Review: TOWER OF THE FUTURE

Of course, I can't let an Old School Month pass without some old shoujo, and there's no better source for mostly forgotten 90s shoujo than good ol' CMX.  Alas, they can't all be gems like Swan and Eroica; most of them are middling dramas like today's offering.

TOWER OF THE FUTURE (Mirai no Utena), by Saki Hiwatari.  First published in 1994 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Takeru's life was for a while not all that different from that of any other 14 year old boy.  He's struggling with his choice of high school and a newfound crush and his desire to be a fantasy novelist often leaves him lost in his own imagination.  That all changes the day Takeru's mother dies and reveals that Takeru has an illegitimate half-sister in England.  This revelation shocks Takeru to his core and his reactions threaten to tear apart what is left of his family.

Review: 3 X 3 EYES

Of course, Hunter x Hunter is still quite well-known for an old-school shonen series.  Today's review covers something that's quite a bit more obscure these days.

3 X 3 EYES (Sazan Aizu), by Yuzo Takada.  First published in 1987 and first published in North America in 1995.

PLOT:

Yakumo was on his way to work one day when he came across a young woman getting beat up by thugs. He fends them off, only to discover the woman, Pai, was looking for him in the first place.  She delivers a skull and letter from Yakumo's father, explaining that Pai is the last of a supernatural race of people and it is up to Yakumo to keep his promise to make her human.  Yakumo is skeptical at first, but after a harpy attack the two are off to Hong Kong to begin their quest.

Review: HUNTER X HUNTER

It's August, which means it's time for yet another Old-School Month!  This time we're going to kick things off with an old-school Shonen Jump favorite that somehow is still running, even today!

HUNTER X HUNTER (Hanta Hanta), by Yoshihiro Togashi.  First published in 1998 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Gon wants nothing more in the world than to become a Hunter.  To be a Hunter means to seek the wildest, most exotic, most profitable, and most magical things in the entire world, and the Hunters who discover them can gain fame and wealth beyond their dreams.  Gon, meanwhile, simply wants the chance to follow in his father's footsteps.

Simply getting to the first Hunter examination site is an adventure onto itself, but Gon manages that with ease thanks to the help of his new friends Kurapika and Leorio.  The next step for them is to survive the Hunter tests, and sometimes the applicants are more dangerous than the tests themselves.