Webcomic Wednesday: Bad Machinery in Book Form and Johnny Wander Does Lucky Penny

Hey guys, been a while!  Quick update, first of all: I'll be posting at least once everyday for the rest of this week before moving on to a new, improved, and significantly more flexible schedule.

On to webcomics!

Volume 1 of Bad Machinery, which I have previously discussed and you need to go read, was released today in book form by Oni Press!  It's really very pretty and I highly recommend picking it up.  It collects the prelude and the first story, as well as some extras, including year book photos of the main characters, a helpful (or at least entertaining) glossary for us non-UK folk, and the fictional history of the fictional Tackleford Football Club, presented as clippings from a fictional newspaper.

This is my copy. No you cannot have it. Nor can you have the other comics I picked up today.

If you haven't read it before, now is the perfect excuse to start.  I got my copy at my local comic shop, but it is also available at Amazon, so don't fret if you can't find it!

Another webcomic that you should check out that I haven't talked about in this feature before is Johnny Wander, a comic about various ridiculous things that happen after college is over.  I really enjoy this comic; it has great humor, perfect pacing, and really fun art.  While it's for the most part autobiographical, it occationally also includes fantastical short stories, such as Girl With the Skeleton Hand and Delilah & The Basilisk.  At the moment, they're posting Lucky Penny, a book they're doing with Oni Press.

Webcomic Wednesday: Bad Machinery, Good Comic

Today's Webcomic Wednesday, for reasons that should be fairly clear, will be another short recommendation: John Allison's Bad Machinery.  A spin-off of Scary-Go-Round (which was itself a spin-off, but I don't feel like talking about that at the moment), Bad Machinery is a fun, humorous, sometimes dark comic following the misadventures of a group of youths as they stumble upon and solve supernatural mysteries.  You do not have to be familiar with Scary-Go-Round to enjoy this comic, though if you are you'll be treated to some familiar faces and learn the fates of a few characters.  I highly recommend it.

Experiment Update and Some Recommendations

Hello, internet.

Do to various circumstances, my shiny new schedule seems to have been thrown of from being dutifully updated every weekday due to me flying home and visiting relatives and a certain person falling a tad bit ill (it's not me for once!  that almost never happens!).  I am still planning on completing all the posts for the week, but they'll be up later than they had been and I'll either post twice on some days or put up posts this weekend to make sure I get all five.  I do still plan to cover all three of this week's features, but they won't all be able to be on their assigned days.

That said, having a set schedule seems to be working out so far, though the daily schedule doesn't seem maintainable in the long run, both because it can't stand up to unexpected surprises like this week and because it's just difficult to take the time to write good, substantive posts on a daily basis.  Also, I'm supposed to be focusing on writing a thesis or something and I have personal writing projects I want to work on as well, so once February has passed I'll probably cut down the schedule a bit.

In other news, I've been spending a lot of time in bookstores recently.  Along with picking up the third Cobra War book (how did I not know it was out in paperback? how??), I've been reading A Devil and Her Love Song, a shojo high school drama manga that avoids turning into another generic, cliche series.  The title and cover don't really stand out to me and I would have completely overlooked it but for this glowing review on Anime News Network.  If you are interested in a high school drama with a story outside the typical "average girl attracts the interest of popular boy" and with a leading character with a very strong, distinct personality, I would recommend tracking this series down.

I've also bee reading Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori (whose mad skillz I've mentioned before) and will gladly recommend it to everyone.  It's currently available in deluxe, hardcover volumes and I would say they are worth the price.  It's set in 19th century Turkic Central Asia and if you're familiar with Mori's work, you know she's good with historical details.  You can read a plot synapses on Wikipedia, but the characters are interesting and likable, the chapters are enjoyable, and the artwork is gorgeous because it is by Mori and historical details are not the only details she's good with.  I am pretty much guaranteed to talk about this series (and Mori) in greater detail some other time and I'm typing this several hours earlier than it's being posted, so I'll go to bed now and just trust you to read this series.

Webcomic Wednesday: Today Nothing Happened

As Valentine's Day approaches, it can feel like you're being bombarded with love and romance everywhere you look.  It seems only fair that, after a Valentine's Special post with romantic recommendations, I recommend something not focused on romance so that there can be a bit of a break from thee romance before tomorrow strikes. 

Today Nothing Happened is one of the few autobiographical journal comics that does not focus on the twists and turns of the creator's love life.  It chronicles the funny, weird, and interesting things that happen in the everyday life of Shazzbaa, the comic artist.  This comic always cheers me up.  Sadly, it ended last spring after four years, but Shazzbaa is currently writing and drawing another webcomic called Runewriters, a fantasy about magical problems and communication issues.  The art is fun and the dialogue is fantastic in both, and I highly recommend you check them out.

Animated Tuesday: Valentine's Romance Special

As you may be aware, Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching.  As that gives me a convenient theme for this week, allow me to recommend a few well done anime romances.  If you're not in the mood to watch and/or read anything romantic around now, come back tomorrow for a non-romance-related webcomic recommendation.

Without further ado: to the bullet-points!

• Toradora!-- This show is one of the best romantic comedies and/or dramas I have ever seen.  At the start, the characters seem pretty archetypical and the he premise is simple (and cliche) enough: two odd teenagers have crushes on each others' best friends and decide to help each other out.  As the show progresses, however, the characters are shown to be far more complex then they first appear, with issues and relationships much more complicated then you may initially guess.  This show takes typical romantic comedy anime archetypes and fleshes them out into fully developed characters.  In addition, Toradora! pulls it off with a minimum of male-gazey fanservice, proving that you can create an anime series with all of the strengths of the seinen romantic comedy and none of the weaknesses.  There is a reason this show earned the extremely rare "A" rating from Anime News Network's reviewer.  This series is licensed in North America by NIS America  and available on DVD in two sets.  The first six episodes are available for viewing on Crunchyroll, with the remaining episodes available for paying users.
• Emma: A Victorian Romance-- Not to be confused with the Jane Austen novel, Emma is
  
  a romance set in late Victorian England (the 1890's, to be precise).  This is the story of a maid and a member of the gentry who fall in love and the stratified nature of Victorian society.  If you're sick of "Victorian-ish" settings and want some historical accuracy in your romance, look no further!  Based on the manga series by the talented (seriously, check out her cross-hatching technique) Kaoru Mori, a self-proclaimed Anglophile, historical consultants were used in the making of this series and the characters act the way you would expect people in their positions to act rather.  The series is often quiet and reserved, but it can pack plenty of drama when it's called for.  Split into two seasons, both are available in North America from Nozomi Entertainment and Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment has made the first two episodes available to view on YouTube.
• Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions--  Believe it or not,
  
  this English title is actually less unwieldy than the Japanese title.  This show was hands down my favorite of the 2012 fall anime season.  "Chuunibyou" is a condition many people develop around 8th grade in which they delude themselves into believing that they're super special, whether by having special powers or remembering past lives or whatever.  Yuta has left his chuunibyou days behind him, but his classmate Rikka is neck deep in chuunibyou of her own and has attached herself to him.  This show is sweet and hilarious and even manages to fit in some (completely make-believe) action scenes.  The animation is gorgeous (no surprise considering the studio) and the comedic timing is wonderful. Like Toradora, Chunibyo explores and develops its characters beyond expectation and like Toradora, it manages to do so with little to no fanservice shots.  It even manages to completely avoid a "harem" situation despite the many female characters in the cast, in part by expanding the role of Yuta's best friend.  The focus for the first half of the series is on comedy and character introduction and it's enjoyable to watch, but the show gets into full swing in the second and focuses more on character and the central relationship while exploring why someone might dive into fantasy, why fantasy is important, and what "normal" is.  This series has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and it's planned to come out on DVD later this year, but for now it can be viewed on The Anime Network (ignore their series description, it doesn't know what it's talking about), with the first episode available for free users.  If you enjoy the humor and characters in the first episode, I really would suggest paying for one month's subscription, watching the show, and then canceling the subscription.  This show is definitely worth the seven dollar fee.
• Kimi ni Todoke-- Oh, hey, a shojo anime. This is a sweet, pastel-colored story about a shy, kind, and socially awkward girl
  
  who falls in love with a "refreshing" popular boy.  The main character is adorable (everyone is terrified of her and she's completely oblivious) and the love interest is popular because he's super friendly and their friends are fantastic and basically this show is for when you want something adorable and sweet and heartwarming.  Like Toradora, it is licensed in North America by NIS America and DVD sets are available, though only the relatively expensive Premium sets with lots of extras.  Also like Toradora, the first six episodes are available for viewing for free on Crunchyroll with the rest of the series available to premium members.

Honorable Mention:

• My Little Monster-- The story of a girl who just wants to be left alone so she can study and the boy who needs to be socialized and won't leave her alone.  This romantic comedy is hilarious and fun and funny and absolutely worth watching.  Why is it only an "honorable mention," then?  Simple: at this point, it only feels half finished.  Hopefully there will be a second season to wrap things up but as it stands, it's a highly enjoyable series without a satisfactory conclusion.  All of this series is available to watch for free on Crunchyroll.

Fiction Friday: Read Mageworlds Already

This first Fiction Friday will need to be short due to unforeseen events, so I'll get straight to the point: if you like space opera and/or the Star Wars: X-wing novels, you need to read the Mageworlds books by James D. MacDonald and Debra Doyle and if you have an e-reader you have no excuse not to.  If you like science fiction and fun, you should read at least the first three books (Price of the Stars, Starpilot's Grave, and By Honor Betray'd, respectively).  The characters are interesting and likable, the setting is well-built, the story is fantastic, and why are you still reading this when you could be reading about Beka shooting bad guys in the face.

If you need to hear more about the series to read it for some reason, here's an article at Tosche Station about the fantastic that is Mageworlds.  This is not the last  you will here from me about these books.  

Now go read some fun sci-fi.  That is what weekends are for.

I'll just collapse over here.

Webcomic Wednesday: Let's Look at Nedroid

For the first Webcomic Wednesday, I've just got a quick recommendation: Nedroid Picture Diary by Anthony Clark.  This comic is updated irregularly, but every page manages to make me smile.  Starting as a series of unconnected, slightly surreal comics, it gradually develops into a series of slightly surreal comics connected by Beartato and his friends.  The humor darkly cheerful, the art is bright and fun, and it's just an all around enjoyable series that likes to play with silly ideas.  Look at this page and try to resist reading through the archives.

That's all for now, folks.  Have some webcomic recommendations of your own?  Please leave a comment below.

Animated Tuesday: Winter Season Recommendations

Hello and welcome to the first Animated Tuesday!  The winter 2013 anime season is pretty well established now, so lets talk about a few shows that are worth checking out and where you can watch them.

• Kotoura-san-- This show is the wonderful surprise of the season.  Kotoura is a girl who can read minds.  The problem is, she has very little control over her ability and can't easily differentiate between speech and thought.  Because of this, she has been abandoned by everyone she cared about and has decided that it's less painful to avoid any form of relationship than to have people she cares about push her away.  Then she meets Manabe, a boy who isn't frightened by her abilities and whose only concern about them is that he'll have to keep any dirty thoughts in check.  This show manages to shift between sweet, hilarious, and heartbreaking and covers some dark issues while still feeling sincere.  The first nine and a half minutes are possibly the saddest first nine and a half minutes of any show I've ever seen, but it does not wallow in despair.  Another nice thing about this show is the way Manabe's fantasies are handled.  Rather than showing every detail and playing them up for fanservice, his flights of fancy are mainly conveyed through his and Kotoura's humorous reactions, with most of the shown fantasies are kept short and played for comedy.  I would definitely recommend watching at least the first episode.  The series is being simulcast by Crunchyroll and you can watch it with a new episode every Thursday here, with episodes available to paying users the day they air in Japan and to free users the following week.
• 
  Maoyu-- Do you like fantasy?  Do you like macro-economics?  Then this is the show for you!  Humans and demons have been at war for the past fifteen years, so a Hero is sent to confront the Demon King directly.  Only the Demon King isn't a ruthless warlord who hungers to ravage the human world, but an attractive woman who wishes for the war to be over just as much as the hero does, but understands that the current economic situation will not allow peace.  So the Hero and the Demon King set out to stabilize the economies of the human world so that peace will be feasible.  This series is surprisingly engaging despite its relative lack of action.  The economics are understandable, the relationship between the Demon King and the Hero is adorably awkward, and the background political intrigue is interesting.  I would recommend this to anyone interested in fantasy with an eye at the bigger issues.  This is also being simulcast by Crunchyroll with new episodes every Friday and can be watched here, with episodes available to paying users the day they air in Japan and to free users the following week.
• 
  Tamako Market-- This show is adorable.  Energetic, enthusiastic, slightly dense Tamako is the daughter of a mochi shop (a particular kind of Japanese confectionery made from rice) who one day comes across a strange talking bird who is on a quest to find a bride for the prince of a distant land.  She is understandably shocked, but adjusts quickly and ends up taking him in and gets him addicted to mochi.  It doesn't take long for everyone else in the shopping district to take to the bird as well, despite the bird displaying increasingly strange abilities.  So far this show has a slice of life feel to it, establishing Tamako's relationships to the people around her, but there are mysteries present (Where's Tamako's mom? What's the significance of that song?  What's up with that bird, anyway?) that hint at a larger plot.  In addition, some of the relationships are more complex than they first appear.  This series is being simulcast on The Anime Network, with the first episode available to free users and the rest available to paying subscribers here.  New episodes are posted each week.  If you are interested in the show but don't want to pay monthly rates for an indeterminate period of time just for one show, I would suggest waiting until every episode is posted, pay the subscription for one month, watch it, and then cancel your subscription.  Seven dollars is a pretty decent price to rent a show.  While you're at it, watch Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions because it's fantastic.
• Chihayafuru 2-- This is cheating because it's the second season of Chihayafuru, but, seriously, if you haven't watched Chihayafuru yet, do it now.  Then watch season 2.  Both seasons are available on Crunchyroll here, with new episodes of season 2 simulcast every Friday.

 That's it for the major anime recommendations of the season.  Tune in next week for more me rambling about animated things!