Genshiken Nidaime Manga Chapter 87 Review

げんしけん: 二代目

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Madarame, Kenji, and Kuchiki are in the Genshiken club room discussing anime, much to the annoyance of Rika and Yajima. Ogiue comes in and is shocked to see Kenji not in drag. She's further surprised when he says he's given up dressing as a girl. Ogiue asks about his commitment to do some illustrations for her, but he assures her he'll do it, even if he has to cross-dress again to get it done. 

Rika asks if Ogiue will need assistants for the winter Comifest, like she did for the summer one. She says that won't be necessary and later at her place, she sows off her latest purchase -- a LCD monitor tablet. As such, Ogiue wants to try to do everything herself since these devices are supposed to be very helpful to manga-ka.

As Rika, Yajima, and Kenji walk home, they discuss this, leading Rika to probe on whether Kenji is planing to become a manga-ka. He says no.

At Yajima's place, Rika asks why Yajima is not speaking to Kenji. She says his sudden decision to dress normally is like him asking not to be asked about the neck incident with Madarame, so Yajima is respecting that.

At Kenji's place, he's unable to draw as a guy, so he goes to his closet where he'd packed up all his female stuff. He puts on an outfit and is able to complete his work in rapid fashion. He ponders for a bit and wonders if it is the cross-dressing he wants to give up or the BL stuff.

Sometime later at the Genshiken club room, Madarame and Kuchiki discuss Kenji's change and giving up something he clearly loved. That leads Kuchiki to ask why Madarame keeps coming to the club room, or why he quit his job. Madarame doesn't want to discuss it and reminds Kuchiki that he will be able to attend all three days of Comifest to help with the purchases.

Ohno pops in, surprised that none of the girls are present. She finds out that Yajima, Rika, Kenji, and Yabusaki are cheering Ogiue on, since she's having more trouble with the new pad than she'd thought. Kuchiki asks if Angela is coming, causing Madarame to break out in a sweat. At the airport, Sue is there to greet Angela, but gives a warning to Angela in her own, special way. Meanwhile, Keiko calls Ogiue wanting to know about attending Comifest.

Thoughts/Review:

When one truly gives something up, it is gone. When one has given something up but doesn't really want to give it up, then it is easy to come up with excuses on why one MUST do the thing they've give up one more time. From there, it is a massive, downhill slide.

As such, I figure we'll see Kenji in drag again. He'll find excuses to do it, then he'll adopt the F-I attitude and just do it.  As he thought to himself, is it the drag he wants to give up or the BL materials.

Angela's return and Keiko's sudden desire to come to Comifest means that a storm is brewing.  The one part I'm NOT looking forward to is Kenji's role in this little drama. Were he not in the equation, I'd be looking forward to seeing Angela hit on Madarame and watching Keiko's reaction to that. Sue's warning not withstanding, I think Angela is going to try to score with Madarame again, since girls like a challenge and Madarame is a challenge, seeing as how he has resisted her. 

I wonder if Kio-sensei was addressing fans of the original Genshiken by having Kuchiki, who got the most time in a chapter in a coon's age,  join Madarame and Kenji for an anime discussion like they used to have back in the day.  It was almost as if Kio-sensei was saying, "We can never go back to those days."

Finally, I was amused by Kio-sensei's commentary on the changes in how manga is created these days. Digital drawing is how so many manga-ka are doing things today.  Eventually, no one will do it "old school" pen-and-paper style.

So an interesting chapter here. Let's see what fun Kio-sensei has in store for us.

A Certain Scientific Railgun S - 06

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S Episode 06
とある科学の超電磁砲（レールガン）S
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S 

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Mikoto attacks Accelerator with an iron dust tornado, but he is unharmed, but amused by a new attack by what he presumes is another Sister clone. She's taken aback by this, but seeing the severed leg of Misaka-9928, Mikoto becomes enraged, using her ability to magnetically pull the rails from the railroad track and to send them at Accelerator. He's amazed at the power being displayed, but again, he's unharmed and sends three rails back in Mikoto's direction. He suddenly realizes that he's facing the original and becomes somewhat excited since he figures this will mean less of the drudgery of slaughtering so many of the Sister clones.

Mikoto angrily demands to know why the #1 ranked level 5 esper is doing this since it is clear he's not being forced. He responds that he wants absolute power and that as a fellow level 5, she should understand that. Thus, he's justified in killing the clones. That sets Mikoto off as she fires her railgun attack, only to have it vectored back at her, taking out the rails behind her. Accelerator is disappointed that this is all Mikoto has, but before he can come in for a kill, a large group of Sisters stop him, citing how killing Mikoto could affect the experiment. Accelerator leaves, but makes sure to introduce himself to Mikoto before leaving.

Mikoto can't understand why the clones are going along with this, especially since they are about to methodically go about cleaning up the battle site. They respond that they are merely lab animals, created for this Level 6 Shift project, costing ¥180,000 each. They leave her while back at the dorm, Kuroko calls Saten to see if Mikoto is with there. Morning comes and Shinobu finds the depressed Mikoto alone. Shinobu and Mikoto talk about the situation, where Shinobu explains her own involvement in the original Radio Noise project before the Level 6 Shift project, which she left when she had a change of how she saw the clones after dealing with one. Shinobu says that Mikoto won't be able to destroy all 20 facilities, but Mikoto reminds her who Mikoto is.

At the dorm, a worried Kuroko stares at her cell phone when the battered Mikoto enters. She has a flimsy excuse for her appearance and goes to take a shower. Kuroko takes calls from both Uiharu (with Erii) and Saten, lying to them by saying Mikoto got home late in the night rather than just now. Mikoto smiles and realizing she's worried her friends, she invites them all for deserts at a family restaurant. Saten wonders where she'd been, so Mikoto says she went star gazing, but it is a poor lie. As Mikoto remembers the events of the night, she becomes visibly distressed. Seeing Mikoto doesn't really want to talk about it, Saten reminds her they are there for her, then suggests they hit the arcade, which the group sets out to do, though Mikoto is already planning her revenge on the clone makers.

Thoughts/Review:

For the record, this episode was adapted from chapter 24 and the first half of chapter 25 from volume 5 of the manga.

Changes from the manga adaptation are the additional scenes of Kuroko calling Saten during the night, followed by everything done after Mikoto leaves Shinobu.

I like these additional, "filler" scenes that weren't in the manga because it helps provide an even greater human face for Mikoto as well as giving the rest of the girls in Mikoto's circle of friends some face time. Yes, we had Kuroko going off over the mere suggestion that Mikoto might be with a guy, but at the same time, we see that she is genuinely concerned over Mikoto's absence.  That's the other element that redeems Kuroko from the stereotypical realms of an obsessed girl wanting to scissor-scissor her "oneesama" to something better. Thus, I can tolerate her outrageous behavior when it happens.

While so far, the anime adaptation has been careful to not add anything that would mess up the manga's excellent storyline, I am still a tad concerned based on the OP, which shows Kuroko fighting alongside Mikoto.  I really hope that the anime has Mikoto fight the battles she must fight very shortly solo.  Hopefully, the anime will find other ways to use Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu that don't change that element.

Shinobu is drawn to appear to be somewhat freakish in the manga (the eyes), so I didn't really have any great feeling for her. However, her appearance in the anime makes her a more likeable character, enough so that my opinion of her is changed for the better. I'll save any further comments about her for her later appearance since I've read the manga.

I loved seeing Mikoto's fight with Accelerator animated. I know some of the Sister's arc was done in the A Certain Magical Index light novels/anime, but the manga's version of that story arc is fresher in my mind (having just reread everything Seven Seas has published to date). It was awesome seeing how despite her great powers, Mikoto is nothing against Accelerator. It actually makes me wonder about the ranking system and what it is that actually makes someone a level 6 when they'd been a level 5. With Mikoto and others, it is easier to get a feel for power levels, but Accelerator already seems to be beyond the pale when it comes to anyone else, it isn't even funny.  So why he's not already a level 6 is what has me thinking.

Regardless, this was a great episode. I'm really loving this new anime series for it being faithful and respectful of the original manga.

A Certain Scientific Railgun Vol. 07 Manga Review

とある科学の超電磁砲（レールガン）/Toaru Kagaku no Railgun

A Certain Scientific Railgun Vol. 07 (manga review) 

--> BUY FROM RIGHTSTUF!
--> BUY FROM BARNES & NOBLE!
--> BUY FROM BUY.COM!


SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:  

Highlights from this volume begin with Mikoto defending clone sister from Accelerator. The battered Touma gets up and with his Image Breaker, combined with a hard punch, puts Accelerator out for good. Mikoto visits Touma in the hospital and discovers he'd rather have homemade cookies. Mikoto promises her "sisters" that she'll be there for them now that the Level 6 Shift project is over. Mikoto gets Saten to help her make cookies, which she ends up not giving to Touma when he gets out of the hospital, though she does get him to call her by name.

Spoiled ojousama KONGOU Mitsuko transfers to Tokiwadai, but immediately runs into problems due to her attitude. Mitoko is avoiding a guy named Unabara and gets Mitsuko to pretend to be her friend to keep him at bay. Mitsuko thinks Mitoto's name is Unabara as the two spend an afternoon together. Later at school, Mitsuko learns about factions and gets to experience one of the Railgun shock waves at a distance. Thanks to Kuroko's bragging, Mitsuko develops a dislike for this "Railgun", not knowing it is Mikoto. Mitsuko decides to start a faction but fails. However, when Mikoto returns something Mitsuko had lost, Mitsuko wants to join Mikoto's faction. Mikoto isn't in one and just wants to be friends, so Mitsuko is happy to have her first friend.

Fellow level 5 esper Misaki isn't happy with Mikoto's growing popularity, so she issues her a "friendly" warning in the library by using her Mental Out power to control everyone there but Mikoto, who's immune to her power.  Uiharu is depressed because Kuroko was hurt in a recent Judgment encounter, so Saten gets her to come with her to chase a rainbow and cheer her up. Misaki has to erase her faction's memories when she's contacted in public by someone with information, who also encourages her to get in the Daihasei Festival activities. Mikoto teams up with Mitsuko in a 3-legged race, where everyone uses their powers to gain an edge. Saten runs into someone she thinks she knows.

Thoughts/Review:

Well, this volume certainly has several things to comment on.

First, there's Mitsuko.  She was introduced in the anime early on, as I recall, and she had a role in other episodes after the Level Upper arc in the anime, which fans consider canon. However, in the manga, she doesn't even transfer to Tokiwadai until this volume.  I thought maybe this 2-chapter story about her and the factions at Tokiwadai could have happened prior to the Level Upper arc, which happened in July, but Mikoto mentioning Kuroko getting hurt blows that theory apart.  I'm not sure how fans completely resolve Mitsuko being in the first anime series, but maybe Kamachi-sensei has stated something I don't know regarding the canon.

As to Mitsuko, the anime didn't leave that positive of an impression with me regarding her character. However, the manga reveals a lonely ojousama who developed this spoiled, "princess" attitude in order to cope with that loneliness.  As such, I felt sorry for her and was glad that Mikoto became her first friend. That friendship comes off in a very real and believable way, thus their partnership in the three-legged race worked for me as well.

Misaki's early introduction in the second anime series must be due to the fact that the anime is not planning to adapt Mitsuko's transfer story, nor the factions story. In the manga, Misaki's arrival makes more sense as Mitsuko's activities and subsequent friendship with Mikoto have not escaped Misaki's notice. Thus, Misaki feels the need to put Mikoto in her place since Misaki can't control Mikoto.

Misaki had the funniest part in the manga. I laughed out loud when she forced one of her underlings, who'd prevented Misaki from eating extra desert, to go speed eat 20 eclairs while Misaki talked with that guy about whatever it is that they have going on.

This volume of the manga shows why we non-Japanese are at such a disadvantage when it comes to these multimedia stories. Kuroko's and Uiharu's adventures where Kuroko gets hurt were documented in one of the A Certain Magical Index novels as well as the anime. Unfortunately, all we get are that Kuroko was hurt, Uiharu was depressed about it, and just a bit more but that's it. So, if you haven't seen the anime or read the novel, then this whole bit about Kuroko's injuries will be confusing.

As far as the new arc goes, the story is taking its time setting things up. Misaki is clearly involved in something nefarious and Saten meeting that woman whom she thought she recognized would seem to play a bigger role. I wonder who the woman is.

On the Seven Seas side of things, the usual honorifics are here, including "oneesama" and the like, which I approve of. No translator notes section, but there are very small print margin notes and in-between panel notes. In addition to their normal ads for other Seven Seas manga titles, I'm glad to see a couple of ads for the Railgun and Index anime titles, since cross promotion is a good thing.

All in all, although this manga volume appears to have a lot more pages than usual, it simply wraps up the Sisters arc, then takes its time setting the table for the Daihasei Festival arc. That's not a problem as I enjoyed the journey.

Hayate the Combat Butler! Cuties - 06

Hayate no Gotoku! Cuties
ハヤテのごとく！Cuties Episode 06 review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Risa corners Hayate at a vending machine and steals his milk while complaining about how everyone considers herself, Miki, and Izumi as idiots. The other two "idiots" show up when Hayate agrees with the assessment. They want to prove they aren't morons, so they decide to each create a video and upload it to the Web to see which video will get the most hits, proving that person isn't an idiot. Izumi is doing a time-laps movie of a plant growing. She breaks the plant, so Rika reveals she's going to record chicks hatching. Since she used unfertilized eggs from the supermarket, her video is a fail, so Risa reveals her Rube Goldberg machine. However, she activates it without recording it, so it fails, revealing that all three are idiots.

Risa corners Hayate in the halls of school after Hayate only gives her a birthday greeting but no present. After making a fuss, he gives her a bookmark he'd made. Risa is not pleased, especially since Hayate gave proper presents to Izumi and Miki. After consulting with her comrades and determining it is cuteness that makes the difference, Risa gives a call to Hina, who tells her to get studying. She calls Nagi, who suggests blushing girls are cute. With Hayate in the room with them, Risa gets Izumi to lift her skirt and blush, revealing her cuteness. Yukiji enters to give the three idiots a makeup test, but they've been goofing off instead of studying so they aren't ready.

Yukiji hands class president Izumi some printouts for the class, warning her that there's only one per person. Izumi gets distracted by Shiranui and ends up losing some printout pages. As a result, she's stuck cleaning the classroom alone. Shiranui shows back and and in the process, Miki's video camera falls to the floor. Testing it to make sure it isn't broken, Izumi makes a quick video. Because it is fun, she makes another one, making her brother-butler. Then, she makes an embarrassing video as if she's the heroin of a shoujo manga in a romance scene with a boy. She realizes it is getting late and leaves without deleting the video. The next day, Miki scolds Izumi for leaving her camera in the classroom. Risa teases her about possibly recording stuff. Izumi panics, but Miki discovers that the SD card is missing.

Thoughts/Review:

For those curious, this episode is adapted from manga chapter 356 (volume 33), chapter 373 (volume 35), and chapter 308 (volume 29) (with the splash page of chapter 309 thrown in to show who helped Izumi).

Of all the episodes so far, I find it interesting that this one takes from more recent manga chapters.

Whatever thoughts I had about the individual stories can be found in the links citing the manga chapters. The only thing I'd add is that for this episode, Miki's SD card is missing. In the manga, the card has only been reformatted, thanks to Hayate.

The only other thing I'd like to say is that this episode showed how the three "idiots" are only used as side story fodder, or to stir the pot with Hina, Nagi, or the like.

Beyond that, I really can't offer any commentary about this episode. I'm just so disappointed with this series so far, I find it hard to be enthused about it. But, I plan to continue to the end.