Watch Out For The Demon in Library
Been busy with classes. I was finally able to get into a Drawing III class! The only places that offer them are far away and for some reason keep getting canceled. Former dean did not like fine arts apparently...
And my love for anime and has been in swing again. I recently was swept away by the series Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro. I found it by tvtropes and was hooked instantly.
I didn't like the artwork or rather the line work at first, but I loved the composition and perspective/point-of-view that the artist used. It even inspired me to use more vastly dynamic angles in my own work. Very much of camera above the head looking straight down or feet up type of thing. Which that, and many other little details, emphasizes that your main character is definitely not human.
And that is Neuro, a demon straight from Hell who solved all of it's mysteries and wants to devour the human world's riddles. Because that's what he eats. Mysteries. Literally brain food.
But what really got me hooked was the storytelling and the tortured heroine Yako. She's cute, funny, and she's strong. She goes through what would break most people and she thrives and grows. And oh boy is she the chewtoy. I wasn't kidding about the tortured part (there are a good amount of S&M references in the series despite that it was in SJ) and the manga starts with her father being murdered. Also this is listed as the only series that is equal gender with the trope Amusing Injuries.
I recommend the manga hands down. The writing gets even better, the art gets better, and oh dear goodness the character development. The anime of it? Well...I would still watch it if only for the seiyu if for nothing else. The first few episodes at least. The anime plays with the time line way to much. It starts partway through the story and goes too quickly through one of the major plots and then end with it's own thing. Still, I highly recommend it. You wont want to put it down.
Best found here so far.
The other thing that's been making me ecstatic is Toshokan Sensou or Library Wars. I fell in love with this either last year or the year before that thanks to hearing about it from Anime Pulse. Think Fahrenheit 451 meets josei. I love how it is a social commentary what-if with romance, humor and action. The main character is a strong woman and is taller then her love interest which I haven't seen before.
Viz got the rights to the manga and brought it over to the States! I never got a hold of it before and I'm loving it. I went and bought the first two volumes last weekend. And it is wonderful. :)
Currently reading the fan-translation of the light-novel it is based off of.