Chaotic love triangle with Peach Girl!

               Peach Girl is a manga I have reread like more than 15 times already but that only applies to the last 5 volumes though. Although it really shows how much I liked this manga but I think not many people agree and I don't blame them for it since the best thing to describe the manga would be that it is so annoying that it just gets on your nerves most, if not all, of the time. It is actually your usual shoujo heroine caught in a love triangle or a quadrangle or whatever angle that might be but I would say that how the manga ended makes up for all those because I really, REALLY love the ending so much!

              The manga is about a girl who loves to swim and that is the reason she has a very tan skin that usually get her to be misunderstood by just about anybody. People usually see her as a slut, bitch, or a party girl. Amidst all this, she is a very tough girl who is not affected by these rumors or first impressions of her. When she entered high school, she was so happy to be in the same class with her crush, Toji. Unfortunately, she was befriended by Sae who is gonna be ruining her life for like more than half of the manga. One day, Sae suspected her of having a crush of one of their schoolmates. At this point of time, she already notice how Sae just runs around following her every move and the fact that she practically steals (although not literally) everything she wants.  When Sae popped out the question of who she likes, she was afraid that Sae might steal him so she randomly points at this guy and said that he was the one she likes. Well, it just so happens that this guy named Kiley is one of the hottest guys in school and lots of girls are drooling for this hunk so Sae believed it right away. This is then the start of their entanglement of  a very long high school journey of love. From here on, her life will turn out to be just plain chaotic. Life is never just black and white after all. So who ends up with who?

              Before I end this review, I just wanna say those Kiley expressions at the last volumes are like PRICELESS! I just love 'em! I just do! Don't ask.

Smitten with Hana Yori Dango

     Some people know about Hana Yori Dango as Boys Over Flowers and this thing about all the HYD franchise has made the whole world go crazy! Isn't that enough proof how this manga is so good and totally awesome? I don't wanna go into a hot debate about manga vs. anime vs. the 4 or 5 different live action versions all over asia but what I want to tell you is how this story has captured the hearts of oh so many people not just in asia but the WHOLE WORLD! You got that right! The whole world!
     If anyone asks though, that is if anyone is curious on where I stand, but nevermind I am still gonna tell you where I stand... THE MANGA IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone who loves HYD shouldn't miss reading the manga because it has everything in detail! Well, that's not really surprising, is it? Hmmm... let's see why it isn't... because I am a CERTIFIED SHOUJO MANGA ADDICT!!!! THAT'S WHY! :-)
     First of all, the story revolves around Makino Tsukushi who comes from a poor family but her parents want her to attend a school for rich kids, Eitoku Gakuen. Yup! Rich kids... the usual... spoiled brats who only knows how to spend their parents' money for just about anything they want... kids of prominent people. In Eitoku, there are 4 guys who stands out from the rest. From these 4 people, their leader Domyoji Tsukasa has the most popularity because of his family who literally is the richest in Japan. How do Makino's and Domyoji's paths cross? That's a story everyone knows but I am not gonna tell you since you'll be missing out on all the fun!
I just want to tell you that this is a classic manga made in the 90's so don't expect the art to be similar to those we have today but you could actually see how the art improves as the story goes along especially since I find Domyoji so handsome especially in the last volumes! This is, by the way, a 36-volume manga so feast your eyes to all the drama you can read and, don't forget, the laughter. I just love this manga so much ever since I read the first volume back in 2002 – 2 months before the Meteor Garden (Taiwan version) made its way to the Philippines. I was like... hey that looks familiar and “HEY! I read that!” At that time, there weren't any online manga stuff that I looked for it but unfortunately I read until around volume 18 and I had to give up since I couldn't find any more of HYD. I actually finished reading the manga last October when I had bought my laptop. I had an HYD marathon for 3 days. I read the whole thing from the first to the thirty-sixth! I felt so happy that I read the whole story. I do. Believe me, you shouldn't miss out on this read especially if you loved HYD – for whatever version you love. The manga is awesome. I actually watched HYD movie live action and I also loved it! Yeah. I love the Jap version of the live action the most because they are the ones who got the whole jist of the story and they portrayed the story well based on how the manga was since I loved the manga so much! I love Domyoji. I just do. If you watched the live actions, you might choose Rui but when you read the manga, you get to love Domyoji more... Believe me... Well, that is in my own perspective though.
There it is... The eternal Hana Yori Dango. The whole is still going crazy for this even after more than a decade of its existence.
     Note: I was planning to make a detailed comparative review bout the HYD franchises in my animerevz blog but I never had the time... maybe in the future. Just check out some updates.

One of the best gender-bender there is! W-Juliet!

               W-Juliet is one of the best gender-bender manga that I enjoyed so much! It just has a lot in it that I think they never miss out on anything and that all the characters have its own share of the limelight. No one is totally left out in this manga.

              The manga is all about Makoto who dresses up as a girl while attending high school because of a deal that he and his father made. The deal was that Makoto could pursue his dream of being an actor only if he could successfully graduate high school as a girl without anyone finding out. Unfortunately, his classmate and fellow member in the drama club, Ito, accidentally found out about his secret just right after a few days when school started. Although Ito was willing to help him keep his real identity a secret but it is not as easy as it seems since they can't stop the attraction that they both feel for each other. It's not just those feelings they have to deal with but all the people around them especially each of their families and everyone else are starting to get suspicious but no need to worry since they have their own set of allies to help them get through the hard road known as high school.

              The story is just superb. I was amazed at how totally hooked I was into this manga because I never expected it to be this action-packed (both the protagonists' families actually practice martial arts), funny, family-centered, and emotionally focused. As I said earlier, they have all the essential things I look for in a manga so I definitely would recommend this gender-bender manga to just whoever wants a good time and a good laugh. The art is also very good eventhough I could say that it is quite simple. What more can I say? Oh! Wait a minute! I just want to add that I just love those brothers that Ito have!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, that's just about everything!