Manga Report: Gunsmith Cats Revised Omnibus, Vol. 3

Guns, girls, hot cars and crazy action!

I love Gunsmith Cats. It's like reading an action movie. :)

So Rally's still dealing with the mess from last volume, and it's driving her crazy that she can't carry a gun or chase bounties. Doesn't help that everyone keeps rubbing her nose in it, either.

But she's determined to deal with Bean Bandit. And after Rally finds out that Bean's transporting another shipment of hallucinogens, he makes her a deal -- she stops him without firing a bullet or calling in the calvary, and he'll stop running drugs.

Now Bean's so danged hardcore he's got a bulletproof bandanna, but this time the battles are behind the wheel and Rally's relying on her much abused Shelby GT 500. We get a crazy car chase through the wilds of the frozen Midwest that reads like it's hopped up on crack. It's got the feel of the best of the over-the-top Hong Kong action flicks, and it's just masterfully done.

The second story is much different, and was a nice change of pace. Rally and Minnie May get mixed up in the story of a custody dispute between a professional stage magician and his stuck-up society wife. Kidnappings, criminal doings, mistaken identities and tricks abound, and one key clue is on the collar of a doggie. An extended flashback gives us some more hints about Rally's past, and I hope sets up for some final answers.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 17

And at long last we've reached the end of our story.

The resolution to the Kaoru-Not Kaoru situation seems kinda rushed, but it works. There's some drama, some tears, and then everybody's happy.

The main part of this volume seems to be the big deal of this entire 17-volume manga. They finally do THE DEED. But these chapters didn't work for me -- maybe it's because there was a little too much resigned giving and not as much um ... enjoying?

We get a flash forward to the future, and get to see where everyone ended up. It's cool, but also feels tacked on.

Anyway, happily ever after, and Kaoru finally gets laid.

Manga Report: Gunsmith Cats Burst 2

I loled before I even opened the cover of this volume, because whoever was sticking those stupid "parental advisory" stickers on this put it right on top of Minnie May's coochie.

But in this volume, Bean veers dangerously close to being a nice guy, Rally loses something precious to her, and a crazy corrupt cop transfers to Chicago for the sole purpose of putting Bean out of business ... permanently!

The action clips along nicely with the story of Rally's wayward bounty more or less being wrapped up. The heavy focus on Bean has me missing some of the other supporting characters, but it's alright for now. I don't want to go too long without a real good dose of Minnie May, though. Grenades are good.

Manga Report: Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Vol. 2

Yay! More gun-toting, fast-car-driving, miniskirt-wearing goodness with the Gunsmith Cats!

Unlike Volume One, which seemed to have several filler chapters, this collection hits the ground running with the conclusion of the Cats' hunt for Grey.

We then get introduced to a new villain, the drug-dealing lesbian dominatrix Goldie. I think the Russian hitwoman in the anime was supposed to be based on Goldie, but if she was, the makers of the anime got it wrong.

Goldie's brutal and doesn't care who gets hurt if she makes her bank. She releases a dangerous psychotropic drug onto the streets of Chicago, and then sits back to reap the proceeds. When the Cats interfere with her business, Goldie decides she doesn't want to punish Rally, she wants to *possess* her.

And she'll do anything to get what she wants.

Rally's in her stickiest situation yet, and Minnie May's calling in favors to try to save her. But even if she makes it out alive, Rally won't ever be the same.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 16

This seems like an odd direction to go when there's only two volumes left in the series.

Basically, I can sum it up thusly: The Sakuraba family severs ties with Miyabi, who has been a loyal retainer all her life (and raised as a daughter by Sakuraba-san's wife).

Kaoru and the gang have one day to pack up and move out of the mansion.

So we get rushed farewells and regrets, and everyone admits they're madly in love with Kaoru. Except Miyabi -- you gotta respect her for not falling for his sensitive guy act.

Kaoru doesn't even get to respond to all these admissions of love -- he's off to save Aoi, who's still being held hostage and being force to marry Not-Kaoru.

The girls' plotlines are defintely wrapped up, although I feel that they got the short end of the stick -- especially Mayu, who's loved Kaoru since she was a child. I still don't know if she has any idea about his relationship with Aoi, and she's going to be terribly hurt when/if she finds out.

I'm guessing the last volume will be the rush to save Aoi from a forced marriage. I don't know about the happily ever after yet.

Manga Review: Gunsmith Cats Burst, Volume 1

One reason Dark Horse may have been so kind as to re-release all the old Gunsmith Cats stories is that they secured the rights to author Kenichi Sonoda's follow-up, Gunsmith Cats Burst.

More girls, more guns and more action. Misty's got a bit of a crush on Rally, but Rally's got bigger worries.

Three short chapters in the beginning give a sketchy intro to Rally, Minnie May, Becky and Misty and the work they do. I'm guessing this was for readers who might not have been familiar with the bounty-hunting Cats.

Then we get into the meat of the volume, with a story about Rally and Bean Bandit being stranded in the desert with a bounty. The Mafia wants the guy Rally's caught, and to force her to deal, they kidnap Rally's beloved Shelby Cobra and threaten to use it in a terrorist attack.

Bean wants his money, the bounty wants to go free, the Mafia wants the bounty, and Rally's got to scramble if she wants to stay alive and get her car back.

Fast-paced and fun. But it's better if you know these characters and the world, so if you're not familiar with Gunsmith Cats, read the omnibus editions first.

Manga Report: Gunsmith Cats Omnibus: Volume 1

Thank you, Dark Horse!

Gunsmith Cats has long been one of my favorite anime. I always wanted to read the manga that spawned it, but I didn't want to pay the eBay prices.

So I was stoked to learn that Dark Horse is releasing all of the Gunsmith Cats stories in nifty new omnibus editions.

It's a heck of a deal. You get about three of the old mangas in the pre-flip, right-to-left Japanese style, all for about $17. And it's got all of the fun stuff I like from the anime -- cute girls, fast cars, guns, explosions, car chases and adult humor. There's also a ton of nudity, frank discussions of underage sex and an implied rape -- this is not kiddy stuff.

I was pleased to see how rich the Gunsmith Cats world is -- it's not just Rally and Minnie May, it's their friends, all their past acquaitances, love interests and rivals. You learn just how Minnie May learned about explosives, and you meet Bean Bandit, a rival driver has skills to equal Rally, with none of her scruples. (If the money is there, he does not care!)

This is like reading a 1980s action movie -- fast, furious and fun. Bullets are flying, bodies are falling, the collateral damage is *massive* and everywhere there are guns, guns, guns. I have to wonder if Robert Rodgriez used this as inspiration for Rose McGowan's character in Planet Terror -- Bonnie bears a strong resemblence to Cherry Darling at the end of that Grindhouse gun fest.

Rated 18+ for violence, sexuality and the gleeful, repeated trashing of Rally's Shelby Mustang Cobra GT5000.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 15

Great googly moogly! This story has a plot??

Aoi is called away from the mansion suddenly when she receives word her father is very ill. But it's a trick -- Kaoru's half-brother (remember him?) locks her in the Hanabishi estate to try to woo her for himself.

It's very interesting how he uses some of the same lines Aoi did when she was first wooing Kaoru. "I was made for you." "I've spent all my life loving you."

The difference is that Aoi wasn't as creepy about it. And I think the terms of Kaoru's grandfather's will have more to do with his devotion than Aoi's gentle charms.

But Aoi must make the decision of her life; whether to marry the man she loves or the man her parents have chosen.

Of course, Kaoru and the gang don't know anything that's happening -- and Tina's about to graduate and leave Japan, maybe forever.

A short about Chika and her friends is forgettable and provides the majority of this volume's fan service -- you can skip it unless you're looking for the panty shots.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 14

I have had a request for "less anime, and more Bruce Campbell."

I'll take that under advisement. But for now, I'm sticking to the list of reviews I have to catch up on, and there's some manga and anime on it. My apologies.

And break out the confetti, because something *actually* happens in this volume!

Unlike most shojo mangas, which go on and on and on with no change in the base situation, Ai Yori Aoshi has wrapped up a plotline! Woo hoo!

In the abandoned school in Kyushu, Tina admits to Kaoru that she loves him -- and that she's been in love with him for years. It was her fear of revealing her feelings that prompted her to run away before.

But Tina knows she's lost Kaoru -- she's seen how he is with Aoi, and knows that the two of them have something she can't intrude upon. But if he's with someone that makes him happy, she can get over him and be happy too.

This is a sweet and touching scene with some real emotion to it. You have to admire Tina's guts for being able to do what all these other girls haven't -- 'fess up to Kaoru. And you get the real feeling that this is wrapped up, it's done, and these characters can move on.

I could have done without the whole "take naked pictures of me" bit, though.

Aoi gets to be more human too, as the amounts of time Kaoru is spending with Tina have *finally* made her jealous and angry. She and Tina have a confrontation, Aoi tells Tina that she's in love with Kaoru, and they come to an understanding. Nice to see a group in a manga like this act like grownups.

Tina and Mayu have a night out, and you can tell they have a bond, even if they're complete opposites. Tina also admits to the group that she's moving back to America, and with that, I have a feeling we'll be seeing less of her in the last few volumes. What else is there to say?

A chapter with Chizuru falling for a teacher at her school is mostly "meh," just because I don't have any attachment to the character.

But one of the best volumes in the series, and a turning point for the story. A news flash on the last page means there's more big changes to come.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 13

Hey, whatya know? There's a plot in here after all!

Tina invites the entire gang to visit her hometown in Japan, Kyushu, which is known for its hot springs.

Yeah, yeah, hot springs, manga ... there's gonna be fan service. A lot of it. It's pretty much non-stop fan service, in fact.

But if you can look past "Ooh, lets take a bath together! Giggle! Boobs!" there's a story here.

Aoi gets a little bolder and ends up in a romantic bath with Kaoru -- which is interrupted by Chika and her friends barging in. Chika hasn't admitted to her friends that Kaoru isn't her boyfriend yet ... because she wishes he was.

I can't get into this storyline, because I find Chika and her friends so amazingly useless. Once again, all they do is spoil something sweet.

The bigger deal is Mayu confronting Tina, her arch-rival. Mayu not only knows Tina's going back to America, she knows Tina's in love with Kaoru -- and she calls her out on her cowardice for not dealing with either issue.

Funny how the biggest rivals are also the best friends. They know each other better than anyone else can.

But things get uncomfortable when the group splits up to visit Kyushu's sights. Not only does poor Mayu get stuck with Chika and her friends, Tina corners Kaoru and asks him to take her on a date -- and treat her like she's his girlfriend.

In the abandoned remains of her elementary school, Tina's ready to reveal her heart ... and possibly a lot more.

Manga Report: Boogiepop Doesn't Laugh 1

Boogiepop may be a powerful shinigami sent to protect a school plagued by a serial killer -- or he may be Keiji's girlfriend. The girls disappearing from school may be running away to bright lights and big cities -- or they could be the prey of a cannibalistic sexual predator who may or may not be dead. And is that girl a superhero?

A dreamlike story skips through a dizzying array of perspectives, time elements and narrators. Boogiepop raises some interesting questions, but ultimately, there are far more questions than answers.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 12

If there was ever a volume of Ai Yori Aoshi to skip buying and just flip through in Borders this is the one.

Volume 11 actually advanced the main story. So what do we get this time? Chika (by far the most useless of the main cast) and her exhibitionist friends!!!

Chika invites her friends over to study. Of course, they don't study, they help clean the house, get sweaty, and then they take a bath, and they grope one another, and predictably, in walks Kaoru!

It seems like Kaoru "accidentally" sees most of these girls naked on an almost daily basis -- is it really a big deal anymore??

Chika's friends think Kaoru is her boyfriend, and Chika does nothing to discourage that. In fact, she's doing the "I'm secretly in love with Kaoru" bit now, too.

Then we go into a completely unnecessary series of chapters about Chika's swim team, and Tina helping little Chizuru learn to swim. Frankly, I just don't care. It's yet another opportunity for more pseudo-porn.

Aoi, who I was surprised to see in this volume at all, visits Kaoru's university to bring him something he forgot, and meets his academic adviser instead. The professor says that meeting Aoi makes him understand why Kaoru works so hard, but that he's overdoing it, and that she should keep an eye on him.

Aoi is a bit wistful at this, and fantasizes about having Kaoru to herself, instead of having to share him with a houseful of hormone-crazed girls. She vows to try harder to care for him.

But surprise! Aoi's mother drops by for a visit. She's got an ulterior motive -- she wants to ask Miyabi about whether Kaoru will be a suitable husband for Aoi.

Miyabi confirms that there's no chance Kaoru will rejoin the Hanabishi family, but says that he loves Aoi and he's the only one who can understand and care for her gentle heart.

And, possibly to make up for all the useless drek that came before, we learn more about Miyabi -- orphaned as a child, she was adopted by Aoi's mother and raised as a "big sister" to Aoi. This is why she is so devoted to the Sakuraba and to protecting Aoi, even as she looks toward the day when Aoi is fully adult and no longer needs her.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 11

Kaoru returns to the Hanabishi compound to confront his abusive grandfather. But powerful figure that has haunted Kaoru most of his life has changed -- his grandfather is a fragile old man severely weakened by medical problems.

Kaoru is freed by what he finds at the Hanabishi home, but wait ... is there another Hanabishi??? And what will he do to Kaoru?

The flash of this new character is one of the most dramatic turns this manga has taken in a while -- I hope it plays out well.

Meanwhile, Tina, who is now completely in love with Kaoru, is going crazy without him. She asks Aoi where he's gone -- quite correctly pointing out that Aoi is the only one Kaoru really opens up to.

Tina decides she can't stand to be without Kaoru any longer and goes to find him. Kaoru is surprised to see her, to say the least, but he shows her around.

Tina says she wants to take Kaoru to her hometown -- or even to America. She fesses up about going back to America after graduation, and gets all weepy while she asks Kaoru to make some memories with her.

Well, wouldn't you know it, her little outburst means they miss the train *again* and end up spending the night together *again.* Tina, making another memory, borderline molests Kaoru in his sleep. (You woulda thought that would wake you up, but I guess not?)

Aoi get the surprise of her life when she meets Kaoru at the train station the next day, only to find Tina hanging on his arm.

Really, Kaoru is lucky Aoi is as sweet and accepting as she is -- she can't believe anything bad about him. Otherwise someone would have been kicked to the curb a long time ago.

Kaoru tells Miyabi that he will never return to the Hanabishi. He says they're evil, and if he loves Aoi he can't expose her to them. Miyabi is understandably disappointed -- part of her duties for the Sakuraba was to get Kaoru back into the Hanabishi -- but she says she'll support his decision.

I think Kaoru is simplifying the issue with his family far too much -- something that could come back to haunt him.

Kaoru starts working harder in his classes so he can take care of Aoi, but he ends up neglecting her. Odd how he does the same dumb things over and over.

After the girls have celebrated Kaoru's return and life is basically back to normal, Aoi buys a new obi -- a big deal with the expense and time it takes to make the formal kimono she always wears. She's hoping for a compliment from Kaoru -- not much to ask, after all -- but the other girls are out shopping for clothes that will better emphasize their bustlines. Will Kaoru even notice her?

There's a bonus chapter at the end spoofing the Ai Yori Aoshi "love sim game." I've seen a few of these before (one involving a would-be nun and the altar of an abandoned church) but this chapter was something else -- I guess the artist decided it had just been too danged long since she got Aoi out of her clothes.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi 10

The first chapter of this volume is absolutely useless. It's Chika at school, and it's just an opportunity for shameless, barely-adolescent fan service. Chika and her friends are in the swim club, so we see them changing, stretching in their swimsuits, in the shower ... enough already!

Thankfully, the rest of the volume gets back to the main Aoi and Kaoru story. Finally!

With the other girls out of town, Aoi and Kaoru get to spend sometime alone together. But Kaoru's professor has given him two passes to a swanky hotel, so an innocent day out could end up being a night that changes his relationship with Aoi forever.

But after the night doesn't go as planned, Kaoru falls into a depression. Each of the girls tries to cheer him up in her own way -- Mayu gets him to take her on her first date, Tina tries to get him drunk, Taeko tries to exorcise his demons, and Chika? Well, Chika starts to give him a massage (while wearing inadequate clothing, as usual) and ends up getting a massage from Kaoru instead.

Ultimately, Kaoru decides two things -- he needs to be a better person for Aoi and he must confront and deal with his past before he can embrace his future.

This looks like it could be a turning point for the manga -- it may be time to cut back on the beach and hot spring trips and concentrate on the story.

And Kaoru -- if you want to treat Aoi better, you could start by cutting back on the dates with Tina and Mayu and touchy-feely games with Chika and Taeko. Choose Aoi or don't -- but don't be wishy-washy about it.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi Vol. 9

I was reading a lot of manga (the vast majority of it shojo), but I get confused easily. Did I need to buy Kare Kano Vol. 9 or Vol 10? Was the name of that one Amazing Agent Luna, or something else? Is there a third volume to X-Day, and when will it be released?

So I stopped. I read all of Revolutionary Girl Utena (that was easy, it was only 5 volumes). Now I'm on to Ai Yori Aoshi -- and maybe High School Girls, if I can ever find Vol. 6 in Borders.

Ai Yori Aoshi (translated into English as "Bluer than Blue" or "True Blue Love") started out as a sweet little love story.

Kaoru runs away from his super-rich but abusive family and, years later, is just another struggling college student. Into his lonely life arrives Aoi, the arranged marriage he'd forgotten about. But she's loved him since she was a child and is determined to see it through.

Not a bad premise -- then sweet little love story turns into harem comedy. And because this was originally published in a Japanese men's magazine -- bam! There is some fan service happening up in here!

But I'm still enjoying the book -- although I find the newest girl, Chika, completely extraneous. Apparently, college-age shower scenes weren't enough for the true pervs -- they had to add someone younger.

In this volume: It's Valentine's Day, and Kaoru has gotten chocolates from every girl but Aoi -- what's wrong? Chika is especially obnoxious in this chapter, prancing around in one of Kaoru's shirts and a pair of panties. Put some clothes on already!

Tina's having some trouble -- she's promised her parents she'll return to America after graduation, but she hasn't told any of her friends. She's spending more time with Kaoru, and Aoi's jealous -- she wants some alone time with Kaoru too. Then a group tennis lesson, and it's nice to see Aoi step up to the forefront for once. A trip to a public bath is just another opportunity for fan service, but you learn a little more about Tina.

For a harem comedy, Ai Yori Aoshi is funny, romantic and has flashes of deep emotion ... but I could do with a few less flashes of other things.