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RIGHT TURN ONLY!! - Bread of Life




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Mistypearl



Joined: 03 Oct 2008
Posts: 517
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:10 am Reply with quote
Ha, my sister has the Hana-Kimi manga in her room, I stayed away from her shelves ever since I grew curious about the mysterious backwards "Chobits" book on her shelf.... in the 5th grade. I now know when something says 16+/18+ on the back... I should leave it be Rolling Eyes

But eh, I think I'll go over to the next room and scavenge ;D

*taking advantage of sister's modest manga collection while she's away at college, whoo-hoo~!*
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minakichan





PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:10 am Reply with quote
I... liked the ending to Hanakimi. I'm glad they didn't go the overused LOL AND THEN THEY MADE LOVE route, and I thought the farewell scene was well done (if a bit cheesy), and the fact that it wasn't a concrete happily ever after ending AND THEN THEY GET MARRIED AND HAVE 25 BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN was REFERESHING.

There is a "special" chapter that establishes Sano and Mizuki's lives after this whole ordeal that wraps everything up pretty well, although I don't imagine it'll ever show up stateside.
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posterior_praiser



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:31 am Reply with quote
Hana Kimi fizzled for me toward the end aswell. The last volume came and I honestly felt like barely anything had actually transpired in the past 23. The ending was just kind of...dull. There was some conclusion, but it felt like 'the big reveal' should have happened much earlier in the story to allow the main relationship to flourish a bit more. I fond myself not really caring about what happened with the main couple, which is pretty sad in a shoujo manga. I enjoyed the story well enough, but for me it was not all it was hyped up to be.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15577
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:25 am Reply with quote
Yeah, I'm getting bored with Mushishi, too. The manga-ka's just phoning it in at this point...
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Kamenriderfan555



Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:40 am Reply with quote
aliens have come to earth, and they all look like catpeople, and humans have essentially bound them to slavery, and the random alien planet they came from actually mandates it.

Uh... With the exception of catpeople, didn't Japan already do that? With DearS?
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kirbyboy102



Joined: 04 Jul 2007
Posts: 157
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:50 am Reply with quote
Kamenriderfan555 wrote:

Uh... With the exception of catpeople, didn't Japan already do that? With DearS?


That Tokyopop also published and probably wants to make more money from this book based on similar plot ideas? Yep. Japan already did it.

But hey, they have CATBOYS! That's different! *sarcasm*
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MrAnimeSpecialist



Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Posts: 124
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:57 am Reply with quote
Hopefully, Viz will finish publishing all the Yakitate!! Japan books and license the anime already (once they're done with Hunter X Hunter, of course).
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scortia



Joined: 27 Mar 2006
Posts: 174
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:30 am Reply with quote
Crap, Gankutsuou vol 1 is out already? Time to toss my Japanese copy and actually be able to read what the heck is going on!
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liannesentar



Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 30
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:05 pm Reply with quote
minakichan wrote:
I... liked the ending to Hanakimi. I'm glad they didn't go the overused LOL AND THEN THEY MADE LOVE route...There is a "special" chapter that establishes Sano and Mizuki's lives after this whole ordeal that wraps everything up pretty well, although I don't imagine it'll ever show up stateside.


Are you talking about the chapter where everyone gets together a few years later for a wedding (albeit not Sano and Mizuki's)? That WAS a much more acceptable ending, but the fact that Viz didn't publish it, yet it published a different side story not published in the books (about the psychic kid) in Shoujo Beat magazine, confuses me to no end. I'm pretty sure Nakajo was supposed to do a new Hana Kimi chapter in HanaYume just a few months ago, too...I forgot to follow up and see if that actually happened.

And I've never heard a couple jumping into bed at the end of a romantic comedy/drama described as the "LOL AND THEN THEY MADE LOVE route," but you just made me laugh so hard that I have to adapt that terminology into my everyday conversations. I certainly don't think Sano and Mizuki needed to sleep together at the end of the series...but at 16+, I would've liked to see a bit more cathartic making out.
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Dragynstorm



Joined: 05 Jun 2007
Posts: 131
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:38 pm Reply with quote
The ending to HanaKimi bugged me too. I just wanted MORE. Yes, they are together, but I want to SEE them together more. I don't care if it's in bed or walking together hand in hand in a park. I just want to see them doing couple-things.

But there was supposed to be another HanaKimi chapter recently? I'm going to have to try to dig that up!


I constantly (shamefully) forget about Yakitate! I'm going to need to get caught up!
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nargun



Joined: 29 Mar 2006
Posts: 930
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:28 pm Reply with quote
I never thought that Yakitate Japan was, strictly speaking, a parody.
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Cait



Joined: 29 May 2008
Posts: 503
PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:34 pm Reply with quote
Oh, man, I totally forgot I wrote that Hana Kimi review. That was like months ago. Now I'm angry about it again! *shakes fist in Nakajo's direction*

I think my biggest issue with the ending wasn't that they didn't sleep together (they did get in bed together quite a bit in the series, though) was that they never once addressed the issue of their romantic relationship after Mizuki decided to leave. Sano spent two years hiding the fact that he knew that Mizuki was a girl because he was petrified that she would leave as soon as she was found out. And the moment she was found out and decided to leave he says nothing and is all smiles and waving when he sees her off. And when they get reunited at the the very end? They greet each other like two buddies who saw each other last week.

That sort of resolution is supposed to be made during the series, not in a bonus chapter. Bonus chapters are supposed to be fun extras, not establish closure left open by the series. The only acceptable amends to the inadequacy of the last volume, to me at least, is for it to be rewritten entirely. Maybe drawn out into a 24th volume for good measure.
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Patachu
Past ANN Contributor


Joined: 08 Jul 2004
Posts: 1325
Location: San Diego
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:10 am Reply with quote
nargun wrote:
I never thought that Yakitate Japan was, strictly speaking, a parody.


Oh yes it is.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:43 pm Reply with quote
Indeed it is. It's one giant mash of parodies when you think about it. You have to pay very close attention to it.

I'm surprised Yakitate actually had an article here in Right Turn and I always dread reading Evidence Against sections. I suppose, that like the typical makings of shonen manga, everything is dragged out. However, baking does take time in retrospect, and the culinary lessons aren't exactly boring to read. I admit I am learning some fascinating facts about grain and various vitamins. And who doesn't love that charming Pierrot. ;3
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konkonsn



Joined: 30 Apr 2008
Posts: 172
Location: Illinois
PostPosted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 3:18 am Reply with quote
I should have argued in favor of Nightmare Inspector back when you and Casey reviewed the first three volumes. Volume 4 is, indeed, the weakest volume so far in terms of the individual nightmares.

But I have to say that you guys keep giving the story flak for how little development there is in a backstory. I agree that the best literature doesn't rely on the forced suspense that comes with hiding information when it would be more sensible to reveal it; but I don't consider Nightmare Inspector to be the best literature. It's popular horror in the vein of King and R.L. Stine.

I read all kinds of these horror stories growing up, and the one thing I've noticed is that horror pretty much sticks to the scary/creepy parts and ignores everything else. King's novel The Mist never says for certain what caused the titular event, and even what little is alluded to is never really explained (interdimensional vortex? Whaaaa?). Hitchcock's The Birds never explain why birds are attacking humans. Even the original short story gave vague possibilities but no real answer. Could you explain the deaths and character of Sadoko based on The Ring movie without reading the books? Yet it's still considered a good movie.

Personally, I think there should be less concern on backstory given the history of Nightmare Inspector's genre and more criticism on how it works in its genre.
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