Manga Review: Tsuki no Shippo

Name: Tsuki no Shippo 
Author & Artist: Ueda Rinko
Chapters: 42
Genres:  Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Harem, Historical, Martial Arts, Romance, Shoujo 

Plot:

Usagi is the granddaughter of the leader of a prestigious ninja village, but she's such a klutz that she's never made it out of the lower class. Frustrated with Usagi's lack of progress, her grandfather sends her to marry Lord Hanzo with an order to breed many ninja children. But the lord has no interest in her or her childbearing potential!

Review:
Ueda Rinko is probably not the most original artist around but she probably has my favourite art and the most entertaining/addicting stories. More or less, she embodies what stereotypical shoujo plot lines are all about: bishies and dumb but lovable heroines.

Usagi, despite her lack of talent in shinboi law and possessing any common sense, is your average 15 year old who is a little selfish, demanding and boy crazy. I usually hate characters like this but given her age and sudden betrothal I can forgive her for feeling this way. Plus she's the type of annoying that isn't grating or hate-able.

Manga Review: Miriam

Name: Miriam
Author & Artist: HIKAWA Kyouko
Chapters: 28 approx.
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Shoujo

Plot:

This is a cowboy shoujo manga set in the Wild West. Miriam is an orphan. Her father was a drunken gambler; she only had one dress and they moved from place to place, until one day her father died and Grace took her in. The series follows Miriam's life, growing up, and falling in love with her life-long friend, the skillful sharpshooter Douglas.

Review:

Sorry this was a draft for ages but I forgot to queue it since I've been swamped by finals and my likelihood of failure is still 50/50. Anyway, from the same author as Kanata Kara, it's another adventure story with a cowboy twist. I thoroughly enjoyed read it despite it being a western set shoujo.

Manga Review: Viehmannin wa Utau

Name: Viehmannin wa Utau
Author & Artist: YAMAGUCHI Miyuki
Chapters: 26 - Complete
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Shoujo
Plot:

From Wingtip Cafe:
Rina is always busy studying and working to support herself. After the depressing news that she again lost first place in the school rankings to Julius, an expressionless guy who is her arch rival, Rina finds Milch, a little fairy girl. Later, she meets Sylvie, a Fairyland knight who has come to rescue Milch.

Review:
I'm a fan of a good mahou shoujo and stories with fairytale elements so it's probably why I enjoyed the story so much. It's more toned down and slower paced compared to a modern day manga since it was made in 1990 but it's a merit more than anything.

Older 90s manga is a hit and miss for a lot of people but if you enjoy fantasy I think this is pretty good. It has enough mystery and intrigue so that it doesn't feel like I'm trudging my way a long while reading it.

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.

My Latest Fix: Ginzatoushi to Kuro no Yousei - Sugar Apple Fairytale

Name: Ginzatoushi to Kuro no Yousei - Sugar Apple Fairytale
Author & Artist: MIKAWA Miri & YUKIMURA Alto
Status: 4 chapters - Ongoing
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo
Plot:From AQUA Scans:
In The Kingdom of Highland, a country where fairies are slaves of the humans, Ann Halford, a Candy Craftswoman, decides to purchase one in order to arrive the once-yearly Candy Fair to achieve the title of Silver Sugar Master.

Overview:
With the whole "fairies" premise, the expectations are a childish, magical girl story but it has a twist. All the fairies are enslaved bringing a realistic aspect to what would normally be an idealistic world.

Manga Review: Otogimoyou Ayanishiki

Name: Otogimoyou Ayanishiki
Author & Artist: Hiwaka Kyouko
Chapters: 21
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural.
Plot:
Suzu, an ordinary girl who possess extra-ordinary power to summon demons, was left with a flute, the only keepsake of her disappearing ‘Father’. In the flute, dwelt the guardian spirit who responds to her plea in danger.

Review:
I came to the sudden realisation that the author of this manga is the same as Kanata Kara and I thought the two stories were very familiar, blonde moment there.

Art has a very 90s-esque to it and it's very similar to Kanata Kara although romance is very minimal so if you're looking for sappy romance, this is not for you.
It's very plot driven and I find the story intriguing. I thought the characters were a bit similar to the author's previous works and there wasn't much character development.

The female lead, Suzu, relied on Shinkuro too much, plus she suddenly gets powerful in the story and she wasn't shown to have trained much. Characters are bland and are again, a bit too similar to Noriko and Izark from Kanata Kara. I guess I've been drawing too many comparisons but that's the conclusion I've come up with.

The side characters are a lot more interesting, I mean you got a kitsune here (fox spirit) who's really funny and the villains are a lot more scarier too.
I thoroughly enjoyed it but it doesn't stick in your mind so much and I don't think I'd be reading it again anytime soon.

Manga Review: Kanata Kara

Name: Kanata Kara aka From Far Away
Author & Artist: Hikawa Kyouko
Chapters: Approx.  70 - Finished
Genres: Action,  Adventure,  Comedy,  Drama,  Fantasy,  Romance, Shoujo,  Supernatural

Plot: 
Walking home from school one day, Noriko is innocently caught up in a terrorist bombing. Rather than being blown to bits, she finds herself transported to another world; a world in which darkness seems on the rise, as its powers desperately search for a being known as the Awakening whom it is said will awaken the Sky Demon. She finds this new world to be dangerous and overwhelming, and Noriko has little choice but to throw her lot in with the mysteriously powerful man she encounters upon her arrival. The enigma of this world and her role in it will gradually unfold, but first things first: Noriko must learn their language!

Review:
This has got to be one of my favourites. It's a solid manga with nice, clean art from the 90s.

Noriko is your average Japanese school girl who's thrown into a pretty dangerous world. She does everything she can that's within her limits and doesn't get bogged down by the fact that she really can't help anyone fight off demons or the enemies. She doesn't sit around and wine, and when she gets captured she thinks calmly about the situation and tries to desperately escape. I could have easily seen her become a Miaka from Fushugi Yuugi...

Manga Review: Kieli

Name: Kieli
Author: Kabei Yukako
Artist: Teshirogi Shiori
Status: Completed
Chapters: 7
Genres:  Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-fi, Shoujo, Supernatural
Plot:
Kieli sees ghosts. It’s an odd ability for a 14-year-old girl, and it makes her a bit of an outcast at her boarding school. Her only friend, in fact, is the (semi-) departed spirit of a girl who used to inhabit her room. That is until the two encounter a young man who appears to share Kieli’s “gift.” It doesn’t take long to discover, though, Harvey is an altogether different sort of creature — one of the infamous Undying, the reanimated corpse of a dead soldier. Could it be that in this cursed fellow Kieli has finally found a kindred spirit? Throwing in her lot with this strange, soulless man and his possessed radio, she means to find out…
Review:
This manga has really unique art and has an unconventional storyline. For some weird reason, I get this shounen-y feel to it; I don't know why. I like how the characters have some sort of past; like a backing to why they act the way they do. I also feel that the love isn't really forced much but I find it somewhat tragic seeing as he is immortal and Kieli is going to die one day... She actually has a spine and she seems strong willed. At least this girl actually tries to do something even though she's only a 14 year old.
Harvey comes across as an indifferent immortal who has lost faith in humanity until he meets Kieli. He soon realises that he does care for people and with Kieli, he helps save them.
I definitely recommend this manga because it's different from the average stuff you come across. I think it somehow made me emotional (and I don't get emotional often) but I wouldn't say I cried >.>