Review: STELLVIA

It's so rare to find a mecha manga with a female protagonist and mostly female cast that isn't made for the sake of fanservice, which makes it all the more disappointing that this one turned out so poorly.

STELLVIA (Uchu no Suturuvia), based on the anime series by Xebec with art by Ryo Akitsuki.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Nearly 200 years ago, Earth was ravaged by a massive electromagnetic wave from a supernova.  Even decades later, the night skies are still tinged with green.  That's the reason that Shima Katose wants to become a space pilot: to see what the stars truly look like.  She manages to get into the illustrious space academy Stellvia and makes some friends, but she struggles with her piloting courses.  What she and her friends don't know is that the second wave of radiation is only a few months away...

Review: BOKURANO:OURS

We got a lot of original mecha stories around the turn of the millennium, most of which were anime originals.  This is one of the rare exceptions (even if it got an anime adaptation later down the line). 

BOKURANO OURS (Bokurano), by Mohiro Kitoh.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2010.

PLOT:

It's an ordinary summer in an otherwise unremarkable seaside town.  A group of kids are wandering around the beach when they discover a cave in the cliffside.  Inside that cave they find a strange man in a makeshift room loaded with machinery.  The man asks the kids if they want to play a game, but asks them to pledge to keep it secret.  The kids don't take the situation seriously at the time, but everything changes when they are whisked away from their classrooms and into a sparse, white room inside a giant insectoid robot.  It's only then that the man explains the rules of the game: each child will be given a chance to pilot the robot to fight other alien robots, with the fate of the world on the line.  The kids win their first battle, but in doing so expose some of the emotional fault lines within their friend group with deadly results.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: BLUE DESTINY

It's Mecha Month once more at the Manga Test Drive, and naturally I have to start with the franchise I know and like the best...even if this is not one of its best outings. 

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: BLUE DESTINY (Kidou Senshi Gundam Gaiden: THE BLUE DESTINY), based on the franchise created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yadate, written and illustrated by MIzuho Takayama.  First published in 1996 and first published in North America in 1999.

PLOT:

Yu Kajima is just one of the many Federation GM pilots fighting to repel the last remaining Zeon pilots in the closing weeks of the One Year War. His skills have brought him to the attention of Captain Alf Chamra, who believes that Yu is the perfect test pilot for his latest project: an experimental suit called The Blue Destiny, controlled by the equally experimental EXAM system.  Now Yu is being pursued by notorious Zeon ace pilot Nimbus Schatzen, all while experiencing strange visions of a mysterious young woman and piloting a mobile suit that struggles to distingush friend from foe in the heat of battle.

Review: LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA

 OK, I need to cover a witch manga that's as traditional as you can get with witches.  Broomsticks, pointed hats, magic, the whole nine yards!  And one that's actually good!

Thankfully, Studio Trigger provided us with something that fits the bill perfectly

LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA (Ritoru Witchi Akademia), based on the original series by Studio Trigger and Yoh Yoshinari, with art by Keisuke Sato.  First published in 2016 and first published in North America in 2018.

PLOT:

Ever since she was a little girl, Atsuko "Akko" Kagari admired the witch Shiny Chariot and yearned to be a witch just like her.  She even went so far as to apply to the same school Shiny Chariot attended: Luna Nova Academy.  The problem is that every other girl there is a witch born and raised, while Akko struggles with the basics and knows nothing of the witching world.  Nonetheless, she manages to make some friends while having some wild adventures of her own.

Review: ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE: THE WITCH, THE KNIGHT, AND THE LOVE POTION SLIP-UP

There are plenty of witches to be found in the light novel world, alongside the many reincarnated noblewomen and villainesses.  Are they any good, though?

ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE: THE WITCH, THE KNIGHT, AND THE LOVE POTION SLIP-UP (Koisuru Majo wa Elite Kishi ni Horegusuri o Nomasete Shimaimashita: Itsuwari kara Hajimaru Watashi no Dekiai Seikatsu), based on the light novels by Harunadon and illustrations by Eda, written by Itsuki Azumaya with art by Shino Agetate.  First published in 2023 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Cecily dreams of having a storybook romance of her own, but her status as a red-eyed witch makes her an outcast in her world.  According to her mother, the only way Cecily can find love is to hone her powers and make a love potion.  Cecily is reluctant to do such things, but after she falls for the kindly knight Zeke she gives in to the temptation.  She makes some major changes to the recipe, but it seems to work.  As Zeke draws Cecily further into his world, Cecily is torn between her growing affection for him and her guilt over building this relationship on a magical lie.