The Backloggery

excellent little site that helps me keep track of my backlog =)
it's even got a neat little forum signature that I will probably use (see down below) =)
It links to my profile on backloggery, if your interested.

Impression: Beauty Pop 1

I picked up the first volume of beauty pop awhile ago because I heard it was good and only 7 volumes long (at the time, I found out that it's still ongoing later). I've only recently gotten around to reading it.

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Summary

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Kiri Koshiba is just a regular girl, well expect for one little thing, she is an exceptional hair stylist. However, she isn't much interested in hair styling and only a few people, who are close to her, know just how talented she is. But every once in awhile, Kiri gets her equipment and does a little magic for a girl in need.

Unlike Kiri, three boys in her school, known as the "Scissors Project", seek to become the very best in the beauty field. In particular, Narumi, the SP leader, is obsessed with becoming top beautician in Japan; and like Kiri, his area of expertise lies in hair styling. The other two members include Kei and Ochiai. Kei is an energetic little boy who does nail art and likes to eat a lot of sweets. Ochiai is the beauty consultant and as such is level headed and the top student in his class.

Kiri cares very little about their staged performances, where Narumi and Kei makeover a preselected girl on Ochiai's advice. She is often dragged along by her childhood friend Taro, who is a big fan. However everything changes when Kiri best friend Kanako tries to confess her love to Ochiai, but ends up being insulted by the boys as trying to bribe Ochiai because she is too ugly. Kiri decides to give Kanako a makeover, and the next day, Kanako once again confronts Ochiai. Ochiai is utterly amazed at how much Kanako has changed and begins to wonder who is so exceptionally gifted.

Other girls, who are also rejected by Narumi, are taken in by Kiri, and each time she grants them their wish. Eventually Ochiai figures out that it is Kiri, who is doing all these makeovers, and concocts a plan to get her to participate in a staged fight against the Scissor Project at the school festival. But even after asking Kiri's father to help convince his daughter, Kiri still refuses to admit she knows what Ochiai is talking about.

However, she is convinced to give Yorozuya Hiroyo a make over after she witnesses the girl's desperate attempt at catching a glimpse of her crush. On the day of the festival, Kiri shows up, but quite late, with both Yorozuya, her model and Kanako, her assistant. Taru easily recognizes Kiri, but the rest of the school doesn't seem to recognize her at first (but they do see that she resembles Kiri a lot). Kiri introduces herself as X, and the competition starts right away. As the competition progresses, Narumi finishes his model with time to spare, but Kiri seems to be struggling to finish on time. Then just as five minutes remain, she changes hands, using her left hand as incredible speed to finish the make over on time. Then the whole audience gasps in shock as Ochiai announces that the voting will now begin; bringing volume one to a dramatic end.

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My Thoughts

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I picked up Beauty Pop on whim and wasn't expecting too much. It seemed popular, but the majority does not always share the same tastes as me (FruitsBasket). But I was pleasantly surprised, the manga was very funny and Kiri wasn't your typical heroine; she's lazy and lacks motivation. I'm not really interested in hair styling or makeovers, but the manga doesn't spend too much time on that aspect. The majority is dedicated to the characters and establishing why each girl wants a make over in the first place. The cliff hanger at the end is excruciating, we don't get to see what Yorozuya looks like, only the shocked faces of Kanako and the rest of the audience. We also don't see the results of the contest. It drove me mad, so I looked up some scanlations. If you can, buy volume 1 and 2 together, it will save you some sleep :)
Overall, Beauty Pop is very enjoyable and I will definitely continue to buy the manga.

~Joanna.

Dsing Update

Finished Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure!!
I finally finished the game, and the ending was touching =) Even with the glitches, I found it was worth playing if you haven't played it already. And I'm also quite proud of myself for finishing something! I've got quite the backlog you see ^^;;

Hopefully I will get to the review soon enough ^^;;

I'm currently working my way through luminous arc 2 & Chrono Trigger. I've already beaten Chrono Trigger, but I love being able to play it again ^^ Luminous Arc 2 is even better than the first game. The only problem I have with it is that "character breaks" (talking with your characters) only happen during story segments and only with a select few characters =(

Hope the rest of you are having as much fun with your DSes as I am! =)

~Joanna

Update: Short Suspension

Due to some troublesome viruses, I will be giving my computer to a friend to check it out. As a result, I will be unable to update this site for a short time. Hopefully I will get my computer back within a week =)

~Joanna

Atlus Spoils: Luminous Arc 2 Pre-order Goodies!

I've been meaning to get around to taking a picture of the nice bundle I got with Luminous Arc 2. Sorry about the horrible lighting ^^;;

The CD actually comes with all purchases of LA2, but the art book was a pre-order bonus. I was so happy to actually get it since I live in Canada, and we Canadians usually get "shafted" when it comes to pre-order bonuses. =(

As you can tell by the art book cover, the second game has as much fan service as the first. In this game Fatima, the shadow frost witch, is the new Vanessa. But surprisingly, most of the pictures aren't fan service oriented at all, most are beautiful full color character collages. The majority of the book is filled with character profiles, which as far as I can tell don't contain any spoilers. =)
Also, this art book has art and profiles from both games! ^______________^

The CD has eight tracks, and some really nice ones too. Actually both Luminous Arc games have beautiful musical scores!

I'm currently progressing through the game, and the story is less typical so far, than in the first game; there was plot twist that I actually didn't see coming! The voice acting is also very well done; I'm satisfied with all the castings this time. And true to the developer's word, LA2 is more difficult then the first game. It isn't hard, but it isn't easy either, and you're going to have to be more careful this time around. Also, I am very happy to report that not only are the battles more balanced, but so are physical and magic attacks. In the first game, half way through, magic became obsolete. So far, magic attacks do a good amount of damage, and your going to be using the witches as casters majority of the time. In the first game, I never made most of the witches casts spells unless the enemy was too far to reach, because they did more damage physically attacking than when casting a spell!

~Joanna

Game Review: Luminous Arc

Basic Information:

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Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: SRPG
Difficulty: Easy-to-Fair
Developer: Image Epoch
Publisher: Atlus U.S.A
Release Date: August 2007
Rating: T for teen
Retail Price: $ 29.99 US ($ 34.99 CAN)

What it's About:

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Something sinister has began to stir; monstrous fiends plague the countryside and witches, the harbingers of destruction, have began to appear. The Luminous Church has called on a special group of youths called the Garden Children to help aid in the fight against the fiends. But the group runs into a strange girl by the name of Lucia, who appears to be a witch herself, but unlike the tales, she isn't interested in harming humans. Meanwhile another witch has been spotted terrorizing a village. Something isn't quite right, and the Garden Children are determined to go after the witches to figure out just what is mere tale and what is truth.


Gameplay:

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If you have ever played a SRPG (Strategy RPG), then you will know how the gameplay in Luminous Arc works. There is nothing in Luminous that has not been seen in another SRPG; this may be either something you welcome or something you disdain. For me, it was a much welcomed return to the solid foundations of all SRPGs. That's not to say I don't like experimental SRPGs, but only that I welcome returns to the basic formula as well as diversions from it. For those of you unfamiliar with SRPGs, Luminous Arc gives you a handful a characters that become your units. The overworld map is broken down into locations that contain either random battles or story battles. Random battles happen randomly when you passover the location, but story battles only happen when you are at the location of the next story battle and you click on the menu option to progress the story. You will then read a bit of dialogue between the characters (much like in a interactive novel) which sets up the next story related fight. Luminous arc is notorious all over the internet for it's lengthy dialogue, but I for one, quite enjoy the dialogued scenes, some of which have partial voice overs. After the back story for the battle is set up, you will be allowed to choose the units (characters) you wish to bring with you for the battle; sometimes due to story circumstances, you will be forced to bring certain units along. I believe the maximum amount of units you can bring with you is 6. After you have chosen, you will move each units on a grid-like battlefield. To attack, most units will have to be next to an enemy unit; however long range weapons and magic spells or skills will allows you to attack from a distance. Each character's statistics (both your units and the enemy's) will determine how much damage a certain enemy receives, and your unit will receive experience for attacking and using support spells. The amount of experience is determined by your level compared to the enemy's, and whether or not it is a finishing blow. When your unit gains enough experience, it will level up like in an RPG, becoming stronger and sometimes learning a new skill or spell.

Once you complete a battle (either story or random) you will get the option to speak with one of the characters you used in battle. You cannot talk to Alph, the main character, as he will be the one who interacts with the other characters. Basically you play as Alph, and the story takes place in his perspective. Also note that the option to speak with the other characters only becomes available after a few story battles; thus you won't be able to talk with your units right away. When Alph speaks with the other characters, they will provide some interesting information about themselves and often ask Alph a question. You will be given three responses, and depending upon the response, you may increase that character's affection for you. You can usually tell if you replied right or not by the characters response to Alph. Increasing affection improves Alph's and the other character's stats when the two are next to each other on the battlefield. Also most female characters will give Alph hints that they are attracted to him when their affection for him grows in later dialogues. As far as I know, these dialogues do not change the ending of the game, making Alph and a certain female character the cannon pairing. Also, unlike Fire Emblem, only Alph and the chosen character can interact, other characters cannot.


Story & Characters

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Luminous has a colorful cast of characters and Atlus has done a beautiful job localizing all the text. However, don't expect deep and evolving characters, most characters don't evolve beyond the stereotypical role they are placed in, but that's not to say it's a bad thing. Image Epoch and Atlus both knew these characters were highly stereotypical, so rather then going the serious route, Atlus reinforced the stereotypes in silly and overall enjoyable ways. The worst thing a gaming company can do is try to make stereotypical characters serious. That's not to say it cannot be done, just that video games tend to be the least successful medium when it comes to making stereotypes provocative and deeper then at first they seem. Taking the silly and funny route with characters makes them much more enjoyable than they normally would be.

The story also is very typical and I knew what was coming even before the game started. But again, do not misunderstand, just because a story is obvious and a little overdone, does not mean it is bad. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, even through I knew what was going to happen. The characters really made the story more endearing because they were so off-the-wall. And some of the hidden bonus missions were treats as well; they give you a deeper look into some of the characters without the game taking itself too seriously. In particular the Vivi bonus mission was interesting, even if it left most of what it introduced into the story undeveloped.


Art & Graphics

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This is where Luminous Arc really shines. The backdrops used during dialogue periods are lovely and quite varied. The character models and mini portraits are just as lovely, and quite detailed as well. If your a fan of the art style found in most manga and anime, then you will throughly appreciate the character portraits in Luminous. There was clearly a lot of effort put forward in the art department and the game shows it. Character models are not only detailed, but come in a number a variations depicting different emotions, which only add to the overall quality of the dialogue parts. The number of emotions each character displays is astonishing, so much so that these character models seem made for a interactive novel game, not a SRPG. If you like adventure games and dialogued sequences, then you will throughly be pampered by Luminous; it has voice overs, beautiful character models depicting a varying range of emotions, and lovely backdrops to accent it all.

The graphics aren't as pampered as the character portraits and models, but they are quite lovely as well. Each of the character units is beautifully detailed, you will know who is who without a second glance. Battlefields as well are quite detailed and varied; some are better looking then others, but all are well done. Skill and spell effects are not as beautiful, but they get the work done. Luminous is one of the graphically better SRPGs available on the DS at the moment, and although it's not as refined as say FFTA2, it is still among the better graphically faring SRPGs.

As for the box art, it's too busy. There are too many elements, and the end effect isn't as nice. It's decent, but it could have been better if Atlus redesigned it and decreased the amount of characters on the front.


Music & Sound

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Luminous Arc also features really nice music; some tracks are better then others, but overall, it has some really nice music. In-battle music is energizing and makes you want to kick some monster butt.^^ Likewise, the dialogued scenes have music which fits the mood, and special "boss" fights have some of the best tracks around. Composer Yoko Shimomura really showed she has the talent to provide beautiful music for video games. Some of the really nice tracks include: the prelude, the wandering forest, traces of the journey, ancient myth, brace for battle, prayer, the spring breeze is blowing, and grief.

The voice overs are decent as well, although I had a few issue with some of the casting choices. My biggest problem was with Mel, who sounded a little too much like a crabby old lady. The luminous site did say that Mel speaks like an adult, and I assumed it to mean she speaks formally, rather then sounding like a crabby old women. But her voice actress got a lot better later on, and she sounded less crabby and more cute (or maybe I just got used to the voice). I also had a slight problem with Alph, he doesn't sound bad, but I would have liked a better voice actor for the main lead. A lot of other people had a problem with Nikolai's actor, but I actually found his annoying voice to fit Nikolai's character to a tee. =)

Below is a sample of the music found in Luminous Arc, it's the "prayer" track, my favourite theme in the whole game, I think. =)


Multiplayer

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Luminous Arc does feature Wi-fi multiplayer, but I haven't tried it out, so I can't really say how good it is. If I do eventually try it out, I'll add my thoughts here and give it a score.


My Thoughts & Recommendations

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Being an SRPG fan, this may be a little biased, so keep that in mind, but I will try to be as objective as possible. =) Luminous Arc is, in my opinion, a very enjoyable romp through the SRPG genre. It lacks the same depth that most SRPGs are now offering in gameplay, but it makes that up with wacky characters, and an interesting, albeit typical, story. I genuinely enjoyed playing the game, and even chuckled a couple of times. If your looking for a fun game of good length look no further. =)

If your a beginner to SRPGs, then this game is for you. Most of the game isn't too difficult and it serves nicely as an introductory SRPG. But be warned, there are two fights in this game that can be difficult, thankfully if you are having trouble, you can level grind. Veterans won't find much challenge, but they may find an amusing game, as I did. If your itching for another SRPG, then I recommend Luminous Arc; it's surprisingly pleasant. If your curious about the genre and are willing to give it a try, then I also recommend Luminous Arc.

Parents, be aware of the T rating on this game. It's not a difficult game, so it would be good for newcomers, but I can't recommend it to young children as some of the witches are rather skimpily clad (Vanessa in particular) and there are quite a number of sexual references in the game. As can be seen by looking at some of the witches, this game is aimed at the male demographic. However, it can be enjoyed by us ladies as well if we are able to put aside the distasteful amount of cleavage service. Quite ironically actually, Vanessa became one of my favourite characters in the game, she's got an interesting personality if you can get over the role she is given. Also, I found some of the sexual jokes funny; it was mostly Nikolai and his witch sensor that amused me because of its utter ridiculousness. When playing Luminous Arc, it's best to just enjoy the rather immature humour, I find it makes the game twice as good.lol. If you get offended by the objectification of females, then you will be offended by luminous arc. Vanessa is a sexual fantasy, that is her role. However, if you can set aside your feelings about the game's portrayal of females, you will find yourself pleasantly surprised and you may even crack a smile.
 
Conclusion

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Cons:	Pros:
*Rather predictable story *Uneven difficulty *Intermission talks do not alter ending *Lack of customization *Busy boxart	*Gorgeous music *Pretty art *Nice presentation & graphics *Generally good voice acting *Funny scenarios *Likable Characters *Intermission Talks *Fun to play *Post-game content *Wi-Fi multiplayer

Verdict: fun game worth picking up if you like the genre or want to give it a chance

~Joanna

Where Has Nintendo of America Gone??

The DS is almost bare of any Nintendo(aka first party) support of late; where oh where has Nintendo of America gone? Sadly I know the answer to that, the Wii. As much as I like the Wii, I wish Nintendo wouldn't play favourites as much as it does. Inevitably this always happens, the console is pampered, while the handheld has to fend for itself. Sure the DS is doing great, and the Wii needs more support, but why has Nintendo of America all but abandoned DS support? Where are all the great Nintendo DS titles from Japan? That is the question! Come on Nintendo of America don't leave us poor handheld owners in the cold yet again.....

1. Where is ASH (Archaic Sealed Heat)?

Yes, ASH sold poorly in Japan and it was never confirmed for North American release. BUT it did show up on the ESRB, so that at least means Nintendo of America had played with the idea of releasing it in the west. So where is the tactical RPG now? nobody knows but Nintendo; maybe it's still on the way, or maybe it was scraped. Either way, there has been no news about it since the sighting of it in May on the ESRB site.

2. Where is Professor Layton 2 & 3?

Another title that has been very hushed; nothing about the second installment has been heard or confirmed, expect for the little statement in the manual of the first Layton game:

"The sequel to this game will give you a password."

The chances for Layton hitting the west are a lot better then ASH, but the silence at Nintendo has been disheartening. There have been a few valid points as to why Nintendo of America is keeping its lips sealed. They include: the localization of a puzzle and word intensive game takes time and Layton isn't ready just yet, and/or the other regions where Layton was recently released will inevitably hear about it if Nintendo of America announces the sequel, so Nintendo is keeping quiet to increase sales. (But I don't quite understand why sales would decrease if the people in those regions heard about the sequel; if anything they would increase, because the sequel continues the tale and although having played the first game isn't required, it will help with understanding character relations and where the story left off). The other less attractive alternatives are, either Nintendo of America is waiting out the economic storm, or they dropped Layton altogether and are not planning on releasing any more games. That or they just like to irritate us fans by not giving us any confirmations =/

Edit: Level 5 confirmed that Layton 2 is currently being localized for the west, so it's definitely coming. I estimate it will be out late 2009 (most likely during the holidays)
Edit 2: It's official release date is August 24th :D

3.Where is Rhythm Heaven (Rhythm Tengoku Gold)?

So I'm not too fond of the rhythm genre and I'm not really regretting the absence of this game, but there are a lot of others who were genuinely excited about its localization. It's even been featured in Nintendo Power's News Section in issue 232 and the issue following it had the game listed in the Game Watch Forecast as TBA. Sure it hasn't had an official O.K., but the majority of the games featured in Nintendo Powers' News and Preview section get localized. So the question remains, where is it? And unlike ASH and Layton, Rhythm Heaven has very little dialogue; the only reason I can see it taking so long, is if Nintendo of America is changing some of the rhythm mini games to be more "western".

EDIT: Rhythm Heaven is confirmed! It's coming out in March I believe. Rejoice rhythm genre fans.
EDIT 2: Actually according to Amazon, it's coming in November. Well at least it's coming right rhythm fans?
EDIT 3: It was released in April along with the DSi

4.Where is Elite Beat Agents 2?

Japan has already three installments of their equivalent of EBA (i believe it's called Ouenden), but NA hasn't heard anything about another EBA game. The first Elite Beat Agents game was published over 2 years ago, so where is the sequel? Really, it shouldn't be taking them more then 3 years to develop another EBA.

5.Where is Soma Bringer?

Unlike ASH, Layton, or Rhythm Heaven, there has been nothing to suggest that Nintendo of America plans on bringing this little gem of an action RPG to NA. At a time when most companies are bringing over all the RPGs they can, I find Nintendo of America's attitude very odd. Maybe they think there is too much competition, but I just hope and pray that Nintendo of America does not become the next Namco-Bandai, which habitually ignores its awesome handheld RPGs (& related genres) as possible titles for localization. The screenshot to the left doesn't do this game justice, to see the beautiful graphics, it's best to watch a gameplay video.

6.Why is Fire Emblem coming to Europe before it hits North America?

So Europe usually gets the shaft with release dates, but this time North Americans are feeling neglected. Sure, maybe Nintendo of America is playing it safe and waiting for the economy to stablize, but I don't understand why they are not releasing this gem in december here as well as in Europe. Especially since Nintendo has nothing planned for the DS in december and the holiday rush. If they already had something to release during Christmas, then I would understand their logic, but releasing it a month or two later when they don't have anything to release for the DS this Christmas is incomprehensible, and I don't think the economy will improve drastically over two months...I think Nintendo of America needs to hire someone else for scheduling release dates.

Alright, so I may be being a little unfair to Nintendo of America, since Nintendo of Japan isn't spitting out that much lately either. But unlike Nintendo of Japan, our Nintendo has a few games that it could release, but just doesn't seem in any hurry to do so. Why oh why is Nintendo being so lazy? I want these first party gems and I want them in english, so I can actually understand what I am playing. All that is left for me is to hope Nintendo doesn't entirely turn its back on us DS owners and does publish these eventually. Come on Nintendo, don't fail me again!

~Joanna

Problems with the DS Port of Rhapsody =(

As promised, I will link up to the two Siliconera blog posts that detail the problems with the DS port of Rhapsody. Click on the picture to your left for the link to the article featuring two problematic glitches in Rhapsody. As I say in the comments, I have only experienced the second, more frustrating glitch, which prevents you from receiving a special item for completing the Egg Brother's Side Quest. The first glitch mentioned in the post is a glitch that makes the screen go black during certain musical segments in the game. Luckily, this glitch is usually fixed by reloading your last saved file; the same cannot be said of the Egg Brother glitch.

Click on the picture to your right to link to the article featuring the missing bonus content from the North American version of Rhapsody, which saw many commentators in outrage. I too was disappointed with the bonus content being cut, but since I didn't play the original game, I was at least pleased to be able to experience it. And last but not least, click on the picture of Kururu below to link to NISA's Rhapsody site and click on their "To The Rhapsody Owners" to see a formal apology about the missing bonus content. Strangely enough, they do not address what caused the abundance of glitches in this port, because doing so, they would have to admit that it wasn't the lack of resources, but also their lack of interest in the title. But then again, anyone reading it can see that they weren't expecting good sales from Rhapsody and basically didn't give two shits about the game, hence the minimal effort, lacking content, and glitches. Now if NISA really wanted to do their fans a service with Rhapsody, they could have allocated the small resources they did, but gave the title more time for at least a decent localization. Rhapsody was rushed so that it could be released along side of Disgaea; a shame really, because the game deserves of its own spotlight and much more effort.
~Joanna

Rhapsody Fan Art

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is a charming little RPG now available for the Nintendo DS. It is a port of the PSone game bearing the same name. There are a few problems with this port discussed in a Siliconera post, which I will link to in the next post. But if you can accept its flaws, you will find yourself on a cute and funny ride with Cornet, the star of the game, as she tries to save her prince from Marjoly, a rather flamboyant, to say the least, witch. RPGFan has quite a few pieces of fan art for the game, which are positively stunning. Click the picture above to link to their fan art and enjoy it as much as I did. Look below to see a recreation of one of the funniest moments in the game, beware of spoilers! (this happens within the first hour of gameplay!)

~Joanna

Pumpkin Carving: The Results

The first picture is a little blurry, but I thought it looked pretty. The second picture has better resolution =)

If I do say so myself, I think the King Boo carving turned out rather nice. I'm quite proud of it. Next year I might tackle something harder, like a Prinny.lol. And because this pumpkin was pretty tiny (relative to normal pumpkins), the carving was a bit more challenging; one cut too far or deep and the whole carving would be ruined. So yes I am rather proud ^^

~Joanna

Pumpkin Carving meets Nerdy Hobbies

What better way to show my nerdiness this Halloween then to carve a Nintendo Themed Pumpkin. And what better Nintendo character to carve then King Boo. He's from Mario AND he is a ghost! Two birds, one stone! I could go for something more obscure and more difficult. But as this is my first attempt at a video game character; I thought it should be from an easily recognizable franchise and something relatively simple.

Check in tomorrow morning for a post on the final product. I could post it up tonight, but chances are I won't have the time, since I am the one who accompanies my little brother on his trick-or-treating.

No anime/manga/game related costumes. I'm not too good at sewing and it's a rather larger commitment then pumpkin carving. Maybe one of these years......

~Joanna

Impression: Ceres: Celestial Legend 4

This volume is the second edition of volume 4 of Ceres: Celestial Legend, known in Japan as Ayashi no Ceres. The first edition is the same as the second, expect its paper quality was better, and it was bigger (both in terms of a sheet of paper's length and width). It also had a different cover then the second edition (the order of the covers was mixed up in the first editions, but this was fixed with the second editions, which used the same covers as the corresponding Japanese volumes). The second edition is a few dollars cheaper then the first edition, due to the loss of paper quality and being overall smaller. The first edition is now very hard to find, as it has been out of print for a few years now.

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Summary

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Volume four begins with a conclusion to Suzumi's predicament. Suzumi, who is still trapped, dreaming about her dead husband and child, eventually awakens when she hears Yuhi, and the manga then moves promptly to the next "arch".

Not long after their ordeal with Suzumi, Yuhi hears about a mysterious pathogen in the Tochigi prefecture and a new vaccine that the health department is distributing there. As if fatally, a girl from that prefecture shows up at their house and demands that Aya fly around with her sick brother. She threatens to publish the picture she took of Ceres and Yuhi flying if Aya doesn't comply. Aya and Yuhi cannot do anything but agree.

At the hospital, Aya and Yuhi meet Toya, who is serving as a doctor, since the Mikages installed into his head medical information. Yuhi is now convinced that the Mikages have something to do with the pathogen, and he continues to show Toya that he doesn't like the fact that he is seeing Aya. Aya on the other hand, waivers between the two men, but ultimately runs after Toya and asks that he show her a more physical response to her love. Toya does nothing and tells Aya he cannot express his feelings; that they are too strong for such an expression. This only causes the bimbo, er- I mean Aya, to cry that she doesn't understand, and she needs proof of his love. The two hug and kiss, but Toya soon has to leave because he is being paged.

Meanwhile, the little girl who blackmailed Aya, named Chidori, deciphers the relationship between Yuhi and Aya, and offers to date him instead. This running gag throughout the volume really lightens things up this volume, which would otherwise be dark and dramatic. Yuhi, poor man, keeps telling her that she is too young. ehehehe.

The next day, the group comes to visit Chidori's brother again, and Aya overhears Toya say her name, and finally understands how he feels. While this happens, a few of the patients in the hospital begin to develop strange reactions, and Ceres starts trying to manifest herself in Aya again. Aya realizes that she has to accept herself, and that includes Ceres, and allows her to manifest. Just as Ceres finishes manifesting, Toya pulls her around. Ceres and Toya have a brief talk, which ends with Ceres giving Toya Aya's chocker, and telling him to wear it if he wants to see Aya.

Meanwhile, Aki is continuing to sit under the experimental machine, in an attempt to remember his past life and where he hid the Hogoromo, so that he can tell Aya and free her from Ceres. But not everything is going as planned. Earlier in this volume, Aki met with Toya and stabbed the latter's arm with the end of his handcuffs, while telling him that no one will have Aya but him. This only lasted a moment, and when Aki regained his sanity he apologized to Toya and told him he feels like he is becoming someone else lately. Something similar happens again, but this time, Aki sees an image of Ceres in Kagami's office and goes up and kisses it. When he realizes what he is doing, he becomes ashamed. Kagami also happens to see him and is surprised.

Back in the hospital, four of the "special" pathogen patients have already died, or gone into critical condition, only three remain. Ceres now fulfills her promise to Chidori and takes her little brother, Shota, flying. But just as the two are coming back down to the hospital roof, another "special" patient reacts and releases a large amount of electricity that hits Ceres and causes her to drop Shota. Unable to stop his fall, Ceres acts as a cushion and hits her head which knocks her unconscious. Shota devastated that another person died protecting him, runs away just as another electrical discharge is released.

Thankfully, Shota has survived the blow and Yuhi volunteers to go get him. Both Shota and Aya regain consciousness, but Shota refuses to try and move away from the crumbling infrastructure because he thinks he is better off dead. This causes Chidori to feel tremendous guilt, as it was she who begged their parents to go to the threader on the day they died in the car accident which also left Shota in a wheelchair. Aya frustrated yells at Shota and the boy realizes that his words have hurt his sister and tries to move away from the crumbling infrastructure. But unluckily, the third patient shows up and grabs Shota, threatening to kill the boy if the others do not tell him who made his body react in such a painful way. The increasing emotional stress causes Chidori to awaken her tennyo powers and she undergoes "cellular transformation" like Aya, but unlike Aya, she remains with her own consciousness.

Meanwhile, Yuhi meets the one giving out the electricity, who also uses her powers on him without intending to, since she tells him she cannot control it. Just as Suzumi's tennyo crest is about to be overcome by the patient's power, Toya intervines and knocks her out. The two then rush to where Shota is, only to find Chidori transformed as she uses her power to throw the other patient away from Shota. Yuhi catches Shota and Toya captures Chidori with his chain, and tells the others that Chidori is coming with him. Aya tells him that if he is prepared to go that far to regain his memory, he should take her instead of Chidori. While Shota begs Toya not to take his sister. This stirs Toya's sympathy and he releases Chidori and chases off the other Mikage agents before leaving. Chidori and her brother embrace and Chidori goes back to normal.

The scene switches to the patient Kumi, who gave off the electricity. She awakens somewhere and is told by a lady that she is special and doesn't need to worry anymore because here she will be protected here. Once the woman finishes her chat with Kumi, she turns to Kagami and says that the six tennyo they captured may, with time, manifest as much of their powers as Aya and Chidori. Kagami just responds with a perhaps and affirms that those two will eventually be brought here too.

Meanwhile Aki recalls his conversation with Kagami, who with a smirk encouraged him to admit he has romantic feelings for his sister, and gave him video footage of his sister. As he lays in bed looking at the footage, he whispers to the Aya on TV that he is loosing his mind more and more, as a tear rolls down his face.

The volume concludes with Chidori announcing that she is coming with Yuhi and Aya. When the two refuse because she is in elementary school, she shows them her school ID, which states she is in highschool, to the utter bewilderment of Aya and Yuhi. As the two stare on, Chidori adds that in truth Yuhi can date her. LOL.

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My Thoughts

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I will begin by saying that I am not very fond of Aya, she comes off as selfish and naive. But I was pleasantly surprised in the latter half of this volume, when she showed some inner strength and maturity with regards to Toya and Chidori. With Toya, she finally understood why Toya acts as he does towards her (it was about time!), and with Chidori, she gave her some words of wisdom that I would not have expected the selfish and naive Aya to utter. She even encouraged Shota, and by the end of this volume, I warmed up to her a little. However, Ceres is still, by far, the superior leading lady. =P

This volume is appropriately named Chidori, since the majority of the volume is dedicated to her and her awakening as a celestial maiden. Chidori is a fun supporting character, and I am glad she was introduced this early into the manga. Her offer to date Yuhi adds much needed humor as does her child-like appearance in contrast to her tennyo transformation, in which she gains slender legs and a bigger chest. She is also a lot more emotionally mature then she first appears; throughout the majority of the volume she appears very child-like and innocently happy. But as we learn more about her and her brother, we see that she has been struggling with her guilt, and that her innocently happy appearance belies her inner turmoil. I really like that, I find it interesting when a seemingly innocent and happy character is actually the one with the most inner suffering. But since her inner guilt has been cleared up this volume, I am interested how Watase-san will develop her character.

As for the art, it is nothing but pleasant, Watase-san is a favourite of mine when it comes to art. Her art is top-notch, she uses a variety of perspectives and page arrangements. But best of all, her art flows, it feels cinematic, which is the mark of true ingenuity in combining both art and storytelling. To be able to make the drawings come to life and convey movements is truly a breath-taking feat. It not only improves the story-telling, but gives the reader lovely panels to look at. Watase-san is one of the few manga artists that keeps me captivated without establishing a connection between me and her heroine. This alone proves how good she is, because I will never read something unless I can establish a connection, some empathy towards the heroine/hero. With Ceres, it is not Aya and her story that keeps me coming back for more, but the general story, I am genuinely curious about how the conflict will be resolved; I am intrigued by Toya's lack of memories, Kagami's ruthlessness, and the whole tennyo, C-genome story that is unwinding before my eyes. Yes, it takes talent to draw me in, while at the same time without attaching me to the plight of the heroine.

Volume four has a simple, but enchanting cover. I can't put my finger on it, but something about this cover draws me in. Maybe it's Ceres's emotionless face, maybe it's the composition and colors, but whatever it is, I really like it.

All in all, volume four has reminded me why I liked Ceres: Celestial Legend in the first place; for one, Ceres is very interesting, and two the story in general has me hooked. I am without a doubt looking forward to volume five.

~Joanna

Blog Update

Due to school commitments, this blog will become less active now. I will continue to make blog entries, but they will be sporadic and most likely shorter. However, knowing myself, I will probably start an entry and continue adding to it throughout a long period of time, until I am satisfied, which will result in infrequent but long entries. This was the case with the entry below about mario kart; I began writing it on September 6, like the published date states, but I only finished it yesterday.

I very much enjoy writing in this blog, so I will try to write at least once a month. December will probably see more activity since I will have time off of school, but I am unsure how busy I will be then, since I am going to attempt to find a seasonal job and make some more money for games and manga. lol.

The next manga related post will be on Ceres: Celestial Legend. I've read about half of volume four, and I will get the rest finished as soon as I find some spare time. Most of my spare time right now is going to gaming....so it may take awhile ^^

Game Review: Mario Kart DS

Basic Information:

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Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Racing
Difficulty: Fair
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Nov. 2005
Rating: E for Everyone
Retail Price: $34.99 US ($44.99 CAN)


What It's About:

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You race as one of the many characters from the mario and donkey kong franchises. There are four different difficultly setting, each with the same tracks, but different opponents. Successfully completing a difficulty level unlocks the next level and either an additional character or additional carts. There is also a puzzle mode and a battle mode.

Gameplay:

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Mario Kart is in essence, a racer, but it adds a lot to the basic racing formula that attracts a lot of other gamers. The powerups and the drifting add a unpredictable and strategic edge to an otherwise standard racing game. The basic gist of gameplay is the usual: you choose a character from the mario universe (plus donkey kong, who was originally a part of the mario universe, but began his own franchise early in nintendo's history) and race against other mario characters in a variety of courses that are modeled after levels or worlds from a variety of mario games. In essence, it's a love letter from nintendo to mario fans in racing form.Each character and cart have different strengths and weaknesses, so it is ultimately the player's style and preference that determines who they will race as. But cart capacities are not the only things that will effect your chances for victory. Drifting and powerups play just as crucial a role, if not more, and make Mario Kart DS (and the franchise in general), more about luck and strategy then other racing games, which, in my opinion is a welcome refreshment.

Powerups come in the form of boxes found on the racing tracks that the player and his opponents must drive through. Once a player drives through a box, a random powerup will appear in the player's top left corner of the top screen, and these powerups range from slightly useful to broken (see screenshot). However, the game is well balanced, and your more likely to get the infinitely more useful "bullet" powerup the further behind your opponents you are, and likewise, the person in first place, is more likely to get a banana and the occasional green shell, rather then other more powerful powerups. So although it is random, the powerups have probability rates that correspond to your place in the race. This also brings in an aspect of strategy, as your forced to ponder when it will be the most beneficial to use your powerup. Likewise, the drifting although it slows you down a bit, gives you a noticeable boost in speed once completed. But unlike powerups, drifting is more about learning to press the buttons at the right time, and less about strategy and luck.

The races turn into real slug fights as you and your opponents throw different powerups at each other. And this makes Mario Kart DS (and the franchise) a lot more fun then your standard racer. Gameplay is easy to grasp, but a little more difficult to master.

Story & Characters:

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Mario Kart DS does not have a story, because, it really doesn't need one. It's about racing and the game does that well. As for characters, the game relies solely on the player being familiar with the characters through their other franchises. Even if you are not familiar with the other mario games, not to worry, this in no way effects your ability to play Mario Kart DS. As I've said, this game is more like a love letter from Nintendo to Mario fans, but the game can be easily picked up and played by anyone.

Art & Graphics:

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Being a first party game, Mario Kart DS looks fantastic, even 3 years after its initial release. It is one of the better 3-D games on the DS. The environments look crisp and distinct, as do the characters and their carts. No two carts look the same, and Mario Kart DS gives you quite a bit of variety with kart designs. As stated before, all levels are inspired from different mario games, and all characters have at one point or another been found within a mario game. There is nothing new to be found for the Mario bluffs, but the level designs are very clever and pretty. Rainbow Road, in particular, was aesthetically pleasing, but also kept racers on the edge of their seats with its increased difficulty level (compared to other tracks); because, if you fell off, it cost you a few positions.

The boxart is also nice, its simple and it expresses exactly what the game is about: Mario and karts. Mario's pose is also quite amusing, and it shows that the game doesn't take itself too seriously. Of course it isn't the most creative and eye-popping boxart out there, but sometimes simpler is better.

Music & Sound

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Being a racing game, Mario Kart DS doesn't feature any elaborate musical compositions, most tracks are very simple, but fit very well with the theme of the level (most likely because they originate from the level the tracks are based on). Not being a Mario bluff, I can recognize only a few of the tunes, and most of them do correspond roughly to the same level/game the tracks are based on. For example the "N64 Banshee Boardwalk" racing track plays the Boo tune from Super Mario World (please correct me if I'm mistaken, I haven't played the old mario games since I was a little girl ^^;;). But regardless if the music tracks are remixes of old tunes or entirely new, the music captures the "mario" feel very well. Every time I hear a tune, I remember the old mario games, and that is what is important in a game that was made for fans of the mario franchise. Below is a favourite tune of mine from the game: Airship Fortress (which is also a favourite racing track of mine ^^)

Multiplayer:

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Ah, multiplayer, this is the heart of Mario Kart DS; it is playing with your friends that makes the game so much fun. With up to 7 friends racing against you in local wireless, the amount of surprises and turnarounds will be plentiful. You may even be shocked to find a friend of yours winning a few races by pure luck, or some friends ganging up on you will their powerups. The possiblities are endless, and you only need one copy of the game for all to enjoy. However, all those who do not have a copy will be racing as Shy Guys, while the game owner will get to choose his character and kart like normal. This does give an advantage to the owner, but with Mario Kart DS being so unpredictable and fun, you'll quickly realize that this doesn't really matter in the end. Wi-Fi matches work much the same, except everyone racing has the game, which levels the play field, assuming all players have unlocked all carts and characters, and are not using a cheating device.

My Thoughts & Recommendations:

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If there is one racing game that you should buy for your DS, it is Mario Kart DS. The game is so much more then a racer, it has fun tracks, unpredictable races, funky mario characters, but most of all, an exciting and robust multiplayer option. As someone who doesn't enjoy racing games, I can recommend this to anyone, as long as they are able to use the multiplayer feature. If you don't have someone to play with, Mario Kart DS may still be worth your money, but you will be missing out on half of the fun. Mario Kart DS is also a good game to play on the go, because you can finish a single cup in under 3o minutes.

As for us ladies, Mario Kart DS is also a worthwhile game, even through there are only two playable female characters (one is unlockable, the other is available form the beginning). Any ladies out there that are fans of the mario franchise will quickly fall in love with this game too, as will non-fans who are looking for a light and fun racer. But most of all, anyone who likes to play against their friends will find Mario Kart DS inseparable. It has one of the best and most robust multiplayer options out there. Ladies, call all your girlfriends and start the slug (or cat, if you prefer) fight!

Scoring

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Gameplay -	10/10
Story -	N/A
Characters -	N/A
Graphics -	10/10
Art -	8/10
Box Art -	7/10
Music -	7/10
Sound -	8/10
Multiplayer -	10/10
Female Factor -	5/10
Fun Factor -	10/10
Replay Value -	10/10

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OVERALL - 9/10

~Joanna

Something a Little Less Nerdy...

A friend of mine is totally obsessed with the Twilight Saga, so obsessed that she bought me the first two books and told me to read. If your reading this, I wonder how you feel about being mentioned. hee-hee.

All I can say is: Vampires are HoT! hee-hee. Twilight is hot, in a seductive way, the story seduces you and keeps you reading. Edward is hot. (Yes I am aware I have used the word "hot" multiple times =P ) Alas, I'm not a fan of Bella, she is really retarded. I mean who hits herself and another person when swinging a badminton racket. You have to be pretty retarded to pull it off. *rolls eyes* But Edward more then makes up for it, he is perfect: dark, seductive, and a perfect gentleman. I still haven't finished the first book, but I only started reading two days ago. I'm hoping to finish it by tomorrow.

Strange thing is, Twilight inspired me to continue writing, something I gave up on a long time ago. I decided to pick up my Greek myth story, which I started a few years ago, and which has also had minimal work done to it; I only wrote a small paragraph for it prior to picking it up again. Now I have added in a little teaser before that said paragraph to build up the suspense. I have decided to share it, so I'm just wondering what some of you think (but I doubt I will get a response, since I have yet to receive a comment....)

"This is a story, a very old story, told by an ancient people; they professed that it was from the gods. This is a story, a very old story, one that was never given true light. But now, it begins to unwind as it utters quietly to you in the deep darkness of the night. Close thy eyes and listen to the faint murmurs in the night, as they echo across time:"

The rest is followed by a summarized retelling of the creation myth, well Hesiod's version at least, because it is the most detailed and fits well with what the story eventually builds into. I'm not going to say much about it. But, I do have a clear image of where it is going and the ending, however, the majority of the story is still up in the air. I do know what the first two chapters will cover through. The first is the summarized creation myth and the second is the birth of Ares, god of war. As far as I know, my version is different. I don't think there is even a myth involving the birth of Ares, but I haven't done extensive enough research to claim so.

What I am hoping to convey, beyond the themes, is a poetic flow, that is reminiscent of the Greek poems, but I don't know if I will be able to pull it off ^^;;; Oh and the working title is "Tales of Old". haha. I am open to suggestions though. Remember, it's a revised take on greek myths ;)

p.s: please dear friend, if you read this, don't laugh (but I know you will ^^)

joanna.

Game Review: Hotel Dusk: Room 215

Basic Information:

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Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Adventure
Difficulty: Fair
Developer: Cing
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Jan. 2007
Rating: T for Teen
Retail Price: $ 29.99 US ($ 34.99 CAN)


What it's About:

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You play as Kyle Hyde, an ex-officer turned salesman, who still seeks closure to the events that happened prior to the beginning of the game involving his old partner Bradley. When Hyde arrives at Hotel Dusk, he meets a young mute girl, who wears the same bracelet as his partner, and it seems that she isn't the only unusual thing or person within the hotel with some strange connection to Bradley. Now it's up to you to guide Hyde as he unravels the mysteries in one long night at the hotel and finally reveals the truth behind Bradley's betrayal.

Gameplay:

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A mixture of unique and traditional sums up the basic feel of Hotel Dusk's gameplay. Being an adventure game, Hotel Dusk keeps the traditional aspects of the genre in tact, yet it places them in a unique perspective through the use of the DS and it's two screens. You hold your DS like a book, and both screens show you, your current environment, but each screens shows a different perspective. The touch screen gives you a very visually basic view of the layout of the room you are currently inside, while the other screen shows you a nice 3D rendition of the room as Hyde would see it, if he were looking at it. These two perspectives work very well, because the player is able to experience Hotel Dusk as if they were really looking at it, while the second screen allows the player to view the layout of the whole room without having to move around too much (and solves the often problematic issue of camera zoom and rotation on the DS).

Another interesting facet of Hotel Dusk is the story book approach to the gameplay, not only is this appropriate for this genre, but it also distinguishes Hotel Dusk from the other adventure games on the DS. And unlike Cing's other adventure game (also on the DS), Hotel Dusk packs enough play time to satisfy most of us; with more puzzles and characters, the game could take any where from 15 to 30 hours to complete, depending on how fast you are and if you decide to partake in the additional side quest. Sure, it doesn't hit the typical 40ish hour mark for DS games, but for an adventure game, it's pretty long.

Hotel Dusk also doesn't try to be cryptic about your next step, or make a puzzle impossible in order to prolong its length. Everything is crystal clear and the majority of the time, you will have a clear idea of what to do next or who to talk to. Even if you are not too sure, you will have enough information to know where to go more or less, and in the rare occasion that you have no idea; the hotel isn't too large and the game marks interactable object very well ( if you can interact with an object, the magnifying glass button will flash), so you won't be tapping aimlessly, hoping to trigger something. The puzzles range from very simple to thoughtful, but are never so difficult that you have to consult a walkthrough. Overall, the game has a very fair difficulty rating, and its gameplay is very intuitive and won't leave you frustrated.

Story & Characters:

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Being an adventure game, the story, and to a certain extent even the characters, are its lifeline. If an adventure game has a boring or uninspired story, and/or annoying and horrible characters, the game won't be enjoyable. Thankfully, Hotel Dusk has a very well written story, and interesting and varied characters. The plot of the game will keep you guessing, and until the final moments of the game, you won't be sure of all the connections between the characters (well at least I wasn't ^^) The characters are also varied and have interesting stories that all connect somehow (even if indirectly) to Bradley and what happened to him. Hotel Dusk did what every good adventure game does, it kept me addicted to the story, so much so, that I wanted to solve all the mysteries that tied the characters together, learn what happened in the past, and discover what lies in store for the main characters. And I wasn't disappointed, the ending was very nice, and even brought a tear to my eye.

As a side note, Hyde is an interesting character, and I liked his hard-boiled cop attitude, cliche through it was. Mila, starts out rather cliche too, but I found myself more sympathetic towards her as the game progressed. And Louie always put a smile on my face. The unique setting, California- 1979, also distinguishes Hotel Dusk from other adventure games.

Art & Graphics

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Both the art and the graphics fit very well with the story and approach of the game. The character portraits, in particular, fit the story book feel of the game. The character portraits, seen to the left, are monochromatic sketches that come to life within the game; as a character talks, they move and show emotion based on the topic of discussion. It fits very well, and makes Hotel Dusk seem more like a novel then a game.

The 3D rendition of what Hyde sees on the left screen is not the best 3D to date on the DS and it does have a slight fuzziness to it, but it is still done rather nicely and only adds to the game's experience. This is mainly due to the fact that the left screen sole purpose is a cosmetic one, it is rarely involved in the actual gameplay, and hence there are no camera issue, or clarity issues. You don't even have to look at the left screen if you so choose, but I wouldn't recommend it, since the left screen brings the hotel to life, and enriches your game experience.

The right screen is very bare when compared to the left screen during the exploration sessions. It shows the layout of the room Hyde is currently in, and does it at the bare minimum. It basically looks like a rough drawing of the floor plan, and although it pales in comparison to the 3D depictions on the left screen, it is charming in its own way. Although graphically, it isn't spectacular, the right screen is very practical; it makes the gameplay less frustrating and more intuitive, and for these reasons, it's lack of graphical 'umph', are easily forgivable.

There is one thing that I don't like through, the box art, it's pretty ugly, especially when you compare it to the Japanese box art. Mila looks like a ghost and Hyde like the typical emo hero found in a few RPGs. Thankfully the box art is deceptive, and the game is a lot better then the front cover makes it out to be. As the popular expression goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover". But, seriously, why oh why, could they not have used the simpler and better Japanese cover. A mystery that I will never understand!

Music & Sound

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Hotel Dusk has a varied array of musical tracks, some are mediocre, but most are very nice and memorable. You might even find yourself listening to them on the game's jukebox, or maybe even online. Some that I enjoyed included: Midnight, The Long Night, Violet Sky, Rainy Night, Silent Moon, On the Rocks, and Amber Sunset. The game's music fits the setting very well; the majority of the tunes sound like they are from a 5 cent jukebox, and I mean this as a compliment. Sure the tunes aren't orchestral and majestic, but they fit the setting of the game very well, and that is what most musical scores in games attempt to do (and should do). The sound is also good, although the game doesn't have too many sound effects, but the ones that it does have, are well done. Below is a sample of "Rainy Night", one of my favourite tracks from the game =)

Multiplayer:

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Hotel Dusk does not support any multiplayer modes, which is not surprising, since it is an adventure game.

My Thoughts & Recommendations

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If your curious about the adventure genre, and want to give it a try, Hotel Dusk would be one of the best games to start out with. It has the incredible story-telling that this genre is known for, without some of its less appealing aspects (most notably the clicking-or touching in this case- of everything in sight in an attempt to trigger the story along). Just remember, Hotel Dusk has a lot of dialogue, in fact, the majority of the game involves talking to different guests at the hotel, in order to squeeze some information out of them. If you happen to be someone who abhors lengthy dialogue, then adventure gaming is probably not the genre for you. If you are just not fond of it, then Hotel Dusk might still be worth your time, as long as you can enjoy a good detective story. As for myself, I quite enjoy lengthy dialogue, so Hotel Dusk was one pleasant ride.

Other then the genre's quirks, there is nothing in Hotel Dusk that can ruin the experience for you. Both the music and presentation are done well, and the gameplay is simple and easy to grasp. Just a small warning, this game might be a little challenging for young children, so I don't recommend buying it for the little ones (not that you should in the first place, since the game has a T rating ;] ) Not only does the game ask for a higher level of concentration and information retention, it also has a few challenging (but not impossible) puzzles that children will not be able to appreciate. If you happen to have a younger child or sibling, I recommend waiting a while before introducing them to the adventure genre, unless you are willing to hold their hand and help them with the more difficult puzzles and reminding them of all the story details (chapter endings have quizzes that ask questions about the plot and characters, so you need to pay attention). But even then, Hotel Dusk really isn't a story for the younger ones, and I would recommend Cing's other adventure game, Trace Memory, which is a bit easier and a lot shorter, for younger children, if you really wish to introduce them to this genre. It's the better option, because it does not ask for as much from the player as Hotel Dusk does, but that does not mean Trace Memory is easy, it has its fill of challenging puzzles. It is just shorter and doesn't have a large cast, so it does not require the same degree of retention as Hotel Dusk.

With all that said, I wholeheartedly recommend Hotel Dusk: Room 215 to any DS owner, especially since the resurrection of adventure gaming has only been made possible by the DS. As for us females, Dusk isn't particularly aimed at us, but as long as your a girl or woman who doesn't mind lengthy dialogue, and can enjoy a traditional and well written detective story, then I also recommend Hotel Dusk to you. The exclusion of a playable female character is acceptable here, since adventure games are like stories and each story can only have a single protagonist, in this case, it happens to be a man named Kyle Hyde. What is rather irritating through, are the games where a playable female character could have been added, but wasn't.

Scoring

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Gameplay -	9/10
Story -	10/10
Characters -	9/10
Graphics -	8/10
Art -	9/10
Box Art -	3/10
Music -	8/10
Sound -	7/10
Multiplayer -	N/A
Female Factor -	N/A
Fun Factor -	8/10
Replay Value -	6/10

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OVERALL - 8/10

~Joanna

Impression: Gakuen Alice 1

An enjoyable new series that I got into through the anime. I will try to make the summary as short as possible, since I have an issue with keeping my summaries short. ^^;;

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Summary

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Gakuen Alice stars the perky and spunky Mikan Sakura, who runs away to Tokyo when her best friend, Hotaru does not keep up with her correspondence. Hotaru, who was always a bit strange, had been scouted by Alice Academy, a school for elite geniuses, but as she leaves, she promises to write and visit Mikan. However, after 6 months and only a single postcard, Mikan believes her best friend has all but forgotten her, that is until she hears a conversation between Hotaru's mother and the principle of her school. It turns out Gakuen Alice (translated as Alice Academy) isn't what it seems, and Hotaru has a difficult time contacting those outside the school. Mikan is now determined to find this school and talk to Hotaru no matter what.

So she leaves a note for her grandfather and boards a train to Tokyo, and eventually makes it to the school, only to be turned away. Unluckily for her, two men see her trying to get in and convince her that their cram school will get her in (this is of course a scam). A very flamboyant passerby comes to her rescue, and introduces himself as Narumi, a teacher at Gakuen Alice. Mikan's unique reaction to his Alice sparks his interest, and he invites the young girl to come to Gakuen Alice. But before they can make their way to the school, the wall beside them explodes and a boy wearing a black cat mask comes forth. Narumi tells Mikan that this is a high level alice genius, Natsume Hyuga, and his alice is fire. After a small skirmish, Narumi takes the unconscious Natsume and leads Mikan into the bizarre school. Once inside, he leaves Mikan with Natsume, in order to report her entrance into the academy. Another teacher comes in later, and Mikan asks him about Narumi and the treatment that Natsume received. The teacher reassures her that Narumi is a good person and he only did that to protect Natsume from an even more severe punishment. As he runs off on an emergency, he tells Mikan to push the big button in case Natsume wakes up.

Mikan checks to see if Natsume is awake, but it appears he is asleep, and when she lets her guard down, the boy pulls on her hair and begins to threaten her. Meanwhile, the teacher who left Mikan notices a giant eagle flying in the direction of Natsume, and quickly begins to run back. This eagle carries another boy who comes to Natsume's rescue. When the teachers arrive, he and Natsume head out, but not before Natsume devastates Mikan by showing off her panties and calling her "polka-dot panties". How he managed to pull them off is another mystery....

Narumi calms the crying Mikan by showing her, her new school uniform. However, Mikan has not yet been accepted into the school, she must pass a little test first; that test is to make friends with everyone in her class within a week. Mikan is overjoyed because it sounds easy, but when she sees the class, she realizes just how hard it really will be. And to make matters worse, Hotaru tells Mikan to pretend they don't know each other inside the class room.

After Mikan sees Natsume and calls him a pervert and molester, the whole class turn against her and she is subjected their bullying. But she doesn't give in and even tells the other children that the only thing alices are superior in, is being stuck up. This really angers the kids, and one of the boys even starts a physical fight with Mikan. She is saved however, by Hotaru, who tells Mikan that she just ruined her chances for the "Best Student Award", an award that would allow her to see her parents. Natsume also proposes a challenge to Mikan: to make it through the Northern Woods, and if she does, he will accept her as an alice. Mikan accepts and he allows her to bring her friends if she wants.

Hotaru and Yuu (often called "Prez", since he is the class president) both join Mikan on her trek through the northern woods. Here, Mikan gets her first taste of the many unusual things within Gakuen Alice. First she meets a very violent Teddy Bear, called Mr.Bear, and is only able to pass by him with the help of Hotaru. Next the group comes up against a giant mutant chick, and they realize that to make it through the woods, they will need the help of Luca and his animal pheromone alice. Yuu, or Prez, uses his illusion alice to lure Luca into the northern woods and both Mikan and Hotaru convince him to calm the chick down using his alice. Luca agrees, but only if the other three don't watch him using his alice. At first they are not sure why, but after seeing Luca and the chick frolic about, they realize why he does not want others watching him use his alice. Mikan tells Luca that he shouldn't pretend to be so cold, when he really is a nice person. Luca, on the other hand, can't let himself be the only happy one while Natsume suffers alone.

Meanwhile, Natsume is told by one of his scouts that Mikan's group has taken Luca prisoner. Natsume, furious, makes his way to the northern woods, where he tells Mikan, she has failed and gets very violent. When Mikan tells him that she doesn't know what her alice is, he doesn't believe her and encloses both Hotaru and Prez in a circle of flames. Mikan gets very angry and rams into Natsume producing a bright light that dispels the flames. Narumi-sensei comes running in and uses his pheromone to knock Natsume out. He then proceeds to congratulate Mikan on her wonderful alice and her official enrollment into Gakuen Alice. It seems Mikan has the Negation Alice, which negates any alice that tries to harm her. Since it is immature, it doesn't always work (like when she was being bullied in the classroom by the other children's alices), nor can it protect anyone other then her.

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My Thoughts

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I first heard about Gakuen Alice last summer, and decided to watch the anime, and lucky for me, Tokyopop decided to bring over the manga to North America not too long ago. I was happy to see that they left the original title in tact, as well as the majority of the Japanese honorifics. The only thing I was mildly irritated by was the use of Prez instead of Iincho, but since Iincho more or less means prez, it isn't too much of an annoyance. It is only strange for me, since I watched the Japanese anime prior to reading the english manga, and I am used to hearing Yuu called Iincho.

Gakuen alice is also one of Tokyopop's better translations, but there still are a few problems. One of the later word bubbles does not make sense (it seems to be Narumi speaking, but the word bubble says "What...Narumi?"). Since it isn't a vital bit of dialogue, I will be nice and forgive Tokyopop. =P Also, for those of you who have watched the subbed anime, and haven't yet read the English manga, be forewarned, Tokyopop translated Ruka as Luca. This is acceptable however, since the R-L sound in Japaneses can be translated as either, an R or an L in English, and the change of the K to a C is a mere cosmetic one, as both letters produce the same sound.

On the topic of manga and anime distinctions, the manga moves at a quicker pace, mostly due to the fact that the anime added in more dialogue and scenes that were never present in the manga. Since these scenes aren't really vital to the plot, they are not missed by me, and actually, I'm quite happy to see them go, since they slowed down the otherwise good pacing of the anime and made me feel like a bunch of filler was placed into the anime. Also, Hotaru is portrayed as more money grubbing and heartless in the anime. In the manga, when Mikan has to go to the northern woods, Hotaru, at first relutant, does indeed tag along. In the anime however, Iincho (aka Prez, or Yuu) has to bribe her. Furthermore, in the anime, Hotaru's alice is a bit overpowered; it seems as if she can invent anything she wants without limit, in the manga however, Iincho/Prez/Yuu explains to Mikan that Hotaru's alice is still unstable (aka immature) and she can only make things that she is interested in, and these are usually things which are intended for mischief or being lazy. Another noticeable difference is in the first scene that Mikan and Natsume interact. In the anime, Mikan's skirt falls off while she runs to Narumi, while in the manga, Natsume pulls off her underwear. Yup, he is a lot meaner to her in the manga; pulling off panties is a no-no! And it looks like Luca/Ruka saw something too *_____*

Gakuen Alice also reminds me of Cardcaptor Sakura a lot, which is a good thing. That's not to say Gakuen is a clone of CCS, rather both stories have a similar premise and similar leads. Both are magical girl stories (but Gakuen is more of a school drama through), and both have innocent and sweet, but also spunky leading girls who are in elementary school. The main male leads are also similar, both are, at first, mean to the leading female character (although, Natsume is a lot meaner then Syaoran ever was), but eventually fall for the heroine. There are even implied romantic feelings between the heroine and her best friend in both stories. But as I've said before, Gakuen is not a CCS clone, both stories go in different directions and both have different issues they deal with. Gakuen focuses on the academy and isn't about finding any magical items. Furthermore, magical powers are more common in Gakuen, where the whole school is filled with people possessing alices, while in CCS, only a select few have special powers. In Gakuen, the less innocent themes focus on the issue of the academy and how it is corrupt, while in CCS, the focus is on unconventional relationships. These two only share a similar premise; both are distinct enough to be enjoyed together, without the reader feeling as if they have already read the other one before.

As for the cover, I think Tokyopop could have been a little more creative. Sure, it is better then the Japanese cover, but that doesn't mean Tokyopop should be lazy and settle for a plan cover. Ok, ok, I am nit picking here, the cover really is fine, it's just not one of the better covers out there. Gakuen also has chapter covers, all of them were lovely. I especially liked one and two. hee hee.

In closing, I am really looking forward to the second volume of Gakuen Alice. If the anime is anything to go by, this manga will definitely become a favourite of mine.

~Joanna