- Last OnlineAug 19, 2022 11:48 AM
- GenderMale
- BirthdayMar 8
- LocationNot Specified
- JoinedJun 1, 2014
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Jun 12, 2015
Usually, I leave my opinion for the end. However, since I would like to make it clear: 'Ginga Patrol Jaco' is a great manga and it is worth a read!
I feel obligated to start with it, As many fans of Dragon Ball turned up their noses to the development of the story, and I’ve heard many say things like ‘they expected more’, ‘the story is weak’.
I think these expectations something epic like 'save the world’, have been created for the manga takes which place in the same universe as of Dragon Ball, however, the same said, it is a comedy manga with few chapters. Anyone
...
who has read other manga of Toriyama knows that the guy likes slapstick comedy, with nothing too pretentious and 'Ginga Patrol Jaco' it fills the slot! And it was what I expected, really. The manga is fun, with jokes 'silly' but plucking smiles from fans, charismatic characters and an adventure also over and there cliché (hehe).
Story: 9/10
The story takes place on an island where only a man lives, named Oomori. On any given night, while he was trying to sleep, a small spacecraft landed in the water near their island. It was an alien named Jaco. The ship in which he was gets broken so he had to stay there until it is repaired. He says, he came to Earth to defeat an evil Alien. Oomori does not like anybody, but still decided to help him.
Characters: 9/10
Talking about the characters … We have Oomori, the grumpy old man with the look of all the old people Toriyama have drawn (hahaha). Oomori is angry at everything and does not like anybody, it makes him a funny guy (imo), Really, I can not help but laugh at his speculations and responses Jaco gives. The old man is a scientist who lives alone on an island and trying to build a time machine.
In addition to the old-man, we have the alien who takes the manga title: The space ranger Jaco! He is responsible for the bulk of the comedy in this 'slapstick' manga. Jaco loves to make an appearance, at every opportunity he makes his presentation as the 'big’ patrolman and so on. Jaco came to Earth to save her from an alien of a cruel race that would destroy the human race in a few days. Jaco is 'badass' and kind, but it's pretty stubborn too.
And finally we have the beautiful Tights. Smart, funny and always willing to help Oomori and Jaco. But I can not speak too much of it, I do not want to spoil the manga surprises.
While reading you will get the impression ‘I've seen these characters somewhere' and, in fact, this statement is not wrong! The characters are well within the clichés of Toriyama universe, but with that charisma and way that only the he can do. The work of Toriyama can be 'the same style forever,' but his dash and way of storytelling is unique. So positive point for the characters.
Art: 8/10
About art falls into the same issue of the characters ... It is the style of Toriyama (lol)! The same! Who’s fan will enjoy it. The only thing I did not like was the abuse of halftones (shades of gray) in the manga, liked it better when he solved most things in black and white only.
Final thoughts: 10/10
'Ginga Patrol Jaco' is a great comedy manga, simple and fun, but not for this time. Explaining, only fans of Akira Toriyama; who enjoy the 'root' of his work will like. Although young/new readers will be able to enjoy it if they look past the clichés.
The first few chapters were to kill the charade of, however, the last chapter is the one where everything is revealed (on connecting with Dragon Ball), and it will make fans (of Dragon Ball) shed tears!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Nov 21, 2014
Here we have Kouta, a normal male middle schooler, who lives, or would live alone, if it wasn’t for Natsuki, a female high schooler, who now lives with Kouta. Natsuki claims that she is taking care of Kouta in the place of his dad who suddenly got transfered away to Sapporo, yet in reality things are quite different. It seems like Kouta is taking care of Natsuki just as much she takes care of him.
Kouta has a serious personality which always gets caught up with Natsuki’s pace. This is what makes the story charming: The way Kouta always gets toyed with by Natsuki while
...
she also teaches him about life like an older sister. She teaches him how to become a man. Mentally, because he is still only in middle school. But his found new manliness attracts the girl whom he had a crush on creating some sort of love triangle.
This manga is ecchi and should be treated as such. Panty shots and the like pop up often. However, this manga is also more than just an ecchi manga. It has deep meaning hidden between the outer show of ecchi. This manga is about growing up, about a love that shouldn’t happen, and the strength of the bonds that hold people together. Perhaps I am reading into things too much, but I honestly feel that this manga is more than just a series of panty shots. This manga has meaning and actually I learned some things from this manga. There is a Chapter 26.5 which demonstrates the real ending. Highly recommended. Besides, this manga is hilarious.
If you want something to read after those awaited manga series to come out with the chapter, or after you ended a favorite manga. This manga might be good.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Nov 16, 2014
Story (9/10) -
Daily Lives of High School Boys is a 12 episode series based off a manga by Yasanobu Yamauchi. The series follows the daily lives of high school students, specifically, the comings and goings of the all male student population at Sanda North Boys High. Yup. That’s it. Don’t look for anything more earth shattering than that, guys. That’s all you get with Daily Lives; odd boys doing odd things…just like Lucky Star is cute girls doing cute things. This show doesn’t try to rewrite the book on what a high school comedy can be; it just uses a tried and true formula
...
and rolls with it, using the everyday conversations and situations high school boys face on a day-to-day basis to push things along. However, the thing that makes this show stand out more than other high school comedies, is the fact that the writing seems so unique.
Art (8/10) –
The animation style of Daily Lives is much like the show itself; nothing out of the ordinary. Everything is very well done, as is expected of a project tag-teamed by Square Enix and Studio Sunrise. I have to say, I really liked the character designs this time around. Unlike Free! who felt the need to give their male cast these bulging, rippling, “there’s no way in HELL those can exist on a regular human” mound of muscles, “Nichibros” give these characters an awkward gawky look that makes them more endearing to the viewer. One thing that I noticed about this particular show, animation wise, was the fact that the creators made a point not to show ANY male character wearing their uniform correctly–everyone has their shirts un-tucked, some characters leave their ties undone or don’t wear the ties at all. It adds a level of realism to the whole thing–after all, do you HONESTLY expect a group of high school boys to wear the uniform the RIGHT way? I do question why the animators decided to give some of their non-main characters the shadow eye treatment. While it doesn’t really take anything AWAY from the anime, it is a bit distracting.
Sound (8/10) -
The opening theme this time around is “Shiny Tale” by Mix Speakers, Inc. Seriously, I can’t get enough of this song. It’s so upbeat and it actually sounds like the opening theme for an anime that’s centered on high school boys. The Entire Cast of "Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou" in the End Credits...Note The Haruhi Cosplayer...The animation it’s played over is awesome and matches extremely well. The closing theme is “Ohisama” ["Sun"] by Amessaki Annainin. This song…well…it’s weird. Not “bad” weird, don’t get me wrong at all, but it’s weird on a “what the heck am I listening to, and why do I like it so much” weird. I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve ever heard a kazoo used as a musical instrument in an anime theme song…and it’s not bad! The animation that plays over the scene is, for all intents and purposes, the funniest ending credit sequence I’ve ever seen…EVER. You can keep the karaoke scenes at the end of Lucky Star, and the “Hare Hare Youkai” from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This ending animation puts all of them to SHAME. The incidental music is just as funny and cool as the action it’s played over, yet it doesn’t dominate the scenes.
Characters (10/10)–
As with any story of this nature, it’s the characters that move things along—after all, it’s a slice of life, so the characters that we follow have to be interesting. Here’s the breakdown:
Tadakuni:-
The long suffering straight man of our primary bro-trio. He’s pretty average as compared to his friends Hidenori and Yoshitake, and thus is always exasperated to the point of manic over their antics…though he does have a crazy streak of his own.
Hidenori Tabata:-
Our glasses-wearing character of the trio. Remember that old-school Nickelodeon TV show “Kenan and Kel”? Well, he’s an animated version of Kenan. He’s this grand over-the-top character who often kicks off the crazy conversations and situations our primary bro-trio gets into.
Yoshitake Tanaka:-
The blond-haired [Dyed…] member of our primary bro-trio. If Hidenori is Kenan, then Yoshitake is Kel. He’s more apt to follow Hidenori’s lead with regards to crazy ideas, leaving Tadakuni to spaz out. In his youth, Yoshitake was known as the masked avenger “Rubber Shooter”, helping out those who were being bullied. In fact, though Hidenori doesn’t know it, Yoshitake actually helped him out as “Rubber [Band] Shooter” when he was being bullied. Quite commendable…even though he sits in his chair oddly.
Motoharu:-
Our dark skinned student council member. While he looks like he could be a juvenile delinquent, and when we first meet him, he is referred to as such, Motoharu is actually a really nice guy who gets along well with his older sister, even though she tormented him when he was younger, and her friends tend to have their way with him [not in that way you pervs…] at any given time. Motoharu is the Nichibro I relate to more than any of the others because, bless him, he doesn’t know how to ride a bike. Thankfully in his case, as well as mine, he had his bros help him out.
Toshiyuki Karasawa:-
Another student council member. You’ll know him by the ever-persistent cap on his head. He wears the cap to cover over a very distinct scar on his face that was given to him by a girl when he was little. Though he comes off as being very mysterious and aloof, he’s actually capable of being just as goofy as the others.
There are more characters in this compendium of kooks, like the Student Council President and his Second in Command who never really seem to be in the Council Room, Tadakuni’s Little Sister who is by far one of the cruelest little sister characters in anime […Oriemo not withstanding, because I'm still trying to figure out what the heck is going on there…], or the group of oddball girls from the “High School Girls are Funky” skit. Suffice it to say, they are the perfect compliment to our main cast as listed above.
Enjoyment (10/10) -
So where does that leave us? Daily Lives of High School Boys is about as realistic a look into the lives of teenage boys as you can get currently. It’s not willowy light like Kimi to Boku, nor is it fangirl fodder like…THAT show…it’s just an honest, hilariously funny look at the lives of some very…odd high school boys. With its funny and realistic story, entertaining characters, odd yet functional animation, jamming music, and all-star voice cast, Daily Lives of High School Boys will leave you feeling nostalgic for your high school years…and wondering if you and your friends were really as big of dorks as Tadakuni, HIdenori and Yoshitake. Nine times out of ten…you were.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 29, 2014
Story: 7/10
Simply put, Wife and Wife is just about our two protagonists, Sumi and Kina who recently started living together as a couple.
We simply get an insight into their everyday life and experience events like buying a bed together, going on a short trip or just meeting up with some friends.
It doesn’t sound like much, but all their adorable flirting really makes each and every chapter very enjoyable, and there sure is a lot of flirting going on~
Characters: 8/10
After the two main characters are introduced, we get to know a few more characters, such as Kina’s twin sister Kanana, some of her potential love interests,
...
as well as Sumi and Kina’s new neighbors.
Funnily, all characters are lesbians, both main and side-characters, no exceptions.
So yeah, it feels a little weird, since this makes it look a little ridiculous, but for us yuri fans this is of course a most welcomed setting.
I mostly enjoyed each and every one of the girls, even though I feel like many of them were not properly introduced to us. I also often caught myself hoping to just read about Sumi and Kina alone, instead of having loads of other characters around.
You see, whenever the two are alone, they are just so cute together, flirting with each other like there’s no tomorrow that I simply don’t want others to interfere.
Art: 7/10
The only thing that I probably didn’t enjoy, is the dialects the characters use. It would most likely feel a little different in Japanese, but since I read the English translation, it often sounded weird, at least to me. In some cases their dialects even ruined some nice and heartwarming moments, but this luckily only happened once or twice, so it’s fine.
Total Enjoyment: 9/10
All in all “Wife and Wife” is a nice read, but nothing more.
It has some nice comedy, cute yuri characters and just a very relaxing and fun story.
However, if you’re looking for a hilarious manga, this might not be to your liking. Also, if you’re looking for a really romantic manga, then this is yet again not what you’re looking for.
It’s a mix between romance and comedy, but it doesn’t take anything all that seriously.
So I guess, if you haven’t read “Wife and Wife yet and have nothing better to do, then why not give this one a try?
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 25, 2014
Personal Thought:
This is one of the great comedy series I've read that is actually apropriate for kids too. Maybe not six year olds but defiantly at least ten. It's this series that made me wish Toriyama kept working on comedies. But Dragon Ball does kick major ass.
(please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Story - 8/10
Manga author Akira Toriyama is probably most familiar in the West for his perennially-popular Dragon Ball series and its various offshoots. His career was launched, however, by this series, which combines goofball humor with a keen awareness of the tropes of robot-centric anime and manga.
Senbei Norimaki,
...
the main character (whose name is a pun on a variety of rice cracker), creates what he considers his masterwork as an inventor – a humanoid robot shaped like a little girl. He names the girl Arale (another, smaller variety of rice cracker, naturally), and while her strength and other abilities are superhuman, her straightforwardness and questioning nature are that of a small child. Norimaki soon realizes that Arale may not be the perfect creation that he had envisioned, and spends as much time trying to keep a handle on her as he does inventing new items and lusting after the beautiful women of Penguin Village.
Enjoyment - 9/10
I’m of the belief that humor is one of the most thankless genres to write, if only because what’s funny to one person may fall entirely flat with another. The humor in this volume is very hit-or-miss with me, but that’s primarily because the author approaches the various gags from several different angles, some of which resonate more than others. Many of the gags rely on a familiarity with the tropes and cliches of how robotic characters are normally presented in anime and manga; one of the first things that Arale does upon gaining self-awareness in the first chapter is ask Norimaki if he’s included any weaponry features (“tummy missiles”) in her body. There are also several amusing situations that arise as a result of the contrast between Arale’s apparent age and her complete lack of knowledge about the way human society functions. At least once a chapter, the characters seem to break the fourth wall and reflect on the fact that they’re manga characters.
These elements are what I find most enjoyable about the manga, whereas the more immature gags tend to largely miss the mark. There are repeated instances where the reader can’t avoid the fact that this is, above all else, a manga aimed at a juvenile male audience. There are several references to Norimaki’s continuing search for a wife and his weakness for attractive women, which is thrust to the foreground when he’s forced to do “research” on a certain body part that Arale is missing. That particular chapter turns out to have a more amusing resolution than one might first suspect, but it does feature quite a bit of peeping (with X-Ray specs, no less) and paints Norimaki as sexually uncontrollable and unlikable as a character. There are also a couple of gags based on Norimaki’s ownership of pornographic magazines, which come across as grasping at low-hanging fruit to me.
Art - 8/10
Whether or not the humor hits home will depend on the tastes of the individual reader, but I suspect that most readers could enjoy the manga on its artistic merits, if nothing else. Toriyama’s character designs have become ubiquitous in subsequent years because of his involvement in several high-profile video game titles (Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger being two of my personal favorites) and the aforementioned mega-hit franchise, Dragon Ball, but even in this early series he displays a keen eye for character detail and a restrained style that’s different enough from the norm to be distinctive. While there isn’t much variance in Toriyama’s primary character “types” (Arale looks like a younger version of “Lucca” from Chrono Trigger, for example), it’s interested to see them reflected so early on in this work.
Overall - 8/10
Fans of Akira Toriyama’s body of work will definitely want to set aside some time to check out this volume, if only because it may help flesh out his reputation beyond the looming presence of Dragon Ball. Readers who enjoy humorous manga will likely be able to appreciate the nature and sheer variety of the gags presented here. For all others, the humor and subject matter may be a bit too hit-or-miss to commit to multiple volumes, but the first has enough charm that the twenty page preview provided on the Viz Manga website is certainly worth a look.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 25, 2014
Plot/Story-9/10
For an Akira Toriyama stand-alone story you'd either have to be an absolute fan and purely love his words, or a fan who can recognize when he's missing something.
A tribe still exists in this outcast planet known as the Aurumoculi. The Aurumoculi are some of the strongest beings on the face of the world and can be spotted for their golden textured eyes. Our main lead "Toki" happens to be a survivor of his tribe and is on the look out for a women to help continue his bloodline. A story so generic, it's best delivered in 34 pages and less.
A simple story, no 'Kamehameha''s,
...
no evil aliens taking over the world, nothing we've seen from Toriyama before, including a solid story structure. Toriyama sets up a rather small premise contained in a rather vast world, as he always likes to illustrate in his series, this is something we can recognize from Dr. Slump or even SandLand. A story with the potential to end the same way Dragonball did.
Characters-7/10
Like most other Toriyama works, character development is left high and dry and is only slightly touched up during the progression of a series. A One-shot with only 30 or so pages is something Toriyama knew he could never manage.
When it comes to characters, I'm sad to say, Toriyama is a little on the slow side.
Art-9/10
The artistic features found in Kintoki is no different than they are in any other Toriyama series. Immediately, once looking at the art, we can distinguish leading characters from generic characters that hold no positive value for the story. This is a great technique by Toriyama. Even while defining lead characters early, Toriyama doesn't forget to include unique features in supporting characters as well. Making the art well-rounded and balanced.
Enjoyment-10/10
Brilliantly paced, this story has all the time in the world in just 34 pages, nothing to rush and nothing to meet its end.
Overall-10/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jun 5, 2014
STORY:
Kajika is the story of Kajika and his quest to return to being a normal boy. As a Fox-man Kajika is extremely strong and has special powers. One day he runs across a girl and saves her from a gang of bad guys. After defeating the bad guys, Kajika then uses a special power to remove all of their evil. Kajika learns that the girl he saved is named Haya and is told that the bad guys were after her because of the Dragon Egg she posseses. The Dragon egg is extremely rare and was stolen by the gang leader Gibachi from Ronron Island. Haya
...
then went and stole it from Gibachi and is on a quest to return the egg. Now Gibachi is out to kill Haya and recover the egg. Upon being saved, Haya asks Kajika to help her on her quest.
As a child Kajika was a very evil child. One day he killed a fox for no reason. Upon being killed, the spirit of the fox cursed Kajika and Kajika was turned into a fox-man. Kajika was then kicked out of his village and the only way to break the curse was to save the lives of 1,000 life forms. The spirit of the dead fox, named Gigi, decided to accompany Kajika on his jouney and upon saving 1,000 life forms, Kajika will go back to being a boy and Gigi will once again get its body back. After 5 years of saving life forms, the team only has 10 more lives to save. Kajika is an extremely strong boy, but it is also revealed that being turned into a fox-man is holding down his true powers.
As the three go to Ronron island we are told why Gibachi wants the egg so badly. There is an old saying that says if you drink the blood of a baby Dragon then you will gain incredible powers. No one is sure if this is true, but the baby dragon does have Dragomin in its blood which allows it to mature extremely fast. So, if this were to enter a human body you can only imagine what could happen.
As the three set off, though, Haya makes up an excuse as to why she can not continue, but it is really because she fears Gibachi. So, now it is up to Kajika and Giri to return the egg, but it won't be so easy now that they are being hunted down by the world famous assasin known as Isaza.
VERDICT:
Another Akira Toriyama work that gets a thumbs up. Once again Toriyama was able to create a story that captured the mind of the reader. It was a very touching story which was able to keep my interest throughout the whole story.
To a certain extent it is clear that Toriyama stuck with his Dragonball roots when it came to creating the characters powers and skills. No, they aren't some super power full people, but they have powers that remind you of DB. I thought the characters were done extremely well and each character fit into the story very well.
As with all of the Toriyama manga's I have read, he still is able to get a message across. If you pay attention you can learn some ways that will help you to live your life or atleast help you to be a better person.
This manga did a very good job of keeping my attention while entertaining me, and that is why I recommend that you read this manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
Jun 3, 2014
This manga was only fourteen chapters long, but when it came to entertainment it didn't fall short in any areas. I found this to be an cute and humorous story. it was very easy to get to know and like all of the characters, plus all of the characters were well drawn.
This is another Manga that was drawn by Akira Toriyama and I enjoyed more than I did some of his other short manga stories. He did a very good job here of telling and illustrating a story that was able to keep the readers attention.
So, yeah, I am going to recommened that
...
you read this story because if you haven't realized it yet, I will make it very clear, I highly enjoyed this manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jun 3, 2014
STORY:
Neko Majin Z focuses around a Neko Majin named Z. Simple enough. In this world, 28 Neko Majins exist, each possessing weak magical powers but powerful martial arts abilities. Meeting up with his friend, they begin to look for money in order to buy some Cola. After running into a Saiyajin couple who recently land, Z and his friend deduce a plan to trick the Saiyajin, who they think are merely tourists, into giving them money by getting their picture taken with a Koala (which Z dresses up as). Wanting a picture to show off to friends, the Saiyajin give Z and his friend
...
a ruby paper weight as payment and the wife picks up Z to get her picture taken. Z grabs the Saiyajin woman's breasts when getting the picture taken which causes the male Saiyajin to loose it and goes Super Saiyajin. After firing a ki blast at Z, he thinks Z is dead, however Z is much more powerful than anyone thought. Thinking that transforming would be fun, Z also goes Super Saiyajin and beats the hell out of the Saiyajin male. After firing a Neko Hame Ha at the Super Saiyajin, Z wins the battle and the two Saiyajin leave Earth. With the ruby paper weight, Z and his friend go out and buy a huge amount of cola, making them very happy.
VERDICT:-
I found this manga very cheesy in whole. The story wasn't very interesting nor were the characters. The parodies of Dragon Ball were too far-fetched in that a fat and bald Saiyajin had the ability to go Super and even in this form, a fat cat (Z) was able to beat him without trouble. Of course there were instances that you may find funny, such as the grabbing of breasts or the pun on Kame Hame Ha, but humor such as this has been done. Nothing about this manga was original or stimulating. I don't suggest buying it unless you're a die-hard Toriyama fan.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
