There goes normality

Title: Marmalade Boy

Author and Artist: Wataru Yoshizumi

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Romance, School life, Shoujo

Length: 8 Volumes and completed

Publisher: TokyoPop

What it is About: All she wanted was an ordinary family, and that is exactly what Miki Koishikawa had. Two parents who were greatly devoted to each other and in love. That was until her parents went on a little vacation, met another couple AND fell in love with each others spouses! Now in a home with four parents, and a stepbrother (who is cute) she feels like shes in a soap opera. Only to make things feel more like a made for tv movie she has to deal with surviving school, friends who are having affairs and then ending up torn between a longtime crush and her new stepbrother.

My Opinion: While this is not one of my favorite Manga's I do like it a lot. Its more or less something I can get a good laugh with not to mention shake my head at. Entertaining to say the least it makes me think that some soap opera's could take a lesson from it instead of killing someone off and bringing them back to life!

~Rozen

What would you do?

Title: Honey Hunt

Author(s): Ahara Miki

Artist(s): Ahara Miki

Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Shoujo

Length: 1 Volume and Ongoing!

Publisher (in English): Viz Media

What it is about: High schooler Yura is a quiet girl. She is 'plain' looking by most, nervous in front of crowds and around boys. She also happens to be the daughter of Japan's most famous and beautiful actress and a World famous musician. Growing up she has always been compared to her parents, from people wondering why she can't sing, or why isn't she beautiful like her mother. Yura has become use to being home alone, as well as not seeing much of her parents. That lonely familiarity comes to an abrupt end when her mother returns home and announces her divorce to Yura's father. He was caught having an affair, when in all actuality they had an agreement it was an open relationship, but if the other found out about the others mistress or ____ that the marriage was over. Yura can't go off and live with her father, he and his mistress is expecting their first child together, and Yura runs in on her mother having sex with her best friend! That is when the quite Yura announces to the media that her mother isn't the perfect mother they all thought to be and now (though secretly) bent on becoming Japan's greatest actress! Though she is getting 'help' from her fathers agent Keiichi Mizorogi, he realizes that this girl needs plenty of practice to break from her shy shell and in remembering her lines.

My Opinion: This is down right one of my favorite manga's I've found. I recommend it to just about anyone really, I like the storyline simply because at first I was reading it and reading about what Yura was thinking about her mother and I don't blame her, she had all rights in wanting to beat her mother at her own game! I'm not going to spill too much but this is one to read! (now I just wish Viz Media would hurry up and release more volumes >_<; )

~Rozen

Puzzle Zen

Title: Puzzler Collection

Number of Players: 1

Developer: Route 1

ESRB Rating: E for everyone

Genre: Puzzles

Rating: 3 out of 5


What it is About: The title is EXACTLY what you get in this game. Simple as that, Puzzler Collection is a game with multiple puzzles. You have a choice of Sudoku, Crosswords, Wordfit (where you fit words into a grid much like a crossword puzzle), and Wordsearch. There are five different play modes, one being 'Puzzle tournament' where you race to complete a puzzle under the time limit. Another being quicklblast, perfect for everyday challanges that fit into a little free time to just take a little break in your busy life and just relax. Simply Puzzle is better suited for when you are waiting in a doctors office or any place where you need something to do but can stop doing it when your name is called. Fast & Fun you need to complete a series of puzzles, not only do you have to race the clock but you can't make any mistakes! Then last but not least is Head-to-Head. In the Head-to-Head option you get the chance to paly against a fried who also has this game. No thrills and no sparkles. Just your average set of puzzle games.

My Opinion: I like these sets of puzzles. Then again I like puzzles, its really something you would unwind to when its late at night, or your waiting i na doctors office, or say jsut need a little chilltime in your day. There is a range of Begginer, Intermediate, and Pro difficulty wise and while I personally like these simple puzzles not everyone would. You either love it, hate it, or like me and simply enjoy it. I like plenty of games. But, some games are like this one simple yet plenty appreciate the simplicity.

~Rozen

PS: I'm feeling better now! My birthday was on the 11th and well major writers block has been down right evil. Thankfully, that little dam crumpled so now i can get back to writing reviews! While Puzzler Collection is a little DS 'game' I enjoy it wasn't one i was planning on writing a reveiw for. Take this reveiw as one for me to get my feet wet with! Take care everyone and more reviews by the 25th!

The Gay Of Devilish Charms

Title: Antique Bakery

Author(s): Yoshinaga Fumi

Artist(s): Yoshinaga Fumi



















Genre(s): Comedy, Shounen-ai, Yaoi, Drama

Length: 4 volumes

What it's about: A middle-weight boxing champion, a rich 30-something, and a gay baker! What more could you ask for? The story revolves around 32-year-old Ono Yusuke, an amazingly good-looking baker who has a knack for snagging any guy who is his types. A regular 'Gay of Devilish Charms'. Tachibana Keiichiro, the store manager and owner, and the only guy to ever escape Ono's grasp! Ono confessed his love to him at graduation time in high school, only to be coldly rejected and told to 'Go to hell Homo'. And then comes in the cute and 21-year-old Kanda Eiji. This kid, despite being the youngest, has the most colorful past and the brightest future. Now an apprentice of Ono's, things are sure to heat up when customers and old friend alike come to the shop!

My Opinion: Well, being so much like Ono, I can find sympathy in this manga so well. There are many laughs, and you can't help but squeal sometimes. But like any good story, it's not all fun and games. Everyone has a past, all inevitably getting worse after worse -- but not the story! This has got to be one of my favorite manga's of all time, it rivals the structure of a true story as well. Ono has a flair for being a whore, and he pulls it off better than anyone else around. All the guys and girls drool after him, but sour Tachibana still eludes. A story worth reading because it's more than just pictures -- it's a novel within itself.

The Great,
Schizo

-Filling in for a sick Blue 'cause I'm a good friend like that xP-

Time to be a doctor

Title: Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2

Number of Players: 1

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Developer: Atlus

ESRB Rating: Teen

- Blood,

- Mild language

- Mild suggestive themes

- Mild violence

Genre: Simulation, Puzzle

Rating: 5 out of 5

What it's about: Just to warn everyone, this is a direct sequel to the first Trauma Center: Under the knife for the DS back in 2005. I highly recommend playing that game first but it is -not- mandatory. When people are introduce they give you brief little tid-bits. Still, try to find the first game, and if you have a Wii you can get Trauma Center: Second Opinion (the Wii version is almost EXACTLY like the DS version only simply on the Wii and a handful more operations to do.) OKAY! Back to the review!

As I said earlier, this is a direct sequel to Trauma Center: Under the Knife that was released in 2005, you are world famous Dr. Derek Stiles, in the preveious game you and your nurse Angie Thomson stopped a rather odd virus known as GUILT that lead eventually led to organ failure and death. That was three years ago. Now you travel around the world, helping stop new strains of diseases. The game starts out in a war torn Africa and their you help villagers there and save a couple of people that were harmed in a battle. After defeating this chapter your off back to America with an apprentice to Caduceus (which is a group of doctors and nurses who all share your desire to eradicate harmful diseases). While your back at the North American branch of Caduceus you will learn that GUILT Victims are coming in with odd symptoms. While they are not GUILT positive they are suffering from PGS (pre-guilt syndrome) where there are some organ failures and mild side effects. After operating on some patients you will find out GUILT, as it was led to believe, was in fact not completely erased and there are new strands to fight off.

Gameplay: You will be doing surgeries in this game! As a doctor you need to mend bones, remove glass, sew up wounds, kill off tumors and more! Now, this game really isn't for everyone. For example if you get sick at even the slightest if simulated blood then not for you! (Even though the blood looks like splash of paint...) As you go through the game Angie offers helpful tips to let you know 'okay, you do this and this and this' at first. From the first game, the instructions are easier to comprehend, the tools last longer, and the icons are more clear and right on. You use the stylus as your scalpel, lazer, ultrasound, ETC. In general all you use IS the stylus with select to skip if your redoing a level/start for pause. Whats nice is if say you mess up and you go over your time limit/ kill the patient you can redo on easy. On the original game all you could do was set your mode in the beginning, and at times a level could be a downright evil evil thing. ^^;

The gamplay in general is very addicting to try to get your personal best. If your not operating on some poor soul your doing a puzzle to get a vaccine out, or a chapter is devoted purely to story line. There is a LOT of reading in this game, so if you don't feel like reading through again, this game is not for you. A lot of time would be devoted in this game JUST to read, now its not just all dribble its plot moving stuff, so unless you do not care and just want to play through the surgeries feel free to hit select and skip all the 'nonsense'.

My Opinion: GET IT! Especially if your a fan of say House, ER, or General Hospital. This game is great for anyone who likes those shows/ loves puzzles and figuring things out. Its an addicting game its really really fun. For me personally its a game worth the 30 dollars. Not only is it fun, its a good length in gameplay. While I'm not exactly sure how long it is I am on chapter 3 and played it for 3 hours and theres STILL a lot of stuff to do. From what I remember of the first game (which I was ready to smash my DS a couple of times over the last missions) the gameplay was roughly 50+ hours. This one from what I've heard is longer. So once again if you like these type of games it is a total and complete must have.

Happy Gaming

~Rozen

On a side note, sorry to all my readers that I've been bad and a bit inconsistent in doing my reviews. Writers block doesn't exactly help -_-; Look forward to tomorrow (or Wednesday) for a manga review!! (I PROMISE!!! >_<; )

All in the name of Beauty

Title: Beauty Pop

Author(s): Arai Kiyoko

Artist(s): Arai Kiyoko



Genre(s): Comedy, drama, romance, school life, shoujo, slice of life

Length: 10 volumes 

What it is about: Just because she's talented, doesn't mean she wants to be famous. Kiri Koshiba is a talented hair stylist. While she doesn't want fame and fortune using her talent of cutting hair, the three popular boys in the 'Scissors Project” wants it all. Since they've join up the three boys give showy makeovers to only 'select girls'. When Kiri gives a makeover to a girl that the boys rejected, they soon realize they have competition and start trying to track down this mystery stylist and have them join S.P.

My Opinion: This is another manga I like personally. Its simply a cute and funny manga. I like how the art is, and the storyline is great too. The one thing I don't like is how quick it goes by! Its a fast and easy read in my opinion. It's one of those manga's you could finish up the whole series in only a couple of days. A page turner.

Ooooo...Pretty

Sorry I haven't posted in so long! Been rushing and doing things lately so I didn't have much time to read manga or play any games to do reviews on them. BUT!! I will start up again starting tomorrow! Until then, here's a couple of pretty/cute things I found on www.Etsy.com

First up, are these Murano glass earrings with Cobalt blue stripes. You can get them at Blue Lotus Studio for about 22.00. There's a few things I like on there so take a look!

Secound up, is this Green Turtle stuffed animal. Too damn cute! 12.00 at Rising Expectations. There are a few other different types of stuff animals that are equally as cute.

Last but not least, are these Blue Ice Earrings. Get them at The Smiling Soul 2: The Eclectic Side of Jewelery Design for 16.00. This Etsy store has more Victorian style jewelery.

That's all I have for all you Readers out there today! Expect a Manga Review Tomorrow! ^_^

The World Ends With You - Game Reveiw

Title: The World Ends With You

Game Info:

• Number of Online Players: up to 4
  
• Number of In-Game Players: 1
• Developer: Square Enix
• Rating: Teen
  

- Fantasy Violence
- Mild Language
- Suggestive Themes

• Genre: Role-Playing

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

What it's about: Its about this boy named Neku Sakurabe who isn't exactly...The social type. The game starts out with Neku waking up in the Shibuya shopping district of Tokyo, with no recollection oh really who he is, and how he got there in the first place. The only thing he really remembers is his name. In the middle of figuring out how he got there and why, he receives a text messsage. 'You will cease to exist unless you accomplish the mission' as soon as he receives this message he is thrown into a 'game' that lasts 7 days long.

Gameplay: In this game, you use both the stylus and the top screen at the same time in battle mode. When you get your partner you control her using the up, down, left, right buttons, with Neku you use the stylus, at first this is extremely tricky. Seeing as if either of your health drops its 'Game Over'. At first you are given a few pins, these allow you to fight the 'Noise', there is a slight time limit after you use the pin (though, it isn't that long of a wait barely 10 secounds but even then you can get your ass kicked so whatch your health!) Part of the reason why this game only got a 4.5 our of 5 is the trickyness of the controls. Hard at first and on the annoying side but once you get used to them it's easier.

On the missions ~ each mission lasts roughly 60 minutes long (real time) and once you defeat the mission for that 'day' you go to sleep. Okay, so that made it sound like this game is short. It's not. Each day varries in length but the days i've went through are 60 mintues 160 minutes etc.

My Opinion: This game is addicting. It can get frustrating, VERY frustrating, to me that is the mark of a good game. My dad jokes with me saying 'Yeah...me and your mom can tell when you like one when you start yelling at the game' >_> <_<; he's right with that one XD Anyways, give this game a try I love it. Though, if your not sure if you would like it or not i recomend seeing if a friend has it or if its less used. That way you won't be kicking yourself if it turns out you hate it. (trust me, I hate it when that happens. Spend money to get a game play it then find out ya can't stand it!)

~Rozen

Shoujo Manga for the Masses.

Well, look's like I'm updating early! ^-^ Here are my first two Manga reviews for Hana-kimi and Family Complex, look for more in the future!


Title: Hana-kimi (the title in Japanese is Hanazakari no Kimitachi e)

Author(s): Hisaya Nakajo

Artist(s): Hisaya Nakajo


Genre(s): comedy, drama, romance, school life, shoujo, shonen-ai

Length: 23 Volumes and complete.

What it is about: Hana-Kimi centers around a girl name Ashiya Mizuki, she is a Japanese girl currently living in the U.S. One day, while she is watching TV, she see’s a track and field completion and becomes attracted to one of the high jump competitors, Izumi Sano. After she starts to idolize this athlete, she eventually transfers to attend the same school that Sano attends. Now, what is so different about this picture? The high school that Sano attends is actually an all-boys school called Osaka Gakuen, and Mizuki needs to dress and act like a boy to enter.

My Opinion: I absolutely love it! I found out about it while looking around on a website, and I almost instantly fell head over heels for it. I recommend it to anyone really, but, if you’re the type to be a bit bias on things that contain even the slightest bit of malexmale relationships then this manga is NOT for you!

Title: Family Complex

Author(s): Tsuda Mikiyo, Zaou Taishi

Artists(s): Tsuda Mikiyo


Genre(s): comedy, shoujo, slice of life

Length: 1 Volume

What it is about: Akira Skamoto is the second eldest son of the Sakamoto Family and he seems to be the only -normal- person. The rest of his family is made up of beautiful people, from his parents to his older brother to his two sisters. Akira feels out of place, like he shouldn’t belong to his family. After trying to hide this for so long one day it finally comes flooding out. How does his family react to his confession of feeling like an ugly duckling among the beautiful swans? Each chapter in this short but hilarious manga is dedicated to each family member starting with Akira.

My Opinion: While I like this manga sometimes it can get a little confusing, I found myself re-reading parts (though, that could have been due to how late I was reading it). Family Complex is a short and sweet manga that only consists of the one volume. While in a way, I wish it was a little bit longer to tell what happens to the family later on in their lives, I was till satisfied with the one volume. I feel if it it was drawn out into an actual series, it would have been too long and cause people to loose interest. All in all, I do recommend this but do read the first couple of pages before purchasing it to make sure you actually would like it.

Happy Reading!

~Rozen~

Oh sweet Ramblings of mine.

Well this is my first post of The Rambling Roze. Starting on the 30th I'll start off with a couple of Reviews of Manga's I've read over the past few days, as a heads up here are the general topics I'll be covering:

• Manga Reviews
• DS Game Reviews
• Recipes
• Random junk I've found online
• Craft tips and ideas
• Drawing Tips/Art websites
  
• Older Movie Reviews

That really is all I have to say about what will be going on in this blog and simple a 'Heya!' to everyone out there ^-^.

A note on 'Older' Movie Reviews: these are movies that are either: In black and white, movies that are relatively new but didn't get much of a 'buzz', or movies that people simply don't remember.

~Rozen