Otaku Swap 2

see more dog and puppy pictures

Hello again, for a slightly earlier Otaku Swap post. Let's get down to business. For no particular reason there's an animal theme this week.

Manga

Tuxedo Gin
volumes 2-8 & 12 available at PaperbackSwap. Read volume 1 at Viz Media
From Viz: High school student Ginji Kusanagi is a tough, motorcycle-riding kid, who's about to make his debut as a professional boxer. He's also just met the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, Ginji is dead...and has been reincarnated into a penguin! (what Viz left out is that Gin goes to live with the girl of his dreams and is promised to be returned to a human if he does enough good tasks.)

Fruits Basket vol 1 & 3
Fruits Basket - the shoujo answer to Ranma 1/2!
The main character Tohru does not turn into an animal, but all of her male companions seem to. The guys transform into different animals from the Chinese zodiac when Tohru touches them. From Wikipedia: The story follows the lives of Tohru and the Sohma family, as they deal with each other and a society where neither quite fits in, as well as the feared Akito Soma, head of the Sohma family. Soon, after living with the Sohma family she began to like, then love, all of the Sohmas, and sets out to break the zodiac curse.

InuYasha
28 listings available - various volumes
Inu Yasha is over, after a 12 YEAR manga run. Surely you want to see what the deal is with uber author Rumiko Takahashi's long running series. You want the manga because the anime ended without a conclusion. It's a long, complicated story, but it starts with the story of the Jewel of Four Souls. InuYasha wants it to become a full demon. However, it is shattered. Kagome falls though a well into Inu Yasha's time (Sengoku Period Japan). Together they travel to get all the shards back.

Anime
(at swapadvd.com)

Ranma 1/2
7 various volumes available currently
Rnama 1/2 - A Japanese Martial arts comedy / gender bending farce.
A classic. I love this series. It's a long show, with a huge cast. Just check the Wiki for the details.

Kimba
In truth, Disney swiped this story and turned it into the Lion King. See what it was really meant to be.

Wolf's Rain vol 1
Can't say much about the series as I have not personally seen it, but I know it's well loved by many. Check ANN for the details.

Okay, that's all for this week. Are you all enjoying these posts? Even if you are not on those sites, I think that anime and manga recommendations are always useful. Especially the older stuff you may find on sale at cons. Please leave a comment if you like these posts. If you don't like them, please let me know why. Kthx ~

Otaku Swap - A Touch of Old School

I am an otaku.
However, being an otaku makes me low on cash all the time. How can I get my fix of anime and manga and not break the bank? My personal solution to this was signing up for PaperbackSwap.com and Swapadvd.com. I've had pretty good luck with both of the sites thus far. Some of my friends have had problems finding stuff they like. I find that if you're persistent and have an open mind (There are very few manga that I won't read) that you'll definitely find something that tickles your fancy. However, if you're still having problems, I am here to make some reccomendations. When I post links to these books/dvds they are available. However, if they're gone, you can always put them on your wish list. Oh by the way, unless noted, these are not books/dvds I have posted myself.


Manga:
All New Tenchi Muyo Vol 1 - Alien Nation
Why?- The Tenchi Muyo series is one of the all time anime classics (yeah I said it) and it would do you good to get some of the manga and get an idea of what the series was about and why it's so popular. It's one of the earlier harem anime before the market was utterly saturated. (with a dash of sci-fi)

Paradise Kiss vol 1
One of the best josei manga I have ever read. It's about fashion and relationships and love, and finding your way in life. I don't even care about fashion but Ai Yazawa's art is amazing. There are only 5 volumes total and it wouldn't kill you to read at least 1.

Real Bout High School vol 1
It's a fighting/battle manga with a little sci fi/fantasy flare to it. Far better than the anime turned out.

Anime
Cowboy Bebop 1st Session (posted by me)
Another classic series. Bebop not only has a wonderful soundtrack but a good mix of action, character development and science fiction. (with a little bit of a classic western feel)

Dragonball Z
I really don't need to explain this.
There is an ABSURD amount of DBZ on SwapaDvd. Right now there are 64 different dvds posted. Surely there's one in there that will fill a hole in your collection.

Love Hina vol 1 - Moving In
Oh Love Hina, a series that everyones loves but it will completely polarize fans of the series as to whether main character Naru Narusegawa is a horrible human being or just THE ultimate tsundere. (my bf is in the first camp, I am in the second). If you want a romantic comedy harem anime with all the classic character types, Love Hina is it.

Free Comic Book Day on Saturday

My good buddy Kitsune Rei reminded me that FCBD is this Saturday and linked to this site, with this woooonderful video of (my future ex-husband) Hugh Jackman promoting the event.

Link Drop - Posting From School Computer Lab Ed.

(that's Rei from Pani Poni Dash - a GREAT show that didn't get the love it deserved in the US. Sold out on Amazon, but you can get it used on the cheap)

Another fun list from Marvel. com - Top 10 80's characters. My girl She Hulk is in there! And Elektra! Overall, a list that I agree with the majority of the picks.

Secret of the Solstice
Another MMO with which to waste your time. Free to play.

Cheap ways to display your figure collection
source: Tomopop

Also from Tomopop, some incredibly cute plushies of monsters in business suits. *_*!

Link Drop - Atlus Compels Me to Game edition

Gaming... I still do it! I swear! It's just in smaller doses these days - as seen by my focus on casual games on the Wii and DS games I can take with me.

Well I caved in today and put a fiver down on Izuna 2. I will allegedly get a mini poster upon pickup. Atlus really sold me on the new tag system and the crapton of playable characters added. Well done Atlus, you win this round.

Speaking of Atlus, they sent me a wonderful email announcing Persona 4. Oh snap! Enjoy this video as much as I did.

in other gaming news:

The Wii gets a fighting game! And it's Castlevania! Neat!
source: Kotaku

Japan gets a D. Gray Man video game. Meanwhile I turn tints and shades of green with jealousy. Gah I hope this show takes hold in the US like Naruto and Bleach did. It utterly deserves to.
source: insert credit

Kotaku uncovers the Samba De Amigo maraca attachments for the Wii-mote. Cha cha CHA!

Cool website, nice design - Girls Don't Game

Spend more time online, but maybe a little less money. Yet another MMO is released on the masses - Dream of Mirror Online.

Found a great wii-friendly radio station called Finetune. Check it out, it's good times.

Madame Mirage Issue 1 online

Full issue posted at Newsarama. Issue 1 was good, so was 2, 3 was outstanding and 4 I really need to get around to reading. Anyway, free, legal comic book :)

The Link is Here. ^^

speaking of MM, there is some cool fan art of Mirage here.

More free anime....woo~

Anime News Network reports:
"BOST Digital Entertainment has begun streaming the first episode of the Keitai Shoujo school romance anime series to North America, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the United Kingdom for free today."

Read the details here for info on how and when to watch.