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!!

Nagisa Momoe Quick Figma Review

I received this in the mail today! Took long enough... So here's some photos and a quick review of the product. Check out my review of the other Madoka Magica figures here!

Video Premiere! Sailor Moon Crystal - What Went Wrong?

My first video premiere is here! Please watch my Sailor Moon Crystal - What Went Wrong? video where I diagnose the problems with the new series.

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.

Love Lab Review

Now that the summer anime season has finished I'm going to be reviewing all the shows I had been watching for the past few months. I've enjoyed them all a lot for different reasons, but I thought I'd start with Love Lab. A shoujo comedy with a sparkle of romance, this show was a lot of fun to watch and had me chuckling on multiple occasions. This is a spoiler free review, so if you're interested in checking this anime out, I'll be going over the good and the bad so continue reading!

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.

Sailor Moon Short Stories Review

I'm finally reviewing these two books! I just recently picked up the second volume, so now my collection of Sailor Moon manga is complete! Now I'm waiting for the artbook which is going to be amazing! But back to these two manga volumes, if you're curious about them keep reading for the review. I'll answer the question about whether they're worth purchasing or not; are they worth the extra $30 that they cost together? Is it necessary for every Sailor Moon enthusiast? Keep reading to find out!

Short Stories Volume One

If you're unaware, each volume contains chapters involving each of the inner senshi where they're each featured in their own little snippet story. The first volume contains seven small chapters, with four featuring Chibi-Usa (one with Hotaru included), one featuring Makoto, one featuring Ami, and one featuring Rei and Minako. I believe Minako never gets her own true short story because of the two large Sailor V volumes which catalogue her own story in better detail. And speaking of Sailor V, that's what these manga read like, especially this first volume. They feel like they're taking a vein from the Sailor V formula, having minor enemies appear and disappear within the span of 30 pages or so. Don't expect much depth, and don't expect any sort of real canon here either. This first volume in particular feels more like filler than genuine development. The stories are flimsy and are only held up by the characters that take part in them. I won't go into too much detail about each chapter because honestly, there isn't much to say about any of them. Nothing particularly interesting happens, no character development is done, it was mostly a waste of my time reading these. The main driver of each plot is the enemy rather than the characters themselves, so the story revolves around their reaction to the enemy rather than any sort of development on their side of the spectrum. I didn't particularly enjoy the Sailor V series, and I didn't particularly enjoy this volume either. It's nice to see Chibi-Usa in the spotlight, but I would've liked to have seen her with her own troupe rather than her being the kid once again.

I'd recommend this volume if you're looking to finish your collection, but not if you're looking for more Sailor Moon entertainment. The stories don't develop any of the characters in particular, save for the story involving Rei and Minako. I felt especially disappointed by Ami's and Makoto's stories that featured them as desperate teenage girls looking to feel bad about themselves. This volume felt like a way to bring in a little more money before the series finished, and I was disappointed at how empty it was. Volume One gets a 4.0 out of 10 from me. I know this is a low score, if you disagree with me I'd love to hear your responses so send me a message or put a comment down below! I'd love to hear your opinions!

Short Stories Volume Two

Volume Two offers a different set-up than the first one, having only three chapters, with one long chapter featuring Luna. Finally the little feline gets a story of her own, and she deserves it! There's one chapter that features Rei afterward, as well as one final chapter looking into the future of the senshi, with their children. This time the chapters (save for the last one) read nicer, having more integrity than just pumping out empty stories expecting us to buy it because Sailor Moon is on the cover. The story featuring Luna drags out a little bit, but overall I enjoyed it. The enemy is more menacing, and the love story is really cute (especially because Luna cannot act out on her impulses because she's a cat!). The story featuring Rei is also much more interesting as we get to see into Rei's persona rather than just featuring her feeling bad about herself. Her pride gets in the way of her love life, and it's nice to get in her head for once. The Rei in this manga is much different than the Rei I come to know from the anime growing up, and I prefer this character who is independent and a little bit heartbroken from a difficult childhood. It was finally a backstory that I was looking for, rather than dealing with the same fare I already knew about her. The last chapter is called "Parallel Sailor Moon" and takes a jump into the future where all the inner senshi's children become Sailor Scouts. Honestly, it's really dumb, and their children all have curvy bodies despite being 9 at the oldest (their bodies rival their parents' in terms of physical development so I really didn't understand this choice at all). It doesn't actually provide a look ahead, as all the inner senshi are exactly the same save for the fact that they talk about their "hubbies" briefly. I really just didn't understand the purpose of this chapter at all. What about Chibi-Usa's troupe of senshi that were suggested to exist in the past volumes? Apparently they're never brought up again after that. The chapter doesn't ruin the book, but it definitely ends the series on a bad note, which really wasn't necessary.

Overall the second volume was a much better read than the first, making it a 7.0 out of 10 for me. If you're not sure which volume to pick up first then perhaps you should skip out on the first volume entirely. I wasn't quick to buy the second volume because of the poor quality of the first short story volume, and thankfully I was pleasantly surprised with the change in tone for this one. Luna's story as well as Rei's are both worth reading so I suggest picking this volume up if you want more Sailor Moon goodness!

TL;DR, My Consensus

And that's the review. It's unfortunate that only half of this series was worth it, but I guess if you total it out of chapters, only two out of ten are worthwhile reads. Maybe three if I include the final chapter in the first book which was more entertaining than the other chapters in that volume. So if you're collecting the manga then the books are nice to own, with nice cover art, but if you're looking for a good read skip to the second volume.

What are your guys' thoughts? Am I being unfair to this short story series, or do you agree with me? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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.

First Impressions of Space Dandy

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Cowboy Bebop, and it deserves the praise it has received. It had interesting plots, interesting characters, and one of the best soundtracks I've heard in an anime. Following the success of Cowboy Bebop, Shinichiro Watanabe is directing Space Dandy, the goofy offbeat comedy. It is being released periodically in Japan almost simultaneously as in North America (through Cartoon Network). Luckily for myself I don't have to wait until the North American debut on January 4th for the English dub (since I prefer subs anyway), so I'm here to give my impression of the show! Keep reading for my thoughts.

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,

Should You Buy Dual Destinies' DLC?

In October we saw the release of Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (that's a mouthful) for the 3DS and a couple weeks ago they released their first DLC case featuring Sasha Buckler and Orla Shipley the Orca. The headline behind this case is that you're defending a killer whale in court, thus, hilarity ensues. I recently purchased and played through the DLC so here's my thoughts on the feature.

The Story

Phoenix Wright games are best known for their complex stories and cases that are full of plot twists and intrigue that keep you interested until the chapter's completion. This case is no different. It is centered around Shipshape Aquarium and the cast of funny characters that inhabit it, animals and all. Orla the killer whale is accused of murdering of one of the stage performers and is going to get euthanized for her dangerous behaviour. Sasha Buckler (Orla's trainer) reaches out to Phoenix to help save Orla by defending her in court. It's Phoenix's first case back from his break and it's a strange one too. The case holds no bearing on the larger story at hand so you won't be losing out on getting the full Dual Destinies experience by skipping it, it's just a fun side story if you're looking for a little more lawyering.

My Opinion

As I just mentioned, it's a side story that doesn't add any context to the main plot of Dual Destinies, so if you're thinking of saving the $6.00 it's not one of those have-to-play experiences. It's about 4 hours long (typical case length) and is worth the extra dollars if you can't get enough Phoenix (and is priced right, as the full game is $29.99 with 5 cases which works out to $6.00 a chapter).

Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, An Amazing New 3D Experience

Have you been missing your fill of Phoenix Wright? Well I certainly have! Available today for download or purchase off the Nintendo E-Shop is Phoenix's latest romp that's shaking the courtrooms! Not only is he back, but he's got new friends with him as well! Anthena Cykes joins you as your new assistant and uses her special ability to sense emotional fluctuations within a witness' voice to find out important testimony. There's also a slew of new faces that need your help, as well as a convict prosecutor?! There's tons of exciting updates including the gorgeous new art all in 3D (including cutscenes!). Any fan who enjoyed previous iterations has to check this out.

For those who are happy to see Phoenix return to the courtroom, you'll also notice Apollo Justice is back. Once again these two are intertwined but not as mysterious mentor to justice apprentice, but rather as equals who fight for justice together. And for those who are wondering where the Fey's are at, Pearl Fey returns as a young woman! And of course Edgey (Miles Edgeworth) has to return as well, I think the fans would be livid otherwise! 

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.

S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figure Review

My S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figure arrived today! I ordered it off of Amazon while it was on for a great deal and paid about $50 USD including tax! Needless to say, this figure is amazing for the price! But let’s get into the nitty gritty details about what makes this figure so awesome, and perhaps talk about the not so awesome things… Anyways, to the review!

So this is how the box shipped to my house, it appears that I got the limited first run bonus!! That made me super happy as I wasn’t sure if I’d be getting it or not. Secondly, it appears to be the Japanese release even though it was being brought over to America which means that there won’t be any truly localized product for North America, so don’t expect to see it in your local hobby store. If you want this item get ASAP and get it with the bonus faces that come with the first time limited run. It includes her winking face and crying face. Both are really nice to have as we all know Usagi is a bit of a cry baby.
One more comment is how stunning this box is. If you’re a collector this piece in the box is a really nice display just as is! It’s also very ecologically friendly as there’s barely any wasted space in there. The box is 7” tall, or 18 cm for all my Non-U.S. readers out there. The figure itself is just a few hairs shy of 6” or roughly 14 and a half cm. She’s pretty small, but that accommodates for her lower price tag. Still a nice centerpiece for sure despite its less than average height.

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side Review

Another title from the guys who brought Hakuoki on the PSP comes their next translated title on both the PSP and Playstation Vita, Sweet Fuse At Your Side. An original title that doesn’t play like most other otome games, offering a strange but interesting story and some new unexpected gameplay mechanics. My review will go in depth into the pros and cons of this title, focusing on story, characters and gameplay. At the end I tally up my overall score on it with my final thoughts. So Let’s get into the review!

The Introduction & Story

The game thrusts you into its story within the first 10 minutes. It doesn’t beat around the bush, you’re playing for life or death (and you can get GameOver!). It has a sort of 999 feel to it as you have to play through games that the terrorist Count Hogstein has created, and if you fail you and everyone playing the game will die. Also like 999 it is text heavy as it is a visual novel first and foremost. This game however is much shorter than 999 as you can finish a story-arc in about 5/6 hours.

It’s set in a theme park centered around video games! How could it not when its host and park designer is Keiji Inafune? So it features some awesome backgrounds while paying homage to titles like Mario Kart, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil etc. The setting is fun and the story is kooky and mysterious enough to make you want more out of the game. The mystery won’t be completely solved after one playthrough, so you have to go through different story-arcs to fully flesh out the mystery behind the Count Hogstein and his treacherous plot. Each story-arc feels meaningful as you get to know the past of different characters as well as their motivations. Each playthrough feels like a genuinely new experience which is unheard of in most otome games, and you have to give Sweet Fuse credit for that.

Sweet Fuse’s story gets an 9.0 out of 10. It’s extensive, mysterious and fascinating as it’s just weird enough to keep you guessing! The story will surprise you as it isn’t clear cut, so even on new playthroughs it throws you more curveballs. Each story-arc changes the story and perspective completely as you gain the affection of the different characters. It was very enjoyable despite it being text heavy (and you can skip through already read text with the square button so the introductions fly by quickly).

Chihayafuru Anime Review

I remember when this show first aired in the Fall Season of 2011. It’s been a while since then, and the show has had 2 seasons worth 50 episodes since. Despite centering around a traditional Japanese memory game called Caruta, it has quite the following from all cultures. It originally caught my eye because it falls under two specific categories, josei and poetry. That couldn’t appeal to me more! I began watching it as soon as it aired in October of that year. Now that its second season wrapped up at the end of June I believe it’s time I reviewed the anime. So let’s get on with it!

The story of Chihayafuru (appropriately titled after its protagonist) follows a second year high school student named Chihaya. She and her two childhood friends Taichi and Arata  bonded over playing Caruta together. But as they got older, Arata moved away and their friendship was severed for many years. Luckily what brought them together in the first place ultimately brought them together again. The story of their friendship however is not exactly the main focus, the story focuses mainly on the culture that surrounds Caruta, for high school students as well as those looking to play on a national scale. The story of the three friends takes a back seat as often practicing, tournaments and Caruta culture is what keeps the story moving forward. Chihaya creates a Caruta club for her high school and so opens up the cast of characters to her teammates as well as other students from other schools. We get to learn the inner workings of different types of characters, their mentality towards the sport and their thoughts as they play the game. There’s a lot to this anime and that’s a strong point. They offer so many perspectives that you can get wrapped up in all the little details pretty quickly.

Codename:Sailor V Manga Review

Along with the re-release of the Sailor Moon Manga (which has been fully released into 12 volumes, I cover it here if you’re interested) was the re-release of 2 volumes that make up Naoko Takeuchi’s preceding series to Sailor Moon, Codename: Sailor V. For those who need a bit of background to this, Takeuchi began work on Sailor V before Sailor moon. This series was serialized in Kodansha’s magazine Run-Run, but a year after its development she began work on her Sailor Moon series as well. As her second series progressed she slowly faded this storyline and segued it in to feature her Sailor Moon manga, leaving Codename: Sailor V a short series of 16 installments. It features Minako Aino who’s character is unchanged from her character in Sailor Moon, the only difference is her change in costume. However, in this series she is in the forefront, introduced into the series as a peppy and easily excitable young teen. She dreams of being an idol and finding a boyfriend, the typical young teen attitude. You get to learn about her past as a Sailor Guardian before she is introduced later on in the Sailor Moon series, as well as learn about her struggles growing up and accepting responsibility along with finding her first love (this side-story is well worth reading if you’re a huge Sailor Moon fan, it has a big twist to it that fans of the series will not expect!).

If you read the manga you will soon realize how this manga has a very different tone to it when compared to the Sailor Moon franchise. It takes a very lighthearted look at being a teenager magical girl whereas Sailor Moon is filled more with emotional struggle. The only real struggle Sailor Venus has to deal with is her own clumsiness preventing her from making an idol debut; it’s kind of silly, it never delves very deep into her emotions. The manga has a very shoujo feel to it, so those looking for a dynamic deep story will not find it here. The manga feels a lot like the Sailor Moon anime, it’s repetitive with little character development in each chapter. The only mover in the story is Minako herself, her friends and family make no impact or lasting impression. You can argue Minako herself doesn’t leave much of an impression either, but she does show some development by the end of the final volume.

Review of Kids on the Slope (Sakamichi no Apollon)

For any josei anime fan I’d recommend this anime in a heartbeat. It’s got day-to-day life, romance and friendship, as well as some great music! If you’ve watched Nodame Cantabile don’t miss this anime, you will love it! That aside, let’s get into the review…
We’re introduced to Kaoru, the typical nerdy quiet high school kid. He’s had trouble making and keeping friends in the past so he’s hesitant to get to know anyone. You know what’s coming for him, of course he meets an eccentric schoolmate named Sentaro who loves playing drums and causing trouble. The two are opposites, but in this scenario opposites attract and they soon become friends. What brings them together you might ask? Music. Jazz music. This anime is set in the 1960’s when jazz was a popular and unconventional style of music (especially in Japan). Music and hardship push this show along as their friendship meets a head at the end of their high school careers. With romantic interests like their shared friend Ritsuko, it has all the elements of a daily life drama that also has a fulfilling and optimistic message. The show has a solid foundation that makes for an enjoyable series. It has a realistic tone that makes the story feel real, and for those out of high school, it’ll make you remember how you felt about friends and love all those years ago.



My favourite aspect of the show has to be the friends Sentaro and Kaoru, how they change and become men, breaking down their walls and having a friendship that’s so believable you feel like you’ve met someone like them before. I  personally enjoyed the character of Sentaro over the character of Kaoru, although the two were necessary together. Sentaro takes on a lot of responsibility towards his family, and lashes out in bursts of violence because of how he interprets protecting those he cares about. I love how he changes, although the more serious he gets, the more tragic he becomes. He’s very relatable for those who take on more responsibility than they should because they protect those they care about. Kaoru on the other hand is analytical and pensive, but as the show progresses he relaxes and fills out into the man he wants to be. Although I don’t personally grapple with the problems Kaoru faced throughout the show, I feel like he’s the best kind of best friend character, he’s loyal and kind, and becomes someone any girl could imagine herself being with. Speaking of girls, I unfortunately did not enjoy the character of Ritsuko. She played more of the girl there for the relationship dynamic than anything else. This would make you believe this show is more geared towards young men, I would however disagree because the story is relatable no matter the gender. I wish her character had more development or at least more personality than the sweet girl next door. Her failings aside, the two best friends make up for any lack of character development on Ritsuko’s part.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Max Factory Figmas Review

Among the figures that I own, this set of figures is one of my favourites. They’re vibrant, colourful and true to the show with lots of accessories and tons of fun to be had! Setting up scenes from the show/films along with creating ones of your own is always enjoyable. I’ll go into detail about each of the figures, as well as show off their accessories. Glamour shots of the figures is also ahead!
Feel free to use this as a guide when purchasing your own Madoka Magica figmas online. Be careful of fraudulent China made figures! If the price seems too good to be true it probably is! Go to websites like AmiAmi or Hobby Search and check out their boxes in detail so you know what to look for when buying off of non-hobby sites like Amazon or Ebay. I’ve purchased fraudulent and legitimate figures off of Ebay so you have to be careful when purchasing off those sites.

Kaname Madoka

Madoka’s figma is pinky pink making her one of the cutest figures of the set for sure. Her dress is very well detailed, with each bow and ribbon looking perfect and plush on her dress even though they’re plastic. She is very flexible despite that big skirt so you can put her into any action position. She comes with a sitting Kyubey, a closed and open bow as well as 4 arrows for it. She comes with 2 Grief Seeds and 2 other faces (scared and determined). She’s a smaller figure along with the others in the series, they all stand at about 11.5 cm (4.5 in).

One thing to be careful with are those small accessories! Kyubey’s ear rings are detachable, and those Grief Seeds are super tiny. Be careful when playing with these because losing an item is always heartbreaking and to get a replacement piece you’d have to replace the whole figure (they do not sell accessories separately). One gripe is that Kyubey is a little top heavy and never seems to sit without some struggle. Otherwise this is a fantastic figure.

Here are all accessories (not shown is the stand). Every figma figure comes with a ziplock bag for all the accessories, however if you’re collecting like I am then keeping the box is a must. The box however is nothing exciting to look at (sorry I did not take photos of the box). If you keep the box everything fits nicely inside; personally I suggest keeping the box.

This figure is an 8.0 out of 10 in my opinion. It loses points because of the lack of a Soul Gem (all these figmas don’t have one) as well as being a bit underwhelming in terms of accessories. Later in this post I review the Ultimate Madoka figure which also includes the same open bow with slightly different arrows. Why have the same accessories? Give us a second Charlotte form or other witches for our enjoyment. Just a personal disappointment but anywho, onto the next figure!