Chibi Vampire Volume 1 Review

Chibi Vampire (called Karin in Japan) is created by Yuna Kagesaki and published by Tokyopop. Being a massive fan of vampires, and not because of stupid Twilight, to see a story with an interesting take on vampires and with some really cute art this was pretty much a no-brainer for me to pick up.

The story goes that Karin is a vampire. However, she is kinda a disgrace to the vampire world because she doesn't hate sunlight and she doesn't drink blood. You see every month Karin gets an overload of blood in her body so she spends her time giving away blood so that she won't have massive nose bleeds.

At the start of the series a new transfer student comes to her school. His name is Kenta. For some strange reason Karin's blood goes funny when she is around him. Volume 1 basically revolves around Karin avoiding Kenta and Kenta trying to find out what Karin's problem is.

This series is awesome. Even though not a lot really happens it introduces the main characters in an excellent way. The entire book was full of enjoyment and the pacing of the series is great too. Bonus points go to the fact that it tried something new and original to vampire lore.

The art in this series is wonderful. Karin is drawn in a cute style, while Kenta has a face that sorta reminds me of Ichigo from Bleach. Karin's parents are drawn in a more European style, while her sister Anju is a Gothic Lolita. In some series I have trouble working out which character is which but I had no problems in this manga is everyone is drawn distinctly different.

Translation wise I didn't have a problem. What I did have a problem was that the sound effects were not translated. At the back of the book you get some nice extras in the form of 4-koma panels which tell in a funny way how this series was made. There is also a short story about Anju's scary dolls.

I really enjoyed this book. Even if you are not into vampires you should at least give it a try because it is a cute, fun and original take on the vampire world.

Higurashi - When They Cry - The Cotton Drifting Arc Volume 1 - 2

Higurashi - When They Cry - The Cotton Drifting Arc is the second question arc in the Higurashi series. It is published by Yen Press and written by Ryukishi07 with art by Yutori Houjyou. As I said earlier The Cotton Drifting Arc is the second arc in the series and while they are labelled as volumes 1 and 2 in the Higurashi manga series they are volumes 3 and 4. Don't worry if you haven't read the first arc called Abducted By Demons Arc, also published by Yen Press, as it is not needed to understand this arc.

If you are unfamiliar with the Higurashi series here is a little information. It started out as a visual novel entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni developed by 7th Expansion with the story written by Ryukishi07. The visual novel was split into two games with each game having four arcs, making a total of eight arcs. The first four arcs were called Question Arcs while the final four arcs where called Answer Arcs, because they explain and resolve what happened in the Question Arcs. The series has since been made into a popular anime series, manga series, and several bonus arcs have since been made in newer versions of the games. It also has spawned a sequel called Umineko no Naku Koro Ni.

So back to the Cotton Drifting Arc. If you have read the first arc then you will be pretty fimilar with the start. Keiichi Marebara has recently moved to the town of Hinamizawa. He quickly becomes friends with Rena Ryuga, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude and Satako Hojo. After a day of fun with his friends he meets a girl who looks excatly like his friend Mion. The girl claims she is not Mion but is actually Shion Sonozaki, Mion's twin sister. Throughout volume 1 Keiichi dosn't belive her but just decides to go along with with it because he likes the more girly "Mion". However near the end of the book it is revealed that Shion really does exsist.

While keiichi is caught up in a romantic comedy he also learns about Oyashiro's Curse. Every year on the night of the Cotton Drifting Festival one person dies and another gets spirited away by the demon. On the night of the Cotton Drifting Festival Keiichi, Shion, Miyo Takano and Jirou Tomitake sneak into a sacred storeroom. Because they snuck in they become the most likely people to be cursed by Oyashiro that year. Soon afterwards everyone seems to know that Keiichi went inside the storeroom and the bodies of Tomitake and Takano are soon discovered. Is this really Oyashiro's Curse and does this been that Shion and Keiichi are the next people to die?

If you have read the first arc then this arc may disappoint as it makes more sense than the original arc, or so you think. The first arc was great because you had no idea if people where actually trying to get Keiichi or not. While the horror aspects are weaker in this arc it is still an excellent arc. The comedy elements are hilarious and you get given a lot of back story into the town of Hinamizawa.

The art is beautiful in this arc. Colour pages are nice while the character designs stay true to their original work. Translation is excellent and the paper quality is top notch.

If you enjoyed the first arc The Cotton Drifting Arc is a must buy. If you like some comedy mixed with excellent horror pick up a volume of Higurashi as it is one of the best series out there.

Excel Saga Anime Review

Excel Saga is an anime series produced by Victor Entertainment in 1999. Based on the ongoing manga series of the same name by Koshi Rikdo, and published in English by Viz Media. The series is a comedy show about a girl called Excel Excel who is a member of ACROSS, an organization that plots to take over the world, one city at a time.

So why exactly does Excel want world domination. Because its leader is IIpalazzo and Excel is madly in love with him and she would do anything to please him. The only other member of ACROSS is Hyatt, a girl who comes from Mars and joins ACROSS just because she happened to fall into their underground headquarters.

Now because ACROSS is trying to take over F City, naturally there also needs to be people to protect it. In comes the " Four Warriors of Light " , who are actually just a group of people who work at City Hall. Oh yeah, three of them happen to be Excel's neighbours but they never actually seem to meet.

As well as the main story there are also a few side stories. The first is about the adventures of Pedro the Ghost. You see in episode 1 he died, but now he is a ghost and is trying to get back to his " Sexy Wife" and kid.

You also have the story of Menchi the dog, who is constantly trying to escape from Excel's apartment before Excel eats him. If you are wondering why she would eat a dog it is because Menchi is her emergency food supply.

The final plot revolves around the director of the show, Nabeshin. Every now and then he comes out of nowhere and saves Excel's ass and also helps Pedro. Along the way you find out he happens to have a lot of random friends.

Sure, all the stories are crazy but even though it may not seem like it has a plot, it does make you laugh. Each episode is a parody of typical genres, such as horror, sci-fi and even American animation. The show starts out strong but after half way some episodes do feel like filler. For example you get two recap episodes in about eight episodes apart. There are also three episodes, in a row, where they focus on new characters but they happen late in the show and the new characters are not the most interesting characters in the show.

Episodes 22 - 25 turn Excel Saga into a somewhat serious story. These episodes still have that zany Excel Saga comedy, while still bringing an entertaining end to the series. There is an episode 26 but this episode parodies all the taboo things found in entertainment, such as extreme violence and nudity and sex. This episode was so extreme that it was not aired on Japanese t.v. If you decide not to watch the final episode don't worry it is not the best episode in the series, even though I do suggest you watch the musical scene that is played before the OP in that episode.

The characters in this show all have their distinct personalities but as with other comedy shows they don't really develop. Excel is a spastic character who might annoy a lot of people but to me as she was my favourite character as she always could bring a smile to my face. Her partner in crime is Hyatt, who is basically the kind, quiet girl in every show but with a twist, she dies frequently. IIlpalazzo was a sorta boring person but it was entertaining watching him play a dating sim game, oh and whenever he drops Excel into a hole. Menchi, the dog, is constantly trying to escape from Excel's clutches but by the end of the series it is shown that Menchi does like Excel a little bit.

There are other characters but I would rather not spoil them and just let you enjoy them. So, animation wise, is pretty good for a show from 1999. It is a series that has aged well but don't go into this show expecting eye candy.

Sound wise it is excellent. The show uses an original song performed by the Excel Girls as the OP and the ED is a song performed by the one and only Menchi. I watched the dub but I can tell you this is one of the best dubs out there. Excel is voiced by Jessica Calvello, who did such a good job voicing Excel that she lost her voice halfway through the series. Luckily her replacement Larissa Wolcott does a good job picking up where Jessica left off, though it does sound odd at first. All the other voices are good too, so there are no complaints from me about the dub. If you do watch it subbed be warned Excel talks REALLY fast.

If you do buy the DVD you actually get some good extras. As well as the usual clean OP/ED and trailers you get interviews, trailers for the spin-off Puni Puni Poemy, a mini game and others. As well the menus are unique to each disk so it adds a nice touch to the DVD.

Overall this has got to be one of the most craziest, funny and entertaining shows out there. However it is not for everyone but for those that do enjoy this series it is one of the best comedies that you will find.

9/10


This series is actually pretty hard to find in NZ now but you can get most of the series at : http://www.mightyape.co.nz/search/?i=2&s=excel saga?r=1614259

Elfen Lied Anime Review

Elfen Lied is an anime produced by ARMS studio in 2004. Based on the manga of the same name by Lynn Okamoto. If you haven't already heard about Elfen Lied before you should know that it has a reputation of being one of the most violent anime/manga series around. So if you're the squeamish type this series is not for you.

The series is about a Diclonius called Lucy who escapes from a facility where she had been held captive. A Diclonius by the way is a person with horns on their heads and invisible hands, called Vectors, who also happen to be extremely violent.


As Lucy escapes she suffers a head injury and is found washed up on the beach by two college kids, Kohta and Yuka. However due to the head injury Lucy suffers amnesia and instead of acting like a murderer she acts like a baby. Kohta and Yuka name her Nyu and decide to look after.

Unfortunately for them they don't realise that the people Lucy escaped from are after her and want her dead. Plus whenever Nyu is confronted with violence or hits her head Lucy awakens.

The story is a mix of violence, comedy, drama and romance. The series contains a lot of fan service and nudity as well as the extreme violence. The series deals with issues such as bulling, sexual abuse and racial discrimination, among others. While this show has quite a bit of comedy it tends to feel a bit off when you see a fan service scene in between seas of blood.


The characters in this series are a hit and miss. Lucy is an anti-hero type character and is one of the few characters to get good character development. Her other self, Nyu, acts like a baby but as the series goes on she starts growing a tiny bit smarter and shows subtly that she knows that she is Lucy.

Kohta is an average guy. So is his cousin Yuka. However Kohta does get some good character development but he just forgets it all. Yuka is my least favourite character in the series because she kinda does nothing except get jealous that Kohta is with Nyu.

There are four other major characters in this show as well. Mayu, a kid who ran away from home; Nana, a Diclonius who doesn't like fighting; Bandoh, a man who wants to see Lucy dead; and Kurama, a man who is one of the leaders at the place Lucy escaped from.


Animation wise the series is solid. Nothing too special or anything except for the vectors which are transparent so that the viewer can see them. Sound wise the OP is a sad hymn song that gets played during important parts of the show. The ED theme is odd because it is a J-Pop song called "Be Your Girl" and the tune is really upbeat but the episodes don't really end upbeat.

Voices aren't that stellar. In both dubs that is. In the English dub you will find that Yuka, Mayu and Nana all have some of the most annoying voices ever. In Japanese they are tolerable. Nyu's voice is practically identical in both versions while Lucy's voice sounds a bit strange but isn't annoying like the three mentioned earlier. The guys in this series have good voices, nothing too special, except that Bandoh swears like every second.

DVD Extras include the usual clean OP/ED and trailers. It also contains production sketch's and interviews with the people behind the anime, as well as reversible covers on volumes 2 and 4.


Overall this show is defiantly worth it if you can handle violence and fan service. My only real problem with the show is that it does not complete the story in the manga so you are left with a lot of questions unanswered. However it is not enough to stop enjoying this show.

7/10

Buy it in NZ at : http//www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Elfen-Lied-Collection-4-Discs/1540802/?r=1614259

Welcome To Kiwimanga

Hi, welcome to my first ever blog. This blog will be focusing on the wonderfull world of anime, manga, J-music and video games.
I will be posting things such as news, reviews and others.
Because I live in New Zealand, hence the "kiwi" in kiwimanga, I will be taking a focus on the anime and manga industry in Australia and NZ.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my blog.