**spoiler alert** So the big finale is finally here - Hideki finally gives voice to his feelings for Chi admitting she is his someone just for him and**spoiler alert** So the big finale is finally here - Hideki finally gives voice to his feelings for Chi admitting she is his someone just for him and saving the world. I do feel a bit sorry for him though, when the big sacrifice he has to make is that he can never be intimate with Chi because it will re-set her and she'll lose all her memories/personality. Yet he loves her anyway. Awwww.
All our subsidiary characters find love in its various forms as well: Yumi/Udea (human/human) Shinbo/Ms. Shimizu (human/human) Minoru/Yuzuki (Human/Perscom) Dita/Zima (Perscom/Perscom) - I haven't mentioned these two punky perscoms before - but they've been in the background looking for Chi for several volumes. I somehow wish they'd get their own spin-off series - it adds another dimension and shows how even regular Perscoms are evolving and can rise above their initial programming.
A fitting end to a wonderful series with gorgeous artwork. ...more
**spoiler alert** We finally learn Chi's back story in this one - Elda (Chi) and her twin Freya created by a scientist for his childless wife only to **spoiler alert** We finally learn Chi's back story in this one - Elda (Chi) and her twin Freya created by a scientist for his childless wife only to have Freya fall tragically in love with him....
Another great volume with truly beautiful art. Will Chi follow the same tragic fate as her sister or can Hideki really love her?...more
**spoiler alert** In this volume we finally learn Yumi/Ueda's tragic back story - and it turns out more like Rebecca than Yumi being jilted over for a**spoiler alert** In this volume we finally learn Yumi/Ueda's tragic back story - and it turns out more like Rebecca than Yumi being jilted over for a Perscom which was refreshingly unexpected, We also explore Minoru/Yuzuki's relationship. It's nice to take a little bit of a breather from Hideki/Chi (even though their growing relationship is still central) - the other characters relationships add deeper dimensions to the complex Human/Perscom dynamic.
Gorgeous artwork. Great story and characters, I love this series. ...more
The kidnapping plot is resolved as Hideki, Minoru and Shimbo storm the home of 'Dragonfly' to get Chi back. There's some obvious metaphors at work herThe kidnapping plot is resolved as Hideki, Minoru and Shimbo storm the home of 'Dragonfly' to get Chi back. There's some obvious metaphors at work here - Chi attacking Dragonfly telling him ""Do not come inside me" because her kidnapper is not the person meant for her - both fan-service and a nice metaphor. It's also clarified in this one that yes Yumi was indeed the girl Chiroru ditched in favour of his perscom which explains her animosity.
This volume is as high quality as the previous 4. STUNNING artwork - Chi is just so damn cute!!! And a really interesting story that keeps you guessing and works on several levels. Manga at its best....more
Another beautiful instalment - the artwork on this is just gorgeous and i love the book with in a book; a city with no people which continues to exploAnother beautiful instalment - the artwork on this is just gorgeous and i love the book with in a book; a city with no people which continues to explore the deeper themes.
Chi gets a job in a bakery in this one and becomes more independent. But then she gets kidnapped - how will Hideki cope? Have volume 5 on hand to find out... As this series progresses, there are more and more questions to be answered it would seem....more
**spoiler alert** I adore the steampunk universe this is set in with the peripatetic predator cities rolling across the world eating smaller towns. A **spoiler alert** I adore the steampunk universe this is set in with the peripatetic predator cities rolling across the world eating smaller towns. A great metaphor and wonderfully visual. The story on this one is equally strong with some really interesting characters. Love scarred Hester Shaw and her disturbingly obsessed Stalker shrike.
Its REALLY dark for a children's book however with an unprecedentedly high death toll - I won't spoil it by saying who lives but lets just say there are very few survivors. I haven't been this shocked at the end of a novel since Veronica Roth's Allegiant! ...more
Chi gets a job in a bakery and buys a gift for Hideki and two more volumes of the city with no people - I love how this 'Another beautiful instalment.
Chi gets a job in a bakery and buys a gift for Hideki and two more volumes of the city with no people - I love how this 'story within the story' is so simple and yet explores some seriously deep ideas. Hideki questions the value of Perscoms as he sees how dependent the population has become. His best friend elopes with their teacher, lonely after her husband turned to his perscom and abandoned her. Minoru gets sent another mystery photograph this one of Chi and a scientist - none other than Hideki's landlady Ms. Hibiya! Also there are two punky Chobit hunters newly arrived in town...
Stunning art, philosophical themes, endearing characters and a nice twisty turny plot with lots of mysteries yet to unravel make Chobits a delight from start to finish....more
Hideki now has a whole range of women on his radar - Super cute Chi his AI perscom, Yumi, his bubbly co-worker and now girlfiAnother wonderful volume.
Hideki now has a whole range of women on his radar - Super cute Chi his AI perscom, Yumi, his bubbly co-worker and now girlfiend, Ms Shmizu his teacher - who may just be having an affair with his best friend Ms. Hibya his attractive landlady who is definitely more than she seems.
But is he really Chi's person just for her? and what exactly would that mean? can AI and human fall in love?
And then Chi goes out and finds a job as a peepshow stripper - just how will Hideki react?
This one really does play with some complex and dark issues for a seemingly cutsie shojo manga - It explores human/AI relationships in many different forms (Hideki/Chi, Minoru and the android he's created to be his dead sister, the sex industry and of course culture in general as humanity becomes obsessed with perscoms)
we also have the forbidden teacher/student affair
The nature of self as Chi meets her alter ego (why do you have the same face as me?/It's because I'm you) - this is pretty deep stuff - then there's the beautiful allegorical series of children's books - A city with no people, that explore some of the more philosophical ideas in the story.
And lastly a coming of age story as virgin Hideki unravels his feelings for the different women in his life.
Artwork is beautiful and I love the combination of a fairly simple surface plot with a lot of deeper meaning in the background. ...more
There are lots of manga titles that follow a similar template to this - poor, ordinary high school boy comes across a magical girl (here an AI) and viThere are lots of manga titles that follow a similar template to this - poor, ordinary high school boy comes across a magical girl (here an AI) and villains want her, as well as various romance comedy mix-ups and adventures.
Of them all Chobits always stood out. The main reason is the super cute artwork. Chi is just adorable!!! Her huge eyes and cute little ears just make you warm and fuzzy inside. I also like the serious issues this plays with behind the scenes - the book City with no people that Hideki buys for Chi is really poignant. Love how this brings in SF themes of A.I and technology and mixes it with a very human story.
Chobits is a prime example of why Clamp was the top manga creator at the height of Tokypop's popularity. Recommended....more
The first 35 pages of this are unreadable jibberish - purportedly the original Ywellish text of which the rest of the novel is a translation - While IThe first 35 pages of this are unreadable jibberish - purportedly the original Ywellish text of which the rest of the novel is a translation - While I can see why it's done like this, to distance the reader and to show the limitations of language I think that is a tad too pretentious.
Once we get into the text itself its stream of consciousness and not all of it coherent either "... I drink my oil-sweat juice in a land of raisins in the sun..." If it wasn't for the fact that I love Carlton Mellick III and the lovecraft-y illustrations I might seriously have considered giving up at this point - however I persevered and was actually glad I did because once the story kicks in this stabilises a bit and becomes readable.
We're in the future where "people" not only walk on water, but actually live on its surface, have cured disease and conquered death. Whyrie, the wife of our hapless hero is a scientist who has created a time machine and a group of seven including Cocoan and Whyrie time travel back in time to see if Jesus is in fact another time traveller from their own time.
In true Mellick style the result involves cyborgs, clones and exploding heads....
So this is David Cronenberg meets Virginia Woolf meets Bladerunner - This sounds a lot cooler than it actually is, especially with the turgid start, however the imagination is staggering and like Mellick's other stuff it is pure nightmare in written form - not my favourite from him by any means - it is a bit pretentious and over ambitious but still so unlike most anything else out there to be a rollercoaster of a read.
I also ought to give a big thumbs up to Jonathan Raya's gorgeous cover art which fits this to perfection....more
A continuation of the Judge Child arc: First we have the Judge Child Owen Krysler exiled to Xanadu who resurrects Mean Angel and influences poisoner AA continuation of the Judge Child arc: First we have the Judge Child Owen Krysler exiled to Xanadu who resurrects Mean Angel and influences poisoner Angel Fink to attack Dredd and Hershey.
Next precogs predict a great calamity in 2120 so Dredd and Anderson time travel into the future to discover all the judges turned into vampires and a giant mutant version of Krysler terrorising the city. Not only that but he's killed future Dredd and resurrected him as a zombie causing a Dredd vs. zombie Dredd face off.
Nice solid Judge Dredd. Art is pretty average but consistent throughout and the stories are great fun and thematically merge together really well to merit being collected together in a single volume - I love the Angel gang so its always fun to see them and the Judge Child epic is, while never amazing exciting enough to maintain my interest.
Dredd is fairly 2 dimensional here and there isn't a great amount of satire that make the best stories stand out, but this is still good solid Dredd and thoroughly entertaining. ...more
The Incal has inspired so much in terms of SF on screen that it's hard sometimes to recall that this came first. Reading this I spotted things I recogThe Incal has inspired so much in terms of SF on screen that it's hard sometimes to recall that this came first. Reading this I spotted things I recognise from The Fifth Element, The Phantom Menace, Babylon 5, Hellraiser: Hellbound, Tenchi Myuo.... the list goes on, and on. The reason why so many people have nicked bits is because well to put it bluntly, it's brilliant.
It's the epic battle between good an evil weaving in a lot of European satire and Jodorowsky's trademark Eastern mysticism - but it's toned down enough to be comprehensible unlike some of his films which always feel to me like visual vomit.
John Difool - like his name implies is an everyman who gets caught up in an epic odyssey to battle the great darkness. I loved every minute of this - it ticks so many boxes - space adventure with lots of freaky weirdness, satire and wit with a healthy dose of philosophy.
Highly recommended. I'd love to see this get a TV series in it's own right. Either live action or if animated handled by someone like Pete Chung...
Despite being far from my fav X-Men line up (here it's Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Colossus, Kitty Pryde) - The early volumes of AstonishinDespite being far from my fav X-Men line up (here it's Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Colossus, Kitty Pryde) - The early volumes of Astonishing X-Men are pretty strong, largely I think down to Joss Whedon's writing and solid, detailed art by John Cassaday.
There's a lot going on in the background series arc wise (we have a 'cure' for mutation on the cards, SWORD wanting to wipe out the x-men due to an alien prophesy, The hellfire club wanting domination...) but it also has an interesting 'stand alone' story about the Danger Room becoming sentient due to a mutation in the Shi'ar technology. I've always liked the concept of buildings coming to life and here it's handled really well.
There's a nice cameo of the Fantastic Four and some good character exploration. We have a scene where you see Colossus, Wolverine and Kitty attack the monster de jour - but what's really fun are the individualised thoughts of the characters - Kitty on her relationship with the newly returned Colossus, Colossus on telepathy and Wolverine wanting a beer - the script and little asides are just fun....more
**spoiler alert** This final volume managed to surprise me - so not the ending I was expecting. I must say I was also a bit disappointed, not least of**spoiler alert** This final volume managed to surprise me - so not the ending I was expecting. I must say I was also a bit disappointed, not least of all because it's only half a volume - the rest is all bonus stories. Soshi moves away. Riiko settles with Night who then dies and she ends up back with Soshi whom Night sends for just before he dies. Huh. I feel a bit bad for Soshi it's like he's the second choice which sucks when he's adored Riiko all along.
I must say the whole series I've been torn just like our heroine, unable to choose between Soshi and Night - Although if I did have to call it it would be Soshi just for the glasses - so hot. And I guess Riiko does get to end up with both of them but I dunno having Night die and Soshi come back just seems a bit of a cop out.
The two bonus romances are sweet but just pale compared to the emotional roller-coaster we've just been on with Absolute Boyfriend....more
**spoiler alert** Night comes back in miniature form in this one - sooooooooooooo cute!!! So Riiko finally makes her choice and while I love Night I fe**spoiler alert** Night comes back in miniature form in this one - sooooooooooooo cute!!! So Riiko finally makes her choice and while I love Night I feel gut punched for Soshi in this one. Damn you Yuu Watase how can you make me love two heroes equally?
This volume introduces another guy into the tive triangle as if things weren't complicated enough! Riiko meets Toshiki her first crush from elementaryThis volume introduces another guy into the tive triangle as if things weren't complicated enough! Riiko meets Toshiki her first crush from elementary school who now seems bent on being her boyfriend as well!
At first I just thought OMG this is getting silly but when you find out who Toshiki really is it all begins to make sense.
Riiko wins back Night but she still can't decide who she loves, perfect lover Night or her best friend Soshi. Soshi reveals his feelings to Night and Riiko wins back Night but she still can't decide who she loves, perfect lover Night or her best friend Soshi. Soshi reveals his feelings to Night and the pair go head to head trying to secure Riiko's affections. Spanners in the works in this one include Gaku constantly trying to get Riiko to sleep with Night and the fact that her parents return out of the blue and her father favours Soshi....
I seriously can't call this one. I'm as torn as Rikko while a huge part of me wants her to end up with Soshi, Night's just so perfect that it's going to be tragic if she ditches him! Shojo manga by one of the finest creators in the industry, while I prefer her fantasy stuff I'm fairly hooked. Can't wait to see how this turns out!...more
Another exciting episode Mika really shows her true colours in this one. And I still can't call it - while I think Riika and Soshi are made for each oAnother exciting episode Mika really shows her true colours in this one. And I still can't call it - while I think Riika and Soshi are made for each other Night's just so adorable.... Can't wait for volume 3....more
Rejected by every guy she's ever asked out, poor flat-chested Riiko jumps at the chance to mail order the perfect lover - and it works, Night arrives Rejected by every guy she's ever asked out, poor flat-chested Riiko jumps at the chance to mail order the perfect lover - and it works, Night arrives naked in a box ready to please Rikko any way he can - Suddenly Soshi, her neighbour and best male friend becomes decidedly jealous and as for Mika he best female friend....
Massive thumbs up from me - love this series. I like the fact that Soshi has glasses and is slightly different from Watase's other heroes. Also I totally cannot tell which way this is going to play out - will Riiko end up with Soshi or Night? I kinda hope Soshi... but I really like Night as well.... Yuu watase has done it again - unputdownable shojo manga with engaging characters, oodles of emotion and wonderful art....more
I know a lot of people don't like this one - probably because they were expecting a Hunger Games clone which this is not.
Instead you have more of a myI know a lot of people don't like this one - probably because they were expecting a Hunger Games clone which this is not.
Instead you have more of a mystery - the reader has no clue what's going on, just like the hero Thomas who wakes up with his memory wiped in a box at the centre of an ever changing maze. Personally I loved that - I was thrust right into the action and had to work out what the heck was going on - I also love the opening ending - this does not even begin to give you all the answers.
The slang is admittedly a little annoying, but it fits that a society ruled by kids would have to speak somewhat differently.
Over all I loved this it's really exciting, lightening paced and with an intriguing story. Straight on to the Scorch Trials......more
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