Tori...Tori...Tori... Toriko

I admit, when I first came across Toriko manga few years back I immediately judged it. Cast it aside in my moment of prejudice and completely forgot about it until the Toriko/One piece crossover anime came out, sometime in mid 2011. I am a sucker for One Piece. It is the only anime I have re-watched(525 episodes and counting) 6-7 times minimum, I can quote dialogues, recite speeches from the manga, give in depth character briefings and review the manga for hours together and  few minutes later, do it all over again. So if Luffy is ok with Toriko as his partner then am ok with it too. So ya, the crossover. It was ok. Not that great, but enough to get me to look into Toriko. And man am I glad or what. Toriko is now my 2nd most anticipated weekly release. The first? No guesses there. Its One Piece of course.

TORIKO, One Piece Xover

Anyway to introduced the manga, Toriko, the protagonist, is a gourmet hunter. Set in a fictional world which is currently in a gourmet age( like our bronze age, iron age and so on) gourmet hunters discover new and fascinating ingredients, sometimes at great personnel risk. He has, like any hero in a shounen manga a side kick called Komatsu, who is a chef in a 5 star restaurant.Together they travel the world hunting and cooking and of course eating. Did I mention that Toriko is a glutton? Toriko is said to have discovered 2% of the currently known ingredients, which makes him a celebrity is his world. His aim is to create a full course of his life and find GOD a ingredient that is said to have stopped wars(reading the manga will give you better understanding of GOD) .

A full course menu consists of the following:

1.Hors d'Oeuvre ( lol, its french)
2.Soup
3.Fish Dish
4.Meat Dish
5.Main course
6.Salad
7.Desert
8.Drink.
No spoilers for toriko's list. :)

Not much is known about Toriko's past or his family other than the fact that he was picked up by IGO(International Gourmet Organization)'s president and trained along with 3 others namely, Coco,Sani and Zebra( in the same order of their introduction). Together they are called the "Four Heavenly Kings" ( no idea why.. whats heavenly king got to do with gourmet hunter?)

Toriko

Coco

Zebra

Sani

           






















I was wondering if i should write about their individual powers and abilities, but then again why take the fun out Eh! reader? You will find out how badass they are when you read the manga. :). On a completely unbiased note, Zebra rocks :P..

Oh before i forget.. Chef Komatsu. The silly, cry baby side kick.. whose favorite line has got to be.. "Toriiigooo--zaaan" said with snot dripping off his nose.. No, don't get me wrong. I like komatsu.. he grows on you. In a world of extreme macho-ness he is a scrawny kitten. But a excellent side kick to Toriko. Here be the Chef:

LOL. Sorry Komatsu

Komatsu :P

The manga chiefly chronicles the adventures of Toriko and Komatsu, with occasional appearances of sani, coco and zebra along with few other regulars.

So when we talk about the heros can Villans be far behind? Bishokukai, they are the villans of this world. Their main aim is to control all the ingredients of the world, thereby controling the world. (Ya, ya I no its not a great purpose and all. And no, They are not Farmers or merchants or any such thing). For this purpose, they, the Bishokukai are also after the GOD( See, GOD has to be all powerful ingredient) . So ya, fight ensures. Not much to guess there, except that the villans and their groupies are real Bad Asses. I have a favorite hero and also a favorite Anti-hero: Here be the hottest Villan ever;

Stajyuun

Stajyuun, minus the mask

When there are good looking villans like Sta-<3 can the bad and the ugly be far behind?

Bad: 

Grinpatch 

Full View

Ugly/Disgusting:

Tommy-rod, 'nuff said

As I mentioned earlier, main theme of the manga is Food, but not food as you and I, dear reader know it. Food in the gourmet world can range from, "WOW wish it was real " to "Pluck my eyes out eyes, for looking at it". Every food item comes with a rating, lower the rating easier it is to capture.

So as to not shock you, i chose some mild ingredients to show here :)

As with any other shounen manga, Toriko is full of Fights, humor, Friendhsip, Save the world-Heroisms. What do i like the best? No weepy-need-to-be-rescued damsel in distress. Hooray for a manga with no annoying female. Banzai. " A picture speaks a Thousand words" and I wish it would too for anything more i write will only amount as spoilers. So the pictures displayed should have been enough to steer you dear reader, towards Toriko. Before i forget, Toriko also has an anime which is currently airing. The anime is toned down to suit all audiences, which is a big let down. For complete and real shock value, read the manga. You will love it.

Also i know i haven't really described or discussed the manga much, but I only want to introduce the reader to this manga as this is not a review blog, just a introduction and possible choices-providing article.


Rating:
Art: 8/10 ( purely because am not that into muscle men )
Story: 10/10 ( Extremely novel and unique food items plus the story although good vs evil is different)
Characters: 9.5/10 ( Love Zebra and Toriko... -0.5 for disgusting tommy rod)
Entertainment: 9.9999/10( Cause only one piece deserves 10/10 :P. yes i am biased)

So long Suckerssssssss

Magi: labyrinth of Magic

Magi is a manga written by Ohtaka Shinobu, known for "Sumomomo Momomo" manga series.
The mangaka brings to life the Arabian-Nights theme albeit with liberal modifications. Magi is published in Weeky Shounen Sunday home to Gin no Saji and Detective Conan among others.

The characters from the manga are primarily themed after the ones in the Arabian nights. We have, Aladin, Alibaba, Sinbad and so on. Magi; A term used to denote people with the ability to read the  stars, alter fate that the stars foretold. Magi from the Christianity refers to Matthew's Wise men from East. Magi were people well versed in the art of Alchemy, ability to modify fate and predict the Future and alter it.

This basic theme exists in the manga. The underlying theme is that A powerful magi and a King backed by this magi will rule the world. These are the wishes of King Solomon. Obviously when good exists, evil cannot be far behind, the dark magi/people want to destroy the world and re-create a new one,Duh!  The theme and basic plot of this manga is quite a common one. Good vs. Evil.

Unto the plot....

In the magi world, dungeons have been popping up in recent past, and it is said that anyone who conquers it, i.e comes out of it alive after exploring the depths, receives a metallic vessel which contains a djin. More dungeons one conquers more djins he receives. Djins are a source of magic and can be manipulated and wielded in combat. They can take shape of any weapon depending on their nature. The dungeons are filled with gold and other precious metals. Conquering a Dungeon also makes one rich.

Aladin(10) the main protagonist of the manga is a Magi and for unknown reason, trapped in The Scared Temple for a long time. Unable to bear it anymore, He along with his djin Ugo who comes in a flute, escape the temple, Sadly Ugo-kun's head had to left behind. Aladin and the headless djin are first introduced, while traveling the world trying to find other djin's. During his travels he meets, Alibaba(18) a prince travelling incognito who initially aims to be a dungeon conquerer. Aladin and Alibaba after a series of comic events, become good friends and decide to plunge into a dungeon. Well ya, sorry about that, but i really don't want to go into the details of their formative friendship days. Its more fun to read it.

Aladin and the magic lamp.

Alibaba: From the Forty thieves.

Aladin and Alibaba; Character Profiling.

Supple girls. Supple Girls... Horny 10 yr old kid. Oooh. 

Ah, so thats how you kiss.

Oh you boob loving little 10 year old you. Aladin. 

Alibaba to the rescue

Indignant ali.

Aladin full form!!!

As they continue their travels together, the boys meets Morgiana ,a slave who along with her master  enter the dungeon with Aladin and Alibaba. After the dungeon arc, the boys spilt up, each going their separate ways. Morgiana, now free of her master, decides to return to her homeland, but well as it always happens, postpone's the trip to meet up with Aladin and Alibaba .Go Mor. On a side note here. Morgiana is probably one of the strongest female characters ever in mangas. Her strength can be compared to that of Erza Scarlet from Fairy tail. Although she speaks very little her kicks pack a punch. 

Mor kicks ass!!!

In the course of his journey, Aladin learns about magi, his role in the scheme of things and makes important friends. Alibaba is revealed to be the prince of a country  and he has plenty of growing up to do. Along the way we are introduced to various drool worthy and strong characters like Sinbad who is a acclaimed dungeon conquerer and King of Sandria, a country founded by him.  

Sinbad:
Source: magi.wikia.com

The manga is currently undergoing serialization and the translations are way behind. Although they get updated very quick. Magi; The labyrinth of magic is the story of The Magi Aladin his chosen king Alibaba and their friends in quest to protect the world from the Black Magi and the people who oppose King Solomon. 

Thoughts: 

After briefly describing the manga, i figured i should mention my thoughts of the same, Magi is quickly becoming one of my favorites, considering Bleach is currently at its suckiest best. After One Piece, magi comes in close second. I really enjoy the humour and the plot of this manga. Good vs Evil is nothing new, but with the Arabian Nights theme and with hot drool worthy lead roles this manga genuinely is able to hold the reader's interest. The manga has plenty of action and fight sequences and liberally sprinkled with sentiments and "aww" moments. The plot and story is bit hard to explain without revealing too much, so i refrain from that. It is best to read and form opinions on the manga. 

Art:  The art is nice and clean and chibi versions are beyond cute. It does remind me of fairy tail to an extent and yankee kun-megane chan to a greater extent. Sinbad is by far the hottest character in the manga, Mor and Aladin the cutest.

Rating:

Chara: 9/10

Art: 8.5/10

Entertainment: 10/10

Story: 9/10

Absolutely Recommended. 

When yamane ayano walks; we kneel

You're my loveprize in the Viewfinder.

(Yaoi (やおい^?) also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by female authors. Well thats what wikipedia's got to say about yaoi. Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi thats yaoi. meaning; "No climax, no point, no meaning". kindly refer to google for further information. You have been warned. Its explicit. The words and terms used here commonly used in the yaoi world. I have not explained it. )

If you are not familiar with either this post might confuse you. I suggest "google".


This is not a manga review. This is a manga appreciation post. Appreciate the hot-flashes providing, palpitations causing characters of Viewfinder. Read. Love ASAMI post.


Viewfinder is a yaoi (boy's love) manga authored and drawn by yamane ayano. I am not too sure if i should explain the plot. I mean; the manga is freaking amazing,even if it din't have a decent plot, thousands would still read it. Thats how amazing it is. But fear not, it has a plot. A yakuza, A crime Photographer, A chinese triad don, A Russian Mafia don and few assorted friends of our photographer and of course equally hot assistants of the yakuza.


This manga is published in Be.Boy gold( a magazine) and their highest grossing manga. Here is why.

Asami: Duh!! he is the Seme(Top)

Akihito: Uke OBV


Them together: 

I am not really going to write about the plot in detail. It has a bit of S&M in the first chapter and in one extra. Both these chapters are not my favorite. I really don't do hardcore S&M. The story starts off with Akihito messing with Asami and the latter trying to teach the young prickly photographer a lesson. Oh well it doesn't happen and the mighty falls. Enter a Chinese triad lord with unrequited love and we have a potpourri of jealousy, romance, guns,ships, kidnap, hong-kong, rescue mission and whole lot of angst and humour as well. 

Feilong: The chinese triad. With a past connection to Asami. 

Leaving the story aside, let me provide you with images guaranteed to cause palpitations: 

Ahh! The boys together. As the story progresses we get to see Asami undergo a transformation from the mocking and cruel crime lord to tender and indulging lover. (<3) oh the 6 packs. *wiping drool of the keyboard* 

I have never been much of a lip person; Can't blame me.. considering in real life hardly anyone ever has nice full lips unless it is filled with botox. But here; Behold the lips and kiss to die for;

I don't know about you, but every time i read this i wish i could jump into the viewfinder world. Ah man. Just look at this. How many men/women can actually kiss like that? A Kiss that will make you go weak in the knees and cause you to collapse. Sigh!!

Look at him. Look at Asami. The anger when his Akihito is hurt. The way he glowers will put Don Vito Corleone to shame. 

The manga is now in its 7th volume. 1st volume we are introduced to the characters and their lives and in the 2nd Asami and Feilong's past takes precedence. The 3 rd voulme is all about feilong kidnapping Akihito and Asami going to hong-kong to rescue him.

Akihito gets kidnapped by Feilong and Asami dearest, goes to rescue him. 

Die.Fiend! For trying to hurt Akihito. 

And that's our uke!! Angry-young man. 

Finally: After a month of anguish, they meet. Finally.

Post the hong-kong arc, the changing dynamics between the leads are depicted.

We get some insight into their thoughts and feelings for each other. Thankfully there is no Feilong.

Viewfinder is not a typical yaoi manga,where in boy meets boy fall in love over night and viola. The end. Finder is a shounen-style yaoi,with a solid plot and very interesting characters that one cannot get enough of. If you are a yaoi fan then viewfinder is your bible. Smex is rampant in the manga. Forced sex is also prevalent. But as the dynamics change between the leads the smex changes as well. 

If you read the first chapter and was put off my the S&M, i suggest give the manga another try. Leave the first chapter out. Things get better and more wonderful as the story progresses. 

I am not going to provide a link to read the manga, as it is licensed. It is available online. Kindly google it if you want to read it. 

There are many active communities on livejournal for this manga; Fan-fiction,art and raws are provided here; http://yamane-ayano.livejournal.com/ 

As it is explicit adult content; membership is required. 

The manga can be purchased online from sites like amazon, Flipkart, Akadot and so on.

Lastly; 

Yamane Ayano ; the Mangaka( All hail) 

AsamixAki coloured by me. photoshop 7

Disclaimer: 

All images belong to Yamane Ayano., and i do not own any of them. The images were retrieved from the manga. I do not take other's work as my own.