Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad

Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad original story by Reki Kawahara, art by Tamako Nakamura Disclaimer:  I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. It is the year 2022, and commercially viable virtual reality equipment is now on the market.   Of course, one of the first… Continue reading Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad

Manga Review: Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit

Manga Review: Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit by Motoro Mase In an alternate-history Japan, the government immunizes all children as they enter first grade.  But one in every thousand injection also contains a nanocapsule that lodges in the child’s heart.  and somewhere between age 18 and 24, will activate and stop that heart.  There’s a triple-blind… Continue reading Manga Review: Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit

Manga Review: Rin-ne

Manga Review: Rin-ne by Rumiko Takahashi Sakura Mamiya is not quite your normal high school girl.  Due to a near-death experience as a child, Sakura can see spirits.  One day, she meets the new boy in her class, Rinne Rokudo.  She mistakes him for a spirit at first, but the truth is a bit more… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-ne

Open Thread: Inspired Blog Challenge Wrap-Up

Today is the last day of the Inspired Blog Challenge, so it’s time for a wrap-up post. The main objective was to post twenty times during the month, and that was accomplished. While joining the challenge did not greatly increase the number of pageviews (other things I did during the month were more effective), I… Continue reading Open Thread: Inspired Blog Challenge Wrap-Up

Open Thread: She’s Back!

Back in the early 1990s, Naoko Takeuchi  created a character named “Sailor V.”   While mahou shoujo (magical girls) had been around for decades in manga and anime, ever since Bewitched was imported from America, Sailor V was a unique blend of stereotypical girly interests and action heroine.   This attracted the notice of Toei Animation, who… Continue reading Open Thread: She’s Back!

Manga Review: The Twin Knights

Manga Review: The Twin Knights by Osamu Tezuka This is a sequel to the classic Osamu Tezuka work Princess Knight (“Ribon no Kishi” or “The Ribbon Knight” in Japanese), about Sapphire, a princess raised as a boy due to strange circumstances.  Queen Sapphire is now married and gives birth to twins, Prince Daisy and Princess Violetta.… Continue reading Manga Review: The Twin Knights

Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura

Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura Ataru Moroboshi is not precisely your average teenaged boy.  For one thing, he’s an incurable skirt-chaser, constantly hitting on any pretty lady who happens by.  Also, he’s incredibly unlucky.  So unlucky, that when alien invaders declare that a random person from Earth must compete against their champion in a game of… Continue reading Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Three

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Threeby Makoto Yukimura Note:  This review will contain SPOILERS for the first two volumes.  If you do not want to be spoiled, see the reviews for those volumes instead. It is the Twelfth Century C.E., the age of the Vikings.  Thorfinn Thorsson serves as a Viking warrior in the band… Continue reading Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Three

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency This 2012 anime series was based on the first two story arcs of the manga by Hirohiko Araki.  The series as a whole deals with the bizarre adventures of the extensive Joestar family, with protagonists having repeated “Jo” sounds in their names, thus “Jojo.” Phantom Blood takes… Continue reading Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans

Wolf Children

This last weekend at Minicon 49, I moderated a panel on “Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans.”   As is common at this sort of thing, a lot of series and films were mentioned very briefly, and not everyone had the opportunity to write them all down.  Therefore, I promised to put up a list.  I… Continue reading Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans