Flipside is a web comic by Brion Foulke; an anime fan, who I believe, has made one of the best comics yet. He’s worked on Flipside for several years now and has become famous in a number of cons.

plot summary

Maytag is a Jester and the greatest act in town. A fanboy, named Crest, begins to develop a crush on Maytag and asks her out. Although she declines, this is not the last time they will encounter each other.

Later, Crest goes to a card to game in order to win some money so he can afford to heal his blind mother’s eyes. However, with danger lurking around every corner, can Crest keep the money and his life?

Review

An enticing story from chapter to chapter, everything feels so real and so strong. Each character has his own personality, opinions, and morals, creating the most human characters I’ve read.

The dialog feels just as real as the characters. To add to the realism, each character has his or her own mannerisms.

The world of Flipside feels fantastic, but believable to point where I want to live there. My personal favorite quirk about this story is the constant sexual tension between each and every character. The same such tensions that I feel that I went through at least once or twice in my life. Basically, everything and everyone feels real and putting them in a fantasy world makes for a fun play ground.

Foulke-sama’s art is the best style to tell this story. Each character wears fun looking clothes suitable for cosplay. The town can best be described as Arabian tents and ancient Asian skyscrapers in a medieval European fortress. With this uniquely designed town the culture can be both familiar and different for everyone. The character design is traditional anime style with an angular gene ce qua similar to the latest works Nobuhiro Watsuki.

LIKES

• Maytag’s eye for opportunity.
• Realistic characters.
• The sexual tension between characters.
• The magical items.

DISLIKES

• Smaller panels seem to be done with very little attention.

I saw Flipside a few years ago when Foulke-sama was working on book zero (his first rendition of Flipside) and I have been amazed ever since. His art and writing have improved since then and I can’t wait to see what a great cartoonist he will become. I find this to be one of the greatest proofs of what artists can accomplish on the internet, and for that, I give it a 5/5.

Great work sir, I can’t wait to see what you will accomplish next!

In my previous review I stated how the story was very confusing, but now I think I understand things a little better:

As it turns out, everyone in the new Angel Troupe has a relationship to the old members. Also, there are people known as “Gatekeepers” who allow special alien wormholes to open and close. Milfie, a former member of the original Angel Troupe, is one of these people. Her sister, Apricot, has pledged to find the true “Gatekeepers” in order to free her sister. But all is still not well as a member of the original Angel Troupe turns into their greatest enemy.

Even though the story has finally started to make sense, I still can’t stand it. Not only does it seem like the quirky moe characters should have died from a malfunction they themselves caused which led to them getting caught in the vacuum of space, but they don’t even care if one of their friends is possibly dying. One of the biggest disappointments of the manga is when the two most powerful combatants are fighting and then turn chibi. After turning chibi, the two make it into a cat fight instead of an epic battle like it should have been.

Improved but unimpressed I give it 2/5, but only because the story started making sense.

Galaxy Angel 2 is the sequel to the popular Galaxy Angel series which has spread into many different media after starting off as a dating sims game.

With an entirely new cast, new ship, and a new journey the fun couldn’t be any greater. The new angel troupe is out to explore the new galaxy of NEUE but they have some troubles ahead, including treasure hunters, pirates, and many new enemies.

This story is actually more confusing than how I described it. The entire crew of the Luxiole are so idiotic, dumb, and quirky I would have thought the entire ship had blown up before the comic even started. Two characters come to mind who fit this description well; Nano-Nano and Mimolete.

Both have a mannerism of saying “nano da” or “ni”, respectively, at the end of every sentence they say. This becomes annoying really fast. So much so, that when the two of them are put in the same panel together I can hear a voice actor telling me to rip my flesh off in order to save myself from their torturing voices while saying “nano-da” at the end.

The story can’t even come together properly to save itself. It starts off with the crew gathering, then a flash back to characters no one cares about, and then back to the main story. They don’t even get close to starting their mission, which caused me to find more interest in the miracle of fire than to want to even review this book.

“Kill these characters.” is the first thought running through my head when I notice that all the characters are Moe. I got nothing against Moe, mind you, but when you see the characters, the story starts to resemble the Playboy mansion with a bunch of dumb blondes.

Although it’s in a traditional anime style the characters seem unrefined and unfinished. Almost like there was something missing to the characters’ faces; like shadowing, depth, and personality.

To tell the truth this is the worst piece of crap I’ve read in a long time. It’s so horrible I give it a 1/5 (the only reason it still has one point is because it still functions as a book).

The original Disgaea is a tactical RPG developed by Nippon Ichi Software for the PS2. The well written wit of the game’s dialog has passed the story along into different media such as anime and manga.

Disgaea 2 picks up where the first one left off: Laharl has just taken power as the realm’s new overlord and has much work ahead of him. However, Etna (Laharl’s vassal) has quit and decides to become an overlord herself but in order to do that, she needs to defeat an overlord. So Etna takes all of the Prinnies(demon penguins?) to another realm to defeat the overlord Zenon.

Meanwhile, in the realm of overlord Zenon (Valdime), a curse made by Zenon has made all the humans turn into demons. Adell is the very last human to exist in Valdime and has dedicated his life to defeating Zenon in a fair fight. By accident Adell tries to summon Zenon but gets his daughter, Rozalin, instead. With a new method of finding Zenon Adell (accompanied by Rozalin) goes on a search for Zenon to finaly defeat him once and for all.

Not to sound like a total geek but LOL this is pretty funny stuff. The characters are what you expect of an anime but they don’t take themselves to seriously as they make many, anime and video game references. Again, it’s a pretty typical story but the wit of the characters makes it more of a satire then an actual game or manga.

In the world of Valdime we meet new characters and new types of people set in a Medieval-type of environment. Alongside the Middle Age theme, is the modern technology of today. All the characters and environments together create a very funny place for battle.

One interesting note is how the sequel is set up. In some cases when you have a sequel to a game it will either have an entirely different story or it will continue the story from before, this time the game has done both. Because of this, the story creates new characters to introduce but still has the familiar characters from before.

Each character is designed to how their personality works (no matter how quirky). If the character looks evil, it’s evil. If the characters looks good it’s good. The over the top comedy is shown with many chibi moments and wild expressions. Disgaea 2 is better compared to the Azumanga Daioh style but with a fantasy twist but I believe this is much funnier and much more appealing.

LIKES

• The witty characters
• Characters sense of fashion
• Over the top humor
• PRINNIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Simple art that compliments the story

DISLIKES

• …ummm vol. 2 isn’t out yet

Disgaea 2 is an awesome story with great lovable characters and for that it gets a perfect 5/5.

In Comic Party: Party Time, Volume 1, all Kazuki wants to do is make his doujin in time for the next doujin convention. His friends, however, aren’t exactly helping! There is no real story in this manga; it’s actually a compilation of stories by fans involving the main characters of the popular anime. In short, it’s a doujinshi about making a doujinshi.

Now, because this is a compilation of many different stories, I usually critique each story but, instead, I’ll focus on the manga as a whole. Like I said before, there is no real story, just a bunch of small stories about the main characters from the series. In each chapter they must conquer a problem they’re facing involving their next doujinshi.

Looking back, it’s a real hit and miss for this manga. The stories sometimes make no sense; either that’s because the translator didn’t translate it correctly or the original author didn’t have the proper skills to tell a story. Another problem is that you won’t know what’s going on if you haven’t seen the anime. This is because the manga doesn’t introduce the characters and expects you to know who they are beforehand.

The art is all over the place; the characters are sometimes hard to recognize due to the amateur styles of the doujin artists. However, there are some good mangaka and they prove it in the manga. For example: Ranma Kusumi and Rin Kotoki actually did a good job on both characters and story.

If you’re a fan of Comic Party, this is worth the buy, but I think that’s the only kind of people interested in this manga. I give Comic Party: Party Time, Volume 1 a 2/5.

Thanks to CPM for letting us review Comic Party: Party Time, Volume 1!

Kia Asamiya is a popular artist in both Japan and America due to his work in manga. Writing such titles as Nadesico and Silent Mobius, Asamiya has crossed over the pond to also work on American comics such as Batman: Child of Dreams and Uncanny X-Men. The manga turned anime series, Martian Successor Nadesico, had a small five episode run on the Cartoon Network but wasn’t kept on the main line up for the Toonami block.

The story for Nadesico starts after a mysterious attack on Mars by the people of Jupiter. The Nergel company has made a war ship designed for a secret mission that not even the crew seems to be fully aware of.

The crew is composed of a captain who’s an overenthusiastic teenage girl, Yurika Misumaru; a pilot who just wants to cook, Akito Tenkawa; an overly obsessed mecha anime otaku, Guy Daidoji; and a calm calculating girl, Rurui. Yurika and Akito are childhood friends from the time when they both lived on Mars. Although Yurika thinks of Akito as her fiance ,Akito wants to run as far from her as he can, believing she will be the death of him.

Asamiya’s illustrations bring forth a different look into traditional anime style. The big eyes and small noses are there but his approach gives the characters an imperfect look creating them to be more human in perspective. The girls are not all over the top cute or hot (some of them are but not all of them) which gives of the idea of these people being more realistic in a cartoon-ish sense. The male characters are just as different; while some have the modern anime style, others have a retro feel (like watching Getter Robo or Mazinger) and the rest have big chins and more detailed noses to show how manly they are.

I’m not to sure if I know what’s going on in the series. I understand all I’ve written about, but the reason for the Nadesico going to Mars is something I don’t understand. The characters haven’t said anything at all and maybe it’s part of the story’s mysterious intrigue, but I think that possible ploy works against the manga.

Everybody is a funny read because of their personalities and their beliefs. In spite of the characters’ entertainment value, I still feel like a lot is being left out ’cause I can’t follow the story; something is still nagging me about it.

Despite this set-back in the story, an all around good manga and it is good to see where Asamiya first started out. However, the first volume of Nadesico gets a 3/5.

Thanks to CPM for letting us review Nadesico, Volume 1!!

First place is Bomango, by Rob Ten Pas, which is about an odd girl who picks up whatever trash she can find. She does her variety of dumpster diving while palling around with her friend who tries to balance out her insanity.

This tale didn’t interest me much, but I love the characters whom provide lots of funny moments. Artistically it feels very fluid, nicely paced, and almost animated. All together, however, I don’t think it deserves first place; I mean I love the characters, but the story and art are fairly average. This story gets a 3/5.

Second place is Girl/Boy, by Yasmin Saaka, which is just a simple love love story about two kids over the course of their lives and how they fall in love. It’s too short, which I can understand why, but a few more pages wouldn’t hurt.

Otherwise, I was really touched by the story and its beautiful ending. I think the artist had a hard time with the Photoshop program cause the illustration looks a little off to me for some reason. When it comes down to the manga overall, it’s really grand and for the authors hard work I give him a 4/5 because I think he deserved second place.

Third place we have Departure, by Eden which I personally found enjoyable. A young man wakes up one day to find a mysterious pair of boots in front of his door. After thinking about it, he decides to go walking in his new boots. Before he realizes it, he’s walked too far away to come back and continues on his journey. Along the way, he finds many new things to enjoy.

I can’t get enough of this one. The story lacks any conflict and because of that I love it. The guy’s just going for a walk and he learns how to enjoy the world around him; it’s actually quite romantic. Eden knows what she’s doing with a pencil as she carefully shows the strongest emphasis on the character and the environment around him. This is the first really good one I’ve seen, so I say bravo to Eden and give her a 5/5.

Ok, everything else is runners up so I’m going to review them with short phrases to sum each of them up.

• 10 Simple Rules, by JD Robinson; needs to be put in a school text book so everyone will read it, 5/5.
• The Orphans, by Anthony Go Wu; it was too darkly colored to read that it hurts my eyes, 1/5.
• The Little Miss Witch Hater, by Ryo Kawakam;i has beautiful angular Gothic art, especially on the monsters, 5/5.
• Chronicles of the Big Feet ,by Nichol; the nipples kept freaking me out, 2/5.

Rising Stars has a lot of crazy stories and I think I might sign up, so I better get started!

Thanks to Tokyopo for letting us review Rising Stars of Manga, Volume 6!

Seishi Kishimoto is the artist on the spot today since he’s living in his twin brother’s shadow. His brother is Masashi Kishimoto, the famous artist responsible for Naruto and the thousands of cosplayers spawned from it. After his brother started Naruto, Seishi decided to create his own manga. Living in his brother’s shadow, however, may force his work to go unnoticed.

The story for O-parts Hunters starts with Jio; a young boy who just wants to conquer the world. Why conqueror the world? Because people will have to like Jio if he’s the ruler of the world.

In his quest for world domination, Jio meets a girl named Ruby Crescent. Ruby is searching for the ancient O-parts; artifacts which hold great power for those who can control them.

Soon after meeting Jio, Ruby hires him to protect her from other people who are also in search of the O-parts. In the midst of performing his body guard duties for Ruby, a great battle occurs, awakening a demon inside of Jio.

This unexpected event threatens Jio’s happiness and peace. The awakened demon within Jio is none other than Lucifer himself, but he prefers the name Satan. Jio has a hard time ahead of him since he’ll be struggling with all kinds of demons; physical and metaphorical.

O-parts Hunters is similar to the Naruto series, but only in regards to the skeleton of the story. It’s actually different from Naruto on many levels.

I believe this series is more entertaining than Naruto because of its stronger response to Jio’s personal struggle. I especially appreciate the creative science involved with the O-part weapons and the characters that use them. I appreciate them because of how well they compliment each other.

Visually, Seishi’s art is somewhat similar to his brother’s. However, that’s not what came to mind when I first laid eyes on it. What first came to mind for me is Akira Toriyama, the artist that made the smash hit, Dragon Ball Z. Despite this, I like it for its simple style and child-like attitude which makes me feel young again.

What’s an artist to do when his brother gets all the attention? Only time will tell if Masashi’s Naruto will stay as popular as it is today or if his brother’s creation, Jio, will take the lead.

Not an easy task when some one stole your precious engagement ring. So who are you going to call (if you say Ghost Busters you’re too silly)? Why, Ban Mido and Ginji Amano, aka, the Get Backers (what a poor name for a manga).

The Get Backers run a recovery service. This means they get back what was once stolen from you. From your Final Fantasy VII that your friend borrowed and never returned, to secret documents that could ruin a company, Ban and Ginji are on the case.

In this volume, the Get Backers are in trouble. Ginji is back in his old home of the Infinity Fortress to retrieve the mysterious I.L. He isn’t getting the warm reception he was hoping for, however. As Ginji gets closer to his goal, his former comrade, Makubex, sends a horde of colorful minions to stop the Get Backers and friends.

The emotional conflict of every former friend and comrade fighting against each other grows as more of Makubex’s calculations bring him one step closer to the final destruction of Infinity Fortress.

At first glance the story seems uninteresting; it looked as if it could never grab anyone’s attention. How wrong I was! I discovered the story has a great plot with fantastic characters.

The story sounds silly because of the title alone (Back In Business) but the characters all have amazing abilities, such as hypnotism, control over animals, electricity, special control of strings, and more outrageous powers that really make it interesting. However, just like Spiderman “With great power comes great responsibility.” each of the characters have a dark past they must confront.

This volume deals with Ginji’s past when he was the leader of the Voltz. The Voltz governed Infinity Fortress in order to better protect innocent people. When Ginji left, the peace of Infinity Fortress crumbled and his former comrades have never quite forgiven him for leaving them.

The illustrations done by Rando Ayamine are spectacular. When I look at his style I’m given a slight hint of a Tohru Fujisawa influence. Actually, Rando Ayamin was Fujisawa’s assistant, so it’s quite amazing to see what influence artists have on each other. Though the characters appear in a traditional anime style, the clothes look almost photorealistic and create a unique style that I enjoy looking at. The environment is especially grungy, creating a darker world for the lighter world to take notice of.

Likes

• The realistic clothes.
• The unique powers of the characters.
• The surprisingly good story line.

Dislikes

• The constant Judas references made that some how every one knows.

Although Get Backers is a good series, this book gets a 3/5.

Thanks to Tokyopop for letting us review Get Backers, Volume Six!

Previously in Rose Hip Zero, Volume 1: Kyoji Kido is back on the Job as an anti-terrorist police officer after taking a short break. Joined by his new partner and former ALICE member, Kasumi, Kyoji plans to take down the entire ALICE organization and their leader, Zero.

In this volume a lot of questions are asked and there are more and more mysteries: Kasumi’s identity comes into question as the assistant commissioner recognizes her while she guards him from a potential ALICE attack. What connection could Kasumi have to a child whose genes have been altered and was then sent to Japan by Nazis during WWII? But just as we ask this and other questions, two members of ALICE attack the assistant commissioner and taunt Kasumi into a trap.

My oh my, what a trap! The constant action is so grand and over the top, it makes my blood boil with anticipation of how the battle will end up. The realistic art style is beautiful, especially when there is a fight going on. When a battle takes place, Fujisawa does his best to show a grand amount of eye candy. He does so with enough precise camera angles and details to make them the envy of some high movie quality stunts.

The new characters are a bunch of kids but they have strong beliefs in their organization. With Kasumi’s new vow not to kill her former comrades, it becomes an emotional struggle in the heat of battle. Kyoji Kido almost feels useless in this volume as he is taken out as soon as the battle begins. At the very end, however, he gets back up out of the hospital bed with some of the worst injuries he has ever had and rams a van at high speeds into the enemy. The new mysterious organization related to the Nazi child experiment, EIN, is still unknown, which leaves me wanting more.

This volume is an example of what I was talking about in my previous review; Fujisawa is a great artist. It shows in what he has been able to do with his latest title. My expectations of him are satisfied after reading volume two because it proves that he can make an epic battle when it needs to be epic.

Although the comedy is little to none, when it does surface, it’s definitely there and very over the top. The real problem is that these characters are not Onizuka. So, laughing so hard on the train that people look at you funny isn’t going to happen this time.

Likes

• Over the top action
• Environment and objects that look photo realistic.
• Detail to traps
• Physically and mentally strong characters

Dislikes

• Nothing comes to mind

Rose Hip Zero is not a perfect series, but I love every minute of a good Fujisawa manga. I really can’t bear the wait of the next volume so TokyoPop if you’re reading this I want more now!

I give Rose Hip Volume 2: 4/5

Thanks Tokyopop for letting us review Rose Hip Zero Volume 2!