Manga Review: Akumu no Elevator

Name: Akumu no Elevator
Author & Artist: Kinoshita Hanta & Roppongi Aya
Chapters: 1 (148 pages)
Genres: Mystery, One Shot, Psychological, Seinen
Plot:
Jun receives a phone call from his wife Manami telling him that she's about to give birth, while he's at the apartment of his mistress Yoko. He promptly breaks up with his mistress and runs out the door to rush his wife to the hospital.

Unfortunately, the elevator becomes stuck on the way down, and he's trapped with three strangers. To pass the time, they decide to share their deepest, darkest secrets. Jun can't help but be horrified by the criminal acts these seemingly normal people are capable of committing... and getting away with. Will a rescuer ever come, or will they be stuck in this nightmare elevator until they all die?

Review:
I know this ain't shoujo or even aimed at the female demographic but this was an intriguing story and hey, it's Friday the 13th (I know I'm a bit early for you North Americans).

In a nutshell, it starts off as a dark atmosphere with black humor and really takes a casual light on their given situations. It's amazing how the offset humor enhances the overall dark and creepy effect of this manga. It really needs to be read rather than explained.

If you love mystery and don't mind thrillers I recommend this, also there are a lot of abrupt plot twists that are sure to surprise you

Manga Review: Hapi Mari

Name: Hapi Mari
Author & Artist: ENJOUJI Maki
Chapters: 40 - Completed
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Josei, Romance, Smut
Plot:
From Aerandria Scans:

Men - they're the root of Takanashi Chiwa's problems, which is why she never had the time nor the opportunity to have a boyfriend in her entire life. A full-time office lady and a part-time hostess, she works night and day to pay off her dad's debt from his failed business. One night at her part-time job, a high-class customer has her fired. Then the next day, she's called in to see the president - whom she had never even seen before in the office - only to find out she's to marry him! But what kind of guy is Mamiya Hokuto anyway? Will he become one of Chiwa's problems, or will he save her from them? And will this marriage even last?!

Review:
After reading this a couple of times I've decided to do a review for this.
My expectations for this manga were just above average, a lazy Sunday afternoon a I-got-nothing-better-to-do-on-the-with-my-life type of read.

The plot was a tad melodramatic and typical of office romance genre. They had their cute moments which I liked though the jealously got a bit past the point of endearing and became more of an annoyance. The story could have been cut short a few chapters if the mangaka just moved on.

Manhwas vs. Webtoons

There's this common misconception that Manhwas and Webtoons are the same since they are both Korean Language comics. Let me rebut this and say this is not completely right in my opinion. Many people use Manhwas interchangeably with webtoons and although it's not technically wrong it bothers me how they are classed as the same thing.

I feel like one of the major factors are how the medium is presented. I'll shortlist some of my observations on the given genre (correct me if I'm wrong):

1. Manhwas are presented in paperback book form or in magazines. This greatly restricts target audience (whether it's a tween, older teen or young adult magazine) which in turn feels like the author must meet the demands of what the audience wants. It's a good thing sometimes but generally the author should really be in charge of the story's creative direction. They also have editors, both a good thing and a bad thing, it stops the author from writing anything to choppy but again, restricts them from creativity.
   
   On the other hand, Webtoons are obviously posted online, free for anyone to view. Traditionally when hosted on sites like Naver, they get money based on hits and popularity I'm assuming. It actually gives the artist more freedom in writing the story and the audience is not restricted. The demographic is anyone that has a computer and likes comics.

My Latest Fix: Ciel

Name: Ciel The Last Autumn Story

Author & Artist: RHIM Juyeon

Chapters: 22 Chapters approx. Ongoing

Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Supernatural

Plot:With the author's characteristic humour and creativity, the work describes one girl’s fantasy adventure. Yvien Magnolia's beauty widens the small villagers' eyes she is living but she never knew what her future would be, since it is destined too high to imagine for her at that time....

As the lord of the manor tries to kidnap her, Yvienne flees to Lowood Institution for wizardry and witchcraft she never thought to go leaving behind her family.

In the school, she meets interesting people, like, January Lightsphere who shines purple aura compared to his noble but peculiar family, and Lariatte, an orthodox fighter family's heir, who will be her closest mate.

Review:

I put this on hold 2 years ago since I was really busy and now I've come back to it and have really enjoyed re-reading it so far. It's really a breath of fresh air from the shoujo I typically read, I'm not sure whether to attribute this to the fact that it's a manhwa.

Although I usually prefer manga art, this author has pretty nice art, it really is based on personal preference.

The female lead, Yvienne, is a somewhat haughty about her looks though this is mostly for comic relief. I like how her mother and herself promote strong-independent-women-ness that most manga and manhwa lack.
It's not all about physical strength alone but also thinking smart which is exactly how Yvienne is portrayed.

Manga Review: Sailor Fuku ni Onegai!

Name: Sailor Fuku ni Onegai!
Author & Artist: Tanaka Mecca
Chapters: 21
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Supernatural

Plot: When Hina hits a homerun ball and goes to get it back, she realizes she has damaged a shrine with the baseball. When she touches the object inside the shrine, the object is absorbed into her, and she becomes the shrine's god. Now she is protected by the shrine's guard dogs, Shishi and Koma. On her journey she meets other spirits, guardians, and the legendary nine-tailed fox.

Review:
So I've read this manga 2 years ago and re-read it again just recently because I was bored. I basically forgot most of the story line, only having a vague idea of the ending, so it shows this isn't exactly a very memorable manga.

Nonetheless I found it pretty funny, I mean I really like Tanaka Mecca's sense of humour since it's quite befitting for shoujo. If you're looking for happy-go-lucky characters and almost idiotic comedy then you should read her other works like Faster Than a Kiss. Of course there's a few moments that tugs on those heart strings but it didn't leave me in a crying mess.

I think what's saves this manga from being completely cliched is the comedy. Otherwise it'd leave a pretty bland taste in your mouth. The guy is your basic, "If you get too close, I'll hurt you" type whereas the chick is not exactly a Mary Sue but there aren't any distinct characteristics that really make her the main heroine.  Though I like the art, simple and recognizable.

I think it ends on a good note as stories like this tend to overstay it's welcome. It was good to see it end in about 20 chapters and the author wasn't trying to milk their franchise coughVampireKnightcough.

This isn't bad but it isn't great either. It's the kind of thing you read when your bored. It's short and sweet is how I'd sum it up, more or less.