Princess Jellyfish

Okay! Here is my first post as a solo blogger! I have decided to write about an ongoing series I dearly enjoy. The title alone will have you interested as it is made up of two words you wouldn’t expect to see next to each other. The series I am talking about is none other than Akiko Higashimura’s award winning Princess Jellyfish (Japanese: Kuragehime).

Princess Jellyfish is a josei/shojo manga that began its serialisation in Kodansha manga magazine Kiss on November 10, 2008. This awesome read later went on to win the Kodansha award for best shojo manga in 2010. Now in 2015, Princess Jellyfish is up to its 15^th volume and shows no sign of slowing down. This manga works comedy, drama, and romance into its unique story as the main otaku cast, plus one attractive crossdressing boy, embark on a journey to save their beloved home, Amamizukan, from the clutches of a voluptuous land shark. Their journey leads them to the realm of the fashionable and beyond into the clothing industry where the main character’s, Tsukimi, jellyfish inspired dress designs are sought after.

Higashimura’s Princess Jellyfish received an anime adaption in 2010 and was produced by Brain’s Base. The anime adaption was directed by Takahiro Omori (Durarara!!) and ran for 11 episodes between October 14 and December 30. The opening theme song was “Koko Dake no Hanashi” (Just Between Us) by Chatmonchy with the ending being “Kimi no Kirei ni Kizuite Okure” (Realise You Are Beautiful) by Sambomaster. The amazing sound track for the anime was composed by Makoto Yoshimori. The song Amazing Amars from the soundtrack can be viewed here. The anime stuck true to the manga, but, it was really disappointing that it only received the one season.

I recently learned that Princess Jellyfish received a live film adaption late last year. The Princess Jellyfish movie was directed by Taisuke Kawamura and produced by Asmik Ace Entertainment, airing in Japanese theatres on December 27, 2014. I have not seen the film because I can’t understand a word of Japanese, but from the trailer it looks like a comedic film which has been well done. I liked how the actors and actresses portrayed the strong personalities of the characters and was really blown away by the detail of the Amamizukan apartment building at the start of the trailer.

Looking at Princess Jellyfish, I believe there are some significant lessons to be learned. This manga deals with self-confidence and consumerism issues along with ideas of inner beauty and that anyone can be a princess. This idea that anyone can be a princess is shown throughout the series with the transformation of the Amars into fashionable beauties. You might think that this manga is promoting superficiality, but I believe that it is instead commenting on the idea that anyone can be beautiful and still be true to themselves by not compromising who they really are deep inside.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

You can read the Princess Jellyfish manga here or watch the anime here. But please remember, if you enjoy the series then support the author by purchasing their work.

Notice/Administrative Changes/Welcome!

Hello everyone!

Tomoharu here to announce a few admin changes. Until recently this blog was run under the title The Geek Syndicate by me and a friend called Minion.

Minion and I have decided to write separately so this blog has now become my own blog. Minion didn’t end up writing anything for this blog so all content so far has been written by me.

I suppose this is also a welcome of sorts. So welcome to the Blogging Otaku! I hope we can all get along in the future. My first blog as a solo act should be up in a few days lol. Look forward to it!

Nisekoi: False Love

Hello everyone! This review is going to be on that shounen romcom Nisekoi (Nisekoi: False Love) by manga author Naoshi Komi. Nisekoi is a story that revolves around Raku Ichijo, a sweet young man with romantic sensibilities and great cooking skills. Raku made a promise with a girl 10 years in his past that when they next met, the girl would unlock his locket with her key and they would get married. There’s only one problem, Raku is the son of a leader in the yakuza faction, making him the heir to the faction, and he’s not happy about it. It is ten years later and Raku has cherished his locket but finds himself in a sticky situation when new girl Chitoge Kirisaki arrives from America leaving a lasting bad impression. Along with her arrival comes a new gang who quickly engage in fights with the yakuza bringing violence to the area, however, Raku’s father has a plan, and that is to throw his son together with the opposing gang leaders daughter who just happens to be Chitoge. While hating each other’s guts, the two must pretend to be in love for the next three years! Other complications arise when Raku’s crush, Kosaki Onodera, may be the girl he made that promise with all those years ago.

Other complications arise but you’ll have to read the manga or watch the anime to find out more. The manga is ongoing and the anime has finished its first season with 20 episodes, but Seven at Seventhstyle says a second season has been announced to air in April of 2015. Seven also says that the first season deteriorated by the episode where “nothing was achieved and more girls were meaninglessly introduced to help further obscure the goal,” while adding their thoughts on the second season which they believe will continue its streak of unfulfilled promises. I have to agree that the series does seem to wander aimlessly forward and I do think that some of the girls were meaninglessly introduced, but I think their role is not to be considered as serious romantic interests for Raku but as characters that help the main romantic interests such as Chitoge and Kosaki to further stand out. In terms of the story there are lots of moments where we are learning more about the characters and even if this seems to be pointless I think it helps us to sympathise with the characters and also aids us in identifying the relationships in the series. Overall this romcom is a great little comedy that is still developing and for this reason I think its aimless march is fine as long as when it ends it is convincing and well done.

You can read the Nisekoi manga here or watch the anime here. Please buy Naoshi Komi’s work as he earns nothing from fan translations or video sites.

3 of 5 stars.

Tomoharu

Blue Exorcist

Hello everyone! Today I am going to be talking about the manga series Blue Exorcist (Ao No Exorcist) by author Kazue Kato. Blue Exorcist is an ongoing shounen type manga which gained an anime adaption in 2011. I first heard about this manga and anime from an article I read in a magazine and became totally engaged with how the writer was describing the demonic tale. Blue Exorcist is about a 15 year old boy called Rin Okumura who is actually the son of Satan and his struggle to become an exorcist to avenge the death of his father figure, Shiro Fujimoto, and to become stronger to protect those he cares for. As the series progresses Rin faces hostility from his comrades, friends, and even his twin brother as he trains to become an exorcist.

I watched the anime for Blue Exorcist long before I read the manga and I was quite confused when I compared the two stories. Both the manga and the anime shared a similar storyline to a point and then they completely diverged from each other with the manga going into an arc about the impure king whose toxic spores would kill thousands while the anime launched into an arc about Satan trying to invade the human world of Assiah from his domain in the demon realm, Gehenna. Despite the confusion I think it is entirely possible to enjoy both the manga and the anime and in the case of the manga we can expect much more from this series as it is still ongoing.

Kazue Kato’s Blue Exorcist is dynamic, funny, and angst filled all at the same time. Her main character, Rin, faces adversity at every turn but in the end comes out on top whether in a fight with the enemy or feuding with his friends. This series can teach a person about exclusion and acceptance through Rin who is shunned for being the son of Satan even though it is beyond his control, however, his friends come to realise this and accept him for who he is. In some cases, his friends don’t exclude him because he is different or regarded as the enemy, but because he tries to handle things on his own without relying on his friends. Overall I would say that this shounen series is one that many teens and perhaps even adults could enjoy with great action scenes and visuals mixed in with humour to bring some light to a dark story yet not making a mockery of the characters suffering.

You can read the manga for Blue Exorcist here or watch the anime here. If you enjoy the series then please buy Kazue Kato’s work as she gets no money from fan translation or the video sites

4 of 5 stars.

Tomoharu

What did you eat yesterday?

Welcome to The Geek Syndicate everyone! Today, I would like to talk about the manga series What did you eat yesterday? (Kinou Nani Tabeta?) by shojo manga author Fumi Yoshinaga, better known for her series Antique Bakery. What did you eat yesterday? is an ongoing BL or shounen-ai slice of life manga that depicts the realities of gay couple Shiro Kakei and Kenji Yabuki. The series revolves around the life of 40 something Shiro, a disgruntled lawyer who looks to his and Kenji’s future by saving money where he can so that they can live comfortably in their old age since they are unable to have children to take care of them. Shiro and Kenji save money by renting a cheap apartment and allocating themselves a monthly budget of 25,000 yen for food among other things. Although Shiro comes across as a cheapskate, he greatly cares for those around him and expresses his love in different ways whether it is buying Kenji’s favourite fruit as a treat or helping his parents out of financial difficulties.

I bet you are all thinking though why the series is called What did you eat yesterday? If you have guessed that the series has something to do with food then you are absolutely correct. Shiro is a secret foodie with a huge passion for food, in each chapter you will find him preparing something delicious with the ingredients he has bought on special – occasionally splurging – and never making the same thing twice. This manga is not just a story about a gay couple, it is also a cook book of sorts with Shiro guiding you every step of the way, whether he is making strawberry jam for his and Kenji’s morning toast, or eggplants and tomatoes with Chinese-style spicy pork for dinner after a hard day of work. Shiro finds cooking a relaxing activity and has no problems with cooking every night as it allows him to be creative and express himself.

This series is important in the way it depicts the lives of these two men, showing some of the realities experienced by homosexual men and women the world over such as parents who reject their children or struggle to fully accept them and how in some workplaces it is okay to be openly gay while in others not so much. What did you eat yesterday? offers a more realistic representation of a world than other BL or shounen-ai works, it does not present an unrealistic world with unrealistic scenarios but instead brings to life a story that could actually take place in real life making it an enriching tale. Just Hungry blogger Makiko Itoh said that while she was “initially drawn to this manga because of the food… I also fell in love with the story itself. It’s one of the nicest depictions of an ordinary middle-aged couple who happen to be gay that I’ve seen anywhere.” Without a doubt I would highly recommend this work as the first 3 volumes were just magic to read and I absolutely can’t wait for more!

You can view What did you eat yesterday? here, but if you enjoy the series please support Fumi Yoshinaga by buying her work, she earns nothing from fan translations.

4.5 of 5 stars.

Tomoharu