This page isn't meant to be comprehensive, basically it's just a bunch of blurbs that I've randomly posted on my blog over time. I tend not to review a lot of the series I have listed here on Fleeting Fancies, because they're Big Name Manga (or anime) and the majority of people have already heard of them and decided if they liked them or not.

I also frequently re-review series as I get further into them, so keep that in mind, ne? ^_^

FAKE - Pretty much the only two problems I have with this series are that it's only seven volumes long (Want more! However, I am incredibly thankful that she gave the fans two sex scenes before finishing the series.) and that, like all her work, every Sanami Matoh series looks like every other Sanami Matoh series. There is almost no differences in the lead characters from series to series. (She does better with more minor characters, like I can usually pick Bikky or Carol out of a crowd.) But I rather like the art, it's instantly recognizable as a Sanami Matoh work, and it's kinda pretty. It's also wonderfully funny and, dude, I probably couldn't love Dee more than I already do.

(There were two scenes I wanted to quote, but I can't remember the other one now.)
*Ryo and Dee are half an hour late for a meeting with the chief*
Chief: *yelling and bapping Ryo on the head* I thought you were supposed to be the conscientious one, but it seems he's gotten you to be irresponsible too!!
Ryo: >_< OWW!!
Dee: *vaguely insulted look* I'm not irresponsible, I'm busy.

Angel/Dust - I've only read the first three chapters so far, so I'm not really sure what's going on, but the art is beautiful and I'm always up for pretty art. Something about bio-roid angel warriors who can merge with humans and two of them are from another dimension, who accidentally got transported here, can share memories, and the good one somehow forms a connection with this young girl who has self-confidence problems... argh. A little confusing. But it sho' is purdy.

KaMi-KaZe - I forget now who's releasing this... oh, right, Manga-Sketchbook. The scanslations are well done, except... somehow the art just doesn't look as pretty as I know it should be. Maybe the contrast is up too high, and it makes it look too harsh, I'd have prefered a more grayish look to it. (For a good example of how beautiful the art can be, there's the KaMi-KaZe section at Paperthin Pleasures. *drools*) It's also very confusing as to what the frell is going on, but I think it's supposed to be a little confusing and I'm still on the first volume. But Kamuro is pretty and I'm willing to go through a lot for a pretty boy. ^_~ (Actually, reading the summary at Paperthin Pleasures helps a lot.)

Mint na Bokura - I picked this one up on a whim, and I'm really glad I did... the artwork is gorgeous. By Yoshizumi Wataru (Who also did Marmalade Boy... which might have made me pass by the series, since I don't feel Marmalade Boy is really my thing.) and very shoujo, but I'm enjoying it anyway. The basic concept is a story about fraternal twins (a boy and a girl) who are inseperable for most of their lives... until
the girl (Maria) falls in love with a basketball coach and goes off to a different school to be with him. The boy (Noel) is upset by this, he doesn't understand why Maria is pulling away from him, so he vows to go after her and convince her to come back. The only problem is that there's only one dorm room left in the school, and it's in the girls' dorm... so he has to dress up like a girl (and he looks really pretty) while he stays there and tries to convince his sister to come home. Hijinks ensue. (There's some gorgeous art from the series here.) I... like it.

Hanazakari no Kimi-tachi e - Okay, I admit it, I got into the series because of the promise of a cute, cranky gay doctor, and boy did this series deliver. I adore Umeda-sensei to the point where I would read the series just for him. He's funny, just a little bit nasty and feels free to insult and/or molest the students at the boys school he works in. *hearts!* But the more I read, the more I actually like the series just for itself... Mizuki is endearing, Sano is pretty, and Nakatsu is adorable. The art took me a chapter and a half to get used to, but once I did, it's gorgeous.

Okay, so the series is very shoujo, but I don't mind here, because it's a lot like Fruits Basket. If you like Furuba, you should like HanaKimi.

Firecracker is Melancholy - Not really a single storyline, but three or four different one-shots from Arina Tanemura, who does Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Time Stranger Kyoko. Naturally, the art is absolutely gorgeous, as all the mangaka's works are (and I have a definite weakness for that), and I found the stories to be really engaging, actually. Not a lot of authors can do het romance stories that I find interesting, but Arina Tanemura's characters work for me. The one-shot approach works for these stories, they wouldn't have worked stretched out anymore, and it was just... nice to read short little stories and gawk at the art for once.

Count Cain - Okay, the only reason I started to read this one is beacause of Kaori Yuki's art... and, so far, that's pretty much the only thing to like about it. Maybe it's just that I'm terribly confused as to what the hell is going on, but... I don't really care for this series so far. The art isn't all that inspiring (but I've found Angel Sanctuary to be less pretty than I was expecting... though, the color art is lovely) and nothing about the characters is drawing me in, and I don't like the time period. Just... blah.

KaMi-KaZe: I'm about halfway through the first volume as I write this review, but I just couldn't wait much longer to rec it. KaMi-KaZe is just such a beautiful manga that I would read it for the art alone. In a way it reminds me of... hmm... like a more shounen CLAMP style. The beautiful eyes, the long, detailed hair, the long limbs, the angsty bishounen (with a little bit of shounen ai potential >:3 ), and gorgeous backgrounds. The plot hasn't really made an impression on me yet, but it looks like it could go either way, either very interesting or rather dull and average. *thoughtful ponderance* The plot kind of reminds me of a cross between Mirage of Blaze and Rurouni Kenshin, for some reason. Don't ask me why, I don't know.

I think one of the reasons I like this series so much is that it has a lot of elements that I look for in a manga--an intriguing (so far, anyway) plot, interesting characters (I really, really like the main bishounen so far, and that 'evil' girl, Sakurai has caught my attention, too, ooooh, and the cute blonde bad guy is pretty +_+), gorgeous art (with a lot of the panels, it looks rather sketchy, but then I'll come across a scene that's just beautiful), a fairly complex (so it seems so far) powers system, a few bits of humor here and there (I loved bishounen guy's definition of "borrowing some clothes" ^_^), and a bit of a fantasy-style feel to it.

The two main characters seem to have a very emotionally closed off hero/damsel in distress relationship going on so far, but for some reason it hasn't really annoyed me yet. We'll see. Hmm. I'll probably re-rec this one once I've gotten farther in, but I had to say something now because I find myself so attracted to it.

(Grr. I cannot find my original blurb about this series....) Several more chapters of Psychometrer Eiji and I think I really like this series. The art is... pretty shounen, for lack of a better description. What I like most about the series is that they seem to have done their homework on the psychology aspects (profiling and psychology are very, very, very minor hobbies of mine--I'm fascinated by the human condition, what makes me and others tick), and, so far, both cases have managed to hook me completely. I am so tempted to skip ahead to see who the killer is, but I don't want to ruin the surprise for myself. -_-

The other manga I read several chapters of was Marmalade Boy... which shocked the hell out of me that I really like this series. If the manga hadn't started off on the hilarious point it did, I probably would have passed by this one completely. But because I was so amused by the premise (and Miki's reaction to it! ^_^), I kept reading.

The art isn't outsandingly beautiful, but it is very pretty. The characters are likable, and the main characters have a genuine sort of chemistry between them. (It's so much fun to watch Yuu tease Miki.) And that's what you really want to read it for--the funny, cute, amusing as hell relationship between Miki and Yuu. Erm... not much to say beyond that. I like it, it's very fun. I only have the first two volumes right now, but I suspect I'm going to neeeeee~d more when I'm done with them. -_-