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B Gata H Kei is one of the best and funniest stories on the subject of "first love" romance that I've ever read. It is at its heart a romance story, but its non-traditional take on it is what makes this manga so great. This is not a story with characters that act the way normal people do. Rather, this is a story where the characters do and say the things we've all wanted to, but couldn't. The author does a great job showing the insecurities and self-doubt most of us feel when dealing with new relationships, and it's her keen understanding of these aspects ... of human nature that make B Gata H Kei much more than it seems at first.

While this is a story about romance, the fore-front plot device is all about sex. And while this topic of sex permeates the story from beginning to end (this is not a story for kids to read!), I think of it as the bait that the author used to lure readers in. It's about sex, but it's NOT about sex. B Gata H Kei shows young people as we all were, and all will be-- inexperienced youths desperately fighting our hormones and, simultaneously, our fears of rejection, disappointment, and embarassment. While many high-school stories represent these fear aspects of young love, B Gata H Kei includes the topic of sex which allows it to explore these feelings to their conclusion, from beginning to end.

I think of B Gata H Kei like of a naughtier version of School Rumble, a little bit. They're both series about young people trying to find love and having non-stop, hilarious problems. The author being a woman also makes this story very different from the typical ecchi romance stories you see everywhere. This isn't a Shoujo manga by any means, but I think it would be more accessible to a female audience because of its approach. Most of the main characters are female and their insecurities are addressed even more than the male characters' (though our insecurities are revealed plainly too!)

Interestingly, at the end of one volume the author included some chapters from an early draft for her story, and it was really bad! The primary characters were the same and the basic concept was the same, but the flow of the story was entirely different. It was much more direct and plain. What I think makes B Gata H Kei so great is that it isn't so much about sex as it is about how trying to get it (the right way) is a long, terrifying, eventful road. Yes, a lot of the jokes are crude, and if you try to read all in a few sittings they will get a little old and predictable. But there are so many moments where you will say "I know that feel, bro" that you'll keep reading.

The ending is also mostly fulfilling, much more so than the anime. I do recommend the anime, the art is great and the humor is intact. For the first 3/4ths of the manga, it matches almost perfectly with the anime (though the manga has more material as you would expect) but the last quarter for the manga is entirely different, and I feel it's much more entertaining and interesting than the anime. If you enjoyed the anime, you definitely want to read the manga.

If you enjoy adorable romantic comedies and don't mind having characters with their minds in the gutter, you can't get to watching/reading B Gata H Kei fast enough!

Lime Colored War Tales is what you would end up with if Strike Witches was made by a group of teenaged boys. It is the embodiment of a pure harem ecchi anime, but not in a good way.

Though this is a horrible show, I will admit that I found the characters to be endearing and interesting and that I enjoyed their interactions (at least, in the comedy scenes) and the histories given for each of the characters. With such a terrible plot, it's a good thing that much of the show focuses on the characters and their pasts, because I found each of the girls ... in the LIME unit to be likable by the end. So if I like the characters, why would I hate the show so much?

The first thing to point out is political but I still find it uncomfortable. The story of LCWT takes place during the Russian-Japanese war that started shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Of course, the events that take place in LCWT have nothing to do with reality, but I still find it unsettling that the heroines are fighting in a war that Japan initiated (in real life) with a _sneak attack_ against a Russian harbor city. (That is, launching an attack days before a formal declaration of war.) And the LIME unit in LCWT is taking "the fight" to a Russian fortress. I'm not suggesting this show is politically motivated; the commander of the LIME unit is fighting to end the war and for peace, but it's still about invading Russia.

Okay, most of you probably don't care about stuff like that. What else makes this show bad? This is a harem show that has a male protagonist, who is unlikeable at best, who becomes the target of the affection of every girl around him. This is par for the course for harem shows, but the girls don't just have crushes on him-- no, _every single person on the ship with two X chromosomes_ inexplicably and desperately wants his man meat, from nearly the moment they meet him. His students, the female doctor, the female demon, even the triplets who are too young to ride the spinning cups at Disney World. I enjoy ecchi romantic comedies, but there's no _romance_ in this show. It's only romantic if you have the same sense of romance as an unfixed dog.

Perhaps it's plot holes or unexplained circumstances that do it for you? Well, this is a show about going to war, so of course there are battles. The battles are performed using spiritual warriors summoned by the girls, on both the Japanese side and the Russian side. Yes, the Russians have their own spiritual beings, and their female soldiers all dress like they work the red light district. And for some reason, they can _fly_. Yes, all of the Russian soldiers in this show can _fly_. How?

Magnets.





(Not really.)


Additionally, the Russians can use magic. This isn't too odd since the shinto girl, Kinu, can cast curses and often uses Japanese voodoo dolls throughout the show for various things. But here's what they don't explain. On the Japanese ship, there is a demon in the form of a young girl who protects the ship and enables it to fly. Okay, fair enough, it's Japan. But the Russian commander is able to use magic _that the demon can't discern_. She's a a supernatural being, but convienently useless most of the time. And yes, she wants the protagonist's man meat too.

The crime in this show is that it does have some good points. As I said, I enjoyed the character development and felt that was better than average for a half-season harem ecchi comedy. But it also has some decent, emotional, well-conceived (if not well-written) dramatic scenes. The comedy scenes are also quite funny and the interactions between the girls are great. But I don't think it's worth sitting through the rest of the show to see.

Oh, the protagonist does have one special power. If he sleeps together with a girl, she'll feel better. ... ... ...

Have you ever watched something that was "so bad, it was good"? Ultimate Girls intentionally aims itself at this category. Unfortunately, like most shows and movies that aim to be "so good it is bad", it goes past it and ends up in the "so bad it's bad" category. But it still has some enjoyable moments and as long as you know what you're getting into it can help you waste a few hours and put a couple smiles on your face.

Like a low budget B-Horror movie, Ultimate Girls should be watched with few expectations. This is a spoof show, plain and simple. It is ... not meant to be taken seriously in any capacity, except perhaps for the kiddie-pool-deep romance story thrown in. But even that is generic and simple, and it is there only to give the show a "purpose" other than the spoof of Japanese monster movies and spoof of the perversions of Japanese culture in general.

Though this is clearly an ecchi show, the uncensored version doesn't actually show anything, as if the girls are wearing skin-colored suits, so you don't have to worry about that. Each episode is less than 10 minutes long so there isn't time to develop any characters beyond stereotypes. Even so, the main girls are likeable enough and they are cutely drawn.

The most important thing to know about Ultimate Girls is that it is a joke. It's a joke about Japanese monster movies, it's a joke about otaku culture, and a joke about the predominantly male anime audience. It's a show about mostly-naked giant girls fighting ridiculous giant phallic monsters every Monday morning. So critique it accordingly.