3 am Dangerous Zone - Is There Such a Thing As a Conventional Career?

This summer I've had a bit of free time on my hands to do some reading. I figured what better than to read a little-known josei manga about office work romance? 3 am Dangerous Zone by Nemu Youko had interesting cover art that caught my attention, and I was pleasantly surprised with its originality. Keep reading for my review of this intriguing series!

Synopsis

A three volume series, 3 am Dangerous Zone follows Momoko, a recent graduate who's found an entry level position as a pachinko parlor designer. Working late hours with oddballs, she wants to quit her job badly. But once she starts making friends with the staff Momoko decides she's in it for the long haul, and finds fulfillment in her job and love life. It's a slice-of-life josei with some comedy and romance mixed in.

The Good

Eye-Candy Artwork

I really enjoyed the art style of this manga. It's simplistic yet refined, making it pleasurable to leaf through. It feels like a Western comic, but has that Japanese finesse. Each character has a unique design, and the style represents reality in a pleasant yet realistic manner. Definitely one of my favourite hand drawn art styles that I've come across.

Strong Female Lead

I often find myself skipping over josei titles because they depict love crazed females who don't know how to deal with themselves, let alone deal with a man in their life. I'm not trying to belittle josei, as there are standout titles that try to depict females in a more reasonable light. Luckily, we find that here with Momoko. She is a more passive female lead, representing a present-time young woman: independent, looking for stability, lacking drive, and reluctant to trust others. She's not lacking confidence in a cliché way, but rather is driven to find fulfillment in her career. She sacrifices her relationships to find a balance of workplace stability and self fulfillment. I really liked how dynamic she was; her thoughts were sometimes muddled by passivity, and I was just as curious to understand her as she was curious to understand herself. I loved how simple she appeared, yet how complex and inspiring her character became. If you find yourself connecting less and less to most josei/shoujo female leads, then I suggest checking out 3 am Dangerous Zone. Momoko's character is a unique and enthralling person. Anyone looking to find a career can relate to her predicament and find inspiration in her determination.

The Bad

Slow Pacing

This manga tells a concise story, being only 15 chapters long, with about 30 pages per chapter. It doesn't over exaggerate, and is pretty down to Earth with the way it represents reality. It doesn't have overarching cliff hangers, and it doesn't tell anything too heavy handed. It's a simple story about a simple girl; it presents a situation that many young women face when entering the working world. I love it for that, but for those looking for a real page turner, you're not going to find it here. It kept me entertained, but it was definitely a light read. It's an interesting story, but not a particularly compelling one. If you're looking for a nice read for your bus ride I definitely recommend this series, but if you want something to excite you I suggest looking somewhere else.

Underdeveloped Supporting Characters

The focus of this manga is definitely on Momoko and her personal obstacles. It never goes into great detail about the other characters, and for the little that it does, it doesn't tell very thought-provoking back stories. They each have a clear cut purpose, and really shine focus back onto Momoko rather than stealing the spotlight for themselves. It would have been nice to get to know Momoko's coworkers better, or even get to know the deep motivations of her love interests, but with the short run of this series it wouldn't have fit in anyways. It's disappointing that they weren't more dynamic, but I can't say that it took away from the overall experience.

Final Score

3 am Dangerous Zone is a different kind of josei. It represents the reality of working young women well, and offers a new perspective on what women are looking for as they reach adulthood. 3 am Dangerous Zone gets a 7.0 out of 10. While not reaching far beyond its simplistic story, it tells a concise tale of Momoko and her exploits as she balances her love life with her work. I enjoyed that it took a new approach, and offered something that I hadn't previously seen in a josei series. For a short read it's worth looking into, especially if you find yourself at odds with the reality of full time work.

Similar titles to 3 am Dangerous Zone:

 

Genshiken Nidaime - My Review
Servant x Service - My Review
Working!!

Anime Review of Golden Time

Each anime season I look forward to seeing new josei titles, only to be disappointed at the lack of josei series, routinely dismissing the adult female demographic. However, I get a little bit of solace from the fact that sometimes a seinen title will be in there that is just gender neutral enough to make it a worthwhile watch. Last anime season Golden Time finished airing, which was definitely a title that blurs the lines between seinen and josei as it has something to offer for the whole young adult demographic.

Below is my review of this little romantic anime!

Synopsis

 

Golden Time is centered around Tada Banri who is a freshmen in college, looking to survive the ups and downs of college life and romance. He meets Yanagisawa Mitsuo (Yana-san) and Kaga Kouko on his very first day, becoming entangled in a complicated love triangle. He meets other friends (old and new) at his new school who help him learn to deal with his past while attempting to make a future with someone new. This series is a Romance Drama with Slice of Life and Comedy elements.

Cousin Manga Review (Volumes 1 & 2)

Thanks to peachgummie I was able to find a new series called Cousin. It's a josei series that flew under the radar, but deals with difficult topics such as self-esteem, weight issues, and building self-confidence. I think these are all problems women deal with as they mature and grow into adults, sometimes we never fully realize how to deal with these issues. Cousin by Ikuemi Ryou tackles these problems in an approachable and realistic manner. This really drew me in to continue reading until the end of the second volume (the manga had an official release but Jmanga who translated it shutdown, making the last volume hard to track down) but I'll give you my review so you can consider reading and supporting the official release. I will update this review when I get a chance to finish reading it in its entirety.

Summary

This manga is considered a Drama, Romance, Josei, Comedy and Slice-of-Life

The story follows Tsubomi, a recent high school graduate who begins working part-time out of school. She led a normal boring life thus far and feels unsatisfied with herself in many respects. To further this dissatisfaction she has a cousin she is always compared to. Her cousin is an upcoming idol, good-looking and thin. Tsubomi in contrast wears no make-up and is chubby. She does her best to break out of her past habits by making friends with a coworker Shiro, and finding new love. It's a story of overcoming your own demons and working towards being the person you want to be. It may be a typical plot for a josei manga, but what differentiates this title is how Tsubomi learns to stop being a self-pitying woman, and becomes someone who constantly tries to better herself.

Story

The story isn't finished after 2 volumes, it was completed at 3 volumes but the first 2 develop a lot that I can talk about. I have technically read the first 2 chapters of volume 3, but it's not enough to make a judgment on that volume as of yet. In my summary I highlighted the development of Tsubomi's character as that is obviously the big mover of the plot. At first I found her frustrating, but I quickly related to her when she began to think about positively changing herself. I of course went through a similar phase, however I don't think I was as conscious about it when it was happening. But much like Tsubomi what helped me to change were the people I surrounded myself with. I loved that this story felt real, and that it was relatable on many different levels (that I didn't expect). All this being said, I found the plot at times was slow moving, spending too much time on little points that weren't interesting. Certain points that were the cause of conflict were not very compelling, making them unimportant and not interesting to developing the plot. Although these are problems, they're not major issues to the overall effect of the story. The story gets an 8.0 out of 10 because of its ability to tackle issues in a convincing and relatable manner.

What Animes to Look Out for This Spring 2014

Hey everyone! Long time no post, I know. I've been very busy with school, but I've also been really busy reading and watching anime and manga to give you some reviews! So look forward to that very soon. In the meantime I'm looking at Spring 2014 shows that myself, and other josei fans should look out for and check out. So here's my list!

 

Futsuu no Joshikousei ga [Locodol] Yatte Mita.

Comedy and Seinen

Summary via Anichart: The story is about the life of a high school girl, Nanako, and her senpai, Yukari, who end up becoming the town’s local idols (locodol) upon the request of her uncle. However they would soon learn that their new idol lifestyle is less than stellar as they are only be interviewed by the town’s shopping center, appear on low-budget cable television, and perform concerts on top of the roof of department stores. The girls’ salaries come from the town’s taxes.

My Thoughts: There's a lot of animes focusing on becoming or being an idol nowadays, but this one seems to appeal to an older audience by painting it in a not-so-picture-perfect way. I'm wary of young girls and the seinen genre, but I'm going to see what it's all about anyway.

 

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii

Shoujo, Romance, Fantasy and Adventure

Summary via MU: Nike, the fourth princess of the Rain Dukedom and one who holds the power to call forth the rain, travels to the Sun Kingdom to marry Sun King Livius for her country, despite her own reluctance. She soon discovers that the King, who conquered the world in only three years after his ascendance to the throne, is still a child!! Furthermore, for trivial reasons, he has demanded that Nike call forth the rain…!?

My Thoughts: A fantasy shoujo title will always pique my interest because it will be in the female perspective, and it reminds me of a nostalgic favourite of mine, The Vision of Escaflowne. I wonder how it's going to flesh out a romance that involves a child king, but perhaps he's not the love interest after all. Either way it has my curiosity.

 

Mekaku City Actors

Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi and Supernatural

Summary via AniChart: Shintaro Kisaragi--a HikiNEET who shut himself inside his room for 2 years and has been living his life normally until he met a cyber girl named Ene, who appeared in his computer screen when someone anonymously sent him a mysterious e-mail one year ago. One day, Ene had been messing up with Shintaro's PC. which cause him have to go to outside world for first time in 2 years.

My Thoughts: I just looked up HikiNEET which is a combination of someone who is a NEET (not employed or educated) and a Hikkomori (being socially withdrawn). I think having a strange main character always makes for a more interesting story as we see it through their eyes. I can imagine that this anime will also be colourful and full of life (as you can tell from the artwork above). It reminds of Durarara! which had a similar style, so who knows what this anime will explore.

Are You Watching Golden Time? Because You Should Be!

A little seinen series that has taken over my free time is Golden Time. I did a first impressions review here, but since the first couple episodes it has exceeded my expectations and become one of my favourite anime series of all time. Why may you ask? Well keep reading to find out!

Deep Character Development

This show will have you second guessing yourself, especially when it comes to what characteristics you find admirable in a character. There will be characters you like, some you don’t, but over time you’ll find yourself changing those opinions. It’s fantastic, and Golden Time does it so seamlessly, showing you how life is complicated for everyone; you’re going to sympathize with those you might have had a hard time sympathizing with earlier on. With some of the most interesting unique characters I’ve seen in a long time for a more mature anime, this show does it refreshingly well.

Itadakimasu Review

It’s hard to find a good josei manga series. This is largely to due to the fact that there are so many out there that it’s hard to find something worth reading, so I scoured the internet for something that would hold my attention. To my surprise I came across this little series by Yukari Yoshihara. There’s no official English release to my knowledge, I found a fan translation by Condensation who does a great job at noting cultural and language references. It spans 20 chapters across 4 volumes, delving into the details of an unlikely romance of an older women with a younger man. Keep on reading for my review.

My Top 5 Couples from Josei Series

Merry Christmas everyone! I thought that what this winter needs a little heating up with soome romance, so I’m going to do my top 5 favourite couples from josei series that I’ve enjoyed. It was tough to boil it down, but I think these couples are all dynamic and interesting for different reasons. So let’s get to the list!

5. Chiaki and Nodame from Nodame Cantabile

These two are as much a polar opposite as you can get. But what I love about them is that music brings them together! For anyone who plays an instrument you’ll understand the magnetic force that music can have on one musician to another. And even those who just enjoy music will know how attractive a musical talent really is. I also enjoyed the banter of the two characters, the sensible Chiaki and the kooky Nodame who can’t sit still. It takes a while for the two to warm up to each other, but watching their relationship unfold is the highlight of the series.

4. Sumire and Momo from Tramps Like Us/Kimi Wa Petto

One of my favourite josei manga features this couple which takes a typical relationship dynamic and spins it on its head. Sumire takes in Momo as her ‘pet’ and learns to love his easy-going kindhearted nature over time. The story of their love takes up the entirety of the story, but is interesting from beginning to finish. It really makes you question exactly what conventions can be broken while still having a fulfilling relationship with another person.

3. Shion and Nezumi from No. 6

Who knew I’d include a homosexual couple on this list! But it’s definitely a well-warranted addition. The relationship between them starts when they’re preteens and blossoms into something quite moving bythe time they’ve reached adulthood. Living in a dystopian future

Servant x Service Anime Review

Last season was full of great animes, and one of them was Servant x Service. By the mangaka that brought us Working!, Servant x Service is a more mature version of Working! featuring an older cast in a relatable workplace setting. Giving a little bit of comedy and a little bit of slice of life, it was an enjoyable watch each week. Keep reading if you want an in-depth review spoiler free! that looks at the highs and lows of the show.

Quick Synopsis

This is an office comedy. It stars a small cast of young adults (Lucy, Hasebe, Chihaya, Miyoshi, and Ichimiya) all with their own unique quirks. There's a bit of romance, but mostly office antics that keep the story moving at a steady pace until the end of its 13 episode run. Think of it as Japan's answer to The Office of England and North America. There will be characters that you look forward to watching, and some that irk you every time they're on screen. And of course it wouldn't be Japanese without a talking animal, which comes in the form of a stuffed bunny boss. They work in the social service sector, but the setting is really only a backdrop,

Sailor Moon Underwear. I WANT THEM ALL

With Sailor Moon returning to television early next year there's been tons of merchandise flooding the scene. I've reviewed one of the figures here if you'd like to check that out! I have to admit, this is my favourite addition yet. Sailor Moon underwear. It looks gorgeous! I just don't know how keen my boyfriend will be about it... Too bad there isn't a Tuxedo Mask matching set!!!



They cost 4,980 Yen, roughly $50 USD which is a steal for a set but are all soldout! They went on pre-order yesterday and flew off the shelves. I'll be on the look out for the second release and I'm sure they're going to do it because they're such a hit. You can check out the collection at Peach John's website.

Nodame Cantabile

Anonymous asked:

Have you ever watched Nodame Cantabile?

Obligatory *GWAAAABO!* my answer is yes, I have watched Nodame Catabile, and I watched it for what is going on a few years now. The reason it’s never really been brought up in a josei recommendations list is because I feel that the show was very slow paced, making it not one of my particular favourites. I think it’s a great show if you love music and anime obviously, as it’s about Chiaki and Megumi who study music together at university. It’s a large series, spanning 3 seasons to keep up with the copious manga volumes. I think its downfall is that the budding romance forms very slowly, and character development is unfortunately just as slow. I love their character dynamic but getting those gratifying moments you’ve been waiting for sometimes takes an eternity. I’m not saying it’s bad, it just didn’t leave a big impression on me. I’d definitely label it under something like relaxing anime, as it is slow paced, enjoying the simple pleasures of every day life.

Thank you for your question, I would certainly be up for doing an in-depth review if more interest on the matter surfaces.

Shounen Titles Josei Fans Can Enjoy

I’ve done a couple recommendations posts now, but I’ve never tackled the shounen genre yet, so here it is! You can check out my Shoujo recommendations here, and my Seinen recommendations here. Unfortunately this list is restricted to anime/manga I have enjoyed, so if you don’t see a title on here that you would have expected please leave a comment so that I can check it out, and so other josei fans can check it out as well! I don’t have time to watch it all, but I’m doing these lists because the josei demographic is rarely addressed for recommendations so those comments help the community out! Anyway, onto the list!

Bakuman

By the creator of Death Note this anime/manga goes for a light theme this time, focusing on the story of Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi who dream of becoming the best mangakas the world has ever seen. There’s some deeper content that josei fans will enjoy because of their lofty dreams, plus some high school drama that adds to the plot as well. Of course there’s a bit of love intermixed as well with Azuki Miho, Mashiro’s dream girl, which is fun to watch on screen as well. It has run for up to 3 seasons, so there’s plenty to watch if you get addicted. But of course there’s the manga too which is appropriate for the whole mangaka aspect too. Mostly a drama, josei fans can appreciate the serious tone about following your dreams as it stretches beyond just the typical high school format.

BECK Mongolian Chop Squad

This is a story about awkward teen Tanaka Yukio, who does his best to perform among his teenage friends in an alternative rock band. It’s kind of like the boy version of K-ON! except on a larger scale than just high scool. The band BECK attempts fortune and fame, the typical dream of any high school band. There’s some growing pains and love mixed in that makes it an enjoyable watch. It’s nostalgic to any josei who’s dated a musician or has ever enjoyed that naivety of high school and big dreams. I originally saw this when it played back on MuchMusic years ago, and the dub was really well done, so I recommend both the sub and dub. If you’re going to check it out I’d suggest the anime over the manga, if you read it you’ll miss out on those original songs! It tackles more serious issues that are high school related, but also ones that bridge outside the typical high school drama. A more serious shounen, it’s something josei fans can definitely appreciate.

Genshiken Nidaime/Genshiken Second Generation Anime Review

Another series from this past anime season was Genshiken Nidaime, which picked up from the previous seasons titled Genshiken. It features an almost whole new cast, and follows the antics of the otaku club for another season. I enjoyed this show, but I certainly come from a bias that compares it to the original experience I had with the first 2 seasons of the show that aired back in 2004. So here is my review spoiler free.

Synopsis
Whether you’re familiar with Genshiken or not, this season introduces a largely whole new cast of characters, so those previously unfamiliar with the series can jump in. It’s about the The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, which basically breaks down to be a bunch of otakus obsessed with anime, video games, and cosplay. The old crew has graduated, with the only links left being Ohno and Sasahara’s girlfriend who is the new club president, Ogiue. Now the club is comprised mostly of “rotten girls” who are into BL (boy’s love) and are female otakus. The times have changed in Genshiken which used to be almost exclusively male club members, but the guys make re-appearances, with Madarame being the center of attention for a multitude of episodes. Although there’s a large cast, the story focuses mainly on the character development of cross-dresser Hato, and his attempts to be accepted by a group of women. Madarame helps Hato a lot in this regard, and Hato also helps Madarame back, and they end up learning a lot about themselves as they enter adulthood. The students banter back and forth, and get up to some pretty nerdy stuff, which is fun to see for any anime fan.

Servant x Service Episode 10 Highlights & Thoughts

Tonight’s episode was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. After all the tension and excitement from last week’s episode I was expecting this one to take that forward to this week’s, but alas we get an episode that feels more like filler than anything else. Spoilers ahead, let’s get on with it I suppose.
Chihaya Confesses to Toko

The episode begins with Chihaya telling Toko about her relationship with Taishi (Toko’s brother). But that plan goes half baked as Toko falls asleep and remains oblivious to it all. What we end up with is an endearing scene where the two fall asleep together and we learn that Toko is studying hard for college… and not to be a civil servant? I guess Toko’s got bigger plans for herself, and that’s nice to see. It’s unfortunate that Toko’s character isn’t well developed yet. This scene seems to allude to something we may learn about later, and I’ll be looking forward to that. We all know there’s more to Toko than meets the eye. Her strong will hasn’t shown us enough of the lengths she’s willing to go to for her brother, or really those she cares about. I’m excited to see just what she’s capable of.
Tanaka Breaks Down In front of Miyoshi

Did we forget about this guy? I’d like to. He’s after Hasebe again but Miyoshi squashes his plans of confronting his friend for the billionth time. When those plans fall through he decides to apologize to Lucy by taking her to dinner again. This gets him a quick scolding from Miyoshi claiming his actions toward everyone aren’t atonement but rather self satisfaction (way to lay it on him Miyoshi!). Isn’t that pretty much his lifestyle as it stands anyway? It appears like she hit a nerve as she’s going to dinner with him. I’m curious to see how this develops as I think it’s in Tanaka’s character to give up on Hasebe if a woman is involved in his life, but who knows. Either way their pairing is entertaining.
Kanon Around The Office

So Kanon, Toko’s friend from school is killing time around the office waiting for her friend and runs into some hijinks among the staff. It’s about a 5 minute segment of jokes and pretty much nothing else. I guess it’s nice to see the Magical Flowers cast animated (and so cute!). But otherwise it’s a lot of filler that kept me waiting for something exciting to happen. This could be their attempt at including Kanon’s character a bit more as she really has no role in the show but the segment is unnecessary and does nothing for her. Oh well!
A Bunny Manager Exposed

We learn that the section manager’s identity as a stuffed toy has been a secret to Toko and must have been one for a number of years now (I’m surprised they’ve pulled it off for this long). But by accident the secret is out and we get a comical moment of her freakout. She deludes herself into thinking they’ve gone crazy and that perhaps she was being too mean to everyone and thus caused their breakdown (highlighting her self-centered nature). It’s really just another segment of this episode that had no real bearing on anything. Perhaps the fact that the section manager is Kanon’s father and the fact that Toko does not know this could add some weight to her friendship with Kanon, but it’s not any big deal to anyone really (and I doubt will have impact). Why with all the pointless office antics? I can’t say much about this as there isn’t anything to say. The moment is what it is.
So there were a couple of developing points this episode highlighting Chihaya and Miyoshi with Tanaka. Other than that we get an episode highlighting a strange day in the office and not much else. With 3 episodes until the end of the season can we say this wasted air time is warranted? I don’t think so. I imagine next week will be back on track with the office romance and drama but with this episode throwing me for a loop it’s hard to say what I’ll be expecting. Either way I’ll be watching it.
Christina

Seinen Titles Josei Fans Can Enjoy

Like my shoujo list, I think there’s also some good titles that fall under the seinen (young adult men) category that are really gender neutral and appeal to both young men and women. Since the josei genre is so small I think some of these titles are confusingly in the seinen section of MyAnime List so I’ll include them in my personal list of suggestions.

Arakawa Under the Bridge

A strange hybrid love story is Arakawa Under the Bridge, that has Kappas, a male nun, an eccentric superstar and other kooky characters. In the mix is the relatively normal Kou who has a principal of not being indebted to anyone. So when Nino saves his life she requests that Kou live with her under a bridge, thus allowing insanity to ensue. It’s an odd story that appeals to a more mature audience as Kou is 22 and deals with the stress of taking over his father’s company while also being indebted to Nino. It’s another story that I think is gender universal even though the protagonist is male. If you’re looking for that Japanese quirkiness then check this series out.

Hanasaku Iroha

I genuinely don’t understand why this title is considered seinen (unless you’re in the camp of sexualizing high school girls yuck) but if you’re a woman then there’s a lot of appeal to this show. The story is about Ohana who moves out to the country away from her home of Tokyo to work at her grandmother’s hot spring inn where she has to learn strict discipline if she’s to keep up. She works with 2 other girls Nako and Minko who can be difficult to get along with. She’s got an irresponsible mother and her own bag of hardship but it’s an interesting story of self development and maturity as you have to deal with what life throws at you. She doesn’t get to live the life of most girls her age so it’s a nice change of pace that forces her to be more mature. It’s a light slice of life story so it’s an enjoyable to watch.

Genshiken Nidaime Episode 9 Highlights & Thoughts

Another week another episode of Genshiken Nidaime. It’s getting close to the end of the season so things are starting to boil up. A lot happens without a lot said, and we’re left on the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. Spoilers Ahead let’s talk about the episode.

Ogiue and Sasahara and Hato

In the intro we get a little banter between Sasahara and Ogiue. Although it’s quick we can see Sasahara’s engaged in making sure she feels good about her work and gets over her own insecurities. We also get to know that he must live up to the fantasies she’s so eloquently drawn out about him. Before he gets to do so though the others arrive. Poor Sasahara.
We also see Ogiue do her best to mentor Hato. She’s not a very deeply developed character (which is disappointing) but you can see her dedication to helping Hato get over his drawing problems. She helps bridge the gap of his association with BL and crossdressing to himself outside of that and how he limits his own abilities when he crossdresses. Her kind words pay off and Hato draws the final sketches for their manga. It seems like Hato’s finally making some good progress on himself.

Kasukabe Returns

Saki Kasukabe talks briefly with Ohno about revisiting the university for the school festival to catch up with the gang. Although it’s a little blurb we can expect Hato to be caught off guard by the relationship he’s about to witness between Madarame and Saki. I imagine he has no clue what kind of woman she is, and he will likely stick up for Madarame as Saki was never easy to deal with. That’s all speculation for next week’s episode though.

Old Friends Return

So with the cultural festival in full swing the club is happily distributing their magazine. Yajima’s friend from high school makes a second appearance, along with Yoshitake’s odd pair of history club buddies. There’s just a lot of back and forth banter that isn’t very important but we also get a moment between Madarame and Hato when he appears. Sasahara’s little sister also makes an obnoxious appearance to Hato’s disappointment and embarrasses him and Madarame. This scene clearly accentuates Hato’s feelings towards Madarame as he not only get embarrassed by Keiko’s comments but he also gets very defensive towards Madarame and protecting his feelings about Kasukabe. The three of them interacting is an awkward scene that lets us see Hato’s more protective side to Madarame.

The Mysterious Trio

Hato has two mysterious friends who go on the lookout for him at the university. Luckily for him they do not catch on to who he is. The pair is very odd with one girl/guy who has the creepiest eyes I’ve ever seen in a casual anime. Seriously what’s with that? Anyway, the episode ends with someone exclaiming about Hato, which is apparently his female doppelganger?! What exactly is the story here? It’s a pretty big mystery making next week’s episode that much more enticing.
The episode overall was pretty bland save for the ending, but at least it gives us something to look forward to. It also introduced us to some new faces that will probably be developed further next week and in the episodes to come. Also, have we forgotten Saki interacting with Madarame? How will Hato deal with not only his own past creeping up on him, but Madarame’s past on top of that? It should be interesting. You’ll hear about next week!
Christina

Shoujo Titles that Josei Fans Can Enjoy

I thought I’d do this list because the josei genre is so small but there are titles under shoujo that I think older women can still enjoy and relate to. You might disagree with some titles on this list, but perhaps keep your mind open to some alternate titles that you might not have considered. So on with the list!

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun/My Little Monster

This anime/manga has a lot of endearing qualities that make it enjoyable for both young and older women. Off beat characters, a complicated relationship, and character development as they mature and learn from one another. It’s about Shizuku’s and Haru’s complicated relationship that struggles as Shizuku is focused on her grades and self-betterment whereas Haru has violent tendencies but a straightforward honest personality. Both characters attempt to break down their walls by learning from each other, neither is perfect but they’re better off together than separated. They have friends and family for support who also help them to mature and understand their feelings for their relationships as well as for their own self improvement. It’s a story of development with love mixed in, and an enjoyable watch or read.

Skip Beat!

This anime/manga has a lot of shoujo aspects about it (note over the top looks and open shirt above) but if you look beyond the flash there is substance to the story. It’s about Kyoko Mogami who travels to Tokyo to live with her childhood friend Sho and live the dream of being with an idol. Too bad for her Sho is prepared to drop her almost immediately as dead weight, and rather than feel sorry for herself Kyoko vows revenge. There’s love and all that fluff that comes with it, but there’s also the story of a girl who wants to make something of herself and doesn’t need a man to do that for her. Her diligence is admirable, and the story is as much about her development as it is about her love life. It’s a light comedy which helps make it fun to watch and read.

Servant x Service Episode 9 Highlights & Thoughts

I apologize for missing last week’s episode! I didn’t have time to watch it on time, by the time I watched it it had been out for a few days and a highlights post at that point seemed a little pointless. That aside I’m here to highlight episode 9 for this week! This week was very lovey dovey as we got a look into Chihaya and Ichimiya’s relationship beginnings, as well as a touching moment from Hasebe to Lucy. Spoilers ahead! Let’s talk about the episode.

In the intro we get to learn a bit more about the relationship between Chihaya and Ichimiya, more specifically why someone so frustrated remains smitten. It seems like Ichimiya has a good heart and recognized Chihaya early on from when she started working as a temp. Although the moment is subtle and quick, it seems like she’s in it for his good heart (although he still gets caught up in his sister’s antics). I’ve grown to like Chihaya a lot as she seems like a very capable person and handles her emotions well (even though she has bursts of anger directed at Ichimiya every now and then, but who doesn’t get that in their relationship once in a while?).  I like their dynamic and it was nice for the quick side story, I’d like to see more of their relationship before the season’s over.

There’s also a subtle moment where Chihaya and Lucy are shopping for Lucy’s date with Hasebe. We finally get a little relief from Lucy’s insecurity as Chihaya tells her to think better of herself. This allows Lucy to realize that Hasebe’s affections are more genuine than she would have previously believed. And like the moment between Ichimiya and Chihaya, it’s a subtle line that will really transform Lucy’s character and help her to develop a lot. I think that’s what gives Chihaya oomph to her character, her moments are subtle but powerful. It’s nice to see her character mingling and affecting this flamboyant cast.

We also learn a bit more about Tanaka, more specifically that Kaoru finds him funny. We learn that he’s been persistent with everyone who has a connection to Hasebe (so Lucy is not special in that regard). I find his character very confusing; it seems like his obsession with Hasebe is a bit on the homosexual side. As strange as that sounds, he’s centered a lot of his life around trying to beat Hasebe, so much so that he is willing to have meaningless relationships to prove something to him and ‘ultimately help him’. His character is unsettling and confusing on the whole.

Lastly we get the most enjoyable moment of the episode. Miyoshi tricks Hasebe into believing that Lucy is getting married (her motives unknown, perhaps she agrees with Tanaka on the matter?). Anyways, we end up with a distraught Hasebe which is a big contrast between his usually cheerful self. It ends up being a misunderstanding as it’s really Kaoru his sister who is getting married. Hasebe admits to only needing Lucy as a contact in his phone as she is the only girl he needs, and it leaves Lucy flustered and happy. Now we know their upcoming date is going to seal the deal for Hasebe. Even despite Hasebe’s playboy demeanor he has these endearing lines that make him very likeable. I’m awaiting their eventual get together (hopefully factors like Tanaka don’t get in the way!).
So that was this week’s episode. Full of love and happiness! Each character was highlighted for their strengths this episode so it was nice to see how endearing each character is. I’m awaiting the next episode as it will most likely feature Hasebe’s and Lucy’s date. Anyone else excited for Lucy’s outfit? Until next week!
Christina