Manga Reviews - Anime Bottle

7 followers

227 daily readers

rank of 302

Category Quick Links

Manga fans, I swear by my special edition Black Lagoon dog tag necklace, I kid you not. Many (and by many, I mean several hundred) of your favorite mangas are on-line, available for reading, free of charge, no registration required. (The Really Long Link isn't working for some reason, so you'll have to cut and paste)

http://www.onemanga.com/

http://www.mangafox.com/

OneManga and MangaFox both have hundreds of mangas archived, and MangaFox has a slightly wider variety of subject matter (including adults only stories). A few popular titles are missing from both sites, such as Golgo 13, Akira, Gunsmith Cats, and Oh my Goddess. But tons of popular titles are present, including Inuyasha, Air Gear, FullMetal Alchemist, Negima, Black Lagoon, Detective Conan, Claymore, Death Note, One Piece, Love Hina, and Naruto, not to mention several you’ve probably never heard of, but will be glad you did.

Most of them appear to be fan-translated, as the dialogue is often slightly different from the “official” English language release. This helps avoid copyright problems, although OneManga has run into a few of those. But, most of the mangas OneManga had to suspend, you can still find on MangaFox. Conversely, OneManga has some, such as Parasyte (one of my favorites), that MangaFox is lacking.

And oh, did I mention? FREE MANGA!

So, definitely check both site out, and happy reading! I guarantee you won’t be doing much else for a while.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews, Other Good Stuff

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Burst Angel

May 25th 2009 19:39

Meg and Jo have come to Tokyo, and are just trying to make an honest living (or as honest as possible, anyway). But trouble seems to keep finding them as they have to deal with gangs, assassins, crazy scientists, and even a ghost! Not to mention Sei, the strange lady with an interest in Jo.

Like the long-awaited Burst Angel OVA, the long-awaited Burst Angel manga is a prequel, in this case the story of Jo and Meg’s adventures after arriving in Tokyo. They take odd jobs to get by, and Jo’s combat skills give them something of a reputation as go-to girls. But this sometimes attracts unwanted attention, including attention from some of Jo’s old enemies.

The manga rewrites history a little. The anime showed Sei’s recruiting of Jo and Meg, which was relatively straight-forward. Here, it’s more complex, and Sei is very reluctant to bring in Meg (if you’ve seen the anime, you know why), but eventually relents when it becomes obvious that Meg and Jo are an inseparable team.

The books also further explore Jo and Meg’s relationship. In the anime, it’s obvious that Jo and Meg are pretty close. In the graphic novels, you see the development of that closeness. The manga series is a little more racy as well. In the anime, it’s possible to see them as just close friends. In the manga, it’s definitely more than that; at least, Meg would very much like it to be more than that, although Jo is much slower to come around.

One other (welcome) difference is how Meg is portrayed. In the anime, she was kind of useless, always getting captured and making Jo and Sei’s lives much more complicated than they needed to be. It was obvious that Jo cared for her and I doubt the male fans had any complaints, but you couldn’t help wondering why Sei bothered to keep paying this girl. In the manga, she’s the brains of the team. She has no combat skills to speak of, but she’s got street smarts, and it’s apparent that Jo would be lost in this world without her. Meg is sort of like Jo’s manager, making her essential even if she does get kidnapped from time to time.

The drawing style of Burst Angel is rather simple, but it works. The artist makes good choice of a “semi-chibi” style, which especially does wonders for Sei, who looks surprisingly cute here. And Amy looks even more adorable than usual.

Great moments: Meg’s schoolgirl fantasies about her and Jo.

Summary: Somewhat lighter in tone than the anime, but still delivers on the action. A good addition to the Burst Angel series. Grade: B plus.

Age rating: 15 and up. Violence, fan service, nudity in the third volume.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Planet Blood

May 4th 2009 15:37

Mecha pilot Sinan survives an inter-planetary war only to find himself on a strange, primitive world. Now he’s caught in the middle of another conflict that threatens the whole continent, and has to learn how to survive on a planet a thousand years removed from his own.

Planet Blood is a very involved story, which combines politics, action, romance, and a fair amount of humor. Sinan left one war to wind up at the beginning of another, when he falls into the hands of Noodles, an exiled king who is attempting to take the throne back from his brother Zetsos. And he meets Mayi, a naïve princess allied with Noodles, and later Yan, his old friend from his own world who now works for Zetsos. Then there’s Sir Pantera, a mysterious warrior who also serves Zetsos, but has a definite agenda of his own, and may be closer to both Noodles and Zetsos then anyone imagines.

And that’s just in the first volume. The second volume introduces Scott, another pilot from Sinan’s time who comes to have designs on Mayi, and a mysterious man who saves Sinan when he’s injured. In the fourth volume, we meet Eco, a feisty young lady who falls for Sinan.

In short, there are a lot of characters to keep track of, although the effort is worth it. Zetsos, for example, is more than just a garden variety bad guy; in fact, after spending some time with him, you may not consider him a bad guy at well. Sinan himself grows and adapts to his new world, and all of the main characters have some interesting backstories. The only drawback is that with so many players, it’s hard for the series to give adequate time to everyone.

The storyline of Planet Blood is similarly complex. The emotional core of the story is the relationship between Sinan and Mayi, but that’s threatened by both Scott and Eco. By volume eight, I honestly wasn’t sure how it would turn out. The plots and plans of Zetsos, Noodles, and Pantera are positively labyrinthine at times, which can leave you feeling a little lost. The complexity isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice if the series were ever finished.

Which bring us to the (possible) main downcheck of the Planet Blood series. While it’s a little early to say for sure, after a fairly steady release of one volume every six months, there hasn’t been one published for a year, and no solid indication of a volume nine on the way. From the looks of things, several retail site and stores, including Barnes & Noble and Robert’s Anime Corner Store, were set to receive and sell it, but then one of Tokyopop’s distributors dropped the title. So, for the time being, fans are going to have to be happy with books one through eight. (This isn’t the first time this has happened with Tokyopop, either: Really Long Link ) It’s particularly annoying because the preview for volume nine seemed to indicate that was going to answer some long-held questions, such as why Sinan and the others were brought there in the first place. And we’ve been waiting six volumes for the reunion between Sinan and Mayi.

Fortunately, the eight books that have been released have plenty of story and character development in them, and some wonderful artwork. Seeing the drawing quality of Planet Blood, I’ll be keeping an eye out for the artist’s work in the future.

Great moments: Not sure I’d give it the status of “great”, but Eco’s introduction is certainly memorable (as is just about everything she does, really).

Summary: Well-drawn, complex story with a great variety of characters. Grade: B plus (subject to probable upgrade if it’s ever finished).

Age rating: 14 and up. A good amount of fan service, and a few implied sexual situations. Some bloody violence, but not as much as you might think, given the setting.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Golgo 13

April 21st 2009 22:32

Golgo 13, aka Duke Togo. No one knows his nationality, background, or even his real name. No one knows who he is, but everyone knows what he is: the world’s greatest assassin. Whether you’re his employer, his target, or someone who’s crossed him, you can be 100% certain he’ll get the job done.

Golgo 13, drawn by Takao Saito, is one of the longest running mangas in Japan, and Duke Togo is one of the most famous characters in Japanese media. Viz has just finished a re-release, of the 26 best Duke Togo stories in thirteen volumes, and it’s this re-release that this review will be based on. The stories are from all over the world, and from varied points in the past in Togo’s career. As the ultimate killer-for-hire, his services are sought by individuals and governments alike. Several of the stories show him being hired by the US government, and sometimes being hired by others against the US government.

Duke Togo himself is a little short on character development, coming to us fully formed and never changing. Although he is well for his physical relations with women (it’s said that he has sex before every mission), he’s never seen in a relationship. Nor does he have any family or relatives (and there is a story behind that lack, seen in Vol. 13). Judging from the Viz series, there’s only one person who could remotely be called a friend, a gunsmith whom Golgo uses for specialty jobs and is seen in a couple of stories. And while his career has been profitable, the money appears to be a secondary consideration. In one story, he gives up a sizable part of his fortune rather than have his identity revealed. His strong sense of honor is also revealed a few times. For someone almost inhuman in personality, he’s strangely compelling, probably out of curiosity as to what really makes the man tick.

The stories are mostly excellent reads. It is impressive that after all these years, the franchise is still relatively fresh. One of the ways that Takao Saito achieves this is by not making Duke Togo the main character every single time. In several stories, the focus is on other characters, making for more diverse plotlines. In fact, one of the best stories in the series is one in which Golgo never actually appears at all.

Great moments: My favorite story is still the first one, with a topical subject, interesting characters, and the finale when Duke Togo literally hits a bullet with a bullet.

Summary: Solid anthology series with plenty of drama and action. Grade: A

Age rating: 17 and up. Sex, nudity, and bloody violence.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Cannon God Exaxxion

April 7th 2009 18:17

The Riofaldians came to Earth ten years ago, apparently wanting only friendship with humanity. But that all ended one day when the now-entrenched aliens launched a sneak attack. Now all that stands between humanity and annihilation is a teenage boy with a chip on his shoulder, an old man who’s been preparing for the invasion for years, and the mysterious super robot known as Exaxxion.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Gunsmith Cats Burst

March 31st 2009 21:34

They’re back! Rally, Minnie-May, Becky, and Bean Bandit have returned to the pages of manga in a whole new series. Rally goes up against the mob for a million-dollar payday, and Bean has to deal with an old adversary who’s out for blood.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Gunsmith Cats

March 25th 2009 13:28

Rally Vincent (holding rifle) and Minnie-May Hopkins

Rally Vincent, bounty hunter. Minnie-May Hopkins, bomb freak. Together, they are the Gunsmith Cats, Chicago’s queens of crime-fighting.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Dirty Pair

March 15th 2009 19:27

Yep, the Dirty Pair made the manga pages, too, although not Japanese manga, technically. The Lovely Angels were the subjects of several graphic novels by the famed American artist, Adam Warren, who drew the recently-reviewed manga for Bubblegum Crisis. I’ll be reviewing three of them here.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Azumanga Daioh

March 2nd 2009 03:27

Get an extra allotment of cuteness with the girls of Azumanga Daioh, the Manga! Chiyo-chan, Sakaki, Osaka, Tomo, Yomi, and all the others are living the high school life, in print.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Star Trek

February 6th 2009 12:09

The original crew of the USS Enterprise is back, truly going where no Star Trek crew has gone before: to the pages of manga.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Sokora Refugees

February 2nd 2009 14:53

Volume 1 Cover

Kana Ohkami is a very ordinary girl on an extraordinary adventure. At her school, she’s constantly behind on her schoolwork, has no luck with the boys, and is “underdeveloped” compared to her friends. But when she is sucked through a portal to the magical, war-wracked world of Sokora, and finds herself sharing bodies with a powerful elf witch, school life starts looking a whole lot better!

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Heat Guy J

January 30th 2009 01:43

Manga Cover

Heat Guy J (J for short) is an android in the city of Judoh, and he and his human partner Daisuke (Dice for short) are part of the Special Crimes Unit, protecting the citizens from hi-tech criminals and the Judoh mafia. But unknown to the police, the mafia has a new ally, a lady scientist who’s built a robot capable of defeating J.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend

Manga Review: Chibi Vampire

January 16th 2009 17:28

The cover of the first volume

Karin Maaka appears to be just another normal (if slightly klutzy) schoolgirl in Japan. But, she’s not, she’s actually a vampire, and she lives with her vampire family incognito. Karin is unusual even among her own kind, as she doesn’t suck blood, she makes it! When a new student transfers to her school, she discovers that he causes her blood-making problem to get ten times worse. What is she going to do now?

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: NoaIzumi - Category: Manga Reviews

Email this Post to a Friend