Patriotic Knights, ep 1

Yes, my not-so-inner wuxia fangirl currently rules me (blame calixa, she's feeding the addiction bigtime lately)

I set up a crunchyroll account today so that I can check out as many dramas as I can  before actually buying them(esp. as more are getting mostly-affordable official releases lately) without actually DLing them.  I was going to watch the first episode of The Young Warriors, until I realized that death or bankruptcy was about all that would stop me from watching that one(a: wuxia, b: Hu Ge, c: Eddie Peng, d: same makers as Chinese Paladin, e: calixahas practically been giving me a play-by-play and I MUST see it for myself) so I watched the first episode of Patriotic Knights instead.

( first ep babblings )

Patriotic Knights, ep 1

Yes, my not-so-inner wuxia fangirl currently rules me (blame calixa, she's feeding the addiction bigtime lately)

I set up a crunchyroll account today so that I can check out as many dramas as I can  before actually buying them(esp. as more are getting mostly-affordable official releases lately) without actually DLing them.  I was going to watch the first episode of The Young Warriors, until I realized that death or bankruptcy was about all that would stop me from watching that one(a: wuxia, b: Hu Ge, c: Eddie Peng, d: same makers as Chinese Paladin, e: calixahas practically been giving me a play-by-play and I MUST see it for myself) so I watched the first episode of Patriotic Knights instead.

( first ep babblings )

Lords of Avalon by Kinley MacGregor/Sherrilyn Kenyon

While the rest of the world is busy standing in line and fighting hordes(or stalking the mailman) so they can read the exploits of some wizard named Harry(and not the one I love, at that) I've been sitting back, reading my romance novels and manga(well...there was the point where I got sidetracked by a 19 page photogallery of Eddie Peng, but that's another topic altogether.)  Namely, Sword of Darkness and  Knight of Darkness, the first two(and only published, as far as I know) books in Kinley MacGregor's, aka Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lords of Avalon series.

Short version: Think Dark Hunters with time travelling Arthurian knights in the background an a slightly less developed mytharc.  You'll like, hate, get a kick out of, etc the books (whichever suits your opinion best) for the same reason.

( insert babble here )

Lords of Avalon by Kinley MacGregor/Sherrilyn Kenyon

While the rest of the world is busy standing in line and fighting hordes(or stalking the mailman) so they can read the exploits of some wizard named Harry(and not the one I love, at that) I've been sitting back, reading my romance novels and manga(well...there was the point where I got sidetracked by a 19 page photogallery of Eddie Peng, but that's another topic altogether.)  Namely, Sword of Darkness and  Knight of Darkness, the first two(and only published, as far as I know) books in Kinley MacGregor's, aka Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lords of Avalon series.

Short version: Think Dark Hunters with time travelling Arthurian knights in the background an a slightly less developed mytharc.  You'll like, hate, get a kick out of, etc the books (whichever suits your opinion best) for the same reason.

( insert babble here )

manga: Yurara, vol 1

 

Yurara is the third title by Chika Shiomi(Night of the Beasts, Canon) to be licensed in the US.  It's about a girl named Yurara, a shy, meek girl  who sees spirits and can feel their emotions, but can't interact with or do anything about them.  At her new school, she gets placed between Mei, and overly affectionate goofball and Yako, and cold and serious student, in her new class.  Almost immediately, she learns that both boys can also see spirits, and that Mei can use spiritual flames to fight them, and Yako can bind them and create barriers with water.  Apparently, meeting them allows her guardian spirit, a more forceful version of herself, to awaken, allowing her to communicate with the ghosts and help them move on.

Of Shiomi's three books that have been licensed, Yurara is, in both art and story, the most conventional.  On the one had, just based on this, I'll take it over most of the high school manga out there, fantasy/paranormal or otherwise.  On the other, after the urban hunt of Canon and dark mythology of Night of the Beasts, something so close to "normal" shojo felt like a bit of a let down(yet is likely closer to what most on my flist would like, anyway, as I tend to sometimes have odd tastes, so I guess it's ok.)  In comparison, it, and its characters, kinda of start to blend in with the rest(plus, as compared to Canon and Aria, Yurara is kind of a doormat, guardian spirit or not-not that I didn't like her, I did, just that those two are very strong and very kickbutt.)

If I hadn't read Shiomi's other books, I'd probably be praising this book left and right-as compared to other shojo, it is pretty unique and it has an interesting story, and it's not just "magical girl and cute protectors," it just didn't quite live up to the expectations Canon and Night of the Beasts set for me. (incidentally, at 6 volumes, Night of the Beasts is Shiomi's longest series of the three...nice to know some mangaka regularly keep it short and sweet instead of making their books last for all eternity.)

manga: Yurara, vol 1

 

Yurara is the third title by Chika Shiomi(Night of the Beasts, Canon) to be licensed in the US.  It's about a girl named Yurara, a shy, meek girl  who sees spirits and can feel their emotions, but can't interact with or do anything about them.  At her new school, she gets placed between Mei, and overly affectionate goofball and Yako, and cold and serious student, in her new class.  Almost immediately, she learns that both boys can also see spirits, and that Mei can use spiritual flames to fight them, and Yako can bind them and create barriers with water.  Apparently, meeting them allows her guardian spirit, a more forceful version of herself, to awaken, allowing her to communicate with the ghosts and help them move on.

Of Shiomi's three books that have been licensed, Yurara is, in both art and story, the most conventional.  On the one had, just based on this, I'll take it over most of the high school manga out there, fantasy/paranormal or otherwise.  On the other, after the urban hunt of Canon and dark mythology of Night of the Beasts, something so close to "normal" shojo felt like a bit of a let down(yet is likely closer to what most on my flist would like, anyway, as I tend to sometimes have odd tastes, so I guess it's ok.)  In comparison, it, and its characters, kinda of start to blend in with the rest(plus, as compared to Canon and Aria, Yurara is kind of a doormat, guardian spirit or not-not that I didn't like her, I did, just that those two are very strong and very kickbutt.)

If I hadn't read Shiomi's other books, I'd probably be praising this book left and right-as compared to other shojo, it is pretty unique and it has an interesting story, and it's not just "magical girl and cute protectors," it just didn't quite live up to the expectations Canon and Night of the Beasts set for me. (incidentally, at 6 volumes, Night of the Beasts is Shiomi's longest series of the three...nice to know some mangaka regularly keep it short and sweet instead of making their books last for all eternity.)