12
Novemser 10, 2004

CD

Katray
Burn it Records Inc.

As the Arts editor I don’t usual-
ly review CDs as there are always
many other things to do, however,
this CD came across my desk, (or
rather my lap as I don’t quite have
a desk, but’ none-the-less) a few
weeks ago with a hand-written
note for me directly from the musi-
cians, so I thought I’d review it
myself. ;

The band, Katray, consists of
Kathryn Jane (hence the ‘kat’) on
piano and guitar, and Ray Jamaica
(hence the ‘ray’) on electric guitar,
acoustic guitar, bass guitar and
programming. To add to both
members extensive instrument
use, they both contribute the
somewhat incoherent vocals.
These two multitasking artists
have created a sound that has been
somewhat hard to describe by
most members of the office.

The sound bounces between
piano/acoustic stripped down
songs and synthetic programmed
sounds. The acoustic sound has
‘promise but the synthesized parts
create a less appealing sound. As
one pérson commented,- “They

Review

track seven.”

The general consensus is that
the music is good to listen to if you
are in the mood to relax, although
it is slightly depressing; best han-
dled in small quantities. One stu-
dent suggested enjoying it with a
beer! It’s quite enjoyable if you like
experimental low-fi pop. Overall

not a bad album.
B-
MAGGIE GILBERT

Come explore your
Opportunities at the

U of A's Prince George
Information Evening.

Wednesday, November 10
7:00 pm

Ramada Inn Downtown
441, George St

Get answers to your
questions on academic
programs, residence and
scholarships.

Pencil us in!

Office of the Registra

Phone ® 780.492.3113 Web ® www. registrar.ualberta.ca

rand Student Awards

EVIEWS

Wild Act

e774
sound best when they are stripped
down and bare in the cutesy piano
boy-girl vocal stuff, but the other
stuff is kinda’ cheesy, especially

Rie Takada
Tokyopop, 2003

Dear God, if I die, I'd like you

to introduce me to Akira Nanase,
please. Amen.” So says 15-year-
old Yukino Sakuraba as she pre-
pares to jump from a multi-storey
wall to the ground at the begin-
ning of Rie Takada’s ten volume
series, Wild Act.

Currently living under the care
of the UAT Theatre Company
because her mother is seriously
ill, Yuniko is a self-proclaimed
“maniac” for the late and great

actor Akira Nanae. She has made.

it her mission in life to recover all
of his scattered belongings, which
were ransacked by his fans after
his death. The motivation behind
her crazy stunt is an upcoming
awards show, at which Nanae’s
Academy Award will be present-
ed to the best new actor to hit the
Japanese film-making scene. The
jumping practice is for her great
escape after she nabs the award
for her collection.

In Yuniko’s quest for this next
treasure, however, she comes up
against an unforeseen obstacle —
none other than the recipient of
the award himself, the up-and-
coming star Ryu Eba, often called
the “New Nanae.” His intrigued

reaction to her thievery is unex--

pected and a little confusing, and
through their various encounters
they start developing a fascina-
tion for each other. The only
things between them, however,
are his acting career and her all-
encompassing devotion for
Nanae - and no one else. The sur-
vival of their relationship promis-
es to be detailed in the rest of the
series.

The art is drawn in a classic
girl’s style, with “pretty” charac-
ters, large eyes and heavy use of

Seimaru Amagi/ Testuya Koshiba
Tokyopop 2004

Well, now that the first round of
hideous midterms is over, it is
time to take a break and relax a
bit. What better way to do that
then go read some comic books?

This issue we'll take a look at
Remote, the tale of a traffic cop-
turned-homicide detective.
Remote is an amusing story that
alternates between pure silliness
and cold-blooded murder.

At the beginning of our tale we
meet Kurumi Ayaki, a recently
retired meter maid. She has left
her job in order to be “barefoot
and pregnant”, as her former
boss, “Chief Sexual Harassment”
puts it. She is actually getting
married to her boyfriend of three
months, Shingo. It happens that

Manga Reviews

screentones. I don’t particularly
object to this style (except for too
many screentones!) but though
it’s pretty, it’s definitely not
unique. I found the pages to be
somewhat cluttered with lots of
small pictures and text, and with
so many events happening on the
periphery, I sometimes found the
layouts hard to follow.

While I wouldn’t recommend
this to anyone who's looking for a
serious read, if you like silly and
sweet romances, this may be right
up your alley (and if you’re one of

Shingo is a bit of a git, and'did not
actually get the promotion that he

told his fiance that he was in line ©

for. Instead, it turns out that
Kurumi has to beg to get her old
job on the police force back. There
is no place for her in the traffic
department anymore and so she
gets reassigned to the Unsolved
Crimes Division Unit A, which is
in a police annexe known as “The
Crypt”.

She has quite the- adventure
while finding the crypt, during
which she gets to meet her enig-
matic new boss, Kozabura
Himuro. He cannot leave his
small room in the Crypt for some
strange, unrevealed reason, so
Kurumi has to act as his eyes and
ears, gathering information so he
can process it. He also happens to
be an emotionless genius, which
makes him difficult to work with.

those people who are tired of wal-
lowing in dark, angsty series, this
may be the short vacation you
need.) The situations in this comic
are just about entirely implausi-
ble, but on the flip side the unusu-
al circumstances take the story in
very interesting directions. I
enjoyed reading this first volume,
but at this time I wouldn’t invest
my money in the entire series.
(Back to my dark comics!) Volume
ten will be out in January 2005,
for all you die-hard fans.
MICHELLE MILBURN

Remote: Everything from silliness to dark murder

The art in Remote is interesting,
and the artist uses a distinct style
of drawing for each different kind
of character.

Bad guys are generally silly
looking; the serial killer in the
first volume only reveals himself
dressed as a clown. He is a very
creepy clown, but a clown
nonetheless. The main pratago-
nists are very pretty, and random
people and the characters with
smaller roles are rather average
looking.

The story is a lot of fun, and
perfectly blends silly humour
with the darker criminal investi-
gation bits. Everything is well-
paced, and sure to provide a nice,
entertaining break from all that
homework. If you like silliness,
and an interesting murder puzzle,
you should check out Remote.
DANA SCHWEHR