Manga Review: Voice Over! GN 3

Voice Over! volume 3
Author: Maki Minami
Viz Manga/Shojo Beat
192 pages

Hime just got her first big break in voice acting, but it means she has to move out of her house and pretend to be a boy! Her new manager, Yamada, is willing to put in the extra time to train her personally, and Hime's hope of being a voice actor seems close to being fulfilled. But Yamada insists that he'll only use her for male characters. Will she have to give up on Lovely Blazer to see her dream come true?

After volume two of Maki Minami's latest shojo series, Voice Over/Seiyuu Ka, I was expecting volume three to focus more on Hime and her VA school group as they prepare for their next performance. Instead, what I got was a fun and slightly dangerous romp through the forest as Hime spends a weekend in a voice acting retreat with school duo fave Aqua.

As with any good forest retreat involving teenagers, a possible relationship forms and drama ensues. Plus, Hime gets flicked on the forehead a lot by Yamada, her manager who has no problem pushing Hime to her limits to hear her famous prince voice. Even though the scope has narrowed to focus on just Hime's goals as a VA, I enjoyed it as much as if the whole crew was present.

Review of the Reviews: My Favorite Posts of 2014

Oh, 2014. You were an interesting year but you have left us for good, never to darken our doors again. Bye now! Don't come back! Actually, 2014 was a very productive year for Nagareboshi Reviews: I managed to post 213 times last year, more than I managed to blog in 2013 - although, considering I was a full-time student in 2013 and an unemployed slacker in 2014 probably accounts for the difference in post count.

It seems appropriate to look back at Nagareboshi Reviews during 2014 and pick my favorite posts of the year! I'll split the list up into two sections: reviews and meta/commentary. Flashback Friday, anyone?

Manga Review: Voice Over! GN 1

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy volume 1
Author: Maki Minami
Viz Media/Shojo Beat
208 pages

A new series by the author of the best-selling S•A! Hime Kino’s dream is to one day do voice acting like her hero Sakura Aoyama from the Lovely Blazer anime, and getting accepted to the prestigious Holly Academy’s voice actor department is the first step in the right direction! But Hime’s gruff voice has earned her the scorn of teachers and students alike. Hime will not let that stand unchallenged. She’ll show everyone that she is too a voice acting princess, whether they like it or not!! (Source: Viz Media)

Even though my exposure to the behind-the-scenes world of Japanese voice acting is limited at best, I've always imagined it to be a rather cutthroat world where only the best will do and everyone is fighting for a limited number of roles, an impression given by such series as White Album and Sakende Yaruze and REC. The latest title by Maki Minami, best known for Special A, takes an academic twist on a voice actor drama with her fictional Holly Academy's Voice Acting Department, where only the brightest and best voices can rise to the top of the class.

So far, after one volume of school hijinks and voice actor intrigue, Voice Over! is endearing and cute shojo title with a dramatic flair that will easily entice Minami's fan base and more.