Imperfect Girl (Manga Review)

Imperfect Girl was a pretty good manga. I read it all in one sitting as it was rather intriguing and kept me reading until the end which does come off as rather quick and abrupt, I'll say, but that's all intention because it was all so simple to begin with. The solution was to simply reach out and get help and the healing would begin, but the MC kept overthinking things, putting it off, thinking about himself, getting out of there and just not caring what happens to her after.

Anyway, you're probably wonder what the actual plot is. Now, on his way to school, a boy sees a few girls run over by truck-kun, but the girl who wasn't hit looks like she doesn't care as she first hits pause on her game and puts it away before running to them like it's all a facade. Yup, something's definitely up there. However, she notices that the MC saw her do that and after sneaking into his apartment and hiding under his desk the following day, she brings him back to her house at knife-point and locks him in the closet as her personal pet, and thus begins our descent into madness. Or rather, the MC overthinking everything like when he doesn't think about leaving the closet and when he steps into the living room when the answer is actually so simple. Well, he is a failed writer so thinking a lot does make sense in this regard, and the manga does well the explain why all these events happen. Thumbs up.

God, I wish that were me

First off, you'll wonder "why doesn't he just phone the police, this is stupid" like I have seen many people say about it, but the manga itself explains why he wouldn't. I mean, try explaining to the police that a yandere loli trailed you back to her house at knife-point and forced you to live in her closet. See what I mean? You'd be the one to get in trouble. However, that's literally what he should have done as it would have solved the mystery immediately and get the girl the help that she needed.

That must be one pretty fucking comfy closet

In short, she lives by insane rules that her parents drilled into her and like what a child does, they obey their parents especially when they beat you when you make mistakes. She lives by them and to her, they're a matter of life and death. That's why she does the things that she does and acts that way. It's not because she wants to be mean or weird, it's just that it's what her parents taught her to do. Our MC wanders about the house days into his captivity, discovers no food in the fridge (she ate everything including the frozen food and she ate them frozen), her notebook with her rules repeated over and over, heaps full of laundry, and her dead parents who strangled each other in their bedroom among other things. But this is all because she is a literal child. She doesn't know how to do such things herself and she doesn't understand what it is to die, and this is all done very realistically especially when you consider the difference of raising a child in Japan and how they develop. Don't judge it by Western standards as you'll only annoy yourself.

"Always feed your pets". She brings him her school lunch to make sure he is fed at her own expense. That part hurt, and so did the part where her school lunch money ran out for next month. Food in school should be a right for fuck sake.

The manga does very well to subvert and deconstruct (yes, that word) many things as well as your expectations. I went into it thinking it was some yandere thing, but I came out like "Whoa, bro, she's messed up in the head. Poor thing. Please be daijoubu". It gives off a certain thriller and horror vibe and the atmosphere is done very well, but when you realise the truth of the matter, things are not so sinister. It's a tale of a young girl who has been mentally and physically traumatised who desperately needs help and the only thing that somebody needed to do was take notice and get it for her which is what the MC does after discovering the truth.

Don't expect it to go the hentai route. Pure dread here.

Overall, Imperfect Girl was a rather interesting and entertaining read. You may feel disappointed at the abrupt ending and how things played out, but you have to think about the meaning of the story and not judge it based on what you want it to be. It ends so quickly after he calls the police because that's just how simple and quick it could have been handled. Art-wise, it has a really nice style to it which the manga really benefited from, but I really wonder what those HxH-tier floating fish were about. Probably just to be weird, but it also probably means something. Don't ask me because I have no clue.

And she ends up a normal, functioning
person in the end... OR DOES SHE!!!

Also, I think this would make a pretty good anime, but I'm unsure how they would execute it, or if people would enjoy it considering it isn't yandere loli as from first glance. Lastly, I actually bought all the volumes of this to use for scanlation before it was officially licensed, but I kept it in my backlog as I worked through other things. However, I'm glad it was officially licensed. It would have been literal gobshite in comparison to this official release. Also, now I don't have to debind them and can keep them as a little souvenir. Besides, I got all the volumes for like £6 off ebay including delivery from Japan so I'm a busy little bee about it. At any rate, I would recommend Imperfect Girl since it's rather distinct and an enjoyable read. I give a 7.5/10. Check it out.

Battle Royale 2 - Blitz Royale (Manga Review)

You wanted cute girls doing cute army things
with traumatic drama? Well, fuck you, buddy.

I intended to write this review back when I had read the manga not too long ago, but I only got around to it now. Anyway, while this was bad, it wasn't the worst thing ever. Lots of people complained about the art and said that it was pretty bad, but it's regular Tomizawa if you ask me. Nothing really noteworthy aside from the usual things from Mr. I don't like doing backgrounds, and that it looks more obviously traced over 3d models than his other works and looks kinda off-model from time to time. The main fault of this is its rushed story, shallow characters and lack of overall development. However, I'll agree on the art is bad part when it comes to the adults as they're stupidly cartoonish, and while that is intentional, it just doesn't work well in this art-style. And lastly on the art, it is understandable why so many hated the art after coming from the BR 1 manga because the difference is drastic. And while I'm on BR 1, the BR 2 manga is devoid of any sort of comedy that the first one had, but one shouldn't let such things influence what they think of this one too much.

BRUV LOOK AT THAT DOOD

At any rate, on to the characters and plot. Now, the characters are given a thing or two, but everyone's just so badly written and one-dimensional outside of like 2 characters who at the same time are still not done well. The MC Makoto or who I like to call not Yuri naturally has bad luck, but has a charm to counteract this a bit which is stolen by a cartoony-looking soldier first thing, and then her bad luck apparently rubs off on everyone and they blame her for all sorts of shit including the whole ordeal which is rather realistic. Because anyone in that situation especially children would automatically look for someone to take the blame for why they're in such a mess. She's not very good as a main character as she really doesn't do much, but the guilt of her thinking that her bad luck caused everything leads her to in the end shoot herself, so there is that. Although, she doesn't die by that.

I want to nibble dem ears

The only other noteworthy character is the main male lead, Nomura. Granted, he does have a thing or two, but he's still underdeveloped and shallow as fuck with his whole act. At the start, the girls on a trip jump into the boy's room, and after some vodka, and everyone pairing up, the teacher comes so everyone pretends to be sleeping. Yuri pairs up with Nomura and they both jump in his bed. He's handsome and cool looking from his appearance alone, but it turns out he's an evil, possessive dickhead who only cares about himself, gets people killed, gropes the main character and tries to rape her at bomb-point since he gets the collar controller. Why isn't he the main character? I'm liking him already. Nah. He was pretty fucking annoying.

And by that, he means rape. Please die.

The first few points are pretty realistic as while it doesn't say or show, the main lead probably didn't know him that well and thought of him as this super awesome guy, and from her initial interest in him and him in her, he then desires and wants to dominate her. Did this just happen at random from this or did he desire her long before the manga began? Well, fuck you because it's never touched upon or shown. I mean, we could have perhaps had a flashback of sorts showing a few things which could give him a better and developed reason to do the things that he does so that he's not just some evil shit using everything to his own advantage, but it doesn't go into why he is like that in the first place. He just is because reasons. Perhaps, we could have found out why if we got more volumes. More on that later. By the end of it, he has a love/hate thing going on with Makoto, so, stealth male yandere character? By the way, I fucking love yandere! Ahem. As for any other characters worthy to mention, well, there was that girl who reminded me of Tomine who is a friend of the MC and is cute, but like most of the cast, they're throw-away characters with little to no development, so they may as well not exist. Simply right-click, and delete, just like my life. Oops.

Yes, design a map, lists of squads and names
and don't really use either. Great job, bro.

And now the plot. Obviously if you know what BR is, then its obviously about them all having to kill one another and shit. But this one is different. They're in an academy of sorts run this time by the navy and they have to progress by earning points for their team through completing various tasks so that they can get food and equipment. Sounds interesting, right? Well, fuck you because it's barely touched upon and shown. The entire first volume is just the initial test and not much even happens. They literally fail to clean bodies off the beach, and have to take one guy in a building down, and the 2nd volume has the CTF at the end which is literally everyone shooting each other in the face the moment the teacher tells them to start. Honestly, we should have had multiple tasks for the squads to complete which would have given us tit for tat between the squads or development and then the big CTF one at the end where everyone's emotions and beef with one another climaxes, but not so anti-climatically (I'm guessing that was intentional because war is like that?) like what we got. Something like the end battle being half the volume and shit getting real with characters we grew to like dying as the CTF progresses. Literal wasted potential: The Manga.

Stupid how they just kill each other when none of them are mentally prepared for it or had to do it in a previous exercise. And no, crackers, water and no beds don't make people kill each other. Especially children. Done just for the edge, I presume.

Overall, this had good ideas and a good set-up, but the execution was pretty bad. It needed better developed characters and to be more than 2 volumes long because there just wasn't enough time to tell a story like this. Because things could have been better planned out and done if there was more. I mean, imagine Alien 9 or Milk Closet with only 2 volumes. It would be terrible. However, even if there was only meant to be 2 volumes, they really should have spent their time better with volume 1 as not much happens for the most part. The 2nd volume was certainly better than the first because stuff actually happened, but I hated how they skipped days in the academy when the MC was recovering from her wound. What they literally do is tell, not show (single panels don't count) when it's meant to be the fucking opposite. Show us the build-up of emotions and events over their duration in the academy, idiot! And no, like Tomizawa does in his other works, he allows you to use your imagination like what a good book does to fill-in a bunch of stuff, but you don't get that here. Everything's like an afterthought.

I was like "no no no no" when this bit happened

Anyway, let's bring this disorderly mess of a review to an end. Despite the 1st volume being extremely weak, the 2nd one was pretty decent with some good bits. The disdain of the squads and their actions (drawing "I'm coming to kill you" in the sand directed toward the MC, dropping shit at their door and stuff) against the main one because of their point difference (everyone else gets crackers and water IIRC while they get actual food) due to the task in the first volume that only they took part in, and the girl getting crushed under the elevator were my favourite parts. However, the ending was a rushed mess, and that sequel bait at the end didn't help. Nor did the crappy message of fertilising the soil for future soldiers.

Character? What character?
Also, no, not the evil, tanned loli killing her!
I can't remember. That is a girl, right? 

I mean, if this was meant to promote the mediocre BR 2 movie, well, it never did a very good job. I would say that Tomizawa wasn't the right man for the job, but that's plain wrong. He's good, and this could have turned out rather well. There's many good things and ideas, but they're just not well executed which hampered the manga greatly. Was it production problems? Was he only allowed to make 2 volumes? Did he just fuck it all up due to his own incompetence? I have no clue to be honest, but it's probably a bit of all of them. All in all, I wouldn't recommend this, but if you're a BR fan or a fan of Tomizawa's works, then you're probably gonna force yourself to read it anyway. Personally, I give it a 4/10.

The Star of Cottonland/Wata no Kuni Hoshi (Anime Review)

Ah, yes, the story of a stray catgirl getting taken in by a boy. And no, although this sounds like the
plot of the average hentai VN, it isn't. Now, the only reason I watched this was because somebody posted it in the pre-2000 anime thread on /a/ and it looked cute. And well, outside of it being cute, it wasn't very good for the most part. The animation is okay with it being rather bland and lifeless at times and having mediocre to ugly backgrounds, the music is bland and uninspired, but the plot and and cat stuff were kinda neat and it does have a certain charm to it. However, what the movie fails at mostly is being able to gauge the viewers attention or interest with its rather bland characters (outside of Chibi) and drawn out scenes. To be honest, it's just plain boring.

Was it autism

Now, that's not to say there's nothing good about it. The cat stuff with them being visualised as human-like was neat, and the evolving story of Chibi and her childish mind learning from character to character as the movie progresses and her going on an adventure to find Persia/Cottonland, the land of unlimited cat food and sand pits, instead of facing the reality of her friend being dead and the themes and whatnot are interesting... on paper. Because this movie isn't enjoyable or entertaining to watch at all. My brother literally fell asleep watching the film before it even ended, but anime films always suffer from the medium that they're in as it's hard for them to gauge a viewer's interest the same as a live-action film of the same length would. That's one reason why most anime should stay in their typical 24 minute format.

Le pedo cat

To make matters worse, the movie ends on a real depressing note about every-time you wake up, you're one more day closer to being in Cottonland aka heaven, but its played of as a good thing which hurt because it shouldn't. However, it does have meaning in terms of the story, characters and themes and whatnot, I guess. But don't ask me what. I've lost enough brain cells watching this already and I can't be assed explaining. Also, I'm unsure, but did she die at the end or is it just me? *sad face* All in all, while this wasn't very entertaining to watch, it does have some interesting ideas and stuff in it that may perhaps warrant a watch, but it does come off as if written by a Japanese woman with brain damage who lives in a land of giant cupcakes and unicorns. 5\10 from me.

Kekkou Kamen (Manga Review)

Yes, one of Nagai's classic smut/comedy manga. For those who don't know, Kekkou Kamen is a smut/comedy manga based in Sparta Academy, a school where the teachers put children through rigorous training schemes in order for them to attain top marks so that they go to the best schools. However, those that don't get top marks are, well, they're tortured sexually, physically and mentally in a dungeon beneath the school every-time to ensure that they get nothing but top marks. But Kekkou Kamen appears naked to save the children from the evil torturers/teachers and their leader, Satan's Toenails, and thus ensues random antics of them trying to uncover just who Kekkou Kamen is through various means.

The art is typical Nagai. Nothing noteworthy.

Sounds hella fuckin' epic, right? Now, I did enjoy this, but it's literally the same joke/gag over and over and to be honest, it gets old real quick and with the manga being 2 volumes long for something like this, Kekkou Kamen overstays its welcome by far. It literally goes like this: some kid gets tortured - Kekkou Kamen appears - bad guys get a stiffy because dood boobies - they're defeated - the day is saved. If this was perhaps 1 volume long, and if it were more so quality over quantity, I'm sure it would have been a lot better. Though, I will admit that it is funny when the theme song plays and the music comes out of thin air, and the bad guys go into in a panic, and some of the random events did get a chuckle out of me.

Kekkou Kamen is... problematic

However, the torture aspects in this are more or less the borderline rape and molestation of young girls played for laughs with all men and boys foaming at the mouth at even the slightest sight of a heel. Because apparently, raping and sexually molesting young girls is funny to Go Nagai. But that's nothing out of the ordinary for him. Now, when all is said and done, Kekkou Kamen is simply something you'd look at for a momentary chuckle, then proceed to flush it down the toilet with the rest of the shit and forget it ever existed. Nothing too amazing or spectacular, but it can be funny at times. Overall, I'd give it a 4/10.

Review: Cage of Eden Volume 1 (Manga)

The only reason I read this piece of shit was because everyone was sayin' Kyochuu Rettou was just so similar. Pssh. Bullshit. I read the first volume and it was total junk. Nothing like KR other than students crash land on an island and there's danger! And lewdness! And a smart character! For fuck sake. Those are a given for manga. Seriously, like every frickin' animu/mango has a random smart character and shit like that Prince of Tennis guy. They're a given. And just because the initial setup of KR and COE are similar doesn't mean they are anything alike. First off, the tone and style of both are totally different. COE is a way more generic animu/mango with super eccentric characters, people who eat a lot, stupid anime esque events (spotting chick bathing... really.jpg) and all that shit while KR doesn't. It's tone is more serious and better for the most part. Furthermore, fuck all happens in the first volume of COE while a lot happens in the first volume of KR, and the monsters in KR are actually kinda frightening while COE's aren't. Sabertooth tiger ain't got shit on giant fucking butterflies sucking you dry. Shit's fuckin' eerie while rawww num num num isn't. Anyway, enough with the comparisons. On to the actual review.

Kyaa

Now, Cage of Eden isn't very good. It's a tad bit too anime-esqe for me with it's stupid events, autistic characters and essentially everything. Spotting chick bathing, eccentric characters, ditsy chicks with big tits and dicks, characters who like to eat, edge lords, everyone wants the MC's cock, and all that other shite. It's came off as very generic to me other than the crash landing on island and giant animals setup. Other than that, the characters and storyline are insanely uninteresting. I mean, a giant space-time distortion appears when the plane enters the island's space-time bubble or some shit like it throws them back in time like it's Dino Crisis. What? And I really don't want to know the fuck-up ending that everyone hated. Just no. And it gets even stupider when the students run back into the plane after an animal attack and start to randomly hit each other and there's an attempted rape right out of nowhere but hero mc edge lord save the chick. Realism right there, pal. Just look at that fuckers face below. Awesome way to end a volume, right?

Look at me, I'm so cool. Also I don't like the artstyle.

In other words, it's a reddit manga. A burmese picture book that retarded teens love and adore. Seriously, it's like everybody's eaten so much shit they can't tell the difference anymore. That, or everyone has zero intelligence and can't form their own opinion. Probably both. At any rate, while I only read the first volume, if that still wasn't enough to gauge my attention or at least be entertaining, then I would say that it failed. Hell, the first chapter should have got me interested but it didn't which goes to show that it ain't worth my time and yours. Anyway, that's Cage of Eden in a nutshell and my review. Now, fuck off back to reddit, ya underage cunt.

Review: Umineko Episode 1 - Legend of the Golden Witch (Visual Novel)

Like me. I'm cool, aren't I?

Hmm. I really didn't want to review Umineko for obvious reasons, but it'll always be on my "to-do" list and on the back of my mind if I don't. So, that is why I am here today. Now, I'll try not to hold you too long so I'll do my best to minimize and cram in my general thoughts on it. First off, I would just like to mention that I only read the first episode of Umineko. Why, may you ask? Well, the Umineko episodes/arcs are too fucking long for one thing and I ain't got the time to spend many hours on end reading a stupid, goddamn, mediocre visual novel. Meh. 

Now that I got that out of the way, on to the actual review and firstly what I didn't like. Now, the main failing of Ryukishi 07's writing is that he does not have the ability to properly write and execute his ideas. Sometimes the dialogue is flat and uninteresting, scenes go on for far too long, and there's about 10 sentences said when it can be summed up in 1. Though that can be said for near enough every visual novel or text based medium from Japan, leaving you just wanting to roll the above video. Yes, I went there. 

Okay. These are kinda funny I will admit.

Also, there's a ton of pointless dialogue and boring scenes which could have easily been shortened or been brief. But, no! We get like 45 minutes or so of the adults rambling on about father's inheritance, who will get it, and poking fun at each other's failings. It goes on for far too long and a lot of the info is rather unnecessary. Meh. Lastly, Maria promising to Battler that when she grows up she'll let him grope her... Yes, that happens, and it's an example of Ryukishi 07 letting his otaku side take over. Seriously, this was unnecessary and only serves as pedo-bait for his otaku fanbase. And that's the truth. People like to deny that he isn't "like that", but there is so much evidence in his works to support what I say that you're a fucking idiot if you say otherwise. Grow up and stop defending this freak just because "he created muh Umineko and muh Higurashi, and I don't want to bash senpai because of that". Ugh. 

Average Umineko fans thoughts on the series

Anyhow, to sum up what I didn't like, it was too long, there was too much text, fanfiction tier writing, often boring dialogue, self-insert Battler and his edgy past, long scenes which should have been shortened, and there was a bunch of literacy errors spread throughout the episode. I mean, didn't anybody spell check this shit or at least look it over? Because there was even full stops where questions marks where meant to be among other things. I do all my crap by myself and I do at least that. Sheesh. Some people. Also, just to comment on the translation itself, it was good but not necessarily god-tier like many people have said. Yeah, and it seems that people say god-tier whenever Umineko is mentioned, because the porn is just that good, right? 

Shit eating grin

Now, on to what I did like. The family interactions were nicely done. They laugh, they cry, they bitch and moan like normal people. Those parts were well done. However, it does become rather annoying every so often when it gets "too anime". Eva performing a martial arts kick, leaving her foot right off somebody's nose in the airport for one thing. Too anime. Ryukishi 07 should try to stay more in terms of realism and real life rather than letting his otaku/moe side take over and do the writing for him. And that's also something that I don't like about his stories. 

The character most of the toxicity is centered around. Because porn.

For example, Higanbana could have been much better if he for once stopped writing with his dick and otaku side, because a problem that I had with it was that it was "too anime". He honestly could have told the same story about "bullying" if he simply removed the anime-esqe supernatural yokai, and it would have been much better because of that. Then again, what do I know? I just hate on him for no apparent reason. Also, check out my Higanbana review if you're interested in more on that. 

And back to Umineko. The music was nice, but not god-tier as many people have said. Higurashi's music has more charm and is overall better. And lastly, I did enjoy the sprites and backgrounds, they were nice and are much better than the unholy PS3 one's which lack soul and charm. However, I didn't like how near enough every character has a giant rack because that's rather unnecessary and only serves to fuel everybody's titty monster fetish. And, no, I am not tumblr. And to sum up what I liked, good music, good character interactions, and charmful sprites. Hmm. That's a very short list. I said more bad than good. Though it is always easier to concentrate on what's bad than what's good. Anyway, moving on. 

Laugh. Troll face lol fam blt bbq

And that's that. I know I said I'd try to keep it short, but, there was a lot to cover so long heaps of text were expected. That said, I hope you enjoyed the review. However, don't expect another one on Umineko ever again because I am not going to read past the first episode. They're too long and I haven't got the time to read 'em. I have a life, and no way in hell am I wasting my precious time on something like this. All said, I hope I managed to cover everything I wanted to. I read the VN over a month ago, I think, so my memory of it may not be the best. It was all right, and could have been better, but it's not bad or anything like that. It just has a lot of problems. Anyway, that's all I have to say. See ya next time. Bye!

P.S. - The thing I hate the most about Umineko is its autistic fanbase. What a bunch of pathetic losers. Shoving the series in everybody's faces as well as being loud, obnoxious and meme spamming, and liking a terribly written contrived mess. Only a few people talk about it normally from what I've seen. Fuck you all, anyway.

Review: Mazinger Z (Manga)

Hmm. I might as well get off my ass and write a review of Mazinger Z seeing how I read that, too, about a month or more ago. Probably multiple months back now that I think of it. Anyway, overall the story of Mazinger Z isn't hard to follow. The monster of the week formula and all that. However, that's exactly where things go wrong because having that formula doesn't allow for a more focused story which I think is exactly what Mazinger Z was missing. It just jumps from one bad guy to another without leaving much of an impression or allowing for character development making Mazinger Z overall rather mediocre and unejoyable. That's not to say it's bad or anything, just not very good or entertaining and more on the mediocre side of things. 

However, setting all that aside, the main thing to take away from it is the impact and influence it had on essentially every single mech manga and anime that came after. It set the tropes, the formulas, everything, and that's why we should appreciate it. All said and done, there isn't really much to say about Mazinger Z other than it's not very good, but it was influential, and that some of the violence which came out of nowhere was uncalled for. I mean, it's pretty much happy go lucky for the most part all the way through: beat the bad guy, save the day. But then people get violently blown apart, shot, killed and smushed to pieces out of nowhere. Though that is very Nagai. He does that a lot. Still, very unnecessary, I'd say.

Anyway, just to point out a few things about it's influences from something I've actually saw myself, Evangelion. Now, yes, I know it essentially rips off every single thing that came before it, but! I just want to mention a few things that I noticed in it that came from Mazinger Z. First off, Eva-01 goes berserk in the same fashion as Mazinger Z. Crashing around, uncontrollable by the pilot and all that jazz. Second, the way Eva-01 and the other Eva's are positioned and shown through camera angles and such are very similar to Mazinger Z sitting in the original lab in the first volume. Third, there's already a pilot before Shinji like Mazinger Z, and both become or are injured, and used as the backup pilot. Fourth, they all attend the same high school, and people in the class publically know they are the pilots of the mecha. The bully boss man guy and others being jealous of 'em similar to Kensuke and such. However, Mazinger Z one ups Evangelion by actually having that guy get his own mech. Fifth, both Eva and Mazinger Z are known to be "alive", however the latter is more "implied" than stated. Still, just for the record, Mazinger Z is alive. Sixth, they are both "thought" or considered to be "demons".

Now, you could say that these are all just coincidences ("maybe" some), but the thing is that Mazinger Z is the original manga which near enough all of what we know and all of what we see today is pulled from. And again, that's what I'd say about Mazinger Z which I like and appreciate it for, not its story or character, but the influence it has had on the industry. Anyway, I don't really have anything else to add so I think I'll end things here. Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you next time.

P.S. - I was super lazy this time so I didn't bother to add any images. How sad.

Review: Iron Virgin Jun (Manga)

And this doesn't even happen!

Okay, next up is Iron Virgin Jun and then that’s more or less all the Nagai manga that I’ve read which I’ve reviewed, except the original Devilman and a few other things like Violence Jack since I don’t think I even need to review those. Anyhow, Iron Virgin Jun. Hmm. This is an odd one because I think that it actually had potential. Now, let’s give you a small summary of the plot. There is a rich family full of muscled women and people marry in and out for money and power. However, the daughter doesn’t exactly want an arranged marriage, and thus our story ensues into wacky adventures of her mother attempting to get her married. Simple enough. But! This is where it goes wrong because the way it is handled by Nagai was off by a long shot because if he actually stopped putting in so much goddamn weird crap, it could have been much better and actually passable. Let me explain. Okay, her mother wants her daughter to marry into companies for power and profit. Right, we got that.

Japan in a nutshell

However, right off the bat the first guy we see trying to “woo” her attempts to rape her while she’s restrained (mother doesn’t want her to escape), and this isn’t the worst to happen. Second, her Aunt or something comes back from the Amazon and mentions to her “the romance of the jungle” and we see an image of her in a jungle surrounded by animals. Yeah, way to live up beastility, Nagai. Sheesh. Hmm, though I wonder if that’s a reference to that story Nagai wrote where a woman crashes into the Amazon and gets raped by everything in sight. Worth a thought. Also, Japan’s fucking weird! Nagai, too! Ahem. Moving on. Third, when she runs away from home her mother puts out an award stating that the one who rapes her gets to marry her and enter the family. Yes, that’s right, you can get paid for rape! Where do I sign up? Ahem. All that sexuality and stupid crap aside, the jokes and comedy present in Iron Virgin Jun is actually pretty good and very well done. For one thing, Akira and Asuka from the original Devilman make an appearance and it's very funny. Amenhotep made me laugh my ass off, and just the absurd style and course of events is ridiculously hilarious if you can get past the misogyny. And, no, I am not from tumblr. All in all, Iron Virgin Jun is an odd piece of work in that it had potential like many of Nagai’s works, but falls short due to its various mishaps and plot elements and scenes which hold it back. I’d say check it out, but don’t blame me if you don’t like it or if it doesn’t leave an impression. See ya!

Review: Cutie Honey (Manga)

Man has it been some time since I read this and Iron Virgin Jun. I mean, I completely forgot about both after reading them over a month ago. Still, like before, late is better than never so on to the review. Now, Cutie Honey is classic Nagai as classic Nagai can get. It pulls all the jokes and is very fun and entertaining to read overall. That said, I actually really enjoyed it and didn’t have much problems with it at all, other than some of the fanservice which went a bit too far, the eyebrow raising violence, and that attempted rape scene. Well, not some of the fanservice, just mainly this one scene. Let me begin. Cutie is fleeing from the Panther Claw and has only one transformation left, so she decides to turn into a statue to fool the enemy. It works and they leave after many grizzling hours later. However, Cutie can’t leave immediately after they do, no sir ree, as she has to stay put until the coast is clear. Oh-oh, this can’t be good. Not long after the villains leave, that reporter guys old man and brother come into the park and immediately notice the nude statue. Hubba hubba. They approach it and notice how lifelike and realistic it is, and being the perverted old man and child they are and the fact that they are Japanese, they begin to touch the statue. Oh-boy, oh, boy, oh-boy! Ahem. They realise that it’s not only realistic, but that it’s also warm to the touch, and that it becomes wet after being licked. And this is where things take a turn for the worse. Okay, get this, the old man begins sucking her nipples and the kid starts to lick out her crotch…….. what!? I mean, Nagai has done weird things in the past and I totally think that this one takes the cake, but is it even legal? Just look at that! I feel that this part could have easily been omitted or changed as it’s not funny (unless you think rape jokes and groping is funny) and freaking creepy. And the joke is that she has to endure their "assault" since she can't move or make any noise. Laugh.

A typical occurrence in Japan

That aside, Cutie Honey is very funny and very entertaining to read, and actually still holds up today which is a major bonus. You will laugh hard, and be dying to read more. However, that’s not to say it’s perfect or doesn’t have any flaws. It’s sadly only two volumes long and I just know that it should have been much longer or at least 5 volumes for a story of this type. And for one thing, some of the plot threads tend to be rather generic like an enemy disguising as that reporter guy to get closer to Cutie to try and kill her, but I think that’s because like Mazinger Z and a bunch of Nagai’s other works, they are the one’s which started it all and are what following manga and anime took inspiration from. Therefore, even if they come off as so, we can still appreciate them for being the forerunner of today’s manga/anime and their standards. Now, lastly I would like to mention that there is surprisingly a tad bit of violence present in Cutie Honey. It was really puzzling because it should be more comedy focused like its anime counterpart. However, that in itself is a staple of Nagai’s work since he always does this sort of thing and because this is also not the first time I’ve encountered a work of his and brought up the same notion. Remember Guerilla High/Gakuen Taikutsu Otoko? Could have worked better as solely parody/comedy manga, but Nagai is Nagai and his insane, unique way of creating manga is one of his biggest appeals that allows him to stand apart from most other manga authors out there. All said and done, classic Nagai is classic Nagai, so if you’re avid fan of his works or a fan of manga in general, then I recommend you to check Cutie Honey out. You won’t regret it.

Review: Gakuen Taikutsu Otoko

Now, this one I have a love/hate relationship with because it’s just so darn over the top crazy and insane but at the same time one of the most retarded messes that I have ever read. Let’s begin. It is very funny and the comedy works for the most part, but the amount of unnecessary violence leaves a sour taste in my mouth because this could have been a really good parody/comedy manga without it. I’ll give you some info about the plot so you can understand why though. Okay, the school system has fallen apart and students of all kinds are rebelling so the government allows teachers to carry and use guns and also brings in hired guns to keep law and order. I’ve already lost you, haven’t I? Anyway, it’s done in the style of a western with shootouts, cowboys, robberies, stagecoaches being used for transport except with motorcycles instead of horses? And yes, they do lift up when the driver order them to stop, and then there’s all that other jazz you’ll immediately notice if you start reading. Oh, did I mention there’s nobody even on the motorcycles. Hilarious. Nagai can be real funny when he wants to.

See what I mean?

Well, now that I got those parts out of the way, let’s move onto a little criticism. The first volume is pretty much an 7/10 but if all that violence (heads being blown off and much more) was removed I’d actually give it a glowing 9/10. I mean, the comedy works and the way the plot is set up is like an actual parody/comedy manga, but then people start to get their heads blown off, their throats cut, dragged to death on the backs of motorcycles, and all that just makes me scratch my head and wonder what exactly Nagai is trying to get across with this. Is it a parody/comedy, or is it just Nagai fucking around? Though Nagai is like that a lot so you could say that is his thing, but I still think it would have been better if it was just a parody/comedy. Meh. Anyway, while the first volume is still pretty good even with all that shit, the second and third volumes dip in quality drastically. The second is at best a 5/10 and the third hits rock bottom at a 2/10 or 3/10. Now, while the first was about our zany insane lead taking down a high school, the second is not and the third involves some horror house full of monsters and it’s really lame to say the least. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I’d ramble on forever and never stop, so I think I’ll end things here. This manga is a weird thing because as it is insanely enjoyable it is at the same time ridiculously stupid and bat shit insane, and I recommend you to check it out for just that.

Review: Jushin Liger (Manga)

I wasn't even going to write a review of Jushin Liger because it left such a sour taste in my mouth after reading that I really didn't want to bother. But alas, I must, even if it is months later. Yes, I did read it a few months ago but talking about it is pretty straightforward so it shouldn't be a problem and I’ll try to keep this short, too. Now, Liger is more or less the generic boy gets giant robot and superpowers to fight the bad guys Power Rangers sentai bullshit that you’ve seen a million times already. It’s doesn't add/bring anything new to the genre and it’s very generic with plot lines like one of the bad guys turns good guy (Example: Tommy from Power Rangers) and practically everything in it. It’s unoriginal, the characters are uninteresting, everything is bland, and it’s Nagai’s worst work that I have read. Though I haven't read that much Nagai so there’s probably something worse out there. Also, speaking of Power Rangers, Liger’s transformed mech state kinda reminds me of Lord Zedd himself. I just wanted to mention that. Umm, moving on. To sum things up, Liger is an unoriginal soulless piece of garbage that you shouldn't bother reading. There. Actually, one last thing, the scans suck and whoever did them didn't know what they were doing. They're freaking ugly and they should be ashamed. Done.

Anyone?

Review: Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni

Hmm. While the stories early on are good with the third one being the best, they tend to become rather mediocre and lacklustre thereafter. Lets begin from the first story and work our way down. It'll be easier to get my thoughts down and form a conclusion that way. Though before that, let me give you a brief introduction. Now, Higanbana is about a school haunted by its old school buildings stories of yokai who hunt and kill people with them somehow becoming involved in cases of bullying, which is Higanbana’s theme. Simple.


Chapter 1
Our beginning story to Higanbana as a whole. Overall, it's a good start but there were a few things that bugged me about it. First, rape. I don't need to explain why. Second, the character is underage and there’s unnecessary “fanservice” (nudity, an ass shot of Marie and much more) in the manga adaptation which leads me to believe that R07 was just fucking around and fantasising with the idea of molesting children. I mean, he is a known lolicon who panders just that to otaku, and since the manga came first, it’s almost as if R07 got shit for his “loli” fetish crap and then changed those parts when it came to the VN. Third, the molesting teacher is described as being good looking and has a fangirl following in the school, both of which are general tropes and hentai tropes, which backs up my argument. Fourth, an abandoned school building where nobody will know or see that a teacher takes a young girl (undefinable age. Whatever makes you feel more “comfortable”, I guess) into it for “fun time” after school? Is this hentai? How can this happen? Don't her parents notice anything different? Doesn't anyone make sure all children have left the school? If people let her and know she’s staying after school, who is accountable? Stop fantasizing, Ryukishi07! This makes no fucking sense! Gah! Put two and two together and you're conclusion is that R07 is a fucking lolicon, Japanese piece of shit self inserting under the pretext of "telling a story of bullying"! Ahem. That said, the story’s still very good overall but the abandoned school building thing, the pretty boy teacher, hentai tropes and the like are completely ridiculous, unrealistic, and stupid. R07’s fucking around and we all know it.

True. And you're an otaku pandering lolicon, R07.

Lastly, how does bullying fit in here, may you ask? Well, it is mentioned but it's not the focus of the story. Anyhow, Marie was being bullied by her classmates but the teacher stepped in and protected her, so to speak. Then one thing lead to another and they eventually entered into their little “deal”. He protects her from the bullies and she lets him “use” her. Mutually beneficial, right? Now, an elaborate plan like that could actually happen in hentai, but I live in real life. Stupid R07. I've already covered why so lets move on.


Chapter 2
I actually like this story overall, though the ending I did not. While it had great build up and events with the plot and the boy researching and finding out stuff after finding the camera, the ending with the whole lovey dovey forgiveness didn't quite cut it for me. That said, it's more of the regret part that both of the characters lived with that is cleared up during that end scene which bugs me the most. I wasn't expecting them to openly kill without any words, and laugh at it like it's great entertainment like Higanbana expected, but the whole “talk it out” thing I did not. For one, regret is something we all have to live with, it's not something we can take back. To put things bluntly, the entire scene where camera boy and the girl who knocked over the skeleton and put the blame on him forgive each other was a load of shit. She died because of him and they both regret the cause and effect of everything that led up to that point. Let’s just put this in terms of real life to simplify things. No magical entities will appear to grant you closure on anything. It's up to you and only you to deal with your own problems, and I know Ryukishi07 is just using the supernatural shit as a medium to tell his story, but the notion of that is simply ludicrous. If you're going to make a story for people to learn from and advance with their life then at least put it in terms of reality so those reading it can relate, because as we know, yokai don't fucking exist. All said and done, this was still an enjoyable chapter, except for that part. Meh.

The real yokai of Higanbana

Again, how does bullying fit in here? Well, I wouldn't really call it bullying myself, but it's something of the sort. Now, I'll have to give you a little info of this chapters backstory. Cameraboy before he became cameraboy was assigned to clean up the science room. However, a group of girls messing about knock over a human anatomy statue but put the blame on him. He became furious and realised that photos are the only thing that can provide evidence or “proof”, which is this chapter's theme of sorts, and so his fetish for cameras begins. He starts to stalk the girl that knocked it over, takes photos, spreads them around the school, people take notice of her and she eventually becomes a victim of bullying. She loses her friends and becomes all alone, but cameraboy doesn't let up and the girl eventually takes her own life due to the torture. And that is the bullying aspect of this chapter. Now, the above is a totally realistic scenario that could actually happen. I have no problems. All said and done, this chapter was very enjoyable aside from what I brought up. There’s good characterization and events to keep you interested. I loved the Headmaster part. It was like something out of a twilight zone episode. Good stuff. Check it out.


Chapter 3
Now, this was my favourite story out of the whole bunch. It's got a great story with great characterization and a heart-wretching ending. What more do you need? I have no problems. A solid story. However, I would just like to mention that the entire drama club thing was lifted from another manga. Just saying. Now, the bullying. Wa ah ah ah ah ah. It's so sad. I need to sing a song. "She'll say I'm not so tough, just because, I'm in love, with an uptown girl. She's been living in her white bread world  As long as anyone with hot blood can. And now she's looking for a downtown man. That's what I am". Ahem. Anyhow, the bullying aspects of it were well done for the most part but I found some sections to be rather extreme and unrealistic. I mean, cockroach curry? Seriously, that and an entire crowd bullying her while the teacher is in the room would never happen. All it says in the VN itself is that they crowd around her so the teacher can't see, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the teacher wouldn't notice. In fact, it could make the teacher notice even more. Think, R07.

Friendly reminder that this happened. R07 totally not pedofile.

Chapter 4
Ah, chapter 4. What a wonderful ball of love. Overall, this chapter was actually pretty good but like many of the others the ending kinda ruined it for me. That said, it’s about a bullied boy who suffers from “draw a girl, call it a boy” symptoms. Jokes aside, he tortures rabbits to vent his frustrations from bullying. However, a yokai takes notice of this and they enter a deal. He leads people to the music room to give him souls (I think. Rabbit killings maybe) and he gets to choose the targets. Win-win, wouldn't you say?

Typical R07 ending

Anyhow, he gets a few boys who bully him turned into rabbits, and he tortures them rather gruesomely (until death) may I add. However, he eventually gets what is coming to him and gets turned into a rabbit himself by Higanbana after trying to fight her with his yokai. Though this is where the stupidest thing I have ever read in an R07 story ever happens. Okay, get this. She turns him into a rabbit, and his punishment is that he must spent his entire life as such getting buttfucked by all the other rabbits………………….. What!? Overall, it is a good chapter but that freaking ending just
ruined the rest for me. I mean, there are good bits here and there but every time I think about this chapter all I remember is that it ends with a buttfuck. Stupid R07. Probably thought it was horrific or something. Idiot. Who even writes an ending like that? That said, they mention something about the new yokai being sent or invited to the school by someone but that plot thread is never brought up again after this chapter or in the second night so we get no closure on that. In other words, R07 dropped the ball again.


Chapter 5
Meh. I found this chapter to be rather pointless and boring. It’s not very good and the story isn’t interesting. Though the only thing that I did enjoy was the shameless reusing of *insert name* from Umineko. “Uruyu! I am a lion!” Aww, so cute! That said, I’ll give you some info on this story so you can at least fathom why I think the above. Let’s start. Now, the story begins with a chair falling off a roof on to a girl, injuring and placing her in hospital. However, it turns out she and her friends destroyed the front gate of the small shrine round the back of the school building. Oh, scary, divine retribution. Then, that group of girls (except the injured) discuss what happened but a eye-patched, loli, moeblob butts in and mentions the curse. Kowai! They tell her to, in other words, piss off, but a girl from that group comes to her afterwards round the back of the school buildings to talk. She recommends that they repent at the shrine for destroying its gate and bring everyone involved to calm the spirit before the end of the day (I think. My memory is kinda fuzzy). However, they cannot since one is in the hospital and another does not accept that some curse can exist. But the captain eyepatch say’s that if they not do so, then another “accident” may befall them soon. Scary! Ahem. Anyway, the girls become scared but the one who doesn’t believe attempts to leave school by herself, in fact, scared of the curse. And now we dive into what I like to call the “what a twist” segment of this story. The girl tries to leave but somebody prepares to drop a fire extinguisher from floors up on to her head. Ouch! That would fucking kill! However, as the girl prepares to leave, it cuts up to one of the floors above and we see that it was captain eyepatch all along. Duh duh duh!!! The horror! Jokes aside, Marie confronts her and convinces her to stop. The spirit was never angry at all, and it was just captain eyepatch carrying out punishment because the spirit never did it himself, or they were never punished for their vile act. Something like that. Story end!

Typical R07 plot twist

All said and done, it wasn’t very interesting or entertaining but the least we can take away from it is that it sets up characters and leads on into other stories. It’s like the first episode of an anime. It’s terrible, but it sets up the characters and general plot. Enter Lost Universe joke here. I give it a meh. Also, how does bullying fit in here, may you ask? Well, my memory is kinda fuzzy but I think it was just the fact that captain eyepatch was ignored by the rest of the class since she’s weird, and say’s she can talk to spirits. Scary, scary, scary! That’s actually very minor, and it’s not the focus of the story, either. Damn you, R07! You said this was about bullying!


Chapter 6
Another lackluster pointless story. Yay! This is taking forever to write so I’ll try and keep this one short. Remember that girl who knocked over that anatomy skeleton is chapter 2? No? Well, go fucking read that post, then. That said, she gets resurrected to live a normal, happy, fun school day. She falls on her way to school, messes about in class, has fun and a great time, and also knocks over the anatomy skeleton again but apologizes and takes the blame. Aww, how sweet! Stupid R07. However, it turns out at the end of the day that it was all in exchange for her soul by Higanbana. Yet, she say’s it tastes bad and lets her go, her soul ascending into the sky. What? Did she move from hell into heaven? Explain, R07!? Overall, it’s a fun, happy chapter full of love and joy. None of that pesky bullying theme Higanbana is supposedly meant to have. Meh. Kinda pointless if you ask me.

Typical R07 fan drawings

Chapter 7
And now we've come to the final chapter of the first night. Yay! I can wrap things up now! I'll keep it short. Let's start. Now, this is what I would say is the most developed chapter out of them all, so it was good story to end things on. However, there were a few things that bothered me about it. First, the bullying aspects of it were simply put to unrealistic extremes so those parts became rather unenjoyable and distasteful to me. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Second, the yokai amplifying/creating bullying in the class, instigating it, reaping the benefits I did not like because it takes away from the fact that people themselves are assholes and would do it regardless, not, derp it was der yokai hur hur hur. What message are you trying to teach here, R07, hmm? Fucking idiot. Third, the bullying gets so bad that they put cockroaches in her curry (reusing events, R07?). Again, like before where the same thing happened, but I don’t want to repeat myself why it’s unrealistic and makes no sense so meh.

Typical R07 characters

Fourth, I know it’s part of the story but if R07 is trying to give meaning for people to learn from these stories then this part right here makes no sense. And you don't even know what I'm talking about so let me explain. Now, a girl is getting bullied but all her class (all bullies) is killed on a trip (she was sick, couldn't go) by a yokai (Higanbana) driving their bus off a cliff. Realism. Because all your problems just get swept away like that due to supernatural beings like in real life, right? Fucking idiot. What is that meant to teach us, R07? To wait for someone else to come and fix our own problems? Think!? Didn't you yourself write Higurashi where Satoko was waiting for her Nii-Nii to come home which was the wrong decision? Hur hur hur, me R07, me retard. I can no write story properly. Fucking idiot. Rika fucking explains just that to Satoko herself and tells her that she isn't strong by taking Teppei’s beatings at all. Duh!!!? Do you even remember what you write? Fucking idiot. How many times have I said that already? Meh. Fifth, even though she is bullied by the class, the teacher joins in from time to time, also. I mean, what? This would never happen. Have you ever been to school, R07? Unrealistic and stupid. Meh meh triple meh.

Typical R07 "fanservice"

Sixth, during a section of the story one of the bullies forget his keys and has to go back into the school. However, he can't go home without them since his parents come home late and are thus passed due to stress and such, so he would get beat or shouted at if he went home without. Aww, poor bully has own problems and shitty life. Boo fucking hoo. Are you trying to make us feel sorry for someone who makes another's life hell, R07? Fuck you, asshole. People who take their own frustrations out on others are the worse kind of people, because they are fucking weak-willed pieces of shit who have no self control, fucktard. Stop trying to give bullies reason for their actions, straw man. Pathetic. I can't believe R07 actually wrote this into the story. Bullies are not meant to be sympathised with, but R07 wouldn't know that because he has never been bullied himself. He just writes all this shit from an “entertainment" perspective because he doesn't care about the effects of bullying at all, he just took inspiration from the time he worked as a social worker or whatever the fuck and said, hey, let’s make a story hur hur hur. Retard.

Seventh, when our lead doesn't come to school since she is sick or whatever, the bullies just violently kick the curtains in the corner while cursing our leads name because she never came to school. Yeah, because that's realistic. It’s not like they just find someone else to bully oh wait they fucking do! Idiot! It pisses me off even more so because they joke around and say they're just “playing” with her not bullying and laugh like fucking hyenas. Did you even research bullying, R07, because they don’t fucking do that. They know what they are doing and wouldn’t joke like that. Retard.

Ha ha ha, it's so fucking funny! Ha ha ha, ha ha! Fucking retards!

Anyhow, now we come to the part that I found to be the worst that Higanbana has to offer. Eighth. And let me just say for the record that it's fucking ridiculous. Let's begin. Okay. Now, at the tail end of the story there is a scene for how she gets injured so she doesn't board the death bus. It is a scene which starts off as her being bullied, but quickly escalates into something much more. She is getting picked on by the boys of the class during lunch, I think, because she supposedly smells like curry, which an aftereffect of the yokai’s actions from before when she spilled the curry pot during lunch and fell on it earning her the nickname captain curry.

Now, normally they'd just pick on her but things take a turn for the worse and get real weird. Get this, since she smells like curry, they surround her and begin to strip the clothes off of her piece by piece to “wash them" while the girls in the class laugh as she attempts to “defend” herself from their “assault”…………….. What!? What the fuck am I reading!? Porn!? Gah, you're so fucking annoying, R07! Why are you doing this? If you want to write porn, then just write fucking porn! And it gets worse believe me. R07 even wrote in that she cannot stop them but tries to resist when they attempt to remove her underwear.

The real conclusion to chapter 7

Meaning that they strip her down to just that in a corner of the classroom while everyone laughs and nobody does anyone to stop it or help… what? Yeah, because that part’s necessary. He probably wrote it while jerking off to porn and thinking the scene is hot, the Japanese fuck. And you’re telling me that this can just happen spontaneously and nobody stops it or hears the racket from outside the classroom? Realism. And the yokai amplifying the bullying doesn't count. Also, this isn't the end. While they attempt to remove her underwear she manages to break through their “encirclement” and dashes out into the hallway in tears. But the horror doesn't end here as the boys of the class dash out after her like a bunch of fucking rapists. However, she reaches the stairs but is tripped by Higanbana and falls down, injuring herself with blood seeping from her head. The boys stop in wonder and a teacher instantly arrives and brings her to the infirmary. Yep, it makes no reference to the teachers reaction after seeing her near naked in just her underwear or as to what punishment (if any) the boys receive. Bravo, R07, you're a fucking terrible writer who deserves to be hanged for writing what could be seen as you fantasizing about a class of 10 year old boys (presumably) surround and attempt to strip a 10 year old girl naked. Fucking pathetic. Go fucking hang yourself right now you fucking pedofile piece of shit. I mean, I’ve fucking had it with you, you fucking pathetic excuse for a man. You're a fucking terrible writer and an even shittier person with a loli fetish. And I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out he “touches” his own child. He’s Japanese and took her to a maid café to dress as Rika, after all, and his thoughts of her go without saying. Porn, porn, porn, and more porn. Fucker!

R07 meet Rika

Ugh. Now that I got that out of my system, let’s continue. What, if the boys caught her did they intend to strip her bare and rape her on the ground? I mean, this entire scene is just ridiculous and it’s simply R07’s tiny dick doing the writing for him and that in itself is what it is. Take it at face value and don’t hide how disgusting the man truly is. That said, not covering the aftermath of this scene was freaking horrendous because shit would happen for fuck sake. It’s even worse because they still go on the school trip afterwards. I mean, what? They would get fucking expelled for pulling a stunt like that in real life, but no, this is R07 world, a world of hentai, unrealistic events and characters. What a load. This pissed me the hell off when and read it and just writing about it weeks later still makes my blood boil. R07 can’t write for shit anyway. And don't one of you bastards pull “the school didn't want a bad reputation so they hid it under the rug” bullshit. That’s not what the scene or the absence of the aftermath is. It’s bad writing and we all know it. Ugh.

My review in a nuttshell

Overall, this is a good chapter and the second best out of the first night, but there's a ton of shit that pissed me off about it which I insanely covered. Meh. The bullying is taken to unrealistic extremes and it really shows. And R07’s terrible writing style doesn't help, either. Meh, meh, meh, meh!


End
Yippee! All done! Yay! Now fuck off and eat a cock. Oops, sorry. Where did that come from? Ahem. Anyway, it’s hard to remember everything from the VN itself so I hope that I covered everything I wanted to. All said and done, Higanbana is actually a pretty mediocre VN with good music and atmosphere and only good. People said god-tier, but that’s really just an aftereffect of them sucking on R07’s tiny Japanese dick for so long. The music and atmosphere’s good, not god-tier, and any non-weeb neet regular human being can tell you that. Anyhow, the VN is good but suffers from what I like to call “Ryukishi07 Syndrome”. Every time you read one of his stories you can always feel that retarded magic of his at work. Unnecessarily sexualisation, otaku bait, perverted, stupid characters and character quirks, lolis, stupid stories, waifus, unrealistic as shit, troll characters and much much more. He honestly gets more credit than what he’s worth, and that’s not just me picking on him. Though I know others will say otherwise. Now, the sprites are nice and to my liking, though it feels as if some were half-assed in design.

That said, the last thing I would like to mention is that all the character seem to talk like they're freaking philosophers who have seen all the world has to offer at age 10 for some reason. It’s really fucking annoying and makes me think that R07 doesn't know what the fuck he is doing, which is probably the truth half the time. Enter Umineko joke here. Jab jab jab jab jab. Hee hee. And there’s also the fact that all the bullying is unrealistic and put to extremes. I didn't like that. And the bullying aspect of Higanbana as a whole comes off as rather poorly researched. I mean, R07 got the basics down but the rest isn't very well done. And only those who have never been bullied think it was well done, while in reality it wasn’t. Also, the actual last thing. R07 seemed to pointlessly contrast bullying to a hierarchy in a utopia and that it must be present for the utopia to exist, and bla bla bla, but saying crap like that has no real point in a story like this. It's just R07 trying to sound smart using big words, and that's all.

Now, for those of you who actually read this novel (all 5 people) I hope you all enjoyed my totally not biased review of Higanbana. It took quite a while to write, so I hope that someone can at least appreciate the effort I put into it. Also, I plan to do the same for the Second Night of Higanbana, FYI. So I'm sure you'll all love it. Ah ha ha ha ha ha.