amatyultare

So in a moment of weakness, I bought volumes 1-6 of Gentleman's Alliance + (newest series from Arina Tanemura, manga-ka of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Full Moon o Sagashite). After reading it, I was really hoping to talk spoilers with lacontessa11. But she hasn't read all of it yet. Not her fault at all; she's got tons of stuff to read and she just finished the bar. But argh, I wanna talk about it with someone! Has anyone read it?

General, non-spoiler-y comments (which by volume 6 is EXTREMELY difficult, btw):

So pretty! Tanemura-sensei's one weakness is character designs, but her artwork is so lovely it almost doesn't matter. I had been rereading Wallflower before starting Gentleman's Alliance +--that manga-ka also has pretty artwork, but she almost never draws detailed backgrounds. In contrast, every page of Tanemura-sensei's manga is drawn and screentone-ed from cover to cover. And's it's all GORGEOUS. It's the visual equivalent of drowning in roses.

Tanemura-sensei notes somewhere in her comments in volume 5 or 6 that this is the first series that she hasn't planned all the way to the conclusion; she's not totally sure how it's going to end. And you can really tell--not that the plot is loose, but you as the reader don't have as much of a sense of who the heroine will 'inevitably' end up with, for example. This causes a lot of dramatic tension. It's a good trend.

There is a LOT I could say about Maora, most of it spoiler-y. Maora is such a great character. One note: she has a pet that she CALLS a mini-sheep. Apparently Tanemura-sensei has never seen a sheep in her life, because that thing is NOT a sheep. It looks vaguely like a fuzzy baby octopus sitting on top of a tiny ottoman. I kid you not.

In response to a question about animating it, Tanemura-sensei says there are no current plans, but who knows? And adds that she'd kind of like to see it dramatized. And now I am totally in love with the idea of a live-action TV version of Gentleman's Alliance +. TOTALLY IN LOVE. JAPANESE TV PRODUCERS, PLEASE PICK UP THIS PROJECT.

And a final random now: Tanemura-sensei has a blog now! She mainly seems to post little drawings and photos of her cats.

I've done a lot of talking about anime and manga tonight already....anyone who wants to can go to colgateanime and post a comment about the Fruits Basket anime and/or the MeruPuri manga, since I posted those summaries tonight....but I feel like a tiny bit more. Anyone curious about what I thought about the manga I bought yesterday (why yes I have read it all....)? Maybe not, which is why there is such a thing as an lj cut. Anyway....

( I go on a manga-buying spree, you hear about it )

Whew! Okay, I'm done now. Did anyone actually read all of that? Maybe not...ah well, what is LJ for if not for rambling? (And angsting, but I've been in a good mood lately). However, it's getting close to midnight and I do have work tomorrow, so I had better get to sleep. Later, all!

Just for fun.

( Music Meme )


Watched 'Kamikaze Girls' last night. Very cute! I still like the book better....but yes, the movie is is good. Must get the soundtrack! I'm also tempted to hunt down some of the music from the J-Pop singer who plays one of the leads.

I should get to bed...later, all!

P.S. OMG K you MUST READ VOLUME 4 OF DEATH NOTE! There are.....some major developments. At least I know how they manage to keep it going for so long now.

Paradise Kiss=good but depressing (Border's doesn't have 3 but I read 4 and 5, which are the last two). In fact, really good, really depressing.

Wolf's Rain=also good, also depressing. Apparently everyone hates the ending? But come on, did we actually expect to see some flowers-and-light paradise after the dreariness of the series?

Full Moon o Sagashite anime=LOVE. Only watched the first episode so far (I needed to cheer myself up after Wolf's Rain) but it's cute! The artwork isn't as good as the manga, of course, but the cuteness factor!

Work=too boring to talk about. Mom thinks I should switch jobs because I get so annoyed with the people sometimes, but central Maine isn't the best place to find work, so I think I'll stick with it for now.

I'm tired...but I think I'll watch one more episode of Full Moon before bed. Later, all!