Manga Review: Parasyte

Seinen: Parasyte
Mangaka: Iwaaki Hitoshi
Genres: Action, Drama, Horror, Mature, Psychological, Romance, Sci-fi, Seinen
Rating: 10/10

Summary [from mangaupdates.com]: They arrive in silence and darkness. They descend from the skies. They have a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere. They are parasites, alien creatures who must invade - and take control of - a human host to survive. And once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose: monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, creatures with blades for hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret - except an ordinary high school student. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?

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There are perhaps only 2 or 3 horror mangas I've read since I started my obsession with manga, and I never finished them because I'm not a big fan of horror mangas. However, this one is something everybody should read. The art wasn't thrilling at first, but I got used to it as I read into the deep plot and interesting turn of events. The art is suitable for the story itself - it's not all that perfect nor realistic in some scenes, but it gets better during the really horrific scenes where the action and killings happen.

The character development is pretty amazing, and the relationship between the two main characters progresses as the story goes on. The pace is quick, it gets right to the point. The parasite idea is something I've encountered in books and such, so it's not surprisingly creative. But the author does take the suspense and character expression to the next level. Even thought it's really all about the horror and tragedy, it gets really comedic at parts and opens your mind to how you view things.

The way the parasites transform is kind of disgusting, then again, you'll encounter a lot of disgusting and pretty awful things as you read on, but you won't be able to put it down for some reason. I really like this manga.

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie

Book Review: The Vampire Diaries Vol.1-2

Fiction: The Vampire Diaries Vol.1-2-The awakening and The struggle
Author: L.J Smith
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Romance, YA
Rating: 7.5/10

Summary: [taken from Barnesandnobles.com]

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.
Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.
Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to possess her. Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.
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L.J Smith's approach to the vampire theory is mysterious and intriguing. Yet the whole making of the characters, their descriptions, their feelings for each other weren't exactly translated into words very well. The summary (see above) seems like it's a book worth reading, but when you read the book, you'll find that it's nothing special. Well, at least that's how I saw it.

A lot of people were comparing this to amazing well-written stories like Twilight or the Sookie Stackhouse Series, so I assumed it would be good. The story starts out strong but then falls apart when the characters realize their own feelings for each other. The plot was way too rushed and the author didn't spend enough time in deciding the characters' feelings for each other - to wring out some emotion from the readers. Elena instantly falls in love with Stefan and the way she wants to grab his attention seems kind of forced and desperate (as opposed to the introduced character). I didn't like her at all - her character development wasn't as strong and descriptive as I wanted it to be.

On the other hand, Stefan was your average good-looking vampire boy who tries to blend in but doesn't. He transfers to the school and instantly notices how Elena looks like the girl he loved in his past. That right there ruined it for me completely. It seemed like he didn't get over the first girl at all; he was falling for Elena was because of her looks despite Elena having the exact opposite personality from the girl he loved in the past.

My expectations for this story weren't met, but I enjoyed the [petty drama] of two vampire brothers fighting for the same girl and trying to win her over. Overall, it was an almost good-read if it weren't for the quick description of the characters, and their desperate attempts at finding love in each other.

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie