S.Q. Eries's Blog, page 42

Souvenirs from Asia: Haikyu!! Akihabara Bonanza Part 3

During my husband’s latest business trip to Japan, he managed to spend some free time at that mecca of anime known as Akihabara. And because Haikyu!! is our favorite ongoing series, he returned with a bunch of Haikyu!! souvenirs that ranged from cute to odd. He also went a bit overboard with his purchases so I’m splitting this installment into five parts.

Tanaka with chocobanana and Noya with a candied apple

Daichi with squid on a stick and Asahi with something in a box. Yakisoba maybe?

This was my husband’s Akihabara bargain find. It is a drinking glass he found at a character goods store for 200 yen. That’s less than two US dollars at the current exchange rate!

Haikyu!! will recognize the crow versions of our volleyball players, which kind of look like Angry Birds caricatures. Unlike the Haikyu!! items I’ve shown thus far, this glass doesn’t feature Hinata or Kageyama. Instead, it only shows their senpai: Daichi, Asahi, Suga, Noya, and Tanaka.

The overall theme is summer festival, and each bird character holds a different festival snack against a background of clouds and fireworks.

Suga with cotton candy

Not bad for 200 yen.

Just Published: Shifting Fortunes!

Now some exciting news on the writing front: my fifth short story Shifting Fortunes was published in Issues in Earth Science (IES)! For those unfamiliar with IES, it’s a website that provides resources pertaining to Earth and Space Sciences for writers and teachers.

IES has a feature called “Eww, There’s some Geology in my Fiction!” It consists of short stories for middle and high school students that illustrate  Earth Science concepts, and Shifting Fortunes was chosen for their fifth issue. Like all the stories in that series, Shifting Fortunes has an illustration and a science lesson to go with it, and it’s all free!

Aki and Kageyama Inn from Shifting Fortunes. Illustration by Erin Colson

Shifting Fortunes differed from my previous projects in many respects. For one, this was my first time writing fiction specifically intended to educate. For another, it was my first middle grade work. I don’t usually write for that audience, but the concepts of Shifting Fortunes most naturally fell into that age group. This was also the first story where my engineering background came in handy. An added bonus was that a writer in my current critique group is a hydrogeologist at the sister agency of the place I once worked at. So in addition to the group’s feedback on plot and language, I had Yemia to vet out the technical aspects of the story.

Shifting Fortunes wound up taking more time and effort than I anticipated to get just right, but I am quite satisfied with the results. I hope you will be also!

Manga Review: Yukarism Vol. 3

Geishas are an icon of Japanese culture that, although their heyday is long post, continues to fascinate Westerners to this day. If you’ve wondered about the lives of these flowers of Japan’s bygone pleasure districts, you may want to consider Chika Shiomi’s historical/time slip manga, Yukarism. Read on for my review of Volume 3. (For my review of previous volumes, click here.)

Back cover Blurb

Yukari, Satomi and Mahoro are all influenced by their past life personalities and begin to lose control over their present-day behavior. While Mahoro wonders about Yukari’s true feelings for her, Yukari realizes exactly who Mahoro and Satomi were in the past! Meanwhile, Yukari’s journeys to the old days are becoming more and more dangerous…

The Review

Yukari’s a pretty self-absorbed character. It wasn’t for his writing skills, he’d probably be dismissed as a narcissistic jerk. However, in Volume 3, that aspect of him gradually changes. Much the way Mahoro and Satomi get “possessed” by their previous incarnations, Yumurasaki’s mannerisms and skills manifest in Yukari. Shiomi-sensei get some laughs out of it with Yukari’s male schoolmates suddenly falling for him the way Yumurasaki’s Edo era clientele did (though oddly, none of the boys question their attraction the way Satomi does). More importantly, Yukari finds himself wanting to know Satomi and Mahoro better, beyond the novelty of seeing their past and present lives overlap.

As such, we get more back story on Takamura and Kazuma. Although the reasons behind their devotion to Yumurasaki are very different, the intensity of their feelings are similar, and it becomes clear why their jealousy has endured to the present, even if Mahoro and Satomi don’t understand it. As in Volume 2, the two continue lapsing back to their previous selves with the effect alternating between comic and disturbing.

Then the situation gets completely chaotic when the past overlaps with the present. Yukari can’t be the aloof observer anymore, not when he’s actually experiencing Yukari’s sickness in his own body. With his own well-being threatened, his need to know what happened in the past becomes that much more critical, and the story becomes that much more exciting.

Extras include a bonus one-page manga, translation notes, and author bio.

In Summary

Up till now, Yukari has been observing people and the bizarre string of events with a kind of detached amusement. Now he gets dragged out of his ivory tower and into the chaos that is increasingly affecting Mahoro and Satomi. With Yukari getting swept into his past self’s emotions, the story is becoming a much more compelling read.

First published at The Fandom Post.

Souvenirs from Asia: Haikyu!! Akihabara Bonanza Part 2

During my husband’s latest business trip to Japan, he managed to spend some free time at that mecca of anime known as Akihabara. And because Haikyu!! is our favorite ongoing series, he returned with a bunch of Haikyu!! souvenirs that ranged from cute to odd. He also went a bit overboard with his purchases so I’m splitting this installment into five parts.

As if one Haikyu!! noren wasn’t enough, I also got these. I love chibi characters, and these curtains show the main Karasuno lineup in super cute style. While the volleyball players are the design’s most eye-catching feature, it, like the noren and charms in my previous post, also incorporates Miyagi symbols. Amid the volleyballs are silhouettes of Date Masamune, and crescent moons are all over the pattern. Plus, towards the bottom is the kanji for Miyagi.

Now the question is, what am I going to do with all these noren…

Manga Review: Your Lie In April Vol. 2

Despite being a soundless medium, music-centric stories are not uncommon in manga. Now joining the ranks of Nodame Cantible and La Corda d’Oro is Kodansha’s Your Lie in April, and you can read on for my review of Volume 2. (For my review of Volume 1, click here.)

Back cover blurb

After the death of his mother, child prodigy Arima Kosei gave up the piano forever — or so he thought. That vow turned out to be no match for the persistence of sprightly violinist Kaori Miyazono, who’s roped Arima back into the world of competitive classical music. But after so many years, will Arima be able to sit down at the ivories again like nothing happened? Or will history repeat itself, with Arima crumbling under the pressure?

The Review

Volume 1 ended with Kosei’s friends rushing him and Kaori to the competition hall. Soloist and accompanist have never practiced together, and Kosei’s anxiety comes through loud and clear. What is also clear is that Kaori’s personal agenda has nothing to do with winning awards. Usually, the soloist is the one fighting nerves before a competition, but Kaori is the one forcibly keeping Kosei together as she drags him on stage.

It’s pretty much a recipe for disaster. Amazingly, Kosei holds his own against the unfamiliar score for a while but eventually crashes and burns. As mentioned in my review of Volume 1, the anime version of Your Lie has a distinct advantage over the manga because the soundtrack allows you to actually hear the interaction between piano and violin. Even so, the escaping notes that represent Kosei’s disappearing ability to hear and the creepy images of his mother are quite effective at conveying his turmoil. Between those illustrations, Kosei’s internal monologue, and the judges’ and mob comments,  the manga delivers a much better depiction of the music in this performance than for Kaori’s preliminary round. However, toward the end of the scene, it’s not exactly clear how Kosei’s “imagining” the sound turns into a “fight” with Kaori’s violin.

Then the next scene opens with Kaori in the hospital, and it becomes pretty clear what direction the story’s headed. So on top of Kosei’s emotional scars from the past, we have a shadow looming over Kaori’s future. Those two elements create plenty of drama by themselves, but then the manga has to go way off the deep end and make Tsubaki suddenly angsty as well. There’s really no good reason for it, especially since her life is actually pretty good. She even has the coolest guy on the baseball team asking her to be his girlfriend! So when she gets all gloomy, it makes me want to throw the book across the room.

Extras include translation notes and a blurb by violinist Rieko Ikeda about the featured music.

In Summary

It’s not your typical competition scene with Kaori and Kosei delivering a performance that has zero chance of winning. Still, a miracle of sorts takes place on stage though it’s not exactly clear whether Kosei shakes off his handicap or manages to work around it. However, once the applause fades, the story takes a turn toward extreme emo. I don’t mind adolescent angst, but the last half of the volume lays it on so thick, it gets a bit suffocating.

First published at The Fandom Post.

Souvenirs from Asia: Haikyu!! Akihabara Bonanza Part 1

During my husband’s latest business trip to Japan, he managed to spend some free time at that mecca of anime known as Akihabara. And because Haikyu!! is our favorite ongoing series, he returned with a bunch of Haikyu!! souvenirs that ranged from cute to odd. He also went a bit overboard with his purchases so I’m splitting this installment into five parts.

To start, we have a piece of print fabric and two phone charms. Since I can’t read Japanese, I’m not positive as to the purpose of the fabric, but I’m pretty sure it’s a noren, the Japanese cloth divider hung in doorways and windows. In addition to featuring the show’s main characters, these three items have something else in common: they all promote Miyagi, the prefecture in which Karasuno High School is located.

The Kageyama charm features him with a samurai helmet and eyepatch. It looks really random unless you realize the crescent moon symbol and eyepatch are the trademarks of Date Masamune, a legendary warrior from Miyagi. In other words, he is the prefecture’s regional hero. (By the way, the only reason I recognized him was because I’d watched the historical anime Tono to Issho.) That is also why Hinata has the same crescent moon helmet on his lap in the noren.

No, Kageyama isn’t going pirate on us. The eyepatch is a Date Masamune reference.

The Hinata charm’s Miyagi reference was a little more difficult to figure out. However, I managed to get the kanji on the charm into my Google search bar and learned from the Internet that he’s holding a kamaboko, a Miyagi food specialty made from fish paste.

Hinata and a giant piece of fish paste….

It’s a little strange to see anime characters on what amounts to regional souvenirs – kind of the equivalent of Spiderman on an “I heart New York City” bumper sticker. However, I can see why they did it. Tons of anime and J-drama are set in Tokyo. But Miyagi Prefecture? When Miyagi saw how popular Haikyu!! was, it probably figured that associating with their fictional local boys would be a great way to promote the area.

And that’s why I have a cell phone charm of Hinata with a giant fish cake. But that’s okay. It’s still way cool.

Manga Review: Master Keaton Vol. 3

I became an instant fan of Naoki Urasawa in 2004 when I saw the Monster anime. Psychological thrillers are definitely NOT my cup of tea, but he had me hooked with his combination of realistic artwork and gripping plot. As such, I was thrilled when Viz Media decided to release a translation of an earlier Urasawa action/adventure: Master Keaton. Read on for the review of Volume 3! (For my review of previous volumes, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

Taichi Hiraga-Keaton, the son of a Japanese zoologist and an English noblewoman, is an insurance investigator known for his successful and unorthodox methods of investigation. Educated in archaeology and a former member of the SAS, Master Keaton uses his knowledge and combat training to uncover buried secrets, thwart would-be villains, and pursue the truth…

The Review

Although Keaton wishes to devote himself to academia, he remains unable to find a university position. As such, the content of Volume 3 is for the most part related to his insurance investigative work. Except for Chapter 8, all the stories take place in Europe, but he still manages to run into a number of Japanese citizens during his adventures.

Of this installment, “Wall of Joy” and “A Family Moment” are the weakest. The narrative offers no explanation of what happens at the end of “Wall of Joy,” and it’s difficult to guess from the black-and-white illustrations what is going on. As for “A Family Moment,” the story seems a mishmash of unrelated events that just provide an excuse for daughter Yuriko and dad Taihei to make an appearance.

However, the rest of the 12-chapter volume makes up for these weaknesses. Lloyd’s apparently deals with kidnapping insurance, and “Rules of Negotiation” and “Rules of Ransom” (the volume’s only two-part story) maintain a high level of tension and intrigue throughout. In other chapters, Keaton’s SAS background takes prominence with him disarming a bomb, turning the tables on a military trained dog, and investigating a former Pinochet officer, which should please those who enjoy the series’ thriller aspect. Archaeology only really factors in Keaton’s insurance work in “White Goddess,” and “Wall of Joy,” but an encounter with one of Keaton’s military acquaintances provides the basis for a chapter about science history.

Extras include the first pages of Chapter 1, Chapter 9, and Chapter 10 in color and a sound effects glossary.

In Summary

Master Keaton provides another set of episodic adventures. The stories cover everything from Latin American military culture to animal behavior to chemistry, which definitely keeps the content fresh and varied. In contrast, Keaton’s personal life remains stagnant, and I’m thinking his ex-wife will never actually step into the story. However, if you’re mostly interested in watching Keaton’s eclectic set of skills at work, you won’t be disappointed.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manga Review: My Little Monster Vol. 9

There’s the type of shojo manga where a girl really can envision herself as the heroine. And then there are those where the characters are constantly going off the deep end. My Little Monster falls into the latter category, and if your taste in high school romance leans toward the improbable and wacky, this title might be up your alley. Kodansha  has released Volume 9 of the English translation, and you can read on for the review. (For my review of previous volumes, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

Shizuku and Haru are finally an official couple, but Shizuku still can’t figure out what exactly that means. While she puzzles over it, Natsume struggles to overcome the awkwardness she feels around Mitchan. She gets help from ever-supportive Sasayan, but it turns out that he has a confession to make.

The Review

Volume 9 continues where the previous volume left off, with Shizuku and Haru enjoying summer break with their friends. From the Yamaguchi cabin, they go on to a mountain tourist village. Then in the following chapter, we get to see the cast in yukatas as they attend a local shrine festival.

Nothing huge happens plot-wise; it’s mostly Shizuku trying to figure out the new nuances of “officially” dating Haru in the context of a large crowd. Between the mountain village and the festival, nearly the entire cast makes an appearance, including Sasayan’s baseball team, Oshima, and Yu. Scenes sometimes get so overcrowded it is difficult to tell which dialogue belongs to whom, much like the donut shop scene in Volume 8. Even so, these pages contain a lot of fun energy, even if the story doesn’t go anywhere. New character Iyo in particular brings a fresh twist to interactions. While she’s still after Haru, she can be oddly supportive of Shizuku. Plus, she manages to fluster Yuzan, who has until now shown no weakness. Iyo remains a difficult personality to comprehend, but she is fun to watch.

Then just as vacation ends, awkwardness arises between Sasayan and Natsume. The back cover blurb hints at something big between the two, and as Sasayan is my favorite character in the series, I got really interested. However, even though Chapter 35 is named after the pair, Sasayan and Natsume’s relationship doesn’t make the tremendous leap I’d anticipated, which left me disappointed.

Chapter 36, though, makes up for it by introducing the central conflict of the manga’s next arc: trouble in the Yoshida household! We don’t know much about Haru’s dad other than he’s rich and Haru hates him. Mr. Yoshida doesn’t yet make an appearance in the story, but we learn a lot more about him and why his sons despise him. Ando, who’d seemed an extraneous character before, now has purpose in the story, and I’m looking forward to more revelations about Haru’s family background.

Extras include bonus four-panel comics, short bonus manga, and translation notes.

In Summary

Summer means trips and festivals! Not a whole lot of major developments during the first half of the volume, but the cast’s antics are still entertaining as they make the most of school break. Then, at the start of the new semester, scandal erupts for the Yoshida family. We’ve seen bits of Haru’s family life before, but this latest development promises to shed a whole lot more light on the origins of Haru’s unusual personality.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Manga Review: Voice Over! Seiyu Academy Vol. #12

For hard core manga and anime fans, the voice acting world has the same kind of glamour and mystique as Hollywood. So it’s no surprise that the world of Maki Minami’s manga Voice Over! Seiyu Academy portrays it as such. Viz Media has released the final volume of the series and you can read on for the review. (To see previous reviews of the series, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

Hime Kino’s dream is to one day do voice acting like her hero Sakura Aoyama from the Lovely ♥ Blazers anime, and getting accepted to the prestigious Holly Academy’s voice actor department is the first step in the right direction! But Hime’s gruff voice has earned her the scorn of teachers and students alike. Hime will not let that stand unchallenged. She’ll show everyone that she is too a voice acting princess, whether they like it or not!!

The Review

Hime’s obsession with Sakura Aoyama has been clear from the start so it makes sense for her  to perform with her favorite voice actress for the series finale. However, the arc ends up being less about Hime’s dream come true and more about mommy issues. Not just Senri’s but Hime’s too.

Hime’s mom is so blatantly harsh that Senri clearly sees how broken their relationship is. Hime, however, is blind to the fact that Senri considers his mother a kind of personality vampire. Indeed, it gets creepy when Hime falls under Sakura’s spell to the extent that she actually thinks she’s a boy and starts at the sight of her own girl body parts. So while Hime’s gushing over Sakura, Senri’s thinking he needs to rescue his friend from his mother’s clutches.

These dysfunctional parent-child relationships initially hold promise in terms of juicy plot fodder, but both get resolved way too quickly. At seeing Hime’s success, her mother’s callous attitude instantly disappears (which makes her look like the worst stage mother ever). As for Sakura’s personality erasing influence, it abruptly turns into a non-issue after a chapter and a half, and she instead gets depicted as the concerned mom.

In the midst of this, Senri realizes his feelings for Hime. After Hime turned down Mizuki in the last volume, it was pretty obvious Senri/Hime was the pairing that would triumph. The way Senri discovers that Hime and Shiro are the same person is underwhelming, quite frankly, but after that realization, it’s an effortless next step for him to consolidate his Shiro and Hime feelings.

Voice Over! is a comedy so Hime has to get to her happy ending. However, everything falls into place really quickly, especially in regard to Sakura Aoyama’s pseudo-hypnotic ability. Honestly, it feels like Minami-sensei plotted material for five chapters and had to squeeze it all into one. At any rate, Hime attains everything she wanted in work and in love, and if Mizuki/Hime fans are unhappy with the final pairing, they can check out the bonus manga included in the extras.

Extras include embedded author’s remarks, two bonus mini-manga, and concluding remarks from the author.

In Summary

The final volume concludes with Hime’s dream job of working with Sakura Aoyama causing anxiety for Senri. These chapters wrap up all the loose ends of Hime’s and Senri’s relationships with their estranged mothers, the retiring of Hime’s alter ego, and Hime and Senri’s attraction for one another. Unfortunately, with so much to cover, the pace is somewhat rushed as Voice Over! hurtles to its end.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Impulse buy: Hello Kitty soy sauce!

I’m pretty self-controlled when it comes to spending. I hardly ever make impulse buys–mainly because I’m kind of a miser. However, every once in a long while I will fall sway to an item’s charms. On Monday, I went to a local Asian supermarket to pick up some ginger, and I saw this:

My thoughts went like this:

That’s ADORABLE!

Waitaminute. Why is Hello Kitty selling Kikkoman soy sauce?

Who cares. That’s ADORABLE!

Then I saw the price and knew I had to get it. As I’ve mentioned on previous posts, my husband is a huge Hello Kitty fan (click here for pictures from his Hello Kitty restaurant visit), and $2.50 is a nominal amount for the reaction I would receive for bringing that particular grocery item home.

I went home with two bottles. Yes, he loves it.

Moral of the story: cute sells.