Manga Review: Monkey High Volume 8
High School. A boy (Masaru). A Girl (Haruna). And everyone trying to get in their way. This love story comes to an end. With university exams, the high school festival and all the other stresses that come with being in love and about to head out into the world, these two must find their way to each other.
Highlights
Monkey High is the story of two who have been together through all of their high school years. The final chapters are full of love and strife. The opening chapter is the physical love that is discovered at this age. The awkwardness is revealed along with the sentimentality that often follows.
Manga Review: Baby & Me Volume 17
Takuya, being just a fifth grader, has an enormous task thrust upon him. His mother dies in a car accident and he moves into his father's home with his baby brother, Minoru. Takuya's father is often busy with work or out drinking after work and this puts the burden of taking care of his 2 year old brother squarely on Takuya. The series of events that follow them around are often funny and rather disturbing, but still provide for an active relationship full of action and humor.
Highlights
Manga Review: Mixed Vegetables Volume 6
What do you get when you mix two high school cooking students, pastry, sushi and a love triangle? Mixed Vegetables Volume 6 is what you get. Hanayu Ashitaba is the daughter of a well known pastry chef and all she really wants to do is be a Sushi Chef. Hayato Hyuga is the son of a prestigious Sushi restaurant owner and all he wants to be is a pastry chef. They both become very close and find that there is something deeper between them. Hanayu, gets a job working at Sushidokoro Hyuga to learn the trade. She and Hayato also attend the same cooking high school. There is one small twist, one of her father's employees, Maezawa, is also after Hanayu's affection.
Manga Review: Rasetsu Volume 3
Rasetsu is a Shojo manga. The story centers around Rasetsu, an 18 year old psychic who works for Hiichiro Amakawa, also a physic, who runs an agency dedicated to helping people who are having trouble with spirits. The real heart of the story is what goes on in between all the characters at the agency, influenced heavily by their own pasts. Yako Hoshino is the newest member of the team, a psychic who uses water to express his abilities. There is a complex connection between Rasetsu and Yako. The Agency also has Kuryu Iwatsuki, another psychic, and Aoi Kugi, the only non-psychic but eager helper.
Manga Review: Vagabond, Volume 30
Miyamoto Musashi is a legendary Samurai who was believed to be one of the greatest that ever lived. Vagabond is the ongoing fictionalized saga of this famed swordsman. Volume 30 has Musashi injured and pondering his own existence and the direction of his path. Will he turn to love or will he turn back to the sword? Has he found the enlightenment he sought or is his understanding just a fleeting dream?
Highlight
Blu-ray Review: UP
Up is the latest offering from Disney and Pixar. It stars Ed Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show/Lou Grant, Gargoyles, X-Files, Superman, Spider-Man) as Carl Fredricksen, a grumpy old man who has had enough, and Russell (Jordan Nagai – Up), an enthusiastic cub scout-ish kid who ends up stranded on Carl's porch just as Carl unleashes thousands of toy balloons. But you know all this, that's just the trailer…
Movie Review: Ninja Assassin
Happy Thanksgiving all! In honor of Warner Bros. new release Ninja Assassin, we should cut the turkey tomorrow with a katana. Coming out at an unexpected time among the family holiday movies, Ninja Assassin is a blood soaked marriage of martial arts action and computer generated imagery that is sure to please fans of the genre.
Manga Review: Maria Holic Book Two
Spending time at the Christian all-girls school, Ame no Kisaki, we meet all the quirky students. The quirkiest has to be Mariya and it’s the main character, Kanako who has to put up with most of his/her drama. Have fun getting to know these characters, along with other notables like the maid and dorm leader, in this verbal comedy.
Manga Review: D N Angel Volume 13
Another episode of Daisuke’s world. A young teen dealing with an unusual genetic quirk. Whenever he has romantic thoughts, his alter ego comes out. This is “Dark”, who is and art thief. Add to this a romantic triangle of sorts. Daisuke loves a twin, but at first his affection was directed at the wrong one, and Dark likes the other. Luckily the twins like him/them back. Although this certainly can make things complicated.
Highlight
Movie Review: The Blind Side
Coming late to the reviews party this week is Warner Bros. release of The Blind Side. Based on the Novel The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The movie tells the story of how Baltimore Ravens 2009 first round draft pick Michael Oher reached this point in his career. The Blind Side is an acting tour de force that provides plenty of substance over style and is one of the most powerful movies I’ve seen this year as well as one of the greatest sports movies I’ve ever seen.
