by Linda Yau
Photographs by Linda Yau etc.

Saturday: July 18

After the excitement of Friday, I wanted to attend MELL’s press conference, but because of circumstances was not able to. Instead I waited for Naomi Tamura’s autograph session. Caught some pictures of interesting cosplays. Slight changes to Otakon this year was that there weren’t any express tickets made available to fans, so people had to wait on lines irregardless.

» Continue reading “Otakon 2009: Part 2″

by Linda Yau
Photographs by Linda Yau

Otakon 2009, a convention intended for the Otaku Generation or for the masses of fans that would converge onto the Baltimore Convention Center on an annual basis. This year the convention was held on July 17 to July 19 and the final count of the convention attendance was at 26,350 people, an increase from last year’s official 26,262 people.

» Continue reading “Otakon 2009: Part 1″

Steal Moon vol. 2
Story and Art: Makoto Tateno
Published by the Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN13: 9781569701010
ISBN10: 1569701016

Review by I-hsiu Lin

Voyeurism taken to the next level.

In the first vol. of Steal Moon, street fighter Nozomi ends up as commodity in the peeping room internet site of ‘Digital Angels’. He later discovers that it is only a cover-up to distract a computer monitoring them from the moon, ‘Isis’. Teaming up with Hermes and Coyote (who placed him in this situation in the first place,) he finds himself wrapped up more and more with the conspiracy to take down the digital surveillance. Through it all, Nozomi falls for the enigmatic Coyote who in turn confesses his feelings for him. Just a bit more, Coyote promises that they’ll be free from observing eyes. But the situation turns to shock when during their final plan to shut down the moon’s computer, they had in fact turned it on. Hermes and Coyote had a plan of their own, but what about his feelings for Nozomi? “You may not believe me but…I still love you.”
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: Steal Moon vol. 2″

Ummmmmmm…….
» Continue reading “Comic Con 2009″

Real World
By Natsuo Kirino
Vintage International, 2009
ISBN-10: 0307387488
ISBN-13: 978-0307387486

Reviewed by Budd

Natsuo Kirino, a well known author in Japan, releases her second English translation with Real World. Real world follows four Japanese high school girls as they assist a boy that has just committed matricide in his escape.
» Continue reading “Real World”

Gakuen Prince vol. 1
Story and Art: Jun Yuzuki
Published by the Del Rey Manga Imprint of Random House, Inc.
ISBN-10: 0-345-50895-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-345-50895-9

Review by Kris

Jyoshioka Private High School, a.k.a. as Jyoshi (or Joshi) High, was once an all girls school but within the last few years they’ve started admitting guys. The girls outnumber the guys like no other and so to try and keep things somewhat quiet, all of the guys are in S-class. Every girl in school wants to be in S-class, except Rise Okitsu. Rise’s goal in life at Jyoshi High is to be invisible. It seems that she was bullied in her old school and wants to avoid it in her new school so to hide her stunning good looks she pulls her hair up in pigtails and wears clunky glasses.
» Continue reading “Manga Review: Gakuen Prince vol. 1″

Naughty But Nice
Story and Art: Naduki Koujima
Published by the Deux Press Imprint of Aurora Publishing, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1934496588
ISBN-13: 978-1934496589

Review by Kris

Mr. Wakasa is Kakeru Kiba’s homeroom teacher. Everyone loves Mr. Wakasa, he’s handsome and kind. But Kakeru is a bit of a klutz. Because of this weakness of his he learns that Wakasa is not the kind teacher he sees at school but is actually a bit of a jerk. What happened was Kakeru was out running errands for his mom when he saw someone that looked like his teacher being threatened by thugs. But this man was drunk and rather rude, so how could it be Wakasa? Just as the thugs go to punch out Wakasa Kakeru ends up distracting everyone, slips on a can, and pushes Wakasa into a river. Oops!
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: Naughty but Nice”

Halfway to the Grave
Written by: Jeaniene Frost
Published by Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-124508-4

Review by Lauren Lapinski

During this year’s New York Comic Con, I was fortunate enough to listen to Jeaniene Frost, along with a few other authors, talking about writing novels and changes they had to make to their own stories so it might capture an agent’s attention. She doesn’t disappoint since the first chapter starting off with her main character, Catherine, caught in a situation many of us wouldn’t want to be in. The character’s voice through out the story is very well done and is pretty much consistent for the whole book. The actions scenes are well written out and you can tell by reading the book that the author clearly did her research.
» Continue reading “Book review: Halfway to the Grave”

Live for Love
Story by Itsuki Sato
Art by Jun Mayama
Published by Juné Manga
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-035-8

Review by April Kimm

Jun Mayama is the mangaka of “Love Pheromone,” “Kono Akuma Me!,” “Furueru Hana,” “Kuchibiru Kara Knife,” “Karei ni Shite Rifujin,” “Sexy Effect 96,” “Love Sexual,” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.” “Live for Love” is a yaoi manga with five chapters of the one continuous story.
» Continue reading “Yaoi review: Live for Love”

Idol Pleasures
By Fuhri Misasagi
Published by Deux
ISBN-13: 978-1934496671

Review by April Kimm

Fuhri Misasagi is the mangaka of “Curse Project,” “Kichiku Megane,” “Oyaji Kairou e Youkoso,” “The Next Door I Moved To,” “Beasts,” “Kimi ga Nokoshita Kimochi,” “Kimi to Kare to Watashi,” “Kimi wo Dakishimeru Ryouude,” “Kimi to Ayumu Nichijou,” “Yajuu Shugi,” “Ameiro no Ibasho,” “Cross Light,” “Gobousei no Saku Kisetsu,” “AB Motion,” and “Love Miracle.” “Idol Pleasures” is a manga with five chapters and an afterword by the author. It’s shonen-ai with implied soft yaoi.
» Continue reading “Yaoi review: Idol Pleasures”

Naughty but Nice
By Naduki Koujima
Published by Deux
ISBN-13: 978-1934496589

Review by April Kimm

Naduki Koujima is the mangaka of this manga’s sequels “Spicy but Sweet” and “Kinky but Kind” both also licensed by Deux, the “Selfish Love” series licensed by Be Beautiful, the “Great Place High School” series licensed by June Manga, the “Our Kingdom” series licensed by June Manga, “Otona to Kodomo no Kyoukaisen,” “Suki to Kirai no Kyoukaisen,” “Sunao ni Nare!,” “Shiawase no Level,” “Brother Complex,” “Fuuki no Okite,” “Otona no Oso Kodomo no Honki,” “Mamoru-san no Yuutsu,” “Shinshikyoutei wo Musubou!,” “Boys Life,” “Shounika Byoutou wa Osawagi,” “Amaimono ni wa Goyoujin!,” one of the authors of “J-Boy by Biblos” licensed by June Manga, and the illustrator of the novel “Little Darling” licensed by June Manga. “Naughty but Nice” is composed of three chapters of the main story and two chapters of “Bouquet of Love,” an unrelated two-shot. The three chapters of the main story and the first chapter of the two-shot are shonen-ai, and the second chapter of the two-shot is light yaoi.
» Continue reading “Yaoi review: Naughty but Nice”

Brilliant Blue: Vol 1
Story and Art by Saemi Yorita
Published by Doki Doki Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN10: 1569700990
ISBN13: 9781569700990

Review by Linda Yau

Shouzo Mita never thought that he would end up running his father’s construction business even though he has the same job at Tokyo, but when his father’s back gave out, he headed back to the suburbs. At a welcoming party he bumps into Nanami, a childhood friend and this is the start of Saemi Yorita’s Brilliant Blue. » Continue reading “Yaoi Review: Brilliant Blue”

I took more pictures.

I also went to the Convention Feedback panel. Oy.
» Continue reading “Anime Expo 2009 Day 4″

No pictures today, I got there in time to see four episodes of Galaxy 999. It’s the same era as the Harlock eps I saw yesterday, but a little stranger than them. Maetel is in Galaxy 999, so I’m glad I got to see it. And then I went home.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4

Took more pictures today

Was in a better frame of mind.
» Continue reading “Anime Expo 2009 Day 2″

I didn’t stay very long.
» Continue reading “Anime Expo 2009 Day 1″