MISC. MANGA, *Kekkaishi

So, let’s say your a demon hunter in training in Japan(God knows there’s alot of them there!)but your sick of your grandpa’s constant bitching about family tradition, and all you wanna do is be a baker. That’s the premise for Kekkaishi by manga-ka, Yellow Tanabe.

Yoshimori is the latest in his family’s group of spiritualists. They have the power to set up barriers around demons, and either exorcise them to the afterlife, or just contain them in an attempt to ward them off. At the same time, there is a rival clan of from the same order whose latest disciple Tokine is Yoshimori’s neighbor and schoolmate, although she goes to the high school part of the campus while he’s still in middle school(they sometimes mix in grade schools in Japan). Most of the ghosts and other undead nasties habitat around their school because it was the site of a temple that was overrun with demons centuries ago. Now, both Yoshimori and Tokine’s plans recieve payment from a mysterious benefactor for keeping the area clear of spooks.

Yoshimori gets help from a dog demon named Madarao who is indebted to his family’s service for the past few centuries. Tokine gets help from a similar canine called Hakubi. Between the two of them, they have to deal with possessed teachers, pesky chef ghosts, and other things that might make campus life more like an episode of Buffy.

Kekkaishi is a pretty fair manga. It’s not as gripping as say Bleach which is also about teenage ghost chasers. But it does have a pretty original story and interesting artwork. It seems to develop more and more with each chapter, so its worth looking into further volumes of. If you liked the anime on Adult Swim, you’ll probably dig the manga too.

JESI THE GENIE, *Part 1: Page 1

Here's the first chapter of Jesi The Genie, our mascot character!

Story by Jer Alford, art by James Dawsey.

MISC. MANGA, *Kreeky Playground

If The Nightmare Before Christmas was like The Passion to you, then this manga-styled graphic novel is totally up your dark and sinster-looking alley. Collecting two comic series from goth spindoctor, Aaron Bordner, Kreeky Playground is an anthology of the title of the same name, and another title called Monster High School(no relation to the Monster High animated series).

The first part of the book is about Alice Sinn, a walking dead girl and her adventures in the afterlife. Most of which involve a boogieman-type guy called Springheel Jack who apparently has an axe to grind with her.

Next is Evil Voodoo, an evil living ragdoll. He acts as sort of a grim reaper for misfit Halloween toys, and here he’s out to get a whole army of possessed robot action figures.

Monster High School is next. Like School Bites, it’s about an academy for young monster girls. But not just vampires. There’s mummies, werewolves, witches, devils, and the obligatory invisible girl. Mainly, the stories are about the stiched up Frankey and her efforts to pass her science class.

Closing it out is an original story of Freak, who is a lovely young girl who just happens to have a second pair of arms. Usually its about her trying to get a date, or fend off weirdo superheroes.

Kreeky Playground is a weirdly funny book. It’s visually very enjoyable, and delves deeply into the macarbe but slightly cute side of gothic horror.

ANI-MOVIES, *Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme

After about two other failed attempts at getting his own movie(say what you will, but I actually dug Doctor Mordred), Marvel Animation decided to take the “original Doctor” and make their fourth film through Lionsgate about him. Unlike the previous animated movies though, this one didn’t have any connection to them and was treated as its own story.

Pompous-ass Stephen Strange is one of the leading surgeons in his field, but is only interested in unique cases by wealthy patients. After a mystical vision causes him to crash his car, his hands are crushed, and he can’t perform surgery anymore, Strange uses all his funds up scouring the world looking for a way to restore his hands. When he’s at the end of his rope, a stranger named Wong appears and tells him to see out the enigmatic Ancient One in Tibet.

Once finally in Tibet, Strange joins in with Wong’s crew of sorcerers, which is spearheaded by the agressive Mordu(“Baron Mordu”). Their troops are after the demonic entity Dormammu who was sealed off in another dimension ages ago by the Ancient One. Strange starts his training under them to be a magician, during which he finds his hands are healed. Mordu becomes enraged when he learns that the title of Sorcerer Supreme(their grand poobah), and he strikes a deal with Dormammu to get rid of Strange if he kills the Ancient One for him.

Dormammu is released through the dreams of children in a coma, and destroys the Sanctum Sanctorum which bridges the gap between our world and the demon world. After dying, the Ancient One passes his power on to Strange with his mystical amulet(the Eye Of Agamotto). With his new strength, Strange manages to defeat Mordu, and absorbs all of Dormammu’s magic. Strange then remakes the Sanctum with Wong, and begins his new life as the Sorcerer Supreme.

This made for a decent secret origin for Dr. Strange. I think Marvel chose to take a chance on doing an animated movie of him to try and introduce him to a new generation of fans. With magic being a big thing in Hollywood at the time, Dr. Strange was a good attempt, although it’s hard to say how non-hardcore comic geeks would accept it. The animation is pretty good, exceptionally better than what was used in the previous Iron Man movie. It’s hard to say if this one is a keeper for your video library, but very much worth a rental or borrowing from a friend.

OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Variable Geo

The 90s were a smorgasbord for anime based on fighting games. While the Street Fighter II movie is pretty much the Citizen Kane of that crop, one of the better attempts was Variable Geo. This was one of the first all-female fighting games ever, and to sweeten the fan service even further, all the characters are sexy waitresses. So, try to imagine Hooters girls battling Playboy bunnies!

Set in a version of Japan where one of the biggest spectator sports is weirdly not kids card games, a major series of fights called Variable Geo, or “VG” is all the rage. This is where waitresses from different restaurants compete for the major prize of ten million dollars, and whatever real estate they want. Yuka is one of the best in the nation, and is cited to be the next champ for the upcoming championship. However, Yuka’s fighter friend Satomi(who is basically the Ken to Yuka’s Ryu)is also eyeing the prize, mostly to get the funds to pay for her sick brother’s operation. While all this is going on, the main company sponsoring VG, the Jahana Group, is really testing all their contestants as candidates for a body that the spirit of the company’s deceased female president can be placed in. There’s several subplots with rival factors, all of which have ninja girls, plus other contestants getting into VG fights, most of which would probably make sense to anyone who has played the actual video game would be familiar with. But ultimately, it all comes down to mind-controlled battle waitresses and bio-genetic test subjects meeting up in a large showdown at the end, which of course concludes with the two main heroines about to finally have their epic fight just before the closing credits.

Despite a lot of the criticism that fighting game anime gets, Variable Geo actually managed to pull of a good story, at least for a ecchi-fueled action OVA. They show the characters fighting for more than just the prize, like Yuka’s wanting to fight because she feels an empathic connection through battle, and Satomi wanting to save her brother. Even the stereotypical bunnygirl Erina is trying to get the money solely to bring her grandmother home to Japan. The fight sequences aren’t cheap either though with lots of ripped outfits throughout the series. There was a hentai “sequal” to this titled VG Neo, which probably delves more into nudity than your average prude could deal with. The original is worth at least watching. The only downside is that the video games that it is based on have never been released in English.

MISC. MANGA, *Astrider Hugo

After doing an impressive job with the manga adaptaion of the original Star Wars movie, Hisao Tamaki was offered the chance to do an original American comic. Having gone on to become the artist for the Dirty Pair Japanese manga, Tamaki really went to town creating what became only a 2-issue series.

Set in the year 2175, mankind had branched off into space because rules on Earth got too tight. Alot of space stations had spread throughout the Solar System, and the trade through them have has alot of space pirates(not “pirates in space”!). Although the pirates are more in the right as the Earth Federation is almost like Big Brother in the galvaninzed efforts to stop all unregulated trade. To fight back against this tyranny is the astrider(which is a term for space travellers)Hugo uses his upgraded tech to stop the Federation. The plucky Orbital Guard officer Regina is on the case to catch Hugo, but as she persues him she realizes that the government she serves is not all its up cracked up to be. Hugo eventually gets some help from the catgirl hybrid Kinela in the explosive second and conclusive issue.

The comic had a very limited run, possibly something to deal with sales, although each issue is about twice as long as your average comic at the time. The artwork is really compelling, even if the story seems like its going a little to fast, even for a manga. I’d recommend it for fans of sci-fi adventure on the level of Flash Gordon or John Carter.

MISC. MANGA, *Mechanical Man Blues

Tsukasa Kotoboki was the character designer for several anime projects in the 90s, including Saber Marionette J and Dante’s Inferno, as well as the creator of Cyber Team In Akihabara. But one of his original manga creations oddly enough one that didn’t feature in Japan. Mechanical Man Blues was similar to Astrider Hugo as it was Radio Comix getting a manga creator to do a comic specifically produced for America.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, mankind has been subjugated by a robot empire titled the Syndicate that either kill humans or enslaves them. One of the last few resistance leaders is the incredibly voluptuous Lady Sonja who could give Red Sonja a run for her money. She finds the remains of one of the prototype killer androids called a Mechanical Man which were supposed to be the ultimate terminators. Sonja brings it to the eccentric scientist Prof. Poporo to reactivate it to fight for them, but they’re interreupted by an upgraded robot sent to stop them. The Mechanical Man does come online as the luscious Sonja is killed just prior to it. The android called Gun is later found by a totally different band of human freedom fighters, and tracked down by some other robot assassins. The Syndicate resorts to sending their pair of bikini-clad killer android sisters to kill Gun, but one of them ends up going crazy, while the other joins Gun and his party.

The comic never fully concluded, and the plot does skip around from one part to another, making it hard to get a official grasp of the world this takes place in. The art style is crisp and damn good. Kotobuki is very slick at dishing out the fan service, which is what makes his work in the new Dirty Pair manga more appealing. But he probably could’ve used a little more help on the as far as the story was concerned. Only three issues of this were actually printed in America, which were collected into a single graphic novel from Radio Comics, although from that you miss out on Adam Warren’s cool colored cover art from Issue #3.