Manga Review: Hanatsukihime

Name: Hanatsukihime
Author & Artist: Hibiki Wataru
Chapters: 8 - finished
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural
Plot:"There once was a girl with a splendid flower blooming upon her chest."

When Lys was born, her heart did not beat at all. To save her, her mother made a contract with a devil: Lys can borrow his heart until the day she turns sixteen, but after that, he will eat her body. Together with her companion, Siva, someone whom she met by chance in the desert at night, she travels around as a dancer girl to find the devil who sealed her fate. One day, while they were traveling, they suddenly meet an egoistic prince and a ring spirit...

Review:
This is a really sweet manga and I really like the idea of borrowing demons' hearts to survive, plus one for creativity.
It's a short no nonsense series and isn't ridden with unnecessary chapters and idiotic situations. I feel like a bit more angst, stuggle and a couple more chapters would've been better and given it a more solid, conclusive ending but I'm fine with it. The gap between the finale and the ending scene was good enough nonetheless.
It easily makes it into my list of manga I'll read again and it's not a waste of time but it's not the absolute best.

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...