Tokyo Crazy Paradise

If you want a good yakuza (type of Japanese Mafia) manga mixed with romance and action and good plot, read Tokyo Crazy Paradise.

Its set in the near future of Japan, when crime runs rampant and everyone needs to know a little self defense just to get to work and home in one piece.(One Piece, hahaha... ah.)

The story revolves around Tsukasa(girl) and Ryuji(very hot guy), with Tsuakasa acting as Ryuji's bodyguard. He is the third generation leader of the Kuryugumi, the yakuza group. His father was assassinated just previous the start of the story, and Tsukasa and her three brothers were just recently orphaned. Tsukasa has been raised as a boy by her parents, her mothers reason being that it was too dangerous for a girl to live nowadays, and that she needed to be strong and never be beaten by a man. Both her parents were cops, and their deaths were due to inter gang disputes.

Through a series of hilarious occurrences, Tsukasa ends up being the bodyguard for Ryuji. He knows she is a girl before she knows he knows. They grew up being rivals, a cops kid and a yakuza kid, but he saved her from drowning once, and he had to take the chest guard that kept her breasts hidden off to resuscitate her. He kept her secret, and now keeps her at his side due to depts he forced her to incur.

This is a shojo manga, and probably one of the funniest I have ever read. Ever. I still laugh my head off when I read it, and I have read it like three times. I fell off the bed laughing so hard once. I have no witnesses, so you will just to have trust me. Its hilarious.

This manga has really good plot development and a lot of sneaky twists. It definitely keeps you turning, and the character progression is superb. I love that word. Its so fancy.

Tsukasa is a strong heroine, funny and headstrong, who doesn't back down on her beliefs or a fight. She is a strong shield for justice (in her words) and is loyal to a fault. Ryuji is the cold, intelligent leader of one of the strongest yakuza groups in Japan, and has a lot on his plate. The only person he finds he can be himself around is Tsukasa. Only him, his two other bodyguards(who play a key role in the story) and her family know who she really is, but she causes a stir in the yakuza world. Both of them (and those around them) find out new things about themselves, things they like and things they don't. Things change and time passes, realizations and dreams are made.

A good story all around. And keep an eye out for a certain tall dark and handsome cop ;) yum.

ps. I have notice two different spellings of the word shojo/shoujo. I will use both intermittently.

Dengeki Daisy

So a few days ago I went on to my email and saw my "special coupons and picks just for you" email I get from them occasionally. I decided to check it out, see what they want me to buy. The picks are based off of things that you have bought, and seeing as how my most recent buys are manga (...) A bunch of manga pops up. Its usually stuff I have bought(?) or am not really interested in. But a few days ago...

I get on there, look down, and see... DENGEKI DAISY!!!!

I was exstatic! I have loved that manga for a long time, one of my favorite shoujos, and now its in ENGLISH!!!! YES!!!

Its about a girl whose brother has died and left her a cell phone, her only contact with a mysterious figure named DAISY. They write it all capitilized too, thats not me and my twitchy caps finger. She is a poor, bullied girl only in high school because of a scholarship, the reason for her being bullied by rich student council. But what I really like about her is her strength. She doesnt let any of it get to her, partially(and she says this) because she has DAISY to help her and cheer her up.

The beginning shows her actually lying to DAISY, saying she is fine when in actuallity she is not. Then due to certain circumstances, you find out who DAISY is, but she (Teru) has no idea its the deliquent janitor who is making her pay for a broken window by working for him.

His name is Kurosaki, and he is probebly one of the most attractive Shoujo men I have ever had the privledge to read about. He seems cruel and harsh, but as DAISY, he is always there to help her. But she wont ask DAISY for help, because she doesnt want to take advantage of his kindness. As Kurosaki and as DAISY, he helps her out, guides her and teases her, and begins to love her. He has a checkered past that you begin to see, something connected to her brother and the work they were doing, as well as before her brother was in the picture.

Its an action romance, with intrigue and well developed characters that grow as the story progresses. The art and story line are very well done and interesting, keeping you flipping pages and admiring scenery and dialouge. I have re read it online a couple times, and I would definetly suggest reading it. Actually, if you havent, just do it. You wont regret it.