My introduction to Nausicaä was the 1984 Studio Ghibli film of the same name. I didn’t see the film until about ten years ago when I began collecting all the films of Hayao Miyazaki. My daughter and I enjoy watching Miyazaki stories, and I have an appreciation for his strong female characters. I had no idea that the movie was only a fraction (about two chapters) fo the story and world of the Valley of the Wind. I purchased this two-volume case-bound collection on a whim – our local […]
Fighting Demons with the Power of Music
The Magia the Ninth series has a thoroughly ridiculous premise, which is why it’s so much fun. It’s also only 2 volumes which makes the end pretty open-ended. I found myself wishing for maybe one or two more volumes to fill in a few of the many gaps. Basically a high school student whose parents were killed by a demon runs into the head demon hunter of the Church of the Masterpiece, Ludwig von Beethoven (cranky, ambitious, powerful, but maybe nice too). Beethoven, along with […]
7 Princes- Really 6- Indiana Jones style
The Seven Princes of the Thousand Year Labyrinth looks like an entertaining fantasy-mystery series. The basic premise is that seven different attractive young men wake or end up in the Castle-of-the Thousand-Year-Labyrinth. They are candidates to be the next emperor, since hereditary monarchy was outlawed centuries ago, and they can’t leave the castle until they decide among themselves who will be the next emperor; everyone else becomes the ruler’s new advisors.. Ewan is the main character and he looks like a naïve country boy, while […]
Watch out boy she’ll chew you up!
Junko Mizuno is a Japanese artist whose style is usually described as “Gothic kawaii”. Her illustrations are cute and childish but also erotic and grotesque. After Cinderalla and Hansel and Gretel, Princess Mermaid is her third and darkest retelling of a classic fairytale, and the one that differs the most from the original version (I’m referring to the Hans Christian Andersen story, not the sanitized Disney version). Princess Mermaid tells the story of three mermaid sisters who have sworn to avenge the death of their […]