KrisZ on Anime, Manga, Cosplay and Video Games

Feel the love? Within circles of anime fans, names are given to character types to categorize them in neat little boxes. Tsundere is a term that is affectionately given to a character that has fallen in love with someone else, but stubbornly refuses to admit that they are in love. In anime and manga, there is another type of character that is affectionately called “yandere” in many circles. This name is given to a character that appears cute and harmless on the surface, but underneath they are controlling, obsessive, and even insane about the person they are in love with. It describes a character that has a level of mental instability, and uses the idea of romance as a way to fill the void. Yandere characters in anime and manga are unique, but they represent a larger issue. What is behind the yandere personality and why is it so popular in anime and manga?

Growlanser II: A Sense of Justice Developer: Chunsoft American Publisher: Working Designs Platform: PS2 Genre: Strategy RPG In the fast- paced video game industry, franchises are developed and dropped in the blink of an eye. The strategy RPG genre has seen some interesting franchises, like Final Fantasy Tactics, Valkyria Chronicles, and Shining Force. What is not as well-known is another franchise by RPG developer Chunsoft, known as Growlanser. The series started with the release of the original Growlanser on the PlayStation 1 back in 1999. With six iterations released in Japan (last one in 2007), the franchise has a couple of hallmarks to set it apart from other Japanese RPG’s. The first main hallmark is the unique strategy RPG battle system that is unlike any other Japanese RPG. The second hallmark of the franchise is the gorgeous character designs of Satoshi Urushihara. I will focus on Growlanser II, released in the United States by Working Designs. It was a unique RPG experi...

The idea of artificial intelligence and man’s dependence on machines has always been a popular theme told over many stories. At the sunset of the dot-com bubble, CLAMP released Chobits, a Seinen manga that would become one of their highest selling manga of all time. Chobits was originally released ten years ago in early 2001. Chobits was a very popular manga when it came out in Japan and the USA, after release it held the crown of the highest-selling manga in the United States until the release of Fruits Basket. The combination of beautiful art and copious fanservice that pandered to its young adult market made it extremely popular; a combination of the two doesn’t make a manga relevant long into the future. What makes Chobits relevant in the modern world is the allegorical tale on humanity isolating itself through the dependence of technology to communicate and at worst, as a substitute for personal communication.

A little over a year ago, GUST’s Atelier Franchise had its first USA release on the current generation of consoles with Atelier Rorona. It was a return to the roots of the franchise, with a stronger emphasis on alchemy and had less of a focus on adventuring. In my review I praised the delightful soundtrack, fascinating characters, and the jovial environment that is becoming rarer in games. Atelier Totori was released a year after Rorona was released in the United States. The game features upgraded graphics, a stronger focus on adventuring, and refined addictive gameplay that goes above and beyond the previous iteration. Atelier Totori is a wonderful experience that that is one of the best games released this year; it is a gem that shouldn’t be overlooked. Totori in the Character Art Taking place 5 years after the events of Atelier Rorona, the game focuses on Rorolina Frixell’s student Tootoria Helmold. Tootoria (better known at Totori) is an introverted and bashful 13 year old gi...

Titles Reviewed: Codename Sailor V #1 Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch #1 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon #1 Earlier this week I started posting my availability during PMX and Comikaze so that I can start planning shoots. To my surprise, I have a bunch of people requesting me to do photoshoots right off the bat. I noticed that in the past I used to be the 2nd tier photographer that people would go to for shoots once the other (busier) photographers are filled up. I guess my star must be rising in the cosplay photography world if I have become the first tier photographer that people are requesting, or it could just be my imagination. Slather yourself with sugary goodness as this slate of Bite Sized Manga Reviews focuses on three manga with strong princesses. We have the silly adventures of Sailor Venus in Nakao Takeuchi's Codename Sailor V . Experience the romantic troubles of a magical girl mermaid in Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch . On the tail end of the reviews is the retu...

Kodansha has announced that Sailor Moon Volume 1 will be getting another print run of 50,000 after selling out of its first print run of 50,000 copies in less than four weeks. The second print run brings the grand total of the Sailor Moon volume 1 manga printed to 100,000 copies. Kodansha's release of Sailor Moon marks the second release of the Sailor Moon manga in the states. Tokyopop originally released Sailor Moon under its MIXX line and became the first manga to sell a million copies in the United States. It was loved by fans since it gave them a glimpse into Nakao Takeuchi's original manga that started a phenomenon. The original Tokyopop release had a flawed translation, flimsy paper quality, and the books broke over time, but it obtained high prices online due to the dedicated fanbase and limited print run that ended shortly after release. Kodansha released a second edition a couple of years ago that garnered much attention due to some redrawn art, gorgeous c...

When Valkyria Chronicles came out in 2008, it was hailed as a revolutionary step in the strategy RPG subgenre. It had a great cast of characters, a touching war story, great visuals, amazing music, and incredible gamplay. It combined all of those aspects in a unique game that has yet to be equaled. As fans waited for a release, they were let down when the game was announced on the PSP. There was a lot of rage among people who chided the Handhed Console platform and called it a step back in the franchise. Hyperbole and overreaction filled the internet as people vented their frustration. Valkyria Chronicles 2 did eventually come out, and the people who played it experienced a wonderful game that had polished gameplay refinements from the previous iteration. The third game was announced, with a darker storyline and a focus to the battlefield storyline that made the franchise so popular. It was hailed as a return to form for the franchise. After its Japanese release, all was quiet until...

The new season of Anime is upon us, for part 1 here are short previews of Working!!, Persona 4, Shinryaku! Ika Musume, and Boku wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai. They represent a wide variety of anime that appeals to many different markets. The source material is varied in all of them, some of them starting off as manga, other anime starting off as novels or video games. Of the anime series in here, many of them where originally written or planned by female artists. Working!! Studio: A-1 Pictures Directed by: Ootsuki Atsushi Source Material : Manga (by Karino Takatsu) Working is based off of a four panel strip published created by Karino Takatsu, published in SquareEnix's Young Gangan. It follows the adventures of Sota Takanashi in the family restaurant named Wagnaria. In his workplace is a collection of eclectic coworkers that spice up his regular days. Poplar is a high school girl who is really short, she looks like an elementary school girl and her coworkers poke fun of her sho...

Titles Reviewed: Shugo Chara #1, Rozen Maiden #1, and DearS #1 Looking at my plate of anime conventions, my stomach will be full of convention goodness this year and the next (save for a certain con in Anaheim I am banned from because of my position in Anime Expo). Ready for the new edition of Bite Sized Manga Reviews? This time we have a Peach Pit edition that focuses on the saccharine sweet goodness of Shugo Chara, the boobalicous bombshells of  DearS , and the misantrhopic adventures of a elementary school student in Rozen Maiden . The unique mix of genres and storylines in these manga are a shining example of the talents of manga duo Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara that make up Peach Pit. Without further ado, here are short reviews of the first volume of their three iconic franchises. Shugo Chara #1 Published by: Del Rey Manga Cost: $10.99 Each child has a guardian egg that hold innocent personifications of desires and dreams, as they grow older the egg disappears once a ...

Atelier Rorona Developer: GUST Publisher: NIS America Platform: PlayStation 3 The Atelier franchise is the bread and butter of Japanese developer GUST since 1997. With Atelier Totori coming out in the USA last week, this review is a little late to say the least. This GUST franchise is known for its unconventional RPG mechanics that has a strong focus on the creation of items, strong female leads, and multiple endings based on the direction that the player wants. Atelier Rorona is the 17th game in the franchise and it is the first game in the franchise on the high-definition generation. For it's first high-definition release, GUST's Atelier Rorona is a unique game with great graphics, an interesting cast, and a very unconventional happy-go-lucky atmosphere that is missing from most modern games. Atelier Rorona is about a girl named Rorolina Frixell (Rorona) who is an apprentice to a talented alchemist named Astrid. The problem is that Astrid has a bad personality and her ...