Feature : Unboxing the Bleach box set.

If you recall this article from a few months ago, talking about the new box sets that companies seem to be releasing, you'll already know what this is. For those of you that have not, this is basically a box set, exactly like a dvd one, but instead of dvds, there's a bunch of manga.

The Bleach box set contains the first 21 volumes of the manga, basically encompassing the first major story arc and starting off on the next one. Anyway, I managed to get this one for cheap on Ebay a while ago ($190 AUS, whereas the RRP is $260) and thought some of you out there might be interested on what's inside and how it looks, so here are some pics.


The front.


The back.


Inside.


All the books.


Double sided poster.


So called 'collectors booklet/travel guide'.


It's a pretty impressive little set, not so sure about the nessecity in having a box, but it may be a hit with some people. The small poster and tiny collectors booklet (which is really just an 8 page flyer for Bleach) were a bit of a let down, but at least you get all the books at a marginally cheaper price than if you bought them normally for $15 each.

Review : Elemental Gelade.

Robbing and pillaging are all in a days work for young air pirate Coud Van Giruet, but things start to get a little strange when one of his stolen valuables turns out to be a coffin with a live girl inside.

It's not long after the sleepy girl named Ren wakes up and demands to be taken to a place called Edel Garden, that Coud's pirate airship comes under attack by three mysterious characters. When negotiations fail, one of the attackers literally transforms into a weapon known as an Edel Raid and proceeds to directly attack Coud and Ren. With things seeming pretty bleak, Ren reveals she is also an Edel Raid and reluctantly makes a contract with Coud, turning into a huge sword that causes tornadoes when it's swung, unfortunately one of these tornadoes damages the airship and everyone is forced to evacuate.

Once on the ground, Ren and Coud decide to travel together to Edel Garden, with the three former assailants revealing that they are actually part of a Edel Raid protection agency and pretty much demanding that they also tag along. Togther the group get caught up in slave trafficking, attacked by bounty hunters and a come across a mysteriously sinister group of Edel Raids who call themselves the Chaos Choir.

The art of Elemental Gelade is pretty much follows the generic anime style, the character designs are interesting, obviously heavily influenced by the authors former works on a manga adaption of a role playing video game. Coud's main weapon is interestingly a hook, which is pretty unique in a genre where every main character usually has the biggest sword or gun. The manga also focuses on some very realistic issues like the trafficking of human beings. Violence is toned down to the shonen level, not a lot of gore or blood, but plenty of fighting, shooting and general action.

Elemental Gelade is a book that a fan of fantasy Japanese role playing games would love and even if you're not a fan, it's still a good read regardless.

Review : Bakuman.

Ever wanted to draw a manga? It's a lot more complicated than you may think. Follow the story of Mashiro (Artist) and Takagi (Writer), aspiring high school aged mangaka, on their journey to make a manga.

Mashiro likes to draw and he draws quite well, but he isn't overly keen about becoming a mangaka, a hard to get into and not overly well paid profession. Takagi a student in the same class, finds out about Mashiro's artistic abilities and attempts to push him into the idea of becoming a mangaka with him.

Mashiro also has a love interest named Miho, after finding out that she wants to be a voice actress, he accidentally proposes to her and she agrees to marry him if they can achieve their own goals but until then they can't see each other. So Mashiro and Takagi start the onerous task of creating a manga so popular that an anime adaption will be made so that Miho can star as voice actor in it.

Bakuman focuses on the production of the duo's varying manga titles. Including how it's planned, drawn and published as well as the loopholes, problems and competition that they have to deal with along the way. It's interesting to see how the manga creation is done, it's may also serve as huge wake up call as to just how hard and competitive the industry is, being able to draw well and write a good story aren't always enough.

Bakuman is written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the team behind the hugely popular Death Note title and as expected, is well written and drawn in Obata's usual top-notch style. Obviously the mangaka plot within their book is written with a degree of experience. There is no action, gore or smut, making the title widely accessible for any audience interested in the creation of manga.

Bakuman is a rather original title, with a perfect mix of seriousness, comedy and romance that will appeal to anyone who likes manga.