Hyper Police, Volume 2

My daughter, who is 15 and loves all things soccer, begged me for this series of books. I gave in, and I'm very happy I did so! They're fun, clean, and sports-oriented for girls without making a big deal out of that fact. Highly recommended, along with the "Gothic Sports" manga series.

So-Jin is transferring to Han Shin in the middle of the year because she's bored of being at an all-girls school. Or is it because her junior high soccer rival, Shin-Bee, who beat her in every aspect of the game for the past three years is attending there. Perhaps So-Jin believes she'll finally get to play on the same team. She's in for a rude awakening though because Han Shin only has a boys soccer team, and Shin-Bee has been appointed manager of it, which really incurs the wrath of some of the sexist team members. Any time So-Jin challenges Shin-Bee, Shin-Bee never takes the bait. In fact, it seems that she no longer has any interest in playing at all! So-Jin thought that she might be leaving the game behind too, but two occurences happen which keep her from that fate. First, a powerful sports business CEO died and donated 50% of his vast fortune to form a women's soccer league and one of the first steps is enlisting his granddaugher, who is a counselor at the school, to begin looking at Han Shin prospects! Secondly, So-Jin, insulted by some deragatory remarks made by the boys soccer team, says that a team of only girls could beat them! Too bad she made the challenge without even having a team. Now she'll have to scour the school for eligible candidates. I loved this book. One of the reasons is that while there is plenty of boys sports manga out there, this is the first girl sports manga I've read, even though technically, it's from Korea. Once again, I really loved this book. Why? Because for what it is, it was perfect. I really liked the characters, especially So-Jin, who while coming off as a bit of a tomboy, suffers from insecurities and fears, and also a desire to be the best soccer player, even if she knows she might never catch Shin-Bee. In addition to being cute, So-Jin is also very funny, and thankfully, all the jokes in Volume 1 work out well. Even the action sequences are done quite competently, and if they are exciting to me, who is not a soccer fan at all, somebody that really enjoys the game would have a lot of fun with this book. Jae-Ho Youn did a good job of making the characters multi-layered and complex. The art is great. Check this book out.

Hopefully by now, you've seen one of the definately best anime for furries, minus Inu Yasha. But before the TV series there was the manga it was based on. By creator Mee(yeah, that's his name)this post-apocalyptic sci-fi fantasy cop show has something for nearly any kind of furry otaku. You might be familiar with another anime based on Mee's work, Adventures Of Kotetsu, which was released on video from ADV Films a little while ago. Set in what's called year 22 of the new Holy Century, Hyper Police happens after some disaster apparently caused by mankind, which later brings all different races of monsters out of hiding. In this new society, humans co-exist with monsters, although they are still the majority race, often treating monsters as second-class citizens. This leads to various crime committed by monsters. Since the regular police can't handle all this, special groups of bounty hunters step in to keep the streets clean for a nominal fee. One group is the Police Company. Natsuki is a catgirl-half that works for them, and lives in a house filled with cats. She's under the care of her partner Batanen, a sex-crazed werewolf. But after accidently shooting him, she gets a new partner in Sakura who is a kitsune whose working to fill out her ninth and last tail. She so far has 8 1/3 tails, and has to consume a being of magical energy in order to be a full-fledged fox spirit. Sakura hooks on Natsuki because she believes her ability to use parasites which shoot out bolts of lightning would give her the power boost she needs. From this point, its a little like your standard flashy action police anime. Sakura moves in with Natsuki while still trying to "eat" her. Later, the Police Company goes out of business, Natsuki and Sakura have to go solo for a while, but can't collect any bounties without a license. So they become apprentices under Batanen and his dogboy partner Tommy. The weird part is the arrival of a samurai from hundreds of years in the past(Samurai Jack, anyone?)who eventually becomes Sakura's love interest. The manga doesn't have as much of the action as the anime did, but alot of more gratuitous fan service. Tokyo Pop did a reasonable job for a change with the translation though.