-Kirari is set to appear on a TV show in which celebrities undergo obstacles, and that's when she meets Izumi. Izumi is a pretty, pink-haired girl who is polite to Kirari at first, and is quite flirty with Hiroto (which upsets Kirari). When Kirari hurts her ankle in the ball pit and gets stuck, Hiroto goes to get her and Izumi sees them in a supposedly intimate position. Angry, Izumi steals Hiroto's first kiss and claims she's in a relationship with him, both at the same time on live TV! And from then on, she's quite hostile towards poor Kirari, and definitely out for blood. When a photo is taken that could compromise everyone's careers, Hiroto steps up to the plate and breaks Kirari's heart (in two different ways!). -Hiroto, like his parents, has to be away a lot, and he'll be gone for a few days to work, leaving his younger brothers to fend for themselves. Kouta, the second youngest, asks if Kirari can lend him Na-san for the duration as a babysitter. But he gets way too used to the special attention, and doesn't want to give him back when the time is up. What will poor Kirari do, who can barely function without her cat?
-Kirari is still fighting to write a song, but after some inspiring last minute words from Hiroto, she's finally ready to get it all out. But despite her finally finishing, Fubuki has a twist. Technically not against the rules, Fubuki gets a hot new pop duo from her talent company, RHINOCEROS, to do back up dancing and make her performance flashier. How can Kirari's simple love song match up to that? -Now both girls must rely on the CD sales of their songs to see who wins. When Kirari comes out on top, Fubuki is not happy. She's not ready to be number two at ANYTHING, least of all to a girl she finds simple, unprofessional, and unworthy of even sharing the stage with her. Later, at a celebratory party, Kirari shares an awkward moment alone with Hiroto. Will there be confessions? -There are also two extra stories in this volume. In the first one, Subaru's cat, Mr. Na, runs away from home to find pizza. In the second, Kirari and Erina compete in a sweets contest.
-Kirari's is really cutting it close with her creation. But it comes with a twist that nobody would've expected! Kirari not only decorated her dress with balloons, but underneath is colorfully wrapped candies that she throws at the audience. Will this sweet gesture be enough to beat out her opponent's skillfully stylish number? -There's still one more round to go, and that involves writing a love song! Kirari decides to focus on her enthusiasm for food, but is told by SHIPS that's not really a universal subject that will do her any favors. Instead, she should focus on love. But poor Kirari struggles to come up with something, and who exactly to use as inspiration: when she tries to think about Seiji, Hiroto pops up. Having left the house to clear her head, she ends up getting harassed by some fans, and is saved by Hiroto. They run onto a bus to escape, and end up on the beach. Will she find her lyrics there? -Kirari's older brother, Subaru is back! He's been staying in America to study acting, and as such has no idea that his sister is now a celebrity. When he does find out, he's not happy. Jealous of her success, he has his cat, Mr. Na, steal her schedule book. Because they look alike, Subaru decides to pretend to be her and enjoy some attention for once, which may lead to unplanned complications and the biggest favor he's ever done. -Kirari is going to be Cinderella in a play, but not if she can't fit into her costume! The people putting the play together are not happy: if Kirari can't stop her constant snacking, there will be big trouble ahead.
Miki Nakatani isn't exactly the most popular girl in school. In fact, everybody thinks of her as an ugly nobody (even her own sister!). Despite this, she still finds herself falling in love with an upperclassman student body president. When he misplaces a mechanical pencil, she decides to take it as a momento. But somebody has seen her crime! A fellow student referred to only as Satou. In exchange for not spilling the beans, he proposes she kiss him! Not wanting her crush to think badly of her, she reluctantly agrees. But the story doesn't end there: Satou is a terrible kisser (as she later remembers, it was rather childish and boring), and that's surprising, considering he's very popular and has probably had dozens of girlfriends. To make matters more complicated, he seems to think this signifies that they are now dating!
This is a very cute manga, and features one of the most slow-headed love interests in shoujo history! There's a lot of kissing, though, as the title implies. People are either kissing or thinking about kissing. So if that sort of thing annoys you, I wouldn't look this up.
This year's 34th issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine will announce next Wednesday that an Inuyasha Kanketsu-hen (Inuyasha Final Chapter) television adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's manga has been green-lit. The anime will broadcast on Japan's YTV this fall and cover the story in volumes 36 to 56 of the manga — the final 21 compiled book volumes. The original staff and cast will reunite for the new anime adaptation.
Shonen Sunday had promised earlier this month that it will be including a special news announcement about Inuyasha in issue #34. Takahashi had ended the Inuyasha manga in the same magazine last June. She has been serializing a new manga called RIN-NE (Kyōkai no Rinne) in the magazine as well as on TheRumicWorld.com website for North America readers since April 22. Viz Media has been releasing the Inuyasha manga in North America, and it has also released the original 2000-2004 television anime adaptation.
If you're interested in expanding your comics horizon, how about looking to the past with Little Lulu? It may not have the ACTION and ADVENTURE of Superman or villain foaling of Spiderman, but it's got a certain charm to it. It's something you can look at and smile, maybe get a chuckle or two, and cheer you up.
In this volume (7), Lulu does her typical activities: fooling the prankster boys in the neighborhood, telling stories to the annoying kid next door, and generally being smart-alecky and strong minded. You'll be amused by some of the slang everybody uses (ex: "fellers"), the fashion, and the way Lulu is brought up by her parents (there certainly was a lot of spanking back then!). If you're a Peanuts fan, it's similar, only the adults are actually shown.
The story begins in an ice-age future, as a shaman tells a group of children about the legend of Barack the Barbarian. Barack has been traveling the roads, and arrives in the corrupt city of Warshington, a place of violence and filth. He runs into "Manny the Fixer" who tells him they've been hoping for somebody to bring change, and invites him to a local pub for some food. There, he runs across "Sarah the Red," who, along with her partner, have been sent to destroy him.
This is a pretty amusing comic. It's not "laugh until milk comes out of your nose" funny, but it's entertaining and pretty spot on with a few things. Despite the abundance of scantily-clad women, I'd say most ages can read this (maybe 13 and over?). I definitely recommend this to Obama fans and those amused/invested in the 2008 elections.
Miki, former member of Morning Musume, has recently married her fiance, Shouji Tomoharu of the comedy group "Shinagawa Shouji," in July of 2009. Congratulations!
If you find yourself wound up and tense from a stressful day, or are simply worried about something, these shows can sooth your nerves and make life a little better.
If you've ever considered yourself a Mario fan, and you're looking for one DS game you'll get the most out of your money for, I recommend New Super Mario Bros. It returns Mario to the days of scroll platforming, but in 3D and with all kinds of new tricks (such as grabbing a mushroom that makes you as big as the screen). It can be hard, but not too difficult. It's also interesting to actually watch Peach get dragged to each castle, her calling out to Mario for help.
One thing I really didn't like was that your game wasn't saved unless you defeated a tower or castle. So you could fight through two levels, but if you couldn't beat Koopa Jr. you lost all that work after restarting the game. So, you better be ready to do all that in one sitting or put your DS on sleep mode if you have to go off and do other things. But this is great for all ages, great for something to carry around on road trips or waiting in the doctor's office.
