Twenty-Two of Fifty-Two

Comics

Battle Royale

My only problem with Battle Royale is that it's a rip off of Hunger games. This is a major concern, except I've never seen/read Hunger Games, from what I've heard Battle Royale is better and Battle Royale came out first, by quite some margin.

Battle Roayle is out in three mediums, Book (original), movie and Manga. I've read the manga and watched the movie (and its sequel, but the sequel was not a good movie).
The premise of the book, and thus the movie and manga (which is the reason we're here) is that all the young people of Japan became too unruly. It became so bad that the government had no choice but to initiate the program. A state sponsored TV show where a class of year nine students are chosen at random to be taken to an evacuated, undisclosed location, given weapons and forced to kill each other. If they don't? The collars that are attached to their necks are blown and they die.

Bet you're looking back on your school years more fondly now?

Can you imagine being taken to an island and being told that you have to kill your friends, otherwise either they will kill you, your brand new fashion accessory will  kill everyone or someone in your class you aren't so chummy with will do it.

It's an emotional story that goes into the characters histories in a way that the movie overlooks.  The main character, Shuya Nanahara, chooses to help a girl to survive. Through a series of unlikely alliances they try to survive and take the establishment out while they're at it.

The Manga is gritty, gruesome, emotional, dark and thoroughly entertaining.

It's definitely worth a read, though it's fifteen volumes and thus quite expensive. Still worth a read.

Battle-Royale-Movie-Trailer
- James

P.S. I'm caught up, and just in time for the Mayan non-apocalypse.

Ten of Fifty-Two

Graphic Novel
Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin is the story of a wandering samurai in the early Meiji era of Japan who wishes nothing more than to stop people from being harmed. Armed with a reverse bladed sword he wanders across Japan, both trying to keep out of the way and saving peoples lives.
At sixteen Kenshin became the strongest assassin of the  Bakumatsu war, known as Hitokiri Battōsai - Hitokiri is a title that was given to 4 real world samurai who supported the Meiji Emperor, they were considered unbeatable by normal men. Battōsai was an alternate spelling for Battojutsu which is the art of sword drawing, implying Kenshins expertise with the blade - in order to help opose the shogunate and establish the Meiji Emperor.
Since then Kenshin has been trying to make amends for the lives he took.
The story begins 11 years later with Kenshin returning to Tokyo, meeting Kamiya Kaoru and settling down to try and start a new life. Of course it's not long before his old life comes back to haunt him. Assassins, former enemies, former allies, new enemies and new friends come calling, forcing Kenshin through an incredible twenty-eight-manga-long journey.

I loved Rurouni Kenshin when I read it, it was one of my first experiences with Manga back when I was in university and I have more money than sense (which isn't impressive cos I didn't have money either). It was the first series I completed and I've re-read it at least ten times.
I think what I love abotu Kenshin is that it's not all about fighting and killing, at it's core Kenshin is a love story. Sure it has the violence and the redemption of Kenshins past, but it's not the focus. There's enough of the fighting aspects that the love story doesn't overwhelm it and turn it into a cheesey story (like a lot of manga love stories) but equally the battle aspects don't overpower the Love.

If you havent read Kenshin I suggest that you do. Don't watch the anime; it's awful, and I've come to understand that there's a film, but I haven't seen it.
If you have to watch it illegally then do, it's awesome, but if you can afford to buy the series it is well worth it.

Video tube of the you variety. - most depressingly bleak cut scene ever
- James

Seven of Fifty-Two

So I've been rather sparse lately as regard to posting, huh? well as of today I am going to try and do daily posts again- ok, yeah, tomorrow i'm not doing it cos it's sunday, but- shut up.
OK? ok. Good.
Next week will be the week of two 'of fifty-two's, and as a fun little preview it's going to be the character Captain Jack Harkness and then the book Darth Bane: Path of Destruction.

Anyway, this week;

TV Series / Graphic Novel
Death Note

I honestly don't remember which - Anime or Manga - was my original experience with Deathnote, the two are so similar that they are practically interchangable. the Manga was made first and then when they made the anime they didn't change a thing.
Yes, ok, the anime had colour, sound and moving images, but you know what I mean.
The thing was so identicle that I really really can't suggest which to watch over another - though I will say that if you want an easy introduction to the world of Deathnote, the three movies are most certainly NOT the way to go. The movies were awful. I own the full set of Manga and I watched the anime totally legitimately online back when I was in university.

Most manga and Anime is watched because it's and regarded as violent and bloody with undertones of sexy girls - like Battle Royale and Gundam Seed - or cutesy and romantic - like Chobbits, which incidentally was awesome, call me a girl if you must, but it rocked.
Deathnote is neither.
Deathnote follows the story of Light Yagami, a brilliantly intelligent highschool student who discovers a note book - dropped by the shinnigami (japanese god of death) named Ryuk - that holds power over life and death. If you write a person's name in it and picture their face then they will die, you can give precise instructions of how they die, but the bottom line is that when a person's name goes in their life snuffs out.
Instead of being terrified and revolted by this incredible power, like you'd expect, Light uses it. He sees a world of darkness and suffering and endeavours to make it better, by killing people.
As you can imagine the police do not look favourably upon his choice. They don't knwo how he's doing it since all the deaths are happening differently, sometimes in places where the killer - who they name Kira - could not have been.
Kira gains the attention of the notoriously brilliant super detective 'L' - think Sherlock Holmes, if Holmes was obviously autistic, never wore shoes, ate LOTS of candy and was only about seventeen. Kira joins the police force's investigation and tries to put a stop to Kira's plans.
This is one that I wont reveal the end, because it is brilliant. The number of twists and turns they go through, the false endings and intelligently designed escapes... It's an amazing journey that forces you into the point of view of both L and Kira. right up until the end I didn't know who I wanted to come out on top.
I found this manga/anime a refreshing change of pace to the other mangas I read at the time. I was a fan of Ruroni Kenshin, Shaman King, D.N.Angel and Battle Royale, where the main character was a good guy, trying to help people through good means. Kenshin wouldn't kill people, Yoh wanted everyone to hug and be friends, Daisuke wanted nothign but to live his life adn love with his girlfriend and right up till late in the story Shuya wanted to survive with Noriko without killing any of the people trying to kill him.
Then Deathnote came along. It wasn't as simple as good and bad, you weren't sure who was in the right, hell you cared about a mass murderer. Was a bad guy, with a good motive using dark means? Was he an inherantly good guy who was using whatever means necesary to do what he thought right? Was he mentally deranged? Sometimes it felt like the latter, but it could have been any of them.

Genuinely think you should read/watch it and as such I will say only this; it's sad, it's funny, it's intelligent, it makes you think and it is just plain entertaining. It is very possibly my favorite Manga/Anime of all time, and if not it's in the top five.

Vidya
- James

P.S. Don't watch the live action movies. they are awful... yes I own them... I don't see your point.