Otome Plays: Nameless - Prologue, Intro [1/6]

Name: Nameless - The one thing you must recall
Developer: Cheritz
Length: 40 hours of gameplay
Genres: Drama, Psychological, Romance, School Life, Fantasy, Mystery, Shoujo, Comedy

Plot:
Eri (Hanuel, re-nameable) is a plain Jane with an interesting hobby. She collects ball jointed dolls. Finding solace in them after her granpa's death and her parent's perpetual absence from their overseas work, she suddenly wakes up to find them coming to life. What is she supposed to do now?

Notes:
So I finished playing this game a week ago and I absolutely love it. I'll do a review on it later but essentially the art and story and gorgeous and you have to pick it up. I made a game-play video on it so check it out. Enjoy.

Manga Review: Magic

Name: Magic
Author & Artist: SHIMIZU Reiko
Status: Complete - 2 chapters
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Sci-fi, Shoujo
Plot:

From MangaArt:

There are 2 manga series in the book. In the first series, Magic, the background is set in the futuristic 2200's in the edge of the galaxy. Super model Kana has died in a space ship accident when she traveled to a planet on the edge of the galaxy. Her daughter was found 3 years after the magnetic storm has rested. A distant related cousin of Kana adopted the young child (he was also an old boyfriend of Kana!). Years later, Kana's child has grown up to be a teenage girl...

Review:
Here's some more 90s shoujo for y'all. This is a really interesting read since it's sci-fi and a breath of fresh air for shoujo lovers. I am not a big sci-fi fan but this had me intrigued from start to finish and if you're someone that avoids this genre I do recommend to give this a shot.

Every frame and dialogue bubble was utilised effectively and there wasn't too much to wrap your head around. It has a sort of... dark-ish ambiance about it (as expected from psychological stories) and the plot twists add even more layers to this story. Additionally, it made me question the morals of the characters, sets new boundaries of what is socially taboo or not. 

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: Stalker

Name:  Stalker
Author & Artist: Dan Woo
Chapters: 37 - Completed
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Seinen
Plot:

A reclusive, disfigured man stalks a pretty, good-natured housewife. One day, he witnesses this woman's daughter being kidnapped.

Overview:
The synopsis really doesn't give this Korean web comic much justice since it's obviously an unexplored perspective. The author was careful not to make this a total creep fest and actually made the stalker in question "relatable".

The protagonist is a misunderstood, reclusive guy who is a total outcast because of his looks. It shows the incidents where he gets judged for his appearance like questioning from the local police or bullying because he doesn't have the right to talk to the girl he likes. Anyone can identify with this one way or another which allows the whole stalking thing to be a byproduct of his life.

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: Zodiac P.I

Name: Zodiac P.I 
Author & Artist: Andou Natsumi
Status:  Completed
Chapters:  9
Genres: Comedy, Mystery, Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural
Plot: 
Lili is just like any other girl except she can foretell the future! This 'Zodiac PI' relies on horoscopes and astrology to help her solve crimes and track down criminals. When there's trouble a'brewing, she transforms herself into the magic Detective Spica and looks to the stars to guide her way. Before long, she is joined by her childhood friend, Hiromi, who dreams of becoming a detective as skilled as Lili. Soon, no astral investigation is too arduous for this dynamic duo!
Review:
I really enjoyed this manga for its unique and it's crime solving like plot.
Lili ( the main heroine) is a little dumb but she somehow uses the clues to solve the crimes so I wouldn't say she's a complete idiot. She's strong and likeable and not some annoying klutz.
Hiro on the other hand, uses his brain to help solve the cases. His extreme allergy to girls is pretty hilarious and it makes you wonder what kind of childhood trauma he went through XD
All in all, great humor, good storyline and most important of all good dependable characters.

If you like this manga try Arisa also by Andou Natsumi, it's a very similar crime solving, mystery plot; I might write about it later.

Recommended Read: Cheese in the Trap

Name: Cheese in the Trap
Author & Artist: Soon Kki
Status:  Ongoing
Genres:  Comedy, Josei, Mystery, Romance, School Life, Slice Of Life, Webtoons
Plot:
Hong Sul is a ordinary college student. Yoo Jung is the school's most popular upperclass man. He's good looking, rich, smart, and even nice. However, Hong Sul thinks there's more to Yoo Jung than what meets the eye..
Comments:
I have to commend this author for this really good manhwa. It's not really romantic but involves a lot of psychological stuff which is really interesting. Yes, I know this is josei manhwa (korean comics) but it's really entertaining and makes you think. I generally don't read much manhwa probably because I haven't come across good ones but I'm pretty familiar with the culture. The characters are pretty three dimensional and the story doesn't have many cliches. Ohh and before you start reading here are some tips that might make it less confusing:

• Black borders= Past Events
• White Borders= Present Events
• It's a webcomic scroll down a lot
• Read it slowly, it's hard to get if you skim throught it
• Noona= How a guy addresses an older girl
• Unni= How a girl addresses an older girl
• Dongsaeng= Kohai
• Sunbae= Senpai
• Oppa= How a girl would addresses an older guy
• Hyung= How a guy would addresses an older guy
• Soju= An alcoholic drink commonly drunk in SK
• And remember to read from normally (left to right, I sometimes forget >.>)

Sorry I haven't been posting, gahhhh so many tests and assignments DX