Although it wasn’t ready for this week (the first proper Tuesday Rumble of 2007), Tuesday Rumble will soon sport its own chibi Dii, official presenter of HARD GAY corner.

How to write a harem series
Harem series are big business, but how can the average writer break into the genre? Here are a few tips.

• The lead must be an unremarkable teenage male who is completely average in appearance, intellect and personality. For some reason, however, women find him incredibly attractive.
• The harem must include at least some of the following types.

a. A childhood friend or relative (usually a cousin) who has loved the lead ever since he visited her home many years ago. Although her feelings for him are clear to everyone else, she has difficulty expressing them to lead, who consequently thinks of her as just a good friend.

b. A rich girl (usually only half Japanese) with little to no knowledge of everyday life until the lead introduces her to simple pursuits such as buying and eating ice cream cones. She becomes determined to learn how to cook in order to win the lead.

c. A sick girl who is suffering from Unspecified Anime Illness, a plot related disease that only prevents her from living a normal life at key points in the story. Towards the end, she may be hospitalised for a few episodes before suddenly recovering at the end.

d. The obligatory tsundere. She claims to hate the hero and is often physically violent towards him, but will open up and enter deredere mode after they are placed into an intimate situation such as being forced to take shelter together after getting soaked in a rainstorm.

e. A tomboy or sports fanatic who is ostensibly only interested in being a boisterous friend of the lead, but secretly wishes to be more feminine.

f. An alien princess who shares some kind of connection with the lead, and may even claim to be engaged to him. She can be extremely jealous and possessive, but often fails in her schemes to snare the lead’s heart.

g. A well endowed older woman (often a teacher) who has an unhealthy desire for younger men. She will often smother the lead with her breasts, or tease her rivals about their small assets.

h. A devoted maid who either serves the lead or the alien princess. The maid will refuse to let her master or mistress out of her sight, and will inevitably eavesdrop or spy upon the lead when he is in an awkward situation with another girl.

i. A younger sister, not usually related by blood, who has a rather extreme devotion to her onii-san.

j. An otherwise emotionless android who learns what it means to be human after falling in love with the lead. She has impressive combat abilities.

k. A shy meganekko (often a librarian) who never quite plucks up her courage to confess to the lead no matter how many opportunities she gets. She may have a soft spot for cute and fluffy animals.

• The lead will usually have at least two male friends; a testorene-addled idiot and a sly but quiet megane boy. Both are jealous of the fact that the lead gets all the girls, and may try a joint effort to get some of the action.
• By the end, it may seem as if the lead has chosen one of the girls (usually type a), but if a second series appears, everything will be reset.

Gundam Seed Miguel
Greetings, Gundam fans! We here at Sunrise have a special announcement that is bound to interest you; in light of the enduring popularity of our Gundam Seed franchise, we have decided to invest in a new fifty episode series set in the same universe- Gundam Seed Miguel. Those of you blessed with good memories may recall that Miguel was a pilot who died in the first episode of Gundam Seed, and those who cannot remember can simply refer to one of our many ‘memory refresher instalments’ (aka clip shows). In Gundam Seed Miguel, however, events proceed a little differently; instead of dying, Miguel actually becomes the main character! This will enable us to create an entirely new series by using stock footage of Gundam Seed with images of Miguel seamlessly inserted in place of Kira! Look forward to it!

Shakugan no Shana Special
Despite the implications, Keisaku and Eita climb the steps together.

A new HARD GAY bond is formed.

In honour of this event, a special eye catch is created.

The HARD GAY bathing tradition has been passed down from sempai to underclassman for generations.

Elsewhere, the girls have to make do with HARD YURI.

“It’s time we started addressing each other by given name.”

“I…I love you.”

“Why is this happening? This show was never HARD GAY before!”

Remember: always take care when having HARD GAY for the first time.

Short parody: Tokyo Mew Mew

Kish, Pie and Tart visit Deep Blue.

Deep Blue: Even though you have failed every week, this episode you must destroy the Mew Mews so that our mighty alien race can take over this puny planet!

Kish: I hate to say this, sir, but wouldn’t it be easier if we had some additional help from our brethren?

Deep Blue: Fools! Only three of you are needed to fail to take over the world every week! Now go forth, and never once question the logic of the mysterious blue sphere that orders you around.

Kish, Pie and Tart leave to plan their assault.

Pie: So, what should we do this week? Should we use our powers to trap the Mew Mews in another dimension where they can’t escape?

Tart: Maybe we should try attacking them directly.

Kish: Don’t be ridiculous- let’s just create some monsters of the week that they’ll easily be able to defeat.

The trio create a Chimera Animal of the week.

Chimera Animal: Viennese Waltz! Viennese Waltz!

At Café Mew Mew…

Ryou: So anyway, we need you girls to go and fight the monster so that Keiichiro and I can be HARD GAY in peace.

Keiichiro winks at Ryou.

Ichigo: All right! Let’s go!

The Mew Mews head out.

Kish: Mwahaha, I shall just stand back and watch whilst you fight my weak monster!

Ichigo: Time to transform! Stock animation sequence!

Everyone transforms.

Mint: We’ll go first! Useless stock animation attacks!

Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro all attack the Chimera Animal, but because they are only supporting characters, their attacks have no effect.

Chimera Animal: Viennese Waltz!

The Chimera Animal traps the four supporting Mew Mews with a tentacle attack.

Ichigo: Oh no, it’s up to me now! Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!

Ichigo uses her stock animation attack to easily defeat the monster.

Kish: Damn, foiled again! I’ll be back next week!

Weekly Awards

Evil lesbian trio of the week: Since the days of Strawberry Panic, evil lesbian trios have started spreading throughout anime. In the past, we’ve seen the likes of Firiel’s torturers at HARD YURI school in Good Witch, and the Yunoki fan club in La Corda d’Oro, but the most recent additions to the list are the trio of Sachiko lovers in MariMite OVA 1.

Evil vending machine of the week: This award is jointly shared by Keroro Gunso for Kururu’s rather terrifying vending machine, and Pani Poni Dash, for the vending machine staffed by ‘God’, a cat who gives out body temperature drinks.

Fruit of the week: Apples and bananas have had their turn, and so this week the tomato is in the spotlight. In its natural form, the tomato caused much pain for Peet of Ginban Kaleidoscope, and it almost ended up being the only lunch option for Rebecca Miyamoto of Pani Poni Dash, but more importantly, it is a vital ingredient in Pizza Hut’s plans for world domination.

Go game of the week: Pani Poni Dash appears for the third time to collect an award for featuring a Go game. MariMite OVA 1 also featured a Go game, but they seem to be placing the stones incorrectly.

HARD GAY corner- Peacemaker Kurogane
In all honesty, what could be more HARD GAY than a bunch of men with swords living together? The story of Ichimura Tetsunosuke after he joins the Shinsengumi, Peacemaker is literally bursting at the seams with HARD GAY. From the cross-dressing Yamazaki Susumu to the strong camaraderie between various pairs of characters, it is clear that when the cameras are off, they are all enjoying a stint in each other’s beds.

The poster boy for the series’ HARD GAY must surely be none other than Okita Souji, a man who may look effeminate, but who is nonetheless a skilled ‘swordsman’. Not only is he close enough to the vice commander to be able to steal his treasured book of haikus, but he is willing to give special attention to new members such as Tetsu- at least until Tetsu finds love with Suzu, a boy his age.

Merchandise Spotlight: Peace@Pieces ⅛ Hikaru figure

Unlike tj han, I don’t have the ability to turn a figure review into a full post, but what I can do is include one in Tuesday Rumble from time to time in place of an OST review.

This week’s focus is the attractive and well designed Hikaru (or should that be Hik@ru?) from the H-game Peace@Pieces. I hadn’t actually heard of the game prior to getting this figure, but such is its lure that I bought her anyway. The only real flaws with the figure are that the guns are a little two-dimensional, it seems near impossible to fit it into the base properly (although she does still stand up okay with one foot properly plugged in and the other just resting on the plugs) and, for me, at least, the pigtails at the back fell off and had to be glued back in. Other than these minor concerns, this one of the top three figures in my current meagre collection.

Although it is not pictured here, the base is a clear pink which complements the figure whilst generally remaining unobtrusive.

In Your Reflection

Today’s head to head is a battle between pairs of HARD YURI teachers- namely Itoko and Youko from School Rumble and this pair of teachers whose names I forget from Akane Maniax. Since these pictures say everything that needs to be said, there’s no need for me to write any more.

Amusing Search Terms
You might expect such a long list after last week’s lack of proper Tuesday Rumble, but actually all but three of these came from the last seven days.

disguise blonde episode anime blog: I rarely use the word ‘baffling’, but it seems appropriate here.

you toube: Ah, my good friend, continuing into 2007.

clamp rants: I hope they meant CLAMP the manga artists, and not something more dodgy.

.hack/roots pr0n, Haseo pr0n: Why? Isn’t there enough real pr0n?

gay harem: Meine Liebe?

\”hard gay\” manga: Stay tuned to HARD GAY corner.

Love Cat H-Manga: I assume this is some well-known series.

bakumatsu kikansetsu blackground: A typo for background, I’m guessing.

hack audition, all hack boss audition, Hack Audition Perfect, hack+Audition+kill boss, hack boss audition, hack perfect audition, hacker audition: Hack Audition, I don’t know what you are, but I welcome you back to the fold.

\”Ginga Densetsu Weed\” balls: Ask Hiro Ballsnatcher.

rapid roll mini game: This makes me think of Chinchiriron from Suikoden.

\”Mai Hime\” load: Try ‘Load Game’.

tentacle attacks animation: I hope they’re using this for an innocent, RPG Maker related purpose.

Mothercon: people actually search for this?

fate stay the night: this amuses me, due to the connotations… “would you care to stay the night, Rin?”.

\”gay gargoyles\”: even gargoyles have their preferences.

under flame mai hime: What does this even mean?

From some viewpoints, this may seem a little strange- surely black and white pictures squeezed onto an A5 page cannot compared to something that has colour, movement and sound? Admittedly, this is often case for action series; trying to follow a battle via static images is often a futile cause, but most other genres seem to lose something in the transition from page to screen. Not only is manga a medium in which the audience can easily set their own pace, but a story designed to fill a certain number of pages may simply not adapt well to being squeezed into a set amount of 25 minute episodes- all too often, the pace of the anime becomes too slow at the start and too rushed towards the end. Whilst this is a general complaint, however, there are many other causes which affect specific series, some of which I will try to cover below.

• Catching up with the manga. For long running series, this may mean the inclusion of the dreaded filler arc, anime-original material which rarely lives up to the manga and often drags on forever, but which ultimately keeps the franchise warm.
• Anime original endings. If the manga is still ongoing, or the anime simply doesn’t have enough episodes to cover the whole story, it has no choice but to create its own ending, which all too often is inconclusive and unsatisfying finale that seems destined to make frustrated viewers turn to the manga.
• Sticking too close to the original. There are a number of series which are very successful examples of remaining faithful to the manga, but it can be a bit of a double-edged sword. For a series like Death Note, familiarity with the story adds a degree of impatience to the viewing experience, since there is always a sense of just wanting to get on with it. Viewers may equally not want to waste time and money on experiencing the same story twice over.
• Alternatively, diverging too much is not always wise, as Gonzo’s adaptations often seem to demonstrate. Whenever an element is changed, you run the risk of damaging the very qualities that made the series enjoyable in the first place; arguably it is a risk worth taking to see what new qualities can be brought to the franchise, but it is all too often a gamble that does not pay off.

Contradictory as these points are, they are all factors that must be considered when bringing a manga series to life, and all too often they prove to be stumbling blocks that damage the respective anime.

All that being said, I thought it would be interesting to point out the series that have broken the trend and improved on the foundations of their respective franchises.

Angelic Layer
As I pointed out in my recent review, the Angelic Layer manga isn’t bad, but it does suffer from being very fast paced. In contrast, the anime does perhaps drag on a bit, but it has more time to devote to character and story development. Since each version of the story has its own strengths and weaknesses, I find it hard to pick out which one I prefer, but both are good for some low-demand light entertainment.

Aria
As with several of the other titles to come, Aria is not so much a case of improving on the manga as simply maintaining the standard; whether brought to life by an animation studio or Kozue Amano’s beautiful artwork, the sweet and simple tale of the undines of Neo-Venezia is a touching story that will always have a special place in my heart.

Hikaru no Go
The HnG manga was a good story that could only have been improved by not ending so abruptly, and the fact that the anime was so faithful to the manga (bar some of the later material) means both are worthy of note.

Honey and Clover
Since I haven’t read far enough in the manga to compare it to the original, I won’t comment on Honey and Clover II, but both the first season and the corresponding manga chapters weave an absorbing story of a group of people making the transition (or not) from college life to the real world.

Hunter X Hunter
Whilst HxH is a worthy concept in any form, the manga suffered from rough artwork and an overly fast pace in certain arcs. The anime cleaned things up, added some filler material that was actually good, and generally created a superior product overall.

Kokoro Library
The Kokoro Library manga suffered from its very short chapters; each instalment was more like a brief snapshot of life at the library than something that told any kind of story. In animated form, we were finally able to get to know the characters and setting a lot better, and thus properly enjoy this appealing story.

La Corda d’Oro
It’s still early days for the English manga release, but so far the story hasn’t quite lived up to the animated version- with its sparse page content and less aesthetically pleasing character designs, the manga does not exert the same draw as the anime. There is still plenty of time for it to improve, however, and hopefully it will find its feet soon.

Le Chevalier d’Eon
The first chapter of the Chevalier manga was not at all what I was expecting; where the anime is a historical fantasy that manages to excel despite stepping close to the realms of cheese, the manga seems to be more of a straightforward action series featuring a magical transvestite who switches between laid back bishounen and evil-fighting Otome wannabe.

Mushishi
Be it anime or manga, Mushishi is excellent whatever form it comes in. The anime adds colour and music to the manga stories, but whilst it has superior presentation, the manga has more chapters and thus a wider selection of stories to choose from.

Ouran High School Host Club
Like many comedy series, Ouran is simply that much better in animated form- what can be static and confusing on the page becomes vibrant and enjoyable onscreen. In particular, the manga version suffered from the fact that it was not always possible to tell certain characters apart- a factor which was never a problem in the anime- whilst their respective VAs really brought some additional vitality to the lively characters of the Ouran Host Club.

Pretear
I would hardly call Pretear an especially good story under any circumstances, but the anime and manga complemented each other nicely by offering a slightly different perspective on the same events. Together, they make a mediocre story rather than two poor stories.

Read or Die
Flame me if you like, but I read the first volume of the ROD manga (Die, not Dream), and I didn’t really like it. Much as I liked the idea of seeing Nenene and Yomiko’s past, I couldn’t follow the action, and the dialogue was so heavy that it gave me a headache. I really enjoyed the OVA, but this manga did little for me.

Rozen Maiden
Despite the lack of those little inconsistencies that plagued the anime, the Rozen Maiden manga simply lacks the impact of the animated version. Where the manga has somewhat scrappy and simplistic artwork (and reputedly increased harem leanings as the series progresses), the anime has high quality visuals and music- perfect for establishing the goth-loli atmosphere. Nonetheless, I must read the later volumes to see what the story was meant to be, as opposed to what it was in Traumend.

Tactics
Most Tactics fans prefer the manga and slate the anime, but even if I stand virtually alone in this, I really enjoyed the Tactics anime- despite Kantarou’s hideous personality, it was a worthy fantasy series that filled my need for such an anime. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough- I could do with a second season.

Tokyo Mew Mew
It can’t be denied that the TMM anime is mostly filler, and while that in itself is somewhat tedious, it did give the supporting characters a chance to do something. The manga was so highly focused on Ichigo and her boyfriend that hardly anyone else got a look in, but the anime finally brought the more interesting characters to the fore, even if it was via a monster of the week format.

Final Thoughts
Adapting a story that was conceived with one medium in mind is never an easy task, and whilst most studios are up to producing an anime that is at least reasonably entertaining, more often than not, they simply cannot live up to the original. With that in mind, it isn’t likely that I’ll stop saying ‘the manga is better’ any time soon.

Coming soon: Part Two- anime based on games.

EXTRA ADDITIONS

Koi Kaze
As already mentioned in comments, the Koi Kaze does indeed improve on the manga, taking a story which is solid and turning into something where the viewer becomes completely absorbed by the characters and their situation. A quietly powerful series, Koi Kaze demonstrates just how much colour and sound can enhance a story as opposed to detracting from it.

Pani Poni Dash!
PPD and its original manga share the common trait of being completely and utterly random, but what works onscreen is not always as successful on the page. Watching a colourful and crazy anime can be entertaining, but trying to follow similar events on the page just leads to confusion and an inability to get into the series at all. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with Pani Poni, which carries the viewer along in anime form, but leaves the reader cold as a manga.

REC
The REC anime may have been a little too short, but at least it was also a reasonably enjoyable mix of drama and romance. In principle, the manga should be better since it takes the story further, but unfortunately, it is not as desirable as it would first seem. Not only do the characters continually get stuck in endless ruts of angst, but the content verges on the uncomfortably adult at times, with everything from an attempted rape to one of the female characters spilling her drink all over her exposed crotch.

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