Kanna

"Kanna? Now what ever could this little ditty be about?" A common guideline of mine when I pick out Anime or Manga to watch or read, would probably be as such - pick something you've never heard of before. Finding new things is exciting, and even more so if what you've managed to grab actually is enjoyable. And walking among the Manga shelves in a special store once, I picked out a story with an amusing title, and read the description on the back. I'm just a sucker for stories about guys having to take care of little girls. :p So without further delay, I acquired theentire series, and read it through hastily. And this is the conclusion I came to... STORY: 6/10 It starts out very well. This Kagura guy lives his ordinary life like any other guy you could imagine. Until suddenly, one morning, he finds a tender little girl sleeping beside him in his futon. She's unable to talk, and Kagura doesn't really know what to do with her, but as events unfold and most of the working crew is slaughtered at the little café where he works, he notices that darker powers are out to get a hold of this little girl. And soon enough he learns from outer sources that Kanna (as she's called) is his actual daughter, however from a parallel world. With the aid from friends and other characters he gets to know, he embarks on a walking journey with her, traveling between his own world and the parallel, to find the alternate "him" and learning just what has happened here. However, the storyline takes a rather sharp turn away from the expected. By around the third volume, it gets rather tedious with wars and battles in the parallel world, giving the impression that you're reading a history book and not a Manga, with detailed strategies and battling that doesn't fill a very important place at all in the main storyline. But really, save for this part, it's a very amusing read - I recommend it for anyone with a Manga interest, seeing as it could apply to a broad audience and doesn't really focus on a genre alone. ART: 8/10 I've seen a lot of Manga with downright awful art. And, giving that it's a Manga, the artwork plays a really big part at times, in my opinion at least. This, however, is not Manga with downright awful art. Characters are well designed and well distinguishable from each other. The backgrounds are a tad sparse, but it helps to put the focus on the characters and their interacting instead. Some of the caricatures feel rather bad though, but every artist has their own style, really. And it does feel like the artist should polish his grasp on drawing hands - the actual anatomy is flawless, but little girls really don't have those burly man-hands. :p CHARACTER: 6/10 The characters give a very good impression, so they're hard to forget - and this is good, since they tend to disappear for bouts of time and then reappear at the strangest locations. Some of them could use a bit more development, but these examples are rare - most of the time, you know where you have them. ...couldn't think of anything more to say here...so well, let's move on. ENJOYMENT: 7/10 As explained during STORYLINE, it was enjoyable at times, and not really at other times. The awkward situations between Kagura and Kanna is a given source of humor, as well as random flicks throughout the story, and most of the time it's kept together well enough to keep reading with enjoyment and suspense. It could be better, but it always can, right? The fact that it's only four books was a little down heartening, really...it could've evolved into something really nice. And that's my pros and cons about it. Not the best, but a very amusing (and sometimes rather cute) story to read; at some parts decorated with bloody action and breast nudity though, so younger readers beware somewhat. Yeah...somewhat. :3