volume 11 by Yuki Midorikawa: This week on Natsume Yuujinchou - YOUR HEART CRYING AND BURSTING INTO A THOUSAND PIECES. So, typical Midorikawa! In this volume, we see Natsume grow as a character as he spends time with his friends and returns to his childhood home, going back into a painful and melancholy past. It's wonderful to see Natsume open up to his friends more and more, although he still has things he must hold back because they hurt too much. Natsume's utter selflessness continues to break my heart. Take care of yourself, Natsume!

Also, it's too cute to see Nyanko-sensei insist that he's only hanging around Natume for the Book of Friends when it's clear that the great spirit has become protective of Natsume and genuinely cares for the boy. Oh, Nyankichi! I can't blame Taki for her initial reaction to seeing Nyanko-sensei; I would want to cuddle him, too!

Manga Review: Shugo Chara Chan! GN 1

Shugo Chara Chan! volume 1

Author: Peach-Pit, Naphthalene Mizushima, et al.

Kodansha Comics

208 pages

Amu's guardians get their own books in this new Shugo Chara series! These hilarious stories are in the vertical 4-koma (4-panel) comic strip format.

Shugo Chara Chan!, the spin-off to the Peach-Pit series Shugo Chara is cute - utterly, ridiculously cute. But beyond that, it doesn’t really have a ton going for it. The back of the book note that in this series, Amu’s “beloved” Guardian Characters “finally nab the spotlight” – okay, who the hell has been feverously awaiting a whole series based on the antics of Ran, Miki, and Su? Certainly not me; I had enough of them in the main series. This isn’t to say that I loathe this series; I’m just not in love with it like the publisher wants me to be.

It’s weird to see these characters in a style that is not exactly Peach-Pit; the entire book is helmed by a group of different manga-kas, each taking cracks at using Peach-Pit’s characters in various 4-koma strips and gag stories. Some of them even go so far as to put the Guardian Characters into their own series; the only one that will be recognizable for English language audiences will be that one by Miyuki Eto, the manga-ka behind the Hell Girl series. Luckily, the others aren’t so unapproachable to the unfamiliar members of the audience that they can’t be enjoyed as well.

It does have its humorous moments, to be sure. A lot of the humor is, naturally, gag-based, so it won’t appeal to everyone. And most of the jokes are either riffs on Japanese culture or aspects of the series itself, so people unfamiliar with Japanese humor might find themselves utterly reliant on the translation notes in the back of the book – and people unfamiliar with the Shugo Chara series might as well not read it. It’s cute, it will give you a wicked case of the giggles, but unless you are forever faithful to the Shugo Chara franchise no matter what the material matter is, you probably won’t want to make a big effort to read this one.

Manga Review: Shugo Chara! GN 12

Shugo Chara! volume 12

Author: Peach-Pit

Kodansha Comics

208 pages

The Guardians of Seiyo Academy are all super busy in preparation for graduation. As the day of commencement approaches, feelings are confessed, and secrets are revealed, including the source of the Guardian Characters! Will Amu's Guardian Characters sleep forever in their eggs? And will she ever get to see Ikuto?

Spoiler notice: Spoilers for the series so far are in this volume. Read with caution! The rest of the review is after the jump.

First things first: this is technically not the final volume of Shugo Chara! Despite what the back cover might say, this is actually the Encore one-volume sequel to the main story, which ended in the eleventh volume. Naturally, the Encore volume is folded into the parent series to make it easier for fans to find it in bookstores and make things less confusing with different titles. Tomato, to – well, you know. It is more a collection of chapters exploring various characters' futures and feelings after the explosive finale to the Easter Corporation arc, focusing mainly on those within the Guardians group, and provides some needed emotional closure to several character arcs, including that of Amu Hinamori and her love interest, Ikuto. This volume ends up not only tying up a bunch of loose ends for various subplots but also brings the entirety of the Shugo Chara story to a sweet, satisfying close that will linger in fans' hearts for quite a while.

Read the rest of my review of the Shugo Chara! finale after the jump!

AMV Of The Week: Electropop

This week’s AMV is yet another fun fast paced Shugo Chara! fanvid with a definite Amu/Ikuto bias (gosh, can you guys tell what my SG! pairing of choice is by now?). Something about this song fits perfectly with Amu's sassy personality as well as her playful interaction with the more mysterious Ikuto. And of course, any video that highlights the amazing outfits Amu gets to wear throughout the series is always awesome by me.

AMV: Electropop!

Author: whispersreloaded

Music: Jupiter Rising's "Electropop"

Warnings: Quick moving clips and flashing colors/lights.

Manga Review: Shugo Chara! GN 11

Shugo Chara! volume 11

Author: Peach-Pit

Kodansha Comics

176 pages

The Road To The Future. As graduation approaches, Amu's guardians, Ran, Miki, and Su disappear. Led by Diamond, Amu takes a journey on the road of stars to find her missing guardians. Will Amu find her guardians or will she find more than she could have ever expected?

Spoiler notice: Spoilers for the series so far are in this volume. Read with caution! The rest of the volume after the jump.

AMV Of The Week: Meteor Shower

This week’s AMV is one that debuted at the AMV contest in this year’s Natsucon. Amid all of the entries, this one stood out the most to me: it had the best editing, best use of music and footage, and highlighted one of my favorite anime pairings (Amu/Ikuto from the series Shugo Chara). I also had the pleasure of not only sitting behind the AMV maker during the contest but talking to her on Facebook afterwords; it's obvious that she is someone who loves making AMVs and it shows in her finished work.

AMV: Meteor Shower

Author: spyrogirl11
Music: “Meteor Shower” by Owl City
Warnings: N/A