One shot kill hoihoi san

In a future where insects have impervious to all known pesticides one pharmaceutical company has found the answer……

A 10.5cm tall, gun toting doll called hoi hoi san .

If the following description of one shot kill hoihoi san sounds weird, then may I direct you towards some other series. If on the other hand your still reading this and want to learn more – then carry on reading….

Originally a manga series by Kunihiko Tanaka, and published in Dengeki Daioh in 2004 [ they of Yotsuba& and Gunslinger girls fame] before being adapted into a PS2 game [along with a short OVA you can watch below], and later released in the west via infinity studios in 2007 , hoihoi san takes a stab at the commercialism and the inherent need of fans to collect every last piece of merchandise and accessories in an insane grasp to either keep with the Jones or out of sheer impulse buying – an act that, as we see with the main lead character and incurable hoihoi fan Aburatsu, usually leaves him out of pocket.

Sounds like me after a trip to a convention dealers room.

And its understandable why he’s so penniless – in each chapter we seem to see an ever increasing amount of additional extras that Aburatsu splashes out on – from extra outfits, to a remote control unit to excessively over the top weaponry – portable laser rifles anyone?
Obviously there’s some tough insects in Japan.

One of the upsides for this series is that, because of it being a one shot manga, the humour and the characters remain entertaining and fresh – my hat off to the creators resisting the urge to sponge this series for all it was worth. The art too is clear and excellently detailed and, along with the writing, enable the story to be told clearly and without causing any confusion or disruption to the pace of the story.

Another major plus is that the supporting characters in this series are equally as engaging and thought out as Aburatsu – Kimiko, the pharmacy assistant whoose inital love of hoihoi is quashed after her first i9ntroduction to hoihoi’s purpose as an insect destroyer
[warning:some goo involved] as well as fellow robot Combat-san – who it turns out [thanks to some unique anti competitor programing] becomes a long running villain to hoihoi san [not that she seems to notice!].
Finally, along with the colour section at the back of the book [which includes artwork originally only available in Japan] infinity studios have published everything from the original Japanese edition [which I think adds extra value to this book, even though it slightly more pricier than standard manga books available in the UK at this time]
sadly the only two quibbles i might with this series is that not only is this a complete series [with only 131 pages] but i think this helps to keeps the series from getting too monotonous fast.
The second problem is more problematic, as Infinity studios [who were involved with the English release] have ceased trading.

But for those of you in Japan, or who know anyone who is] take heart – Kunihiko Tanaka has been working on a sequel series [called, imaginably enough, Ichigeki Sacchu HoiHoi-san Legacy] which has been running in Dengeki Black Maoh since 2007.

All in all though I’m both sad and grateful that hoi-hoi san is not a real Product – id probably be fighting con-goers for the last one in stock!

Amnesia Labyrinth vol 1

When i first heard that Nagaru Tanigawa [of Haruhi Suzumiya fame] was releasing a new series i jumped at the chance to read the first volume to see what he had to offer….

What he had to offer though wasn’t quite what i was expecting.

First released in japan by Media works in 2009, and licensed by Seven seas, this first volume of an intended ongoing series, introduces us to Souji Kushiki, son of a rich family, whose forced to return home upon the mysterious disappearance of his brother Kazushi, only to find a household changed – for one thing his younger sister Youko, and his two stepsisters Harumi and Saki are not only
keeping secrets from Souji, but they also seem to act…..differently to him, and in ways that sisters shouldn’t normally act to their brother.

Add to that the fact that at his new school he’s suddenly tangled up with school council member and “intelligence committee”[read: propaganda] member Sasai Yukako, whose quest to discover the secret around the suspicious murders of three fellow school members may lead directly back to his own family – And may in turn put Sasai herself at risk of becoming the next victim!

“Murderers, in general, are people who are consistent, people who are obsessed with one idea and nothing else” Ugo Betti

One thing that drew me was the fact that Seven seas are all but shouting from the rooftops that this series is from the creator of Haruhi Suzumiya – from the belly cover, to the back cover it seems to try everything short of having a man with a megaphone attached to it announcing the fact!

The artwork for this volume comes in two clear standards – the main characters always seem well proportioned and detailed, while the backgrounds appear sketch like and less developed – although this does help to make sure we keep focused on the characters it wouldn’t have hurt to have left more art pieces now and again.

“Passion is a positive obsession. Obsession is a negative passion.” Paul Carvel

Finally The volume is then finished off with a preview of seven seas upcoming release of Gunslinger girls omnibus edition, which I hope to soon be reviewing.

All in all, while having hints of an interesting plot, it seemed at times that there were in fact two different novels – one a high school murder mystery, and the other a mystery with a harem [although I at times got hints of lunar legend Tuskihime, minus the magical schtick], that had accidentally been mixed together – in fact I felt that if Nagaru had stuck with one or the other plot, it would have made for a more intense story. But still, there was something niggling me about this story……

And then I saw his authors notes which reads, and I quote –

“Although an overall plot does exist for the story, when everything was said and done, i sort of ran out of things to write, and therefore i admit there are a number of lazy, phantom passages scattered throughout. This work was based on a story that, while it didn’t have enough to become a full-fledged novel, had been kicking around my head for years now”

Anyone else hearing alarm bells right about now?

Okay,okay – now maybe I’m being too negative – it’s still the first volume, and maybe, like many authors, Nagaru just needs time to develop more of the plotlines and characters [fans of Higurashi with no doubt agrees with me on this] and so we just need to wait.

The problem is though, is it going to be worth the wait?

“All persons are puzzles until at last we find in some word or act the key to the man, to the woman; straightway all their past words and actions lie in light before us” Ralph Waldo Emerson