 Proving once again that the lure of a pretty LE box can make me buy a
series I otherwise wouldn't have bothered with (^^;) - it's Comic Party #1...
1 - Fateful First Experience?
Kazuki gets his first introduction to the world of doujinshi comics
when friend & class wierdo Taishi (My Brother!!) hauls him &
childhood friend Mizuki off to a doujinshi convention - "the first step
for the sake of our ambition!". Despite losing Mizuki to the crowds at
an early stage, Kazuki manages to stick it out for a while, meeting a
few 'interesting' folk along the way & learning a bit about the
doujinshi scene. Taishi has a reason for dragging his here, though - he
wants to start a doujinshi group, and needs Kazuki's artistic skills -
"World conquest by means of doujinshi!" - and so against his better
judgement, Kazuki finds himself getting drawn into drawing...
2 - Put Your Heart Into It
Comic Bravo approaches - and with remarkable foresight (or arrogance -
you decide), Tashi has applied for a stand at the convention quite a
while before he even mentioned doujinshi to Kazuki. Still unable to say
'no' to his overbearing friend, Kazuk finds himself with a very short
deadline to create his first comic. He has some help from Yuu, but
Mizuki's less than impressed with his newfound interest - especially
after catching him cosplaying as Multi (y'know, female andromaid from To Heart?). Scary sight...
3 - Buyers, Sellers, Exhibition & Spot Sale
It's time for Kazuki's first convention - Taishi's taken care of all
the arrangements to make sure that 'Brother 2' has his spot in the
hall, but disappears as soon as the event starts, leaving poor Kazuki
to fend for himself. Never having done this before, it's a completely
new experience for him - can he handle himself when things don't go as
well as he hoped? Meanwhile, Mizuki's out indulging in some retail
therapy, trying to get over her annoyance at Kazuki's recent
behaviour...
Mini-Special 1 - Bath Steam Sentimentality: The Case of the Missing Doujinshi Tour Group
A doujinshi convention at a hot springs - now there's a good idea. :)
The gang head to 'Comic Kurhaus', and naturally the first thing on the
agenda is to hit the baths. Taishi insists on doing some 'research' on
the neighbouring girls bath. While climbing the partition wall, he
finds a small stone statue of Multi, with a 'do not touch' sign
attached - and naturally can't resist...
Reason I hadn't been planning on buying Comic Party was that, while I enjoyed it okay when it was on the fansub curcuit, it wasn't really that standout a show, so it had been pushed to the 'buy eventually' list. Then TRSI announced a very sweet LE box for it, and the rest is history...
The surprise was that, now that I have the disc, it seems that bit
more enjoyable than it did first time around - most likely because I've
been into anime & Japanese culture that little bit longer so I can
catch a lot more of the references that are made in the show. Comic Party
is very heavy on the parody, and it really does help to have an almost
otaku-level of knowledge about anime & manga. That said, even if
you don't TRSI have included extensive liner notes to help point out
some of the less obvious references - keep the booklet at hand while
you're watching!
This is one of those releases that could have gone either way. The
inclusion of the liner notes means that a much wider audience will be
able to 'get' it than would otherwise would have, so full marks for
TRSI there. The show itself stands up really well to rewatching, and
has a good share of laugh-out-loud moments, too. Now if I could only
get rid of Taishi - all those 'My Brother!' comments start to grate
after a while. Otherwise, though, recommended - even without the lure
of the artbox... |
