 |
News Report Archive - June |  |
|---|
|
News Report Archive - June | |
|---|
For decades now, young boys have been entertained by Shonen Jump, possibly the most important weekly manga magazine ever. Within its pages have come everything from slice-of-life tales to impossible fantasy and everything inbetween. In this mix are sports stories such as The Prince of Tennis, which has been adapted into a 150+ episode television series. For this week's review, I looked at The Prince of Tennis Box Set 1, which contains the first thirteen episodes of the epic, and I found it...difficult. Having been a tennis player at the same age as the show's protagonist, I was really hoping to get into the plot. The problem is, it so closely follows typical shonen formulas that it nearly smothers itself to death in cliche. But is it watchable? Against my better judgment, I have to say yes. Follow the link and find out why this long volley of a show still works enough for a recommendation.
The "unexpected magical lovers" genre isn't a new one in anime. Lots of shows from Video Girl Ai to Urusei Yatsura have the premise that by some strange feat, a unique feminine alien or entity shows up who shouldn't be a perfect match for the lead character, but she is. A lot of these shows feature a harem of girls, all of which are after the hero, or at least there's a love triangle to make things interesting. So far, so good.
Into this mix comes Chobits Vol. 1, an endeavor based on a manga by the collective group of female writers known as CLAMP, about a boy and his pretty robot. This leap into the world of ecchi shonen comics is, at times, endearing. At other times, it's a bit raunchy. And occasionally, it made me wonder whether or not the emptyheaded female lead is supposed to be the perfect male fantasy or represent reverse feminist thought or something very politically incorrect I haven't even considered. Sometimes good, sometimes frustrating, Chobits is one where you'll have to read the review to figure out if it will suit your taste.
Due to some unexpected shifts in discs that were available to me this week, I wound up not reviewing Noein yet. My apologies! And yet, I postponed it temporarily to get a review out there of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. I've been hearing about this title for a while now, and after the incredible animation of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, I was interested in taking a look. And yep...it's gorgeous. I mean, my wife literally couldn't take her eyes off of it when she walked into the room during the middle. But does it make any sense unless you've spent countless hours in the world of Final Fantasy VII: The Game? Not really. Take a read of the review and see why brilliant eye candy isn't the only thing a fanboy needs.