Manga Review: Kare Kano

Shoujo: Kare Kano
Mangaka: Tsuda Masami
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Life, Shoujo,
Rating: 10/10

Kare Kano [his and her circumstances], which is number 2 on my favorite shoujo manga list, is about a girl, Yukino Miyazawa, who is perfect at everything in her school. She is both smart and athletic. She has the looks and the personality of a perfect young lady. Everybody admires her and thinks she is amazing. But, that's not her real personality. The real Yukino is actually the queen of vanity - she loves to be praised by others regarding how perfect she is.

Everything goes according to plan until she enters high school. There, she meets her match - Soichiro Arima. He is athletic, smart and good-looking. He soon finds out about Yukino's real personality and that's when everything starts to change.

Kare Kano fills my thirst for the perfect shoujo manga. On top of the amazing art, the characters were flawless and the various plots were something to scream about. The romance was extraordinary and cunning. The various problems that the main characters faced had depth to it, the comedy was hilarious and original, and the story itself was a masterpiece. It was written with immense detail; Tsuda Magami made sure you understood each character and its circumstances.

I found the whole story mind-blowing and something unique. Although some said the story dragged out, I think it was due to the setting and the many characters that were introduced. It took place in high school, and the memories of it were precious to the characters themselves. The drama and romance kept me at the edge of my seat.

If you are looking for a manga that has drama, romance, and everything in between, check this one out. It is truly a masterpiece.

By: Eli
Edited By: Joey

Manga Review: Othello

Shoujo: Othello
Mangaka: Ikezawa Satomi
Genre: Comedy, Psychological, Romance, Shoujo
Rating: 9.5/10


A long time ago, I realized that some mangas are really rare and hard to find. Therefore; you had to cherish them. For instance, this little piece of work, which I completely adore and hate at the same time, Othello.

The main character suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, where two or more distinct personalities exist within a single person. I've come across a few mangas with this type of psychological genre which are really hard to find, so I'm happy it came to my mind.

Yaya is a naive and incompetent girl who does what everybody tells her to do. But, she is too ignorant and gullible to even realize that others treat her like a dog. Then, in comes Nana, a girl who's hard-rocking and butt-kicking and doesn't let anybody tell her what to do - the complete the opposite of Yaya.

These two girls are quite the opposites, but they are, surprisingly, the same person. You will come to hate Yaya or pity her, since her stupidity is something out of this world. I didn't like her, because she was over-the-top ignorant and never did anything against her "friends." But that's what the mangaka was aiming for. She wanted the characters to be complete opposites, like fire and ice. Yaya being weak shows how Nana comes out and solve the problems that she faces.

The thing about this manga is that it made me hate Yaya and love Nana. Along with romance and comedy, this is a manga that you will surely like. The art is also pretty. Nana's superhuman strength is something to laugh about and her boastful personality is strong and independent - something that Yaya is lacking.

Overall, I give this manga a 9.5 out of 10. I don't know about you, but I hate main characters in mangas who are weak and aren't able to say no.


To check it out: Othello

By: Eli
Edited By: Joey

Manga/Anime Review: Death Note

Shounen: Death Note
Mangaka: Ohba Tsugumi
Artist: Obata Takeshi
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Shounen, Supernatural, Tragedy
Rating: 10/10

This morning, while I was listening to the song Alumina by Nightmare (the first ending of Death Note), the manga came flashing through my mind. After watching the anime and reading the manga, I fell completely in love with the music that came with it.

To me, this manga/anime was awesome to the core. It was something outside the box, highlighted by its originality and creativity. The intense action filled scenes will surely leave you wanting for more.

The story goes like this: Light Yagami is an ace student, and he's bored out of his mind by the normality of the endless days ahead of him. One day, he finds a notebook dropped by a Shinigami, or a Death God, who also happens to be suffering from the same boredom. Ryuk decides to spice things up a bit in the human world with a Death Note. This note book is able to kill all the people whose names are written in it.

As time progresses, there arises various national and philosophical conflicts. You can say that the anime/manga begins to take on a political theme, and that's where the famous detective L gets introduced to the plot. Who wouldn’t be curious when criminals start to turn up dead in great numbers?

I'm not a fan of mangas/animes involving political themes [ex: Ghost in the Shell] where it involves high authorities. In fact, I hate them because occasionally, I can't keep up with the high class vocabulary. However, this manga was definitely an exception. Besides the art which I instantly fell in love with, I love shinigamis, and the whole theme of death. The story was not difficult to follow, especially when the characters happen to be strong and overwhelming. Despite the tragedies, there’s also a lot of humor (surprisingly).In addition, the constant battle between good and evil, or perhaps what's considered to be good and evil, continues until the very end. Among all the problems that were present, the mangaka never left the main topic – [that the fight between light and darkness is subjective, and there are times when the line becomes blurred.] In the ongoing war of fates, the conflict between Yagami Light and L's is something that won’t resolve even after death.

I seriously recommend this.

To read: DEATH NOTE
To watch: Death Note~

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie