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Those embarrassing moments are often the result of Yuu "accidentally" revealing her skin, which takes us back to the essence of Pastel: boobs. And panties, and towels, and sometimes nothing at all. Whether stripping down to a bikini, soaked in a wet tank top, or just coming out of the shower, Yuu's curves and doe-eyed looks are a textbook example of pin-up illustration, coming dangerously close to the boundaries of adult material. By comparison, Mugi and Kazuki look like 3-minute character designs doodled on a napkin out of necessity.

Apricot "Rico" Sakuraba and her friends are the bubbly, high-flying members of the Rune Angel Troupe, an intergalactic peacekeeping force. Defending space is all in a day's work, but so is keeping everyone on the team happy! Rico's looking for a good deal at a bargain sale, but she'll have to fight off the hardcore shoppers to get what she wants. Then space raider Anise wants to make a meal of "legendary hot pot," but she'll have to travel across the universe to collect the legendary ingredients. A visit from a galactic princess goes beyond interstellar diplomacy when she asks Rico to help her find the perfect cookie, and Troupe members Anise and Lily try to resolve their personality conflicts—with hilariously violent results.

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Unfortunately, if that romance ever develops, it'll probably be just as empty as their personalities. Mugi is, of course, the Average Loser Guy who somehow keeps getting into racy situations, and Yuu takes the role of the stunning beauty who could do so much better but keeps hanging around anyway. Whether this turns into a harem remains to be seen (Yuu's little sister only shows up briefly), and the characters' attitudes are thankfully not as annoying as those from other shounen romantic comedies. Indeed, this is a title that plays up romance over comedy—Mugi often lapses into saccharine reflections on how he's getting over his ex and falling for Yuu. When the two of them interact, it tends towards sweetness or shy embarrassment rather than being outrageously over-the-top.

After the packaging debacle that was the first Galaxy Angel Rune DVD (one episode and a 45-minute "bonus" concert recording), fans will be happy to know that the second volume reverts back to a more normal format. The four episodes on this disc feature more of the usual Angel antics, investing in all styles of comedy to see what sticks. Not surprisingly, the results are a hit-or-miss collection of attempted humor: some segments, like the over-the-top parodies in the hot pot episode, are close to brilliant; other parts like the bargain sale episode are a mind-numbing exercise in hyperactive behavior. Don't expect anything special or new in the visual department—heck, this one doesn't even have unlockable fanservice!—but get ready for another dose of silly space adventures.

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To understand Pastel, it's essential to look at the central theme of the series. And that theme is: boobs. From the first glossy color page, to Yuu's cheesecake poses, to Mugi's hormone-driven utterances, nothing is more important than the chest area of a woman's anatomy. Manga-ka Toshihiko Kobayashi occasionally explores other areas of the female form too, but ultimately, it's the concept of exposed cleavage that dominates. Oh, and there might be a storyline too. But who cares? Look! Boobs!

For those who like to get bad stuff out of the way first in order to enjoy the goodies later, you'll be happy to know that the worst episode on this disc is the first one. Rico's bargain-shopping adventure is screechy, inconsistent, and makes the mistake of trying to shoehorn a crime-fighting side plot into it. Sadly, idiotic behavior does not automatically equate to funny (not even with a Rocky parody), and nobody cares about space-police procedurals when everything else is geared towards comedy. On the other hand, the episode right after that is an example of how to get it right: Anise's quest for the perfect meal of hot pot takes something mundane and exaggerates it to epic levels. The Angel Troupe's path to dinnertime is loaded with fantastic spoofs, riffing on Indiana Jones, board-game competitions, school-punk brawls, old-time war films, and finishing with a classic shounen-tournament showdown against an Afro-clad villain.

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This manga adaptation of Voices of a Distant Star does not achieve the full dramatic power of the original anime, in part because it lacks the great musical score that was such an integral part of the production's appeal, and does tweak the ending in a way that may not be as satisfying despite the fact that it shows more. It is still a strong story with a good amount of emotional appeal, however, and should satisfy most fans of the anime.

Mugi Tadano, having just broken up with his girlfriend, is trying to pass away his troubles by working with best friend Kazuki at a summer resort. One day, Kazuki sets up Mugi on a date with a beautiful girl named Yuu. All is well for the two of them—until Mugi accidentally walks in on Yuu while she's showering in the public baths. By the time Mugi musters the courage to apologize to her, Yuu's already left the island, and he figures he'll never see her again. Imagine his surprise, then, when he comes home and finds her taking a shower in his bathroom. At the request of a family friend, beautiful Yuu and her equally cute sister are moving into the Tadano house!

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Tokyopop's translation does a good job of retaining the feel of Shinkai's original writing and invariably translates the crucial on-cell-screen text. Most sound effects are left untranslated, except for a couple of key places where contextual clues aren't sufficient for figuring out an important sound effect. The opening few pages are done in color, albeit color that looks like it was done with colored pencils. At the end is a one-page Afterward and three-panel strip by Ms. Sahara.

Whether Pastel even has a storyline will depend on your definition of a line. Mugi's exploits seem more like random coincidences than a logical narrative: the girl from the beach just happens to move into his house; a rainstorm just happens to soak his room so that they have to sleep together; his dad, conveniently enough, is at work all the time. While these setups lend themselves to delightfully embarrassing, fanservice-laden situations, Kobayashi strings them together ineptly, leading to a first volume that doesn't go anywhere, only hinting at future romance between Mugi and Yuu.

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But the horror of ordinary life, like the horror of war and abuse and madness, is not the worst horror in Panorama of Hell. I mentioned earlier that in Buddhism, hell and heaven, life and death are all part of a cycle. This is a comforting thought, and one which gives an odd note of optimism to several of Hino's manga. Zoroku's Strange Disease (in the collection Lullabies from Hell), Living Corpse and the untranslated Kaiki! Shinin Shojo are all variations on the same theme: a person decays while they're still alive (or at least undead), their mind trapped in filthy oozing flesh. But at the end of these stories, there is a strange happy ending: when the protagonists finally rot to pieces, their souls rejoin the natural world.

15-year-old Mikako and Noboru attended middle school together and worked towards attending high school together, too. Though they claimed only to be “friends,” their connection was stronger than that. Mikako was drafted to take part in an expedition to track down and investigate aliens who had left their presence on Mars, however, leaving Noboru behind on Earth. Though they try to maintain contact with each other through super-long-range text messaging, the time lag caused by the increasing astronomical distances between them results in messages that take first days, then months, then finally years to pass between them. Can a relationship survive under such circumstances? And how long is Noboru willing to wait before moving on?

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When the narrator talks to us, it feels like his soft voice is whispering in our ear. And in those rare moments when the narrator seems to feel some kindly human emotion, like the moment when he cries at the sadness of his brother's fate, it's a howl from the soul. One recurring theme inthe manga (as in many horror manga and anime) is that people's bodies change to match their mental state. Human flesh is a plaything of the soul; when someone becomes angry enough, or crazy enough, or sick enough, their form changes and mutates. In one way or another, this happens to several people in Hino's story.

One of the few post-2000 anime titles that can justifiably be called a classic, the OVA Voices of a Distant Star stands as one of anime's best and most-beloved romances. Its captivating blending of quality mecha action and melancholy longing has won over innumerable otaku, so it's only natural that it would eventually be adapted into manga form. Thanks to Tokyopop's production of an extra-length (240-page) volume, American fans can now read the manga the same way the anime was originally presented: all in one shot.