Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Doujin Review: Choudenjihou no Sasoikata by Takumi na Muchi

With the release of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun SS (A Certain Scientific Railgun SS), I had a newfound interest in checking out all related doujins in my collection. This particular one, Choudenjihou no Sasoikata, was one of the first I’ve encountered that got introduced me to the series in the first place. It’s one of the many examples of when I got introduced and got interested in certain media due to Rule 34.

Fans who’ve watched the series would recognize the opening scene. Though the following conversation after that seems to imply that this is just another chase our two main characters, Misaka and Touma, have done after the first one.

(Top-right panel) Either this part of the text got lost in translation, or the original Japanese script was trying to get the same flavor of dialogue from the source material.

Anyway, Touma tries to get himself out of the situation by suggesting they stop this and do something else more worthwhile. I’m sure from his standpoint, he’s just saying that there are better things to do than just chasing him around. But, by all rights, he seems to be sweet-talking Misaka into something else.

Misaka, as always, falls for it. Not that we can blame her.

What follows afterward was one long drawn-out narrative to get them both into bed. They go their separate ways at first, meet up again a bit later (though by accident), and they conveniently find themselves in a hotel room where one thing led to another. Well, at least it makes a decent porn-with-plot and not just another porn with really good art.

Though, my only problem with the story was that the plot seemed a little too convenient to get the main two characters to have sex. A bit naively sweet, a little too good to be true, and just too damn convenient.

But it involves my most preferred pairing in the entire series, so who am I to complain?          

Besides, there are some scenes in this manga that can be so very much adorable and funny to compensate.

Like this little gem with Misaka in shower…

…then Kuroko taking her turn…

…Misaka out shopping…

I like how this panel references Last Order’s summer dress.

...Misaka's imagine spot about Touma and her "sister"...

…the two’s post-coital moment…

…Misaka’s excuse to, ehem, better “control” her powers…

…and Touma’s reaction to that.

But what really got me laughing out loud was this scenario in the end.

Out of the blue? Yeah. Hilarious? Sure is. In-character? I can so totally see this happening. 

Anyway, it looks like I’ve pretty much shown all the highlights of this doujin. I just hope this won’t stop you from reading it yourselves. The author, Takumi na Muchi, have also done a handful of other Toaru Kagaku no Railgun doujins that are good reads themselves. Still worth a look if you’re interested :)

Soul Eater Fanfic Review: Undo by Marsh of Sleep

Fanart by stickypenguin

It always has to be the first couple of lines in the fic that's got to convince me to take it seriously. Then, the only way that I would ever be interested on continuing would be if reading the rest would be like following a clear train of thought. Not too wordy, not too redundant, not too minimal. But creative enough to make an overused plot seem refreshingly new. I also appreciate a little porn with plot.

Marsh of Sleep didn't disappoint in this Soul Eater fic.

The plot goes like this: In between classes, extracurricular activities, and hunting rouge witches and soon-to-be-Asuras, our two main leads, Soul and Maka, have also got to deal with growing up. And by growing up, I mean hormones. And by hormones, I mean having an itch get scratched – if you know what I mean.

Simply put, they try a friends-with-benefits kind of relationship to grind some off some stress - all the while trying not to emotionally break under this new arrangement.  

Trust me on this. It's better than it sounds.

It’s the author’s writing-style that really sells this fic so well. Marsh of Sleep is one of the few fanfic writers I’ve encountered who’s got a way with words, and I regularly reread his/her (not sure which, never mentioned what gender) stories just to get a lovely dose of narrative. Mostly witty, sometimes funny, all the while meaningful in its execution. Always a worthwhile read.

Here’s the link to the fanfic:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6265474/1/Undo

So enjoy :)

And kudos to stickypenguin from deviantart for the fanart. It was what I found most appropriate for the story, especially in regards to the ending. 

Katekyo Hitman Reborn Fanfic Review: To Some Distant Horizon by smiles1777

Fanart by unknown artist, but contributed by drummer-cho713

This was one of my favorite Reborn fanfics back when I had been interested in the series. Back before I boycotted the franchise for being a cop-out. But I like going back to this fanfic because it gives me a taste of what I've preferred the series to have been. Something that that the limits of its Shōnen - sorry, I meant Shōnen-ai (ﺧ益ﺨ) - genre wouldn't be able to portray right.

The setting of this fic takes place before the Future Arc of the series. Specifically, it details the events that lead to that arc from the perspective of the characters' future counterparts. The story follows Tsunayoshi Sawada, nearly ten years older and wiser, who is preparing his own death while making sure that that event would also ensure their younger counterparts get to their version of the future to fix the crisis.

The fic is well-written, giving us an in-character portrayal of each of the Vongola Family members and associates. The mood was fatalistic from the first few lines of the story, giving you the feeling of - in the author's own words - "solemn oppression" and that things will not end well here. And as anyone who knows the backstory of the Future Arc, it didn't. And, other than showing us Tsuna's acceptance of his oncoming demise, it also presents us the respective reactions of each of his Guardians to his death.

Overall, it's great read if you prefer a more mature take from the franchise's Shōnen - ahem, Shōnen-ai (ﺧ益ﺨ) - material. Below is the link to the fic:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5767205/1/To-Some-Distant-Horizon

And thanks to drummer-cho713 for giving us the pic and whoever the artist was for making it. Enjoy.

One Shot Manga Review: Mario by Masashi Kishimoto

Organized crime and crime drama are hard gigs to pull off for the shounen demographic. They're usually more suited in the seinen genre where their graphic show of violence, swearing, and whatever else little boys aren't supposed to know yet. So when Kishimoto Masashi, author and artist of the popular series Naruto, tried to genre-shift one of his early seinen works for a shounen audience, the result was something that could work for younger audiences but might disappoint older readers.

That, and maybe trying to squeeze the original 130-page story into just 51 had got something to do with it.

Mario is about the titular main character, an up-and-coming hitman trying to earn a name for himself in the New York underworld. Being the bastard son of an Italian mob boss and a female Yakuza, Mario was not exactly welcomed by the other Italian mobsters due to his mixed heritage. He also got teamed up with a woman who is much of a killer as he is, Saori, whom he bonds with because she somewhat resembled his dead mother. Together, they do all kinds of hits but eventually they get involved in a hostile takeover in one of the crime families where they eventually have to target one another.

Now, I'm a big fan of crime drama, most especially the kind focusing on the guys on the opposite side of the law. So I was really interested in how Kishimoto would pull this off. But with the stuff I’ve already seen made by Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorcese - not to mention Black Lagoon, Golgo 13 and Gangsta - after reading this, I have the right to say that I've seen better.

Our… “hero”, ladies and gentlemen.

Character-wise, Mario's got spunk, he's got attitude. I'm not sure if that's enough to make him likeable. He's also a mama's boy and has a soft spot for the girl who looks like her, so a jerk with a heart of gold? Still not enough to make him interesting, though. The other characters weren't much either.

Cute…

The other main character, Saori, has got a sob story that's enough for some sympathy, a justifiable man-hating personality, and had slowly defrosted to Mario, but despite all that she still comes off as flat. Everyone else even less so.

I love how this panel reminds me of a Tarantino “trunk shot”

Kishimoto once said in an interview that he loved the atmosphere surrounding guns, and some pages seemed dedicated to showcasing that kind of tension. Me, I share that sentiment. There’s just something about it that appeals to me, the kind of suspense you feel in the clash of personalities and interests in crime dramas, heightened by the presence of guns and armed men nearby.

Meet your match.

But, I don’t know, somehow this story failed to invoke that kind of feeling in me. For all I know, all I see are a bunch of kids brandishing guns every chance they.

We get it, she hates men.

Plot-wise, the story was pretty decent enough. We got the developing relationship between the two characters and hints of trouble in the crime family they work for. The pacing started to feel somehow off midway, with the way the exposition was crammed in with images of the two trying to get along as if to quickly establish their camaraderie and get the plot on the way. A good three-fourths of the oneshot seemed like a pretty good build-up for something...

 

Then the ending happened.

Given the setting and content of the story, I was never really expecting a good ending for any of these guys. Just a bittersweet one at most. What this one-shot gave me was... underwhelming. It would've created more closure if it hadn't felt rushed. In fact, it felt like a total cop-out.

Simply put, the one-shot lacked impact. The characters lacked a force of personality, quirk, or even a sense of humor that could've made me want to invest myself in them more. Probably the only notable reaction it could invoke from me was the total disbelief at the poor manner of how the story was resolved.

Maybe if the story hadn't squeezed into half its original size, it would've been further elaborated and Mario's sacrifice wouldn't have felt out of the blue. But I’ve never seen the original work so I couldn’t say it would’ve. All I can say is, 50 pages aren’t enough to just conclude this piece of work like this. 

Kudos, by the way, to the bear-themed team of translators from Mangapanda and Mangaburn for giving us the chance to read this.