To-Love-Ru
[ 0 Comments ] Written by Shadowfire on 14/06/08 @ 12:33PM. Located In Manga, News and Updates, To-Love-Ru
Name: To-Love-Ru
Author: Hasemi Saki
Artist: Yabuki Kentaro
Anime produced by: XEBEC
Plot
Rito Yuuki is a typical high school student with a rather large crush on his classmate Haruna Sairenji. Unfortunately for Rito, he always has trouble confessing his feelings to her. One evening after another failed attempt at confessing, he is moping in the bathtub when suddenly a naked girl called Lala appears in front of him. This strange girl turns out to be an alien princess from the planet Deviluke, and after Rito mistakingly proposes to her, she agrees to become his fiancée! Now in additional to his feelings for Haruna, Rito must deal with Lala (who decides to live in his house and even transfers into his class at school), and to top it all, fight off Lala’s extra-terrestrial fiancées candidates who come to challenge him for Lala’s hand in marriage.
Characters
Rito Yukki
A 15 year old high school student with a large crush on his classmate Haruna. Due to various circumstances, he has always failed to confess his love to her. He finds Lala’s arrival not only annoying, but he worries how it will interfere with his hopes of having Haruna as his girlfriend. He seems to have a bit of a green thumb and was an enthusiastic soccer player during junior high, but quit playing in order to help his father produce manga, as well as spend time at home with his younger sister. His mother is often working abroad as a fashion designer and model scout. He has a habit of unintentionally groping girls or finding himself in otherwise perverted situations.
Lala Satalin Deviluke
An alien princess from the planet Deviluke. As the eldest daughter of Deviluke’s king, whomever Lala marries will inherit the throne and rule most of the universe. Many fiancée candidates from across the universe attempt to marry Lala with this in mind, and their attempts are usually very violent and in complete disregard of Lala’s own feelings. Lala ran away from home to avoid being married off, and crashed landed on earth. After using a ring she invented to randomly teleport into Rito’s bathtub, a misunderstanding occurs where she believes Rito proposed to her. Lala initially accepts the proposal so that she can remain on earth, but soon develops genuine feelings of love for Rito. She is a genius inventor and often produces strange inventions she has created at opportune moments, however they regularly malfunction in a way that makes the situation more troublesome. Lala has a black devil-like tail that is very sensitive, but otherwise appears completely human. She is usually wearing her clothing robot Peke, so a running gag will be her suddenly becoming naked due to Peke losing power. She is completely uninhibited to the extent that she is comfortable being naked in front of other people, especially Rito.
Haruna Sairenji
Rito’s classmate and object of his affections. She also has feelings for Rito which are not initially obvious. She mistakenly believes Rito loves Lala due to their engagement, and therefore is unaware that she herself is the one Rito really loves. She and Lala become friends, and this deters Haruna from expressing her feelings to Rito. Haruna lives in an apartment with her older sister. She is very kind and gentle, except when she encounters a ghost, at which point she will lose control and swing the nearest object (in most cases, Rito) around violently in self defence.
Mikan Yuuki
Rito’s younger sister. Despite being younger, she is very mature and reliable. She takes care of the family household due to her parent’s busy working habits. She is very independent and though she often teases Rito or treats him with no respect, deep down she cares for him and begins to miss his company when Lala moves in. She is perceptive when it comes to people’s feelings, enough so that she is able to sense the feelings Rito and Haruna have for each other.
Zastin
Lala’s bodyguard and the best swordsman from the planet Deviluke. He came to earth to retrieve Lala after she ran away, and though he initially disapproved of Rito, he accepted their engagement after misinterpreting a speech by Rito. He is quite foolish with a horrible sense of direction, acting his bad luck acts as comic relief most of the time, such as being hit by trains during battles.
Kenichi Saruyama
The stereotypical perverted best friend of Rito. He knows about Rito’s feelings for Haruna, and often jokes about his failed attempts at confessing to her.
Peke
A robot invented by Lala. He can transform into any type of clothing for Lala to wear, but loses form when his power level is depleted, gradually rendering Lala naked. Lala can also be left naked when Peke is suddenly dislodged from her body. Peke can talk and serves as Lala’s loyal friend.
Reviewer’s (Shadowfire) comment:
To-Lo-Ru is an ongoing manga series, with an anime adaptation also currently being aired. While loosely based on the plot elements from the manga, the anime has a very different feel to it, both in terms of story and comedy style.
The manga itself if horribly clichéd (the alien-girlfriend-appears-and-lives-with-normal-boy idea is certainly not original), and like most male protagonists in manga/anime, Rito is exposed to at least one embarrassing and perverted situation each chapter to ensure the viewer their dose of ample fan service.
Despite this, the story is simple and easy to read. It is just a fun story with a bit of humor and no deep thought required, like most typical harem-style comedies. The first few chapters of the manga start off slow but does get more interesting as it progresses, especially with the introduction of some very interesting characters later on (particularly the aliens).
As previously mentioned, the anime differs greatly from the manga. The basic plot and story elements are the same, but the delivery has been changed so that some episodes appear stretched out and padded with pointless content that adds no humour or progress to the plot. Episode 7 is a prime example, as there is a very drawn out and tedious Rocky spoof that last for over 10 minutes (almost half of the episode), with an episode punch line that was rushed and difficult to understand to anyone not a fan of the manga.
In conclusion, the anime lacks the charm and most of the humour of its source material. My recommendation is to read the manga if you are a fan of this genre, and only watch the anime if you are a really big fan or otherwise have nothing else to do.
Manga
[ 0 Comments ] Written by Quin Rose on 10/06/08 @ 4:09PM. Located In Manga
A Description of Manga? Perhaps an Index or Contents Page Here?
Freezing
[ 0 Comments ] Written by Shadowfire on 10/06/08 @ 4:07PM. Located In Freezing, Manga, News and Updates
Name: Freezing
Author: Im Dal Young
Artist: Kim Kwang Hyun
Status: Ongoing
Plot
Beings from another dimension known as the Nova have declared war on mankind, and the only defence earth has are the Pandora; female warriors who wield bolt weapons and are supported by younger males called Limiters. Bound by a promise he made with his older sister whom died fighting the Nova, Kazuya Aoi transferred to the Genetics academy where Pandora and Limiters are trained. There he mistakes a second year girl named Bridgette El Satellizer for his deceased sister and hugs her, leading her to lose her first match. He then discovers this icy and solitary maiden is famous in the academy for killing anyone who touches her…
Characters
Kazuya Aoi
Only sibling of Kazuha Aoi, a Pandora who died defending the earth from the Nova. He transfers to the Genetics academy due to his older sister’s dying wish for him to support the Pandora by training as a Limiter. After he learns the rumours about Bridgette’s treatment of those who touch her, he cannot believe it and ignores the warnings of others to apologise to her for causing her first lose.
Bridgette El Satellizer
A second year Pandoara in training whom is known as the strongest in the Sophomore year. She was undefeated in the academy’s carnival battles until Kazuya surprised her with a tear filled hug. She is referred to by the other students as ‘The Heartless Witch’ and ‘The Untouchable Queen’, due to her anti social behaviour. Rumour has it that Bridgette has killed over 20 Pandora and Limiters who dared touch her, and that she does not have a Limiter because of her cruel treatment of them. Her bolt weapon is a blade-like weapon.
Genessa Roland
The second year Pandora who took advantage of Bridgette’s momentary distraction by Kazuya to defeat Bridgette in carnival. Very competitive and hot headed, the victory over Bridgette earns her rank SS, which she wastes no time in bragging to Bridgette about. Her bolstered ego leads to a confrontation with Bridgette in which she is provoked far enough to enable Pandora mode. Her Limiter is Kazuya’s classmate Arthur, whom she is apparently quite fond off. Her bolt weapon appears to be a number of flail-like chains.
Arthur Crypton
Kazuya’s classmate and dorm neighbour. Arthur is a freshman Limiter partnered with Genessa Roland, whom he describes as “A real lover, a babe, strong and sweet on me too”. His devotion to Genessa seems absolute, and he is the second person to warn him about Bridgette.
Shiffon Fairchild
Kazuya’s sempai and the pretty student body president of the Genetics academy. She was giving Kazuya a tour around the academy when they witnesses the confrontation between Bridgette and Genessa. Shiffon is the first to warn Kazuya about how dangerous Bridgette is, and tells him many of the rumours circulating about her, including the nicknames the students use to refer to her.
Kaho Hirgai
Kazuya’s fellow Japanese classmate as well as the class president. She wastes no time upon meeting Kazuya to gossip about Bridgette and along with Arthur warns him against apologising to her. She is shocked and amazed when she sees Kazuya grab Bridgette’s arm in the cafeteria without any violent repercussions.
Yumi Kim
The physics teacher and training instructor at the Genetics academy. She is also one of the ‘numbers’, the 4 who helped bring an end to the 8th Nova class four years previously. She and Elize left the army to become instructors at the Genetics academy. She seems to have been quite close to Kazuya’s older sister Kazuha when they fought the Nova together. Her bolt weapon is a spear.
Elize Schmidtz
The academy’s medical officer and one of the ‘numbers’. Like Yumi, Elize left the army to become instructors at the Genetics academy, and the two appear to be close friends. Her bolt weapons are duel daggers.
Miyabi Kanadzuki
A beautiful and flirty junior who gives herself the nickname ‘The Rookie Limiter Devourer’. She confidently requests Kazuya to become her Limiter, and reacts aggressively when he refuses.
Sister Margaret
The principal of the Genetics academy. She welcomes Kazuya warmly due to his relation to Kazuha.
Reviewer (Shadowfire)’s comment:
With only two chapters released so far, we have only had a taste of this story, but so far I really like what I have seen. The artwork is fantastic, the story contains good action and there is the potential for much better in the future. There is the usual fan-service included, however it is more subtle than other manga titles I am current reading, which is something to be pleased about. One of my current favorites, I look forward to seeing how Freezing progresses in the coming weeks.