ClariS is a musical unit consisting of two singers, Alice and Clara. They are most well-known for their first major debut song “irony”, which was used as the opening theme to the anime adaptation of Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない). ClariS is also notable in that both members of the unit are still middle school students and also that Alice and Clara never show their faces, instead being represented by illustrations from various artists such as redjuice, Aoki Ume, and Kanzaki Hiro. According to theirofficial bio, ClariS means “bright, clean, and brilliant” in Latin, and Alice and Clara’s old website also reveals some other interesting facts – Alice’s hobby is dancing, her special ability is swimming, and her favourite subject is English, while Clara’s special ability is playing the piano, her favourite subject is music, and if she was stranded on a deserted island, she would choose to bring her cell phone.

Before making their major debut as ClariS, Alice and Clara posted covers of songs under the unit name of Alice☆Clara (ｱﾘｽ☆ｸﾗﾗ) on niconico. Their most popular cover is of “only my railgun”, which has more than 1,400 Mylists as of this post. However, the majority of their works are not niconico chart-toppers at all, with many of their submissions gathering under 200 Mylists. Despite this, Alice and Clara caught the eye of the staff at anime music magazine LisAni! and were chosen to be the vocalists of two exclusive original songs, Drop and Kimi no Yume wo Miyou (君の夢を見よう). Both songs were composed by kz (livetune) with illustrations from redjuice.

ClariS’s sound reflects the meaning of their unit name quite well – both Alice and Clara consistently sing in bright and clear voices. Although their voices are admittedly not very unique, they fit in very well with the pop genre, and to sum up ClariS’s current works, their songs are comfortable and easy to listen to. Despite being in the “musical comfort zone” for now, one of ClariS’s most attractive characteristics right now is their potential, as kz of livetune observed.

Essential Works:
1. irony
2. Drop
3. only my railgun (niconico link)

ClariS Official Website: http://www.clarismusic.jp/index.html
Alice☆Clara Website: http://x82.peps.jp/alicekurara
Alice☆Clara’s Mylist: http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/15308474
ClariS at SonyMusic: http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Arch/SMER/claris
LisAni! on ClariS: http://asianbeat.com/ja/feature/issue_music/claris/lisani.html
kz(livetune) on ClariS: http://asianbeat.com/ja/feature/issue_music/claris/kz.html

This post is a continuation of the previous loot post and includes all items I have acquired since then.

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Gunslinger Girl Vol. 7, Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka (新本格魔法少女りすか) Vol. 1, Ristorante Paradiso: I chose to get Vol. 7 of Gunslinger Girl because of the lovely and cute Petushka. Risuka is a novel by the popular NISIOISIN, and despite not having had much exposure to his actual works (not adaptations), I chose to get it because I heard it was a very interesting take on the typical mahou shoujo. As well, it’s illustrated by Nishimura Kinu (西村キヌ) of Street Fighter fame. Ristorante Paradiso was somewhat of an impulse buy – I got it because it was cheap, I had heard of it, and the anime OST was good. Unfortunately, I discovered that I didn’t like the manga much (Haven’t watched the anime).

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Black Lagoon Vol. 3, Tengoku (天獄 ―HEAVEN’S PRISON―) Vol. 3, NieA_7 Vol. 1: It was one of my missions in life to acquire Black Lagoon Vol. 3 if not only because of Balalaika, and since it was only $2.00, I could not refuse…Tengoku has been a series I’ve been following for a long time, but since it’s not very popular and has not been licensed anywhere, I had a hard time finding new reading material from it. To my incredible shock, there was a volume at Book Off, and as such I snatched it up. Also, that cover illustration is really awesome, seriously. I’d buy it even if I didn’t already know it (maybe). NieA_7 warrranted a get because it seems fun to read and also because I still didn’t own any ABe Yoshitoshi stuff yet.

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Calling You, Card Captor Sakura Vol. 10, Seirei no Moribito Vol. 1, Diamond Crevasse/Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don’t Be Late: All cheap items and all seemed to be good ones too. Calling You is a book consisting of three short stories by Otsuichi (Calling You and Kiz/Kids, and Flower Song). Although I do not consider myself to be an actual Otsuichi fan, time and time again I have found myself stumbling upon his works and somehow end up reading quite a bit of his writing. Calling You was a debatable purchase since I had already read two adaptations of Calling You and one adaptation of Kiz/Kids. Did I really need to read yet another iteration (albeit the original) of these stories? Maybe not, but the book was cheap. Anyways, CCS Vol. 10 was a product of my lifelong dream of completing my CCS manga collection, Seirei no Moribiro Vol. 1 was due to my undying love for the novel as well as my curiousness on how they would adapt it to manga, and the Shery Nome feat. May’n single was an impulse buy fuelled by my fondness of Sheryl Nome, May’n, and Macross F music (aka Kanno Yoko). I also dig the inclusion of karaoke versions found only on singles.

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Faust (ENG) Vol. 2, Nodame Cantabile Vol. 1: I had been trying to find and buy Faust Vol. 2 for some time now, and it was a stroke of luck to find it in a bookstore where it was on sale. This volume is particularly interesting as it contains the first (translated!) chapter of Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka, the Japanese version of which I also obtained (see above). It’s quite fun to flip through both versions at the same time. Surpringly, I received Nodame Cantabile as a gift from a relative, and it just so happened to be one of my favourite manga series (and thus I had been wanting to acquire at least one volume of it during my lifetime).

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Brave Story (novel), Spice and Wolf (novel) Vol. 1: I had been wanting to read Brave Story for a long time now, and getting it was considered something of an achievement. Reading it is another matter since it is difficult to read during one’s commute (it is a heavyweight of a paper beast with 816 pages). Spice and Wolf was something I had been curious about for a long time and for which I had above average expectations for. It was sadly unable to meet them.

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Souaiseirion (相愛性理論), Baccano! ENAMI KATSUMI Illustrations (バッカーノ！ エナミカツミ画集): Two very good pieces of loot that I received as gifts. I was never really a fan of DECO*27 and barely listened to his works, but after getting Souaiseiriron, his first commercial album, I became more than merely aware of him and ended up finally understanding his appeal (although he is still not one of my favourites). ENAMI KATSUMI Illustrations is a whole other matter, though, as I finally have an artbook from an illustrator I truly liked and had followed for a significant amount of time. Although this artbook has its faults (too many images on a page sometimes), it is ultimately a very respectable presentation of one of my favourite artist’s works. Definitely one of my favourites from my meagre collection of Japanese artbooks. For a more in-depth look at ENAMI KATSUMI Illustrations, see Nattoli’s post!

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Kikan S (季刊S) Vol. 27, Summer 2009: Received from a cool friend as he wanted me to translate a certain article (which I will most definitely do!). Another Kikan S to add to my collection, though I have now decided that I will stop buying issues of this magazine as I would rather have other books instead. This issue is quite good, though, as it has articles about Toradora!, Pani Poni Dash, Summer Wars, and most importantly, a discussion between Akiman and Murata Range about “Mangarealism” illustration style that spawned in the early 90′s. Haven’t read through these articles yet, but if the Akiman x Murata discussion is good…something will be done about it.

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Robot Super Color Comic Vol. 8, Takamichi Art Works, Yasuda Akira ∀ Gundam Designs, Soma Bringer: Most likely the crowning haul of 2010. All these items are, in my opinion, quite awesome. Robot Vol. 8 is like most of the other Robot issues, really, but with new Dragon Fly (Maeshima Shigeki), Straw (Houden Eizou), and Wasteland (ABe Yoshitoshi) chapters. As well, there’s a comic by Yamamoto Yamato and a few pages of stuff by Teikoku Shounen, which makes it as good as usual, really. Takamichi Art Works and Yasuda Akira ∀ Gundam Designs are, similar to ENAMI KATSUMI Artworks, a whole other matter. Both are pretty godly books not only because of the illustrators themselves, but also because of the quality of these books. Takamichi Art Works is Takamichi’s first artbook and was published way back in 2002. What is outstanding about this book is that not only did Takamichi draw a whopping 79 brand new illustrations JUST for this book, but also that 99% of the illustrations in this book look as new and outstanding as ever. Takamichi’s works really don’t age, and that’s why he keeps on being a perennial favourite. I also got a hands-on look at Takamichi LOVE Works thanks to a friend, and I daresay that Takamichi Art Works’ illustrations are even better than those (though in my mind, really, both artbooks have a review score difference of about 0.01). Yasuda Akira (aka Akiman)’s book is also exceptional in that the printing quality is very good, the collection seems comprehensive, and there are nice descriptions for every page of artwork. Some may not like how many of the pages are actual character designs sketched by Yasuda, but that’s what the book is about. The illustrations printed were very nice as well, but it would be better if they were reprinted larger on the page (there is a lot of white space on each page). Nonetheless, probably another one of my favourite artbooks because his work for Turn A is really very good. Oh those analog paintings..Soma Bringer is most likely my favourite game on the DS, not only because its soundtrack was composed by Mitsuda Yasunori, but also because it’s a very fun Diablo II clone, even if the character designs are regrettably unattractive.

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Nazo no Kanojo X (謎の彼女X) Vol. 1, Shissou Holiday (失踪HOLIDAY), Tengoku Vol. 4: Last haul of 2010, 3 manga totalling at $4.50. Been wanting to get Nazo no Kanojo X for quite some time now, but was never on sale until this holiday. Shissou Holiday was a must-get since as it’s by Kiyohara Hiro, whose manga adaptation of Otsuichi’s Calling You (きみにしか聞こえない/Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai) I thorougly enjoyed. Tengoku Vol. 4 is a continuation of the only series I follow by buying the actual volumes as there is no other way.

Title: 喰霊-零- (Ga-Rei -Zero-)
Studio: AIC Spirits and asread
Director: あおきえい (AOKI Ei)
Original Creator: 瀬川はじめ (HASEGAWA Hajime)
Episodes: 12
Genre: Seinen (Drama, Supernatural, Action)
Status: Completed, not licensed.
My Rating: 9.3/10

Ga-Rei -Zero- is set in an alternate version of Japan riddled with destructive supernatural spirits which regular people cannot see. In order to protect its citizens, two factions of the government have set up specialized teams dedicated to fighting against these spirits, and the most elite teams employ members which have the natural ability to perceive spirits, fighting against them with unique exorcizing weapons. The series follows the missions of the elite teams and explores the relationships between the members. Ga-Rei -Zero- is the anime-original prequel to the original manga Ga-Rei by HASEGAWA Hajime. -Zero- does not assume any knowledge of the manga on the part of the viewer.

Review: This is a series which the viewer should start watching without knowing anything, as its main appeal, in my opinion, is in its unpredictability and shock factor. The first-time viewer only needs to know that the series is good to incredible and is worth a watch, and should not be given clues as to the series progression. I highly advise against looking at anything related to Ga-Rei -Zero- (besides this post, maybe) if you have not seen it before. Also, try not to read any episode summaries (especially avoid Episode 1 summaries) or look at reviews which detail parts of the plot. Perhaps hold off on reading the manga as well. I also do not recommend marathoning the series in one or two sittings. I did so in a single sitting, and it was not to the best effect. I believe I could have had an even better experience had I paced myself and watched 1-2 episodes at a time to give myself more time to think about all the things that happened.

Because of my firm belief in not disclosing anything relevant about the plot in Ga-Rei -Zero-, I will not mention any character names or specific events which happened in the series. This will be a spoiler-free review about the general elements which I found noteworthy.

I highly recommend this series to anyone mature enough to cope with relatively brutal and graphic violence, and to those looking for a compact but substantial and exciting series. I especially recommend this to those who like unpredictability and like to have their expectations destroyed. As this is a relatively heavy series, I do not recommend it to those looking for quick entertainment or those who are currently in very low spirits.

One of the things I liked most was the slightly scrambled chronology. Instead of having the regular linear timeline (with beginning, middle and end in this order), Ga-Rei -Zero- switched up the sequence a bit. Even though the chronology was not arranged quite as elaborately as series such as Baccano!, which had various timelines going on at once, Ga-Rei -Zero-’s arrangement proved extremely effective for its own purposes, and was one of the things which made the series that much more thrilling.

Another thing which made Ga-Rei -Zero- quite different was how it seemed to switch between different genres at time, having scenes and even entire episodes which could be easily classified as anything from action to drama to even slice-of-life (whatever this means anymore). Although one may believe that this type of constant change could make the series’ as a whole seem dissonant and incoherent, Ga-Rei -Zero- is able to strike a good balance between these changes and take tight control in a way which lets these variances actually strengthen the ultimate message the series is trying to convey. Despite these regular and sometimes deceptive changes in tone, the viewer will still know that in the end, Ga-Rei -Zero- is without doubt dramatic and tragic journey through and through.

The third notable element would be how Ga-Rei -Zero- places an pretty heavy emphasis on trying to really shock the audience, be it through the use of some brutal and graphic violence, well-placed cliffhangers, or setting up expectations then destroying them with relatively unpredictable twists. Ga-Rei -Zero- is also not at all afraid to perhaps antagonize fans, either, and a lot of the most notable scenes in Ga-Rei -Zero- show how unflinchingly merciless the staff of the show are in sacrificing certain elements present in the series for the sake of not only leaving the viewer in disbelief of what just happened, but also further strengthening the impact of events which happen later on. Some may dislike this emphasis on shocking the viewer with almost whatever means possible, but for me, it was probably the best part since it contributed a lot to the excitement factor.

Why yes, that is a motorcycle with tires capable of exorcism.

There were, of course, some faults with the series. One perhaps trivial complaint that first comes to mind is the dismal vocal music, specifically the OP and ED songs. I know that the OP song is extremely popular and is considered to be quite godly, but it did nothing for me at all. The ED theme was even more disappointing, with its weak vocals (despite featuring the voice of my favourite character) and boring arrangement. I will give both songs some credit as they were fitting for their purposes, but they are not songs I would listen to when not watching the series. I did not find the instrumental music to be particularly strong or weak, but it served its purpose well.

The characters are (ideally) an integral part of any series, but in Ga-Rei -Zero-, the focus is only on a select few. I have read some reviews expressing dissatisfaction in how characters who were not the select few seemed minor and even disposable, and I have to agree with this, as the other characters were quite interesting and unique. Although I agree, I also understand that it is difficult to expand on more than a few characters in only one season, and as such, I do not feel that the relative neglect of supportive characters compared to the main characters really significantly brought down the overall series. As well, I was extremely pleased in how the main characters were developed, and for me, the protagonists were developed so well that they almost offset the lack of development in the supporting cast. Especially worth noting is that the main characters are not walking stereotypes at all, and they both have quite a bit of depth, although one, in my opinion, was more multifaceted than the other. Speaking of the characters, the voice work was quite good, but despite the contrary popular opinion, I had quite a hard time consistently tolerating Chihara Minori’s role, as she was voicing a young, shrill-sounding schoolgirl. Both of the seiyuu who were cast in as the main characters expressed emotion very well, though, and as such I was overall quite satisfied with their work.

The animation is really quite good, despite being done by two studios which I do not know too well. Fight scenes are fluidly and fully animated (even if the latter quality sounds like a given, it is not.), the colours are coordinated alright, and production quality overall is incredibly consistent. There is also some use of CGI to render a few of the supernatural spirits. Some have said that the CG is poorly done, but it didn’t really matter to me if the CG was not perfect as it seemed that it served its purpose well. The main type of animation used in the series is regular 2D anyways.

Overall, Ga-Rei -Zero- is one memorable series. Although I could’ve watched it “better” by giving myself more time to process what happened after each episode, it was still extremely entertaining, despite being perhaps slightly depressing and really heavy. It’s a shame that the series does not seem to be as popular as the biggest hits, but perhaps it is better this way in that there will not be spoilers floating around as memes. It would be good if there were more Ga-Rei -Zero- fanart or doujinshi, though, particularly of the schoolgirl with a hime-cut.

Cover illustration for Enomoto's Costume 3 doujinshi, released March 19th, 2006. Click to enlarge slightly.

榎本 (Enomoto) is a professional freelance illustrator who also does doujinshi releases under the circle name BND. However, she is not currently looking for new projects or commissions to work on¹. She was born in 1979 in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan². Enomoto likes suits, and some of her favourite foods include tofu, vegetables, vitamin-type beverages, kimchi, cheese, and potatoes¹. She says that she has been on a diet for an eternity, but sometimes she has a tremendous craving for anpan¹. She also describes herself as drowsily³. Enomoto has worked on card game and BL novel illustrations. She has also done a colour comic for Volume 4 of Robot Super Color Comic. Enomoto mainly uses her digital tablet with an LCD screen⁴ with software such as SAI³, Photoshop², and Painter².

Enomoto seems to be friends with Wada rco and has worked with her on a few occasions, though they do not act together as a unit⁴. They both participated on providing designs for two tfarm t-shirts, collaborated on a doujinshi along with 芥川明 (AKUTAGAWA Akira), and distrubuted bonus sketch prints with purchases of each other’s doujin releases. They have also sold their doujinshi at the same table. As well, Enomoto and Wada rco were born in the same year².

変幻獣バブルドリアード (Transformed Beast Bubble Dryad) from the Second Century Basic Pack of the Dimension Zero Trading Card Game. Click for full version.

Enomoto’s style can be best described as realistic, mature, and classy. Her characters are almost always fully-featured and detailed with actual noses, lips, and eyelashes, and usually sport normally-proportioned bodies, but she can also draw more stylized body types as well. She also seems to know how to shade skin in all the right places, which shows in the many near-nude to nude artwork she produces. She also seems to like designing creative and lavish costumes, and as such, many of her characters are drawn in static poses so as to model their very unique and never repetitive clothing. Admittedly, illustrations where characters are depicted in very lively poses number few. As well, Enomoto’s character designs rarely, if ever, look rehashed, but the expressions on her characters usually do not depict much emotion, and instead usually range from subdued and neutral stares to slightly content smiles. There are, of course, exceptions, but the majority of her finished artwork have characters of the less expressive variety. In addition to drawing female characters, which tend to be the usual, Enomoto is more than capable of drawing masculine-looking men and even animals. Enomoto’s versatility is not limited to the above examples.

Enomoto is also no stranger to depicting relatively lush backgrounds, either, although back in 2004 she said that she was especially unskilled at drawing scenery². However, Enomoto’s backgrounds are well-coordinated and can be very complementary, but her preference for not drawing backgrounds shows as the large majority of her artwork have none. When she does draw them, though, she tends to depict nature, which in many cases include trees, as she said that she finds branches fun to draw².

The colours which Enomoto frequently utilize further enhance the mature feel of her style, as she uses mainly muted and dark colours. The colours which she uses most include dark browns, dark greens, and black. Her colouring style usually looks as if it was done with coloured pencils, as the colours are solid though slightly blended and has some degree of layering, but the majority of her artwork is done digitally. Enomoto’s shading is very well done, shows a lot of depth, and seems to use different shades, such as purple, for shading, rather than merely choosing a darker shade of the same colour.

Website: http://homepage3.nifty.com/-bnd-
Blog: http://enom.blog32.fc2.com
Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=62660
Past doujinshi releases: http://www.keibunshakoutari.com/enomoto.html
Interview with enomoto and Wada rco at tfarm: http://www.tfarm-store.com/column/03.html

Sources:
1 – Website: “first” link
2 – Kikan S Volume 5, 2004 Winter, page 28-29
3 – Pixiv
4 – tfarm interview

Title: Ani*Kuri15
Studio: GONZO, Production I.G, GAINAX, Studio 4°C, MADHOUSE, Comix Wave Film, Satelight
Directors: MAEDA Mahiro, YABUTA Tatsuya (with Murata Range), TAKEUCHI Atsushi, HAYASHI Akemi, OSHII Mamoru, Michael Arias, KON Satoshi, ODA Tobira and SHIMIZU Yasuyuki, SHINKAI Makoto, NISHIMI Shoujirou, NAKAZAWA Kazuto, KAWAMORI Shoji, SOEJIMA Yasufumi, KIMURA Shinji, and KOBAYASHI Osamu.
Episodes: 15
Genre: Short experimental animation
Status: Completed, not licensed
My Rating: 9.0/10

Ani*Kuri 15 was a short animation series which aired on NHK from 2007 to 2008. Each episode was one minute and was directed and animated by different directors and studios. There were a total of three seasons, with 5 episodes each. These shorts have no recurring theme due to the differences in producers, but they were all meant to showcase a sample of the variety of styles and themes found in Japanese animation.

Wikipedia: Ani*Kuri15

Review: This covers all fifteen episodes, but some “reviews” are shorter than others. Majority of reviews do not include summaries. The episodes and main producers are listed as “director name” x “production studio name”. Click on the title to see a frame from the short. Recommended ones are asterisked.

I (highly) recommend this series to anyone interested in exploring the different styles present in the Japanese animation scene, and it’s a very good starting point for getting to know all the studios and directors showcased here.

1. おんみつ☆姫* (Onmitsu☆Hime/Secret☆Princess) – 前田真宏/MAEDA Mahiro x GONZO
One of my top favourites in this series. The number of frames this short has is amazing, and although it doesn’t have a thought-provoking theme, Maeda was really able to make full use of his one minute, adding in non-stop action and a billion of other things one can only catch after several viewings. Very colourful and fun, and cute Maeda-style characters too.

2. ジャイロソプター – MURATA Range & 藪田達也/YABUTA Tatsuya x GONZO
A full-CG work with designs by Murata Range and directed by Yabuta Tatsuya. Intriguing world view and mechanical structure designs, but the CG used here, especially in rendering a human face, makes the age of this short apparent.

3. ワンダバキッス* – 竹内敦志/TAKEUCHI Atsushi x Production I.G
One of my favourites. Wandaba Kiss is a lively and charming short involving two children and some interesting contraptions. Wonderful and faintly intricate succession of events and mechanics make this a joy to rewatch. Animation work is impeccable and fluid, and is reminiscent of the textured Production I.G style.

OHAYOU (Good Morning), directed by KON Satoshi and produced by MADHOUSE. Click to enlarge.

4. ナミダの向こう・・ (Namida no Mukou../Beyond the tears..) – 林明美/HAYASHI Akemi x GAINAX
A short with a melancholic atmosphere set to a ballad with vocals. The music and sequence matches well, but little seems to actually happen in it. The animation is not detailed and there is little action, but the style and character designs fits the theme of the title and song well.

5. PROJECT_MERMAID – OSHII Mamoru x Production I.G
Sequence with images segmented and “animated” to look as if they’re moving through something like a shimmering tunnel. The point and theme isn’t too apparent, which gives one some food for thought. Not much actual traditional animation, and consists mostly textures and effects.

6. おっかけっこ (Okkakekko) – Michael Arias x Studio 4°C
Interesting but odd short from the director of Tekkon Kinkreet. It strongly reminded me of Laputa. The children’s faces look slightly eerie, but I liked the atmosphere and setting of the whole thing. Good sound effects, voices, and background music as well.

Neko no Shuukai (Cats' Meeting), directed by SHINKAI Makoto and produced by Comix Wave Film. Click to enlarge.

7. オハヨウ* (OHAYOU/Good Morning) – KON Satoshi x MADHOUSE
My favourite. The animation and artwork are exquisite and incredibly detailed, and every frame is impeccable. Pretty cool premise as well. Totally flawless and deserves at least 2-3 rewatches to catch all the details in the backgrounds. Good thing it’s only one minute!

8. スポーツ大佐 第18話 「刺客が山狩りに来た！！」* (Sports Taisa Dai 18 wa “Shikaku ga Yamagari ni Kita!!”/Sports Colonel Episode 18: The assassin has come on a mountain hunt!!” – ODA Tobira/小田扉 & SHIMIZU Yasuyuki/清水保行 x Studio 4°C
Whimsical, fun, and mostly black-and-white short with a very bold and distinctive art style which I’d like to see more anime done in. The faces are wonderful, and that voice is awesome.

9. 猫の集会* (Neko no Shuukai/Cats’ Meeting) – SHINKAI Makoto x Comix Wave Film
Great animation and story coupled with a compelling theme and well-matched music make this one of the best shorts in Ani*Kuri15. Fun and cute premise that is a welcome departure from Shinkai’s usual serious stories of love and distance (though perhaps it is only because his usual theme cannot be fully realized in a mere minute). As with his other work, the art and lighting in this is excellent and very detailed. Wonderful conclusion as well.

Yurururu~Daily Life Arc~, directed by NAKAZAWA Kazuto and produced by Studio 4°C. Click to enlarge.

10. 宇宙人襲来 ヒロシの場合 (Uchuujin Shuurai Hiroshi no Baai/Alien Invasion: The Case of Hiroshi) – NISHIMI Shoujirou/西見祥示郎 x Studio 4°C
An entertaining peek at the case of Hiroshi, which deals with an act of mischievousness. Interesting and fitting style for the theme.

11. 「ゆルルル」～日常編～* (“Yurururu”~Nichijou Hen~/”Yurururu”~Daily Life Arc~) – NAKAZAWA Kazuto/中澤一登 x Studio 4°C
Another one of my favourites because it’s both charming and cool. Talks about a day in the life of an animator at the studio, and is set to fun and fitting music.

12. プロジェクトΩ* (Project Omega) – KAWAMORI Shoji/河森正治 x Satelight
Incredibly high quality animation and epic setting and progression. Wish there was more to it at the end, but the one minute was full of action and passed by extremely quickly. Top notch!

13. ヒョットコ (HYOTTOKO/Blaze Man) – SOEJIMA Yasufumi/ソエジマヤスフミ x GONZO
Interesting setting that I don’t see in Japanese animation much. The CG’s not too bad, and actually reminds me of PS2-era 3D CG. Quite a bit of action but not much of a story.

Sancha Blues, directed by KOBAYASHI Osamu and produced by MADHOUSE. Click to enlarge.

14. アタックオブ東町２丁目 (Attack of Higashimachi 2nd District) – KIMURA Shinji/木村真二 x Studio 4°C
Cool mix of art styles and a good but small twist on the regular alien invasion theme. Love the cardboard buildings.

15. 三茶ブルース (Sancha Blues) – KOBAYASHI Osamu/小林治 x MADHOUSE
A short drawn and animated in Kobayashi’s usual and very distinctive style. The animation may seem choppy, but that actually enhances the style of the short. Every frame is detailed and complete (MADHOUSE quality), and the theme is silly but entertaining in a way.

Book Off is a chain of used bookstores, although the stores also have some new books for sale, such as newly released manga tankoubon. They sell almost exclusively Japanese books, but the overseas branches have sections devoted to books in the respective domestic language as well. They operate mainly in Japan, but have branches in Seoul, South Korea; the United States; Vancouver, Canada; and Paris, France.

Official Site: http://www.bookoff.co.jp/en/index.html
Book Off at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_Off

Trip I

• The Art of Sister Princess – 天広直人画集 – Naoto Tenhiro Illustrations: $4.00
• 季刊S (Kikan S) Vol. 19, Summer 2007: $2.00
• ARIA Vol. 9: $5.00
• ARIA Vol. 11: $5.00

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Total: $16.00

Trip II

• Kikan S Vol. 3, Summer 2003: $2.00
• Kikan S Vol. 4, Autumn 2003: $2.00
• Kikan S Vol. 5, Winter 2004: $2.00
• Kikan S Vol. 8, Autumn 2004: $2.00
• Kikan S Vol. 20, Autumn 2007: $2.00
• Comickers Art Style Vol. 3: $2.00
• Pluto Vol. 3 (Big Comics Special ver.): $2.00
• Chobits Vol. 2: $2.00
• Emma Vol. 1: $2.00
• Mirai Nikki Vol. 2: $2.00

—————————————————————-
Total: $20.00

Trip I

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The Art of Sister Princess – 天広直人画集 – Naoto Tenhiro Illustrations: Man is this artbook old news, but I couldn’t resist getting it for $4.00 because it was so high quality, and I thought it would nice to finally add a real artbook to my pathetic excuse of a collection. I also couldn’t help being swayed by the fact that the book was still in the cardboard box it originally came packaged in, and it was probably this pristine-like condition that finally made me take the thing home. I also have a soft spot for Tenhiro’s art, because even though his illustrations aren’t always consistently perfect, he’s been around for a very long time, and was one of the first illustrators I truly knew by name. Not to mention that imoutos are always nice, unless they’re not 2D.

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季刊S (Kikan S) Vol. 19, Summer 2007: Kikan S has always been a magazine that I’ve been curious about, as I’ve heard it being compared to Wani’s ROBOT Super Color Comic magazines, so I was pleased to see it in stock at Book Off. I immediately decided to buy this after seeing that this volume included a relatively lengthy interview with 放電映像 (Houden Eizou), who is one of my favourite illustrators. I hope to translate it at a later date. As with all Kikan S issues, this volume has a theme, and it’s of けものの (kemonono), things pertaining to Kemono. As a result, all the exclusive illustrations are mainly of girls with animal ears and tails, and the interviews center upon creators and works that have to do with kemono. Unfortunately, this issue is possibly bordering on illegal, or at the very least R-25 or something, because there are 6 pages of photography of rather young, 3D, human girls in the nude.

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ARIA Vol. 9 and 11: The last things I picked up on this trip. I was reluctant to buy them at first because they were expensive compared to the $2.00 and $4.00 books, but I’m pretty glad I got them anyways because really, ARIA is worth way more than $5.00/volume, due to the immense rereading value each chapter has. I’ve also never read these before (since I didn’t own them), so it was great to revisit Neo-Venezia for the first time in about…two years.

Trip II

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季刊S (Kikan S) Vol. 3, 4, 5, 8, 20: Oh hey, more Kikan S. I was so satisfied with the packed and varied content (especially the interviews and exclusive (?) artwork) of Vol. 19 that I decided to clear Book Off of its remaining $2.00 issues of Kikan S. Although some issues are quite old (from 2003 to 2007), I loved seeing how artists progressed from then to now, and I also liked seeing who the up-and-coming illustrators were at that time. In Vol. 4 (Autumn 2003), there was a “pick-up” section for featuring new and unique artists, one of which is the now-well-known Teikoku Shounen, and this was part of the illustration that got in the book. In Vol. 5 (Winter 2004), Kikan S’s theme was the Illustration List which profiled new illustrators and creators, one of which is the currently super-popular huke, and a few of his pre-BRS art, including this one, is shown on this one-page profile on him, with his old website URL.

The themes for each of these issues are as follows: Vol. 3, おひめさま/Princess; Vol. 4, 少年の日々/Days of the Youth; Vol. 5, イラストリスト/Illustration List; Vol. 8, 少女少年サーカス/Boys and Girls’ Circus; and Vol. 20, みらいまぼろし/Future Illusion.

Also, it’s worthwhile to note that since the beginning of Kikan S’s publication, all the cover illustrations have been done by 水屋美沙ｘ水屋洋花 (MIZUYA Misa and MIZUYA Hiroka), two twin sisters who illustrate together. At first, I thought that the covers were done by OBATA Takeshi of Hikaru no Go and Death Note fame, but apparently that’s not the case, even though the styles are eerily similar.

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Comickers Art Style Vol.3 and Pluto Vol. 2: I got Comickers solely due to the fact that a chapter of one of Maeshima Shigeki‘s original full colour manga is inside. It’s also a work I have never, ever heard of before, so its obscurity made me decide to snap it up. Unfortunately, the other content in the book is quite mediocre, consisting almost solely of interviews with artists who aren’t particularly outstanding, although HIGURI Yuu, the mangaka of Cantarella, is admittedly somewhat interesting. Lovely piece of cover art too, which is replicated in its entirety in poster form, included in the book.

As for Pluto Vol. 2, there was no way I could pass up on getting a volume of one of my favourite series for such a low price, and for a special and shiny edition to boot! It also helped that it was only Vol. 2 that was $2.00 instead of the others as I really like Urasawa’s design for Atom. The packaging for this book is pretty magnificent, with an embossed and foil-like cover and faithfully reproduced colour pages. It also has a transparent landing sheet through which the whole artwork of Atom can be seen. The whole manga is printed on smooth, slightly glossy, and pure white paper as well.

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Mirai Nikki Vol. 2, Chobits Vol. 2, and Emma Vol. 1: I was actually planning to leave the store with only the purchases above, but unfortunately I stumbled upon the $2.00 section for seinen manga tankoubon. These three were practically picked up entirely on impulse, but I don’t regret it at all as two of them are of some of my favourite series (Mirai Nikki and Chobits), and I already know that Emma is good, if not godly. I had been meaning to start reading Emma anyways, so getting the first volume would actually make me read it once and for all. Funnily enough, one of the issues of Kikan S I got had mentioned Emma too.

Maybe it seems odd that I would get Vol. 2 of Mirai Nikki and Chobits when I don’t have any other volumes of Mirai Nikki, and only Vol. 8 of Chobits, but I personally don’t care for completeness, and I just like collecting my favourite volumes of my favourite series. I specifically chose Vol. 2 of Mirai Nikki (rather than Vol. 3 or Vol. 4, which were also available there) because it has one of the best pages in a manga ever, and the Yuno on the back cover is delicious. I didn’t get to choose any other volumes of Chobits, since only Vol. 2 was $2.00, but I’m happy with it anyways since any and all volumes of Chobits are gorgeous to read, plus there are quite a lot of scenes with Hibiya Chitose in Vol. 2…

Lastly, I would like to note that everything I got from Book Off was in a near-impeccable condition, and nothing was ripped or tattered. The prices are super-fair and affordable, and I highly recommend visiting a branch of this chain if you like buying Japanese books at all, and don’t mind that the items have been used.

Hatsune Miku from Crypton's Character Vocal Series. (Click for the larger full version.) Original line art for this available at illustrator's Pixiv.

吉田ドンドリアン (YOSHIDA Dondorian), also known professionally under ヨシツギ (YOSHITSUGI), is an up-and-coming illustrator best known on Pixiv for her distinctive and abstract watercolour style. She has also forayed into illustrating and compiling videos for Vocaloid songs on niconico, the most recent of which was for river’s アン・イノセンス (Un-Innocence). In addition to illustrating for leisure, she has also drawn artwork professionally for various publications, such as Kodansha’s Faust magazine and Megami Creators, and has made a website, done art direction, drawn artwork, and done CD jacket design for two of Voltage of Imagination’s CDs’ sites. Yoshida’s birthday is on December 21st, resides in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, likes to paint and illustrate with analog tools and techniques, and when working digitally, uses Adobe Photoshop CS3 on Windows Vista.

Yoshida’s style is of a relatively abstract and watercolour-like style that incorporates many vibrant colours, little to no shading and quite a bit of subtle and faded floral patterns. She almost exclusively draws female characters, but unlike most JPN illustrators, she gives little precedence on characters’ faces and expressions, and rather strives to create a spectacle with the entire picture as a whole, taking more priority in colour, composition, and theme. Her characters’ eyes are very round, and they typically sport only subdued or calm expressions. They are also drawn in static poses most of the time, with characters either standing, falling, or floating(?), but these types of arrangements really do add to the peaceful and calm atmosphere that most of her illustrations give off. The fact that Yoshida doesn’t employ traditional shading techniques is also a unique feature, and as a substitution to the absence of shading, she instead indicates depth by layering darker colours on the lighter ones and melding them together for a gradual and delicate effect. She also uses lightly coloured, sometimes faded lines to enhance this look.

Macne Nana as depicted in 月ノ魚 (Tsuki no Sakana) by 一本勝負Ｐ(IpponshoubuP). (Click for the larger full version.)

Other than the background-less, single-character style, Yoshida is also capable of producing another style where she often draws an undetailed character put against an near-abstract background splashed with solid colour. In this style, Yoshida usually combines deep, dark colours against vibrant, practically neon shades to make a statement, and in many cases she makes use of only one main colour and their respective shades. The highest recurring primary colour used in these works seems to be blue. Colour coordination is unique, but the contrast in colours may sometimes be a little too strong. As well, Yoshida makes a lot less use of the transparent qualities prominently seen in her character-focused artwork, but when she combines her two styles, the results are quite stunning (See the image above this paragraph).

It is worthwhile to note that about half of Yoshida’s works are non-digitally done with colour ink, which is why there’s noticeable colour bleeding in most pictures, and why she also seems to have a good understanding of how to emulate the bleed and transparent effects in digital works as well. Moreover, Yoshida’s artwork may be slightly reminiscent of shimeko’s (しめ子 at Pixiv) style at first, but Yoshida’s are quite a bit more natural (in both analog and digital examples) as shimeko’s style has no bleed, more sharp, clean lines, and everything is much softer and blurred – all of which are small clues that hint at the digitality of shimeko’s illustrations. (For two digital examples, Yoshida | shimeko. Note the points at which the soft colours fade into white – Yoshida’s has more spread and dark edges at the end before becoming white.)

Lastly, Yoshida’s PV style is as creative and sometimes as abstract as her illustrations, but they mostly employ basic animation effects and a high number of static illustrations. Despite the supposed and deceiving simplicity of execution, the PV for Un-Innocence is perhaps one of the most artistic and original Vocaloid PVs out there. Please take a look.

Essential Works – PV:
1. アン・イノセンス (Un-Innocence) (niconico link) **Highly Recommended**
2. Colchicum! (niconico link)
3. 月ノ魚 (Tsuki no Sakana/Fish of the Moon) (niconico link)

Website: http://sekitou.sub.jp
Blog: http://bye.sekitou.sub.jp
Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=251864
Piapro: http://piapro.jp/yoshi_nba
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Hello_World_

Coffin: The Art Of Vampire Hunter D is a standalone artbook first published in Japan by the name of かんおけ―吸血鬼ハンターD (Kanoke – Vampire Hunter D), and later published in North America by Dark Horse Press. This supersized artbook collects the illustrations and artwork, all by Amano Yoshitaka, from the Vampire Hunter D series of novels (authored by KIKUCHI Hideyuki), and exhibits approximately 190 pieces of artwork from a span of 14 years. Despite initially being published in North America, this version is currently available for purchase worldwide on all Amazon divisions except for China. As well, the artbook is written in two languages, Japanese and English, where all instances of the original text is placed beside the translation.

Order at Amazon: USA (US$26.37) | Canada (CAD$27.55) | UK (£21.85) | France (Marketplace only; €22,50+) | Germany (€28,99) | Japan (￥3,730)

The contents of the book, in order of appearance, include

1. Short introduction by KIKUCHI Hideyuki (1 page)
2. Vampire Hunter D-Portrait of Ixobel- by Kikuchi Hideyuki (6 pages; Exclusive Vampire Hunter D Short Story)
3. Illustrations from Vampire Hunter D by AMANO Yoshitaka (190 pages)
4. Painting Data (2 pages)
5. Notes by Amano Yoshitaka (1 page)
6. Profile of Amano Yoshitaka (1 page)

Opinion: This print publication is so amazing that I don’t really know where to start. Just picking it up and seeing its sheer size had already left an impeccable first impression on me, and it further reinforced that perfect impression by amazing me with its complete contents and high print quality. To be honest, I wasn’t much of a fan of Amano’s illustrations – I thought that they were unique and slightly eerily cool, but they weren’t exactly my favourite. However, this book completely changed my opinion of Amano’s work because it really showed off his versatilty and skill as a true artist. There are so many different styles that Amano uses here (not at all limited to the “usual” wispy, thin style!), and this book can be quite aptly described as successfully representing the “many styles of Amano”.

Covers, binding detail, and size comparison with standard DVD boxes. Click to enlarge.

Previous knowledge of the Vampire Hunter D series is not an essential prerequisite for buyers of this artbook, but I do recommend knowing a thing or two about the series so that the original short story by Kikuchi wouldn’t go to waste, and also so you would be able to give appropriate context for the pieces of work featured here. I personally haven’t read the novels in the series yet, but I was still able to really enjoy the artwork exhibited here. (I’ve taken a look at the translated version of the first volume of VHD, though.) I haven’t read the short story yet, so it’s not reviewed here.

The majority of the artwork are black and white scene insets found in the novels, and these are produced in the highest possible quality and look loads better than the versions found in the books (as this is printed on better, utterly superb paper). Some fans or artbook collectors may usually be inclined to consider black and white artwork to be of slightly less value than full-colour artwork, and may tend to find them to be like “fillers”, but the monochrome pictures here do not take a backseat to the coloured ones because they are not sketches, has quite a lot of detail and variety, and are just so well represented overall. They’re treated the same as the full-colour pieces, and are given a whole page on their own with absolutely no cropping, resizing, or other drops in quality, just like all the other artwork in the book.

Intro page and illustration page samples from the book. This is just the very tip of the iceberg! Click to enlarge. (Warning: 6.30MB image)

The full-colour pieces, on the other hand, seem less abundant as they are very throughly dispersed in between the many pages of monchrome artwork. Up until about two-thirds of the book, they seem quite like awesome but random surprises while flipping through the book in order. However, they are still undoubtly the main attractions, because it’s these colour pieces that show the most versatilty and variety in style from Amano. He used many different mediums, colour palettes, and compositions, and it was this that was the most interesting to me, even though I also really liked the other artwork. This was mainly because a great number of colour artwork made me go “That’s Amano?!” in a good way.

Besides the large artwork, there are also subtle breaks in the book where one whole page consists of a tiny area of art by Amano. These are usually very rough or indistinct sketches, but all of these are artistic and unique.

Also, this is truly an “art”book, because it features little other content. The other things included are only the documented sources of each artwork (One of my favourite sections), brief profiles and notes from Amano, and the original short story by Kikuchi. Every other page of the book features art and only art by Amano.

Non-illustration pages in the book. Landing and exit pages are of harder paper, and all text are in Japanese and English. Click to enlarge.

One point I wanted to clarify was something I read in this amazon.com review, where the reviewer said that the JPN version was smaller and had cropping. I have a hard time believing this as the reported page count and dimensions for the JPN version, according to amazon.co.jp, is exactly the same as this ENG version. However, if there are any Japanese readers (?! Sorry this isn’t in Japanese lol) who have been wanting to get the JPN version (which is out of print and sells used for ￥ 8,999 on the marketplace), I highly recommend getting this as a better alternative, as this version is not only readily available for a good price, it also includes the original Japanese text AND English translation. This bilingualism seems rare in most formal artbooks, but I personally highly appreciate it, for reasons for comparison and also the chance to read it in its original language without having to buy the other version.

Conclusion: All in all, this is an incredible artbook that should be worth far more than what it’s being sold for on Amazon, due to the quantity of great artwork and the near-insurmountable production quality. If you’re a fan of Amano, you really mustn’t miss out on this, since this is a great exhibit of Amano’s work. You can also get this book even if Amano is not your favourite artist in the world, and as long as you appreciate his art to some extent, taking a look at this book will seriously make you appreciate and like his art more. At least, that’s what it was like for me.

It’s seriously kind of like an art gallery in book form, but even better because 1) No museum entrance fee (besides the initial purchase price) 2) No time limit for perusing and 3) 190+ pieces of Amano goodness, the original copies of which would not all fit into a single museum exhibit due to its numerosity. It also makes a great (and huge) coffee table book that anyone can appreciate and be impressed by. No review or description can really do this artbook justice because it’s something best experienced in person, and no amount of preview pictures will ever cover the huge area of styles and themes covered by Amano here. The only setback I can see here is that it is a nightmare to store away, and you actually need a pretty big coffee table to host put this on.

Left: Layout Sample of a piece / Right: Added layer of gloss on the artwork area. Click to enlarge.

Packaging: This is probably one of the main features of the book because it’s so well done. First is the matter of the huge size, which does all the artwork justice as they’re shown as large as possible and in the highest resolution, and especially the wider illustrations are stunning as they utilize the full width of the page. As mentioned earlier, one piece of artwork appears on its own page, with absolutely no grouping or cropping anywhere. The artwork is printed on slightly matte paper and on the area of the artwork is a very thin layer of gloss, giving it a sort of invisible frame that shines when you hold it up to the light. This gives it a sharper look (especially for the black and white illust), helps retain the colour of the work better, and gives it a more substantial texture than just printing on matte paper. Beside the top right corner of each picture, there is a “©YOSHITAKA AMANO”, and below the bottom right corner is the title of the piece or the title of the novel volume it came from in both Japanese and English. The Japanese text is set in a Mincho font, and the English text is set in a serif font, so even when a title is entirely in English, there are still two iterations of the title on the bottom. This general attention to detail really does Amano’s work justice, and I could really feel that the people behind the organization of this book tried their absolute best to do justice and give respect to the artist.

The binding is quite heavy duty, and lets the book lie flat without damaging it. The cover, although quite hard, is still to be considered as a “soft” cover as it is not made of cardboard, and can be easily bent if one flips it carelessly. Given the size of the width, bending the cover of this book is a lot easier to do than in regular-sized books. Be prepared to handle this with a little extra care.

Jacket picture for supercell's "Sayonara Memories", to be released on February 10th. (Illust: redjuice)

Article title: supercell, a big favourite for 2010′s sakura/graduation song!

Article translation: Suddenly debuting at 4th in the charts with their first album “supercell” on March 1st, 2009, doing it again with their first single “Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari” in August, and making it certain that they had made a vivid debut from the internet scene to the major commercial scene, supercell is a creator group headed by ryo. After “Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari” first appeared on the charts at 5th, it had continued to be in the Top 20 for 6 weeks, and with long sales, it is now a hit with over 80,000 copies sold.

A 2nd single from supercell, to be released on Feb 10th and titled “Sayonara Memories”, has arrived. Along with composer ryo’s immensely heartrending lyrics and an impressionable melody, the vocals are will again be by nagi from the group’s previous work. ryo brilliantly shows his depiction of the anxious, bittersweet world view that is characteristic of adolescence. Also, the music video will be by MIKI Takahiro, who will make his debut in the coming spring as a film producer with the notable movie “SORANIN” (Starring MIYAZAKI Aoi), and will utilize a projector to feature fantasy-type content, making this a video a subject to be taken note of.

As the jacket and artist picture was illustrated by supercell member and noteworthy illustrator redjuice, the jacket has gathered as much attention as the music itself.

With “Sayonara Memories” having a big hold on being 2010′s huge sakura/graduation song favourite, the formerly internet-based, attention-garnering creator group supercell looks like they would again be of great acclaim in 2010.

Artist picture drawn by illustrator redjuice.

Description: Although it’s to be released on February 10th, preorders for both the regular and limited editions of the single have already started at various online retailers such as amazon.co.jp and cdjapan. The regular edition is retailing at 1,233 Yen while the limited edition, which includes a Region 2 DVD with music video, is priced at 1,575 Yen (1,338Y at Amazon.co.jp). The CD’s tracklist, from amazon.co.jp, is as follows:

1. さよならメモリーズ (Sayonara Memories/Farewell, Memories)
2. 教えてあげる (Oshiete Ageru/I’ll tell you)
3. 約束をしよう (Yakusoku wo Shiyou/Let’s Promise)
4. さよならメモリーズ -Instrumental-
5. 教えてあげる -Instrumental-

Further according to amazon.co.jp, the total time of the CD amounts to 25 minutes. In addition to having three wholly new songs on the single, the other noteworthy aspect of this would be redjuice’s illustrations, which were drawn in a style quite uncharacteristic of the illustrator’s regularly sleek, mechanical artwork. It’s surprising that a second illustration was drawn other than the jacket artwork, but what is even more interesting is that the second is being billed as an artist picture. What does that even mean? I’m guessing that it’s just a picture redjuice wanted to draw for the single on his own accord, maybe. Hopefully it’ll be used for a special limited edition add on, as the Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari single had an additional sticker with it. Furthermore, ryo wrote on the supercell member blog that there is more to the jacket illustration, and that the full version is even more stunning. Ideally the full, wider version will be released soon! I am also quite anxious to hear the demo tracks for the three new songs, and I’m personally happy that nagi is again providing the vocals for the single. Another notable thing is the curious, supposedly fantasy themed music video. I do hope that it will be more substantial than the “live action” Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari PV.

Sayonara Memories Demo: http://www.supercell.jp/index.html
supercell blog entry: http://www.supercell.sc/archives/2009/12/post-44.html (Japanese)
Original text from Oricon Style: http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/music/71963/full (Japanese)
Preorder at amazon.co.jp: http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B002Y3DFDU/ (Limited Edition ver)
Preorder at CDJapan: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=SRCL-7203 (Limited Edition ver)

Title: 涼宮ハルヒの溜息 (Suzumiya Haruhi no Tameiki) / The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya
Author: 谷川流 (TANIGAWA Nagaru)
English Translator: Chris Pai
Illustrator: いとうのいぢ (ITO Noizi)
Volume: 2nd
Genre: Light Novel (Comedy, Supernatural, High School)
Status: Ongoing, currently at 9 volumes. Volumes 1 and 2 published in English by Little, Brown and Company and Yen Press.
My Rating: 5/10

Summary: The SOS Brigade, under the directorship of Haruhi, makes a movie to screen at the school Cultural Festival. Tsuruya makes her debut in this volume.

Review: I disliked this volume even more than the first one, as it was not only infuriatingly mediocre, it was immature and just not fun to read. The entire thing was about Haruhi being her usual bossy self and getting people to do things with little to no direction, and the others trying to accomodate her demands to the best of their ability. I found it pretty overboard that she’s torturing Asahina like that, and congrats to Tanigawa for making the reader have sympathy for Asahina, but for me, it was temporary in that it wore out in the middle, and I also thought that the events that happened to evoke pity for Asahina were overdone and really repetitive. After my sympathy was depleted, I turned to disliking Haruhi even more since she continued to be unreasonable, unproductive, and just annoying. Another reason as to why I didn’t sympathize with Asahina anymore was because Kyon was kind of reeling in her suffering, making typical male teenager remarks like how cute her squeal is, or how even her scared face was adorable. There were some saving graces in this book, though, and those would be Kyon’s frustration with Haruhi (whose feelings echoed my own), and Nagato’s uh, action scenes.

Click to enlarge.

As in the first book, Sigh is also narrated by Kyon, who makes a lot of snide, sarcastic, and almost petty comments throughout the observation of events around him. I usually enjoyed his remarks, but it sometimes got in the way of understanding the events, and especially a certain heavy explanation given by Koizumi. The explanation was supposed to confuse the reader (and Kyon), but I wanted to actually understand it before moving on, and read it about 3 times to understand it. In order to do so, I had to ignore reading Kyon’s intrusive and distracting comments to make sense of it, and thankfully, the explanation actually ended up making sense.

All in all, I did not like this book in the least, and it felt like it would never end while I was reading it. Rest assured, I personally will not be reading the other books in this series, but I think that Haruhi fans who haven’t read the novels yet will want to give this a try, for both comparison purposes and to see if the original is to your tastes as well. I don’t recommend reading this second volume if you didn’t enjoy the first one, though, because this one is not of the same quality.

Click to enlarge.

Packaging: The paperback version uses a graphical cover instead of the cover illustration and layout of the original Japanese version. There are 5 pages of glossy paper in the book, and the rest is printed in black and white on the same kind of yellowish paper as the first volume. The colour pages at the back include the original cover illustration, again in a severed form with feet beside the head, and illustrations of scenes from the book with lines from the scenes depicted. Unlike the first volume, there are no ads or manga previews. The whole book consists of the book’s contents and nothing else. The size of this book is about 1.5cm taller than a standard DVD case, and approximately 0.2cm wider.