Manga Review: Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga In an alternate history version of Japan, disaster strikes during the reign of Shogun Iemitsu (circa 1630). A plague that becomes known as the “red-face pox” sweeps the islands, with a fatality rate of 80% among boys and young men. Within a couple of years, the gender imbalance among… Continue reading Manga Review: Ooku
Tag: romance
Book Review: Cat Breaking Free
Book Review: Cat Breaking Free by Shirley Rousseau Murphy Joe Grey is a talking cat with superfeline intellect and digestive abilities. Fortunately, he has chosen to use these powers in the service of justice as a civilian investigator for the small California city of Molena Point. Along with his fellow talking cats Dulcie and Kit,… Continue reading Book Review: Cat Breaking Free
Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2)
Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2) by Wiktor Kopernikas Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is a book of simple stories in both Polish and English, designed to help students learn to read Polish. It’s printed by Language Practice Publishing, and uses… Continue reading Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2)
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue edited by David Shields and Bradford Morrow Conjunctions is a literary journal published twice a year by Bard College. Each issue contains essays, short fiction, poetry and less classifiable writing on a given subject, with this issue being about death. Literary journals tend to have a connotation of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue
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: 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
Anime Review: Elfen Lied
Anime Review: Elfen Lied There is a secret laboratory off the coast of Kamakura, Japan. There a naked woman wearing an eyeless helmet, codenamed “Lucy”, is undergoing experimentation. When the helmet is damaged, allowing Lucy to see, she sets about freeing herself, slaughtering many of the lab’s personnel in the process. Yes, even the… Continue reading Anime Review: Elfen Lied
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!
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
Movie Review: South Pacific
It is World War Two, somewhere in the South Pacific. Marine Lieutenant Joe Cable (John Kerr) has been assigned to infiltrate a Japanese-held island and report on their military movements in preparation for an American offensive. He wants to recruit French plantation owner Emile de Becque (Rossano Brazzi), who is very familiar with the island… Continue reading Movie Review: South Pacific