What a pleasure it is to jump back inside the heartbreaking and beautiful world that is Hourou Musuko. It’s been better than six months since episodes 10 and 11 aired, and if you recall, 10 was a “compilation” of what was originally episodes 10 and 11. I’m still not sure […] Read more
“Half Knowledge” All in all, a fascinating chapter of Hourou Musuko this time, with a heavy focus on Nitorin and the double-life he’s still trying to lead. Once a month just isn’t enough for this manga. I’m always dying to know what’s going to happen next, and having to wait. […] Read more
“The Calm Before the Storm” A pretty quiet chapter, as befits the title – but there are implications of deeper consequences to come. While there’s a brief visit with Anna at the beginning of the chapter, the bulk of the attention is on Shu and his waiter/waitress job at the […] Read more
“Spiral Outline” I’ve been meaning to start reviewing a few scanlated manga, especially this one, and the milestone 100th chapter seemed like a perfect opportunity. For the record, I’m assuming anyone who reads a chapter review is caught up – please don’t proceed if you don’t wish to be spoiled […] Read more
Series like Hourou Musuko don’t really come around all that often. They’re not going to make any money, for starters – honestly, I don’t know who it was that green-lighted this show but I’d love to personally thank them. That’s what’s so great about NoitaminA – it gives […] Read more
Live from Japan and much delayed, I’m finally able to comment on the last episode of Hourou Musuko. Believe it or not my little ryokan in Magome has wi-fi, but naturally now that I have net access, I forgot my power cable. So I’ll save my series review for tomorrow. […] Read more
To get the mechanics of the situation out of the way, as I understand it this was a “compilation” of episodes 10 and 11, with full unedited versions of both to air on the DVDs. I don’t quite understand, but it may have something to do with the earthquake or […] Read more
Damn. I’ve said it before, but it’s just amazing how a series with no action, no combat, and no violence to speak of can make me sweat like this one does. The tension throughout the episode was a slow-build, but by the end it was almost unbearable. I knew from […] Read more
One of the early chapters of the Hourou Musuko manga is called “It Keeps Getting Weirder” – and that’s a fitting sentiment for this series, especially this week. As if adolescence weren’t stressful enough, the circumstances these characters find themselves in add a layer of tension that’s almost too much […] Read more
I’ve been reading the manga for this series – only the chapters that precede the events in the anime, but it makes a nice framing device for what we’re seeing. I enjoy seeing the little foreshadowings of what’s happening on-screen, but what’s perhaps most impressive to me is that the […] Read more