Author: Harper Kingsley

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Title: Returner (2002)
Genre: sci-fi, action
Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki
Written by: Takashi Yamazaki, Kenya Hirata
Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Anne Suzuki, and Goro Kishitani

Summary from IMDB: A young woman from the future forces a local gunman to help her stop an impending alien invasion which will wipe out the human race.

aStore: DVD

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Okay, so this movie is basically ET, The Matrix, Transformers, and Terminator all rolled up into one. And it was pretty awesome, if I must say.

The lead guy is pretty hot. The girl is kind of cute in a very normal girl kind of way. The story is somewhat nonsensical and you have to wonder why the heck they would do some of the things they do. The dialogue is sometimes incredibly stupid and you’re left wondering what kind of people they really are. It was pretty juvenile sci-fi fan service in some of its scenes. But it was also a truly awesome movie.

It will never be my favorite movie, I would never go that far, but it was very good and I was left with that soaring heart feeling you only get from movies that have in some way effected the way your brain thinks of something, even if you don’t know what the effect could mean. This movie had some personal significance to me, though all I really know is that it made me happy to watch it.

The lead guy is seeking vengeance on this crazy guy over the death of his childhood friend, and he doesn’t seem to care if he dies to do it. So he becomes a paid assassin. His bad guy is the bad guy, which gives the good guy a double reason to go after the jerk and rip out his pound of flesh.… Read the rest “RE MOVIE: Returner [Japanese]”

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The Man From Nowhere (2010)
Korean action movie
Director: Jeong-beom Lee
Writer: Jeong-beom Lee
Starring: Bin Won, Thanayong Wongtrakul, and Sae-ron Kim

Summary borrowed from IMDB: A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug- and organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.

aStore: DVD, Blu-Ray, digital


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Okay, so this is one of those great action movies that basically has everything. Movies that give me a similar vibe: The Professional, The Crow (more the TV show than the movie, actually)

The story begins with a pawnshop owner that is kind of nice to a young girl, and in return she keeps coming around. Her mother is a junkie and a thief, and the girl is poor and there’s always people teasing her and thinking she’s trash, so she gets into fights or causes trouble and things. Her feelings for the pawn shop owner have her saying that he’s her father when she gets into trouble in the hopes that he will save her. He does not, just walking off.

There’s a whole tragic backstory about his past, and while he’s dealing with that, the junkie mom gets into trouble when she helps steal from the wrong people. The pawnshop guy shows up in his fancy clothes in time to find out that the girl and her mother have been taken by dangerous criminals — men neck deep in guns, drugs, prostitution, and murder.

And that’s when things blow up into action as the pawnshop guy races to save the girl, or if he can’t do that, at the very least avenger her.

He has a secret past and is one dangerous mofo. This is a straight up action thriller, with a gritty taste and feel. There’s … Read the rest “RE MOVIE: The Man From Nowhere [Korean movie]”

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Title: White Dragon
Author: Wada Shinji
Artist: Kinutani Yu

Summary borrowed from OurManga: Pursued by the mob, a young child seeks the protection of White Dragon, an assassin with the ability to morph into male or female, and kills by using… water…

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The sad thing is that I never got to finish this, but I did read some of the books, enough to know that it was good. If the makers of “White Dragon” would like me to review the rest, please send me English translated copies and I would be happy to oblige  (^_^)/

The artwork in White Dragon is all clean lines and straight story, there’s very little messing around, which gives it a serious air. The main character is an assassin that kills with a mysterious method and has never failed in a mission. The girl is the daughter of someone he once knew, come to seek his help. But all she really brings him is trouble, yet he keeps on bending backward to help her out and faces a rivalry of his own.

The MC doesn’t seem too interested in relationships with anyone, and there is some cross-dressing involved that kind of points to something deeper going on in his head. And he really seems to go out of his way to help the girl, and there does seem to be a kind of “maternal” vibe going on between them that is cute, but also kind of creepy.
Straight up assassin fare, with him going into various undercover situations to get his mark.

The White Dragon is an unstoppable killer, able to get around any kinds of security someone thinks to come up with, and always leaves his target DEAD.

Very awesome. Appeals mightily to the 12 year old boy in me.

Rating: 3 … Read the rest “RE BOOK: White Dragon, by Wada Shinji [manga]”

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"Alone In My King's Harem"
Alone In My King’s Harem
Author: Lily Hoshino
Released by: Digital Manga

Summary borrowed from Wikipedia: Alone in My King’s Harem (ハレムでひとり Haremu de Hitori) is a 2004 manga by Hoshino Lily. One of the first titles released by Digital Manga Publishing. Alone in My King’s Harem is composed of six stories, with only the last two stories containing the same characters. The stories are largely romantic in nature with some erotic tones. The stories focus predominantly around the “ultra-femme” uke character, with the seme character taking more of a supporting role.

aStore: print

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This book here has had a profound effect on my life. The artwork is oddly endearing and almost hauntingly cute, if such a thing can happen. It’s as though someone took the art styles of 80’s anime — the Q-tip hair, general androgynousness, and the open expressions — but ran them through a filter of sexiness, cuteness, and just basic moe! kawaii!

Lots of male/male romance, not too much graphic depictions, more sweet than anything. Everything is kind of dreamy and her stories are set in fantasy worlds that are very familiar, yet are also very different. It honestly feels as though you’re stepping into a brand new culture, and that very much appeals to me.

The titular story, “Alone In My King’s Harem,” is about an adorable male concubine that catches his king’s eye. So to please his little love, the king decides to take over his corner of the world so that he can lavish all of his love and everything else on the concubine. Unfortunately, at some point his dreams surpass reality and he forgets about the concubine, ends up with dozens of others, and just basically becomes a titanic jerk. Reality reasserts itself, he loses a big battle, … Read the rest “RE BOOK: Alone In My King’s Harem, by Lily Hoshino [manga]”

Hello darkness, my old friend,
here I am to gaze again
upon the beauty of thy cheek,
your loving Will dost make us weep.
To see you both so rudely parted,
our hearts were broken,
then restarted, with the fire of our yearning,
for "Season 4!" our hearts are burning.
--Hannibal