tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27397735827725934082024-03-17T13:10:57.997-04:00Yuri StargirlAn intersectional feminist blog about manga, anime, books, LGBTQ+, and other things as well!Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-44765796154743112722024-03-17T13:09:00.002-04:002024-03-17T13:09:57.061-04:00Kageki Shojo!! Vol 9 and 10 (manga review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJSsx7HOST_GnaXlbWG3qv6rqjUECohWM-NOZPw36Ssbp5j2O4U6xnXXq8xJQJOn798lVEXiOVf8Ebbqo9qwL0aryvQatIdTln-NP_a-p1U6Y3Bgsp2cuKZ37VizKaVLb9fuNq6kr1jSdnGjarfKX3moeslSK3oQ79zj1xbidD6QNwcmlhYH4CMkBg-nD/s1000/kageki%20shojo%209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A high school girl with short light hair and a fencing sword" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="702" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJSsx7HOST_GnaXlbWG3qv6rqjUECohWM-NOZPw36Ssbp5j2O4U6xnXXq8xJQJOn798lVEXiOVf8Ebbqo9qwL0aryvQatIdTln-NP_a-p1U6Y3Bgsp2cuKZ37VizKaVLb9fuNq6kr1jSdnGjarfKX3moeslSK3oQ79zj1xbidD6QNwcmlhYH4CMkBg-nD/w225-h320/kageki%20shojo%209.jpg" title="Kageki Shojo!! Volume 9 by Kumiko Saiki" width="225" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrzB5URdbMCwSHU-P7y4Q312VeP8SY-1ChC7Co_wqVafXSd4SM9exOsrmLgYVVAD-2BUC0MtarRZhk-atm6xIAIr5CHjjjs9ljgjq5zig7Odci_r4euwlq9fmSTiO8WE6BT-ApXXvRHg-2ciAo5K69gJXyc79vJ9GV0v0IXWEUBL9DwxzN6F5eQ0l-_pD/s1000/Kageki%20shojo%2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A high school girl dressed as a gangster and another girl who is in mild shock" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="702" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrzB5URdbMCwSHU-P7y4Q312VeP8SY-1ChC7Co_wqVafXSd4SM9exOsrmLgYVVAD-2BUC0MtarRZhk-atm6xIAIr5CHjjjs9ljgjq5zig7Odci_r4euwlq9fmSTiO8WE6BT-ApXXvRHg-2ciAo5K69gJXyc79vJ9GV0v0IXWEUBL9DwxzN6F5eQ0l-_pD/w225-h320/Kageki%20shojo%2010.jpg" title="Kageki Shojo!! Volume 10 by Kumiko Saiki" width="225" /></a></div></div><br /><br /> The girls are entering their second year at Kouka Theater School. These were two of the better volumes so far for a few reasons:</span><div><span> 1) We got to see how they've grown and how they process now being senpai to the incoming students of the 101st class.</span></div><div><span> 2) We get a bigger focus on Ai.</span></div><div><span> So if you've been reading my reviews of Kageki Shojo!! so far, you may remember that I really liked the prelude volume "Curtain Rises" with its heavy focus on Ai and have been a bit underwhelmed by the main series with its focus on Sarasa. While Sarasa is an interesting and engaging character, I still feel she functions best as the friendly foil to push Ai along. With volume 9 and particularly 10, we get a bigger does of Ai and her interiority which I find more compelling, complex, and interesting.<span> </span></span></div><div><span> Where much of where Sarasa's writing and her development occurs externally, Ai is a very internal character and so when the writing focuses on her, it feels like the story has more depth with both the outside objective world and what is going on inside.</span></div><div><span> We also get to see some interesting growth and choices by Ai that signal how she is slowly healing in this new environment, away from her mother, and under Sarasa's influence. Volume 10 is a somewhat joyful volume for Ai, not that it's outwardly a festive volume, but mostly that the growth we see is moving Ai into a more complete and whole and ultimately well-adjusted person.</span></div><div><span><span> There is also some time getting to see how the girls' acting class for second year will be different than the first year and how that will push all of them in some new directions. This is also intimately tied into one of the areas that Ai shows growth (the other main one being her attempts at being a good senpai and therefor coming out of her shell a bit). There is definitely a sense in these volumes of a trajectory for the series. Whether it will end with their initial auditions for the Kouka troupe, or maybe follow them beyond, is uncertain, but we do get the sense that this series and these characters are going somewhere and changing along the way.</span><br /></span></div><div><span> I hope the heavier dose of Ai continues through the rest of the series.</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-78278304095418812762024-02-24T11:36:00.003-05:002024-02-24T11:36:44.647-05:00Like a Butterfly volume 4 (manga review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTdy2Jg6KMErnWMXxspxe85x4RPOE9dx1nN-w50ZQ37BU4EGPMEWIR9U0Ne8zbefbwq7kKZlTWuBgE_dOQywmf3sjyZv_BpXAUHD2_H5X5fvGJP1oR5NRaWi-n_Yf-cwU7KxTBilKrHcK_9beBtpcaKhuuxNqegmBJePXlK3WDeZJTi03aE_uertEhZ-a/s1000/like%20a%20butterfly%20vol%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A school boy with a pleasant closed lip part smile in uniform with a butterfly" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="684" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTdy2Jg6KMErnWMXxspxe85x4RPOE9dx1nN-w50ZQ37BU4EGPMEWIR9U0Ne8zbefbwq7kKZlTWuBgE_dOQywmf3sjyZv_BpXAUHD2_H5X5fvGJP1oR5NRaWi-n_Yf-cwU7KxTBilKrHcK_9beBtpcaKhuuxNqegmBJePXlK3WDeZJTi03aE_uertEhZ-a/w274-h400/like%20a%20butterfly%20vol%204.jpg" title="Like a Butterfly volume 4 by Suu Morishita" width="274" /></a></div> Like a Butterfly vol. 4 by Suu Morishita (the duo behind Shortcake Cake) finally gets this story going. The firth three volumes had me a bit annoyed because I really felt like Suiren's character wasn't realistic. She was the perfect beauty who was too shy to talk other than answering questions in class, etc... I didn't so much mind Taichi's characters reservation around her since he did seem to talk to others and was just shy around her. </span><div><span> Thankfully, in this volume, they get past all the super awkward avoiding each other stuff and both put in effort to communicate with each other, spend time with each other, and actually move the burgeoning relationship along. That gives me hope that this series will spend some serious time with them as a couple and not linger on the will-they-won't-they (which has it's place, for sure) given that I didn't love the way her shyness was presented. </span></div><div><span> As always, the art is well done, and has plenty of screen tones and sparkles. For the most-part we don't get much in the way of detailed backgrounds and so the panel layouts are pretty simple, often headshots or shoulder up. But when they're doing realism, it's got a nice look to it. Certainly not my favorite manga art, but better than average.</span></div><div><span> I'll definitely keep reading this series, especially now that it's actually going somewhere.</span></div><br /><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-72075956932970948442024-02-24T09:17:00.002-05:002024-02-24T09:17:37.223-05:00Sing "Yesterday" For Me (anime review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6xgXvTgiMD-PSf083wZW_kN8vPa6chcQD8mzkmjvBDRMdjZtQWBKXJrxkDtsxn1jW7Uy0Oy1cufj_jb8gUZKsi3JGgL1Kl9NHiK9a4DvC9XJg5yzIZ3XFKfVlGvn-oQV379ZKG2ZL3xjfifk7dDoMaQprNPuXBP834PGgbFnmcvNAzkSWq6z1WYZIi9Fs/s720/sing%20yesterday%20for%20me.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two young adults and two teens sit on a bench indoors" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6xgXvTgiMD-PSf083wZW_kN8vPa6chcQD8mzkmjvBDRMdjZtQWBKXJrxkDtsxn1jW7Uy0Oy1cufj_jb8gUZKsi3JGgL1Kl9NHiK9a4DvC9XJg5yzIZ3XFKfVlGvn-oQV379ZKG2ZL3xjfifk7dDoMaQprNPuXBP834PGgbFnmcvNAzkSWq6z1WYZIi9Fs/w266-h400/sing%20yesterday%20for%20me.jpe" title="Sing Yesterday For Me - anime series" width="266" /></a></div> I definitely have mixed feelings about the anime "Sing 'YESTERDAY' For Me." Parts of it felt very true and realistic, but other parts were a bit problematic to me.</span><div><span> There are three primary characters, two women and a man (that right there tells you most of what you need to know about why I don't love this series). The man, Rikuo, is a college graduate working multiple part-time jobs, and slowly working towards his true passion: photography. He has pined for Shinako, his college-crush, for years. They reconnect when she takes a job as a school teacher in the same area. At the same time, high-school drop out (?) Haru, who is maybe about 16 or 17 (?) starts hanging out with him at his job and coming around to see him. (her age relative to his - mid twenties? - is the other main reason I have issue with this series).</span></div><div><span><span> It's not quite a love triangle, in that Rikuo is pretty clearly in love with Shinako, Haru is pretty clearly infatuated with Rikuo, and Shinako, while ultimately trying to date Rikuo, is still stuck on her dead boyfriend whose younger brother is still in her life and very explicitly wants to be with Shinako. So it's a tangled mess that would have sat better with me had Haru and the dead boyfriend's brother been the same age as Rikuo and Shinako. If they were all teens or all adults, then this would have had the change to be an interesting look at hearts and grief and growing up, and finding yourself. But that age gap was distracting for me. Possibly more for me than it would have for others given the prevalence (at least in anime/manga or high-school girls and older guys). But no matter the norms, I really wish they were older.</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> Anyway, what I liked about the series was the inner complexity of Shinako, being torn between forever mourning her dead boyfriend and earnestly trying to move on with life. I also really liked watching how Rikuo took steps to better himself and his career throughout the series. Those two felt reasonably fleshed out. And (SPOILER) if they had stayed together, I wouldn't have been disappointed at all. In fact, I could have seen Rikuo having a conversation with Haru about how she needed to carve her own path into adulthood (similar to the one towards the end of After the Rain) that would have shown some real emotional maturity in Rikuo (and the series creator). But instead (SPOILER) Shinako goes to the brother and Rikuo can't bear to be without Haru and that just doesn't sit right for me. It's too neat a bow, it's not messy enough, it just didn't feel complex, it felt expected. And that was a disappointment.</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> In some ways, After the Rain, is an interesting comparison piece exploring how an adult can handle a teen's feelings sensitively while also being confused themselves in what to do. That series didn't take the easy way out to find some acceptable way for that May/December pairing to actually happen. But Sing "Yesterday" for Me, did take the easy way out. Too bad. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> </span>The other series that kept coming to mind was Honey and Clover, one of the greatest Josei series of all time. In that series, they are college students or older, so the age issues are really not much of a problem, but they are going through many of the same feelings: grief, self-discovery, passion, etc... and it's handled with messiness but also ultimate growth and some resolution for each. I'm not sure where the growth was for either Rikuo or Shinako in any area other than Rikuo's career. They both ultimately chose to be with immature teens with a lot of their own figuring out to do and (as a parent) I worry that these teens being with these older folks will ultimately prevent the teens from doing the self-discovery and growth that they could otherwise be doing at these ages.</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> I wouldn't recommend this show, it wasn't a bad watch, nothing overtly problematic, but not an emotional reward either. </span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-86310220101279864662024-02-24T09:01:00.000-05:002024-02-24T09:01:00.931-05:00Cocoon Entwined vol. 5 review (manga)<span><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86FgK2xFMat2NEV_pXtRQn2T2W9nuWpQ9nEbP_yb-s-HEsjtzZggitnvlvNJWD4B-Ove0ctGA68o6ZaNZqWYXs7_Air1l1nHDPlInH-BIw8ezuuoCxgj0U1bHR9Pck92SigPhc69KkcH2GjoQZTTqDcGPHZpjLH87iSiLYLm1Vu-9150dMaG9DMdDjNCm/s585/cocoon%205.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A high school girl with long hair flowing after her and a long flowing black uniform" border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="408" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86FgK2xFMat2NEV_pXtRQn2T2W9nuWpQ9nEbP_yb-s-HEsjtzZggitnvlvNJWD4B-Ove0ctGA68o6ZaNZqWYXs7_Air1l1nHDPlInH-BIw8ezuuoCxgj0U1bHR9Pck92SigPhc69KkcH2GjoQZTTqDcGPHZpjLH87iSiLYLm1Vu-9150dMaG9DMdDjNCm/w279-h400/cocoon%205.webp" title="Cocoon Entwined volume 5 by Yuriko Hara" width="279" /></a></div> Honestly, I still barely know what's going on in this series. Cocoon Entwined vol. 5 continues to follow the girls of Hoshimiya Girls' Academy. But thankfully, the back text of the volume helped me confirm what I thought was going on.</span><div><span><span> </span> I think the largest part of that is how hard it is for me to understand is identifying which girl is which in each panel. It could be that I genuinely struggle with peoples faces in real life (which I really do), or maybe it's that I've got that horrible white person disease of thinking everyone from any other background looks the same (I really hope I don't), or maybe the art is just that indistinct at times. Thankfully, there are a few characters I can differentiate and some of them are lead characters which helps. </span></div><div><span><span> </span>It also doesn't help that the volumes are published so far apart in time and I usually only read a bit of the prior one to help get situated. A full read through the entire series from front to back is definitely warranted once it's complete, just to see if it hangs together a bit neater and clearer that way.</span></div><div><span> Hoshimiya (same name as the school) has mysteriously disappeared (run away in an earlier volume). The school is left somewhat in a tither over it. Ayane continues to be manipulative. And they are all preparing for a final dance. Hana Saeki continues her half-hearted dalience with Ayane and agrees to go to the dance with her, but in the background Youko hasn't given up on Hoshimiya yet and asks a teacher to get a letter to her. And yet we know it's Saeki and Hoshimiya that are linked, even though they are apart. So why is Saeki dancing with Ayane? What is Youko really hoping to accomplish writing to Hoshimiya?</span></div><div><span> It's a tangled web of feelings at Hoshimiya Girls' Academy where they are all bound by some really creepy traditions and maybe something more disturbing. I read it mostly because of Saeki and Youko (whose faces I can almost always tell apart from the others) and to find out more about what created the independent streak in Hoshimiya. I'm also a little bit intrigued by the supernatural element and the art continues to be interesting and unique, even if a bit tough to decipher. I can't say it's a great, or even very good series, but it's different. So I'll be waiting for volume 6</span><br /><div><span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div></div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-85814954411925295792023-12-22T11:21:00.001-05:002023-12-22T11:21:26.256-05:00Emanon Vol. 4 - Emanon Wander Part Three (Manga review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73EOicFQHS0CIJ_d-V6HsVhRqyzHe0Z5BR0HRpyMIaI1Z6V11wWzg_EkV53TjhXKpXJxuJwgm_s6Z30Kvhj18Kd0ioDAKC1Bizm7E1D3jgQphRjxjsCVU5Uhh49ojGl_eVkLELTuRHCMfprc7HtIYWvpXHcBN2L76oa6kWbJ7J46Y-gT3rYJCZF26q4l0/s1000/emanon%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A teen girl in a school sailor uniform with a flowering tree behind her. She has a serious expression on her face." border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="697" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73EOicFQHS0CIJ_d-V6HsVhRqyzHe0Z5BR0HRpyMIaI1Z6V11wWzg_EkV53TjhXKpXJxuJwgm_s6Z30Kvhj18Kd0ioDAKC1Bizm7E1D3jgQphRjxjsCVU5Uhh49ojGl_eVkLELTuRHCMfprc7HtIYWvpXHcBN2L76oa6kWbJ7J46Y-gT3rYJCZF26q4l0/w279-h400/emanon%204.jpg" title="Emanon Vol. 4 - Emanon Wander Part Three by Shinji Kajio and Kenji Tsuruta" width="279" /></a></div> I didn't think this volume would ever come out. But it popped up on my Amazon recommendations, and so I rushed to purchase "Emanon Vol.4 - Emanon Wander Part Three." This is the continuing manga adaptation of a series of short stories about a woman who has all the memories of all her mothers before her back to the beginning of life on Earth. </span><div><span> The series is very much of its time, meaning when the original short stories were written in the 1980s. However, the premise is still interesting and the art in the manga is extraordinary. It's different, it's loose and tight at the same time, it's evocative, and very much evokes the earnestness of the series. And while the series is a bit self-serious, that's okay too because it lends an aura of transcendence that the art beautifully enhances.</span></div><div><span> All that said, this volume felt weaker than some of the others, looser, and a bit disjointed. We get some new insight into other aspects of her existence and history, meet some important new characters that appear likely to recur, but overall it's just not quite as tight a volume as some of the others. Still interesting.</span></div><div><span> What is most fascinating to me, is that I was expecting this to the final volume, but it ends with a "to be continued" and some setups that beg to be explored and resolved in future volumes. Here's hoping that we'll get those a bit faster than the time between this and the previous volume.</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-55124754652778673402023-11-22T11:32:00.002-05:002023-11-22T11:32:18.231-05:00Short Takes: Kageki Shojo!! 8, Citrus+ 5, and My Pancreas Broke but my Life got Better<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81m78Hrx6uL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Citrus Plus Vol. 5" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="570" height="200" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81m78Hrx6uL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" title="Two teen girls in school uniforms" width="142" /></a> <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81C+3oYokBL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 8" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="562" height="197" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81C+3oYokBL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" title="a high school girl and a Kabuki Dancer" width="138" /></a> <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/916YQIw3z5L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="My Pancreas Broke But My Life Got Better" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="570" height="190" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/916YQIw3z5L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" title="a sick and crying patient sitting on a hospital bed talking to a doctor" width="135" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Citrus + (plus) Volume 5</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span> Yuzu runs into her old middle school friends. She's with Mei and doesn't properly introduce them. Yuzu is torn about how to tell them while fearing they might leave her. Like the rest of the Citrus + series, this volume is definitely lighter as well as a bit more realistic than the original series. If you've been liking this sequel series, this is a total normal volume in that series.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><b><u>Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 8</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span> The fall-out of Sarasa missing her first performance due to her sick grandfather. The students also move into their second year. Narata also begins some self-discovery about what her path in the theater might look like. A good overall volume.</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><b><u>My Pancreas Broke but my Life Got Better</u></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span> The next volume in the ongoing autobiography manga series by Nagata Kabi. This is the series that started with My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. My feelings about this volume are similar to my feelings on the last couple, good points, good honesty, uniquely rough art, but also feeling a bit redundant without the heavy hit of that original volume. Tough to know if the original book was alter in the series if it too would feel less, as if it simply hit harder as the first and being so shockingly different. However, as the later volumes have focused more on Nagata's health, alcoholism, and some of her mental health, it doesn't feel as taboo as the first volume's subject matter. Additionally, I really wish she'd go deeper into her relationship with her mother, that looms over everything. Worth a read, but certainly don't expect the intensity of the very first book.</span><br /></span></span></div><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.<br />Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-25133647186896241232023-11-04T18:21:00.002-04:002023-11-04T18:21:24.929-04:00Skip and Loafer (anime season 1 review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWl747fO6ognio5ubazvqmk0X2X12va_5AV1vOYPh0unvGQGjClCU2U0ipiivXFud6hZG4wJUtiLRv8NDSrkmRFrkPwURF0xBMaUfgfXv1D9VYvauuOLDJ0gj1S627n0kIaWqGsCfVFurYsbPm0stWTuStuKJU2AOJCqIaC76PRVQQyuqkw7FBkCe9qwM/s1200/skip%20and%20loafer%20anime%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="a highschool girl and boy" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWl747fO6ognio5ubazvqmk0X2X12va_5AV1vOYPh0unvGQGjClCU2U0ipiivXFud6hZG4wJUtiLRv8NDSrkmRFrkPwURF0xBMaUfgfXv1D9VYvauuOLDJ0gj1S627n0kIaWqGsCfVFurYsbPm0stWTuStuKJU2AOJCqIaC76PRVQQyuqkw7FBkCe9qwM/w266-h400/skip%20and%20loafer%20anime%20cover.jpg" title="Skip and Loafer anime cover" width="266" /></a></div> I'll make this quick, I highly recommend "Skip and Loafer" season 1 (let's hope there will be more seasons to follow). It's exactly what you want from a light, but emotionally meaningful, shoujo high-school romance.</span><div><span> It centers on Mitsumi, who grew up in a small isolated town and heads to Tokyo for high-school with the dream of becoming a politician and returning to her town to help revitalize it. She's everything you want in a shoujo heroine: spunky, earnest, occasionally clumsy, determined, and imminently likeable. She brings people together and she opens people up.</span></div><div><span> But in many ways, this first season sees the development of Sousuke, whom one can only presume will be the love interest. He is a former child actor who has some trauma in his past and is trying to lead a normal life, keeping his secrets, and not being his authentic self. </span></div><div><span> Naturally, his time with Mitsumi begins to open up his sense of self worth and we see the first glimmers of their romantic interest blooming. Due to his interactions with her, he begins to push back against old narratives and reclaim pieces of himself. </span></div><div><span> The show is sweet, funny, and earnest. It isn't a deeply psychological show like Kare Kano or Ao Haru Ride, but does have enough emotional depth to balance the light-hearted moments. </span></div><div><span> I particularly loved Mitsumi's voice actress. The animation was also completely fine. Not necessarily anything special, but decent enough quality. </span></div><div><span> Basically, if you like shoujo high-school romance and want something on the lighter but still emotionally meaningful side of things, this is a really enjoyable show. I definitely recommend it. (Currently available on Crunchyroll)</span></div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-90916984647483778252023-09-16T15:42:00.004-04:002023-09-16T15:42:46.566-04:00Sound proof Drum Isolation Booth in my basement!<span> So aside from my day job in special education, and my love of anime and manga (and art, and books, etc...) I used to be a recording engineer/producer. I recently took up drums as a way to keep myself in music. So naturally, I needed to build a soundproof drum room in my basement. Here's a blog post detailing the basics. Perhaps most important is the air handling system I designed (and which is working great in practice).</span><div><br /></div><div><span> I originally designed the room with some added sound proofing features (such as using rockwool) but had to cut some costs when the total materials cost came in (I do all the construction myself). So I ended up with pink fiberglass instead. But after doing much research, it turns out rockwool doesn't make quite as much difference as people say.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span> The basic construction including the room having an air gap between the outside foundation walls and the drum room walls. Then there were two layers of drywall on the outside of the wall, pink fiberglass insulation, and two more layers of drywall. For the soffits around the existing HVAC duct work, I did four layers of drywall on the inside of the room, then the insulation, but no drywall on the other side of the soffit. For the ceiling, given the low height of the basement, I went with pink fiberglass between the ceiling joists (first floor floor joists), then a layer of 5/8 OSB, then 2 layers of drywall. Might not seem like much, but that extra half inch of ceiling height helps, especially with the reflection foam on the ceiling after that (remember folks, the wall foam is not sound proofing, it is to limit reflections!).</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span> The floor plates for the walls were pressure treated in case of moisture from the floor. I kept the cement floor of the basement and just put area rugs instead of a finished floor. Cement slab floors don't transmit sound, so there was no need to build a floating floor and given the low ceiling height, this helped a lot. The floor plates also were caulked under the pressure treated wood, and along each edge, inside and out, to prevent any unevenness in the floor or board from creating a sound gap.</span></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span> The door is an exterior steel door with internal insulation. This has good weather stripping for sound, and is better than a wooden door for sound isolation. The challenge was that I had to cut it down due to the low ceiling height. I cut down the bottom edge, reinforced it with additional wood insert, filed down the rough steel edge, and it worked perfectly!</span> </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Here are some random construction pics:</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirN1n_S3VyXVWyetMHT094b6NYaReSIHvHxny3BU9UdfLw6YKF5osrihxng7Fd5mdFTvtpmI5rBNhOr_13hJw_0tJ81a4eu2wSeRqZ_2QZW67NG3xckeZgsO82MVdT_4vkDtuoBOk3wMM-oJcUTAJXfxTRaO-LeKvX6YKr8PF0SEbuCGMTUKhSDysKduyM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1470" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirN1n_S3VyXVWyetMHT094b6NYaReSIHvHxny3BU9UdfLw6YKF5osrihxng7Fd5mdFTvtpmI5rBNhOr_13hJw_0tJ81a4eu2wSeRqZ_2QZW67NG3xckeZgsO82MVdT_4vkDtuoBOk3wMM-oJcUTAJXfxTRaO-LeKvX6YKr8PF0SEbuCGMTUKhSDysKduyM=w400-h188" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Love google sketchup, I still use the old free one.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBu7utAwtk51G2IiXPmIet1TWYAb11OiThwC8g2gmVee1PyCgv2huZy-K2BK76FDRsvhgpq7M7wDYOHLgTIbB0O8W4l5tQtASWyHCI1pV7BlB6TqmP5Y1sdukSqlJ6nx1_MORp1l-hWlFk05G6y551bH6ddtTP4AgWxv9wn02Vy3wPshvaXGQpHSQNoGF6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBu7utAwtk51G2IiXPmIet1TWYAb11OiThwC8g2gmVee1PyCgv2huZy-K2BK76FDRsvhgpq7M7wDYOHLgTIbB0O8W4l5tQtASWyHCI1pV7BlB6TqmP5Y1sdukSqlJ6nx1_MORp1l-hWlFk05G6y551bH6ddtTP4AgWxv9wn02Vy3wPshvaXGQpHSQNoGF6=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div>Framing, notice on the left, there is an alcove to get access to the central stack snake port (lower left corner)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgM5tzl0BgF3o_wDRGqp8B6L3mbTZVao6e-A4WgUgTgG3010zJ-zapcaTgEtd5sUBa90MNAUPpBCaodUXwMyU6JSbMUEhlE1O4u0JzlaORMJbGxpW3-pNrWKs8n1iF4ueW6rb4h4WLNajI5JaktV7-NTYXLuSDbVa7Ha6RsBbTVIcbaztrfp5A9amRro7_N" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgM5tzl0BgF3o_wDRGqp8B6L3mbTZVao6e-A4WgUgTgG3010zJ-zapcaTgEtd5sUBa90MNAUPpBCaodUXwMyU6JSbMUEhlE1O4u0JzlaORMJbGxpW3-pNrWKs8n1iF4ueW6rb4h4WLNajI5JaktV7-NTYXLuSDbVa7Ha6RsBbTVIcbaztrfp5A9amRro7_N=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br />Insulation and starting drywall.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEInQLOBASxyHat2uCfHhlQDvldfUsottQX9h-2ytGUHFsOpLYmxzvx_kKE4zHEGYgc-zHemHCTbcFxqRBNysQNnbk7_67j4Lg18CDz-Dnmq6Rbh-L1XAxSUTRokFoohLrZnaqThREf6PVD8z6d_hbq04DQIEGrgQ90ImuQRYcGno9-fU3kzDUGjeVWwt4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEInQLOBASxyHat2uCfHhlQDvldfUsottQX9h-2ytGUHFsOpLYmxzvx_kKE4zHEGYgc-zHemHCTbcFxqRBNysQNnbk7_67j4Lg18CDz-Dnmq6Rbh-L1XAxSUTRokFoohLrZnaqThREf6PVD8z6d_hbq04DQIEGrgQ90ImuQRYcGno9-fU3kzDUGjeVWwt4=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div>Cut down the steel door. Then replaced the blocking at the bottom, then glued it all tight and clamped it. After this, I filed down the rough steel edge and primed. Worked perfect.<br /><br /><br /></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span> But now to the fun part! You can't have a soundproof room, with all the joints caulked, and weather proofed steel doors, without ventilation. You'll roast in there! BUT, if you just run the regular ventilation from the house HVAC system into the room, the sound of the drums (or whatever) will just travel through the vents into the rest of the house, which means you might as well not have even built the room.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span> The solution is to build a ventilation system that is NOT connected to the house, but makes use of the fact that the room is in the basement. Basically, I built two baffled duct systems, one with an intake fan, and one with an output fan. The intake fan is located at the front bottom of the room, it draws in cool air from the basement floor. The output fan is located near the ceiling of the drum room, and pulls hot air (which rises) out of the room and spits it back out into the basement. You thus have cool air coming in, warm air going out, and none of this is connected to the house HVAC system. Below I will detail how I built these as well as some acoustic measurements I did showing the sound isolation properties of the baffled vent system.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span> The basic premise is to have the sound from the room travel through a twisting and turning path (each right angle slows the sound down, and slow sound is quieter sound). The path should also be absorptive. I went with foam at first and not soft insulation or fabric because I didn't want dust build-up, however, it wasn't quite enough, so when I added a ribbed duct, I added pink insulation in any gaps. So the sound actually goes through the duct, but there's plenty of absorptive material as well. I made the decision to add the duct and foam after doing acoustical tests. You'll see those below too. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span> </span>And then it's also important that your fans don't add noise. </span>The fans were the fun part. I basically bought two 8" super quiet computer case fans, connected them to a cheap 12 volt power adapter, and put that into a switched wall outlet to turn them on and off.</div><div><br /></div><div><span> Lastly, you need to get audio and in and out of the room if you want to record. So I did a multi elbowed PVC conduit into and out of the room, the ends stuffed with foam. It has multiple curves, because each change in direction of sound decreases speed which decreases volume. Works perfect.</span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span>Here are pictures with descriptions:</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdYLN7nbJsjBrRSI0O0h3QmB6nn_2_SbcNYKF-iK3lTRBHzI0xfjRVmudzGba_gFmfKLkGvl3ozVuKhrixQME_8snAs4azM_I61pAaDQE4O-J0RyfuuOR8sjk-s17iFWn1ovNb_ahUuQTR9fGxgV0NqvG5TPrOGfA_W6H2V9UqUgOjk2lIS9cNoWPwYFVx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdYLN7nbJsjBrRSI0O0h3QmB6nn_2_SbcNYKF-iK3lTRBHzI0xfjRVmudzGba_gFmfKLkGvl3ozVuKhrixQME_8snAs4azM_I61pAaDQE4O-J0RyfuuOR8sjk-s17iFWn1ovNb_ahUuQTR9fGxgV0NqvG5TPrOGfA_W6H2V9UqUgOjk2lIS9cNoWPwYFVx=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Plywood frame. The box jutting out on the lower left is what will go through the wall into the drum room and have a wall grate placed overtop. The round hole on the bottom right is for the fan.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-B53jlISypOkbkN5DpRd1wBwWrA9UgRmTccv52tr1CL1fsUYNO3QyS2U5bxYmoqvcKG86aa6VxRZf1Lu680LL-DpUUgKCXzIFEBAjr1thgNuYg1h3ydQh1scNPmMjoY_X0F9ReGmMO7_lNisAAXGSKrsMv0Ow7Bx1qRlyYMEhpW90fmFxDbfeIDz1cde3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-B53jlISypOkbkN5DpRd1wBwWrA9UgRmTccv52tr1CL1fsUYNO3QyS2U5bxYmoqvcKG86aa6VxRZf1Lu680LL-DpUUgKCXzIFEBAjr1thgNuYg1h3ydQh1scNPmMjoY_X0F9ReGmMO7_lNisAAXGSKrsMv0Ow7Bx1qRlyYMEhpW90fmFxDbfeIDz1cde3=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here it is with the first layer of foam. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrB0U1Av7WJLfVhgFe5laAAXV95gnMDSiXJ1VE9dhxpPG77EneTOaJ6lxZam97boNItRKD32h8tkzztIgirPB77nAqohPuEnC7Igy6n_p7lMFoxnAW0anYD7EgLdWfkVy5IDf0coIJCn-YiuQz0T8pY7KxGlMq_PNOxXUhFXIoxNxTnzbLjd2MtTy6lw7I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrB0U1Av7WJLfVhgFe5laAAXV95gnMDSiXJ1VE9dhxpPG77EneTOaJ6lxZam97boNItRKD32h8tkzztIgirPB77nAqohPuEnC7Igy6n_p7lMFoxnAW0anYD7EgLdWfkVy5IDf0coIJCn-YiuQz0T8pY7KxGlMq_PNOxXUhFXIoxNxTnzbLjd2MtTy6lw7I=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Added a rigid and ribbed duct with extra pink foam in the gaps after doing acoustical analysis and finding that the hard foam cavity on it's own wasn't enough. Now there's more insulation for the outside, and the ribbed nature of the duct further disrupts and slows the sound.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi25froOLqunLtc5YnUZ0CRiT1zkqQVHPqoAS0ILVlphftQjvca7slEDvh2NVyymTwi9P7JaP-uMTlNzV4UNNemaTrBwBrRWtymn6g_4PMOy3Daiedy7gNaTD87ejo2c_LghW3Flec7O9X2ElQZBpo8G5VG3NwzqpLkUq0qp5x9SMR4aS9Ovw3rCkpBjmCX" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi25froOLqunLtc5YnUZ0CRiT1zkqQVHPqoAS0ILVlphftQjvca7slEDvh2NVyymTwi9P7JaP-uMTlNzV4UNNemaTrBwBrRWtymn6g_4PMOy3Daiedy7gNaTD87ejo2c_LghW3Flec7O9X2ElQZBpo8G5VG3NwzqpLkUq0qp5x9SMR4aS9Ovw3rCkpBjmCX=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Here's an early test mounting without the fan for acoustical tests. You can see the test mics laying on top of it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv3TDSJ9zNCIoAqYV-IG5PGPGVzinjAHM-bJ4uhFj6TY48x59NRAB8-lDmIJyi36Yf4ef7PwA7_yvY9fNkFYcci6aN5-jCuU2ccabaBdIeYU2oJ_ZwnOxxng0VjEea6c_0d5qYpovFwaFro86Xiji9a1gSZ3T2c-4Tu6zXSVqirvXyxvWdl6JMRAZtH-H4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv3TDSJ9zNCIoAqYV-IG5PGPGVzinjAHM-bJ4uhFj6TY48x59NRAB8-lDmIJyi36Yf4ef7PwA7_yvY9fNkFYcci6aN5-jCuU2ccabaBdIeYU2oJ_ZwnOxxng0VjEea6c_0d5qYpovFwaFro86Xiji9a1gSZ3T2c-4Tu6zXSVqirvXyxvWdl6JMRAZtH-H4=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Here are the two mounted. The bottom one is the cold air intake, the top one in the back is the warm air output from the booth</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO5ZCuhDVjoQTU2gNFlCHJ0-8pQqXA_z2gfaYFQRzw_aSCkCbcNLiZ80kTXqwgjPUe-tl8wIKGV8NS7KqTo-1yLSn3F6Czmk01O7NPunbn53cANhuWUWlkffaGYnE_QAYUQBNP8l0o7uR3nRk8BJze4OqxiVHuBYy9dNNDkTuuf5AosNseE63eHT7FcL6q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO5ZCuhDVjoQTU2gNFlCHJ0-8pQqXA_z2gfaYFQRzw_aSCkCbcNLiZ80kTXqwgjPUe-tl8wIKGV8NS7KqTo-1yLSn3F6Czmk01O7NPunbn53cANhuWUWlkffaGYnE_QAYUQBNP8l0o7uR3nRk8BJze4OqxiVHuBYy9dNNDkTuuf5AosNseE63eHT7FcL6q=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br />Side view</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnaTU7ttyaZnlW5azRads9GwXb96537VICg6rGl3AFt9-x1d7l7UiUBFgsft_i2q4Sker48lADIfhMUjsWj3rtoJqYmWjea1NfDTmfhbD0PEbDOHZGIOUK17snu9gZeXo3uCJnSnGENB1ed1-yUaHCNi23ya0r_g0X1YMlZFvBfXsSJr3U70WiUYXWC2Df" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="3498" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnaTU7ttyaZnlW5azRads9GwXb96537VICg6rGl3AFt9-x1d7l7UiUBFgsft_i2q4Sker48lADIfhMUjsWj3rtoJqYmWjea1NfDTmfhbD0PEbDOHZGIOUK17snu9gZeXo3uCJnSnGENB1ed1-yUaHCNi23ya0r_g0X1YMlZFvBfXsSJr3U70WiUYXWC2Df=w640-h222" width="640" /></a></div>Lots to unpack with this one, these are the acoustic measurements with no baffle (just an opening from the drum room into the basement (approx 8"x10"), with the baffle (but without any duct in it), and with the baffle with the duct. The mics were in two positions. "On axis" means directly in front of the opening from the drum room into the basement. "Fan opening" means in front of the part of the baffle where the fan would be (the in/out side of the baffle). For the one with no baffle, I left the mic in the place it would be had the baffle been mounted. Omni directional measurement mics were used. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As you can see, starting with the on-axis (top row), we get typical white noise profile with no baffle, the mic is simply picking it up straight from the speaker. With the baffle (but no duct in the baffle) we get significant high end and mid-range attenuation (YAY!) but the low end is still not great. Once we add the vent with the added pink foam (top, far right), the low end drops as well. This is because there is more between the mic and the inside of the baffle. The sound goes through the side wall of the metal duct, then pink foam, the rigid foam, then the plywood (instead of just the rigid foam and plywood).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The bottom row is at the fan side. You can see from the left bottom, that high end is a bit attenuated as you would expect since the speaker is in the drum room, projecting out the vent opening, and is perpendicular to the mic placement. The middle bottom shows that with the baffle (with no duct) there is the expected additional high end/mid attenuation. And the bottom right shows the additional modest low end attenuation with the duct and pink foam added. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">All in all, with the baffle, duct, and two types of insulation, we're getting upwards of 20 db attenuation at some frequencies, and at least modest attenuation at the low frequencies (the hardest to cut down). In practice, when walking around the drum room while someone was playing, I was blown away by just how quiet the sound leakage was from these vent systems. Worked better than I hoped.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For fun, I did the same tests using music (Thanks vintage Paramore!):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkE-xcB6-akrLgX6rvQT5g2Nvsqghh8tkR9Wkpmqz2jPAiKsyVOjBkWYqOIvfl-5b49uGtPjqQiCf4rNsi-XoHo6Q6gd64JpR7NBiFNe8C2krtIxRY_cHnL1DG1KVad0g1fTeXioCJ4D-a5a6s2PSbO13mEhkSJGD99NeWv2Qp5fen0qXaA8C8ar9KMZsr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="1757" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkE-xcB6-akrLgX6rvQT5g2Nvsqghh8tkR9Wkpmqz2jPAiKsyVOjBkWYqOIvfl-5b49uGtPjqQiCf4rNsi-XoHo6Q6gd64JpR7NBiFNe8C2krtIxRY_cHnL1DG1KVad0g1fTeXioCJ4D-a5a6s2PSbO13mEhkSJGD99NeWv2Qp5fen0qXaA8C8ar9KMZsr=w640-h320" width="640" /></a></div><br />You can basically see all the same stuff as before. Highs and mids are dramatically cut from the no baffle tests (on the far left). Lows are still hard to cut down, but there's at least some drop.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the audio conduit using PVC:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcDRvdboF9nicqzO1x6jMfKjzbzVLvCAmWbMHRsgXGvqwAN3_2x6v4uD69JKH9_4lFbg6t2l2eu0vvTHVcpdghpkdvVVorBmwhn35_fahl9etJMhuICfwCDNQhioFPYY9xO4UJAJSAM5Ry-Fi3DDaeNW0rCGWbSq_fw_cIFF5MfTpEtEwV2_aw5tJvJowr"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcDRvdboF9nicqzO1x6jMfKjzbzVLvCAmWbMHRsgXGvqwAN3_2x6v4uD69JKH9_4lFbg6t2l2eu0vvTHVcpdghpkdvVVorBmwhn35_fahl9etJMhuICfwCDNQhioFPYY9xO4UJAJSAM5Ry-Fi3DDaeNW0rCGWbSq_fw_cIFF5MfTpEtEwV2_aw5tJvJowr=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4ifOHHs8cgHRL2Fg19tnuFSFROQbpOO6tQmFmojSAyKlKcH3utzk8IB5KqTtHdyFY6C33MvJxbed2eUc8lWOF5kzRSrgTn_yz1GNNEHWm0pJPHQ7B6znHrpofhAk1Ap849al_vuvbfxsRRN4rgu7wk1N7MomDYLoqZVvJVDOhi3ofbtKKMrIgDYOtU7dw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4ifOHHs8cgHRL2Fg19tnuFSFROQbpOO6tQmFmojSAyKlKcH3utzk8IB5KqTtHdyFY6C33MvJxbed2eUc8lWOF5kzRSrgTn_yz1GNNEHWm0pJPHQ7B6znHrpofhAk1Ap849al_vuvbfxsRRN4rgu7wk1N7MomDYLoqZVvJVDOhi3ofbtKKMrIgDYOtU7dw=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are some pics of the finished room. Enjoy!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNC4tYU-NRpRTmZClwytNBHXviI0BTr3DxKCaJgEjULO1qyoygquk833ztWlHB6JitfvXGBxrTcpEQxIsbCvnah1am8XGdvgOVo46O-lnQvx9Ly-jSSvbs8WK3pIq85pb6FHmk4MYkHkPOzyU8vkXHcKGF1N9baOj-j4Itq1Gc6jPcn8GJCmppjNQLHdAd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNC4tYU-NRpRTmZClwytNBHXviI0BTr3DxKCaJgEjULO1qyoygquk833ztWlHB6JitfvXGBxrTcpEQxIsbCvnah1am8XGdvgOVo46O-lnQvx9Ly-jSSvbs8WK3pIq85pb6FHmk4MYkHkPOzyU8vkXHcKGF1N9baOj-j4Itq1Gc6jPcn8GJCmppjNQLHdAd=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You can see one soffit around an existing HVAC line. You can also see the hot air outtake vent in the upper right corner of the picture. There are power outlets on the three walls without the door.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidSmT9HlAi8ooQXpavP7WWNU-Uhivwobk3DCW_-i-v9_YRTnKzVNVGvzyTaay_tLlIrAHQjB1q0FEhbUnNXl43Pw_a7q0Lo3IBRdtO5vapQ2WE2GlDWSX0Zr2CFn6Io1eMchlUR0uJQzgDURsU1ePw0qI4nTVCxZlPJtZL4312DkLj3_WR2HgNrVf_ipuE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidSmT9HlAi8ooQXpavP7WWNU-Uhivwobk3DCW_-i-v9_YRTnKzVNVGvzyTaay_tLlIrAHQjB1q0FEhbUnNXl43Pw_a7q0Lo3IBRdtO5vapQ2WE2GlDWSX0Zr2CFn6Io1eMchlUR0uJQzgDURsU1ePw0qI4nTVCxZlPJtZL4312DkLj3_WR2HgNrVf_ipuE=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Picture from the door, looking in.</div></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-18890887806409291522023-09-16T14:48:00.003-04:002023-09-16T15:43:22.328-04:00SHORT TAKES: Kageki Shojo vol. 7, Like a Butterfly vol. 1, Even Though We're Adults Vol. 6, A condition called Love Vol. 3, Stealing Rembrants (book), Tonikawa Season 2, Tomo-chan is a Girl Season 1<span> I've been awol. Thankfully for good reasons. But I know I haven't posted in forever. But I've been reading and watching and here are some very very short takes on all of that:</span><div><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b><u>MANGA:</u></b></div><div><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b><u>Kageki Shojo vol. 7</u> </b>- Now that I've embraced what the series is, and isn't, its a fun read. I continue to like that there really aren't any antagonists, and Sarasa continues to be compelling. I like that she's working to go beyond her natural talent and really thinking about her own development. I'm eager to see what she does in the performance.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Like a Butterfly vol. 1</u></b> - I like Suu Morishita's art but found her previously released series disappointingly conventional after a solid start (although maybe Like a Butterfly came out before it in Japan?). Sadly, the first volume of this starts out very conventionally. That being said, sometimes conventional is okay. A simple girl meets boy. I am cautiously intrigued to see how they develop Suiren's character given that I'm a bit skeptical of her presentation in this first volume. But maybe she'll be humanized a bit more. She feels a bit "objecty" to start. We'll see.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Even Though We're Adults vol. 6</u></b> - So I'm a huge fan of Takako Shimura. Huge. I'm still on the fence with this series. But thankfully it continues to be interesting and messy, things I love in her work. I've read this volume several times but it feels a bit like filler. I'm still very into seeing where things go and how they get there though.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>A Condition Called Love vol. 3</u></b> - It's settling into a pretty conventional story. Valentine's chocolates. Conventional is fine, like I said about Like a Butterfly. But given how it started, I was hoping it would be a bit darker and moodier. Where is my next Kare Kano or Ao Haro Ride?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>BOOKS:</u></b></div><div><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b><u>Stealing Rembrants </u></b>- I'm a big big fan of art theft books, art forgery books, etc... So I was interesting in this book detailing a huge number or Rembrandt heists throughout the years. Sadly, it was disappointingly written. The underlying stories are cool (and true) but the presentation was middling in the prose (and sometimes even worse) and the book was organized a bit strangely. An interesting read, but not an engrossing one which is a shame given the topic. There are better books out there on these topics.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>ANIME:</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Tonikawa Season 2</u></b> - I believe my review of season 1 was basically this: "Better than it should have been, pretty bad animation." And that's basically the review of season 2. Minimal character development, basically the same type of stuff as season 1. But at least we get a little more of the behind the scenes as to who Tsukasa might be (or what she might be?). The show kills time in an inoffensive way, but is very mediocre.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Tomo-chan is a Girl Season 1</u></b> - I had started the manga a few years back and got bored quickly. After the first couple episodes of the anime, I was feeling the same way. However, the anime very quickly got things moving, characters developing and changing, and was a fun series. The pacing worked here, perhaps better than the manga. I definitely enjoyed this as light-hearted fare. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
<br />
<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-63472166141176530022023-06-11T10:14:00.000-04:002023-06-11T10:14:00.225-04:00Annie on My Mind (Book Review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_e5EBqMcqV_FMeRsIhysksTaZV-XTpN-_E4KJViGALeU8T5sMLibhKQQpug1jaaMmlMHyC0IZf7b4JKR7zAEr0IBZhzfQtaBLXJibCh26oVL3WJ7ofc7yqltefA0ee1pRWegihbpZNgqXbHDGpSbDKZ9vPuv92dO-jNIfCM5Z4AqYihDhcNZFrgKpHw/s500/annie%20on%20my%20mind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two teen girls hold hands, their foreheads touching as they lean in towards each other." border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="296" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_e5EBqMcqV_FMeRsIhysksTaZV-XTpN-_E4KJViGALeU8T5sMLibhKQQpug1jaaMmlMHyC0IZf7b4JKR7zAEr0IBZhzfQtaBLXJibCh26oVL3WJ7ofc7yqltefA0ee1pRWegihbpZNgqXbHDGpSbDKZ9vPuv92dO-jNIfCM5Z4AqYihDhcNZFrgKpHw/w236-h400/annie%20on%20my%20mind.jpg" title="Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux" width="236" /></a></div> I'm not sure how I came across a recommendation to read this book, but "Annie on My Mind" by Nancy Garden was a beautiful and minorly startling read. Startling only because it was written so openly about gay teen girls back in 1982! It both felt of it's time and equally prescient 40 years later. But the short take: do you like lesbian teen stories that are beautiful (you probably do and that's why you read my blog)? If so, this is just a really sweet and well written teen novel from the 80s about being gay and in love.</span><div><span> The story focuses on Liza, who attends an ailing private school in a nice part of New York City and her chance encounter at a museum with Annie, who attends a public school in a not-so-nice part of 1980s New York City. They click instantly, and then, they really click and they keep clicking, and they keep getting closer, and...</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><span> I don't want to give too many spoilers, but the balance between Annie having a bit more self-knowledge about being gay and Liza figuring it out plays a pivotal role in this story. As do the implications of one's family, one's place in society, the changing values of society, the pressures to conform, and the tragedies that the LGBTQ+ community have almost always born. And yet, be assured, this isn't the same tragic lesbian novel you've read before. </span></div><div><span> There are good people in their lives, trying to understand, or who already do (more than the girls can know). And these are two good girls, doing their best with their feelings and their situations. And they don't always get it right with each other. That is one of many many authentic parts to this story, how friends can fight, and say the wrong thing, and what it takes to come back together after. There is so very much to like in this book. And even as an adult, albeit one who still likes reading high-school romance, there is much to like in this book.</span></div><div><span> Well written with language that moves you through the story at a brisk pace. It isn't the most glamourous writing, but it's writing that feels invisible to the lives being lived. That's okay. Not every book needs to be a literary beacon. What I wanted from this book is what I got: a beautiful high-school romance handled well.</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-44867997781259452882023-06-11T09:57:00.001-04:002023-06-11T09:57:16.758-04:00My Cute Little Kitten volume 1 (manga Review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfYXlvO04vllsCgE7WaErInyOD0756JCE26TR-K-oALdpMyj4zyrJHMUcQCUBGEBrpAAL5IhyE3pTjFfebiqNAdtElyLD_Gq36Ix-wkz1q8V_SEsvShg7fbCFFc2xLRpLSBn60f1Pt3YYawC-PsBg20Z0Mk1sRZYjjIzVocYaDArilPogtck4y7shkg/s1000/my%20cute%20little%20kitten%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two twenty-something women in work clothes, one with a laptop. Standing a few feet apart facing each otehr. A small cat leaps between them." border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="702" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfYXlvO04vllsCgE7WaErInyOD0756JCE26TR-K-oALdpMyj4zyrJHMUcQCUBGEBrpAAL5IhyE3pTjFfebiqNAdtElyLD_Gq36Ix-wkz1q8V_SEsvShg7fbCFFc2xLRpLSBn60f1Pt3YYawC-PsBg20Z0Mk1sRZYjjIzVocYaDArilPogtck4y7shkg/w281-h400/my%20cute%20little%20kitten%201.jpg" title="My Cute Little Kitten volume 1 by Milk Morinaga" width="281" /></a></div> Have you read Milk Morinaga's other works? Do you like Milk Morinaga's other works? I think those are probably pretty crucial questions to answer before deciding to read "My Cute Little Kitten" volume 1.</span><div><span> For those uninitiated, Milk Morinaga writes yuri manga that features explicit dating and romance between high-school or adult female characters. The fact that Morinaga-san makes these relationships explicit and clear is a huge plus compared to a lot of the wishy-washy yuri out there. And some of Morinaga-san's work is generally quite good ("Girl Friends," some of the stories in "Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink," and my favorite: "Secret of the Princess"). But some of her series are a bit lack-luster compared to others and frankly, "My Cute Little Kitten" doesn't start super strong.</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><span><span> "My Cute Little Kitten" is about two young women, who met as college room mates and just never stopped living together. Of course, by the end of the first volume they are a couple. This isn't a spoiler, because the nice thing about Morinaga's series are that we don't have to wait until the last page of the final volume for a brief hint that they "might" get together - these are women who like each other and do get together. It's the journey as a couple that makes the series. But it remains to be seen if this series can rise above a middling first volume.</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> Basically, this is a Morinaga Milk manga through and through. It's uneven in places, funny and cute in places, a little too explicit a little too often in others, the art can get a bit unintentionally distorted at times (some face poses just don't ever look right in her work), but also has some serious and well written moments in places.</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> I did like some of the insight they have about when they each started falling for each other (one of them realizes: "my heart, it's already yours. I gave you my heart a long time ago"). And I like some of the 20-something aspects like the grungy apartment that still feels like paradise because it's yours (but then gets worse after you actually move in). And of course I like the sweetness between them. They are genuinely kind to each other and interested in each other. I also remember back to that time of acting like two rabbits when you first fall in love with someone and can't keep your hands off each other. </span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> It's hard to quantify what didn't sit well. Somewhere in the pacing, some of their internal questioning (that didn't quite feel authentic), and some of the scenarios they find themselves in (and some of the more explicit art): it was uneven, as I said before. But that's par for the course for Morinaga Milk's works. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> Coming back quickly to the art, it's very focused on the characters, particularly their faces. There isn't much in the way of backgrounds or detail work. It's often cutesy and even when it's being "realistic" it's still a cutesy form of art. And again, there is some anatomical awkwardness that crops into her work from time to time. None of her works are great art (although part of my own coming out journey was validated by the look of a character in one of her series, so that one will always be close to my heart).</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span>It's hard to see this series rising to the top, but for what it is, I'll keep reading at least a few more volumes.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-49668869046128460642023-05-04T12:32:00.001-04:002023-06-11T09:27:15.155-04:00A Condition Called Love - Volumes 1 and 2 (Manga Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfvhw7NcLP1boQwoMcU_lPZ2e9dk5Pb1FfXPrDgrTiTi_-wkXZ_Ghipa5lDubuzReDEaGP2nYdwFXDOJuNapsnW0ZCPvkv3WecII2w3-5zKku9gJjjbnB52xGvNIYRu9h-a85n_Z3j4SyV9hGJbP5we0dluvkSP3y8D49fPo1JSKRSmW7M7Z71ltDqQ/s1000/a%20condition%20called%20love%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A high school girl sits in between her boyfriends legs" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="667" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfvhw7NcLP1boQwoMcU_lPZ2e9dk5Pb1FfXPrDgrTiTi_-wkXZ_Ghipa5lDubuzReDEaGP2nYdwFXDOJuNapsnW0ZCPvkv3WecII2w3-5zKku9gJjjbnB52xGvNIYRu9h-a85n_Z3j4SyV9hGJbP5we0dluvkSP3y8D49fPo1JSKRSmW7M7Z71ltDqQ/w266-h400/a%20condition%20called%20love%202.jpg" title="A Condition Called Love volume 2 manga by Megumi Morino" width="266" /></a></div><span> </span>A few more volumes are going to be needed to really assess "A Condition Called Love." So far, I've read the first two volumes. Basically, it's a high-school romance between a guy who loves hard and a girl who isn't sure she's interested in love. They decide to have a trial relationship, and by volume 2, she's interested in continuing to see where it goes. The art is decent. Just a straightforward Shoujo series on the surface.<div><span> However, I am either intrigued or concerned about how they depict the boy and his actions. In some ways he could be seen as a very loving boyfriend who dotes on her. But it comes off as obsessive and a bit creepy to me. That could be good if it decides to really explore his past, maybe there's trauma there, maybe he's overcompensating, or maybe this series becomes dark like "Kare Kano." That would be really cool to see it dig in.</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><span> But two volumes in, so far it's taken a very straightforward approach with no hints that the author is troubled by this boys behavior and is going to explore or comment on that. It reads at face value and if it stays that way and doesn't explore why he acts like this, then it will not only be a lost opportunity, but it would signal a dangerous regression to the 90s manga of nice girls dating bad men but with no real commentary on the fact they're treating the girl badly (Peach Girl anyone?).</span></div><div><span><span> I'll definitely read a few more volumes to see if it starts hinting at or commenting on the underlying darkness and obsessiveness in his character. If it does, then it could be a much stronger series than your typical romance Shoujo. But if it doesn't, then I'll drop it so quick. We'll see. Stay tuned.</span><br /></span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-28913918583997743052023-05-04T12:08:00.261-04:002023-10-09T11:45:57.533-04:00Doughnuts under a Crescent Moon volume 4 (Manga Review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNslY5uQj7NeYumv4OF39FH6MGPTHdL2xQQdGPBNbysPHjU1OXNRG4bXwMR-mwsTqY8nImXvUzL05cWjE5KH8N_9HB5P4oRFu9OIgvhXbf6Cg2X749f2Hcc2vAPczSe8P-Ka0c5OhVeMav7Tr_b8Ed4PHbCXK1yUJyuhnsCEKlabn8OB6tW-8bZR2sw/s612/doughnuts%20under%20a%20crescent%20moon%204.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNslY5uQj7NeYumv4OF39FH6MGPTHdL2xQQdGPBNbysPHjU1OXNRG4bXwMR-mwsTqY8nImXvUzL05cWjE5KH8N_9HB5P4oRFu9OIgvhXbf6Cg2X749f2Hcc2vAPczSe8P-Ka0c5OhVeMav7Tr_b8Ed4PHbCXK1yUJyuhnsCEKlabn8OB6tW-8bZR2sw/s612/doughnuts%20under%20a%20crescent%20moon%204.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two adult women holding hands smiling and in love" border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNslY5uQj7NeYumv4OF39FH6MGPTHdL2xQQdGPBNbysPHjU1OXNRG4bXwMR-mwsTqY8nImXvUzL05cWjE5KH8N_9HB5P4oRFu9OIgvhXbf6Cg2X749f2Hcc2vAPczSe8P-Ka0c5OhVeMav7Tr_b8Ed4PHbCXK1yUJyuhnsCEKlabn8OB6tW-8bZR2sw/w400-h400/doughnuts%20under%20a%20crescent%20moon%204.jpeg" title="Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon volume 4 manga by Shio Usui" width="400" /></a><span><span><div><span><span><i>10/9/23 - There was a comment below that had me really thinking, and I responded to it. But I haven't been able to let it go, because while I think the commenter raises some good and very true issues with my perspective, I also think that the quality of my own writing didn't express what I was trying to get across. So with that, I've edited and added to this review to better represent what I meant. So that the edits don't undermine the original commenter, I have left anything I'm removing in the post but with strikethroughs. Anything I'm adding from the original are now colored blue so you can all see what was changed. I appreciate whenever a comment has me doing so much introspection. In this case, it was a mix of unpacking my own bias mixed with realizing that a fast-take no-edit post probably didn't do my underlying issue with the series/volume any help. On to the edited review:</i></span></span></div><div><span><span><br /></span></span></div> </span>Whelp, "Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon" volume 4 (the final volume) manages to take a very mediocre manga and <strike>absolutely destroy it with a major "fuck you"</strike> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">conclude it with an unexpected and poorly set-up character-based explanation</span> at the very end. </span><div><span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> Basically, I spent all but last page or so of this 4 volume series thinking/hoping/expecting that it was about two adult women's burgeoning understanding of themselves and desire to be in a relationship with each other. I'm always hoping for that because there either isn't much romance Josei being written or just isn't that much being translated (or a combination). So I'm pretty desperate for adult lesbian representation that isn't too trashy (written by men?) or too emotionally dark. Sometimes I just want that nice "cup of evening hot chocolate" type lesbian romance (I don't even know if that metaphor makes sense, lol). And while <i>Doughnuts</i> (my American brain cannot adjust to it being spelled that way - come on, it's DONUTS! amiright!?!?! lol) does deliver on the LGBTQ representation in its own way, it didn't deliver on its final reveal in a literarily-solid way (now I'm just making up words, so sue me!). </span></span>If you don't want spoilers, don't read the rest of this post. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div> SPOILERS</div><div><span><div><span> <strike> Basically, for 3.99 volumes it's been a series about two women gradually coming to see that what they want from the other is an actual romantic relationship. And while it's been fairly pedestrian in writing, and a bit sub-par in art, it's been harmless enough. Boring really, but harmless.</strike></span></div><div><span> </span><strike>However, and here's</strike> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">Here's</span> the big SPOILER: at the very end of the very last chapter, when they finally get together as a couple, <strike>the volume is concluded with (I'm paraphrasing here): "Even though we are romantically into each other, in love, want to live and spend the rest of our lives together, we don't actually want to touch or kiss each other."</strike> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">Hinako comes out as asexual (not in so many words) to Asahi and she's frightened Asahi will want more than she can give. But then Asahi reassures her that she's asexual too (again, not in so many words).</span> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">It's not that message that's the issue, but the blunt way Asahi's response to Hinako's coming out to her about her asexuality is written that undermines the reveal and the series' tension. It seems out of nowhere that Asahi just goes "welp, I'm the same" - conflict resolved. Too fast.</span></div></span></div><div><span> Now before you get upset at me, I fully and wholeheartedly support folks on the asexual spectrum. But "Bloom Into You" this is not. <strike>There have been zero, I mean NO, hints at any point throughout the series that these were asexual individuals looking for romance only</strike> </span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I would love a low-key, low-stakes, slow-burn </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromanticism" target="_blank">aro</a><span style="color: #2b00fe;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexuality">ace</a><span style="color: #2b00fe;">, or aroace series. But just like Chekov's gun in reverse, shouldn't there be some hints that this is a possible orientation/identity/spectrum the characters find themselves on? Shouldn't coming to understand that about oneself or each other be part of the character development and/or plot arc of a series explicitly about two people coming together as a couple (some foreshadowing)? I don't know. <i>(editor's note, the original commenter below makes a good point about people - including me - assuming default socially standard identities when no indication is given and making minority identities have to be blatantly portrayed to be believable in media. It's a good point.) </i>So on</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> my first read, I just didn't find any evidence that this was a possible resolution to the series' dramatic theme</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> AND/OR did I miss a lot in the text and there was the literary foreshadowing all along? </span>I<strike>f that had been the point of the series, then fine, I would love the nonchalant representation. But, there was no indication that was the point.</strike> </div><div><span> <strike> I would also have been fine if they got together and left the details of their sexual interest totally unspoken and up to the reader to imagine for the future. But that this manga, after spending four volumes getting two adult women together (and boy howdy do we need some real Josei instead), it just ups and gives a big "fuck you" to lesbians by refusing to acknowledge that it is OKAY that they have sexual lives. </strike> </span></div><div><span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span> </span></span></span> <span style="color: #2b00fe;"> So I decided to go back to the four volumes to see what I might have missed, what might have led me astray, and try and understand how much was me (big hint, I do have a lot of bias) and how much was marketing (none really, actually give them some credit), and how much was poor writing (at the very least, it was a perfunctory series regardless of the ending).</span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span> Starting with the covers (front and back). All four front covers (US English versions) were pretty basic with just the two women enjoying time together. There's some non-romantic hand holding on volume 2's cover, some light finger touching and staring into each other's eyes on volume 3, and a warm - but not particularly clear - embrace on volume 4. (Score 1 for my bias, the covers really aren't suggestive of what direction the representation might make).</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span> Looking at the back covers, Volume 1 starts with "A Yuri Romance For the Modern Career Woman!" - without highlighting too much of what is or isn't Yuri, it's clear that my bias shows through here. While I have been a huge supporter of and believer in a wide definition of Yuri and my favorite show of all time (Maria Watches Over Us) really doesn't define the nature of the relationships between Yumi and Sachiko or Yumi and Touko, I know my brain hears "yuri" and jumps straight to an allo-romantic, allo-sexual default. (1 point for my bias). The other text on the back cover does talk about how Hinako doesn't feel like "normal" romance is working for her, but it does indicate that her relationship with Asahi "starts as respect and then it becomes far more intimate" - well, intimacy doesn't necessarily mean romantic or sexual intimacy - so maybe another point for my bias.</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span> Volume 2's back cover talks about whether they can be "more than friends" and "could this be love?" - I guess I assumed, wrongly again, we were talking about allo-romantic and allo-sexual love. But while I continue see them as having at least some level of romantic attraction, the final volume does make clear they aren't interested in sexual intimacy. So there's nothing here that overrides what volume 4 does, another point for my bias I suppose. </span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span> Volume 3's back cover is more of the same, lots of romance talk. No real talk of anything else. But I suppose I conflate romance with some eventual sexual interest. That's my bias again, because clearly people can be romantically attracted and not interested in sexual intimacy. Another point against my bias.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span> Volume 4's back cover explicitly talks about how Asahi has "never been big on romantic love" - that she has other priorities. However, it goes on to say that "her feelings about romance seem to be changing." So if I leave out my presumption that sexual attraction will follow, all this cover seems to be talking about is romantic attraction. Another point against my bias.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> So while Seven Seas Entertainment does put out a lot of yuri, there is nothing about the yuri genre that request allo-sexual lead couples. In fact, yuri is littered with asexual representation big and small. And there is nothing in the cover images or text to imply anything other than a growing romantic relationship between the two. Just my bias exposed at this point.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> What about inside the volumes? Any hint that the resolution for both of their anxiety about the relationship would be that they are both asexual? It's in the final chapter, at the end, with Asahi's confession of love that Hinako comes out as asexual to Asahi, worried it will push Asahi away. But Asahi responds with "and fortunately, I don't have any of those desires either." It's not the asexuality reveal that was disappointing to me, but the way all four volumes of tension is dispelled without any foreshadowing that either this was Hinako's concern all along and/or that Asahi would (just by chance?) also be asexual. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> The way Asahi's response is written was just</span> too quick and neat a resolution that didn't work from a literary quality standpoint for me on my first read. Maybe it is how it works in the real world. But the quality of how Asahi's coming out <i>is written </i>undermines all the emotion and guts and courage behind Hinako's revelation to Asahi. It's not the asexual relationship that was disappointing to me, it was the actual word choices, sentence construction, and lack of lead-up that makes Asahi's statement so underwhelming. It was just a curt little bow to tie it up on basically the last page.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span>You can't just drop something on the reader at the very end that ties it all up neatly when there is zero sense that that's coming. It doesn't make emotional sense. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Unless of course, you assume, with no textual evidence, an allo-sexual default. Maybe if they had gotten together in a sexual way at the end, I would have felt better about the ending only because I had imagined sexual attraction all along when there was none. Maybe it wouldn't have been any better written, I just had been seeing what I wanted to see, not what was in the text. That's bias! So maybe it was actually poorly written no matter what the ending was (LOL)?</span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> To figure that out, let's go back through the text of the four volumes to see what, if anything (either allo- or asexual was in the text).</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Right from the opening panels of volume 1 Hinako expresses not liking being touched (is that dislike about being touched by a man or at all?). She even goes so far as to "feel gross" about the lingering after touch on the shoulder. On the other hand, she finds herself staring at Asahi's mouth mid-way through the volume. Is that a romantic attraction or a sexual one? Throughout the volumes, there is clear romantic attraction. When Hinako talks about not being normal, when she talks about not being able to fall in love, did I just assume the only thing she was figuring out was that she liked women? Why didn't I consider that maybe she was also figuring out that she was asexual? An intersectional identity?</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Volume 2 starts off with Asahi indicating that she has never fallen in love and never will. Again, did I assume it was because she felt she had to stay a closeted lesbian in Japanese society and not that it was because she was also asexual? My default bias kicking in again perhaps? However, she then says "Subaru [her sister] is everything to me" which clouds it - now is she saying she'll never fall in love so that she doesn't have to divide her love between her sister and her partner? Does this undermine the real point (her asexuality)? Is it that she consciously says that it's because of Subaru but it's really the later? Am I reading in more now that I've convinced myself that I was blinded by my bias? </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Volume 2 also adds Hinako wanting to hold hands with Asahi and enjoying it when they do. Clearly this is in contrast to not liking a man to touch her shoulder in volume 1. I assumed that the discomfort was about gender, when it also ends up being more than that. Later Hinako touches Asahi's hands while doing her nails and finds herself in the position of the man from the first volume, wanting to touch the person she likes. When does touch (or what level of touch) cross from romance into sexual attraction? But of course, asexuality is a spectrum as well.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Needless to say, I could go through volumes 3 and 4 as well like this. There are subtle hints, if read with knowledge of the ending in mind, that make the ending seem less jarring. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span> <strike>Is it pandering to Japan's conservative culture by trying to be a mainstream josei about two women that won't offend anyone? I don't know. Is it badly written, yes it is. Does that lack of sex life come out of nowhere? Yes it does. Do you hate it when people ask themselves questions and then answer them? Yes I do, but I'm doing it anyway.</strike></span></div><div><span> <strike>Back to the point. The series was bland, but at least it was about two adult women falling in love. As a 43 year old lesbian, I want adult LGBTQ+ representation in manga. But whether it doesn't exist, or just isn't being translated, I am so disappointed that this is the crap we get in English. Don't bother with this series. It isn't any sort of legitimate representation of lesbians, asexual individuals, or anything. What a waste of an opportunity.</strike></span></div><div><span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> At the end of the day, the series was better in a re-read than it was the first time. Most probably because I was looking at it holistically, not with long periods of time between volumes, and because I was more focused on the details to try and see whether I had royally screwed up my original review (I had). </span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> In the end, although it isn't the best written series and is a bit bland, it definitely has something to offer the yuri world - an adult asexual lesbian relationship. That's a thing to celebrate in mass media. While the foreshadowing that they are both asexual and that that will resolve the underlying tension isn't strong throughout the series, there also isn't anything to suggest the opposite (allo-sexuality). In fact, the restrained nature of the back cover blurbs should be celebrated for not hinting at things that aren't and actually staying true to the author's intent. </span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> My original review was clearly biased by allo-sexuality defaults. It's still not a great series, but certainly better than I had initially indicated. It rests on it's opening chapter and closing chapter to give us the sense of asexuality that will resolve the dramatic tension while the middle sections are more about them coming together than it is about them understanding themselves and revealing that understanding to the reader. I wish that had been stronger and with some greater unpacking of Asahi's character. But it certainly isn't as bad as my original review made it to see. </span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> I wouldn't recommend the series necessarily, but I wouldn't warn against it either. It was a perfectly nice story with bland art. What it brings is an important bit of representation, even if done imperfectly from a writer's craft standpoint. You're mileage may vary depending on what you are seeking. Thank you again to the first commenter who pointed me in a new direction and caused me to reevaluate the series and my writing about it.</span></span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div></div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-84493894077730901822023-03-17T13:14:00.001-04:002023-06-11T09:29:01.038-04:00The Girl that Can't Get a Girlfriend (Manga Review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJiAUgq8WbQqps1-oY7aKpOY-YAF3UTG-RDMTp6a29qyg-slsOZwsB7ILDzJCaKZ7LxhpVabZCKy8-LPgWrbXk3ea3FpN97DUpgAvMj5Zn5Av4AlqaDkahbG8--JwK9RumyBTY23VxvlBhpr-4oZvoYllL63XEL3btbiOge3i5wcZLnHC2pLF1s7gng/s2000/the%20girl%20that%20cant%20get%20a%20girlfriend.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two women on the front cover, one drawn in precise manga style the other in a more cartoony way. The precisely drawn one is putting her hand up to say "no" to the other who is presenting her with a heart shaped flower" border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJiAUgq8WbQqps1-oY7aKpOY-YAF3UTG-RDMTp6a29qyg-slsOZwsB7ILDzJCaKZ7LxhpVabZCKy8-LPgWrbXk3ea3FpN97DUpgAvMj5Zn5Av4AlqaDkahbG8--JwK9RumyBTY23VxvlBhpr-4oZvoYllL63XEL3btbiOge3i5wcZLnHC2pLF1s7gng/w280-h400/the%20girl%20that%20cant%20get%20a%20girlfriend.jpg" title="The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend by Mieri Hiranishi" width="280" /></a></div> "The Girl that Can't Get a Girlfriend" by Mieri Hiranishi is an auto-biographical LGBTQ manga. In keeping with my general philosophy towards auto-biographical works, I will not be commenting on the story or characters themselves because those are real people and real events, so it's not for me to dissect them. Also, out of respect for the author, this is their work and their life, and they should be proud to have it out there for the world to see. That's a very brave thing.</span><div><span> All that being said, I wanted to love "The Girl that Can't Get a Girlfriend" but I didn't. It was okay, just okay. I think it suffers in comparison to some extraordinary works, particularly "My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness" which is extraordinary on so many levels, that most things will pale in comparison. But I also think about graphic novels like "Fun Home" or "It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth" or even "Hyperbole and a Half" and unfortunately "The Girl..." just doesn't compete.</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><span> Again, I'm not being critical of the person or their journey, just the presentation in words and print. It is written in a very didactic style with little in the way of internal introspection or depth. It's just plot to plot to plot in little nuggets. It's just not elegantly crafted as prose goes. The story itself could be very compelling, but the delivery is what suffers. </span></div><div><span> However, all that being said, as far as LGBTQ+ representation, I'm all for it, and aspects of this story may resonate with you despite the way it's presented. The art is interesting veering from very loose and sketchy, to loose and broad, to detailed and precisely executed. I would be okay with the art (even though it isn't upper echelon) if the writing was better. So it's not the art, it's not the plot or character, it's just the very perfunctory presentation of the events that had me disappointed. Can't say I'd recommend it as it didn't have much depth or interiority. Your mileage may vary though and of course, kudos to Mieri Hiranishi for taking the risk and putting her story out there. </span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-83322322669917988222023-03-17T13:00:00.004-04:002023-06-11T09:29:11.743-04:00Adachi and Shimamura Volume 4 (Manga Review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz_CN6oLK4_CKs6bwt7p8Fgv-B81LYotqML4AL9Wx6AbOtCLFenlWCfXDPGDlgqxjdu53yrA2egeZ8Mv-wtr3PLQgTdKhfn1BkwVYMsjvEf_JgVBwbeR-DXSyQde9wdlwCUMhM-3aF4usEj_3_CinOksdaCISIshAcO0rSfh4NGg-kd05-i44TZd4dw/s500/adachi%20and%20shimamura%20vol%204.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two high school firls walking past a stairwell in a school, one tugs on the others sleeve" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz_CN6oLK4_CKs6bwt7p8Fgv-B81LYotqML4AL9Wx6AbOtCLFenlWCfXDPGDlgqxjdu53yrA2egeZ8Mv-wtr3PLQgTdKhfn1BkwVYMsjvEf_JgVBwbeR-DXSyQde9wdlwCUMhM-3aF4usEj_3_CinOksdaCISIshAcO0rSfh4NGg-kd05-i44TZd4dw/w266-h400/adachi%20and%20shimamura%20vol%204.jpg" title="Adachi and Shimamura volume 4 manga by Moke Yzuhara and Hitoma Iruma" width="266" /></a></div> I know I'm going to take flak for this, but I just continue to not really like "Adachi and Shimamura" and even after re-reading Volume 4 several times, it's just not doing anything for me. Of course, your tastes might be different, what connects with you will be different than what connects with me, and I recognize that the light novels are much beloved. So take my thoughts with a grain of salt if you're a fan of the light novels.</span><div><span> Volume 4 centers around Adachi becoming jealous/insecure that Shimamura is talking to other students in their new class, Shimamura reconnecting with a slightly strange old friend, and Adachi begging her way into a sleepover at Shimamura's house. </span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><span> Where I continue to struggle with this series is with Shimamura's character. Is she asexual? Is she aromantic? Is she just not a good friend? Is she not really interested in other people at all (maybe a form of narcissism?). Between her interactions with the new friends, her old friend, and Adachi, she just comes off as cold and disinterested and almost that she's using other people. Not necessarily in an intentionally mean way, but just in an aloof/oblivious/dismissive way. And I'm not sure I buy it as a realistically written character, at least not without more background on perhaps where this personality comes from.</span></div><div><span> A commenter on another post of mine, mentioned similarities between "Bloom into You" and another manga, and I think comparing "Adachi and Shimamura" to "Bloom into You" offers an interesting perspective. Where Yuu, from "Bloom Into You," is a strong, thoroughly thought through and realized asexual/aromantic character (or somewhere in those spectrums), Shimamura in "Adachi and Shimamura" comes off as dense, disinterested, and unintentionally hurtful/oblivious - not as a fully realized representation of part of the LGBQT spectrum. Long story short, I don't find her character likable nor particularly believable.</span></div><div><span><span> I hear that in the end of the story (SPOILER) they end up together as a couple (END SPOILER - someone spoiled it for me), I'm not sure the journey to get there is worth the inelegant writing, character depictions, and plot. I just don't buy it as being in the least realistic as a depiction of a real person (Shimamura, that is). I'm okay with not liking a character as long as that character feels honestly written. She just doesn't to me. </span></span></div><div><span><span><span> I'm also not feeling any good slow burn vibes. It's just frustrating to read in every moment. It's uncomfortable in the character interactions, even when we're supposed to be getting sweet moments. I probably will stop reading after this volume. Sorry again if you love this story. I'm totally curious why you do and what I'm missing, so comments (kindly written even when you disagree with me) are always welcome.</span> </span><br /></span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-43012084254462338452023-03-17T12:40:00.003-04:002023-03-17T12:40:57.194-04:00The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey (Book Review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklNoMIAneMSPqOEhDqPNWstBeVOLhgRIrdwD7moT_iLHVrRFkhqDaEwITWBioUSNeVo0R4zGZALgAp4amCagdA9m71z9x4tnqoKihACC_AxWt6MY-glKY1D7KQWL3K-G0Ftk95532BtPrYgOb-xCDUhAroe-ABsxxm4moiB0R2JGBTn-sYGjkrGfbBg/s500/the%20echo%20wife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two diamond engagement rings, one pointing up and one pointing down linked at the bottom of their band. The next of the cover is written around the book and upside down at parts" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklNoMIAneMSPqOEhDqPNWstBeVOLhgRIrdwD7moT_iLHVrRFkhqDaEwITWBioUSNeVo0R4zGZALgAp4amCagdA9m71z9x4tnqoKihACC_AxWt6MY-glKY1D7KQWL3K-G0Ftk95532BtPrYgOb-xCDUhAroe-ABsxxm4moiB0R2JGBTn-sYGjkrGfbBg/w264-h400/the%20echo%20wife.jpg" title="The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey" width="264" /></a></div> I'm not a huge fan of contemporary fiction. That's not exactly true. I just don't read much of it because I'm not interested in much of it. But there is a lot of wonderful contemporary fiction out there and I'm very pleased to say that "The Echo Wife" by Sarah Gailey is one of those.</span><div><span> I was in a bookstore, just randomly browsing, not intending to buy anything, but a clerk had written a brief description of this book and it was enough to make me want to buy it. This won't be a review exactly, but perhaps my attempt to do for you what that clerk's write-up did for me.</span></div><div><span> "The Echo Wife" could be summed up as a modern gothic near-future (futurist?) feminist novel. It centers around a woman, her ex-husband, the other woman, and human cloning. Neither woman is exactly likeable, but both are easy to root for despite their flaws. This is feminism in the best sense in that we have empowered women, struggling against a variety of patriarchal forces, but they aren't perfect people. They are flawed and unique and messy (very!) and the fact that we empathize so deeply with both of them while also recognizing their flaws is an evidence of the author's mastery of craft. </span></div><div><span><span> The narrative and prose are tightly constructed and well executed. If I had any qualms, it's that I'm still digesting the very very very ending. After a first reading, it feels just slightly less thought through than the rest of the book which is so perfectly built that I'm not sure the ending works. However, it may also be an ending that grows on me over time. Or, perhaps, it is intentionally not as tight as the rest for one of two possible reasons: 1) it's showing the main character's increasing release from her past trauma in that she is less studious and purposeful, and/or 2) that we are meant to question how things might unravel after the novel. It's that last part that has me unsettled. I guess time and re-readings will tell.</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> Basically, if you like gothic and victorian proto-feminist works but want a modern (slightly futurist) setting with less angelic characters who are flawed but engaging that is well written, "The Echo Wife" is sure to please. I highly recommend it.</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-58289408717055316702023-02-18T11:14:00.000-05:002023-02-18T11:14:23.350-05:00Fruits Basket Another volume 4 (manga review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33fZQbL2WZ7ORctbiza6yEqAikA7Gi_pA_QUpk7POLrQ5IZEQgHDrB6aKrAofEfxoY_moNU0PrRs1Op0D3E0iPAaWCRd7r87gAxd7gaPuPhSFlPVGBmZmQ_6OzWlD6t8DXzcbHyoMEmIQImmqwW8Vu3XcucA_G4FK0fDz-fwxvZl0CJwX72zFFqhu2A/s630/Fruits%20basket%20another%20volume%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A young teen boy in a black suite with shaggy hair stares out at the reader" border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="439" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33fZQbL2WZ7ORctbiza6yEqAikA7Gi_pA_QUpk7POLrQ5IZEQgHDrB6aKrAofEfxoY_moNU0PrRs1Op0D3E0iPAaWCRd7r87gAxd7gaPuPhSFlPVGBmZmQ_6OzWlD6t8DXzcbHyoMEmIQImmqwW8Vu3XcucA_G4FK0fDz-fwxvZl0CJwX72zFFqhu2A/w279-h400/Fruits%20basket%20another%20volume%204.jpg" title="Fruits Basket Another Volume 4 by Natsuki Takaya (Yen Press)" width="279" /></a></div> If you're reading "Fruits Basket Another", then you love Natsuki Takaya and her series "Fruits Basket." So do you really need a critical review of volume 4, the final volume? Probably not. So don't expect me to get all analytical here. I just don't want to be that person in regards to this series.</span><div><span> In this volume, we get a long, single, final chapter to the "Another" series, we also get the six part "Three Musketeers Arc" and some warm fuzzies at the end with the original series.</span></div><div><span> The final chapter, just like the prior three volumes, goes by at a frenetic pace, without necessarily a clear goal or arc in mind. In fact, from the first volume to this one, there's quite the shift in which characters are the focus (and honestly, I had trouble remember who was who after such a long publishing delay between volumes). Is that a criticism? No. If this was a "formal" series I'd be tempted to dig into it's pacing, organization, and narrative structure. But I continue to view this as being more akin to fan-service to those, like myself, who love the original "Fruits Basket." So no matter how it's presented, I love living in their world and meeting their children.</span></div><div><span> What I do particularly like about this volume, and actually wish was made into a full series in it's own right, is Shiki's relationship with his mother. For those who haven't seen the original series, I won't spoil who his mother is. But this chapter offers a fascinating glimpse into the fallout that character experienced after the original series. And I thought, as with all that Takaya-sensei does, it is remarkably kind and sensitive even to a character that could be very hard to sympathize with. </span></div><div><span> I did read somewhere that this final chapter, with it's focus on Shiki, was actually a "one-shot" and not necessarily part of the prior three volumes, which may account of the shift in narrative perspective. Either way, I would have wanted much more time with him, just like I would have wanted much more time with Sawa (the primary lead in the first three volumes - although they're frenetic with focus as well). But I'll take anything that Takaya-sensei wants to give us. I love her art, I love the feeling, and if nothing else, this was some relatively light, hopeful fun with that bit of bittersweetness that is so strong in her works.</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-79458711299040564892023-02-18T10:59:00.000-05:002023-02-18T10:59:33.588-05:00Love at Fourteen volume 12 - the final volume (manga review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqyZo7_Cq_H437AAOAelrR3wX04PbZM97FNMnvevUStEH_pwaKAURaG0SmPd4mq-T8-YtZtIUYOpabetWxVqZLxr-KhjV45D-foaXa4otzu4e4NkO5aa-EQ3TTDeyrtDUUdfcAzawSVlENcWrdtzpXKOyiPeTYcK4AIIywJg7EZvC1ybOF09GZKAm5UA/s1000/love%20at%20fourteen%2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A teen girl and teen boy, holding hands, smiling joyously under cherry blossoms" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="697" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqyZo7_Cq_H437AAOAelrR3wX04PbZM97FNMnvevUStEH_pwaKAURaG0SmPd4mq-T8-YtZtIUYOpabetWxVqZLxr-KhjV45D-foaXa4otzu4e4NkO5aa-EQ3TTDeyrtDUUdfcAzawSVlENcWrdtzpXKOyiPeTYcK4AIIywJg7EZvC1ybOF09GZKAm5UA/w279-h400/love%20at%20fourteen%2012.jpg" title="Love at Fourteen volume 12 (Yen Press, Fuka Mizutani)" width="279" /></a></div> </span>I was tempted to not even write a post on "Love at Fourteen" volume 12 (Yen Press). I of course, was tempted to not even continue reading the series after the first few volumes. But, having relented in completing the series (because I do like the main character's story) I figured I'd might as well post a few thoughts on this final volume.<div><span> If you're reading this post, then I'm assuming you've either read the series or my posts on the series, so I won't try and summarize things at all. So here are some random final thoughts on this volume and series:</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>1) I don't mind the way it resolved the main couple's storyline at this point, although I still find it a bit unnecessarily dramatic that he is moving away (like a forced plot point). There's a sense it was done to create a partial ending for a series with a finite length, rather than having to explore what it means to grow up after starting a relationship young (whether they stay together or not).</span></div><div><span> </span></div><div><span>2) I still find aspects of this series disturbing in terms of the number of adults who are interested in children and the fact that those actually mature into relationships. This is particularly painful in the encore which shows the wedding of two of the side characters. This is not proper adult behavior, to pursue a relationship with a 14 year old.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>3) It's interesting that the adults who pursue relationships with children are all adult women. Part of me wonders whether this is some fantasizing by the author or whether it was done because an adult male pursuing a female fourteen year old is societally much creepier (even though the adult women pursuing young teens is just as creepy in my mind). I wonder if it was done because it might not raise as many alarms when it's an adult woman in pursuit? Don't know, but it's still creepy. Also, there was never any critical exploration of the implications of an adult and a teen in a romance. The series simply treated them as okay and that bothers me to no end.</div><div><br /></div><div>4) There were so many interesting characters, but in the end, I still found the series sort of hollow. I would have liked several more rigorous series devoted to each of the side characters who were fairly well realized here as individuals, and yet somehow left relatively unexplored as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>I really can't say I'd recommend this series at all. The first volume starts off so strong, and intermittently there are really powerful moments both in the main character's arc and even with some of the side stories (no matter how creepy and inappropriate they are). But in the end, it doesn't really go anywhere or reveal anything, or contribute to how I look at romance. As I said above, it's sort of a hollow series. Maybe it tried to do too much. Maybe it didn't do enough? Either way, it's not consistently strong and there are too many adult/child relationships (ie, a number well above zero) with no critical commentary on them.</div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-79765964534344826692023-01-14T11:30:00.001-05:002023-01-14T11:30:33.071-05:00Citrus + Volume 4 (Citrus Plus vol. 4, Manga review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwS3bYTwL-agPIG8AIAPgxNC_CramqFUUM9YKEdgkWeZbHLqlJy-TpxsSBlSVtVg-cvPEVa-eRvfXbGG-i-dDn4umtm579lliJinMzW9F7fnOMsznNIHIv9m1uOSD7R5uwFneKtJx2FMGwLLjsWMehThhpg6dhoQ5GE-4eaq2EoF2vwM1YywBhz2R9OA/s630/citrus%20plus%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two teen girls out shopping" border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="447" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwS3bYTwL-agPIG8AIAPgxNC_CramqFUUM9YKEdgkWeZbHLqlJy-TpxsSBlSVtVg-cvPEVa-eRvfXbGG-i-dDn4umtm579lliJinMzW9F7fnOMsznNIHIv9m1uOSD7R5uwFneKtJx2FMGwLLjsWMehThhpg6dhoQ5GE-4eaq2EoF2vwM1YywBhz2R9OA/w284-h400/citrus%20plus%204.jpg" title="Citrus + volume 4 by Saburouta" width="284" /></a></div> Citrus + (Citrus Plus) volume 4 continues the sequel story to the Citrus Manga. Short-take: it doesn't have the deep plot and high stakes as the original series (maybe a negative?) but also doesn't have as much salaciousness as the original series (a plus for me). Volume 4 feels a bit adrift, almost like a fan fiction or a low-key fanservice just to give us more time with the couple. That's neither good nor bad, just know that it's mostly just low-key slice of life/romance that is neither particularly well done, nor particularly bad or problematic.</span><div><span> Of course, being Citrus, it has plenty of busty teen girls and lots of horny camera operator framing of their bodies. But unlike the original series, the actual sex is toned way down. With different art, this would just be a run-of-the-mill yuri romance at this point. I read it because I like the original series even with it's many faults and I want more time with Mei and Yuzu.</span></div><div><span> Volume 4 of Citrus + is focused on Mei's attempt to buy a birthday gift to Yuzu as well as their ongoing preparation for entrance exams. Matsuri pokes her head into a few places, but unlike in the original series, she seems to be less intent on stirring the pot and actually is supporting Mei and Yuzu's relationship. The upsetting subplot with her from the original series doesn't seem to play into Citrus + at all leading us to believe that the resolution of it in the original series has stuck. </span></div><div><span> If the art wasn't so intent on putting breasts into our faces at every turn, I would really like it. So basically, I do like it and I just ignore the unnecessary fan-service aspects. From the writing standpoint, I found the characterization of Mei occasionally weak here but it could also be that since this volume skips around in time that there are things going on in between that would contextualize some of her more.</span></div><div><span> Basically, it isn't the strongest series, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you like the original Citrus for the romance (and not the sleaze). Volume 4 feels the weakest yet in Citrus + as if it just is spinning it's wheels a bit, but at least we get some Mei and Yuzu cuddling.</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-90663181030914232072023-01-02T11:12:00.003-05:002023-01-02T11:12:47.857-05:00Even Though We're Adults volume 5 (Manga Review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCzvXQvGOUHwI9hNnpzQ8uCqIfy9r6W8BBCke3C6mYtYQBcz9_RXiqtac6SDdnx79Y0c5ZRqr4kMMKHZcNYbInsv43UcXyr7fuZeCAwjNQVA5lZYrJVPkm6uvKKu6FW6sL7Pypgu9CjmDdQg-WfczTQ8M4BfU0uZGjMXp3x82q0er9K27PtUMoZeKSA/s900/even%20though%20were%20adults%205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A woman with shoulder length dark hair stands sideways looking out at the world over her right shoulder in 3/4 profile" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="615" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCzvXQvGOUHwI9hNnpzQ8uCqIfy9r6W8BBCke3C6mYtYQBcz9_RXiqtac6SDdnx79Y0c5ZRqr4kMMKHZcNYbInsv43UcXyr7fuZeCAwjNQVA5lZYrJVPkm6uvKKu6FW6sL7Pypgu9CjmDdQg-WfczTQ8M4BfU0uZGjMXp3x82q0er9K27PtUMoZeKSA/w274-h400/even%20though%20were%20adults%205.jpg" title="Even Though We're Adults volume 5 by Takako Shimura" width="274" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div> I'm still not sure what to make of the series "Even Though We're Adults" by Takako Shimura, and the same goes for volume 5. </span><div><span><span> </span>Disclaimer: I love both her series "Sweet Blue Flowers" and "Wandering Son" even though many would call her writing uneven and a bit problematic in ways, and maybe even raise concerns about her legitimacy as a writer not knowing for sure what her personal sexual/gender identity is and whether she has any business writing about LGBTQ characters. I frankly don't care if she is a cis-woman (and I'm not saying Shimura-sensei is, just that it wouldn't matter to me if she was or was not) because I find so much connection with those two series and they are so personally meaningful to me as a trans-lesbian. As I mentioned to an acquaintance once, I like her writing because her characters and stories are messy. They aren't "perfect" LGBTQ spokespeople, their lives don't neatly fit into media and agenda friendly boxes. To me, that's what makes them more real and the complexities of their experiences resonate. </span><div><span> But I can't quite figure out if "Even Though We're Adults" rises quite to the heights of those earlier series. </span></div><div><span><span> </span>As you may know, this focuses on a married young woman who develops a relationship with a single young woman and then needs to decide what on earth to do with that. In the early volumes (light spoilers), Ayano eventually tells her husband about Akari and the three even meet up. This didn't strike me as the way anyone in this situation would handle things. But eventually Ayano does ask her husband for a divorce. </span></div><div><span><span> </span>However, in volume 5, she still has not told her family exactly what is going on with her husband. They think they're just fighting and that's why Ayano is living with her parents. So, her parents continue to invite her husband over for dinner, again and again, and even forcing things a bit further. Wataru, the husband, even pushes things himself with Ayano in one of the most painful moments I've read in a Shimura-sensei work (I won't give it away). That was a moment that hinted at Shimura-sensei's powers as a writer. That scene felt true to me on many many levels. </span></div><div><span> We also see that despite their attempts at creating space, Ayano and Akari can't stay away from each other. But we don't get much of them together in this volume.</span></div><div><span> Interestingly, Volume 5 also spends some time with Eri, Wataru (the husband's) sister, and her emotional/social struggles as well as relationship with her mom. I find that the mom is well written, particularly in this volume, as a real and whole person, not a stereotype. And while some of Eri's hikikomori-type ("shut-in") tendencies have been depicted decently throughout the series, the turn her arc takes in volume 5 felt a bit abrupt. However, in that abruptness, Shimura-sensei again creates messiness, which has it's own value yet again. Maybe the abruptness was only a factor of the medium and not wanting to prolong getting to this particular plot point? Maybe it will feel less abrupt if I were to read volumes 1-5 in succession rapidly to catch little changes in Eri that I just didn't remember when reading volume 5?</span></div><div><span> Thinking about how I sometimes struggle to fully appreciate manga series when months go by between volumes, only to find more cohesion when I re-read the series all at once, I bet that will emerge with this series too. Even then, I'm not sure it will have the profound effect on me of her earlier two series, but I'm starting to see the messiness I like in her stories/characters. </span></div><div><span><span> </span>And maybe "Even Though We're Adults" doesn't have to be profound, complex, or genre defining? Maybe Shimura-sensei is just writing a "simple" (for her) story with engaging/messy characters, and that's enough? I'll definitely keep reading because even in it's potential lack of greatness it is still much better than most of the middling shoujo and yuri manga I end up reading (not for lack of trying to find better stuff, trust me, and suggestions always welcome).</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div></div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-67969300062100758932022-12-30T11:00:00.002-05:002023-01-02T11:13:15.515-05:00A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow (Manga series review)<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_H9A890TlNPC8TyAkl5nmmrBRLiEVuH2g096M5eXmC6Ew03AxkEozSG5tGTCZmdpZLeGjavv3rBF2CHu0-WKNmtffDi_lHhzh_7zoaknlWGZ9m5kE_lkXad00abyILMJuh78fFzIrPgG8o0Ib6nKIszuyKDFCBRKz88TNceJKM2RA7E-Kf8Kjibiiw/s500/a%20tropical%20fish%209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Two smiling high school girls in uniforms, one holds a rolled up diploma" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_H9A890TlNPC8TyAkl5nmmrBRLiEVuH2g096M5eXmC6Ew03AxkEozSG5tGTCZmdpZLeGjavv3rBF2CHu0-WKNmtffDi_lHhzh_7zoaknlWGZ9m5kE_lkXad00abyILMJuh78fFzIrPgG8o0Ib6nKIszuyKDFCBRKz88TNceJKM2RA7E-Kf8Kjibiiw/w266-h400/a%20tropical%20fish%209.jpg" title="A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow volume 9 by Makoto Hagino" width="266" /></a></div> I did it. For you dear readers. And maybe a little bit for my own to make sure I wasn't completely full of shit. But I did it. I reread all 9 volumes of "A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow." If you read my quick hits post a few posts back, I touched on volume 9. But basically, the volumes came out with such time between them that I couldn't always feel the emotional flow of the story and by volume 9 was just confused. So having re-read all 9 in quick succession, I can definitively say that this series was another disappointment for me.</span><div><span> Quick synopsis: Konatsu Amano moves in with her aunt in a small seaside town when her dad goes overseas to work (we get hints that the mom has passed away). On her first day at school she meets Koyuki Honami, a senior, and sole member of the school's aquarium club. They connect and start a deep friendship.</span></div><div><span> SPOILER WARNING: I will be talking about the overall emotional arc and "ending(?)" to this series. So if you don't want spoilers, don't read any further.</span></div><div><span> Last chance? Okay, still reading?</span></div><div><span> Here's what I hate in recent "yuri" (I hesitate to call this series yuri, but whatever, that's for another rant): I hate when a story is too weak kneed to commit to what it's trying to say, what it wants it's characters to mean when they say or feel things, and what it actually wants the central relationship to be. Life isn't as obtuse and faux-literary as these writers seem to make it. People either are or are not friends, they either have romantic feelings for someone or they don't, and no one soliloquizes in oblique terms the way the dialogue and internal monologues are written. </span></div><div><span> Long story short, I have NO idea whether Konatsu and Koyuki either a) have feelings for each other, or one for the other, but not reciprocal, b) are just friends, c) are more than friends in actuality, d) know what the fuck is going on in their own story. I think (surmise?) after re-reading it, that the author wanted to appeal to a broad range of folks, folks who like friendship stories, folks who want actual gay representation (yes, it feels queer bait-y to me), boys who want to look at cute girls in a "slice of life" story, and women looking for deep emotional stories regardless of the themes. But in it's attempt to cover all those bases, it covers none with any value.</span></div><div><span> People will disagree with me, they'll say that the parallel between the salamander and frog story ("The Salamander" by Ibuse Masuji - frequently and openly paralleled throughout) and the two girls perfectly captures this time of pubescent transience, where people are starting to figure out who they are, where relationships are both powerful and fleeting, and where relationships are about how they change you and now how they last. "The Salamander" also explores how powerful feelings can also cover over the limits that a relationship imposes on a person's growth. Sure. Fine. Make that argument that "A Tropical Fish" really gets at what Masuji was addressing. It's valid. But the mangaka still wrote this manga like crap. The ambiguity is not profound here. It's not enlightening. It's not thought provoking. It doesn't add to, expand on, or even really get at the heart of Masuji's points. This manga is just intentionally non-committal writing to pander to a wide audience without actually adding anything of literary value. </span></div><div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhJui7QDJua7w-Ngvrj_iZYDJphMInfR30ymGFiM13_nRp7JJvAqxlTwB_IilLqhFbp_tf4aE-C2BAbIt-Gi2Pcip_QkzWUGAh5an4xsbNWSzNv8dmNU9ZYtW1xXqFKz3zfwlK2czt2c6ymdTxeeHf_8QDSN_oTKWXJc81bI-2qTRTxBu2IqPu2JaSA/s500/liz%20and%20the%20blue%20bird%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two high school girls sitting next to each other behind one music stand, one plays the flute, the other the oboe" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhJui7QDJua7w-Ngvrj_iZYDJphMInfR30ymGFiM13_nRp7JJvAqxlTwB_IilLqhFbp_tf4aE-C2BAbIt-Gi2Pcip_QkzWUGAh5an4xsbNWSzNv8dmNU9ZYtW1xXqFKz3zfwlK2czt2c6ymdTxeeHf_8QDSN_oTKWXJc81bI-2qTRTxBu2IqPu2JaSA/w227-h320/liz%20and%20the%20blue%20bird%202.jpg" title="Liz and the Blue Bird cover" width="227" /></a></div> Let's examine two vastly superior examples of where ambiguity can work if written well and contrast those with this middling series. The first, an anime movie in my top 5, is "Liz and the Blue Bird." I have watched it many times. I liked it at first, but honestly had some of the same reservations as I did with "A Tropical Fish." However, after many re-watchings, I realized that it had a very strong character development arc that I missed at first (It turns out it's actually a film about Nozomi's growth more than anything, and her realization at the end is powerful - it also does a better job at reflecting on the story of "The Salamandar" than "A Tropical Fish" does, even though that story isn't in it). It also did very well with using a parable story to reflect on the main narrative (I wonder if the made-up parable here was actually a rewrite of "The Salamander" hmmm). And, while it never makes clear whether Nozomi and Mizore are dating, it works equally well as a story of two close friends as well as one of two dating teens. So although their relationship is ambiguous (especially without watching "Sound! Euphonium") the ambiguity doesn't sabotage anything. Read their relationship either way and the emotional and character development arc works equally well. It also has depth that continues to reveal itself with each viewing, something that I did not find in my re-reading of "A Tropical Fish"</span></div><div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7ZOd3dvz_JVZV3l6efchUqjzSIa07JaXtTcC6X_fR5bNVj3qoZZZUBInI8c3ZP9EWv0ECbVhJ6cu2UQJ4riXLBysX2M_ek6TMI53LtHaKhx0_raKTp4u3jtl47-P8m10RlIhgK6WSp99sVFVpc8Y2vSselQpdXwO1PWHmL9cudMQAOI0tWeFN8UOyA/s500/maria%20watches%20over%20us%20complete%20collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="High school girls in uniforms stand together on a brick path with trees in the background" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="389" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7ZOd3dvz_JVZV3l6efchUqjzSIa07JaXtTcC6X_fR5bNVj3qoZZZUBInI8c3ZP9EWv0ECbVhJ6cu2UQJ4riXLBysX2M_ek6TMI53LtHaKhx0_raKTp4u3jtl47-P8m10RlIhgK6WSp99sVFVpc8Y2vSselQpdXwO1PWHmL9cudMQAOI0tWeFN8UOyA/w249-h320/maria%20watches%20over%20us%20complete%20collection.jpg" title="Maria Watches Over Us complete collection Blu ray" width="249" /></a></div> Looking now, with no surprise to my regular readers, at "Maria-Sama Ga Miteru" (Maria Watches Over Us, aka Marimite). For those unfamiliar (and really, why aren't you familiar with it if you're reading this blog, if you have any interest in yuri, this series is the epitome), it is the story of girls at an all girls catholic school in Japan with a system of formalized big sister/little sister mentor/friendship pairings. This series too is oozing with ambiguity. Are the various characters friends? Are they lovers? There is only one openly lesbian character. But the other relationships certainly could be read that way. Or they could be read in the way of deepest friendships, transcending even the Anne of Green Gables "Bosom Friends" concept. But again, that ambiguity doesn't matter. It doesn't diminish the emotional intensity of the interactions, it isn't necessary to understand them. Emotions are clear, they are talked about, they are expressed. Characters change (Yumi's arc is awesome. Touko!!! Don't even get me started on my appreciation for Touko's arc - totally team Touko over here). The plots are clear. The motivations are clear. The arcs are clear. </span></div><div><span> And that, my readers, is my biggest problem with "A Tropical Fish." It is just poorly written. It's as if someone tried to write something like those two vastly superior series and confused obtuse, non-committal writing, for nuance and thoughtfulness and actual character development. "A Tropical Fish" just isn't well written. If the relationship had been defined, then it would be a fine (but by no means good or great) series. If they were just friends then some of the more overly dramatic emotions probably wouldn't have come up, and maybe the author could have focused more on how their friendship spurred each on to better define what their next life steps would be (certainly an element to the "ending" of the story). Or, if they were actually in (or pursuing) a relationship with each other then some of the more overly dramatic parts could have been further clarified and thus would have made emotional sense. But because the relationship isn't defined, and the writing is so bland, the emotions somewhat implausible, and the "purpose" of the series so ill-defined, it just all seems superfluous. It's almost like what you would get if you asked an "AI" (scare quotes intended) algorithm to write a yuri manga series. It superficially resembles yuri in every way, but has no actual human insight or touch at it's core.</span></div><div><span> Some final thoughts: 1) I put "ending" in quotes at the beginning because another problem with this series is that it doesn't have an ending. Yes, the characters go their separate ways...or do they? Just like it wouldn't commit to friends vs. romance, it doesn't commit to their separation either. It really feels like it was written for "shippers" rather than having any purpose itself. 2) The art is decent, I like the somewhat odd use of thick lines along with more precise work and a sketchy feel. It isn't great. But it is interesting. It also looks a little less formulaic than many have lately. I do wish for more screen tones, detailed backgrounds, atmosphere, etc... but for what it is, it's not bad.</span></div><div><span> SPOILERS OVER.</span></div><div><span> Should you read it? Only if you want a frustratingly purposeless, formless, mediocrely written story of two high school girls who have a variety of ill-expressed "feelings" about "things" and also train fish to swim through hoops. Mostly, it ended up being a waste of time. In some ways, despite my frustrations with the series "If I Could Reach You," at least that series ended with some semblance of character development even if it left many dangling threads (I really liked some of the side characters who got short shrift as the series went on). But "A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow" is just one bland, ill-defined, and yuri-by-committee feeling mess." Maybe don't spend your money on it?</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-57150353719008423302022-12-27T11:11:00.000-05:002022-12-27T11:11:08.674-05:00It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (Graphic Novel Review)<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKuLsWKP_k4XhZm-9j6IrML1LCpvAUEGO1tp3Uwv8fjEXyh2xvwvmBCbqiLsZy0A9RwEjIl1uJZ_qEAUHQyKMaaNu_Y-Ww27nB-_LHomaTBd3sCBOoDqLafOG1cdjUDdug2lDUx0doZvbnLDWDG74EfW8jj_OETCkcsqXPakQ6y99-6CflAfrmEjGUw/s2048/its%20lonely%20at%20the%20centre%20of%20the%20earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="A young girl, seen from behind, dancing to music in her kitchen" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1435" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKuLsWKP_k4XhZm-9j6IrML1LCpvAUEGO1tp3Uwv8fjEXyh2xvwvmBCbqiLsZy0A9RwEjIl1uJZ_qEAUHQyKMaaNu_Y-Ww27nB-_LHomaTBd3sCBOoDqLafOG1cdjUDdug2lDUx0doZvbnLDWDG74EfW8jj_OETCkcsqXPakQ6y99-6CflAfrmEjGUw/w280-h400/its%20lonely%20at%20the%20centre%20of%20the%20earth.jpg" title="It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood" width="280" /></a></div><span><span> </span>I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Zoe Thorogood's auto-biographical graphic novel "It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth" for quite a while, ever since I stumbled on her art on Instagram. While waiting for it, I read her prior release, "The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott," and reviewed that in my prior post. I'm happy to say that "It's Lonely" was everything I had hoped from the promise of her earlier work and the art she's been posting.</span><div><span> As longtime readers of mine will know, whenever reviewing something auto-biographical, I will not judge the actual "plot" as that isn't fair to a real person who lead a real life. I think it is incredibly brave when someone releases something as personal as "It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth." So this is not meant to be the type of critical review I might otherwise write. That being said, I really was glad to have purchased it and it is a very well done and moving work.</span></div><div><span> "It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth" traces approximately 6 months in Zoe Thorogood's life as she prepares for a comic convention and a trip to the United States from her native UK. More than anything, it is a chronical of her life with major depressive disorder. In that, much like Allie Brosh's "Hyperbole and a Half" and Kabi Nagata's "My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness" there isn't a tight narrative arc or a firm resolution. Major Depressive Disorder doesn't work that way. Instead, it's about little realization and little victories, and in that light, "It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth" holds its own against those phenomenal works I just mentioned.</span></div><div><span> As someone who has suffered from chronic major depression my entire life, Zoe Thorogood's depiction of depression hit the mark. The relentlessness of it, coloring over every experience, reducing life to a bland gray mixed with suicidal ideation. This isn't a book for those looking to be uplifted. In fact, Thorogood even mentions the empty platitudes people will hurl about trying to be helpful, and how unhelpful they actually are. </span></div><div><span> And I want to take a moment to expand on that thought. Too many people still think that major depressive disorder is somehow situational, that some "fix" will make it all better, that if only a few things were different, of if you count your blessings, that everything would be okay. But that's not how it works (for the most part, there are exceptions to everything). It's biological, it's neurochemical. So here is a young woman, age 23/24, who is (objectively speaking and not intending to objectify) incredibly beautiful, with insane artistic talent (and actually working in that field). It would be easy for people to say "she's got everything, what does she have to be sad about?" And that is what misses the point in the judgment that often surrounds depression. I frankly think that someone who superficially seems to have it all being so nakedly honest about how bad her depression is is exactly the type of counter narrative we need to continue moving the discussion of depression and mental health challenges out of the shadows and ending the stigma. So for that, upon many other reasons, I highly recommend and am thankful for this book.</span></div><div><span> But before I even knew what it was about, it was her art on Instagram that hooked me. Where "Billie Scott" showed promise, "It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth" makes good on that promise. The line work, the anatomy, the compositions in "Billie Scott" were uneven. Sometimes well executed, sometimes a bit unintentionally loose. But in "It's Lonely," Thorogood shows that she is reaching mastery of her craft. There is so much intentionality to her line work. It's tight and precise when she needs it to be, and lose and free when that's what the narrative demands. She appears in full control of her skill here and it's wonderful. She shows a level of drafts-person-ship that feels truly artistic in a way that lots of traditional comics don't (in their blandness) and that simply isn't usually the focus of the indie scene. She brings truly strong drafting to the indie space and it results in incredible art. Additionally, her compositions are varied and occasionally even collage-like. She mixes black and white with spot color with full color in exciting narrative ways. I recommend this for her art alone. She is truly the future of comics as so many in her own auto-bio like to say. </span></div><div><span><span> I do also want to talk for a moment about her writing. "Billie Scott" showed gumption, trying to tackle a pretty complex set of themes and people and settings. But like the art, it was uneven. In "It's Lonely" the story is loser in that it's her life mixed with existential and internal dialogues. That looseness lends itself to her visual storytelling chops. But there is still enough narrative and prose, even within the auto-bio context, to show that she has something to say and the burgeoning skill to say it well. I think the two works combined show that she will be a force with storytelling and not just art as she continues to grow in her career. If I'm not mistaken, she's working on another fiction piece, so it'll be fun to see the growth in storytelling from these prior two works.</span><br /></span></div><div><span> Basically, if you like great comic art, buy this book. If you want to read a strong depiction of major depressive disorder, buy this book. If you like deeply personal memoirs, buy this book. I definitely recommend it.</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-83852632547861302052022-12-10T10:45:00.002-05:002022-12-10T10:45:32.003-05:00Short Takes - what I've been reading and watching since AugustHi all, can't believe it's already mid-November. My lack of posting hasn't been for a lack of reading and watching, simply a too-busy (but good-busy) life. Moved my daughter off to college, the start of the school year (I work in education) was simply bonkers, started taking drum lessons, and I've finally started dating (my new girlfriend is so awesome!). So here are some quick thoughts on all the media I've been consuming. Enjoy:<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Anime</span></u></b></div><div><b>Spy X Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBlw38VnvLI1IvIMtH-kO8_H9-bwQEGQ6kgJlz_sIBrUDYEtdqALyAkC1aWxGdyzSDDHVeAebghM8WZkfosikkrn3uKRbwaF1p0G8IQ3Nd057I70unKeH9gG4-ezYEvvaKHFCxAbyjbN1fm7MNypsZaRJKA6DedfKABsaGp9nrR3oMhegD9ZF5iDudg/s900/spy%20x%20family.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="636" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBlw38VnvLI1IvIMtH-kO8_H9-bwQEGQ6kgJlz_sIBrUDYEtdqALyAkC1aWxGdyzSDDHVeAebghM8WZkfosikkrn3uKRbwaF1p0G8IQ3Nd057I70unKeH9gG4-ezYEvvaKHFCxAbyjbN1fm7MNypsZaRJKA6DedfKABsaGp9nrR3oMhegD9ZF5iDudg/s320/spy%20x%20family.webp" width="226" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div><span> </span>I didn't have much hope for this. I was vaguely aware of the hype around it. I didn't know much of anything about it. I'm not sure why, but it didn't seem terribly interesting. Instead, it was probably the season's best anime by far. It was funny (actually laugh out loud funny), sweet (romantic and parental sweetness), and some good action (which isn't usually my thing in anime, but from time to time I don't mind). It is smartly written and varied enough from episode to episode to never feel the least formulaic. </div><div><span> </span>If I had to quibble, our lead female character, Yor, is a mixed bag. First, I really like her character. She's cute, and sweet, and yet fierce and an assassin, but a good fake parent, and odd, and all sorts of quality characteristics. But at the same time, she's presented with some superficial meekness - the mid-twenties, office girl, shy, doesn't speak much, etc... that seems to go unquestioned in many a portrayal of women in anime/manga (or is the selling point - see "Komi Can't Communicate"). I don't think the writers of Spy X Family are trying to actively critique that "meek anime girl" stereotype when they also have Yor be an assassin. I think it's more like they are juxtaposing the two sides of her without any social commentary on the outdated depiction of women (or maybe even the outdated role of women in Japanese society). But, like I said, all that aside, I actually like her character a lot and the scenes of her coming home covered in blood as a teenager and then sitting down to help her brother with homework or whatever were really darkly funny. Basically, if you haven't watched this, you really are depriving yourself. </div><div><span> </span>While not an all-time great show by any stretch, it is a supremely enjoyable watch and I can't wait for season two.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vaBeLl7aYdc_zcYSXjIum6EUMKAVtmFr1SeLtdchFszCeE4K97DGp3sVIMTwlFDaElaKigGts3pvpvi1btRnrwpcap3wqiLf9HLQsVkHitzMnBwxH8BF-en4BbiTNB6RTucS3q7Z06Z6dh0sLXTYuCh_BqJkd2VKCKt3iVNr4qBSadcFy3yev-yL0g/s1500/kageki%20shoujo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1029" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vaBeLl7aYdc_zcYSXjIum6EUMKAVtmFr1SeLtdchFszCeE4K97DGp3sVIMTwlFDaElaKigGts3pvpvi1btRnrwpcap3wqiLf9HLQsVkHitzMnBwxH8BF-en4BbiTNB6RTucS3q7Z06Z6dh0sLXTYuCh_BqJkd2VKCKt3iVNr4qBSadcFy3yev-yL0g/s320/kageki%20shoujo.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>Kageki Shojo!!</b></div><div><span> </span>If you've been reading this blog, then maybe you've read some of my reviews of the Kageki Shojo!! manga. I've felt that it's been okay, but not great, and not quite what I thought when I first started reading it. That made watching the show an interesting venture. Compared to the manga, I actually enjoyed the show a bit more. I think it slightly streamlined and slightly altered the focus. Part of what confused me with the manga was the prologue volume "The Curtain Rises" which focuses on her roommate Ai. I really like Ai's character and was excited for her story. I also, and I need to re-read it, but I also for some reason thought there was potential for romantic feelings between Ai and Sarasa which never has gone anywhere in the main story. So I thought it was a yuri comic, but it really isn't. Knowing that, I could watch the anime without false hope. </div><div><span> </span>So being a slightly more linear way of telling the story, with none of my emotional baggage dragging it down, I could focus on Sarasa and the general story. By that token, it's okay, still not great, but at least less disappointing for me. I don't think the animation is very good. Sort of a blandly normal color palette (more just a general laziness of colors, like they only had a basic water color set or something - the sky is random blue, the grass is random green) and simple but not in a stylish way. There's also some occasional anatomical awkwardness which is especially concerning with the dance (and boy howdy did I just get reamed out in the comment section of another review of mine when I critiqued the animation of another dance anime even though my F-ING SISTER is a professional ballet dancer and I've been watching dance my whole life - but noooooooo it's clearly not possible that I might feel that some dance pose wasn't well animated and how dare I note that! But I still posted that anonymous commenters frustrations at my review for the sake of discourse, anyway, I digress.) </div><div><span> </span>So the story is okay, but I don't feel really emotionally invested. We're told right from the beginning that Sarasa is uniquely talented and going to do amazing things in the theater world. So if the end of this series is just her rising to the top of Kouka, then what's the point unless the journey is meaningful. So far, it really hasn't been. However, if it had been the backdrop of a yuri romance then I'd be all for that, or even if she had seemed more torn about leaving Kabuki behind, that would help. </div><div><span> </span>What would be really awesome if it takes a turn and somehow she leaves Kouka to force her way back into Kabuki AND she and Ai start to develop feelings for each other! That would be interesting. But now, this feels more like a middle-school oriented story of a plucky and talented girl who everyone just can't help but rooting for sort of story. Which is fine, but meh. So the anime was a little better in some ways than the manga, but not sufficiently so. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Manga</span></u></b></div><div><b>A Tropical Fish Years for Snow Volume 9<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeGCuR8Dihqaf8i7-KTeGbmN9V_qJs67y1QkiEUthE4McSSxf94_QA1HIFvPAtN-KkKxJKVU3Ox2WqIabAK5vmnsmn7CK5cJkg-Ys_rKw7U0VipbthbDuL6RpEF3XlNa_nnyBovkP1c4YUBS948QGjmymuBh9wwv8ZuVjKrAuxx70tGhHosCHQ0fSDA/s500/a%20tropical%20fish%209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeGCuR8Dihqaf8i7-KTeGbmN9V_qJs67y1QkiEUthE4McSSxf94_QA1HIFvPAtN-KkKxJKVU3Ox2WqIabAK5vmnsmn7CK5cJkg-Ys_rKw7U0VipbthbDuL6RpEF3XlNa_nnyBovkP1c4YUBS948QGjmymuBh9wwv8ZuVjKrAuxx70tGhHosCHQ0fSDA/s320/a%20tropical%20fish%209.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div><span> </span>What an infuriating series. I'm going to have to go back and re-read the whole thing to see if I missed the point or some crucial information along the way. Certainly the last few volumes have been confusing and nearly pointless. Volume 9 completes the story, but I'm not sure anymore what the story was? Was this about two friends whose lives briefly intersected? Was it two girls who realized they had romantic feelings for each other? I can't even figure out what caused their growing distance over the last few volumes. </div><div><span> </span>At least for now, without re-reading it, it seems like a classic fake-yuri for the sake of capitalizing on the yuri genre, but not having anything really meaningful to say type of manga. So many are like this (at least of what gets translated to English). It's like they're afraid to either just tell a story about two female friends and make it clearly that. Or they're afraid to tell a story of actually gay teens. Or they're trying so hard for the unspoken subtext of a series like Maria Watches Over Us but not in the least bit understanding how meaningful subtext is created. And most infuriating to me is that it displays that awful manga convention of completely meaningless existential fake feelings with no moorings in any actual way real people think so that it seems meaningful but it's just pretentious nonsense writing. </div><div><span> </span>Again, maybe I missed something. I wanted to re-read all nine volumes before writing this. But you know what? I had more fun things to spend my free time on. Maybe down the road I'll re-read it an like it more. But for now it honestly seems like it wasn't willing to commit to it's two teen girls having the least big of agency over their own feelings, ownership of their own feelings, or any ability to write a coherent and meaningful story in any way. What was the freakin point of this series?</div><div><span> Stay tuned for my re-review of the entire series as I'm almost done rereading it all.</span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbktr19unIQKZJd-E31GLjAJQ1PtcKyyXTR2T7RsLttJdlgTiK02rEdYQeHEa0zjXsW7JMEjIK2AvP5pzr1ziP5e40AJGOv-mtZ4e3N-IGOga8Nlu8PQzF4eGqntoikKJkhV618jBWJMCXSwLubtR2XsLObprgcsh0Z3iZeO7gZhzhkN7yQWTP_kxew/s500/if%20i%20could%20reach%20you%207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="357" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbktr19unIQKZJd-E31GLjAJQ1PtcKyyXTR2T7RsLttJdlgTiK02rEdYQeHEa0zjXsW7JMEjIK2AvP5pzr1ziP5e40AJGOv-mtZ4e3N-IGOga8Nlu8PQzF4eGqntoikKJkhV618jBWJMCXSwLubtR2XsLObprgcsh0Z3iZeO7gZhzhkN7yQWTP_kxew/s320/if%20i%20could%20reach%20you%207.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>If I Could Reach You Volume 7</b></div><div><span> </span>This is the final volume in yet another infuriating series. However, I did re-read this final volume three times before writing this, and much like how when I was a teen I hated the ending of "Chasing Amy" but as an adult realized that although it wasn't the story book ending it was the actual correct ending, I think this volume improved with each read. </div><div><span> </span>That being said, the overall story of this series sucked! There are two options for it as I see it. Option 1: actually have Uta and Kaoru get together and just go with the whole not-quite-incest thing. Or option 2: have Uta's feelings be one-sided and a school-girl crush and have Kaoru not even remotely lean into those feelings. But it sort of ends up in the middle. Closer to option 2, but not quite enough. I still think, that much like A Tropical Fish above, it thinks that ambiguity is a great way to be a great writer. Well it isn't. This isn't some experimental piece of literature. You're not writing a tone poem comic book. You're telling yet another fake yuri story but refusing to commit either way to writing people as real people. </div><div><span> </span>Just like I love Takako Shumura's stories because everyone is messy and complicated and it doesn't work in the fantasy way we like but that's what makes it actually like real life, I dislike this story because they don't feel like they could be real people. That criticism having now been said, the volume and the story did improve with subsequent readings. I just wish it had owned some of the following things a bit more. Kaoru, as flawed as the writing is, is fascinating to me because I can very much see a young woman without much family falling very hard for a young man who is kind and family oriented and a protector. It makes sense that Kaoru ends up with Uta's brother. And I think her coming to realize that what she wanted at 18 (parents) is different than she wants in her 20s (a partner). I think where it leaves off with Kaoru starting over at the end would actually make a very compelling start to a series I'd much rather read. </div><div><span> </span>Turning to Uta's brother, I don't quite understand why he thinks he has to marry Kaoru just because of the "death bed promise" (sarcasm for a classic manga cliché plot device) he makes with her mother. That just doesn't feel real to me (and I know it doesn't have to be real - but we still want character motivations to make sense and be relatable or at least plausible). This isn't some fable from the 12th century where he's honor bound in that way. And it isn't some grade-school cartoon where plot, character, and sense don't matter. This is just a stupid, quick, lazy plot point to force the story into motion rather than an authentic reason why they married but shouldn't have. </div><div><span> Are authors just not putting in effort and just taking the easy way out for a high-school girl audience? May</span>be I've just hit the nail on the head with this, and A Tropical Fish, and Kageki Shojo, and others I've read recently. Have I just reached the limits of what shoujo manga can give to me as a 42 year old? I don't think so. I hope not. But maybe it's the lowest common denominator stuff being translated. My hope is that there is a lot better shoujo out there just not getting translated into English. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Daytime Shooting Start volume 12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgujky5ClTha6nxuMoCWrVkw8L-UOv7aF6GlCWO0LjArUroTxaBDyeNz5SR1a1AmO9CZ6y1Nnd6WcKjCZXmlM-duYeqmC1LcPfg8L6Sn-KSwKmkj_ipJxYus6F8jW-dVYcASdJVaknei9i6qYMgxWPNzZnb5UnbT654JOUgMaNG71Olc7dTq0P0osVA/s495/daytime%20shooting%20star%2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgujky5ClTha6nxuMoCWrVkw8L-UOv7aF6GlCWO0LjArUroTxaBDyeNz5SR1a1AmO9CZ6y1Nnd6WcKjCZXmlM-duYeqmC1LcPfg8L6Sn-KSwKmkj_ipJxYus6F8jW-dVYcASdJVaknei9i6qYMgxWPNzZnb5UnbT654JOUgMaNG71Olc7dTq0P0osVA/s320/daytime%20shooting%20star%2012.jpg" width="202" /></a></div></b></div><div><span> </span>Yet another final volume in a series I've been reading/reviewing for a while now. And another disappointing series. Maybe mostly disappointing because I came to really like the art and really like Suzume. But Shisiho still is scum for being a teacher who is romantically interested in a minor student of his. But at least Suzume has really moved on and really is with Mamura and treating him well. </div><div><span> </span>A commentor had told me to stick with this series because it really comes around, and while thankfully it doesn't consumate the relationship between Shishio and Suzume, it never condems it. The closest the series gets to that is with Suzume's uncle and Shishio's friendship suffering as a result. Again, this feels like how a middle school girl might think an adult man (Shishio) would experience this. </div><div><span> </span>But honestly, an adult man who likes a minor child is NOT an object of worthwhile affection or swooning over. Yes, I know, there's a long tradition in manga and anime of may/december and especially with school girls and their teachers. And, and I don't know this for a fact, but maybe that even happens with some regularity and allowance in Japanese society, but it is still not okay and nothing in this series was a commentary on that in a way that obsolves the series. Substitute Shishio for a random boy in her class and the story is just another random shoujo romance. Waste of good art and a good lead heroine. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Books</span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxOpXqGvpm1y4MzKGZtVskJosw1uAvzS4Dk-bei_uxjzwwpR6eAvsXHyFdchHfmqHTAjviHTTwhcaxtngjzLBC2G9Q806ysI_vVWJkjFGlw7KFnKN5i4FVa-ouh78EpRw3jgujhNXk8yRUgFu-tFDVHSViJlwg4Yi_-nbo1LO6tPScwy0K0IYshHA9g/s290/and%20now%20tomorrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="174" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxOpXqGvpm1y4MzKGZtVskJosw1uAvzS4Dk-bei_uxjzwwpR6eAvsXHyFdchHfmqHTAjviHTTwhcaxtngjzLBC2G9Q806ysI_vVWJkjFGlw7KFnKN5i4FVa-ouh78EpRw3jgujhNXk8yRUgFu-tFDVHSViJlwg4Yi_-nbo1LO6tPScwy0K0IYshHA9g/s1600/and%20now%20tomorrow.jpg" width="174" /></a></div>And Now Tomorrow by Rachel Field</b></div><div><span> </span>This is the second Rachel Field novel I have read. She's really not much known, but while this isn't nearly as good a novel as the prior one I read, Time out of Mind, it retained some of the unique aspects and social commentary of that better book. An Now Tomorrow takes place in a New England saw mill town. Emily's family has owned the mill for generations. But as the great depression looms, times are getting tougher, unions are forming, workers are agitating, and the writing is on the wall for the Nuevo Riche. This is set against her personal story of engagement, losing her hearing to illness, and her determination not to lose her fiancé because of it. </div><div><span> </span>The romance storyline (and the ultimate pairing) are the stuff of romance novels and the story of her illness is draped with ableism and an admittedly fake treatment for deafness (and no mention of the Deaf community), the weaving in of the societal changes going on is fascinating. So if you can bear with some overwrought writing, the ableism, and a predictable (if not all together unlikable) romance, you have an interesting document of the times. That all being said, Time Out of Mind is better written and also has much of the social awareness. I found it worth reading for what it was, but your mileage may vary.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Price of Salt (Carol) by Patricia Highsmith<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzl4x4-iYStxHUT_OixR-MQXAKtRp9YgaLwKmF7tjeUJrOKf8RrnbCQNPsbM5rITM9OnXYeYijS4RB_ixpuIa234b2ZMMMGx5aH0xYglzahksIpE5E2seu-wfuc6DmVmchsT3kItzlykMkTjNfFjfO9C-cLl4QLo0wWrbam78CE4zpozDrOUWWG3heQ/s778/the%20price%20of%20salt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="755" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzl4x4-iYStxHUT_OixR-MQXAKtRp9YgaLwKmF7tjeUJrOKf8RrnbCQNPsbM5rITM9OnXYeYijS4RB_ixpuIa234b2ZMMMGx5aH0xYglzahksIpE5E2seu-wfuc6DmVmchsT3kItzlykMkTjNfFjfO9C-cLl4QLo0wWrbam78CE4zpozDrOUWWG3heQ/s320/the%20price%20of%20salt.png" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit Justine Larbalestier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></b></div><div><span> </span>You may know this better by the title "Carol" which is the name given to the recent film based on the novel. At the time I read it, I actually didn't know it had anything to do with the movie (which I haven't seen, but now really need to). Basically, this turns out to be one of American literature's signature lesbian books. Patricia Highsmith has a whole personal history worth learning about. But this book holds up on its own as an incredibly moving, interesting, slow-burn, sub-text turned real, lesbian love story. Set in the 40s, it is the story of a young woman finding her place in life - balancing boyfriend, career aspirations, life in New York City - when she meets a woman in a store and is mesmerized. We're then treated to the growing friends to lovers story with an ending that was (and remains) all too rare in lesbian fiction. </div><div><span> </span>It's language is beautiful (you know I'm a sucker for good writing), the characters interesting, the plot developments rewarding, and ultimately a very unique novel for the time that still holds up well today. The only things that don't are the excessive amount of smoking and an unfortunate use of the second worst "n-word." Not to say you should put any of that aside, because being put off by those things or at least pondering your own reactions to them is a worthwhile enterprise. But, other than that, the book is such a beautifully written, moving, lovely novel, that you really should read it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfI4pfhOXXW-sBRsFatQKZQ3DLhC0R0wSOK3F-rzF_kwDoZyihsBMt5eaRSspXimamFug986kIopSCE5wW7wM6DhbgYUW7MC4WpT5-a8rbM7xo08w6mzLQ__-o4DHdxHMiv2OegQWdkvKqQNL4WIVpMe--vDzdrsrX5paW79TiwMnN82v75LRQpoabSA/s500/the%20good%20neighbor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfI4pfhOXXW-sBRsFatQKZQ3DLhC0R0wSOK3F-rzF_kwDoZyihsBMt5eaRSspXimamFug986kIopSCE5wW7wM6DhbgYUW7MC4WpT5-a8rbM7xo08w6mzLQ__-o4DHdxHMiv2OegQWdkvKqQNL4WIVpMe--vDzdrsrX5paW79TiwMnN82v75LRQpoabSA/s320/the%20good%20neighbor.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>The Good Neighbor (biography of Fred Rogers)</b></div><div><span> </span>The only way to talk about this biography is to break it into two parts: </div><div><span> </span><span> </span>1) Fred Rogers and his story, and </div><div><span> </span><span> </span>2) the quality of the authorship. </div><div>Most importantly, Fred Rogers emerges from this both confirming the truth and reality of everything we saw in him on TV and hoped he was in real life and an actual honest-to-goodness real person. And blessedly, the real and complex person he was doesn't in the least undermine the mythic and nearly holy figure he was in our lives (at least mine). Mr. Rogers (I'll use Mr. when I'm talking about TV Fred) was a source of great comfort to me. I loved the pace, the tone, the look of the puppets, everything about it. And when you can say someone is your hero, you put them on a perch. And people on perches are sadly easy to knock off (or fall off themselves - I'm looking at you Neil deGrasse Tyson). </div><div><span> </span>But it turns out that Fred Rogers truly lived his life the way he taught others to do on his show. That doesn't mean there weren't complexities. What emerges of the real-world Fred Rogers is someone who managed to be so deeply committed to his belief in what people could be and the importance of starting that with children who also was a very good and beloved person in real life.</div><div><span> </span> Yes, there were times he grew frustrated at his own children (what parent doesn't), there were times where his work schedule was nearly impossible for others in the company to keep pace with, but he was never unkind to people. He gave each and every human being he ever met (whether family, co-worker, friend, or stranger on the street) every ounce of his time, attention, and commitment. I was completely and totally fascinated by the thoughtfulness of how he created his TV show as well as the brilliance of the real man, a truly beautiful and true person. How exceptional to have one's childhood hero elevated by their real life, rather than destroyed by it. </div><div><span> </span>On the other hand, the author of the book, while someone who knew and worked with Fred over many years, can hardly be called a writer. The chapters appear to be loosely chronological and thematic. There is a lot of going back and forth in time to meet with the themes. However, the expressed themes don't really always match with the digressive nature of the writing. The author will drift to random thoughts and stories and back again, will offer unfounded or unexplained statements and leave them dangling, and overall it's just a generally disorganized presentation. </div><div><span> </span>Thankfully, none of it diminishes the information or the picture of Fred Rogers we come to understand. It just isn't a great read from the standpoint of "use of language." If I had one other potential reservation about the writing, is that there is a potential for bias in that the person writing about him clearly knew him well and could not be objective. They must have had a great relationship, because nothing in this suggests that Fred Rogers was even capable of really turning anyone off. And thankfully it doesn't beatify him, but seems to show just how beautifully real and consistent he was. However, one wonders what an objective biographer would have uncovered or chosen to use that was perhaps left out. I have no evidence of this, and frankly, don't really want any. I loved Mr. Rogers and found Fred Rogers just as, if not more, amazing. I am very thankful for that.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott (graphic novel) by Zoe Thorogood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKhAuomL2R6fNMPkyeHj2UvtSIJ_0gX1bdag1e52DgS9Gnp0kO20uXQo10tGPGtPQ4b39uStTM-IjjTydqdMOP0Px9uTiWdQAjqYO-WITpA2yTqSU0BVxEV7OHN9AQdxrBAA6cUyzkYKN5lRFp7TYhPkj9ZfmHof1kiekX8hLtv_SPBLGuJHPPWgtcg/s500/the%20impending%20blindness%20of%20billie%20scott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKhAuomL2R6fNMPkyeHj2UvtSIJ_0gX1bdag1e52DgS9Gnp0kO20uXQo10tGPGtPQ4b39uStTM-IjjTydqdMOP0Px9uTiWdQAjqYO-WITpA2yTqSU0BVxEV7OHN9AQdxrBAA6cUyzkYKN5lRFp7TYhPkj9ZfmHof1kiekX8hLtv_SPBLGuJHPPWgtcg/s320/the%20impending%20blindness%20of%20billie%20scott.jpg" width="227" /></a></div></b></div><div><span> </span>In anticipation of her newest graphic novel being released (It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth"), I decided to pick up an earlier work ("The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott"). I first encountered Zoe Thorogood on Instagram and immediately was taken with her line work, her visuals, her funky honest emotional drawings. Billie Scott has all of that, but also shows an artist earlier in their career than what she is producing now. It centers on a young, poor, reclusive painter. Tragedy strikes and Billie Starts losing his vision. Who is a painter if they cannot see? The story is journey of the last few days of Billie's vision. That's a hell of a story to tackle your first time out!</div><div><span> </span>From a graphical perspective, there is a looseness of form that doesn't always appeal to me (but might not bother others) and in general is just isn't as crisply executed as her newest work (I'll review "It's Lonely" soon). The other thing, if I'm to find fault (and I don't mean it to sound like this, but I know it's coming out this way), is that the story, while ambitious in some ways, doesn't necessarily feel completely honest - there's a bit of glossing over (even amongst the griminess) and then an ending that feels a little too perfect. </div><div><span> </span>I think it's overall a big work for a young artist that shows her potential and I hope to see her newest graphic novel grow from that potential. Fans of indie comics should check this out. But I think we'll look back in time and find it the weakest in her oeuvre. And that's totally okay.</div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-54535605188051690332022-11-09T12:57:00.004-05:002022-11-09T12:59:22.190-05:00Sound Workshop Series 34 Console Manual - Complete ScanHi all, this post has nothing to do with my normal anime and manga reviews. I used to be in the music business and worked with an old <b>Sound Workshop Series 34 console</b>. <div><br /></div><div>When we mothballed the console, I kept a bunch of channel strips and over the years turned them into <a href="https://www.yuristargirl.com/2019/08/sound-workshop-series-34-eq-rack.html" target="_blank">rack mount preamps and EQs</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another thing I kept was the full manual. This manual is almost impossible to find anywhere (I couldn't find a complete scan, just bits an pieces). However, I was missing a couple pages. But after much hunting, I was able to find the missing pages and complete an entire scan of the manual for those out there with the console or looking to use the channel strips you can get on ebay from time to time. </div><div><br /></div><div>So enjoy, I present you with the <b>Sound Workshop Series 34</b> Console manual (and yes, the cover page is fake, designed by me, because I was missing the real one):<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-i74pO5G6aikQ32yz_ulhedfuxyMjWxn/view?usp=share_link" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Sound Workshop Series 34 Console Manual cover page - clicking opens a link to the pdf scan" border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="571" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpxqtwepuMBBc-KaYxYcUzWa5uwx9AEELYsuF8Uu_KuEOCpI8pxhFN2bYIlbdIvRI2yNA6eUy36MN_cdE9n-mMcf8U5iKRNMaBF6v1zgEH3WVaba6LMDuZUoX-2LMpadQ2GRyqeD2hcG9jznzcqc_WMtHkRichT8IEwrCQ1HzsWD6Uocy6Ql4U_gmSQ/w306-h400/Sound%20Workshop%20Series%2034%20Manual%20cover%20page.jpg" title="Sound Workshop Series 34 Console Manual cover page" width="306" /></a></div><br /><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
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All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div></div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2739773582772593408.post-47207282949605632912022-08-01T07:48:00.000-04:002022-08-01T07:48:18.065-04:00Daytime Shooting Star volume 11 (Manga Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7w-9B0MiCA0DeiixNN4EUvwSZGeydciKmnPSvkmt4Kx_uCvqcUAnlrG0DNGUyVXSFfvPktMdvtTqAsRwmoIEgHnVvfih5WW1i6xPjfIXr_cTZXK6B6za-oX66pK9u8-PgvpX9VDN3goUFhZdSgIWdblXJaEP941NNQu6bBJwdX09vLiYA20IQA0fQhg/s2100/daytime%20shooting%20star%2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A teen girl in a cute outfit, has a surprised expression with her hands next to her mouth which is wide open. An adult is seen behind her looking down at her, with a teen boy on her other side looking at the adult." border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7w-9B0MiCA0DeiixNN4EUvwSZGeydciKmnPSvkmt4Kx_uCvqcUAnlrG0DNGUyVXSFfvPktMdvtTqAsRwmoIEgHnVvfih5WW1i6xPjfIXr_cTZXK6B6za-oX66pK9u8-PgvpX9VDN3goUFhZdSgIWdblXJaEP941NNQu6bBJwdX09vLiYA20IQA0fQhg/w266-h400/daytime%20shooting%20star%2011.jpg" title="Daytime Shooting Star volume 11" width="266" /></a></div> "Daytime Shooting Star" <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daytime-Shooting-Star-Vol-11/dp/1974715116" target="_blank">Vol. 11 </a>(Viz) would be a lot worse if Suzume wasn't finally starting to really assert herself. In this volume we see her twice, TWICE, reject Shishio, and even take initiative to be upfront and direct with her boyfriend Mamura on top of that. <div><span> As you all probably know by now, if you've been reading this blog at all, I really like Suzume as a character and I like the overall art of the series. I also love a well done high-school romance shoujo manga. But this series has been all sorts of creepy because the main setup was that she falls for her uncle's friend, Shishio, who is a teacher at her school, and he starts by enabling her feelings, and then falls for her himself, AND then pursues her. And that is gross.</span></div><div><span> I won't belabor this point, but I will say it, if you are a teacher/adult, you have no business confessing your feelings of romantic/sexual love for a teenager. Done, Period, End. So Shishio's infatuation and pursuit of Suzume was just wrong. </span></div><div><span><span> </span>In an earlier volume, it looked like Suzume and Shishio wouldn't ever be really getting together and that Suzume chose the wonderful boy in her class Mamura instead. Suzume was starting to get her head into a good space. But at the end of Volume 10, Shishio goes and openly confesses his feelings for her! A high HIGHSCHOOL STUDENT!!!! Thankfully, this volume opens with her response to that as well as her response to a second attempt by him to tell her his feelings. </span></div><div><span> Sadly, not only is Mamura acutely aware of this going on in the background and naturally hurt by it, but Shishio continues to outright talk to Mamura about his intentions towards Suzume. So now we have an adult, who is pursuing a child for love, more or less teasing/goating/f-ing with another teen about it. If I were Mamura, I would have just reported the asshole and gotten him fired. </span></div><div><span> However, we do see Suzume growing and working hard on behalf of Mamura in this volume and asserting her own path in her life, rather than being at Shishio's whims. That makes this volume better than it could have been. I still wish the whole series was just more about Suzume and Mamura and maybe something they have to overcome (other than a gross adult) to be together (like the brilliant series "Ao Haru Ride" which is much more about their internal barriers and healing), because the whole thing with a lecherous adult is just icky. But I had been promised by other readers that the series would end in a good place, and it seems to be turning that corner. </span></div><div><span> As I said earlier, although the art is a bit simple in the depth of shading/backgrounds/ornamentation, I do like the figure drawing, there is at least some use of screen tones, and it has a good overall look. Couple that with a cute guy/girl combo and the sense that it will end in a good place, and I will keep reading to the end. Are you sticking with it as well? Or is Shishio just too much to put up with?</span></div><div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>✩</b></span><span style="color: magenta;">🚺</span></span></div>
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<i>Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.</i><br />
<br />
All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.</div>Jaimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650864719718347146noreply@blogger.com0