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Artist: Kaze-Hime (DeviantArt) http://yuumei.deviantart.com/art/Okami-83412801

Series: Okami

Characters: Sakuya, Waka, Kaguya, Princess Fuse, Kushi, Susano, Priestess Rao, Queen Himiko, Chun, Kokari, Gjinka!Amaterasu

Note: Hmmm, found this a while ago. I love how this manages to capture the Okami art style while still having a sense of originality. The design for Ammy is beautiful and elegant, maintaining an aura that only a goddess can present. -Nozomi

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Merry Christmas everyone! Isn't Hina-chan so cute dressed up like that? Hehe, look at her all dressed up! Kudos to the artist of this picture~ So festive and cheery. Hina-chan! Hina-chan! Take all my bad luck away please!

...That would be awesome but the likeliness of that happening is less than 0.

Once again Merry Christmas to all, and have a nice day to all that don't celebrate Christmas!

On a side note, isn't Christmas more like a couples holiday in other countries? I think mainly Asian countries, though I could be wrong. Ha, couple holidays. More like single-awareness day. -_- Hehe, I guess that was a little pessimistic. Oh well. Nozomi here signing out for the day!

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Happy Birthday Allen!

Date: December 25

Artist: Asino

Pixiv ID:1024588

Series: D. Gray-Man

Character: Allen Walker

Note: Huge D. Gray-Man fangirl here. So happy birthday to Allen Walker, Exorcist of the Black Order, Destroyer of Time, and *SPOILER BLEEP*. Yes, I know this is technically his date of adoption, but whatever. Happy birthday to a favorite character of mine, and merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it. -Eli

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and joy to everyone who doesn't! Hehe, Eli is such a DGM geek. Quite amusing. Oh, Eli and I were emailing each other and Eli was all, "Hey, guess what I got for Christmas!" "IDK. What, the Naruto Ramune bottle? X3" "Yep." I wasn't actually serious when I guessed that. XD Hmmm, I wonder if Eli-chi is getting any DGM tankoban for Christmas.... Anyway, Happy Birthday, Allen, and all others out there with their birthday today! -Nozomi

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Happy Birthday Fuuka! Date: December 22

Artist: N/A

Series: Persona 3

Character: Fuuka Yamagishi

Note: *gasp* An enemy! Hehe, couldn't help myself. Ah, Fuuka. Your English voice just doesn't suit you. Not that the voice is acted poorly, it just isn't the right voice for Fuuka's character. Anyway, Fuuka is a nice girl. Lol, not much to say about her. Happy Birthday, Fuuka.

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Happy Birthday Hitsugaya and Ukitake! Date: December 20/21

Artist: Kitamura Koume

Series: Bleach

Characters: Toshiro Hitsugaya and Jushiro Ukitake

Note: Aaaaagh, sorry, Hitsugaya! I had a lot of things going on yesterday! Anyhow, here's the two white haired captains of the gotei 13.

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Happy Birthday Mello! Date: December 13

Artist: PAR Pixiv ID: 1135168

Series: Death Note

Character: Mello

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Artist: Daenarys (Daechu) Pixiv ID: 1630786

Series: No. 6

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Artist: NA (Well, there's a signature in the corner so...) Pixiv Id: 3512498

Series: Pokemon (Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire)

Note: Well, these games have come out a while ago. Uwaaa, I'm so jealous! I really want to play this but I don't have a 3DS or any DS period! Jealous~ Geeze, I sound like Parsee. -Nozomi

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Artist: Capura Lin Pixiv ID: 2475

Series: Madoka Magica

Character: Homura Akemi

Note: I've always been a fond of Capura L.'s work, having found this artist's work first through her Touhou art. This picture I believe is what really got me interested in Madoka actually. Heh, seems like a long time ago now that I think of it. -Nozomi

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Sayonara to this long-running series. Not for long though. There's still a sequel and a movie to go...

Artist: Painapparu Pixiv ID: 430171

Series: Naruto

Note: Naruto, eh? Honestly I never really got into Shippuden. I have read a whole one volume of it! X3 I don't know, something about the original just seems more... homey? Hehe, well, all I can say is that this has been a long road for many people out there with many fond memories. While some people may hate it and some love it with a passion, no one can deny the impact it's had on many. -Nozomi

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Happy Birthday Yukiko-chan! Date: December 8

Artist: KeG/Akanoren Pixiv ID 210847

Series: Persona 4

Character: Yukiko Amagi Note: Hehe, I'm a Persona Geek. Well, happy birthday to the lovely Yukiko! Yukiko is a pretty name, right? Don't worry, even if you hate your name, we all love it!

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Artist: Ringetsumon Pixiv Id 207827

Series: Touhou

I figured that if we are too lazy to post a review on a constant schedule, we could at least post random fan art! Lol, let's see how long this lasts. -Nozo-tan

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Tsubasa: Resevoir Chronicle (RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE)

Eli here!

My first review will be of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, a manga created by CLAMP. It is the first long manga series that I have finished reading, and therefore, I thought I ought to review this.

Summary/What It’s Like:

In one sentence, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is complicated. It starts in the Kingdom of Clow, with young archaeologist Syaoran carrying on the work his father died doing. His childhood friend Sakura is (obviously) about to confess her love to him, but must return to the castle and her brother the King. The next day, Sakura goes to the ruins to confess her love, but awakens a power that scatters her memories across the dimensions. Syaoran is desperate to save her, and is sent to the Dimension Witch, Yuko Ichihara, where he makes the bargain to be removed from Sakura’s memories forever in exchange for her life. In his quest to find her memories, he is joined by Kurogane, an exiled ninja, and Fai, an ever-smiling magician with a dark past. The story goes along as a whimsical adventure until a massive plot twist challenges every assumption you had about the characters and it becomes incredibly dark. You’ve been warned.

The Fabulous

I’m a huge fan of CLAMP’s distinctive art style, although the ornate costumes and elongated character designs are probably not for everyone. The worlds in TRC are lush and beautifully distinct, so it’s almost worth reading the manga just for the gorgeous double-page spreads that occur with every world change. My favorite world is probably Infinity, with its gothic sci-fi motifs, and Sakura’s darkly elegant costumes.

The Good

TRC has some absolutely wonderful characters. While they’re not the most developed and fleshed out characters that exist, they’re still a lot of fun. Syaoran and Sakura are absolutely adorable in their devotion to each other, and although they behave with a lot of gravity and acceptance of their dire situation, they definitely get their moments of childishness and fun. Fai is always smiling, yet there are many moments where it becomes obvious he has a really dark past. After I learned his full backstory, I actually started sobbing. It’s incredibly depressing, even more so than Kurogane’s. Kurogane was a character I actually started out disliking, but grew to love. He and Fai have such an interesting and complex relationship. Both of them are incredibly messed up and yet are able to find some semblance of functionality together.

The Bad

Towards the end, the plot gets so twisty and turny, but not in a Pandora Hearts “I-never-saw-that-coming-but-now-I’m-looking-back-and-EVERYTHING-makes-perfect-sense!” way. It’s more of a “Wait, what the heck did I just read?” type of thing. I love a nice complex story with giant plot twists and wait, what? moments, but TRC just takes it over the edge after the Tokyo arc. Everything becomes a massive revelation (Nozo-tan: Hahaha, get it? The OVA is called Tokyo Revelations! Lol, sorry.), even though only two or three of them were foreshadowed in any depth over the course of the previous eighteen-twenty volumes. It’s a little jarring, and Volume 28 will have you scratching your head and saying “What on earth did I just read?” It gets incredibly over complicated and way too much is stuffed into the last volume.

The Ugly

Not really much that goes in this category, because overall, TRC is a good manga. Not the best I’ve read, but definitely worth it to invest time in it. However, there is the problem that quite a bit of important plot detail is unsatisfactorily wrapped up. Fei-Wang Reed, the villain, never really has his motivations completely explored, and we don’t really ever get more than a general picture of what Sakura’s power can actually do. It’s really, really annoying that way.

Who’ll Like It

If you loved the Chronicles of Chrestomanci, you’re going to like TRC. Also, fans of pretty artwork, fans of TRC’s sister series xxxHOLiC (which I prefer), and most likely major fans of CLAMP’s work. The interesting thing about TRC is most of the characters come from other CLAMP works but have been repurposed for a completely different story. However, you don’t need to be terribly familiar with their oeuvre to like TRC. In fact, it’s actually what inspired me to start reading CLAMP’s other manga, a decision I don’t regret.

Thanks for reading, and see you in the next post!

Nozo-tan’s Notes: Well, I will say one thing. DON’T WATCH THE ANIME. IT’S HORRIBLE. Mind you, it’s not so bad as some other ones that I won’t dare mention, but compared to the manga it’s just mindblowingly bad. However, the OST is amazing and the OVAs are good. As for my opinion on the ending, I liked it. Oddly enough I’m not that confused by it, but I do understand where Eli-chi is coming from. Ultimately, this series is something that most anime fans will find at least something to like!

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Buy some of those ummm... whaddyacallem, yummy things you peel. You know, like, uh, MINI ORANGES!!!!!!!!

Eli-chi

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It looks like someone upended a duck on his head and tied a scarf around it.

 Eli in reference to Sasuke

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Lampposts and walls. Running Away’s biggest enemy…

Nozomi

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Introduction: Eli

Hello everyone, I'm Eli. Like Nozomi, I'm also a fan of anime and manga, although I'm a more recent convert to anime/manga fandom. However, my days as a mega LOTR fan may come back to haunt me at times, so pay no attention if I start blabbering about hobbits and Isengard. Old habits die hard. 

When it comes to anime and manga, I tend to like shonen. So you won't hear much (if anything at all about) shojo manga from me. Sorry. 

There isn't anything particularly interesting about me as a fan, except that I'm hugely addicted to reviewing things, books mostly. 

In addition to anime/manga I also like Sherlock and Downton Abbey. And art history. 

It's lovely to meet everyone! See you in the next post!