Sgt. Frog Vol. 18, RE:play Vol. 3, Princess AI Vol. 2 & Starcraft: Ghost Academy Vol. 1 - Manga Review
Tokyo Pop, in its manga progression, balances its perception between the aspect of comedy and the necessity of trend in the variance of vampires. However, in the end, it is science fiction that prevails in its effectiveness.
Sgt. Frog #18 The frogs in general have the same perception as "The Penguins Of Madagascar" with a much more masochistic edge. The aspects of what they are seeing versus what is actually going on is quite humorous especially during their training sessions. Like "One Piece", the whole point is to have chicanery while still motivating the Frogs' ultimate angle which is to rule the world despite the fact that the Popokens (as they call humans) seem to beat them at every step without even trying. The two girls that watch over them are especially funny. While the Sgt is trying to intimidate his soldiers with real sharks, the girls are riding them around like porpoises. The great angle is that this humor translates exceptionally well.
RE:play #3 Using a reverse "Twilight" angle with a little bit of the new Stewart/Bella film "The Runaways", the angle of a girl breaking up a band simply because of a new member she falls in love with is within the piner contingent but works better at times because of some of the ancillary characters. Her new boyfriend, who can't remember his background, is being watched by the government because there is something off about him. She must make a choice whether to protect him or let him go. The balance of the art with some of the use of the shadowing makes the elements (especially the loss and regain of love) quite stark. The angle of an American writer angling within the Japanese realm also gives it a different feel.
Princess AI: The Prism Of Midnight Dawn #2 This manga takes the previous thought a little farther by playing the balance of a rock star diva as an angel from another world. Working more on the auspice of a "Code Geass" angle, the kidnapping in the AI world permeated by Fallen Angels creates an interesting balance especially within the structue of the beauty myth. The Princess under a short precipice loses her vision of beauty because of a run in with hunters. However, it is her selfless giving in rescuing a Fallen which presents a mythic element. Unfortunately the rest of the narrative seems to leans towards soap opera with a degree of drug addition (a substance called TanK which seems to be more of a plot ploy than anything else). The meandering nature of this story aspect points to a specified structure which is not quite nailed down in terms of an end point
Starcraft: Ghost Academy #1 Like "Death Knight", "Ghost Academy" shows what a good story "Craft" can be. These elements never seemed to come through to me looking at the multi-player game. Seeing the structure within the 2D world as well as the narrative structure gives it more of a perception closer to something like "Halo". "Ghost Academy" is much more modern than "Death Knight" by far as it exists in two different worlds. "Ghost Academy" is reminscent of "Starship Troopers" in terms of its academic base and "Pitch Black" in terms of its sci-fi darkness. The progression of Nova with her team is very effective because she is a strong female character bar none which elevates the well structured build of the story. This is also heightened by the specific art structure in terms of the characters and especially the fight scenes which are exceptionally executed.Watching the progression of these four mangas, "Ghost Academy" stands out for its art and efficiency and "RE:play" shows some interesting angles but with much room for improvement while "AI" is very scattered despite some mythic imagery. "Sgt. Frog" is a little more meandering in its volume but its humor makes up for any of its shortcomings.