Guardian Angel Getten

While Getten is a shonen (boys') manga (published in the monthly Raijin comics magazine), it has the potential to attract female fans as well. The cute art and slight romance may turn off some of the more hardcore male readers, but the comedy and depth of the overall product is enough to make up for all that. This is one of my favorite series in the entire mag. If you're still wary about trying this one out, try buying a copy of Raijin and seeing for yourself (It's cheaper than the graphic novel, at least).

Tasuke recieves an ancient Chinese ring in the mail from his archeologist father. In it lies the beautiful moon guardian Shaolin, who after being accidently summonned by Tasuke declares herself to be his willing slave and protector. Shao can summon up various spirits to perform all her tasks and protect her master. Trying to introduce her to Tasuke's schoolmates prooves a little challenging, and various rivals keep showing up to try and win Shao's affections too. Plus, the arrival of the sun guardian Ruuan just adds even more problems to the mix. Also known as Mamotte Shugogetten or Heavenly Moon Guardian, this manga is a pretty good clone of I Dream Of Jeannie and should appeal to fans of stories with a magical girlfriend as the main character.

I'll admit that I first thought this was just Oh My Goddess! and a bunch of other character designs mixed in. But after reading this, I found that you really can't judge a manga just by its first chapter.Basically, the starting story is very traditional. A lonely boy "just happens to be pure of heart" and a magical girl (who has no idea what the present world is like) comes out to keep him company and defend him from the evils of the world.The characters are quite likeble and aren't hard to remember. The names are written in Japanese style (last name first), which is nice, but I have to say that the appearance of many characters aren't very original. Getten, especially, gave me a strong reminder of Beldandy from Oh My Goddess. However, Getten (also known as Shao Lin) does pick up on the detiails of the modern world fairly quickly, before it becomes tiring. She also makes decisions of her own, such as coming back out of the amulet to protect the main character from the lonliness he has inside, and buying a book as a present for a new friend. The main character is not picked on in school or anything of the sort- just a very average student. Shoko Yamanobe, who is first introduced as the "most delinquent girl in the school" was one of my favorite characters. Also, there does not seem to be one of those annoying girls who are always chasing ater the main character.The artwork is quite nice for a debut series, even if it isn't quite as detailed as CLAMP or Arina Tanemura. The artist uses a sufficient amount of screentones and just the right number of frames to produce a very cute manga that never feels cluttered. The little fairy that sends messages for Shao Lin is also a favorite among many of my friends.The translations are done pretty well. I appreciate the fact that it has been left in right-to-left format (companies are finally starting to have more respect for the eastern was of reading things...). The little circles with the numbers in them are a little annoying, but they are mostly unintrusive and can generally be ignored. The suggested rating on the back cover is ages 13+, but it probably deserves a 7+ rating.Guardian Angel Getten may not be for everyone, but you should atleast take a look at this manga (unless you absolutely can't stand cute things). This is definitely something that is more on the cute side, but it's something fun that deserves a look.

While at first this appeared to be nothing but a ripoff of Oh My Goddess, I was pleased to see it took an original turn afterwards. Shao Lin, the guardian angel, has a ring that can turn out all kinds of 'star spirits' to help her do stuff. These are usually cute, especially the telepathy one, Rishu.If however, you are one of those stupid people who think just because a manga slightly resembles another manga in the slightest way then it is a ripoff and you hate it forever, you might feel that way about this. But to normal, good people, this is for you.The only thing that REALLY ticked me off was the translating company, 'RaiJin',put annoying little numbers in the frames to show the stupider people the order in which to read the frames, EVEN THOUGH there is a guide in the back of the book. If they were going to do that, they should have only done it on the first page...or not at all!!!