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There are stories that can be contained in an one-shot, and there are stories that cannot. Trying to cram the latter kind into a one-shot is a mistake made very often.

The story introduces us to the characters, gets us curious about them and immersed in their lives... and then it ends. The manga visibly tries to convey a message, but it doesn't manage to. The climax – those few slides just before the ending of a one-shot, where the moral of the story is unveiled – is too vague. It's very obvious that there's a full-scale story in the author's head, but we only got ... to see a teaser. The rest will likely never be known to the world, and that's unfortunate. The characters have a pull to them; they are well-drawn and well-written, and I wanted to know just a little more about them, but was harshly denied the pleasure.

White is one of those stories that are not suited to be one-shots. It's great while you read it, but the final impression is that of frustration.

Boku no Mei is a short shoujo one-shot about an introspective male protagonist and the awkward situation life has put him in.

The main focus is the interpersonal tension between the protagonist and his niece, and considering the circumstances, it's difficult to tell exactly what sort of tension it is, and what the implications are. It's very subtly handled, and definitely the strongest point of this work.

The weaker aspect is the pacing. The attempt to recount the protagonist's memoirs results in cramming a whole lot of information into just a few pages. It all goes by too fast; there's enough nuance to paint a general ... picture, but not enough to quickly "dip" you into the setting as good one-shots must try to do.

The art is decent. It's a bit too much on the simple side and the adults look like early teenagers, but it's fairly expressive and serves to give the characters some personality.

Overall, Boku no Mei isn't the sort of one-shot that leaves a lasting impression, but it's fairly enjoyable while it lasts.

Before anyone says "if you don't like it, go read something else", I want to clarify one thing. I love dark, surreal and violent manga. This work definitely didn't let me down on those three points. However, Garden falls short on several basic storytelling conventions that make a manga enjoyable to read.

The manga is drawn in an indie style; the art is good and the design is interesting - you keep wondering what kind of freaky creature will pop up next. This is Garden's strong side. The weaknesses become obvious very early on: there's no obvious logic or structure to the events that unfold. I ... get it, it's supposed to be a trippy fantasy, but there needs to be a minimal red thread throughout the story, otherwise it will only confuse and frustrate the reader. With one exception, there is no coherence in any of the one-shots. Despite the strong themes and imagery, Garden doesn't have any impact. I can guess that this sort of mental diarrhea was a lot of fun for the author to draw, but it is not fun to read.

Story 1 is drawn in full color and sets your expectations high from the first few panels. While the events were possible to follow, nothing is explained and no questions are answered. By the end, I was thoroughly confused, and the entertainment value of the art had long since evaporated.

Stories 2, 3 and 4 and 6 are more of the same, though they have less exciting art and are not even vaguely understandable.

Story 5, The Book Of The Moon, deserves special attention and a much higher rating than the other ones, and is the only part of the manga that is worth reading. Much more thought and care were put into the setting and characters; the art style suits the story very well and even makes it momorable. It shows that the author is fully capable of these things, and makes me wonder why he didn't put as much effort into the other stories - if he did, this manga would have been a real gem.

Story 7, Emi-chan, is a total trainwreck. It's nothing more than a random slideshow, alternating between gory and trippy moods. It was much longer than the other stories, and the most frustrating to sit through. In an attempt to explain the bedlam for a change, the author added an infodump at the very end. Classy.

In conclusion, if you're looking for some good surreal horror, Garden will leave you disappointed.

I would say that Laughing Vampire is not horror story, but an adventure story with very dark ambience.

On the sliding scale of Dracula versus Twilight, Laughing Vampire is all the way in the Dracula camp. It plays up many tropes related to the monstrosity of vampires. Death is very common and the lifespans of side characters are short. While the story itself is exciting, it is difficult to follow. Events don't flow smoothly from panel to panel, and the numerous psychedelic scenes confuse things further. Sadly, many things are left unexplained by the end, mainly regarding the nature of vampirism.

The art is expressive ... and vivid; the gritty style lends itself perfectly to the dark atmosphere. The character design is interesting, with several rarely used archetypes, such as the hag and the foreigner. It also changes subtly over time along with the characters themselves. The above mentioned psychedelic scenes are marvelous, as well. There's a lot of blood, but no gratuitous gibs. There are also many sexually loaded scenes, some of which don't quite fit with the rest of the ambience.

I liked the characters cast, because it's quite varied. While most of the individual characters don't develop smoothly, the dynamics between them make up for it. Those who enjoy Dracula will find that the vampires have been done properly - a bit over the top, even. Their ferocity and derangement is what drives the plot.

Laughing Vampire is recommended to anyone who enjoys classic vampires, or generally dark stories about humans that turn into monsters.

Raubritter* is a pretty, but rather bland, tale of an innocent young maiden whose troubles are solved with the help of two rich and sexy detectives.

Arguably, the best feature of this manga is the art. The protagonist is adorable, both by herself and in the way she reacts to the advances of other characters. Everyone is well-proportioned and wears a variety of nice outfits over the course of the story. Each character has their own appealing visual style.

The plot disappoints. Anyone used to detective stories will expect a minimum of drama and tension, but there's no meaningful conflict of any kind. The initial problems are ... resolved quickly and painlessly, and the manga does itself a disservice by dragging on after the main plot is concluded. There are plenty of emotional and intimate moments, but because the characters are so poorly developed, these scenes are not very touching.

The characterisation is also severely lacking. Everyone is the same, and a lot of time is spent on teasing the protagonist (which everyone does in the exact same cutesy manner). The main characters don't show or develop any remarkable individual traits, and the emergence of additional heroines only dilutes things further.

Overall, Raubritter* is visually appealing but ultimately boring and forgettable read.