My Review of Black Bird

BLACK BIRD VOLUME 1

Story and Art: Kanoko Sakurakoji

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 160 Pages

(ISBN: 978-1421527642)

For older teens ages 16+

BLACK BIRD VOLUME 2

Story and Art: Kanoko Sakurakoji

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 200 Pages

(ISBN: 978-1421527659)

For older teens ages 16+

The BlackBird manga is a tale of romance with elements of the supernatural with a very Japanese twist. It won the 54th Shogakukan Manga Award for Shojo manga, which to me is a double edged sword.

Actually winning the award shows that it has an amazing story, and it does. The story revolves around Misao, a human who turns out to be the Demon’s Bride of Destiny. Suffice to say that every demon is out to get here.

The romantic twist comes in the form of Kyo, a childhood sweetheart who ten years prior went away and promised that he’ll come back and make Misao his bride. However, it turns out that he is a Tengu and the head of his clan.

Does he love Misao for who she is or what she is? It doesn’t help things when Kyo turns out to be both valiant and a pervert who’s all hands. To exasperate things further Kyo has to lick Misao’s wounds to heal it to prevent her from being a target of a demon onslaught.

It might seem like the whole manga is fan service, but it’s not. The story is actually darker filled with intrigue, this balances out all the “fan service”, gives the manga a wider audience, and makes it a good read.

Winning the award also pigeon holes this manga as a shojo manga. Yes, it is a shojo manga at heart; it has all the cliché and elements of a typical shojo manga like a very weak heroine. However, the depth and the dark nature of the plot make Black Bird more than just a manga for girls.

Still, this manga is not for everyone. There’s a good reason why it got a “for Older Teens” rating. Some scenes can get a little bit too gratuitous.

Imitation Gundam, Gunpla

As one of my week end projects this week, I decided to finally build and paint an imitation Gundam. As you can see, the result is not bad – considering that this is my first time.

I do not like non-Bandai Gundam kits. Although cheap, they lack quality and value. It is always better to save to get an original kit rather than buying several imitation ones. Don’t let the low price fool you; it takes far more money and effort to make an imitation kit look decent then to make an original kit look excellent.

With all my complaining, why did I build this Gundam in the first place?

This is not my kit. The owner of this kit wanted me to build and paint it so I could practice and hone in my craft. Their logic on why I should practice on an imitation kit was solid, but it hinges too much on how low the price of the kit is.

The kit you see here is nowhere near completion. It took so much work and time to get to this level and I didn’t even spend any time trying to remove the seam line!

I have to put the rest of this kit (mainly weapons and a back pack) on hold for now.

Gundam Build Part 2: Lower Body And Final Assembly

It took me till 1:30 am this morning, but I was determined to finish the assembly of my RX-178 Gundam Mk.II A.E.U.G. Master Grade before I went to sleep. For a first build (in a long while), I don’t think I did too badly.

There is still a lot of work to do. Some lines needs to be cleaned and others need darkening, some parts needs to be refitted and others needs filling. And then there are the decals and stickers. I hope to truly complete this kit, this weekend.

As I expected, because the Gundam is a simple design, it is easy to handle. I love how all its accessories fit. Note the Vulcan Pod on its head, the extra clips for the Beam Rifle on the shield, the Bazooka on this back and the extra Bazooka clip on its side.

One annoying thing about this kit is because it is glossy, it’s a fingerprint magnet. Nevertheless, when it’s clean it looks amazing. I could only hope that my next kit would look just as good.

Gundam Build Part 1: Display Stand and Upper Torso

Yesterday marked my return to Gunpla (the hobby of Gundam model building). I decided to build an RX-178 Gundam Mk-II A.E.U.G. Prototype Mobile Suit – Master Grade Limited Edition. It may be the best of kits to start with, but I like it. An RX-178 Gundam Mk-II is a simple looking Gundam and from experience, I learn that the simplest Gundams are very sturdy, very poseable, and take up less space then it’s extravagantly winged counterparts.

I began my build last night. I started by assembling an Action Stand (Clear) kit. It’s a very simple and interesting looking kit, but I’m out of practice so it took me a while to assemble.

Confident with myself I moved on to the real thing. This is the first time I am building a Gundam while fully equipped with tools and markers.

About an-hour-and-a-half past midnight, I stopped. I’ve only managed to build the Body Unit, the Head Unit, and the Vulcan pod. It wasn’t much but I could see that this will be the best looking Gundam I have ever built.

I continued my build this morning and by evening I managed to complete the Back Pack Unit, Beam Rifle, Hyper Bazooka, Shield, Arm Units, and Shoulder Armor. A completed Upper Torso.

There is still a long way to go. I hope to be able to complete the kit tonight. The stickers and decal can wait.

My Review Of High Time

HIGH TIME

Art & Story: Taufan

Publisher: Gala Unggul Resources Sdn. Bhd. ; 296 Pages

(ISBN: 987-9675288708)

Give this 100% Malaysian manga to anyone and, after flipping through a few pages, they’d immediately recognise that it as a Jackie Chan movie turn manga. Thankfully the artist/writer choose to emulate Hong Kong Jackie Chan instead of Hollywood Jackie Chan. You won’t find Christ Tucker or Owen Wilson here.

Like any Jackie Chan movie, this manga is filled with action with a generous helping of comedy. The characters, story, and world in the manga feels like they were ripped from the Police Story movies, although updated to be a little darker, more violent, and with a twist.

If it were up to me, I would not call High Time a manga. I don’t mean this in a bad way. It’s just it lacks the manga feel and style. Sure it’s back and white, printed in a volume, and the girls have big eyes, but it takes much more than that to be a manga.

I’m a little mixed about the art. It’s too cartoony, too rounded, too jovial to be taken seriously. Even the most serious of scenes looks comical. On the other hand, the action scenes look exceptional!

Above average overall, High Time is a must read for action movie fans.

Shojo Manga to Review

Last month I've received 6 new mangas to review. Usually reviewing 6 mangas is a cake walk, however this time, there's a hitch! Most of these mangas are Shojo manga. In other words, these mangas are targeted towards girls.

I don’t hate the genre; it’s just that Shojo manga, for me, makes for a slow read. Every couple of pages will either cause me to laugh, roll my eyes, or shake my head and stop reading the absurdity that the youth of the opposite persuasion calls, romance.

I bet it is the same the other way around.

Happy Christmas And Merry New Year

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year