I haven't been watching much of late.  Been caught up in work & discussions on the nature of the universe.  But for blogging sakes, I have a lineup:

Manga:
 *Kitchen Princess- Shoujou manga at its finest
 *Sunshine Sketch- standard semi-yuri vertical panel comic
 *Night School- witches, werewolves, and vampires. (un)Holy Teenage Angst Batman!

Anime:
 *Umisho- two words: swim-team and cleavage.
 *Sunshine Sketch- takes the MHS approach to episodes with PPD approach to characters
 *Sumomo Momomo- aged, I know, but comparing the manga & the anime should prove interesting
 *(pending view) Yazuka Quartet- manga vs the anime here...

Plus some others... after all I never did do my Lovely Complex blog or Initial D.

Updated my other blog with an entry on Ethanol-

Any thoughts?

One of the coping mechanisms people have for dealing with situations perceived larger and more powerful than themselves is to keep busy with their every-day lives, to ignore the sudden possible reality that all this doesn't matter.

Today was one of those days, and I continue the theme with a posting I wanted to do a long time ago but never did.




Scanned & cropped from one of the Yen+ magazines, this is the manga version of "When They Cry".  The DVDs have been available for some time, though I haven't had a chance to sample the anime version & I want to before I delve in. I've been trying to improve my use of money this year, like the rest of America.

The manga version does a fantastic job.  I believe the ANN review of the manga does it solid credit, and you should go read their review.



I jumped into the middle of the story, which is a-typical of me, but the jist is that the above female is one of the protagonist leads.  She has an interest in the male lead, who is new to the town, new to the school.  But both the town and school had a dark secret.

What we have as a normally cute female lead, is suddenly twisted into something... else ...



I positively love how they do this.  I recommend getting this issue or the novel; this scan does not do the artistry justive.

It's one thing to read a novel that, from the onset, is going to be creepy.  It's another to take the stereotypical genre of the cute lovable female lead and turn her into an absolutely creepy possessed demon.



Some elements I find common amongst "demonic" creatures in both manga & anime are the slit eyes above.

Snake eyes.

Always creepy.

I have the first arc, but I haven't given it a proper sit through.  I want a good weekend, perferably with rain, and at night... for when I give it a go.

By candle light.

I expect to be dazzled.