Ouran High School Host Club – Review Blurb

Title: Ouran High School Host Club
Japanese Title: Ōran Kōkō Hosuto Kurabu
Author: Bisco Hatori
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
Licensed: Yes (Shojo Beat/Viz Media)
Release Date: July 5th, 2005 (U.S.)
Volumes: 10+ (ongoing)

Quick Summary

Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student at Ouran High School and because of the outrageous cost of the school uniform Haruhi wears baggy men’s clothing as a substitue. That combined with her short hair and huge glasses is enough to cause people to think that she is a he, and she does nothing to correct the misunderstanding. One day Haruhi was searching for a quiet place on campus to study and she stumbles upon the Ouran High School Host Club. In her confusion she accidentally breaks an enormously expensive vase and must work as a host with them until her debt for the vase is paid, although she must disguise herself as a boy to do this. Her gender is not fully discovered by the Host Club until after she becomes a host.

Skip Beat! – Review Blurb

Title: Skip Beat!
Japanese Title: Skip Beat!
Author: Yoshiki Nakamura
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Licensed: Yes (Viz Media, Shojo Beat)
Release Date: July 5th, 2006 (U.S.)
Volumes: 19+ volumes

Quick Summary

This plot is about Kyoko Mogami, a 16 year old girl who fell madly in love with her best friend Shotaro when they were children. Since then she has done everything in her power to ensure his happiness. Sho is the heir to his family’s inn but decides he wants nothing to do with such a boring life and decides to pursue a music career in Tokyo. Sho asks Kyoko to abandon high school and her hometown to join him in achieving his goal. Kyoko agrees and lives a hectic life working multiple jobs and spending nothing on herself so that Sho may live comfortably. Eventually, Sho is considered to be in the top twenty most popular entertainers in Japan. One day, Kyoko brings Sho his lunch at a company building and overhears Sho complaining about her to his manager, saying that she is a boring and plain girl that he’d like to be rid of. Kyoko then unleashes a torment of vengeful demons (literally) from deep within herself and swears revenge into Sho’s mocking face.

Pet Shop of Horrors – Review Blurb

Title: Pet Shop of Horrors
Japanese Title: Pettoshoppu obu Horāzu
Author: Matsuri Akino
Genre: Fantasy, horror, mystery, supernatural, thriller
Licensed: Yes (Tokyopop)
Release Date: June 2003 (in Japan 1995-1998)
Volumes: 10

Quick Summary
This series isn’t so much a single story as it is many stand alone stories strung together to create an amazingly refreshing manga experience. The plot focuses on Count D, the proprietor of a mysterious pet shop located in a Chinatown in the United States. Each chapter in this series tells a short story that involves a customer and the pet sold to them by the Count. People come into the shop often looking for regular pets but what the Count can offer them is a pet that may fulfill their deepest wish, as long as the new owner cares for them per his instructions. Should the instructions not be followed exactly, the Count is not responsible for what occurs after, no matter how deathly the results may be. Each story seems to focus on the inner battle of the customer and their ability (or lack thereof) to overcome their weaknesses/temptations and care for their new “pet” exactly per contract.