What do you do when all the guys around you are jerks or perverts and just don�t meet up to your standards? Why, you train your fianc� to become your ideal man, of course! That�s what sixteen-year-old Urara Haru from Sodatte Darling is doing! Read on to see how Urara did it if you�re interested in having your own ideal man, too!

When Urara complains to her parents about how indecent guys are these days, she�s informed with surprising news that she�s already engaged. It�s something her grandfather promised a long time ago on the battlefield. Urara decides to meet him after her mother tells her that he has the pure heart of a young boy. Sakamoto Touma has the pure heart of a young boy, all right, but that�s because he IS a young boy who is only in the fifth grade! Touma says he will grow up to be an ideal man and Urara makes a decision: if she can�t find an ideal man, she will just have to bring one up herself!

As fate would have it, Touma�s dad is transferred to Tanzania and he is forced to live in with Urara since he doesn�t want to move and leave his friends. And so begins Urara�s mission to transform Touma into a perfect gentleman.

So far, I�ve only read five chapters, but I love this manga series. It is cute, extremely funny, very strange, and very unrealistic. The only major setback is that I do not agree with how Urara�s mind works because she thinks in such a stereotypic way about how girls should be treated. However, I read it this solely for the humor. It�s funny because Urara is the older one and says things like �He�s just a child.� Yet, at times, Touma is the calm, rational and mature one, while Urara reverts back to behaving like an elementary school kid.

Urara�s guide to becoming a wonderful man:

1. A man must do things to please a woman

2. A man must never leave a woman to be lonely

3. A man must always consider a woman’s feelings and respond to them

4. A man must always protect a woman

The rules she sets for Touma backfire on her at times because he applies them to daily life. For instance, when he�s told to please a woman, he tries to be nice to ALL girls, and not just Urara. This leads to her fighting with the young admirers of Touma.

I don�t like Urara at times because she forces him to do things he doesn�t want to, while he tries so hard to become a �good man.� The question now is whether Urara thinks of Touma as just an object to shape into perfection or as someone she can love for who he is. Urara seems like a snob because she thinks no one�s worthy enough for her. On the one hand, it might be good because she has high standards and has confidence in herself. On the other hand, she seems very picky and full of it.

Touma is a sweet kid who just wants to make Urara happy (and not scold him) because he�s a good kid and treats her like a beloved sister. I don�t think he�s at the age where he can think of Urara as a girlfriend yet. I found his na�vet� and childish way of thinking to be very adorable. He�s too young for her at the moment, but if two people really like each other, I�m okay with age differences (as long as it isn�t more than about 10 years). When she�s eighty-six, he�ll be eighty, and at that time, the difference in age is no longer significant.

What I find funny about Japanese mangas is that parents seem very trusting and willing to allow their children to live on their own. Even Touma is left alone with his "wife" (by the way, where the heck are HER parents? I haven�t seen them since Touma�s parents left) and they’re not the least bit worried he’ll be lonely or properly taken care of.

The art was unique, a bit eccentric and simplistic. The people were a bit too square (by that, I mean pointy) and sometimes un-proportional. Urara has unusually long eyelashes that are as long as her eyes. I got used to it quickly though, and it actually grew on me since the art looks so different from other manga series I�ve read.

Some instances from the manga that I liked:

On Valentine�s day, Urara told him that he must repay the girl three times if he receives chocolate. Being popular, he receives a lot and after doing a lot of calculations, gets freaked out and thinks he�s in a big debt.

I loved the part when he just received the rule about being considerate of a woman�s feelings. A girl comes up to him looking shy and says, "Um…" Touma doesn�t understand and then it dawns on him: she needs to use the bathroom, of course!

When Touma was supposed to protect Urara from a fake kidnapper (she got her friend to pretend), he runs past her and comes back with a policeman.

When a real kidnapper calls his house, saying he�s got Touma�s young wife, Touma says he doesn�t have one and hangs up, saying afterward that he doesn�t have a young wife because his is six years older than him.

Urara sends out a paper airplane with a cry for help, which her friend finds. She thinks it�s lyrics for a band and saying that Urara can�t write lyrics, fixes it to say, "Help, help! I’m a prisoner of your heart! I need your heart! lalala, I love you, lalala. I’m a prisoner of your heart!�

When Urara introduced Touma to her friend, �You have kids already?!�

Sodatte Darling, by Kumeda Kouji, is a shounen (targeted toward boys) manga that is published by Shougakukan. I haven�t been able to find any web sites dedicated to this obscure series, nor do I know how many volumes it has. I�ve been told it�s a short series, but all I know is that there�s more than one volume. It�s one of my favorite comedy series now and I think in the end, Urara will come to realize that she�s being a bitch and perhaps change. If you�d like to buy the manga (you know you want to), I�ve found one site where you can order it from:

http://www.japan-manga.jp/jsp/details.jsp;jsessionid=vzfymw15w1?HanID=54383

Regretting that I might have been the one to cause her
to be in this vegetable-like state when she was the one who
saved me from the fearful demons that existed within me. I
was a despicable person back then and she was the one who
woke me up from that nightmare of fights, blackmails,
detentions and drugs, and showed me that I’m not alone in
the world.

For that unconditional love she showed me a countless
number of times, I showed my appreciation by betraying her,
thinking I’d be able to get help if I ran. I left her in
the middle of the fight, the fight that caused her to be in
this coma. I turned tail and ran like the coward I was and
left her to fend for herself. Tsk, I’m so damn pathetic.
How I regret I hadn’t left her, hadn’t gotten her involved
in the first place.

Now all I can do is gaze at her and wish. It’s already
dark and soon the nurses will shoo me away. My eyes skip to
the window and I stare out at the infinite sky lit dimly
with the trillions of tiny flickering lights. It makes me
feel tiny and alone, as if my presence in this vast
universe means nothing at all to anyone.

Then I see it: a bright shooting star whizzing across,
leaving a tiny trail of light in its path. I wish for the
happy times with her again, for her to wake up, and lastly,
I wish for her friendship again, hoping for her
forgiveness. All of a sudden, I start crying. I can’t help
it, I just feel too agonizingly sad and empty inside. It
just hurt too much to think of the times when the air
between us was filled with laughter and silly giggles.

“Shyanna! Wake up!” I manage to cry out between
sniffles.

“WAKE UUUP!!! I’m so sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” I’m too
loud, causing the nurse to rush in. She gives me a stern
glare and scolds me, but I don’t care.

“Come baaaackkk Shyanna!” I’m beyond caring. I’m alone
in this world again anyway.

“Please, be quiet! This is a hospital!” The nurse scowls
at me, her eyes gleaming with agitation.

She can’t hush me up or get me to stop crying. I just
sit limply over Shyanna’s bed, my tears staining her white
blanket as I wail loudly, looking insane with my crazy,
unkempt hair and dark circles under my blood-red eyes. I
mumble out more things while the nurse threatens to call
security.

“Forgive me…,”

“You deserved better…,”

“WAKE UP ALREADY!”

Then I think I must finally be going insane. It sounds
like someone is calling my name.

“Ki-Kia…la?”

The sound of that voice sounded so warm and familiar.
Yes, I’ve really gone delusional. I’m hearing Shyanna’s
voice now.

I must be more tired than I thought.

“Ms. Shyanna? OH MY GOD! You’re finally awake! You’re
awake! I’ve got to go tell the doctor!” I see the nurse
dash out of the room, all the while babbling in an
extremely excited tone, occasionally squealing happily, but
I go on rambling into the blanket.

Then it finally registers in my brain and I turn to face
Shyanna slowly, praying that this isn’t one of those dreams
of mine. It’s too cruel if it is. A hand reaches up slowly
to touch my face softly.

At a loss for all words, I cry, thankful for the
miracle.

“Women are EVIL!!!” He screamed at us as he pushed the women in the group
away from the cave where he seemed to be living. “Are you here to torture
me too?! Please just GO AWAY!” He was hysterical and we were all confused
by his hostility toward women. Soon, all the women walked away from the
cave quickly, unable to endure his piercing cries and hating eyes any
longer. The guys were allowed to stay behind, but puzzled by his hatred
toward women. We decided to ask him why this was so. Eric (that was his
name) invited us into the cave and started to tell his sad (I found it
very amusing) tale.

Eric hated relationships. He hadn’t always hated relationships, nor did he
hate women. He had actually liked a woman just over a week ago. However,
he was very much afraid to get involved with women, afraid that this woman
who seemed so perfect for him might be…abnormal. In other words, a freak.
He always seemed to attract, and is attracted to, women who seemed
absolutely normal at a glance, but actually had a bizarre, and sometimes
scary, secret.

Take, for example, Brie, who actually had only one breast because she’d
had breast cancer and had to remove her left breast by surgery. She
stuffed her bra with tissue paper, which wasn’t the wisest thing to do. No
wonder she always left a trail of tissues wherever she went. He should
have taken a hint that something was wrong when she suddenly had a
deflated breast after going swimming. He didn’t break up with her over
this matter, but she moved away to another country so she could help the
unfortunate. He felt this was admirable and it was a truly sad goodbye.

Ariella was a beautiful and fairly successful businesswoman who owned a
line of her own clothing shops. She was perfect, but things came to an end
one day because she jumped to the conclusion that Eric was cheating on her
when she saw him kiss a beautiful model for Victoria’s Secret in front of
his house. On the cheeks, and the model was his cousin. Ariella got
jealous much too quickly and lost her temper, refusing to listen to his
pleadings and explanations. In her rage, she threw things at him and one
of them had been an arm.

Yes, an arm, and it was Ariella’s.

She’d lost one arm due to a car crash that crushed her arm and had to
replace with a plastic and metal one. He should have noticed something was
strange when she did everything with her right hand and never lifted her
left arm.

Cassi was very sweet, although a bit temperamental and had random
outbursts about hating God. He was very shocked when he visited her to
find out that she worshipped Satan. Her house was eerily lit with only
candles and she had an altar with food offerings for Satan. It might not
have been so bad, if she only didn’t want to sacrifice him and have him up
there on the altar too. He hightailed it out of there before you could say
“666.”

It was a month after they broke up that he learned that her house had
burned down when the earthquake that hit the town knocked her candles
down. She insists it was Satan’s punishment to her for not offering him
sacrifices. Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that YOU
SHOULDN’T LEAVE LIT CANDLES ALL OVER YOUR HOUSE! It’s a miracle her house
survived that long already and he felt no sympathy toward the woman who
wanted to offer him to Lucifer.

Eric was starting to get weary of women by this time, but decided to give
it a try with Naomi. Naomi was an incredible woman who was smart,
beautiful and elegant. It didn’t matter to him that she was about ten
years older than him. She was still a great person to be around and every
moment he spent with her was pure bliss.

That only lasted for a month because after that month, her husband came
back from his business trip to Japan and stumbled in on the two of them
making out on the couch. He was oddly calm and just said, “Tadaima,
Naomi.” I’m home, Naomi. Finding out she had a husband already, Eric was
furious. Eric had learned a bit of Japanese from all the anime he watched
(he looooved anime), so he calmed down when she said, “Okaeri, niisama.”
Welcome home, brother. So when she went up to the man, he thought she’d
just be helping him with his luggage, but instead, she put her arms around
him and kissed him passionately. Right in front of poor, shaken Eric.

He thought of becoming a monk then, or maybe a priest. Anything that’d
keep him from getting involved with women. But he just couldn’t do it. He
started to like the hot, new girl in the office. She had a great
personality, though her voice was a bit weird. He was so happy to have
finally found someone he could perhaps come to love.

One day, he invited her over for dinner and that was when he found out.
She had gone into the bathroom. He was preparing dinner when he suddenly
had an urge to use the bathroom. He didn’t know she was in there and
barged in, only to find a man. He screamed his head off and threatened to
call the police and ranted on about how he had a black belt in Karate. It
was only when Eric heard him speak that he knew. Klariss was a man.

Poor Eric never recovered.

Nathaniel Sheridan, the elder brother of her best friend, Eleanor, greatly disapproves of this match, saying that Sebastian is simply an oarsman, or boat racer. Nathaniel went to Oxford University with Sebastian and thinks the God is not as splendid as Nicola believes him to be. Nicola refuses to listen to his warnings about Sebastian and goes on loving the God. She denies all evidence that he’s less than perfect. However, when she discovers some secrets, she begins to question her feelings for the God and finally realizes whom it is that she actually loves.

The only reason I picked up this cheesy romance from the library was because I saw my friend reading it and thought it might be worth my time.

Well, it wasn’t.

Maybe it was the setting of the book, but most of the characters seemed snobby and shallow, judging others on their looks and financial status. I had mixed opinions about Nicola because, while seemingly shallow at times, she is intelligent and headstrong. She wants to marry someone who loves her and not just someone who thinks she’s pretty. I liked that she stubbornly sticks with her decisions despite the pressures surrounding her.

The etiquette of being a lady really annoyed me: no running, be patient, don’t shriek (except occasionally in the presence of a mouse), and all those other rules that dainty little misses must follow in order to secure a good husband. I guess the characters were like that because it was society’s way during that time when a person was judged solely on their wealth, reputation, appearance, and sometimes, their intelligence.

The romance didn’t appeal all that much to me. It was a bit annoying; Nicola obsesses over the God, Nathaniel tries to dissuade her, she thinks Nathaniel hates Sebastian because he’s an oarsman and, all the while, she’s under pressure from the Grouser to sell the only home she has- Beckwell Abbey. Only toward the end, when their love was professed, did I find it a bit cute and thought "Aww, how sweet." If you’d like to know whom she ends up with, read it and find out for yourself.

Nicola and the Viscount is a book that I didn’t particularly like because I found the plot a bit too simple and didn’t like the characters (except for Nathaniel). If you like romance novels written about girls in England, maybe you’d like it better than I did.

Nicola and the Viscount is by Meg Cabot ISBN 0-06-000552-1

I think of me, useless even to you, who I also loathe and I begin to feel
those tears swell up and I fight hard to control the flood that threatens
to pour out. I feel so unwanted, so unneeded by anyone. Am I really so
useless to everyone? Am I just a burden to everyone? I suddenly feel a
sharp pain on the back of my head and I revert back to the present, just
in time to hear you say, “Don’t ever do this again, understand? Or next
time it’ll be worse!” These words mean nothing to me because I hear them
everyday. I haven’t done anything wrong and yet you hurt me. Just a
littlest mistake will set off your trigger of abusive words and with that,
soon follows the physical abuse.

I sit there feeling sorry for myself and I’m on the verge of crying, when
you whack me yet again. This time, it’s for being lazy, for just sitting
there, being useless. That sharp pain brings me out of my funk, but the
pain numbs me and the shock makes me lose control and those tears pour out
against my will. I look up and see through the drops of tears and even
through the blurred vision, I see why it had hurt so much. I was hit with
the sharp edge of a ruler.

You sigh, then signs of anger show on your reddened face as you rage about
how all I’m good for is a bucket of tears and how we’ll all drown in a sea
of my tears one day. I thought about it. A sea of tears, huh? That doesn’t
seem so bad…sometimes I’ve had the shameful thought that it’d be nice
indeed if you did drown in a sea of tears you’ve caused me to cry and just
disappear forever out of my life.

But I think back again, to those days when I first arrived at your house.
You seem to hate me now, but back then, you were still kind and your face
was filled with kindness and a warm smile for me. I felt safe with you and
felt like I finally might belong somewhere.

You were still nice then, but somewhere along the way, you started to use
that monthly check from the government that was meant to take care of me
instead for gambling. Tired of losing all the time, you’d come home drunk
and take out your frustrations on me. Thinking you’d win the next time and
the next, your hopes would always be crushed by the harsh truth of defeat;
you’ve lost everything you’d saved.

In the beginning, I thought I’d just endure the pain for a while, that
you’d transform back into your old self, but now I see I was just
mistaken. I realize now that perhaps you don’t hate me at all; you just
feel lost and confused. You have a problem and I don’t need to be treated
that way, beaten up everytime I made even one error. I realize I need to
get help, for both you and me, because I can’t help you solve your
problems alone. You’ll protest and deny that you have a problem, but in
the end, it’ll be good for you.

I’m only doing this because I loved you as if you were my real dad. I
loved the old you, but not the new you that makes me feel dread as I wake
up to the warm sunshine in the morning. I don’t love the new you that is
standing before me, face filled with red anger, eyes filled with madness,
lips wearing a scowl and a mouth that can only spew out nasty words.

I’ll get you help because I want the old you back. I know if I get help,
we can become a family again and maybe I’ll get to stay with you, instead
of always changing families and schools. I want to be here with you, my
family.

I get up off the couch and go into my room and ransack through my
backpack. I look for the number of a hotline that helps victims of
domestic violence that I’d hastily shoved into the bottom of my backpack
since that time I received it a week earlier from school. I pick up the
phone and start to dial those numbers full of hope for a future with the
you that’ll welcome me home with a smile and a warm hug instead of a nasty
frown and a chilling glare.

She cried so hard,
and for so long
over this empty coffin.
Grasping the letter tightly,
she choked out sobs,
and pleaded to God to bring him back.

She felt so lost without him,
and her life lost all meaning,
and one day decided she’d join him.
They’d be together forever,
if not in this world,
then in the next.

Her family found her there,
lying over the coffin,
with a look of serenity on her face,
a smile on her pale, cold lips,
a letter in her hand.
Her eyes closed so gently,
she looked so peacefully angelic,
that one could have mistaken her
for just a sweet sleeping beauty.

In Japan, manga does not simply come out in volumes at a time,
but as chapters published in a certain magazine such as
Shounen Jump, Ribon, Nakayosi and many others. The stories
are published as the mangaka (manga artist) finishes them,
meaning, to know about the latest story plot, you must buy the
magazine. When there are enough chapters to make up a volume of
manga, then a manga volume is published.

A manga phonebook usually has a few series that are running,
and alongside it, short stories or short comics are also
published. You’ll notice after buying a few that the themes and
drawing styles in each magazine are usually similar. This is
because each magazine is aimed to attract a certain audience.
Mangas aren’t only for kids (as my parents believe), because
there are actually mangas aimed toward adults (with stories about
housewives, working businessmen, etc).

Ribon Ribon, one of the most popular
magazines for young girls, is published by Shueisha. A new issue
comes out every month on the third. It is around 380-420 yen
($3.16-$3.49), depending on the issue and has around 500 pages.
There are color inserts for most of the main manga stories.
Ribon includes furokus (extra goodies
such as notebooks, pencil boards, cards, posters, etc) but the
special thing about Ribon is that there are zen-ins.

Zen-ins are goodies(such as organizers,
wallets, stationary sets, etc) that aren’t included with the
magazine, but can be yours if you send in money for postage. To
get a zen-in, you have to send in the envelope Ribon
provides with the needed amount of money (money for S&H) and
a filled-out sheet of paper that is inside the Ribon
issue. You don’t have to live in Japan to get the zen-ins, but
you have to make sure to actually give the needed amount of
postage. Zen-ins must be sent before the next issue of the
magazine comes out, but since the magazines are dated a month
earlier, you must send it in by the month on the magazine (ex:
zen-ins from March issue must be sent in by March).

Some zen-ins may last for more than a month, meaning you have
to have bought all the issues that the zen-in is for. Say the
zen-in is for the March and April issues, then you’ll receive
your item after the April issue. To receive the item, you must
have bought both the issues because you’ll need to include
something from both issues to get it- sort of like a proof of
purchase.

There is actually more than one type of Ribon. How
confusing, huh? These may or may not give furokus, but definitely
no zen-ins. Ribon Original comes out every month and has a
few running series but mostly contains short stories from the
series that run in Ribon. This costs about 380 yen.
Ribon Bikkuri comes out 4 times a year, one for every
season, and has around 1000 pages! It costs about 570 yen
($4.74). Ribon Natsuyasumi/ Fuyuyasumi Otanoshimi
Zoukangou comes out twice a year, once during summer and once
during the winter holidays. It costs around 380 yen ($3.16).

I subscribed to Ribon at Kinokuniya (just tell the
salesperson that you wish to subscribe). I love the cute furokus
they give me but I’m disappointed that I’ve been unable to get
any of the zen-ins because Kinokuniya always gets the magazine a
month late! Ribon (and Cookie) stories are
published into volumes under the Ribon Mascot Comics. In
my opinion, Ribon mangas have the best drawing styles
because they are very detailed and pretty. The style is rather
girly with flowers suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The stories
are usually sweet and romantic, making you feel all warm and
fuzzy inside.

Some stories that ran in Ribon are: Marmalade Boy,
Kodomo no Omocha, Good Morning Call, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Full
Moon wo Sagashite and many others that are virtually unheard
of in America.

A few other phonebooks Margaret comes
out twice a month and I believe it is targeted toward older girls
because some stories have mature content in them. It is 280 yen
($2.33) and usually comes with one furoku and sometimes there is
a zen-in offer. There are other types of Margarets such as
Betsuma Margaret, The Margaret, and Deluxe Margaret.

Some stories running in Margaret Love Monster, Bronze,
Tsuki no Shippo, Hana Yori Dango (Meteor Garden in Chinese) and
many other great stories.

ShoComi is for older audiences because it contains some
mature content. I don’t subscribe to this so I don’t know much
about it. ShoComi comes out twice a month and costs about 280
yen ($2.33).

Hana to Yume also contains some mangas that have
slightly mature content and isn’t for everyone (blood and gore,
homosexuality, etc). It is targeted toward slightly older girls,
I believe. Hana to Yume comes out twice a month and costs
280 yen ($2.33). It comes with a furoku and zen-in offers, which
usually last for more than one issue. There’s also the Betsuma
Hana to Yume, which is usually around 1000 pages and costs
about 590 yen ($4.91).

A few titles from Hana to Yume: Angel Sanctuary, Yami
no Matsuei, W-Juliet, Never Give Up!, Fruits Basket, Hanazakari
no Kimitachi E (commonly known as Hanakimi) and other
really great mangas.

Nakayosi comes out once a month and comes with many
furokus. It is targeted toward younger girls around ages 8-15 and
the mangas have very cutesy art styles. There is also
Nakayosi for summer and winter holiday specials.

Some stories in Nakayosi are: Morning Musume
Story (yes, a manga on the J-pop group Morning Musume), Da!
Da! Da!, Tokyo Mew Mew, Pichi Pichi Pitch, and many other
cute stories.

Shounen Jump is a really famous magazine targeted
toward boys (meaning action, gore, some nudity, etc). There is
even Shonen Jump in America now, published by Viz as a
monthly magazine that contains some of the titles that ran in
Jump. There are three types of Jump: Monthly Jump,
Weekly Jump and V Jump.Monthly Jump is around 370 yen
($3.08) while Weekly Jump is 220 yen ($1.83) and V
Jump is 520 yen ($4.33). Judging from the site, I think V
Jump is a magazine that is more about anime that have been
made from the manga series that ran in Jump.

Titles from Monthly Jump: Dragon Drive, I’ll, Claymore,
Go Da Gun and other titles that’re probably fabulous (I haven’t
heard of them though).

A few mangas in Weekly Jump: Naruto, Shaman King,
Hikaru no Go, Prince of Tennis, Hunter x Hunter, Yugioh, One
Piece and tons more great stories! The best Jump in my
opinion.

I know my explanation was long and maybe confusing, but
it’s because there’s a lot to explain about these manga
phonebooks. So, I advise you to try buying one and seeing for
yourself or try going to the sites I’ve listed. However, remember
that if you buy them, they’re all in Japanese. If you’re
interested in knowing more, just email me your questions and I’ll
do my best to answer them. =) I’ll do more comprehensive reviews
on each individual magazine in the future (maybe).

Used currency conversion: 120.23 yen = $1

Links:

Shocomi

Hakuensha (Hana to Yume,
Lala, etc)

Shueisha’s page for their
shoujo magazines with a list of what mangas are in their latest
magazine issues and other information (Margaret, Ribon, Cookie,
etc)

Shueisha’s page for their
shounen magazines (Monthly Jump, Weekly Jump, V Jump)

All the Ribon
titles

Nakayosi

Kouyama Mitsuki is a twelve-year-old girl who loves to sing. However, she has a potentially fatal case of throat cancer. Surgery is required, but it would remove her vocal chords as well. Thus, she will never be able to sing again, shattering her dream of becoming a professional singer. Mitsuki is at a loss for what to do and everyone around her pressures her to have the surgery. What will Mitsuki do?

One day, as Mitsuki is in her room, she witnesses a strangely dressed guy with cat-like ears coming through the poster on her wall! Following him is a girl with rabbit ears, also odd-looking. Mitsuki just watches in wonder as they start arguing, taking no notice of her. Finally, she asks them who they are, startling them greatly! She can see them?! They introduce themselves as shinigamis (Gods of death): Takuto (the guy) and Meroko (the girl). Later on, one of them accidentally reveals that Mitsuki has only a year left to live.

Upon hearing this, Mitsuki decides to go for her dream while she’s still alive and go to an audition to become a singer. She wants to become a famous singer so she can fulfill the promise she had with her beloved Eichi-kun. Initially, the shinigamis were against it, but seeing her determination, Takuto finally agrees to let her go and even helps transform her to look like a sixteen-year-old girl to enter the audition, thinking that she doesn’t stand a chance of winning.

However, Mitsuki’s singing wows the judges and she is immediately chosen to be the next idol (the Japanese call famous people idols). How will Mitsuki live as a sixteen-year-old popular idol and a twelve-year-old regular girl?

I’m only going to review the anime because I haven’t read much of the manga. The major difference between the anime and manga is that the manga moves very fast compared to the anime. There are a lot of things added into the anime that were not originally in the manga. There will probably be a total of 4 manga volumes (2 currently out right now), while there will be 52 anime episodes.

This anime is one of my favorite series, along with other series by Tanemura Arina. There aren’t a lot of costume changes as in the manga, but the animation is still very nice, even if it isn’t as detailed and beautiful as the manga. The plus side is that you get to hear her sing!

The story is very well planned out, humorous and very interesting. It may seem like this story is the typical magical shoujo (girl) anime, but as the story goes on, there’s a lot of story developments and surprising secrets are revealed. Mitsuki is involved in love triangles while she has to face rivals, her mean grandmother, and making sure her secret stays a secret.

The story sometimes gets annoying because Mitsuki is always saying she’s doing everything just so Eichi might one day notice her while she’s so blind to Takuto’s apparent feelings for her. It gets annoying when all she keeps talking about was Eichi, Eichi, Eichi. However, I liked her determination and how she wants to live her life doing what she loves before she dies. She is very pure and innocent and easily believes in others and what they tell her.

The music for Full Moon is very nice. The background music fits well with whatever scene is playing. The opening animation songs are fast, bouncy and very upbeat while the ending credit songs are slow and very melodic. I liked the ending songs a lot, which are sung by Changin’ My Life. The opening songs are sung by The Scanty.

Some people may think the voice of Mitsuki sounds strange because it is a bit too deep and I have to admit it: I once thought she sounded strange too. However, after watching a few episodes, I got used to her voice and even liked it. Mitsuki sounds unique because she doesn’t sound like the stereotypical anime girl with a cute, high voice. What’s cool is that she can actually sing because all the ending songs are sung by her!

I loved this anime! Even if some people may say the story is unoriginal, after watching it more and seeing the characters and story developments, there is a lot of original content. So give this series a try if you get the chance to watch it!

Opening Songs:
1st- I <3 U by The Scanty

2nd- Rock’n Roll Princess by The Scanty

Ending Songs:
1st- New Future by Changin’ My Life

2nd- Myself by Changin’ My Life

3rd- Eternal Snow by Changin’ My Life

4th- Love Chronicle by Changin’ My Life

TV-Tokyo’s official Full Moon

Official Ribon site

The first ever English Full Moon site

A shrine to Mitsuki

Lyrics, wallpapers, winamp skins and other great content

Webring where you can find links to other great Full Moon sites

A great page for Full Moon multimedia

Why, you wonder, did I want to waste a perfectly good Saturday night just
to watch a parade that could easily (and more comfortably) be seen on TV?
To watch this in the freezing rain, no less: I must have been crazy! Well,
if I was out of my mind to do so, so were hundreds of other people who
plugged up the streets and sidewalks.

Well, the rain wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be. The parade was
actually a lot of fun, even if I got all wet and had hat hair afterwards
from hiding my head in my hood.

We got to the parade fairly early, but even then, the sidewalks were
jammed with spectators and we had to push through the crowds to get within
decent viewing distance of the parade. Luckily, my cousins came along and
you know, they’re adorable little kids. So all they did was say, “Excuse
me please,” with innocent smiles on their faces, and acting like I was
babysitting them, I followed behind them. In moments, I had a good
viewpoint of the parade.

I liked the lion dances and the long, graceful dragons too, but you know
what I really liked? The pants the lion dancers wore! They’re fuzzy!
Whenever a dragon or a lion came by close enough, people would reach out
and touch it. Everyone went mad whenever the people in the parade threw
red envelopes at us. Too bad all it contained was a piece of chocolate
gold coin and a business card. Where was the lucky money?!

I didn’t think there would be firecrackers since it was raining, but
thankfully, I was wrong. The loud and smoky firecrackers were followed by
the thundering New Year music of the drums and cymbals. It was fun seeing
all the cute, little kids performing and waving at the crowd.

The floats were all intricately decorated and very well-made. It really
did seem as though everyone put a lot of effort into making their float
the best one there would be. At one point, I almost got a mouthful of
confetti, but fortunately, I closed my mouth fast enough before the
confetti thrown by a float flew into my face. I liked the little kids
walking on stilts, dressed up in costumes as characters from the “Monkey
King.” Whenever I see someone walking on stilts, I have an urge to try
it, but I think it’d be hard to walk on them. Another thing that comes to
my mind is what would happen if you were to trip and fall while wearing
them? x_X

The only thing about the rain that ruined the parade was that the
performers didn’t do much of what they should have done: performed. Most
of them just walked along the road, and we the audience occasionally got
so bored that shouts of “Do something!” were heard. This year’s parade
disappointed me for this reason. The fact that the rain kept clouding up
my glasses every few minutes was also an annoyance, but that didn’t bother
me too much.

What I regret was that we didn’t watch the parade at Union Square (I think
it was in Union Square(I think it was in Union Square…) instead because
when I saw the parade on TV, the lion dancers did much more interesting
tricks and it just seemed a whole lot better. Maybe it was because they
wanted to look good on TV or simply just because our spot was unlucky.

Coming back from the parade, there was a huge traffic jam since everyone
decided to leave at the same time. I’m sure it was just as crowded to
come, but we came by BART. (My sister and I got a ride in my cousins’ van
when leaving).

So why did I go to the parade? Well, it was kind of fun and it’s a
tradition for my family to go every year. For me, it is the experience of
standing there with the crowd and being able to view everything live. It
just isn’t the same as watching it on TV. The parade is a
once-in-a-lifetime experience in the way that no parade in the years to
come will ever be the same as this one. So if you don’t mind standing in
the rain for a couple of hours with wet clothes sticking to you, and the
long wait in the traffic jam, I would say you should go and watch this
parade live. So get your lazy butt off the couch and go be part of the
crowd next year!

Naruto is an orphaned delinquent who strives to be acknowledged by his village as the greatest ninja- to become a Hokage, but he’s already failed his final exam at the Ninja Academy twice! He has no friends and everyone in the village seems to hate him. Presumably, it is because he is a troublemaker, but the truth is that the Demon Fox was sealed within Naruto. The adults who were witnesses to the great battle with the Demon Fox hate Naruto for the destruction and deaths it caused, but were sworn not to let him find out that the Demon Fox is sealed inside of him.

Naruto fails to graduate once again, and while he is depressed, Mizuki-sensei (teacher Mizuki) tells him of a way to graduate. Mizuki-sensei advises him to steal the "Scroll of Seals," and if he learns a few techniques from it, then Iruka-sensei (Naruto’s teacher) will surely let him graduate! The villagers find out Naruto has stolen the sacred scroll that contains many forbidden techniques, and, afraid that there might be something in it to release the Demon Fox, goes out on a frenzied search for him. Iruka-sensei finds Naruto and finds out that Mizuki is the one who really wants the scroll for his own evil purposes.

Mizuki will kill anyone to get the scroll but fortunately, Naruto managed to master a technique from the scroll with which he defeats the teacher. (I hope I’m not spoiling the story too much for everyone. ^_^; this is just a basic summary of the first chapter!) When Iruka sees Naruto perform this higher-level Jutsu (technique), he lets the boy graduate.

Soon, Naruto is partnered up with Sakura, the crush who hates him, and Sasuke, who Sakura (and many other girls!) likes. The road to becoming a Hokage is long and Naruto is faced with many difficulties he must surpass to become a great ninja. As the story unfolds, Naruto goes on many adventures with Sasuke, Sakura and their teacher, Kakashi, and becomes a better person in the process.

The overall art of the Naruto manga is fantastic. The fight scenes are drawn very well, but sometimes the people look strange and it becomes hard to tell where the scenery ends and the people begin. The story is carefully planned to keep the reader wanting to read more. You get to learn more about the characters and new techniques and new characters are always being introduced as the story goes on. The characters were, for the most part, likable. While I sometimes found Naruto to be a bit arrogant and annoying, he is a very funny and pure-hearted character. The fantasy world in which Naruto is set in is very interesting, with different villages and countries that each have their own ninjas. The story is very imaginative and fun.

As for the anime, the animation is great, making the movements look crisp and smooth. The music was strange to me at first, but I grew to like it (or at least tolerate it) after a few episodes. The beginning sounds like some old rock song and is a bit boring. The ending is all in English and a bit strange and sad. The background music fits the scenes well and sets the right mood. The voice actors are great and sound just like how you would expect the characters to. They put a lot of emotion into the characters so the characters become more realistic.

Naruto, the manga, is by Kishimoto Masashi and published by Shueisha, where it runs in the weekly-serialized manga magazine, Weekly Jump. The anime first went on air on October 3, 2002. The animation is done by Studio Pierrot and aired on TV Tokyo every Thursday at 6:30pm. For now, the manga is licensed by Viz and runs in the monthly English Shonen Jump, starting from the second (Febuary 2003) issue.

Links:
Viz’s Shonen Jump’s Naruto page

Weekly Jump’s official Naruto website

Studio Pierrot’s official page

A comprehensive fan site on Naruto