pira

http://kimonoreincarnate.blogspot.com/2009/11/daughter-daddy.html

http://kirinote.blogspot.com/2009/11/in-good-company.html

http://www.dollydaily.com/blog/2009/11/2009-dollystyle-convention-dolls.html

http://www.mangamaniaccafe.com/?p=3603

Title: Parasyte Vol 7

Author: Hitoshi Iwaaki

Publisher:  Del Rey

ISBN: 9780345500359

May Contain Spoilers

This volume demonstrated that there really isn’t much difference between the alien monsters and the humans that they are feeding on.  When overzealous Lieutenant Commander Yamagishi concocts a plan to destroy the alien parasites once and for all, he unleashes a bloodbath that slaughters humans and intended prey alike.  When the smoke clears, all he’s done is created a more powerful enemy, and left a trail of corpses in his wake.  Will Shinichi be able to stay alive long enough to graduate from high school, now that Goto is out to get him?

Wow, there are a lot flying body parts and blood splatters packed in here.  The police and the military are working together to ferret out the parasytes, though there is friction within their ranks.  Inspector Hirama and Yamagishi don’t exactly hit it off, and Yamagishi practically mocks  the policeman for wanting to get some advice from Shinichi.  Yamagishi even manages to come up with a killer plan to detect the aliens, but since they are telepathic, it really only works once.  Oops! That was a major miscalculation on his part, and it’s one that’s going to cost him big time.  Maybe he shouldn’t have scoffed at Shinichi’s suggestion…

Parasyte is gearing up for the concluding volume, and there are some intense battle scenes that highlight the chaos and uncertainty of combat.  While the humans seemed to have done their homework, they just can’t comprehend that the aliens have just as strong of a desire to survive as they do.  Having had to blend into society and keep themselves hidden, they have also learned how to be cunning and ruthless, which is going to give Yamagishi a rude awakening.  The stereotypical military man, he doesn’t give his enemy enough credit, and with his superior numbers and fire power, he thinks that the battle is won before it even begins.  I wanted to feel sorry for he, but he is such a pompous prick that I couldn’t.  He isn’t above sacrificing innocent civilians to win his little war against the enemy, and it had me questioning who the real monsters were.

Shinichi just opened a nasty can of worms for himself, and both he and Migi have accepted the fact that they probably aren’t going to be alive for much longer.  Goto has set his sights on them, and he isn’t going to stop until they are both dead.  That Goto is one scary guy, or would it be more correct to say he is five scary guys? Or parts of five scary guys?  Blaming Shinichi for working with the government, he wants revenge for the deaths of his companions.  Good thing he’s too tired to kill Shinichi right then and there, and instead lets the kid stew about his impending death.  Bet it will be both painful and unpleasant.  Ugh.  Will Shinichi and Migi be able to think of a way to stay alive?

Even clocking in at over 250 pages, this installment flies by, the non-stop action and drama captivating for its entire duration.  This is one series that never feels like it drags or gets bogged down.  Each volume cranks up the tension, leading Shinichi into ever greater danger.  It is probably a good thing that part of his heart has fused with an alien, because I think he would have died of a heart attack if he only had his old, too human heart to rely on. 

Grade: B+

http://manga.jadedragononline.com/?p=3019

No Manga Love from the New York Times…Again

This week the New York Times released their holiday gift guide for graphic novels, and it should come as no surprise to anything that follows the NYT’s blog that manga doesn’t get any love from the writers in charge.  This list was no different.  David Welsh of the Precious Curmudgeon blog decided to take matters into his own hands.  He announced on Twitter that he would be doing his own holiday gift guide for manga, and invited other manga bloggers to join him.  Watch for David’s list on Thanksgiving, and other lists from Kuriostiy, Okazu and Manga Bookshelf blogs next week just to name a few.

Manga Omnibuses: FTW or WTF?

Lissa of the Kuriosity blog, the maven of Amazon early solicitations, caught a whiff of several omnibuses from Del Rey.  Not reprints like Viz Media has been doing with their BIG editions or Tokyopop’s Ultimate editions.  These are first time printings, often completing a series.  We got the first inklings of these with Del Rey’s announcement that they would complete some of the Kodansha titles that Tokyopop lost as omnibus editions.  But these omnibus editions that Lissa found have neither been announced nor confirmed by Del Rey (who remained strangely silent on the issue).  In her post, Lissa posits an interesting thought; is it preferable to get a series as a wrist-breaking omnibus that costs more, but actually saves in the long run and get a complete series, or is it better to stay with individual volumes and possibly never see the end?  Well, you can tell my thoughts from the slant of that sentence.  With so many titles having been left hanging from poor management, I for one, would prefer the omnibus editions, and my wrists be damned!  I’d rather have a complete series than none at all.  And while this opinion might seem like common sense, not every one feels that way.

Is the End Near?

It must be a sign of the Apocalypse.  2012 is real!  The New York Times Arts Beat blog finally features a manga!  Too bad they chose to do it the week that Vampire Knight is at the top so they can take the opportunity to make snide comments about women, vampire stories and Twilight.  Well at least now we can confirm that  they do realize manga exists, and exactly what they think of it.  Good job NYT for jumping on the Twilight hating bandwagon and dragging manga along.  I’m sure you’re very proud of yourself.

Tezuka on your iPhone? There’s an app for that

Software developer D-Arc has released an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that features Osamu Tezuka’s manga in english.  It’s weekly Astro Boy Magazine features about 100 pages of chapters from titles like Astro Boy, Black Jack and Phoenix.  The first volume is available now on the iTunes store for free.  Subsequent volumes will be released in the near future, and will run $.99 each.  If you don’t mind being limited by platform and screen size, this is a great way to sample Tezuka’s work.

Next Tokyopop Insider with Stu!

Tokyopop has announced that their next Insider webcast will be the week of the November 30, and will feature Stu Levy, the CEO of the company.  Details are still forthcoming for the exact date and time, but here’s the heads up now, so you can keep your calendar clear.

Spice & Wolf covers for everyone (that buys it)!

Yen Press really took it on the chin from rabid fans who hated the new cover for the light novel Spice & Wolf.  To try to appease these “fans” who threatened to boycott the book, Yen Press made a book cover that replicated the original Japanese cover.  Originally intended to only be available through the December 2009 issue of Yen Plus, Yen has expanded their availability by offering the cover to online retailers who wished to participate.   Yen Press has been really good about this and is bending over backwards to appease a harsh fanbase that would sooner turn on them.  They definitely deserve some support!

NYT Best Selling Manga List

For a second week in a row, Vampires hold the #1 position on the list.  Vampire Knight vol 8 continues to reign supreme.  Naruto vol 46 waits patiently at #2 for it’s chance to retake the title.  Ouran High School Host Club vol 13 moves up 1 to #3, followed closely by Black Bird vol 2 at #4.  Maximum Ride vol 2 moves back up 1 to #5 with Rosario Vampire vol 10 moving up to #6.  Negima! Magister Negi Magi vol 24 plunges 4 places to #7, but Soul Eater vol 1 holds it’s ground at #8 along with D. Gray-Man vol 15 and Tsubasa vol 24 also keeping their spots at #9 and #10 respectively.  There’s some maneuvering, but no real change in the list this week.  Well see if that remains after Viz’s latest releases this week.  So the status quo remains with Viz at 6 titles, and Del Rey and Yen Press title at 2 each.

Manga For Your Eyes

Sci-Guys

• Episode 12 – Moyasimon vol 1 – 41:58

Sesho’s Anime & Manga Reviews

• Episode 195 – Happy Mania vol 1

Spiraken Manga Review

• Episode 69

This Week at Manga Village

• Punch vol 1
• Yen Plus November 2009
• Antique Bakery vol 1
• 20th Century Boys vol 5
• Moyasimon vol 1
• Weekly Releases

What I’ve Been Reading

• Black Jack vol 6
• Rasetsu vol 3
• One Piece vol 22
• Yen Plus December 2009

http://feltcafe.blogspot.com/2009/11/current-inspiration-needle-felting.html

http://www.kirainet.com/english/iphone-and-ipod-in-airplane-seat-screens/

http://www.kirainet.com/english/?p=1297

ANA (All Nippon Airways) has announced that in all its flights between Tokyo and New York the passenger seats will be equipped with an extra connector (including tourist class seats). iPhones and iPods will be able to be plugged to recharge their battery, listen to music or even watch the movies that are loaded in the device using the in-seat screens. It looks like a great idea to me, but maybe they should extend the idea further so that the system can be used by other devices and not just iPhones and iPods.

Via Asiajin

http://floatingworld.typepad.com/floating_world_views/2009/11/an-intermission.html

Things have been a bit topsy turvey this week. The red tummy lump I mentioned in my last post didn't respond to oral antibiotics so we've spent the past few days in the paediatric ward trying different things. Luckily Ali is in good spirits except for when he's being poked by a doctor, so I'm grateful for that, but we're all tired and wishing life would go back to normal.

This week was 5 years since my first blog post, and I had planned to do something commemorative, but that will have to wait until things settle down. Things have changed so much since I first started this - in November 2004 I was newly married, teaching English at Nova in Tokyo and had just started sewing again on a machine I picked up in a fleamarket in Roppongi. I had no real expectations of the blog, but just thought it would be a nice way to document life in Japan. It has turned out to be so much more than that - blogging here and reading other people's journals has encouraged my creativity, and made me pay more attention to the little details of every day. It has also led to some great opportunities and I have met wonderful people through this little site. So, thank you very much. And I will hopefully be back with some good news and normal posting soon.

http://zepy.momotato.com/2009/11/20/estpolis-again/

http://zepy.momotato.com/?p=3033

I always remembered Maxim as being a nice generic lead RPG character, but now he’s a nice generic… something else!

Pic: 1, 2, 3, 4

http://precur.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/license-request-day-gegege-no-kitaro/

http://precur.wordpress.com/?p=4180

You know what yôkai are, right? Mysterious, morally ambiguous sort-of-demons that crop up all over Japanese folklore? Chances are you do, even if you don’t automatically identify them by that term, because they’re all over manga. One of the reasons for that ubiquity is the subject of today’s license request, suggested by Kate Dacey.

According to Wikipedia, Shigeru Mizuki’s GeGeGe no Kitaro gets the credit for pushing yôkai into the pop-culture spotlight, at least in terms of manga. It was originally created for the manga rental market in 1959, then serialized in the late 1960s in some of Kodansha’s shônen magazines. It ended up being nine volumes long, and it’s been republished in other formats, as will happen with really popular series.

Our hero, Kitaro, is one of those supernatural types that just want everyone to be friends, Casper the friendly yôkai, if you will. He uses a wild arsenal of weapons and body parts to protect humans from the schemes of his kinfolk, aided by his father, a disembodied eyeball. There’s also his rat-like companion who hasn’t bathed in over 300 years and, for balance, a cat girl, plus lots of other yôkai, including an elderly landlady type. Among the things that almost always make comics better are elderly landlady types.

Three volumes of the series were published as a part of the defunct, possibly cursed Kodansha Bilingual Comics initiative. I say “possibly cursed” because, well-intentioned as the effort may have been, it’s left some really terrific-sounding comics in licensing limbo. Doraemon, Sazae-San, Section Chief Kôsaku Shima, and others are hanging out in this foreboding realm, so it’s hard not to view Kodansha Bilingual Comics with some superstition. (Of course, it’s also handy to trawl through their catalog and find entries for this feature.)

The series has been published in French as Kitaro le repoussant by Editions Cornélius. Pika Edition has published Mizuki’s two-volume Yôkai : Dictionnaire des monstres japonais. This is not to be confused with Kodansha International’s Yôkai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, by Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda, but if you can’t read French or Japanese, it might be a good starting point. (It shows up as a result for Mizuki when you search on Amazon.)

http://feltcafe.blogspot.com/2009/11/little-scattered-but-with-big-plans.html

http://justbento.com/handbook/guest-post-articles/nutritionally-dense-bento-box-for-active-person

This health-conscious guest post is by Debra of the fabulous hapa bento. We are entering the heavy duty feasting season now, so now is a good a time as ever to use nutritional bentos to keep yourself going!

The classic bento box with its proportioned rice, protein and vegetable combination is a balance of taste, harmony of flavors, and prepared to keep spoilage to a minimum. Another dimension of this classic lunch is nutrition. The rice provides carbohydrates, and carbs are arguably the most important source of energy. The protein keeps your muscles in repair, vegetables offer crucial vitamins that nourish your organs, and lastly but just as vital, some fats. More about the value of fats a little later. A bento box lunch is designed to offer sustenance.

But what if you need more? What if you are an active person and need to turn it up a notch? Well, a nutritionally dense bento box may be your answer.

Tweaking your bento box by packing nutritionally intense foods is an important enhancement for people who exercise or train on a regular basis. More “bang for your buck” as the saying goes.

My husband “Saba Man”, nicknamed for his love of mackerel, and I have enjoyed participating in the local events in the past. We took a break but now we’re back in training for a sprint distance triathlon. Needless to say we are always hungry and crave the foods that offer optimal health benefits! Here’s how I boosted our bento box lunches in support of achieving our goals.

Carbs

The first change for raising the bento box “bar”, was to simply switch from white rice to brown. We like brown rice, but if you don’t, then try mixing half and half at first then slowly eliminate the white grains with each batch. Work your way up to an onigiri that’s 100% brown. Brown rice provides fiber as well as the energy that fuels our muscles. For heavy workout days, 2 onigiri or musubi as I call them, are de rigueur. And by wrapping rice up in a sheet of nori, we’ve enhanced it with essential amino acids and Vitamin C. Never be afraid to eat more seaweed!

When I’m not in the mood for rice, I like packing sweet potatoes which are also high on the nourishment scale. Better than regular potatoes, some sources rank it as number one! The wonderful sweet potato — they taste fantastic. I keep their skins on whenever possible for additional vitamins. It’s important to mention that I usually roast the potato. Roasting or baking lessens the leaching of vitamins and nutrients.

Protein

Do you like tamagoyaki? Perfect. Eggs are filled with healthy goodness, high quality protein without the high calories. Convenient too. When time is a factor, I can cook a batch of tamagoyaki or hard boil a dozen eggs and save them for couple of days. Maki has a wonderful recipe for making miso marinated boiled eggs. The miso not only adds a delicious touch of savory flavor but again, more nutrients. Saba Man’s bento box lunches almost always feature both an egg along and another protein such as salmon or tuna mini burgers.

We opt for salmon because of the Omega 3 oils that other animal meats do not provide. And the salmon skin furnishes more of the essential fats. If fish is not your thing, then substitute with homemade chicken or turkey burgers and add flax seeds. I sometimes go ahead and add flax seeds to the tuna burgers too. It’s a good thing.

Being that I am vegetarian, my bento box contains neither fish nor chicken. My lunches are filled with chick peas (garbanzo beans), falafel or “wheat meat” (seitan) along with eggs. My intake of Omega 3 is via steel cut oatmeal cooked with ground flax seeds. This is the standard in my breakfast bento box; a very healthy start to the day and it keeps me going until lunch.

Vegetables and Fruit

Both of us love our veggies and the “go to” greenery is broccoli. Hands down, it’s the most versatile, delicious and highly nutritious vegetable. Again, roasting is preferable with olive oil and seasonings. Broccoli is ranked very high on the “wholesome scale” and I recommend them not only for their health values but for ease in preparation and packing. I also suggest the very healthy brussel sprout. And as we recently discovered, roasted brussel sprouts taste pretty good.

I want to stress that vegetables are essential but do not take up the majority of space inside our box. This is because they are low in calories. Nutritious calories are needed to fuel our workout, but a disproportionate amount of veggies with their lowered energy value, will not sustain us through the day and especially not when training. We have noticed that when I pack too many vegetables and fruits, our workouts lack quality and endurance.

Speaking of fruits — they offer valuable benefits too and do occasionally appear in some of our bento boxes. However, leaving out the bits of fruit and instead filing the void with more protein works better for us. I now stuff a whole fruit in our bags for any emergency ìpick me upî instead. With each bento that I pack, I am learning about what works, and what doesn’t. Our bento boxes are evolving, especially now that we are exercising more than usual.

Fats

Let’s talk about fats. The fats and oils are naturally included in our bento ingredients. The fish, eggs, and beans contain all the “good” fats which are important for providing the main fuel source during the long, and low to moderate intensity exercise. Vegetables also contain their own fats. Olive oil, with it’s monounsaturated fats, is used for roasting our vegetables. It’s also good for additional flavoring, but don’t over do it.

Fats and oils are calorie dense; too much fat will, well, make you fat. I do consume extra fats by eating nuts and occasionally tuck in some raw almonds. Eating them raw is far healthier than eating them cooked and they are an essential part of our daily fat intake. Saba Man and I are not athletes, not by the farthest stretch of the imagination, and cannot afford the consumption of vast amounts of calories like marathoners, Iron Man participants or Michael Phelps. So we keep additional fats low.

Bento fillers

The rest of the bento lunch are the fillers and these come in all shapes, flavors and forms. I like red and orange foods such as cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks, not only because of their excellent health benefits, but like all the before mentioned foods, you can enjoy eating without the fuss of utensils. It’s not a crucial factor, but it is (pardon the pun), handy when we are in a rush. No need for chopsticks, forks or picks.

Bentos to go, for a couple on the go

A daily bento box or two, filled with yummy, energy packed items is crucial as we juggle our jobs, training and other daily tasks! Saba Man and I dine “on the go” constantly and a pre-packed healthy meal allows us the freedom to eat when ever and where ever. Sometimes in the car while commuting between work and the workout!

As you can see, my nutritious bento boxes do not stray too far from the traditional concept. A classic bento does lend itself to eating for fitness — all that’s needed for optimization is to choose brown rice over white, roast your veggies and sweet potatoes instead of boiling. Add flax seeds when you can. Use olive oil, but sparingly. And keep all other fats and oils to a minimum. Fruits can be completely eliminated from the bento box. Eggs provide essential nutrients and protein. If you are a vegetarian, the egg is important as well as garbanzo, ìwheat meatî and soy.

Whether you are a weekend warrior, a dedicated marathon runner, or just working out to maintain your fitness, eating a healthy bento box, packed with nutritiously dense foods not only plays a major role in your body’s well being, but also with your own athletic goals.

As a reminder, this article is about my personal needs and habits, and like any other physical program, please consult your physician for guidance before starting your own regimen.

About the author

Debra, author of hapa bento, and her husband currently live outside of Seattle, Washington with their two cats, suitably named Mochi and Musubi. They enjoy traveling, dining out and dancing more than working out, but they somehow squeeze trips to the gym within their busy schedule. Commuting separately because of opposite work schedules is very challenging and having a packed bento box lunch curbs any spontaneous food spending and hunger pangs.

They both grew up in Hawaii and enjoyed a culturally diverse diet where bento boxes were the norm, so it was a natural step to start making them for their daily lunches.  With Debra’s renewed sense of a healthy lifestyle, sending her husband off to work with a bento box full of nutritious foods coupled with a variety of ethnic flavors, gives her great satisfaction.  Her bento boxes are not only healthy and tasty, but also express and celebrate their combined Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, African American and European heritages!

http://www.kirainet.com/english/dragon-ball-raging-blast/

http://www.kirainet.com/english/?p=1346

Since Dragon Ball Kai started to be broadcasted in Japan, it seems like Dragon Ball s becoming superpopular again like in the 90s. This weekend the most advertised video game in Akihabara was Dragon Ball Raging Blast for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was showcased at the entrance of almost every shop and the only other game that seemed to overshadow it was Winning Eleven 2010.

Dragon Ball Raging Blast everywhere.

Related posts:

• Son Goku
• Dragon Ball and Lawson
• Dragon Ball Kai
• Dragon Ball Kai Episodes
• Akira Toriyama interview

http://manga.jadedragononline.com/?p=3021

Rin-ne Volume 2
By Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Viz Media
Age Rating: Teen
Genre: Supernatural/Comedy
Price: $9.99/Free online
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

It’s more ghostly hijinks with Rin-ne and Sakura, as Rin-ne works to pay off his grandmother’s debt to the spirit world.  The stories get longer in this volume, with more multi-chapter stories, but that doesn’t mean they get any better.  More of Takahashi’s formula kicks in as a new character are introduced with some petty motivations.

In this second volume, a new character is introducted; Masato.  He’s a demon from Rin-ne’s happier, wealthier past, and he has a grudge against Rin-ne.  Back in elementary school, Masato was attempting to temp the soul of a bunny out of it’s body fro a class assignment, and Rin-ne ruined it.  So now, of course, he has spent the intervening years plot his revenge against Rin-ne.  Basically, Masato is Rin-ne’s adversary for the series.

There was some improvement with Sakura in this volume.  She still too stiff for my liking, but she does do the one thing I do like about Takahashi’s female protagonists; she doesn’t listen to Rin-ne.  As the stories become longer, Sakura is shown taking more interest in helping.  She acts more like Rin-ne’s partner and less like a by-standard.  Rin-ne tries to chase her off, telling her he doesn’t need her.  Lucky for him, she ignores his protests.  He’d never make it without here, dumb luck or not.

I’m still not impressed with Rin-ne.  Rin-ne hasn’t shown much in the way of smarts, getting out of jams more often due to dumb luck than any planning.  The constant reliance on Rin-ne being poor for most of the humor wasn’t funny in the first volume, and still isn’t in this one.  And Masato is so stereotypical for a Takahashi adversary, it isn’t funny either.  He’s upset over a trival matter from elementary school and comes up with an overly-elaborate plan for revenge.  It’s too much “by the book”.

Over all, Rin-ne is still a good series to kill time with, but it’s not something I have to run out and buy.  I’m getting used to the characters, but I still don’t really like them all that much.  They’re not interesting or engaging, and the humor falls flat more often than not.  This series needs to find a direction soon.  This “ghost of the week” format will wear thin real fast.

http://www.kirainet.com/english/what-i-talk-about-when-i-talk-about-running/

http://www.kirainet.com/english/?p=1254

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (走ることについて語るときに僕の語ること) is the penultimate Haruki Murakami book published in Japan; the last one is 1Q84. It is not a novel, it is a book written in first person by Haruki Murakami about his experience running marathons, triathlons and even a 100 km ultra marathon.

The book is quite entertaining and can be read easily in some hours without stopping; when you finish reading it you feel like going out and start running. Haruki Murakami never tells the reader to go running, he simply tells how he combines his life as a writer with his love of running. The writing style is informal, enjoyable and not very structured; it reminded me a lot of the travel diaries of Haruki Murakami (3 books that haven’t been translated to English).

Now I would like to share with you some passages of the book that grabbed my attention:

Sometimes when I run, I listen to jazz, but usually It’s rock, since its beat is the best accompaniment to the rhythm of running. I prefer the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gorillaz, and Beck, and olides like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Beach Boys.

I don’t have an iPod, I use MD. At this point I don’t want to mix music and computers. Just like it’s not good to mix friends and work, and sex.

The most important things we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.

Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness.

I think certain types of processes don’t allow for any variation. If you have to be part of that process, all you can do is transform - or perhaps distort- yourself through that persistent repetition, and make that process a part of your own personality.

English book cover

Japanese book cover. Japanese book covers are usually pretty dull.

Haruki Murakami training to run a marathon

Other Haruki Murakami books:

• A Wild Sheep Chase
• Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

http://www.mangamaniaccafe.com/?p=3602

Title: Wild Ones Vol 3

Author: Kiyo Fujiwara

Publisher: Viz

ISBN: 9781421516028

May Contain Spoilers

Sachie is still adapting to her new life after moving in with her grandfather after the death of her mother. It’s not easy to adjust, because her grandfather is the head of a yakuza gang!  Not only is he a stranger to her, but she also has to learn to deal with having a bodyguard following her around.  Sachie just wants to be a normal high school student, but she’s finding it harder than ever.  What normal teen lives with a bunch of gangsters?

I am having a hard time bonding with Wild Ones.  Don’t get me wrong – the story isn’t bad.  In fact, I love the premise of a spunky girl who finds herself surrounded by a bunch of thugs who all share a terrible secret: they’re really a ground of emotional softies.  They trip over themselves trying to take care of Sachie, and they try to comply with her every wish.  But in the flash of an eye they can turn menacing when they think that their Sachie is being threatened or is in danger. 

My problem with the series is that the mostly episodic chapters aren’t really all that compelling or interesting.  Things started off on a humorous note, as the gang tries to fend off an underwear thief, but the rest of the book just wasn’t as engaging.  Everyone hustles off to an onsen during school break, an old acquaintance of Rakuto’s tests his suitability to be Sachie’s protector, and Sachie makes a bento for her bodyguard.  It’s the same old standard shoujo conventions, without much to set Sachie’s journey through them apart from all the other series out there.

Sachie is a fun character, and I really want to like her.  She’s gutsy, opinionated, and she can’t just sit back when she sees someone in trouble.  She turns awkward and uncertain when Rakuto’s around, but she is slowly starting to assert herself and not let him call all of the shots.  She is determined to depend on herself and not take his presence for granted, and I like that.  Rakuto can be standoffish and aloof, which intimidates Sachie and makes her hesitant with him.  He is shrouded in mystery, he doesn’t talk about himself, and because he can be unapproachable, Sachie isn’t comfortable digging for details about his background.  Because Rakuto is keeping a tight cover on his feelings and his past, I don’t feel like I am getting to know him at all, which is another stumbling block that is keeping me from enjoying the title more.

While Wild Ones didn’t blow me away, this is a series I will have to keep an eye on.  I like the art, though the characters occasionally have awkwardly flat facial features.  I am wondering where Sachie and Rakuto’s forbidden attraction is going to take them, and think that with the smallest of nudges, this could become a very entertaining romance.  Kiyo Fujiwara just needs to think outside of the shoujo box to really get the ball rolling.

Grade: C+

Review copy provided by Viz

http://feltcafe.blogspot.com/2009/11/kanji.html

http://precur.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/gift-til-it-hurts/

http://precur.wordpress.com/?p=4169

I’m glad The New York Times is devoting more coverage to comics and graphic novels, I really am. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that their reportage consisted of recycled, rah-rah press releases from Marvel and DC. Now we get a weekly graphic book best seller list (which, say what you will, is no more opaque or arcane in its methodology than most of the other ones) and a fair number of meaty pieces from George Gene Gustines.

What we don’t get, at least not yet, is much qualitative discussion of comics from Japan. When you walk into the average bookstore and see at least half of the graphic-novel shelf space devoted to these comics, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect at least some coverage of the category beyond sales figures supplemented by sometimes carelessly written plot summaries (which are better than no content descriptions at all, obviously, but only just). At the same time, I don’t really want to force anyone to write about something that doesn’t interest them, because the outcome from that sort of thing never serves anyone very well.

But I must admit to a certain degree of irritation when I saw this Gift Guide of 2009 Graphic Novels and didn’t see a single comic from Japan. After venting on Twitter, Erica Friedman (@Yuricon) sagely suggested that manga bloggers just do it themselves. I’ll be posting mine on Thanksgiving Day (just in time for Black Friday), and I would be happy to link to anyone else’s suggestions or host yours if you don’t have a blog of your own. Just drop me a line at davidpwelsh at yahoo dot com if you’d like to throw out some recommended manga for the nerds (or non-nerds) in all of our lives.

http://whileshenaps.typepad.com/whileshenaps/2009/11/sewing-through-more-patterns.html

I've had this book, Soft Animals A to Z by Carolyn Vosburg Hall, for a while, and although I'd read all the patterns I had never sewn anything from it.

It is a fairly new book as soft toy pattern books go, published in 2003, and it is ambitious.  26 patterns of every  sort of animal.  Lots to learn, for sure.

I chose the pig to start with because I liked the way the ears are attached. 

There is a slit cut in each side body, really more like a triangular dart. The pre-sewn and turned ears are inserted into the dart after the side bodies are attached to one another and then the dart is sewn up, trapping the ears in the seam while also shaping the head. Cool!

Okay, more about under bodies.  The under body on this pattern reaches all the way to the snout and as it gets near the cheeks it widens.  The cheeks come out looking really full and, well, piggy. 

Overall I really like this pattern. It is really well drawn and well designed. I think the tail could be thinner and longer, but that's a small thing and easy to redraw. 

http://www.kirainet.com/english/earthquake-proof-houses/

http://www.kirainet.com/english/?p=1135

Since I started living in Japan one of the main concerns in my life are earthquakes. I have always wondered if buildings and houses are really prepared to endure a great earthquake. The truth is that, after asking many people and informing myself, most of the structures would resist less than you would have expected. Earthquake legislation was changed in 1981 and every building or house built after that year is supposed to be more secure against seismic shakings. In 2007 the legislation was changed once again to make it even more strict. But even so, everybody is afraid that there will be a huge earthquake with epicenter in a very populated area.

If you come to Japan, the newer the house you stay the better, at least it should have been built after 1981. Earthquakes are one of the reasons (among many of them) why houses value goes down over the years.

A house in construction with a special system in the walls that is able to withstand strong shakings.

Down to the left you can see the structure of the walls interior. There is some kind of “mobile scissors system” integrated inside each of the house walls.

This is a sketch of how an earthquake would affect the Tokyo town hall.

Other posts about earthquakes

• Earthquake risk areas in Tokyo
• Earthquake = Tsunami => Refuge
• Evacuation zones

http://www.kirainet.com/english/2-minutes-in-the-train/

http://www.kirainet.com/english/?p=1154

The two girls in the left are chatting, the foreigner in the center talks on the phone (Don’t do it! It is considered bad manners), the girl next to him thinks and the girls in the background plays with her Nintendo DS

The girl with the yellow purse sends an e-mail with her cellphone, the other two girls keep on talking.

The girl with the yellow purse checks her hair with a hand mirror, the girl to the left browses the Internet on her cellphone.

The girl with the yellow purse keeps on checking her hair and the other girls keep on chatting.

The girl with the yellow stops fixing her hair and eats an onigiri (rice ball).

The girl that was doing nothing in the first picture falls asleep.

http://precur.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/quote-of-the-day-5/

http://precur.wordpress.com/?p=4165

“Eve’s cleavage and measurements also concern her.”

(From an article in the Fond du Lac Reporter on wary response to graphic-novel renderings of scripture, one recent example in particular.)

http://www.mangamaniaccafe.com/?p=3601

Title: O-Parts Hunter Vol 7

Author:  Seishi Kishimoto

Publisher: Viz

ISBN: 9781421508610

May Contain Spoilers

Jio, Ruby, and Ball have made their way to the Dastom Ruins, where they are hoping to get some answers from Mr Wick.  What they find is a cranky old guy and a lot of work!  Wick doesn’t think a bunch of kids should be fooling around with something as dangerous as O-Parts, and he doesn’t think they should be spending the day goofing around, either.  Despite his gruffness, Wick is secretly happy to have the company, and his wife treats them like her own children.  Will a brutal encounter with the Zenom Syndicate destroy the momentary peace that Jio has found with Mr Wick and his wife?

You bet it will!  Just as Jio was beginning to settle in and feel like somebody actually cared about him, the ruthless Zenom thugs come calling, shattering his new home.  The whole bonding segment with Mr Wick just didn’t gel for me, mainly because Jio was only given a few chapters to get to know his new benefactors.  I feel that this interlude would have worked better if the emotional attachment had been allowed some time to develop, instead of having Jio bond so quickly with the Wicks.  He isn’t the easiest guy to get to know and like, and neither is Mr Wick, so their sudden, strong devotion to each other just seemed corny and not very believable.

I breathed a sigh of relief when events forced the three back on the road, this time with Kirin and Jajamaru in tow.  Taking a break at Umbrella Cactus, they soon have more trouble than they can handle at a black market for O-Parts.  Ruby, mesmerized by all of the O-Parts being hawked at every stall, quickly wanders off, and that turns out to be a very bad thing.  A gang of miscreants are soon demanding she hand over her necklace, and she’s helpless to do anything about it.  Until Cross charges to her rescue, just like a knight in shining armor.

I like Cross, even if he is a self-righteous stick in the mud.  Ruby is enchanted with him, but compared to her usual companions, I guess he is kind of hunky.  That tattoo running down the length of his arm is sort of cool, and he has all of those nifty O-Part rings to impress the ladies.  Too bad Jio misinterprets Cross’s good intentions and immediately attacks him when he thinks that he is the one who made Ruby scream.  The fight was just getting started when the book draws to a close, leaving the two young men facing off against each other. 

Some of the history behind the O-Parts is revealed in this volume, and it’s a history that is steeped in death and bloodshed.  During cyclical intervals, various individuals have used the Legendary O-Part to take over the world, all with disastrous results.  With the Stea government and the Zenom Syndicate both racing to locate the contents of the powerful Kabbalah and the Reverse Kabbalah, things are starting to look grim.  In addition to fleshing out some background on the O-Parts, Seishi Kishimoto is setting up an epic battle between good and evil for control of the planet.  Things don’t look very bright if either side wins, so that’s where Jio and Cross will hopefully step in.  They might be strong enough to save humanity from another global meltdown where most of the population is killed, if they can learn to work together.  Yeah, those O-Parts are not sounding like such a good idea anymore.

O-Parts Hunter doesn’t really offer up much that is new or innovative, and the storytelling can be a little uneven.  Still, it’s an entertaining title when it sticks to shounen basics.  While it’s not my favorite series, it is one that I feel compelled to keep following, mainly because I am curious to learn more about the devil lurking inside of Jio.

Grade: C+

http://precur.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/monkey-business/

http://precur.wordpress.com/?p=4161

During last week’s round of perfectly justified disdain over the latest list of comics you can use to convert your female significant other to the one true hobby, Neil Gaiman also turned a year older, and I almost posted something in the Birthday Book category about how people who like comics should really read his Sandman series (Vertigo) when they get a chance, but is it really the first comic you’d hand to someone who’s never read a comic before? (Sandman almost always shows up on these lists, and it could be a good choice with the right victim. If the unwashed is into prose fantasy, chances are that person may have read one of Gaiman’s novels, and noting that Gaiman has also written a highly regarded, widely available comic book that covers many of his usual themes seems like one of the fairer conversion gambits out there.) I decided not to write it, because it seemed like too much work and not in the spirit of the Birthday Book shout-out, but I remained sorely tempted to simultaneously sing the title’s praises and express skepticism about comics evangelism, because how often do you get to do both at once?

Over at NPR’s excellent Monkey See blog, Glen Weldon has done precisely what I’d kind of thought about doing last week, but with much more rigor than I would have managed:

“But here’s the thing you don’t often hear about Gaiman’s series, which ran for 75 issues, helped establish and grow the marketplace for comics aimed at adults, and remains one of the most literate, imaginative and intricately plotted accomplishments in long-form comics storytelling out there:

“Its barrier-to-entry is remarkably high.”

Good stuff.

http://zepy.momotato.com/2009/11/18/new-lufia-game-details/

http://zepy.momotato.com/?p=3031

Console: Nintendo DS
Release date: 25th February 2010
Developer: Neverland company
Genre: 3D Action RPG
Producer: Kojima Hajime (Infinite Undiscovery)

Cast:

Maxim: Nakamura Yuuichi
Selena: Inoue Marina
Tia: Toyosaki Aki
Guy: Miyake Kenta
Heidekar: Namikawa Daisuke
Artea: Chiba Susumu
Lexus: Ogata Kenichi
Iris: Sawashiro Miyuki
Jimmy: Sugita Tomokazu
Jemmy: Hanazawa Kana
Gades: Konishi Katsuyuki
Dios: Ginga Banjou

From the interview:

Via: ■■速報@ゲー速板　Vol.526■■

I completely thought they’re finally going to release part 3 and end the trilogy finally, but it’s actually a remake of 2!

Lets go Mahou no Hitozuma Magical Selena

Pics (tiny): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

http://javajem.blogspot.com/2009/11/were-off-to-see-wizard.html

http://feltcafe.blogspot.com/2009/11/stitched-by-edward-and-lily.html

http://whileshenaps.typepad.com/whileshenaps/2009/11/ram-second-try.html

I edited the ram pattern and gave it another try and I'm happier with this version.

In a fit of studio cleaning the other day I accidentally threw out the under gusset, head, and head gusset pattern pieces.  At first I was really annoyed at myself, but then I decided maybe it was a good thing because it forced me to really try again from scratch. 

This ram has longer, wider legs, a shorter chin and an awesome under body gusset.  Here is the back end of the under body

Nice and narrow, pulling the legs in, with wide oval darts at the top of each leg.

And here is the front end of the under body

It extends all the way up to the chest.  I'm learning.

I really liked the horns on version 1 so I took them off and attached them to version 2.

These new animals are big, at least for me.  This ram is 17" tall. And I love the felt. So many surface designs are possible with felt.  Once I have mastered all the elements of four-legged animal design I will work more with the body material both before and after sewing.