lucathia

I caught up with Bokura no Kiseki and Orange Chocolate, two series I've been buying but haven't read very far. Also continued reading Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo and Usotsuki Lily. The connection between these four series? Genderbenders. XD;

Bokura no Kiseki (read up to volume 7)
Reincarnation series. Protagonist was a princess named Veronica in the past. He has always remembered his past life and was bullied for thinking that everyone remembers their past lives. He learns to be less obvious about it, though he also questions if his memories are real until one day, he performs magic, receiving proof about what he remembers. Although he hasn't wished for it, an event triggers the memories of his classmates. Several of his old companions who were with him on the day the castle was attacked have reincarnated among his classmates, but not all. Slowly, they try to unravel what happened during that fated day that caused everyone to die.

( Read more... )

Orange Chocolate (read up to volume 11)
Two childhood friends end up swapping bodies because of a wish. After 1000 shrine visits, the shrine god grants your wish... Unfortunately, Chiro's wish is misinterpreted. She doesn't want to actually become Ritsu. Thankfully, their switch isn't permanent, but they keep getting switched at random times, such as when Ritsu is just about to go on stage, so Chiro would end up having to mimic him during his job. However, the amount of time they stay stuck as each other seems to get longer and longer.

( Read more... )

Usotsuki Lily (read up to volume 11)
Hinata is asked out by En, who is a very hot guy, but she later finds out that he crossdresses all the time because he hates guys so much that he doesn't even want to see one in the mirror. This is just a very silly series that never fails to make me laugh. XD; There are a ton of scenarios where crossdressing happens (characters other than En also crossdress. Hinata makes a gorgeous guy). And so many times when the 4th wall is broken. Nothing much seems to happen, but I adore all of these characters. <3333 In the latest volume... I guess there's some progression in the plot. En doesn't seem to fare as badly with guys anymore. XD;;

Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo (read up to chapter 63)
Yamada accidentally switches bodies with Shiraishi Urara. By kissing, they can switch bodies, and it's not just limited to each other. He later discovers that there are seven witches at his school, each with a different power.

I thought this story was just about body-swapping, but nope, other powers come into play too. Body-swapping is my favorite though! I find it amusing that there is a ton of kissing going on in this story since the powers work by kissing. Yamada has kissed a ton of girls and a ton of guys. XD; Yamada-kun is by Yoshikawa Miki, who drew Yankee-kun to Megane-chan (which I sitll need to finish reading. I have 3 volumes left!), so the humor is quite similar.

Shoujo manga talk! Or, what I'm currently reading.

Ame Nochi Hare / Clear Up After Rain

Five high school boys caught in a spring storm end up changing into girls whenever it rains. This is one of my more favorite genderbenders.



I love the art style (Hazuki~!), and you can easily tell the difference between their boy forms and their girl forms. What's charming about this series is that it focuses on subtle differences between life as a boy and life as a girl, and the characters take notice on how others behave differently around them depending on their current identity. Even though the genderbending is a large part of the story, it's not all about their trials at living a double life. I feel the genderbending part is what serves as a bond that brings them together and allows us to learn more about each of them and their background. I look forward to reading more! :)

( more spoilerish thoughts )

Akatsuki no Yona

The sheltered princess ends up having to flee from all that she knows and goes on a journey to find new companions to fight by her side.



Since NG Life, I've been a fan of Kusanagi Mizuho. I like her stories, especially since romance usually isn't the main point of her stories. Akatsuki no Yona starts out pretty typical, with a girl pining after her love and doing nothing but that, but Yona didn't disappoint me. I was waiting for her to grow stronger! So far the story hasn't been amazing, but I find it enjoyable, and how can I not like a story when they're going around gathering four legendary dragons? XD;

( some more spoilerish thoughts )

I finished reading NG Life over the weekend. I've been buying a volume here and there from Book Off and filling in my missing volumes at Kinokuniya until I bought all 9 volumes (I didn't even know volume 9 was the end... I thought it was still ongoing!). I read volumes 1-2 way back and wasn't too interested, but this time around, I was hooked. XD;

The main character, Keidai, remembers his past life, especially his past love, Serena. He's found his best male friend again in this life, except he's reincarnated as a girl. The series starts off with Keidai meeting his past love, except... she's reincarnated as a guy. XD; It's a romantic comedy, but there were lots of touching moments too. Keidai is fairly "handsome" but is an idiot most of the time. XD; Still, he's quite tormented by his memories since neither Serizawa (his best friend) and Yuuma (his past lover) remember anything from their past lives. On top of that, their genders are now different. This throws Keidai off a lot. Later on, there are some more explorations with exactly why he still has his memories.

( more spoilerish rambling )

I've also been reading two other reincarnation series, Oyayubihime Infinity (a group of people have butterfly tattoos. when their tattoos touch, they see a part of their past. throughout the series, they try to figure out who they were) and Yukarism (a writer was born with recollections of his past as a female). I started all of these because they're labeled as genderbenders. :3 I think I'll probably start Bokura no Kiseki next. XD

A dating game after my heart. XD; I had no idea what this game was, but the synopsis mentioned the protagonist (female) going undercover at an all boy's high school to slay demons. Then I saw that one of the characters is voiced by Taniyama Kishou. Genderbending in a dating sim + one of my favorite seiyuu (singing the opening no less)? That immediately made me buy the game, haha. XD

The game's not very complicated (you're not given that many choices...), but each path is fairly different. I only played through one so far (not Taniyama's character, who is a surprisingly energetic "buzz cut" character). I like that the protagonist is fairly strong, and she doesn't get discovered very easily, at least not in the path I chose. XD I hope it's not just because I chose the shortest guy, hahaha. I'm terrible with playing through more than one path, but the others intrigue me too~

Official site:
http://www.codex.jp/hgs/index.html

Opening:


( some pics )