Emperor Pinguins, Ghosts, and Devils
10. March of the Penguins (La Marche de l'empereur). Quote: In the harshest place on Earth, love finds a way.
from Wiki
from IMBd
from Rotten Tomatoes
Nature is so hard. The penguins are so cute, though. I didn't realize how short they are since I have nothing to compare them to, until during the credits, the filmers were shown among the penguins, and they are about 3 or 4 ft top. So very cute. It only took me 2 years to watch it :) There are too many things competing for my attention and time.
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47. 5 Volumes of Yurara (ゆららの月, Yurara no Tsuki). Spoilers
wiki
Written and illustrated by Chika Shiomi
from Viz Media website:
There are two sides to every ghost story...
Vol 1: On Yurara's first day of high school, she finds her assigned seat is occupied--by a ghost! Mei and Yako cannot banish the spirit, and Yurara's other self is released...
Vol 2: When Yurara's guardian spirit picks up a ghostly stalker, she vanishes, leaving Yurara to deal with the paranormal pervert on her own!
Vol 3: Yurara finds herself drawn to Mei, but her guardian spirit prefers Yako! Can Yurara sort out her true feelings?
Vol 4: Now that Yurara and Mei are a couple, Yako has become a shut-in. But Mei seems to have acquired another rival when a beautiful boy from Yurara's past returns!
Vol 5: When Mei and Yako realize their rivalry is tearing Yurara apart, Mei makes a fateful decision. But is his choice really the right one? Soon Yurara will have to trust her own strength when evil spirits threaten those she loves. Don't miss the exciting conclusion of Yurara!
Some points:
- I like Yurara. The way she panicked when these 2 handsome guys paws on her instead of swooning :) It's amusing.
- Mei seems to have a bad boy image at first but deep down he's a nice guy. In fact he shows a lot of maturity in #5 to his expense.
- Yako teases Yurara a bit too much :)
- The art is so pretty and I like the story also.
- In #5, Yurara cries a lot - she breaks down every time she sees Mei or Yako - I think it means to show her breaking down and not weakness ...
Bottom line, definite reread, there is a sequel with Yako - I hope it gets licensed to publish in the US.
48. 5 Volumes of The Recipe for Gertrude (Gertrude no Recipe ガートルードのレシピ). Spoilers.
wiki
Written and illustrated by Nari Kusakawa
from CMX website:
Vol 1: From rising manga star Nari Kusakawa comes an amusing and unusual story inspired by classic fairy tales - but with a very modern spin! Sahara is a normal high-school girl whose life is turned upside down when she meets "Gertrude," a 100-year-old demon who looks like a teenaged boy. Gertrude is a manmade demon, constructed from the parts of various other demons and brought to life through a "recipe" from an ancient spellbook.
Gertrude searches for the recipe in order to learn more about his origin, and wants to destroy the formula so that it can never be repeated. Sahara becomes a resourceful ally in Gertrude's quest, and they are aided by some very comical and not-very-threatening demons.
THE RECIPE FOR GERTRUDE is a fun, lighthearted series that focuses on the relationship between its two appealing lead characters.
Vol 2: With the help of young Sahara, Gertrude has finally found the "recipe" book containing the formula to his demonic self. The only problem is, the words have been magically lifted and transferred to a spot not even he could have imagined. Gertrude suspects Sahara's older brother is involved, and sure enough the enigmatic Kyusaku begins to cause trouble. To free his love, Gertrude must take on the one person who knows him inside out: his creator!
Vol 3: Sahara stands alone and faces her brother - who is possessed by Gertrude's creator! An injured Gertrude can't help, so he recruits an old nemesis to come to his friend's aid. Is the patchwork demon willing to pay the price of this bargain? "The Recipe" is within reach and they are about to find out just how Gertrude came to be and how he got his name!
Vol 4: Gertrude must rescue Sahara from Claude, Gertrude's evil creator. She's held in Claude's magically induced slumber. If Gertrude tries to awaken Sahara, a counter-spell will destroy her. Claude wants to release the soul of his late wife, trapped inside the body of the man-made demon Gertrude when Claude first created him. Now the only way Gertrude may be able to save Sahara is by sacrificing himself!
Vol 5: This critically acclaimed series comes to an end with a collection of short stories. Gertrude, Puppen and Mariotte confront a strange music teacher at Sahara's school. Then Gertrude ends up in Canada, where he starts out searching for the recipe but ends up helping in a hunt for Bigfoot! And how will Puppen react when Mariotte puts him on a diet?
Some points:
- I chose this series because all are out and short and also because of a good review somewhere. I want to check out the art of the mangaka before getting her next series "Two flowers for dragon"
- I often forget that Gertrude is a demon.
- It's kind of predictable regarding Claude - since I had read too many Clamp series to expect that kind of twist. Not that it's a bad thing.
- I like the interaction between Sahara and Gertrude, I also like Puppen and Mariotte. I don't think that there is a character that I dislike in this series.
- The series ends at #4. #5 is a collections of short stories about Curtis (how he lost his eye), Puppen and Mariotte (2 stories on them - I think), Gertrude and big foot (this shows how nice a demon Gertrude is).
Bottom line, nice series - no angst - no love triangle - a nice break for me :) I don't mind angst but too much can be tiring.
- Going on series
- Beyond the Beyond 4
- Tail of the Moon 11 - spoilers
- Wild Ones 3