Thank you for the info. Actually this might be the one I have pre-bought for my daughter. Really, you would think that I should know what I am spending my money on!!!

Amy

there’s no Drosselmeyer at all

*boggles* How in the world do you have Princess Tutu without Herr Drosselmeyer?!

—————————

DS, I don’t know what you normally like, but if you love romance and storytelling and great music, I think you’ll like it. But hey, if you decide to get rid of it, it would also make any child really happy at Christmas. ^__^

^_~

Furuba is overlooked? Really?

She’s talking about the anime. It was a very slow starter and was a sleeper hit, only gaining popularity over a few years through word of mouth and with the popularity of the manga. Hopefully Princess Tutu will do the same eventually. Unfortunately it has no good manga to help it.

I should say though, that anime and manga are as varied as film or the contents of a library, so even if this isn’t to your taste, chances are there is some that is. But I think you will like it. :)

The art style in Ororon reminds me of Yazawa Ai’s, just taken to a more extreme level. It’s also a bit like the Korean manhwa I’ve been buying from DramaQueen, their books Audition and DVD. I know that style puts some people off but I enjoy it. Your daughter might like those two books too. :) But DQ hasn’t been very reliable about releases, unfortunately.

A lot of shoujo romances really are soap operas. But soaps are fun and sexy, and the good ones have good characterization. I don’t watch them any more, but I can get my share of that drama from various romances that I read. So I understand the draw and feel it too. ^__^

I loved Ororon because I am Not at all scared of teenage angst tearjurkers. (that is really mouthful but!) I can take them with a little bit of amusement and a lot of emotional investment as I do with Japanese or Korean soap dramas. Sooo what I am trying to say is that I loved Ororon but it might not be your cup of tea (or coffee). I really liked its particular graphic style. In fact, I bought my older daughter (11 yo) the complied volume one as a Christmas gift. I guess I am sort of experimenting with my daughter in a way. Has she entered that teenage phase yet or is she still a Tween? Should I be introducing her to this kind of manga already? Well, she liked Kare Kano so we shall see.

BTW, I wonder if you know of the looong ballet/dance manga series called “Swan” (sorry I don’t know the Japanese title ). Now that was the serious “Dance Art” manga!!

Amy

I actually have never read The Demon Ororon, though it’s one of those series that always tempted me. I just hadn’t picked it up because I’ve not heard any recommendations one way or the other. If you recommend it, I’ll give it a shot.

I and my two girls are big fans of this anime since we caught it in our cable anime offerings. Usually I don’t go for this particular style of manga (with large circle eyes and impossibly long long legs) but the story and the whole nightmare/happy dream set-up hooked me. The girls are just happy with everything esp. the ballet part which is always cleverly integrated into each episode. The Prince is an interesting manga character, isn’t he? He reminds me the Prince Yuuki(?) character in Fruits Basket a little too.

Anyways, Jan, I have to tell you I have always enjoyed your informed and insightful manga reviews. (I lurk a lot here) Is there any chance you will review “The demon Ororon” for us in future?

I think, as Vern says, that they just don’t know who to market it to.

Well, the reason why I say that is because it’s ADV that holds the license. ADV is known for its anime catalogue of blood, breasts, and guns. And while I know guys who love this show as much as I do, I dont’t really think they’re the norm in terms of anime DVD watchers/buyers. So I really don’t think ADV knew what to do. I mean, the art design for the thinpak is awful in my opinion. But I can tell it’s just their art department going their usual fanservice route again, and I’ve had more than one person say to me that it looks like the cover of a hentai title. (Which is kind of embarrassing because it’s not even close! It’s the opposite end of the spectrum!) It’s really a shame.

But really, this anime gave me goosebumps.

Nicole, I have no idea why they haven’t been able to get the word out about this one. I think, as Vern says, that they just don’t know who to market it to. But really, they could market it to everyone, because it was *guys* raving about it that brought it to my attention, and it was a woman friend who convinced me to buy it with the above AMV.