Upcoming April 2010

I'm still here! And there are some things I'm working on. So far this year I have watched the following titles:
NieA Under 7
Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino
Gun x Sword
Bleach (ongoing)
Fushigi Yuugi
Night Head Genesis
Paranoia Agent

I also reviewed Berserk, but I guess I watched that last year. I'll be writing up reviews for Night Head Genesis and Paranoia Agent soon. I've been watching Kimi ni Todoke, which is adorable. And the next show on my Netflix is Clannad: After Story. So I'm off to a bit of a slow start, it seems. I've been reading a ton of manga though! And I got to do some other things, like review Kick-Ass: Creating the Comic, Making the Movie. I also covered all three Makoto Shinkai films over Global Shinkai weekend (5cm, The Place Promised, Voices).

Otherwise.... I finally beat Nostalgia, for the Nintendo DS, which was entertaining, if a little lacking. Think a less sophisticated Skies of Arcadia. I also beat Mass Effect 2 recently, which was bloody brilliant. Assassin's Creed 2 I beat before that, which I also loved. Was playing Prince of Persia, but it glitched on me somewhere, and I'm unable to complete the game, so I put that aside. Finished Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth last night, which was...about as nonsensical as you can get. Good game, but some of those cases.... At a bit of a standstill at the moment regarding video games, so I'm hoping to pick up Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon for the Wii soon, and also Resonance of Fate later this year on the 360. Still working on Dragon Age: Origins for the PC.

Nothing much else to report on. Haven't seen any good dramas lately. I'm waiting on the Gokusen film to be translated, and the Nodame movies to come out. Still wondering what happened to that Skip Beat drama...wonder if it was canceled. Oh, I did have plans to watch the LA Yamato Nadeshiko...but forgot about it. Will have to look that up again. Very excited about the LA Beck Mongolian Chop Squad that is coming out, starring one of my favorite actors (the lovely Hiro Mizushima). Also, there's a new (animated) Trigun film! Can't wait to get my hands on that!

To all my readers, few though you were, if you're still there.... I hope you are enjoying yourselves! If you're looking for some manga to read, don't forget to check in on my review column at ComicAttack.net. I write my Bento Bako Weekly column every Monday, and I often have a Bento Bako Lite on Wednesdays. I'm working on some anime review for you and hope to have them up in a week or so, so I'll see you again then!

Fushigi Yuugi: The Mysterious Play

Fushigi Yuugi is a 52-episode anime series based on the 18-volume manga by Yuu Watase. The anime was produced by Studio Pierrot in 1995, and was licensed and released by Geneon (Pioneer) on eight discs (about 6-7 episodes per disc), as Fushigi Yuugi: The Mysterious Play.

Miaka and Yui, two average middle school students, discover an old book in the local library called The Universe of the Four Gods. The two girls begin reading what they believe to be a fairy tale about ancient China, when they are suddenly sucked into its pages and dropped into the middle of nowhere, somewhere inside the book's world. After they are rescued from a group of men by a young man named Tamahome, Yui is transported back to their world, leaving Miaka behind. She follows the man to the capital of Konan, where she is taken to the palace and discovers that she is the priestess of the beast who guards the southern lands, Suzaku. The emperor of Konan, Hotohori, and Tamahome are members of the Suzaku Seven, celestial warriors who embody the seven southern stars and are charged with protecting the priestess. Hotohori then asks Miaka to travel the land to discover the other members of the Suzaku Seven, so that they can summon Suzaku and bring peace to Konan. Meanwhile, Yui reads about Miaka's adventures in the book as they occur, and when she attempts to bring an ill Miaka back, she is pulled back into the book, where she is rescued by a man named Nagako (a member of the Seiryuu Seven), taken back to the land of Kutou, and becomes the Priestess of Seiryuu. Miaki returns to find that her best friend is now her worst enemy.

From then on it's a race between the two countries to discover the Celestial Warriors and summon their respective beast god. A misguided Yui turns against her best friend time and again, jealous over the relationship Miaka has with Tamahome, while Miaka desperately tries to save her friend and find a way to stay by Tamahome's side forever.

Oh hey, guess what. It's a reverse harem! Every single member of the Suzaku Seven is a devastatingly beautiful male. No surprise there. It is quite surprising when one of the Seiryuu Seven turns out to be female. Love triangles abound as Hotohori and Tamahome fight over Miaka, cross-dressing (Suzaku warrior) Nuriko fights for Hotohori's attention, Yui tries to steal Tamahome away, (Seiryuu warrior) Suboshi tries to turn Yui's thoughts away from Tamahome, and (Seiryuu warrior) Soi tries to melt Nakago's icy heart. It's every bit as melodramatic as it sounds.

But it's not all lovers spats and making out. There's action to be had. These are warriors after all, and they are all in the middle of a massive war between Konan and Kutou. Summoning the beast gods isn't easy. Especially when you screw it up the first time and have to find another way (hey, there's 52 episodes here, and Miaka finds all seven warriors in the first two discs, so they have to keep it going somehow). There are plenty of fights between the opposing Celestial Warriors, though Tamahome and Nakago do a majority of the fighting. Tamahome even goes a little super saiyan, which actually seems rather overboard and out of place, to be honest. But expect more romantic angst than bloody battles.

It's not a bad show really. The concept is built up OK, but the show does have its problems. For example, there's like ten episodes in the second half of the series, where the Seiryuu are just trying different ways of raping Miaka. It's really ridiculous. And Tamahome and Miaka are continuously coming up with reasons to push the other away. It always ends the same way, so I kind of wished they'd just stop it. I guess it's supposed to provide romantic tension, but like I said, it ends the same way each time. There's no question that they won't end up together; the only question is if they'll be allowed to stay together. The animation is OK. The show is from 1995-1996, so the animation is a little dated. The biggest problem is an over use of unnecessary flashbacks (like showing an event that just happened a minute ago within the same episode), recycled animations (like a character running through a crowd which is just looped every two seconds), things of that nature. Some flashbacks serve to recap the series (about halfway through, which is normal for a long show), or as a replay of a character's life upon their death. But there also seems to be a lot of scenes replayed or sequences reused simply to fill time. There's a lot of repetitious dialog as well, and the plot sometimes goes around in circles.

I watched it in English, which was tolerable. Actually it was better than I was expecting, but there were a lot of weird inflections and bad translations. Music was alright. The opening animation is fairly nice; the ending uses Watase's art on one side, and replays scenes from the episodes on the other. And I will say this for Miaka: she really changes throughout the course of the story; she grows a lot and has learned quite a bit by the end. Which is more than I can say for a lot of heroines of this genre. And way more than I can say for the heroine of Watase's other work I've seen, Absolute Boyfriend.

Berserk

This show is fantastic. In fact, there’s only one thing that would prevent me from calling this a truly great show. That, dear readers, is one of the most annoying endings to a series I’ve ever seen. Everything about this show is great – the characters, story, music, animation, bloody violence, character relationships. But then the show ends on what is hard to call anything other than a cliffhanger. It stops, mid-story, and in fact, mid-battle. It’s easy to assume that the creators of the anime planned to continue with another season, and there were talks of such a thing, but it never happened. For a show that’s over a decade old, it isn’t likely there ever will be another season. However! Don’t let this discourage you! You won’t regret sitting down to watch this, despite the bizarre ending. And if you’re really into it, you can also read the manga from where the anime leaves off.

Berserk is a down-and-dirty violent fantasy series. It’s about war, purpose, ambition, life and death, love, and friendship. The show opens with a man known as the Black Swordsman, who wields an enormous deadly sword that cuts down anyone in his way. During a gruesome battle, something reminds him of a man he once knew, and the series quickly goes back in time to a much younger version of the swordsman, a scrappy orphan named Guts. The rest of the series will follow Guts from his training under the mercenary leader Gambino, to his meeting with legendary mercenary leader Griffith and his Band of the Hawk, and the life changing events that result.

When he first meets Griffith, Guts is single-handedly taking on the Band of the Hawk. After watching for a while, Griffith steps in and insists that Guts fight him one-on-one. His terms are only that if he wins, Guts must join his mercenaries (basically, that Griffith will “own” him). Miraculously, Griffith’s impeccable skill with his sabre manages to beat Guts’s immense (but undisciplined) strength and great sword. Not everyone is pleased with this new addition, and many become jealous of the attention Guts receives from Griffith. Guts becomes Griffith’s other half, taking on the most dangerous missions, and eventually becoming the leader of his own division. Griffith trusts him completely, and Guts becomes the foundation upon which Griffith’s ambitions are built. Griffith has long harbored great dreams, believing himself to have a greater destiny than some nameless mercenary, wanting even his own kingdom to rule. With Guts at his side, this goal slowly but surely comes closer and closer to fruition.

Yet while Griffith’s dreams are coming true, Guts is only along for the ride. He eventually realizes that his entire life has been helping Griffith accomplish his goals, rather than accomplishing any goals of his own. The result of his own desires manifesting, separately from Griffith’s, causes a cataclysmic event no one could have foreseen. A fortune teller once told them that their fates were bound together, which is a big theme of the series. The opening dialog of each show asks the viewers if there is a guiding force, and states, “At least it is true, that man has no control, even over his own will.” All of the characters struggle with or against their fates. Or get caught in the fates of others, like the Band of the Hawk’s only female member, Casca. Behind only Griffith and Guts in terms of skill, this woman commands her own division, and takes over the entire band in the future. She struggles with her feelings of love for both great men, and gets wrapped up in their destinies in some truly brutal ways.

The show is about as well animated as other shows of its time, which is to say, that it looks like a show from the ’90s. But it’s well designed, well animated, has an excellent soundtrack, and there’s plenty of blood spewing all over the screen to satisfy any action fan. The opening and closing themes are fantastic, especially the opening song “Tell Me Why” by Penpals, which is accompanied by a terrific animation sequence (check it out here, and here’s a video of the ending theme for those interested).

The English translation is kind of goofy on occasion (like Guts yelling out, during an internal struggle, “Anything to get rid of the voices!”), but mostly it’s fairly solid. The core voice actors are pretty good, especially since a show like this could easily get really cheesy and out of hand. Though some of these guys do seem to be having a bit too much fun sometimes, especially when performing an evil laugh. For the interested, Guts is voiced by Marc Diraison, Griffith by Kevin T. Collins, and Casca by Carolyn Keranen.

Really, this one was far better than I had been expecting when I rented it via Netflix, but I’m very happy I went for it. It should appeal to fans of shows like Record of Lodoss War (the first series) and Claymore. There are some nice DVD extras too, like art galleries, interviews, production sketches, clean credits, and English VA outtakes. There are 25 episodes, and you can get the entire collection in a thinpak set for about $45 (licensed by Media Blasters). It's bloody fantasy. Lots of spewing blood, slicing off of limbs, rampaging demons, rape, sex, nudity, various adult themes…. It’s an adult show from start to finish, so don’t let your kiddies watch it.

Originally posted at ComicAttack.net on January 25, 2010.

Sorry for a lack of updates here. Been very busy with CA and manga reviews. And anyway, I haven't watched a ton of anime this year. I finished Gun x Sword last week, which was...OK. May talk about that later. About to start Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play. Not real impressed with the new season of anime, other than Nodame Cantabile's finale. Still waiting on some upcoming live action shows, like Skip Beat...and there was another I was looking forward to which I unfortunately can't recall right now. Kuroshitsuji is getting another season later this year...with a new cast of characters. Not super interested in that, but I'm willing to give it a shot given the previous series's (which I loved) production value.

Guns and UFOs

My first two titles for the new year started off with a bang. And by that I mean that they were filled with various explosions. The first, NieA under 7, was extremely underwhelming. The second, Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino, did not live up to my fondness for its predecessor, but had its own charms.

NieA7 is a slice of life comedy about a young woman named Mayuko who is studying for her college entrance exams; which, despite being at the top of her class, she didn't pass the first time around. NieA is her alien roommate. Several years ago an alien ship crash landed in the small town of Enohana. This deposited a host of aliens into the town, an addition which the human residents adapted to remarkably quickly. The aliens have a hierarchy among themselves, which also dictates their citizenship status on Earth. NieA is the lowest of the low, a base alien with no antenna on her head, like all other aliens have. She was living in Mayuko's closet before Mayuko moved in, and just didn't leave. She now freeloads off Mayuko and the Enohana Bathhouse, where they live. NieA causes a lot of trouble for Mayuko, collecting junk and building (mostly explosive) UFOs, eating her food, loafing about...but in the end, she does care for Mayuko as a friend. Mayu meanwhile spends every waking moment just trying to get by in the world, going to cram school and working three part-time jobs, hoping that the struggling bathhouse remains in business so she won't lose her home.

NieA7 seems to have a story in there somewhere, they just don't bother to tell it. Something mildly interesting is going on, something is hinted at all over the place, regarding the alien mother ship...but nothing ever comes of it. In the end it's tossed aside without any explanations, making the whole series kind of pointless.
The animation is pretty awful, but I think that may be on purpose. The voice acting on the other hand...well, it's not brilliant. It's actually not bad as far as emoting and inflection goes; it's just kind of grating, and the sound quality isn't the best either.
NieA Under 7 is 13 episodes long, based on a doujinshi by Yoshitoshi ABe, and was released domestically by Pioneer.

Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino is the second season of this girls-with-guns anime. It picks up pretty much right where the first series left off, but don't expect it to just be GSG part II. Il Teatrino has a completely different tone, style, and focus than its predecessor. The first GSG was a melancholy work of art, focusing mostly on Henrietta and her handler Jose, who fit the tone of the show perfectly. Il Teatrino delves more deeply into the manga, and breaks away from the Social Welfare Agency to tell the story of bomb makers Franco and Franca, and the Five Republics Faction of terrorists. The girls and their handlers are still there, but now that their stories have already been told, and we already know who they are, there's less focus on them individually. Triela has a large role this time around, developing a personal vendetta against Five Republics assassin Pinocchio, who humiliated her in one-on-one combat. There is very little focus on the handlers, though we do learn more about Jose and Marco's (Angelica's handler) backgrounds. The focus is strongly on the terrorist faction, particularly Franco, Franca, and Pinocchio.
The colors in Il Teatrino are brighter, the music more upbeat, the animation style completely changed (GSG by Madhouse, IT by Artland), the characters distinctly more cartoonish looking (rather than a more artful, realistic design like before) with their large eyes and round faces. It's a totally different show. And yet it isn't. The girls are still there, they're still struggling with their identities, their fates are still heartbreaking. And there's something to be said about watching adorable little Rico beat the living daylights out of someone while her handler Jean looks coldly on.
The animation isn't the only thing changed, however. The Japanese cast has completely changed, so if you prefer your anime subtitled, be prepared for all new voices. If you prefer your anime in English, then never fear, because FUNimation brought back the original cast (with just a couple exceptions).

Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino runs 13 episodes, and was released by FUNimation in a 2-DVD thinpak box. A couple notes here.... For whatever reason, FUNimation decided to change Franca's name to Flanca in their dub. I have no idea why. In the subtitles she's Franca, in Japanese she's Franca, and in the manga she's Franca. The point, I had thought, was that her partner's name is Franco, so he named her Franca (like, Francesco, Francesca); I guess FUNi doesn't agree with that assessment. Also, while the DVD covers are double sided with gorgeous artwork...they're printed backward, so that the front has the episode titles, and the back has the art. Their Romeo X Juliet DVDs are like this too; I'm not sure why they decided to print them this way. The only thing I can think of is that they want you to see the art side first when you slide the case out of the box. If that's not the case, then I have no idea what they're thinking.

Things have been going strong at ComicAttack! Been doing lots of manga reviews, so check them out! I also joined the legions of twitterers; it's really excellent for networking. Anyway, I can be found at: @girlg33k_Kris.
Right now I'm watching Trigun (again, because I haven't seen it in years and just managed to purchase the series last year), and Gun x Sword, which is like smushing Cowboy Bebop together with Big O - one of my favorite titles with one of my least favorites. I'll attempt to explain that when I review the title once I've finished.

January 2010 - Recaps

So if you saw my last post, you may have noticed that I watched several titles at the end of last year, but didn't bother to review them. I may never get around to long reviews, so I thought I'd do some short blurbs about them.

We'll start with Berserk. I loved this show until the final episode, where the series just...stops. Right in the middle of a storyline, and in fact, right in the middle of a huge battle. It just ends, and there's no resolution. You can read the manga to continue the event, and I certainly recommend reading the manga anyway, but I wonder if they had thought they would get another season, and then didn't. Because it really ends unreasonably. Otherwise, the show is fantastic. Perfect for fantasy fans (if you like shows like Record of Lodoss War, specifically the first series, you should enjoy Berserk). It is a mature title as well; lots of blood, gore, sex, dismemberment, demons, pedophilia...adult visuals and adult themes. Don't watch it with your kids, basically.

Romeo x Juliet...it was probably my favorite title the season it aired (spring/summer 2007). I really adored it. It's Romeo and Juliet without being Romeo and Juliet. All the characters are there (at least in name), the very basic theme of family rivalry is there (so you can have your star-crossed lovers)...but the similarities end there. There's a boy named Romeo, and he's in love with a girl named Juliet. After that it's a whole new ball game. It does get a bit weird near the end, where the story ventures off into some bizarre, mystical, apocalyptic fantasy mess.... But it holds together with gorgeous animation, a superb score, strong characters, and a tender love story.

Nodame Cantabile Paris Chapter (S2). It's almost over, and while I can't wait for the story to wrap up, I'm also saddened that it's going to end because it's one of the best shows out there.

The Daughter of Twenty Faces was another favorite of mine in the season it aired (spring/summer 2008). This smart, well animated, intriguing story gets rather loss in a mass of moe titles, but it's worth searching out. It's a little Lupin III, and little Detective Conan; toss in some steam punk, old fashioned character designs with modern animation, a strong female lead, and a suspenseful story. It goes from warm and fuzzy to totally brutal in a finger snap, then back again.

Hayate no Gotoku S2 veers a bit from it's focus on Nagi and Hayate, and focuses more on Hayate and Hinagiku. Nagi practically becomes a background character. As such, the show switched focus from a heavy gag comedy, to having more serious character and relationship development. It's still good, but I miss the feel of the first season.

Gakuen Heaven. All-boys school, all pretty boys, all gay boys. Whoopee. Implausible, absurd, and with a totally uninteresting lead character. Story wasn't much either.

Piano. Slow and dull. Should have been warm and cute. Watch Nodame instead, or even La Corda d'Oro.

Zettai Kareshi live action special. Unnecessary and a little annoying, but it's hard to say "no" to more Hiro Mizushima.

Think that covers everything that I lumped on there. Oh, and PS - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is awesome.

Anime of 2009

'Tis the season for lists! And I've got a couple. If you'd like a hastily compiled look at some of my favorite comic titles for the year, you can go to Comic Attack for some staff picks. I'm at the bottom.

Today I'm just gonna lay out the 40+ anime and anime/manga related titles I watched this year. In a little while, I'm going to do a compiled, quickie review of the recent titles I've watched but haven't gotten around to reviewing. So be sure to check back for that. Anyway, here's what I watched in 2009, with links to any reviews that I did for the titles.
If you see something that wasn't reviewed, but you'd like a review, or at least some notes on the title, let me know!

Kuroshitsuji

School Rumble S1

Mushi-Shi

Solty Rei

Moon Phase

Sasami Magical Girls Club

xxxHolic S1

Suzuka

Yu Yu Hakusho S1

Full Metal Alchemist S1

Ouran High School Host Club

Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens

Galaxy Railways

Le Chevalier D’Eon

Afro Samurai

Kino’s Journey

The Twelve Kingdoms

Legend of Crystania: the Motion Picture

Legend of Crystania: The Chaos Ring

Elfen Lied

Tales of the Abyss (Jay's Toybox review)

Chaos Head

Midori Days

Paradise Kiss

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Skip Beat!

xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.: Solid State Society

Gun Buster (1)

Diebuster (Gunbuster 2)

Texhnolyze

K-On

Black Lagoon

Gokusen

Yu Yu Hakusho season 2

Ah! My Goddess the Movie

Gokusen LA seasons 1-3

Mushi-Shi LA

Kamikaze Girls LA

Antique Bakery LA

Goong LA

Scrapped Princess

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (S1)

Noir

AIR the movie

Last Quarter LA

Berserk

Romeo x Juliet

Nodame Cantabile S2 Paris Chapter

The Daughter of Twenty Faces

Hayate no Gotoku S2

Gakuen Heaven

Piano

Zettai Kareshi LA special

And that's that! I've got plenty of titles backed up to take me into the new year, and I'm watching NeiA7 through Netflix right now. I got the Evangelion 1.0 movie for Christmas, along with the first 13 episodes of Moribito (I have the rest on DVR, so I can watch it all if I want). Plus I've been sitting on Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino and Xenosaga the Animation for a while, and I've never watched either. I keep starting AIR up (which I have seen already), but get distracted by other things. I don't know much about the anime coming out this year, but I do know the final season of the Nodame Cantabile anime should air this spring, and there should be at least one live action film for it as well. A Gokusen LA film that came out last year should be hitting DVD soon, too.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and good luck in 2010!

Itazura na Kiss

Itazura na Kiss is a charming romantic comedy. The story focuses on clumsy, average (and generally unintelligent) Kotoko Aihara, and handsome boy genius Naoki Irie. Calling Naoki a genius is really an understatement; he’s more like a prodigy. He’s good at everything. He instantly memorizes anything he looks at once, he’s good at sports, he can cook, he’s popular (not in that he has a lot of friends, but that he has many followers), top of his class, one of the best in the entire country, skilled at just about everything he attempts, and is good looking on top of all that. Poor Kotoko is…less intelligent. She’s closer to the bottom of her class, has difficulty studying, can’t cook, isn’t particularly good at sports, isn’t exactly drop-dead gorgeous, and is really the total opposite of the kind of girl Naoki would normally be interested in.

In fact, the book starts off with Kotoko attempting to give Naoki a love letter…which is rejected before it even leaves her hands. Poor Kotoko is devastated by his callous rejection, and vows to put that jerk out of her mind forever. But when an earthquake destroys the new house her father just built, they are forced to move in with an old friend of her father’s…who happens to be Naoki’s father. Naoki makes her promise not to tell anyone of their situation, but circumstances (like Kinnosuke, who is in love with Kotoko, following her home) ultimately reveal their situation to the entire school. Then rumors start spreading that they’re dating, then that they’re getting married, and Naoki is not happy. Making the situation more chaotic is Naoki’s mother, Machiko, trying to push the two together against their (or well, at least Naoki’s) will. She is thrilled to have a girl in the house to dote on, and thinks Kotoko would be a perfect match for her son.

Against Naoki’s wishes, he continually finds himself involved in various situations with Kotoko. He helps her study for her exams because she blackmails him with a childhood photo, Machiko makes up an excuse to clear out the house so Naoki and Kotoko can be alone for a couple of days, and in general Kotoko causes him unending trouble. Naoki is unused to such a hectic life, and Kotoko’s presence throws everything off for him. But for this goalless guy who has no real passion for anything, Kotoko’s enthusiasm is just what the doctor ordered.

What makes Itazura stand out from a sea of shojo titles, is its time span. The story follows Kotoko and Naoki through their final year of high school, their time in college, through internships, and official jobs. All of the characters grow and change over the course of their lives. Some of them get married and have children. It’s not just a moment in time; it’s a lifetime.

I really think I was too hard on Itazura before, when I saw the anime. I didn’t like Kotoko at all; I’m not a fan of girls who throw themselves on or fawn over guys who obviously don’t like them, or put up with such obvious cold treatment. But I’ve read Sarasah recently, which is infinitely worse, and realized that Kotoko isn’t so bad. The heroine of Sarasah really has no redeeming qualities to speak of; but I’ve come to understand that Kotoko is compassionate, caring, supportive, and an incredibly hard worker. All admirable qualities; she just needed Naoki to give her a chance. Circumstances threw her into his vision, and he was forced to see her for who she really is, and not just judge her by her standing in school. And, you know, Naoki really isn’t that bad; he’s the sort of person who is so consumed with studying, that he doesn’t really know how to properly interact with people or convey his emotions. He’s a snob, certainly, but it seems to be a wall that he puts up to avoid interacting with people. It really takes an open, passionate girl like Kotoko to pull him out, and it’s going to take all of her effort to get Naoki off his lofty perch, and down where the normal humans roam.

Itazura na Kiss is published by Digital Manga Publishing, for $16.95 (for a double volume). The manga remains unfinished due to the mangaka's untimely death, but it was finished in the anime, which used her intended ending. A copy was provided to me by Digital Manga Publishing for review (thanks!).