And some manga

Recently I've read two different stories. One is Oh, My Goddess!: Wrong Number and the other was Ceres: Celestial Legend Vol. 1: Aya. Both were decent, but I much preferred Ceres. In fact, I've already gone and put the next two volumes on hold at the library. And put the first two dvds into my Netflix queue. No promises as to when I'd actually get to them, though.

So...first up is Oh My Goddess!: Wrong Number.

Alone in his dorm on a Saturday night, Nekomi Tech's Keiichi Morisato dials a wrong number that will change his life forever - reaching the Goddess Technical Help Line. Granted one wish by the charming young goddess Belldandy - a wish for anything in the world - Keiichi wishes she would stay with him always! Complications are bound to ensue from this; the immediate first being the new couple getting tossed out of the dorm - it's males only! As the hapless student and his mysterious "foreign beauty" ride around looking for a new place to stay - risking the different dangers of seeking shelter with an otaku convinced Belldandy is an imaginary woman, and a Zen priest convinced she's a sinister witch - Keiichi's still got his classes on Monday morning! How is his new "exchange student" companion going to be received on the N.I.T. campus? A little too well for normal life to ever return...

OMG is cute, but this volume has little substance to it. I may give it a few more volumes before I completely give up on it. So far though, can't really recommend it.

But I can recommend Ceres. This first volume is full of the start of what is surely a cool story.

HORROR, COMEDY, AND ROMANCE MADE IN HEAVEN
Yû Watase, the immensely popular writer/artist of the shôjo (girls') fantasy smash Fushiji Yûgi: The Mysterious Play, has turned her creativity and wry sense of humor to the horror genre with her anime/manga hit Ceres: Celestial Legend! Aya thought she was a normal high-school girl until she discovered that she can transform into a vastly powerful "heavenly maiden" named Ceres...but Ceres is furious and out for revenge!

SWEET SIXTEEN AND NEVER BEEN KILLED
Aya and her twin brother Aki thought they were going to a celebration of their sixteenth birthday at their grandfather's home, but the funeral-like atmosphere tips them off that something's not right. Their "birthday present" turns out to be a mummified hand--the power of which forces an awakening within Aya, and painful wounds all over Aki's body!
Grandfather Mikage announces that Aki will be heir to the Mikage fortune, and Aya mst die! But Aya has allies in the athletic cook and martial artist Yûhi, and the attractive, mysterious Tôya. But can even two handsome and resourceful guys save Aya when it's her own power that is out of control?

I really enjoyed reading this one. It does have instances of horror, humor, and romance. Aya starts out as a normal teen, but is soon thrown into circumstances she would never have imagined. Having your family out to kill you will test the mind of anyone, but Aya has guts. There's the beginnings of romance with the mysterious Tôya (and mysterious he is), and the start of learning about the mythology behind the "celestial maidens". And what's her brother going to turn out to be? All in all, it's a good story.

I probably wouldn't recommend it for younger readers, but teens, yeah. Keep in mind I've only read the first issue, though, so don't know any more. Can't wait to read more, though. It's a very intriguing story.