Species: Ascended meme
Health: 7.8/10
Mood: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Hunger: dying
Age: Speedwagon
Level: Hehu
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Author: Bookmaker
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Now Accepting Marathon Nominations!
It’s that time of the year again… Time to kick back, chug some “ramune”, and watch 12 hours of anime. But first, we need to know what you want to watch. So fill out the form I sent to the listserv before March 18 at 5pm. You know you want to 😉
-Evan
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Semester Schedule (SP 16)
Here is our schedule for the Spring 2016 semester.
-Evan
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Join the Conversation!
As you might be able to tell, the website is not currently being used by many members of CJAS. While I will continue to post info regarding club activities on this website, most of the conversation actually takes place on our CJAS Facebook group. Anyone interested in talking to members of our club, getting additional information, or becoming a member, check out our page for fun and interesting posts, or just to get to know other anime fans at Cornell 🙂 You can also send me an email at ec442@cornell.edu and I will answer any questions you might have or I can add you to the Facebook group.
Hopefully this will help people who have a hard time getting in touch with us. Feel free to send me a message on Facebook (or any other means) as well, I would be more than willing to talk about our club or anime in general.
-Evan
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Tsukihime Manga Review
Before I begin my review, I should point out that Tsukihime is the manga adaptation of a Type-Moon visual novel of the same name. Like Fate/Stay Night, another work by Type-Moon, Tsukihime is a story set in a world of magic. It is fundamentally a mystery and drama series, along the lines of the currently airing ERASED, where the main character has a supernatural power and struggles to find his place in the world. There is also a well developed romance with a satisfying conclusion, making this one of my favorite manga of all time.
Story (9): Tohno Shiki is a boy who gained the mysterious power to see “Lines of Death” after a near-fatal accident in his childhood. When he cuts along these lines, whatever it was falls apart with a clean cut; in other words, killing it. When he stumbles upon a traveling magician, Shiki learns how to suppress his unnatural sight and lives a seemingly ordinary life. However, as events from his past begin to resurface, Shiki will begin to uncover the mystery of the serial murders happening in town, while struggling to understand his own powers and his identity. The story of Tsukihime is both simple and complex: while the plot of the vampires and the murders is relatively straightforward, the characters give the mystery a chance to shine. Almost every character in Tsukihime is given ample characterization and we come to understand and empathize with all of them, which makes the stakes much higher when they are torn apart. In some regard, I feel like Tsukihime is more like Fate/Zero in this way, because the characterization is just great. They all go through their own unique transformation, have struggles and setbacks, and have their own personal histories. And speaking of histories, that is one of the strongest aspects of the story. Every character has a personal history that links to the overarching plot, the vampires and magicians have their own rivalry, and it just feels like a large, fleshed-out world of magic to explore. The only possible issue I can see is that the pace isn’t exactly the most consistent, but I felt like the pacing was done very well regardless.
Art (8): The manga started publishing in 2003, so the first few chapters had less polished art. Even later on, the art wasn’t exactly the best that it could have been, but it was still a good, clean art style and never detracted from the amazing story. Character designs were done well and captured emotions beautifully.
Enjoyment/Overall (9): Tsukihime is definitely one of the most polished packages I have read. It had an interesting premise, likeable characters, good development, and a satisfying conclusion. Reading this manga made me want to learn all about the Tsukihime universe (already read the visual novel), and I still think the story is superior to that of Nasu’s other work, Fate/Stay Night. If you are a fan of the Fate series, or just of mystery/drama/romance in general, I highly recommend checking out Tsukihime. And then watch Carnival Phantasm to get the exact opposite experience, plus all the extra references.
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Let There Be Memes!
Hey, everyone! In an effort to revitalize the blag, I will try posting occasional memes here. Dank memes. Not as dank as the E-Board Facebook chat, so definitely come to E-Board to get access to that chat and see more memes. Enjoy 🙂
-Evan
Hey, everyone! I’m going to try my hand at reviewing manga, which is pretty new to me. For the most part, these will be manga that I recommend, so I will try to refrain from any glaring spoilers. Hope this is helpful to people, even if the website is pretty dead!
Anyway, something I notice whenever I log in to MyAnimeList is that I only ever seem to review anime. Which is strange, considering there are a lot of great manga that I’ve read and the fact that I generally rate manga higher than anime. So today, I decided to sit down and write a review for a manga that I really enjoyed and I think should have gotten an anime series: Mx0.
Summary:
Mx0 is set in a world where those with magical powers are invited to attend Seinagi Private High School, where they are taught how to properly use their powers and contribute to society. A boy named Kuzumi Taiga, thinking Seinagi is just a regular school, takes the entrance exam and not only fails, but gets laughed at by a girl in the same room. In a fit of rage, he forces his way into the school, unaware that he can no longer leave. Can Kuzumi, a teenager with no magical ability, really survive in a school where students use powerful magic against him?
Story: 8/10
To be honest, the story in Mx0 isn’t the most original or the most thought out. I’ve read many other manga that deal with characters who are forced to hide their weaknesses by tricking their foes and I’ve read other magic school series. What sets Mx0 apart is the way magic is explained and incorporated into the world. The concept and mechanism for every magic spell is so interesting and unique, that you can almost imagine them being real. If you ever wanted to feel immersed in a world of magic, Mx0 accomplishes that in a way I haven’t seen since Fullmetal Alchemist.
In short, Mx0 doesn’t have a groundbreaking story, but it more than makes up for this in comedy, action, and world building. However, one thing to note is that Mx0 got axed, meaning the writer had to end the series early. For that reason, it doesn’t have the best ending, but I think it’s still decent. I think this manga is still worth recommending, but if you are really fixated on how a series ends, maybe it isn’t for you.
Art: 9/10
Mx0 isn’t going to be winning any awards for its art quality, but it has a fun style that works well with the comedy and it has fluid transitions that make the action scenes and magic casting look amazing.
Character: 9/10
Not much I can say, except that I loved all the characters. They were all fun to watch and had good character development, mostly through meeting and interacting with Kuzumi. Perhaps the one gripe I have is that, typical for a shounen series, character development is usually contained in a single arc, rather than being spread in small doses throughout the series. That means characters will always seem one-dimensional at first (as opposed to two-dimensional, lol) and they won’t really act that different after their development arc.
Enjoyment/Overall: 9/10
Mxo is a fun series that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy, magic, comedy, or shounen. I just wish they would make an anime adaptation, because I know it would blow every other magic school anime out of the water, and they could finally give it a more satisfying ending. If you want to see more manga reviews or have any questions/feedback, feel free to leave a comment. Hope you guys are enjoying CJAS (“Could Just Ask Senpai”)!
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Semester Schedule
Here is our schedule for Fall 2015 (• ε •).