Book Review: One Piece, Vol 11: The Meanest Man in the East by Eiichira Oda

 

One Piece, Vol 11: The Meanest Man in the East     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: July 5, 2006

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action & Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Luffy is still battling Arlong. He’s finding the Fishman hard to defeat! Breaking his teeth does no good because sharks just grow new ones! The fight carries inside his headquarters, into the chart room. And this is where Arlong makes his mistake when he talks about using Nami for her cartography skills. Incensed at the idea that Arlong has been using his friend, Luffy goes berserk and destroys Arlong park! At just that moment, the crooked Marines arrive. When they learn of Arlong’s defeat, the leader, Captain Nezumi, attempts to take all the gold for himself, but nobody is having that and they deliver to him the smackdown of his life! The disgruntled Captain Nezumi informs the navy of the existence of a dangerous pirate and his four henchmen, and a bounty is placed on Luffy’s head –higher than that of most other pirates!

Luffy and the others have celebrated their victory with the villagers, and now it’s time to go. But where is Nami?  Sanji is horrified to think she might not be coming, but she is, of course. She just has one more thing to do.  Back on the high seas once more, headed toward the Grand Line, Luffy is delighted to discover that he has a price on his head. He feels as though he’s really arrived now and been officially recognized as a pirate. The others tell him that isn’t really good, especially such a high bounty, because it puts a target on their back! People will be coming after them now, strictly for the money.

As they pass by a particular island, Nami informs them that this where the infamous pirate Gold Rogers was executed, in a town called Roguetown. Would Luffy like to go there? Of course he would! Once ashore, the crew scatters to do their own thing. Nami looks for clothes she doesn’t intend to buy, and Zolo needs swords. He goes to a shop that sells them, but when the owners finds out how little he has to spend on two swords, he isn’t very enthusiastic about his presence… until he notices the sword Zolo carries and tries to cheat him out of it. Luckily, a knowledgeable young lady who happens to be in the shop gives Zolo much needed advice and helps him search for two swords in his price range. Wait, is he actually going to take the cursed sword?

Oh oh, Luffy is in trouble when a couple of unexpected blasts from his past show up on the island and he finds himself on the same execution stand where Gold Rogers met his end.  On top of everything else, Nami says that a huge storm is on the way and it’s going to hit the island!

Finally, we see the end of the evil Arlong (or at least I presume so). I love the way Luffy stands up for people, especially the ones he cares about. For one so young, he is very mature in ways, but very immature in others. I loved the scene between Mihawk and Shanks. If you watch the live anime, you’ll see that the actor playing Mihawk got him to a tee! If you haven’t watched it yet, you should, it’s great! I sure didn’t expect to see those two return and I would never have recognized one of them if she hadn’t mentioned her name.  It turns out that Zolo’s new friend works for the naval captain, Smoker. This can’t be good, can it?

Another great volume of One Piece, looking forward to the next!

 

 

 

Book Review: Love Mode, Vol 6 by Yuki Shimizu

 

Love Mode, Vol 6      

Author: Yuki Shimizu

Publisher: Blu

American release date:  August 14, 2007

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Yaoi Manga/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Kiichi takes Naoya shopping and insists on buying him lots of clothes, despite his protestations. He even insists that Naoya needs a ring, considering his newfound relationship with Reiji and takes him to a jewelry store. He was just kidding, though, and buys a watch instead. They are unaware that trouble lurks nearby. As they are leaving the store, two armed men force them back in and demand money and jewels! And they are going to take Naoya as a hostage. Kiichi refuses to let that happen, so that’s how he ends up in the back seat of the getaway car along with Naoya.

Haruomi, who was only gone for a moment, returns to discover what has happened and immediately phones Reiji, who is visibly upset at the news. He tells his subordinates to contact the phone company so they can trace Kiichi’s cell phone, no matter what it takes.  Meanwhile, the robber realizes the story about them is on the news as they listen to the radio. But what do they care, as they intend to kill the hostages anyway. Kiichi tells Naoya to open the door so they can escape, but when he does, he pushes the younger man out, into the river, to keep him safe. The robbers hurt him for his trouble, while Naoya finds a pay phone (good luck doing that now lol) and phones Reiji. Now it’s time to rescue the doctor!

Seiichi works at B&B, Reiji’s male escort service. He’s been assigned to a new client. But, to his dismay, when he arrives at the client’s home, he finds what appears to be a little kid. However, looks can be deceiving.  The client’s name is Tomoki, and Seiichi is his first.  When Seiichi sees Tomoki taking pills, he gets upset and makes him throw them away. They have a lot of sex over the next couple of weeks. But when something happens, and Seiichi learns the truth about Tomoki, his world will never be the same again.

I love how Reiji is learning to care about someone other than himself, though I did miss seeing Izumi and Takamiya in this volume and hope they will be back soon. Kiichi and Haruomi have grown much closer too. The story of Seiichi and Tomoki made me cry.  The biggest complain I have with some yaoi is the tendency to either make one of the guys looks like a kid or like a girl. I would rather see two men who look like men.

Good volume, looking forward to the next one.

Saturday is Horror Day #162 - The Endless

 The Endless

Aaron (Aaron Moorhead) and Justin (Justin Benson) are brothers who  once lived at Camp Arcadia. Aaron remembers the group as a friendly commune while Justin thinks they were a UFO death cult Now, a mysterious video tape arrives in the mail and they decide to return. Not knowing what to expect,  they head to the backwoods of San Diego and  are pleasantly surprised to see that they are remembered and welcome back. 

But are things the same? There are some strange activities going on here, including a nightly tug-of-war against a rope that ascends into the night sky. Who or what is holding it? Justin has the disturbing feeling that someone is watching him and photographs seem to drop mysteriously from the sky. How can there be two moons? It's explained as an atmospheric phenomenon - two moons bring the truth and three moons signify the ascension, which was Justin's fear to begin with.

Even more disturbing is that some people seem to be stuck in time loops, mostly repeated violent 

deaths. Justin is told once the third moon rises he will be trapped there. He has to get his brother and get out... now!

I found this low-budget sci fi/horror film rather interesting and  innovative, with ideas I've not seen explored before. There was a definite creepiness factor that left me wondering what was happening. I think if I were there, I'd want to run too. Interesting fact - the actors who play the brothers are also the directors/writers.  I would watch this one again, definitely worth a watch. I'll give this film 3.75 Stars.

Book Review: Assassination Classroom, Vol 14 by Yusei Matsui

Assassination Classroom, Vol 14      

Author: Yusei Matsui

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: February 7, 2017

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Action Adventure Manga//200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

The battle continues at the Kunugigaoka School Festival! A few disgruntled malcontents have it in for Class 3-E after what transpired on the school trip in Kyoto. However, once they make their way up the mountain, their plans fall apart thanks to Koro Sensei and his students.  Even so, Class 3-E is at a disadvantage due to location and also due to the advantages Class 3-A has over them. Asano’s class even has entertainment including a comedian and a music idol! Hard to compete with that.

Some of the strangest people are showing up on the mountain unexpectedly, including the guy with the crush on Nagisa when they were on the island. He’d rather tell this guy the truth, but his classmates urge him to continue the charade because of the money he can bring in. Oh, the things we do for our friends! Another unexpected visitor is Nagisa’s mother! Oh dear, will there be more trouble?

Once the festival is over, it’s time to prepare for the final exam. Principal Asano is determined to do whatever it takes to win, even if that means brainwashing his students and force-feeding them their studies! He is not even pretending that he is above harming the students of Class 3-E! Even his son is beginning to question his methodology.  In a surprising turn of events, after blackmailing the government for another billion yen to keep quiet about the assassination, the principal has taken over teaching duties and sent his son home to study on his own. At last, the final boss has appeared!

Young Asano approaches some of the members of Class 3-E with a proposition – he wants them to assassinate his father! Not literally kill him, of course, just kill his pedagogy. Show him that he’s wrong in his teaching methodology. No one saw this coming! He wants his friends and his father to learn how to fail. Can they believe in his sincerity? The Final Exam begins, and it’s even harder than they ever imagined. In the end, it all comes down to Asano vs Karma – can Karma save the day?

A disgruntled Principal Asano orders Class E’s classroom to be demolished! His plans for them are formidable and rather terrifying. He threatens to fire Koro Sensei and then challenges him to a little wager, involving five tests, four hand grenades, and one anti-me grenade. If he accepts the challenge, Koro Sensei might actually die! Who will be the victor in this bizarre battle of wills?

This was another great volume of Assassination Classroom! I love how ingenious the students are becoming, and not just in the ways of assassination.  They use what their environment has to offer, but without depleting it to the detriment of those who live there. They are growing stronger day by day, thanks to Koro Sensei. Now they are the class to be like, much to Principal Asano’s great chagrin. But only three months remain before the earth is to be destroyed. Will they be able to assassinate their target, Koro Sensei – and will they want to when the time arrives?

 

  

Wednesday Briefs: Dracula #11 (3.3)

 Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

If Avram thought things were bad before, they just got worse as an old woman tries to warn everyone in the tavern about strigoi. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Dracula. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's going with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

Dracula #11 (3.3)

“Strigoi,” the old woman repeated. “Heartbreakers. Seducers of women… and of men.” A few of the men in the room squirmed uneasily at her words, while others playfully poked their neighbors and chortled in amusement. “The eyes in the night that see all,” she continued. “The mouths that demand, that steal the lifeblood of others in order to remain forever young.”

“What are you talking about?” one person called out, followed by another and another until the question echoed throughout the room. “What do you know, bunica?” “What tales are you trying to pass off as truth?” As quickly as they’d begun, the voices suddenly stilled. A hushed murmur swept over her listeners, as if they were afraid of what she might say, Avram among them.

“I know much.” The woman cackled. “I see much. Things you are too blind to see. Things you do not wish to see. That which is in front of your face.” As she continued to babbly, many of the men began to rise from their seats. Avram couldn’t tell if they were more frightened or angry at what they were hearing. For a second, he thought she stared directly at him, as if she actually knew something. An unpleasant chill gripped him, but then the moment passed, as did she.

Remain calm.

 The woman began to slink about the room, gliding amongst the tables, her wild gaze darting from person to person, daring them to say something—anything—to refute her words. “Let me ask you this, o wise men of Bistritz. Where are your wives and daughters now, while you are here getting drunk?”

“At home, of course,” a voice replied, followed by a chorus of similar sentiments, Bogdan’s rising above the others. “My Doina is where she belongs, waiting for me to come home so she can take care of me.”

“Tell me then, since you are such clever men, why are your women so pale? Why do they hide their necks from the light of the sun? Why are they so tired lately?” She cast accusatory glances from one man to another. Some of them appeared dumbfounded, as if they were considering her words.

Avram was fairly certain she was casting aspersions on the men’s women as an act of revenge for the way many of them had treated her in the past, making baseless accusations. While he could understand her motives, he did not appreciate them. Especially not now, when Dracula was very possibly involved in the very behavior she was insinuating was taking or had taken place in the village. Despite his protests to the contrary, did he consider it possible that Nico was taking blood from the blacksmith’s wife?

Unfortunately, he would not put it past him. When the vampire wanted something, he had a tendency to throw caution to the wind. They would most definitely have to talk about this… on their way out of town. There was no doubt in Avram’s mind that this was the only option they had, under the circumstances The important thing for now was to divert the attention of the townspeople so that he could ascertain for himself whether Dracula was still in the village or not.

Please, God, let him be gone.

If the beldame continued in this vein, the superstitious villagers might jump to the misguided conclusion that Dracula was guilty of something. Who knew what they might do then, acting under the influence of mob mentality.

And even if perchance Dracula was guilty of something, Avram felt the need to protect him, even if he was weaker than the nobleman. Physical strength would not necessarily stand him in good stead. In fact, it would probably worsen the situation. The only practical solution was to leave for a while and let things cool down.

Extended travels, far from Transylvania.

“You know nothing, you disgusting hag.”  Bogdan again. He advanced drunkenly toward her. A couple of his companions attempted to hold him back, but he broke from their well-meaning grip until he stood directly before the old man. He shook his finger in her face, but she never flinched. “You’re just jealous of her, of all the women, because they are what you are not. Young and beautiful.”

That was definitely a matter of opinion, but Avram held his tongue.

“Begone with you, foul creature!” Bogdan finished dramatically. Avram couldn’t help but admire his fearlessness, although his stance seemed a little bit shaky due, no doubt, to high consumption of alcohol.

At that unfortunate moment, a large gust of wind shook the building, rattling the windows. Bogdan’s legs gave away and he collapsed onto the floor, looking stupidly around him.

“You have angered the gods with your stupidity!” the woman cried as mass confusion ensured. Avram wanted to tell them it was only wind but knew he could never make himself heard above the chaos.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Avram sighed. Gunther was in the thick of it once more, attempting to calm the anxious men. They began to slip out of the alehouse, no doubt heading home to see what they might find. Bodan’s cronies abandoned him there on the floor, scattering like chaff before the wind.

Such fair-weather friends he has.

At least he wasn’t going anywhere. But that thought was premature, as Bogdan staggered to his feet. Most of the customers had fled, leaving a disgruntled owner and servers with little to do but clean up after them. The old lady wore a grin of self-congratulation at the effect she’d had on people she had no reason to like. But her work was not done.

She leaned down toward Bogdan and whispered in his ear.

“Church?”

Avram lurched to his feet, desperate to prevent the blacksmith from leaving. But he found his way blocked by the rude young man who’d served them earlier. Avram had barely registered who he was when the other man swung at him and Avram fell unconscious to the floor.

 to be continued

Now go see what's up with the other Briefers!

Cia Nordwell

J Ray Lamb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 10: Let's Stand Up! by Eiichiro Oda

 

One Piece, Vol 10: Let’s Stand Up!     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: April 4, 2006

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action & Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Luffy and the others reach the island where Nami has absconded to. Luffy is convinced that she is not the bad person she appears to be, that there must be a reason why she is working with Arlong the Fishman and his pirate crew. When they learn what her true motives are, and how she is working to buy back Coco Village from Arlong’s tyranny, Luffy knows what he has to do -defeat Arlong and free them all!

Luffy, Sanji, Zolo, and a reluctant Usopp head to Arlong Park, where the fishmen are dismissive of them. The fight begins, with their terrible leader nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, Luffy finds himself in quite the predicament when he ends up stuck in the cement, unable to move. To make matters worse, Arlong shows up, and manages to cut out Luffy, cement and all, and hurl him into the water! Oh dear, as everyone knows, those who eat the devil fruit cannot swim! Can they save Luffy from drowning? Matters aren’t helped when Usopp runs off, followed by one of Arlong’s men.

Sanji dives into the water to rescue Luffy but he is attacked by one of the fishmen and has to do battle. Meanwhile, Nojiko (Nami’s sister) and Mr. Genzo have come to the rescue. Nojiko holds Luffy’s head above water, having stretched his neck, while Mr. Genzo presses on his chest to help him breathe. Even so, how long can Luffy hold out like this?

Usopp, in fear for his life, manages to convince his attacker that he is dead, but his conscience gets the better of him, thinking of Luffy and the others, and he decides to stand up to him, come what may! Nami decides the same thing and heads into the fray! Once Luffy is rescued, it’s time that he and Arlong tangle!

This volume of One Piece is about standing up for yourself and for your friends and doing the right thing. Nami has been with Arlong and his nefarious crew for a long time, albeit for good reasons, but she’s also been isolated and abused, becoming mistrustful of people. She learns to let go of that thanks to Luffy, who believes the best of everyone. Usopp, despite his bravado and wild tales, has essentially considered himself to be a coward, afraid to step in, afraid to be hurt. But Luffy has shown him that friends fight for friends, and he is finding his backbone at last.

Luffy’s a good kid, and a good friend and captain. He does not allow injustice to go unpunished, especially when it concerns his friends. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops as the story goes along. Great volume, look forward to the next!

Saturday is Horror Day #161 - Victor Frankenstein

 Victor Frankenstein

A young hunchbacked man with no name (Daniel Radcliffe) works for a circus in Victorian England. Although he is abused, and treated like he's stupid, he secretly studies the subject that interests him - life - in the form of medical books. And he crushes on one of the ladies in the circus, Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay). An accident brings him face to face with a medical student in the audience, Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), who recognizes the young man's brilliance and steals him away from the circus. He takes him to his new home, names him Igor, and proceeds to involve him in his experiments, which involve the creation of life itself. Unfortunately for them, a determined policeman, Inspector Turpin (Andrew Scott) is on the case of the missing hunchback and will stop at nothing to find him.

This is the familiar tale of Frankenstein as seen through the eyes of Igor (who, of course, is a completely 

original character not from the book). I think it can be considered an origin story as such.  The obsessed Frankenstein manages to find a like-minded patron at the college he somewhat attends, one who is fortunately very wealthy and willing to fund Victor's research. Having been transformed from being a hunchback, Igor is very grateful for Victor and his friendship. But he begins to wonder about the ethics of what they are doing. Also, who is this Igor he is named after, and where is he?

The film is very creative in sets and design, the writing and directing are good, but, at least for me, it didn't quite make it. Something fell just a little flat, although I'm not sure I can put my finger on what. Perhaps it didn't quite make me believe, didn't ground me in its reality. While Daniel Radcliffe is good as Igor, his transition from supposed circus idiot to brilliant biologist was a little too quick to be really believable. McAvoy's Frankenstein is a little two-dimensional, and reveals nothing of the person beneath until we get to the story of his brother at the end, and that's just too little too late. Andrew Scott's Inspector Turpin (sorry, I keep wanting to say Moriarity lol) is sufficiently obsessed and off his rocker  as well as being a religious fanatic who thinks they are doing the work of Satan, but he doesn't ring quite true to me. 

At what I believe to be the heart of this story is the question of science vs morality - just because we know how to do it, should we? Or are there things that are better left alone, such as the creation of life? Of course, there is no definitive answer as this is the lead-in to the Frankenstein story itself, which explores that theme as well.  Was it worth watching. Yes, but it wasn't quite the film I had hoped for, despite a great cast. I'll give this film 3.5 Stars.