Reading CC is just like watching a good soap opera, or those local telenovelas that are so popular here…umm, okay, maybe I shouldn’t have said that. But in any case, I guess what I was trying to say is that CC’s particularly heavy on drama and romance. I remember watching its anime version first, but that was really a long time ago, when I was still in my preschool days. It was several years later when I remembered it again and began searching for the manga. While I was preparing to take a trip down memory lane, I was expecting to read something sickeningly mushy and overly dramatic even before I laid my hands on the manga. I didn’t think about it that way years ago, but I assumed that my tastes were different back then, and perhaps the years clouded the memories so that I could only recall that I liked it. Not that this fact bothered me–I was just feeling nostalgic and I wanted to have a good, comfortable laugh at what I absolutely LOVED back then. And being the kid I was when I had first seen CC, it wouldn’t have surprised me if I really liked the mushy stuff. Then I found out, as I began reading the first volume–it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Of course the mush was there–can’t discount it no more than the angst. Considering the fact that this is is a really old series, though, it’s not bad. I mean it couldn’t have been, not when I started to read it continuously. CC’s sentimental value perhaps contributed a lot to my voracious reading of its manga, but it couldn’t have been that alone. It’s actually a pretty good and involving story of romance and tragedy.

Learning that it was created in the 1975 did not come as a surprise to me. The 70s touch was there, not only in the way it was drawn. It was apparent in the dramatic turns of the story, and the flair for angst, which was so popular with Japanese animanga of those times. Those were the days was when happy endings, predictable love triangles and whatnot were known only to Disney movies, and almost unheard of in Japanese animations. I may not have been born in the 70s, but I have shed enough quarts of tears for the likes of Astroboy reruns (among many other titles which I cannot possibly remember) to know that any anime/manga created/written in the 70s and beyond is almost devoid of happy resolutions.

CC is no different from this lot of tear-jerkers. I’m not saying that CC’s main character was denied her happiness ’til the end, though…I’m not supposed to give spoilers. It’s all up to you to find out. But ask me if I’ll spend my money on this, the answer is a definite, resounding YES. It may not be the best series ever; it’s not even spared from some typicalities of old anime (i.e. blonde heroines loved by most of the male population in the vicinity), but it will be a beautiful addition to any manga collection there is.

Individual Rating: Individual Rating: Art/Animation 7; Story 8; Characters 8

Genre: Shoujo / Magical Girl
Parental Guidance Recommended
Credits: 1998-2000. Madhouse. CLAMP/Koudansha/NHK/NEP21
Shop: Card Captor Sakura Artbooks and Manga, DVD, Game Shop, Toys and Accessories, Music

Cover Description:
Curiosity is a part of any 10-year-old’s life, but Sakura just broke the seal on a magical book and released all of the mischievous spirits imprisoned on the cards inside! Kero, the Guardian of the Clow Cards is horrified to find all of the cards gone and tells Sakura she must become the Cardcaptor and retrieve the spirits before they work their mischief in the world…

(12 tankubon)

In Firesenshi’s review of Card Captor Sakura the anime, she explicitly stated that this title was meant for elementary school children. In the manga, however, I find it hard to see how Card Captor Sakura could be aimed at kids who are aged 12 and below. The first thing that struck me here is that nearly ALL of the characters are sexually disoriented. Love polygons fly everywhere. Females have yuri tendencies. The males have yaoi tendencies. Everybody has incestuous tendencies. There’s even a good-looking professor with Lolita complex! Okay, wait. ALL the older people here have Lolita/Shouta complexes, it’s not even funny. Everywhere a character looks, there’s always somebody out there who gives him/her an adrenaline rush. As a result of these complicated love affairs, everyone seems to turn beet red for every page you turn.

No, there’s nothing remotely erotic about CCS. It’s just that the love situations are so bizarre, you’d think twice about showing this reading material to your own children. Granted, were I ten years old and completely enamored of my professor, I’d surely find it flattering to have him attracted to me. But I’m not ten years old. I am an adult who is old enough to raise her own ten-year-old kid and I don’t like the concept. It freaks the bejeezus out of me. Hm. So maybe it IS targeted towards the younger audience. Only the innocence of children could overlook legal factors and think something like this could be absolutely romantic.

That aside, I still couldn’t help but feel thoroughly involved with the story. I spent two whole days reading all 12 volumes of this manga. Even with a raging flu, I couldn’t put it down. Sure, it’s kiddie magic, but there are a lot of twists in it that are enough to drive one up the wall. The action scenes are beautifully drawn, albeit a bit confusing. I could never understand what’s happening in manga battles since everything seems surreal.

The protagonist Sakura is not your regular magical girl who depends on magical items for solutions. She thinks and analyzes her moves. She has very quick reflexes because she’s very athletic. She has with her a talking stuffed toy, who is actually the Guardian of the Clow cards that she has sworn to collect. With her are a bunch of interesting supporting characters (if you can get past their sexual disorientation) that are so well-developed that you’d never forget their names. In fact, they are the main reasons why I couldn’t take my hands off CCS manga. I just felt that I had to unravel all of their mysteries or I’d get even sicker figuring them out. My personal favorites are her brother Touya and his best friend-and inevitable love interest-Yukito. Both are very vital to the story, since Sakura would be depending on these two as her pillars of strength.

Other equally amusing characters are Eriol, a powerful child who appears midway; his cohorts; Touya’s ex-girlfriend Kaho; Clow’s descendant Li Syaoran; and all of Sakura’s funny classmates. There’s also Tomoyo, who makes Sakura all the more different from other magical girls in that Tomoyo sews all of Sakura’s battle clothing. No henshin sequences needed if you have a rich best friend who is completely obsessed with you, ne? Sakura is also lucky to have such a handsome father, who, despite his age, never seems to grow old. Well, of course there’s a secret to it, and you, the reader must discover it for yourselves.

One quick note: Cute cute Mei Ling of the anime is not present in the manga.

Individual Rating: Individual Rating: Art/Animation 8; Story 9; Characters 10

Genre: Action
General Audience
1995-2002 Noboyuki Anzai
Shop: Flame of Recca DVD, Manga

Markpoa’s Description:
Promising that he will be the faithful ninja of anyone strong enough to defeat him, Recca Hanabishi is a teenage ninja otaku who spends most of his time fighting. He remained undefeated and masterless, that is, until he met a girl with mysterious healing powers, Yanagi. Deciding then and there that she will be his “hime” or princess, Recca becomes embroiled in a complicated situation involving magical weapons called Madougo and the secret ninja clan Hokage. He is later joined in his fights by friends with their own special madougos: the beautiful wind-master Fuuko, weilder of the Fuujin; the headstrong and burly Domon, who is powered by the Saturn Ring; the cool and calculating Mikagami, master swordsman with the deadly blade Ensui; and the playful whiz-kid Koganei, who wields the multi-shaped Kougan Anki. What is the secret of these madougos and the Hokage? And what dangers await Recca and his friends?

(33 tankubon)

Similar to its animated version, Flame of Recca follows the adventures of high-schooler Recca Hanabishi, a flamecaster who considers himself a ninja, and his friends as they protect the healer Yanagi. The events in this 33-volume manga follow similar story arcs as its later animated counterpart with only a few minor differences. However, whereas the animated series ends on an open note, the manga version extends way past the TV series ending and gives a satisfying final story arc that brings good closure to this series.

Action scenes are the bread and butter of a fighting series such as Flame of Recca, and this series does not disappoint. The fights are vividly portrayed and bonecrushing even when rendered in black and white stills. I suppose it helps a lot that the protagonists are not as superpowered as the usual superheroes. In fact, Recca and his friends spend a large part of their time getting beaten to a pulp before finally winning… which makes it a Damn Good Thing(tm) Yanagi is a healer then. This is not a good manga series for pacifists.

The characters here retain their characterizations in the TV series. I have to give special props to Noboyuki-san for including sympathetic villains in addition to some really fearsome and despicable villains. Those who like and hate Kurei would probably appreciate the special chapter early in the manga that shows exactly why Kurei didn’t leave or betray Mori Kouran even after he killed Kurenai. Without giving away too much spoilers (*ehemmotherehem*), it clearly showed that Kurei was not just an insane power maniac and more of an unlucky victim of fate and manipulative forces. Plus, it firmly establishes Mori Kouran as the true villain of the series, a truly despicable bastard.

Despite the heavy note and serious plots, Flame of Recca’s storylines are punctuated by humour and uplifting messages of hope and friendship. Characters such as Koganei, Recca, and Domon help lighten the mood between the heavy stuff with their antics and cheerful cocky natures. On the villain’s side, the mysteriously amusing Joker and Raiha provide some humorous moments as well. Through it all, the message of friendship and hope is always portrayed. It’s cheesy and melodramatic at times, but sometimes, it just gets you at the right time to touch your sentiments.

For those fans of the anime version of Flame of Recca, this manga is a must read, if only to find a good closure to the events in the TV series. Shounen fighting fans might also want to give this manga a look-see. Flame of Recca shows off some of the good characteristics of fighting manga: good plot, good characters, and great action sequences.

Individual Rating: Individual Rating: Art/Animation 8; Story 8; Characters 8

Genre: Shoujo / Comedy
General Audience
Natsuki Takaya (creator). Hana to Yume comics
Shop: Fruits Basket DVD, Books, Music

Firesenshi’s Description:
Tohru lives in a tent and has a part-time job, which she takes after school, since her mother died. When the Soumas discovered her in this situation, they asked her to live with them in their house. Tohru agreed and lives there to take care of the Souma’s chores.

All seemed to be well in the Souma household until one chaotic day, Tohru accidentally slipped and wrapped her arms around the Soumas, particularly Yuki, Kyou and Shigure. She then learned of the Souma’s secret — they turn into animals of the Juunishi (Chinese zodiac) when hugged by the opposite sex.

Will life ever be normal in the Souma household?
(9 volumes)

The Fruits Basket manga is a totally engaging read. The main advantage over the anime is that it spans more chapters and therefore more background. You will clearly see the stories in the relationships. There are chapters however that I preferred in execution in the anime, such as the entrance of the kooky ecchi Ayame Souma. Reading his weird entrance has more impact with the audio and camera pans in the anime.

Reading the manga, however, I never really felt that there were important stuff that the anime skipped. However, there are certainly fun episodes and details about the characters that you will read about there. That is, of course, typical with any manga to anime transition. The manga, however, has a more in-depth look at each character which was never seen in the anime. For one, there is something about Shigure scheming something and talking about “the one I love in a dream” in the manga. Shigure is a very honest, funny and mild-mannered ecchi character in the story. Having omitted that kind of detail in the anime won’t thoroughly affect the main point of the story. However, if you’re like me who loves Shigure, you would be disappointed about that. I would understand though that the Juunishi having 12 characters would be hard to put up so much background in just 26 episodes. Even anime like Sailormoon, which has 15 characters and adds more each season, makes you hate the fact that your favorite character only has a minute appearance in the scenes. Such character background can be thoroughly covered more in the manga.

Of course, since the anime is only until volume 6 of the manga, real Furuba fans who have continued to read on will find more background on the characters plus the fact that other characters will be introduced! (2 characters in the Juunishi were not introduced in the Fruits Basket anime.)

On the other hand, the artwork is nicely drawn and not as detailed as Yuu Watase’s (Fushigi Yugi, Ayashi no Ceres) work. But the mangaka is loads of fun in illustrating her points! She’s very fond of using the Juunishi symbols of the characters. Tohru is symbolized by the onigiri and onigiri saying something is just kawaii!

Read the manga. Learn more about the characters. If you are into bishounen comedies, this is a very very good buy!

Individual Rating: Art 9; Story 8; Characters 9

Genre: Romance
Parental Guidance Recommended
Credits: CLAMP.
Shop: Clover Manga

Tsumenki’s Description:
In a futuristic world, Ryuu Kazuhiko is forced out of retirement to deliver precious cargo, the four-leaf Clover Suu. While they struggle to survive enemies who are after both of them, they discover the deeper link between them — a link that holds the key to their shattered past and to their uncertain future.

The manga opens in medias res , but the story begins years before — gently hinted at in Volume Two, only to be revealed later in volumes three and four. Here’s where my confession is in order: I must admit that I lacked interest during the first volume. It was difficult to get into the Clover universe, trying to figure out who’s who and what’s what. But in the end, stripped of its intricate details, I realized that Clover was just another love story — but what a love story.

CLAMP’s weakness for wings is evident in Clover . Suu, the main character, is a four-leaf clover, the only one of her kind, blessed and cursed with mysterious psychic abilities — including being able to sprout mechanical wings on cue. Tasked to deliver her to a certain place is Ryuu Fey Kazuhiko, pulled out of retirement for one final assignment. But what binds them together goes deeper than any military mission, and this is what makes Clover one-of-a-kind.

Take any sweet, hopeful young girl who longs for happiness and love. Take any tough, jaded man who has learned to live with bitterness and loss. But put them together in Clover and their stereotypes fall naturally into place. It matters little that Suu and Ryuu are not unique in the manga world. In Clover , it is not the character that propels the story forward; rather it is the circumstances they find themselves in. Clover becomes the tragedy that it is because of this.

Woven between the dynamic panels are the lines to a song. While the lyrics are moving by themselves, they take on a more essential role in the narrative as they link all the characters together. In this series, how the story is told is just as important as the story itself. Mokona Apapa, Clover ’s lead artist, combines detailed art and negative space to present everything in rather unconventional manga paneling.

There are rumors of another volume, but readers can stop at volume two and leave satisfied. Extend to volume three, and they will marvel at the unexpected richness and drama of the story’s depth as everything comes together. There are still some issues that beg for further exploration, but if you believe in the luck that comes at finding a four-leaf clover, then the search — and the wait — is well worth it.

Individual Rating: Individual Rating: Art 8; Story 9; Characters 9

DNA² (DOKOKADE NAKUSHITA AITSUNO AITSU) MANGA
Genre: Comedy
Parental Guidance Recommended
Credits: 1994. Masakazu Katsura (creator). Junichi Sakata (director). Powhouse.
Shop: DNA2 DVDs, Books

Description:
Summary within review.

(12 tankubon)