My Girlfriend's a Geek v1.0

This blog is a record of battle as dictated by a man with a fujoshi girlfriend.
Okay, that was a lie. I’m not fighting at all.
The war is purely one-sided. Each day I am dragged further and further into the world of otaku.
I cannot be held responsible for any damages incurred by reading this blog
and falling into the same predicament.
There is much otaku talk contained within, so please follow your directions carefully, and do not exceed your recommended dosage.






Story


My Girlfriend's a Geek or as I like to call it for short, MGG, is as mentioned in the above synopsis, a blog created by Pentabu. Right from the very first page Pentabu caught my attention and made me laugh like no tomorrow. 


Is there really a plot? 


Well no. This is Pentabu's blog about his experience with his girlfriend Y-ko. Nothing more. The reason it is a novel is because his blog became very popular years ago when it was online, but what's important is that it can relate to many readers that know a fujoshi, is a fujoshi, or dates a fujoshi. This is what makes this novel amusing, because we then know where Pentabu is coming from. 


The one thing about this novel that might lose your interest, or make it one of those novel you just wouldn't even read, is if you wouldn't know or are aware of the term fujoshi. 


Something special about this novel is the format as you will be able to see from my copy:

Notice how its written similar to maybe a stage play format, and in the left-bottom corner we see a small manga strip, adding humor to the event.








Characters


Pentabu


The protagonist and storyteller of the novel. The one that  had his life changed as soon as he started to date Y-ko. The timid one that can't say "no" to the girlfriend and is walked all over by her. He is a passive character, making me feel bad for him at times really. But interesting enough, he has an open mind and because he loves Y-ko is able to at least tolerate some of her antics.


Y-ko


 The fujoshi woman that cosplays and has plenty of fujoshi friends. She is bossy towards Pentabu, but has a kind heart, in a way. Because of her hobby, Pentabu created a blog, and quite frankly it seems it didn't matter to her, but I might be wrong, so don't quote me on that. She is a very entertaining person to read about it.




Review


If you want a good laugh, especially if you know what a fujoshi is, then you should purchase the novel because from beginning to end you will laugh. As I said before, this novel was based on a blog, so it uses a lot of the reader's imagination, but its worth it. So please support Pentabu, Y-ko, and Yen Press by purchasing this book.

Somewhat of a Manga Haul

So school has been keeping me busy with focusing on Act II, which I hope for the best. Who would've thought that Act II is the type of 60 pages one dreads...

They are intimidating actually, but when isn't it? A writer, whether published or not must tackled obstacle to be able to improve. Those challenges only make us stronger, so that's something I tried reminding myself. But enough about that.

I wanted to share with you all what mangas I'll be writing about for the upcoming weeks. In fact I've just received some of these (I buy online :) ), while some I haven't been able to write about at all.

So let's begin:

My Girlfriend's a Geek by Pentabu

I bought the novel before the manga and I came to love the series. The novel is actually the blog Pentabu wrote about his adventure with his geeky girlfriend and its one of those that make you laugh-out-loud. The manga is just the novel with pretty illustrations. So I can't wait to share these!

Death Note v. 2 and Pandora Hearts v. 3

I've been itching to opened them up and read! L is in the cover for volume 2 so that makes me happy. Now for those that don't know, I actually watched the Death Note anime before reading the manga, but I like the manga more actually.  As for Pandora Hearts, I've been avoiding the anime until I catch up on the English manga releases actually, but its been tempting, so  I can't wait!

Bunny Drop by Yumi Unita

I felt in love with volume 1 and instantly purchased volume 2. Yeah, I've flipped through the book but haven't sat down to read. I love the pink cover though, a soft pastel. I think it fits nicely really. And Rin looks so pretty here. I really can't wait to read this too! 

I also have a list of mangas I also want to read and I'm always looking for new ones. I'm really open minded when it comes to them. Just give me a story with a plot, character development, and pretty illustrations and I might consider them.

Till next time!

Pandora Hearts v.2

              

Oz Vessalius may have survived his stint in the Abyss, but he is no closer to discovering the truth behind the “sin” for which he was condemned. On the advice of a mysterious man who appeared to him when Alice regained the first of her memories, Oz, along with Alice and Pandora’s Raven, embarks on a mission to investigate the site of his disastrous coming-of-age ceremony in search of answers. However, what begins as a simple investigation becomes the revelation of a harsher reality, which comes swooping down on Oz as the hands of the clock continue ticking away mercilessly…

Volume two brought many unexpected surprises and answered quite a  few questions that we, as readers, might have had after volume one.Of course Mochizuki-sensei made the use of backstories for these:


Friendship between Oz and Gilbert 
Going back to volume one, we saw Oz and Gilbert to be friends, and we had an idea that they were close, but volume two explained the type of friendship they had, which was summarized by a phrase Gilbert said, "we are linked by our shadows, not by our light."  This friendship is powerful and it might be one that cannot be broken. Now we can understand why it is that Gilbert tolerates everything Oz does, and yet we know, that Oz truly cares for Gilbert. It was extremely touching. And I can't wait to see more of this friendship.


Relationship with dad
Oz relationship with dad  is not only mysterious but full of regrets. Oz regrets not asking his father why he was hated so much by him, but never got to it. So now that he is on a journey regarding the Abyss, he doesn't want to not regret anything. It might have been just miscommunication between father and son, a probability, but we won't be able to know till the next volume. ( Well, I hope so!)


Alice's memory
We were finally able to have a snippet of Alice's memory in volume two. And if many of you remember volume one, there was someone in the shadows when Oz met Alice for the first time, that said person was in her memories too! He is linked to her memories disappearing, and I want to know how they are all chained together. Yes, Alice looked so innocent and happy in her past, and I started to wonder, what happened that made her not only a chain, but a brat. But don't worry, I still think she rocks!


Volume two  explains so much to us.


For example we find out what the Incuse is and how it works.  Why Oz is very important, for he is the key to the Abyss. The Baskervilles are tie into this (the guys that sent Oz to the Abyss). There is also the connection between Raven and Gilbert, so when I first read about it I was stunt! I wasn't expecting it, and I congratulate Mochizuki-sensei for making me go agape about it.


Review
Pandora Hearts volume 2 is amazing! And as you can see through my breakdown, there is so much detail giving to us by Mochizuki-sensei to the point where it wasn't overwhelming. It all flowed nicely and at a constant pace. The art continues to be beautiful yet dark. But what I loved the most is that, even though this manga has so much darkness and sadness, Jun Mochizuki gave us pinches of comedy, creating a balance to the story. 


This continuation is a great story to a wonderful series. So please support Jun Mochizuki and purchase her manga!

Pandora Hearts v.1

By: Jun Mochizuki
Publisher: Yen Press

The air of celebration surrounding fifteen-year-old Oz Vessalius’s coming-of-age ceremony quickly turns to horror when he is condemned for a sin about which he knows nothing. He is thrown into an eternal, inescapable prison known as the Abyss from which there is no escape. There, he meets a young girl named Alice, who is not what she seems. Now that the relentless cogs of fate have begun to turn, do they lead only to crushing despair for Oz, or is there some shred of hope for him to grasp on to?








Story

Pandora Hearts is the dark-theme version of Alice in Wonderland that  keeps us turning the page.  The pace of the story is easy to follo, and nothing is what it seems, which is a  plus for some of us.  Jun Mochizuki did not rushed her story, which is why we have so much detail and symbolism, and we have a great cast that balances each other out. But what I liked the most is that even though this is somewhat of a serious story,  we still find scenes that make us laugh; giving a balance between horror and comedy.

Characters

Oz  Vessalius

He's the protagonist of the series with a very care-free attitude that cherishes the relationship with his younger sister, Ada, and his best friend, Gilbert. He is caring and lonely ( of course he won't admit it) and doesn't really have a relationship with his dad. In fact his dad is a mystery. But most importantly, he becomes Alice's contractor. For someone that has gone through a lot in his past, he knows how to not make others worry, making us, the reader, come to like him, and think as to why someone like him would have to go through so much.

Alice a.k.a B-rabbit

She's a pretty awesome character. She's cynical, crazy, powerful, and out for revenge, since she's been in the Abyss for quite sometime. But underneath all that though, we come to see that she really is nice and caring, and would like to know more about her past. Now what caught my attention about this particular Alice is that she doesn't let others rule over her.

Gilbert

In a way I feel bad for him because he gets picked on and pranked on by none other than Oz, his friend and master.  There is more to Gilbert's past, but we are not informed in this volume. Oh, and he dislikes cat.

Lady Sharon

When she is first introduced Oz gets all fluster and finds her to be the most attractive young lady. Not only does she come from a wealthy family, and looks like such a nice and polite young lady, but carries as secret, which we don't know till almost at the end of the volume. 

Xerxes Break

To me he seems more like Lady Sharon's shadow with a sarcastic attitude that carries a talking doll name Emily.. Yet I can't help but think that he has a secret agenda.  But what would that be?

Baskerville Race

They are the ones that cause Oz  adventure. Whatever it is that they were trying to accomplished sure didn't go as planned. 

Final Thoughts

Maybe this one story might have quite an amount of characters that seems to be a very important part of the plot, so what I'm hoping for is for Jun Mochizuki to not lose track of what she wants to tell us; without dropping important characters and adding additional characters that might be no real use for.  As well as following her plot.

But most importantly, this is definitely a series to look into, if you are looking for something with a hint of horror and comedy, in a twisted world.