For those that want to help spread the word about our latest giveaway, here’s some code you can copy paste.
If you want to make your own links for the giveaway, we’d appreciate any help.
I found a new manga magazine, new to me at least, last time I went manga shopping. It’s called Yen Plus by Yen Press and contains some of the titles that they publish.
It’s more along the lines of Shonen Jump (published by Viz Media) than Otaku U.S.A. or Anime Insider. It’s a collection of comics, not articles. This is something I’m glad to see. More manga publishers should do this.
Manga, Manhwa (Korean comics), and even O.E.L. (Original English Language) are all represented in Yen Plus. Including different types is so important it influenced how the magazine is printed. Start from the right for manga from Japan, or the left for O.E.L. and manhwa.
I was surprised when I sat down and started going through the manga included in the issue I picked up. there is some really good stuff in there, including a new manga by the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, Hiromu Arakawa.
More about the individual manga later on. For now, lets takew a look at the pros and cons of Yen+Plus.
Size. I like to read manga printed on a larger page. You can get a better look at the art that way.
Number of Manga. There are 9 different manga in the issue I bought. That’s a lot of manga for around $9.
Variety. Not only are there a lot of different titles in each issue, there are different kinds.
Color Pages. In issue 2, the first one I bought, they make a big deal out of including the original color pages for a title introduced in that issue. Hero Tales by Jin Zhou Huang & Hiromu Arakawa. It seems like it wouldn’t have gotten color if Hiromu Arakawa hadn’t been involved. That’s a bad sign in my book. If they don’t mind cutting out the original color pages of a manga, what else would they change?
Shoot yeah. Yen Plus is worth the $10 it costs to at least check it out. Check your local bookstores and comic shops. If you can’t find it there, give Amazon a try.
Manga, Opinion, Magazine, Otaku U.S.A., Anime Insider, Paperback, TPB, Yen Plus, Yen Press, Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat, Viz, Viz Media, Hero Tales, Jin Zhou Huang, Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist
I love being able to share my love of anime with the cool folks that stop by to read my posts. It’s even better when I’m able to share anime with ‘em too. The best way to do that is to hold a giveaway. That’s why Anime Fans Online is giving away anime this March.
We have some nice prizes and we’ll try to add more as the month goes along.
You can read the rules below.
Scrapped Princess Volume 1 Limited Edition Box with Pacifica Figure.
Galaxy Angel Volume 1 Box (with extras).
Other Anime and Manga.
Update:…and Australia. Thanks to Gillian for reminding me that I said I’d include Aussies in the next giveaway.
Leave a comment, of at least 6 words, on any post on AnimeFansOnline.com during the month of March 2009. Remember to use a real e-mail address.
Comment as often as you like. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win.
Thank you for reading Anime Fans Online. I hope you’ll enjoy the giveaway. I have fun doing these and I’m looking forward to it.
You can leave comments to enter the giveaway starting… now.
Good luck!
Anime, Manga, Fun Stuff, Contests, Giveaway, March, Scrapped Princess, Limited Edition, Pacifica Figure, Galaxy Angel
Hansel and Gretel, psychotic twins from Romania, are still on the loose. The body count keeps getting higher, along with tension in the Roanpur criminal circles. It’s only a matter of time before the twins clash with Hotel Moscow. How many will live to witness that confrontation?
In another story…
Mr. Chang, head of one of the local gangs, is looking for couriers. It seems he got hold of some very sensitive documents and has to get rid of them fast. He wants to hire Dutch’s team along with a few other outfits. Seems the package is so sensitive he needs 4 decoys to hide the real one. Dutch doesn’t like it, but before he can turn down the job offer, they’re attacked.
Looks like the real owner doesn’t want to wait for Dutch to make up his mind.
Black Lagoon is for Mature readers. There is some pretty disturbing stuff in this issue, mostly involving the Romanian Twins story. That story goes a long way to show just how nasty some of the people in Rock’s new life can be. It really drives home the point that this isn’t just an action packed job. Rock is living in the underworld now, and that new life is filled with the worst possible people.
The second story bumps up the action a notch, while cutting back on the nausea. Once again Rock uses his ability to think in creative ways to save their butts, right before getting himself in even more trouble.
I much prefer the second story in this volume.
Black Lagoon 003 is worth it. I recommend it to Mature Readers, even though I wanted some brain bleach while reading parts of the story.
Manga, Reviews, Action, Adventure, Pirates, Guns, Explosions, Viz Media, Rei Hiroe, Black Lagoon, Rated M, Mature Readers, Sex, Violence, Adult Themes, Adult Language
Miaka isn’t the best student, but she’s trying really hard to get in to Jonan High school, the best school in town, because her mom wants her to. She’d much rather go to Yotsubadai High, where some of her friends are going. Yotsubadai also has much easier entrance exams.
Her mom’s choice of school means she has to study as much as possible. That means going to cram school and spending every spare moment in the library. During one of her study sessions at the library with her best friend Yui, Miaka finds an odd book, then falls into it.
Inside the book there is a world similar to ancient China. There they meet a boy with the character for Demon oh his head. Once she returns home, she can’t stop thinking about him.
After a fight with her mother, she returns to that fictional world and the story really begins.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Fushigi Yugi. Maybe I expected a bit more Shojo Sparkle, or maybe I expected a bit less comedy. What ever the reason, I enjoyed Fushigi Yugi far more than I expected.
Miaka almost reminds me of Goku from Dragonball, she has a certain childlike trust that can sometimes get her into trouble. She’s also a walking nightmare for a buffet owner. I like Miaka. If she were any different, I don’t think the story would work as well as it does.
Fushigi Yûgi, Volume 1: Priestess is worth it. While the world inside the book isn’t historically accurate, the choice to base that world on a period of Chinese history made it seem far more real. Add to that world interesting characters and you have a manga worth reading.
Manga, Reviews, Shojo, Yuu Watase, Fushigi Yugi, The Mysterious Play, Volume 1, Priestess
Tsukune made it to his first summer vacation at Yokai Academy thanks to the help of his friends. Now he’s looking forward to spending some time with Moka. Too bad his teacher has other plans.
Students aren’t supposed to leave the academy over vacation, but Ms. Nekonome has arranged for the newspaper club to visit the human world to learn about real investigative reporting. The best way to learn is to jump right in, so the club members are going to investigate an area that has been in the papers recently. Some strange things have been happening at Witch’s Knoll.
Who better to check it out than a group of monsters with their very own witch?
It looks like Tsukune, Moka and Kurumu are going to learn a bit more about witches, and more about their friend Yukari. The area is called Witch’s Knoll for a good reason. What will they do when they meet the local witch?
I really enjoy Rosario Vampire, but this volume seemed to drag in a few places. It was almost as if the story was stretched out to take up more time than it should really cover. It’s not enough to ruin the story, but it does get slow at times.
When the action does pick up, it doesn’t disappoint. There’s fights, comedy and new characters. We also learn a bit more about the characters we already know, Yukari’s background as a witch in particular.
Rosario Vampire Volume 4 is worth it. It may be slow in spots, but the story is kind of interesting. I intend to continue reading Rosario Vampire, so I needed to read this one too.
Manga, Reviews, Comedy, School Life, Monsters, Supernatural, Rosario Vampire, Rosario+Vampire
Just want to give you a little advance notice to read the posts at the end of this week/month. It may not be a big surprise, but it’s something you might want to be aware of. If for no other reason than to mock my piteous lack of suspense building skills and take pleasure in my inglorious, probably inhumane, treatment.
I’m sure most of you suspect what’s coming. If you can’t figure it out, then you have even more reason to read the blog. You will also have even more reason to interact with the blog. Remember, mockery is a form of interaction, though a hurtful one.
Excuse me, I have to go purchase a quart of Starbucks® Coffee Almond Fudge ice cream in preparation of my, all too possible, upcoming humiliation.
Ichigo and Rukia encounter some strange creatures, spiritual in nature, but not hollows. During this encounter they meet a Soul Reaper named Senna, and Kon sees a man in strange armor. Ichigo keeps tabs on the new girl in town while Rukia goes back to Soul Society to check things out.
The news isn’t good. It seems the creatures are part of a plan, a plan that neither Soul Society or the world of the living have much chance of surviving.
Bleach: Memories of Nobody is set sometime after the Soul Society story arc, but when isn’t exactly clear. Ichigo recognizes characters from Soul Society, and seems to have his Deputy Junior Soul Reaper 3rd Class Badge, but no Vizards or Arrancar show up. It seems to be set outside of the normal Bleach continuity.
That’s a bad sign if you’re expecting the movie to have any impact whatsoever on the story line, or on the characters for that matter. Yep, the movie is set so far outside the normal continuity that it seems to exist in an alternate universe. It might as well. When the movie is over nothing has changed. It’s as if the movie, and the events contained within, never existed.
That’s a tough question for me to answer. The movie was like a long episode, which is great. I enjoyed watching it, until the last couple of minutes. That’s when the anime told me I’d wasted my time. Seriously, Rukia may as well have looked straight into the camera and said that. The last couple of minutes completely undoes everything since the movie started.
It’s a rental. It’s a Bleach movie, but ultimately a pointless one. That’s why I can’t recommend buying it without renting it first.
This is one you need to check out and decide for yourself.
Anime, Reviews, Viz Media, Bleach, Movie, Memories of Nobody, Ichigo Kurosaki, Senna
I enjoyed the Ultra Maniac manga quite a bit, so I had to check out the anime too. (I’ll skip the story description since it’s the same basic story as the manga review.) I was hoping that the cute and funny manga would transition well to TV, but I knew a lot could go wrong.
I’ll be blunt. I like the manga a lot better. The basics of the story are all still there, but they’re changed just enough that they don’t have the same appeal. The timeline is changed. It’s not a big deal if you haven’t read the manga, but slightly confusing if you have. Then there’s the reactions.
In the manga the extreme reactions of the characters do a lot to express the emotion, while also adding to the comic effect. That comedy is needed in the manga, because there’s a lot more drama going on than I’ve seen in the anime. Plus the way that Wataru Yoshizumi draws ‘em is just adorable.
Say it with me… “Aaaawwwwwww“.
The anime on the other hand….
Well, it doesn’t really need those kinds of reaction shots the way the manga does. It has more tools to use already with motion, sound and color. The reactions just seem a little too extreme in the anime. Add to that the lack of dramatic depth that the anime suffers from and the reactions do more harm than good.
Sadly, the Ultra Maniac TV anime is a rental. I would urge any fans of the manga to rent it before deciding to buy. After that, you can decide for yourself.
Now I need to check out the OVA.
Anime, Reviews, Comedy, Magic, Romance, Ultra Maniac, Wataru Yoshizumi, Geneon
When Pacifica Casull was born to the royal family, a dire prophecy was made. The prediction said that when she turned 16 she would become the poison that destroys the world. Pacifica was sent to her death as an infant in an attempt to save the world. That’s how she became the Scrapped Princess, but there was one problem with that plan.
She didn’t die.
Now Pacifica is 15 and on the run with her adopted brother, an expert fighter, and her adopted sister, a magic user. They try to keep a low profile, but somehow the followers of the god Mauser keep finding them.
Is she really that dangerous, or is something deeper going on?
The story seemed a bit odd at first, but once I started watching it I got hooked on Scrapped Princess.
The characters are likable, even some of the villains. That is what makes this show work. When Pacifica confronts the possible fate that lies in her future, you feel bad for her. If Pacifica and her family weren’t likable, the anime wouldn’t have nearly the emotional impact.
Extras
It’s barely worth mentioning the Special Features on Volume 1 of Scrapped Princess. It’s the normal assortment. Clean opening and closing, with a few trailers.
What might be worth mentioning is an extra in the Limited Edition Box Set, since that’s the version I bought, I’ll mention it. The box set includes a soft vinyl Pacifica figure. It’s very nice, but bigger than I expected. It looks amazingly like the character.
Scrapped Princess is worth it. It has likable characters and a cool story that pulls you in and get’s you involved. The lack of special features on the DVD are made up for if you get the Limited Edition Box Set with the vinyl figure. If you don’t get that set, the extras are pretty lame.
Anime, Reviews, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Scrapped Princess, Bandai, Pacifica Casull, Vinyl Figure, Limited Edition, Box Set
I’ve mentioned before that closeout stores are a good place to pick up some cheap anime. I don’t go in looking for popular titles, because the popular ones rarely end up at these kinds of stores. The ones you’ll find are usually the fringe titles. That’s why I like to check the DVD shelves for anime I might not have seen, or even heard of, before.
The last time I checked for anime DVDs at my local closeout store was just a few days ago. I was going to leave with only a cursory examination of the DVDs, but my girlfriend suggested that I do a full on anime search. She’s a lot smarter than I am so I followed her advice.
I’m glad I did because they had several different anime titles. Some of them I’d not only heard of, but liked. I even found a very nice limited edition box set that I’ll be writing more about later on.
One of the DVDs they had was Burst Angel Volume 6. Sure, it’s buying a DVD out of order since I don’t have the first few volumes, but at $3 I wasn’t about to pass it up. How could I find a deal better than that?
A couple of days later I found out how I could save even more money. I could have stolen the DVDs like the douchebag that cut open Burst Angel Volume 6 and took the DVD out.
WTF?
Yep, someone had cut open the DVD case and removed the disc. I was so busy being impressed with all the anime I found, that I forgot to check the packaging. It happens all the time, or so I found out when my girlfriend called to ask if I could exchange it.
When buying from a closeout store, always check the packaging to make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for.
That’s a lesson I won’t forget anytime soon.
Anime, DVD, Bargains, Closeout, Limited Edition, Box Set, Burst Angel, Theft
Genshiken Volume 3 is the last DVD in the first Genshiken series. Because it’s the last one, I’ve been dreading this review. It almost seems that by writing this review, I’m saying goodbye to the anime. That’s something I don’t want to do.
Sad goodbye or not, I’ve put it off long enough.
Genshiken is changing. Madarame will soon be graduating, the club is moving in a more active direction under Sasahara’s leadership, and even Saki has been persuaded to join in the otaku activities.
Well… maybe Saki hasn’t so much “joined” as she has been “blackmailed, coerced and forced into” the activities. Either way, she winds up going to ComicFest and even cosplaying.
I love Genshiken. The only thing I have to complain about is that there isn’t more of it (Aside from the follow up OVAs and the manga) to enjoy.
Extras
The opening is the same, but the closings are all specific to each episode. One of the extras is textless closing, which plays all the closings. Not a big deal I suppose, but I liked it.
There’s also another episode of Kujibiki Unbalance. Though if you’re a fan of another version Kujibiki, don’t get your hopes up. All versions of that, originally fictional, anime are different. It’s probably nothing like the story you’re used to.
There’s also an interview with 2 of the Japanese cast members, which is always cool to see. I just wished there were more interviews like this on anime DVDs. I’d also like to see interviews with the English cast from time to time, but that’s not very likely.
Genshiken Volume 3 is well worth it. I highly recommend this anime. It’s one of my favorites, right down to the last closing sequence.
Anime, Review, DVD Review, Comedy, Otaku, Slice of Life, Genshiken, The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Genshiken Volume 3, Model Citizens, Kio Shimoku
I was happy to hear the news about an English adaptation of the book Paprika, by Yasutaka Tsutsui. I enjoyed the anime from Satoshi Kon that it inspired very much, but it really made me want to read the book.
I went through several bouts of searching for an English translation since watching the anime movie. Each new flurry of search engine activity beginning with hope, and ending in disappointment. I’ve had no luck until now.
AnimeNewsNetwork reported that Alma Books will be printing an English version of the novel. It’ll be available in April, but the first 7 chapters are available online. WOOOOO!
The downside to the news is that the book isn’t available at Amazon.com, just Amazon.co.uk, at least for now. I’m not very patient so I’ll probably try my luck at ordering from the UK site and paying the shipping costs.
I really want to read this book. There’s just so much in the anime that hints at a much deeper experience hidden in the pages. The visuals used in the movie, for example, suggest some pretty descriptive text. I could be wrong, but I want to find out how wrong I may be. That’s a question the .pdf might answer, but I’m gonna try to wait for the book. (I’ll probably break down and read the .pdf this weekend though. Remember what I said about being patient?)
Once I get a chance to read the full book I’ll write up my thoughts on the differences between the book and the anime. That will give me an excuse to watch the anime again. I’m always looking for good excu… reasons to watch anime.
Anime, Books, Paprika, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Satoshi Kon, Amazon, Amazon UK, English, Japanese, Translation, Alma Books
Himiko is a spiritualist who travels to Kyoto to help a young girl. A priest had previously told the girls parents that she was possessed. Himiko looks into reports of a vampire spotted around the city. During her investigation Himiko meets Miyu, a vampire who’s duty it is to send Shinma back to the Dark.
This is an older anime, it dates back to the late 80s. So if you’re only interested in new anime, this ain’t for you. Don’t bother reading anymore.
Now that the fake anime fans are gone…
Vampire Princess Miyu might appeal to fans of Hell Girl or Ghost Hunt. There’s plenty of creepy drama in the stories presented on this DVD. The problem is that there are only 2 episodes on the DVD I rented. It seems like an older one, so there might be another version of this OAV available that has a bit more of the story.
One thing does bug me about this anime because of it’s age. The English dub is mind numbingly bad. I don’t mind even bad dubs most of the time, but this one sounded like it was recorded in someone’s basement with bad equipment. It was almost like you could hear the microphone, if that makes any sense. Do yourself a favor and don’t even attempt to watch the dubbed version. Just go ahead and switch it to Japanese audio with English subtitles before you start watching it.
Vampire Princess Miyu is a rental. It’s a good supernatural drama, but I can’t recommend buying it. For 2 extremely badly dubbed episodes, it’s just not a good value.
Anime, Reviews, Supernatural, Horror, Drama, Vampires, Vampire Princess Miyu, Hell Girl, Ghost Hunt
Aria is the toughest girl in school, when she goes to school. She got her reputation from beating up bullies and guys that won’t take no for an answer. She has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to aggressive guys, which makes her new friendship with a guy named Sakura all the more confusing.
Sakura is possessed by a demon and he needs here help to keep it under control. He hopes that Aria can help him get rid of it before it gets rid of him. If they don’t kill each other first, he might have a chance.
The art can be a little stiff at times, but it does have it’s good moments too. It could just be my aversion to the kind of sharp and pointy character designs used. Then there’s the huge shoulders and tiny heads. The art isn’t bad, I’m probably just being nit picky.
The story is interesting, but the creation of the demonic entities seems kinda lame. There may be more to it than stated in the first volume. I hope so, because the process is very simplistic. I could understand that if it was for younger readers, maybe. This manga is for readers 16+, so a little more development wouldn’t be out of order.
Nope, not worth it.
I was hoping for more from Night of the Beasts, but it couldn’t hold my interest. The serviceable art and somewhat simple story just don’t warrant spending the money on the next volume, certainly not money I could be spending on manga I like.
I won’t be buying this manga again any time soon.
Manga, Reviews, Horror, Supernatural, Suspense, Shojo, Night of the Beasts, Chika Shiomi, Go! Comi, Demons, Possession
Anime Fans Online isn't just about anime and manga. It's about the culture that surrounds it. Fansites, cosplay, conventions and even food. Being an anime fan isn't just about watching cartoons, it takes you much deeper. AFO would like to go with you.
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