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Slime Forest Adventure is a computer game that will teach you Japanese literacy - how to read katakana, hiragana, and kanji. It won't teach you grammar or speaking ability, but it's a good step for anyone who wants to get a start at learning Japanese before they're able to find a university course or a private tutor. I'm using it myself to improve my kanji literacy.

The basic version is free, and you can pay to upgrade to the full version with almost 2,000 kanji. I first used it back before I took college Japanese (that was so long ago, now, wow I'm old).

Anyway, it's a fun little game, and if you're planning on studying the language later at all it's kind of great to be able to go into it already knowing your kana. Check it out!

Bah, cliffhangers!

That's really interesting though - I read a few of the Harry Dresden books (and saw the show) and they were pretty fun. I'm gonna have to check this comic out now. Thanks!

I guess from the beginning of vol38 we can assume that after the ritual kaiyanwang must 'hibernate' for awhile, and parvati places all her trust upon the others to strike back during that time. she's smart as always, not dumb like you guys're saying. with benares alone parvati and yakumo would have a hard time already, now the great kaiyanwang jumps into the game with all the nasty spells he has surely those 2 will stand no chance against them. parvati is gambling here, but she has no other choice.

From the raws I've read...  Or looked at...  It looks like it's finished.  Or at least the storyline it was portraying is finished.

[this]

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Benares was unique enough that I couldn't think of any equivalent in any other media.  It took some time, but I think I finally found one - Mako from HellBlazer.  For those not in the know, HellBlazer is DC Comics longest-running Vertigo comic.  It's about a British Paranormal investigator named John Constantine who's something of a magician, a con man and an ass.  To get an idea of what kind of man he is, his most memorable storyline was where he was able to trick the devil into drinking holy water transformed into wine.  Then he tricked the same devil into curing his lung cancer.  (Long story)

Constantine's been influential enough to inspire other paranormal detectives, the most famous being Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher's Dresden files, which is up to 13 books now, and was a brief TV series.

So who's this Mako?  Well, he first showed up in issue 240, and was described as a War Mage.  Basically, he grew stronger from every magician he beat, gaining their powers and knowledge every time.  A basic description would be a hefty muscular body, glowing cat-like eyes and shark-like teeth.  He looks a lot like a scratchy American version of Benares.

So how did John fight against him?  Well, being the trickster sort he is, he decided to divert the MagiPhage towards another target who had Constantine on the brain - a rich old man who'd been manipulating events and people to grow more powerful.  A regular Mori Kouran if there ever was one.  His plan was to bring the two in conflict, hoping one would get rid of the other, or they'd take each other out.

What he didn't count on was both parties realizing they'd been played and joining up.  To make matters worse, the Mori Kouran guy offered Mako a window into Hell, where he could sample from as many damned magicians he could.

So how was Constantine able to stand up against this double-team?  I'm not spoiling it for you.  You'll have to find out yourself.

I'm not sure how many there will be. It can be hard to tell with gaiden. It started in December of '09 in Monthly Young Magazine, but the last release date I can find is January, so it might be over.

According to this news post on ANN, Takada-sensei had just finished up a series, so this might have just been something to pass the time until he finishes preliminary work on a new series, or a way for the magazine to increase its readership by starting out with a side story to a popular manga, even if it is oldish. Seinen magazines have an older reader base anyway, so they'd be likely to remember stuff from a longer time ago than kids would anyway.

So, did these come out earlier this year?
It seems slightly weird to have these side story folllow ups eight years after the series ended.

Hey, thanks for filling me in.
While I do want to see the series end at some point, I'm glad we've still got a few more volumes to enjoy.

I found a slightly unusual bit of trivia while using google translate to have a look through the Japanese wiki page for 3x3 Eyes - the source of the naming scheme for Kiiru and her buddies!
It seems that they're all named after cocktails. Here's the googled entry:

"Rank C
    Citizens combat monsters created by the workshop. And B has a unique rank, according to the dictates of the council not allowed to fight even shoes. Kiel said, "The guy with the power ranking is C ... ... monster" (about 22 Vol 165 Part IV.)

    Elder
        Council of Elders. Ratri rescue decision to decline the people God worries. Yakumo entrusted with organizing the rescue Ratri elite rescue team.
    Kiel
        Council military police leaders. Men have a personality characterized by a young girl with the blonde with brown skin. Fight with the art, such as light waves 思念. He was appointed commander of an elite rescue team from the Council Ratri, towards hell with 迦 Hearn reluctantly. Contemptuous attitude was taken initially to Yakumo, saved a change of attitude Yakumo predicament.
        The name is a kind of cocktail Kiel (Kir).
    Fizz
        Council, one of the military police. Daughter has the ability to manipulate the flames. Hearn has received a desire to braid is characterized by two brown skin. In turn has many elite corps, many expected the supply situation and act Yoriko, who played in the final battle on behalf of the keel being injured.
        The name is a kind of fizz cocktail (Fizz).
    Julep
        Council, one of the military police. It is characterized by good swimming white skin black hair ponytail. Polite personality.
        Its name comes from a Mint Julep Cocktail (mint julep).
    Ricky
        Council, one of the military police. Masculine words to use shortcuts in the eye is characterized by hair hanging.璧 capable of making such a defense shield.
        The name is a kind of cocktail Ricky (rickey).
    Bellini
        Council, one of the military police. A tall, muscular body features in the most elite corps. Advantage of using a superhuman strength to fight his body.
        The name is a kind of cocktail Bellini (Bellini). "

Kinda of interesting. I suppose it could be a reference to how they were all created.

Haha! That is pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing it.

I found a slightly unusual bit of trivia while using google translate to have a look through the Japanese wiki page for 3x3 Eyes - the source of the naming scheme for Kiiru and her buddies!
It seems that they're all named after cocktails. Here's the googled entry:

"Rank C
    Citizens combat monsters created by the workshop. And B has a unique rank, according to the dictates of the council not allowed to fight even shoes. Kiel said, "The guy with the power ranking is C ... ... monster" (about 22 Vol 165 Part IV.)

    Elder
        Council of Elders. Ratri rescue decision to decline the people God worries. Yakumo entrusted with organizing the rescue Ratri elite rescue team.
    Kiel
        Council military police leaders. Men have a personality characterized by a young girl with the blonde with brown skin. Fight with the art, such as light waves 思念. He was appointed commander of an elite rescue team from the Council Ratri, towards hell with 迦 Hearn reluctantly. Contemptuous attitude was taken initially to Yakumo, saved a change of attitude Yakumo predicament.
        The name is a kind of cocktail Kiel (Kir).
    Fizz
        Council, one of the military police. Daughter has the ability to manipulate the flames. Hearn has received a desire to braid is characterized by two brown skin. In turn has many elite corps, many expected the supply situation and act Yoriko, who played in the final battle on behalf of the keel being injured.
        The name is a kind of fizz cocktail (Fizz).
    Julep
        Council, one of the military police. It is characterized by good swimming white skin black hair ponytail. Polite personality.
        Its name comes from a Mint Julep Cocktail (mint julep).
    Ricky
        Council, one of the military police. Masculine words to use shortcuts in the eye is characterized by hair hanging.璧 capable of making such a defense shield.
        The name is a kind of cocktail Ricky (rickey).
    Bellini
        Council, one of the military police. A tall, muscular body features in the most elite corps. Advantage of using a superhuman strength to fight his body.
        The name is a kind of cocktail Bellini (Bellini). "

Kinda of interesting. I suppose it could be a reference to how they were all created.