Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru Manga verses Anime

So a few posts ago I talked about having a bunch of unread manga on my bookshelves that I needed to pay attention to. Or at least I think I talked about it. Maybe I only thought about it…..In any event yeah. There are some mangas that I bought at AWA 2009 that need to be read before I got to AWA this year. That way I will feel guilt free when I buy another car load of mangas and don’t read them for another year. All makes sense to me.

The best way to accomplish my goal is to complete ignore it and read a new series online. And not any series but Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru. The manga I wasn’t going to read because I didn’t want to ruin the anime. My resolve is rock solid people. ROCK SOLID.

XO So after I decided to spoil the anime for myself I was surprised to learn SURPRISE the anime is slightly ahead of the manga. X_X Exactly. So on one hand I got to read the manga and not spoil any future events for myself. But on the other hand…:( clearly the anime and manga are going to end differently if the anime is already out of plot.

Spoiler alert! Hotsuma is hotter in the manga!

What is this post going to be about? The very slight differences between the manga and anime. They are subtle and few but they are there. For the most part the anime is very faithful to the manga but a few key issues have either been left out or have yet to be discussed in the anime. I shall talk about them and post screenies because I can people. I can. The more time I waste blogging the less time I have to catch up on mangas I paid for. It all makes sense.

Here is a basic rundown of characters in case we have some newbies on board. XO I don’t want to confuse the newbies but convert them into believers!

Yuki- former orphan boy who now lives with his mysterious half brother and a house full of crazy person. Is/has the Light of God power which powers up the good guys. He can also see people’s past if he touches them, form energy shields, and possibly exercise demons from people. Has a tendency to act emo and thinks his existence is a nuisance on others. In his former life he was a girl and Luka was SUPER CLOSE to said girl. Yuki obviously has mixed feelings about this but is too nice to bring it up.

Luka-Hottest former baddie in town. The other characters have been reincarnated for centuries to fight the Duras and during the last war Luka changed sides for girl Yuki. Luka has been watching over boy Yuki since the day he was born but everyone pretends this isn’t creepy. Luka is hot and likes to wear clothes to show off his hot body. He sometimes has problems with human situations but that is just the writer’s way of trying to give Luka a funny side. Luka doesn’t get along with most of the other good guys but he likes to be around Yuki and say the phrase “I will never betray you” every other page.

Tsukumo- A Zweilt Guardian. Also a distant relative to Yuki. Has the ability to look sexy using a magic gun and can force demons out of their human hosts. Tends to get injuried a lot and likes to eat snake foods. May have a sister complex.

Toko- A Zweilt Guardian and her pair is her brother Tsukumo. She fights with a huge sword and is more an offensive player. She is very fond of Yuki but she usually talks in terms of the past (referring to girl Yuki). In the anime she often gets pissed off at Luka. This is not the case in the manga. Toko has strong opinions on most issues and seems to feel guilty about needing Yuki but dragging him into this fight.

Hotsuma- A Zweilt guardian. His partner is Shuusei and when I say partner I mean they are two meaningful glances from a cut scene with hands grabbing bed sheets and someone moaning Oh God. Hotsuma’s main ability is to control fire but the anime isn’t very specific about how this power works. Hotsuma had a rough childhood what with accidentally burning some bully and people treating him like a freak. Also his parents sold him to the Giou clan to be a Zweilt. For some reason hates Yuki but has recently warmed up to him but Shuusei is still his favorite person ever.

Shuusei- A Zweilt Guardian. He has the power to exercise demons out of people. He also is used to help solve cases otherwise impossible for the police to solve (usually he and Tsukumo work together on such cases as their powers play off each other). Shuusei doesn’t hate Yuki but avoids him because of Hotsuma. Shuusei thinks only of Hotsuma and tends to get lost in his thoughts. But on some level Shuusei hates himself for wanting to be the only one Hotsuma needs.

Kanata- Childhood friend of Yuki. They grew up in the same orphanage. When Yuki’s long lost clan of relatives came to town Kanata magically vanished and the baddie appeared and he looks JUST like Kanata. Has been seen with a strange book and has mentioned he hates humans.

Takashiro- Yuki’s half brother. Acts super suspicious all the time. Has all of his past memories from previous wars and can constantly be heard saying he is sorry for lying to Yuki. Works with the police to solve unsolvable crimes.

Tachibana- Caretaker of the mansion everyone lives in. Likes wearing weird hats.

Isuzu- The family doctor. Wants to see Luka naked.

Other nonimportant people include Aya the random girl who does…random things at the mansion and Toma the crazy chef who gets upset when people don’t want to eat his food.

Okay now that my probably nonhelpful characters facts are done I will state again that the manga and anime are very similar. So if you are putting off either version it is safe to say that up to chapter 12 and episode 10 there are little spoilers between the two. I am sure from here on out things will change as obviously the anime has run out of manga plot to work with but as of this moment one can view both versions.

It is time to strip!

The random girl who is stalking Hotsuma isn’t so random in the manga. I guess I am a bit mean for calling her a stalker but I can be a mean person so whatever. In the anime Hotsuma gives her a (Shuusei’s) handkerchief and suddenly stalker girl is IN LOVE. So maybe I am not off when I call her a stalker. But in the manga there is build up and a reason why she (I think she has a name…) likes Hotsuma. Granted Hotsuma gives her really mixed signals but now I see that her plot isn’t put together in 2 seconds. XO But now I can be mad that her storyline is taking away from the Hotsuma and Shuusei love fest.

Wait...these people basically kidnap you and I'M the bad guy!?

Kanata doesn’t seem as evil in the manga. In the anime it is highly suspect that Kanata wasn’t home the day Yuki left and why hasn’t he called and blah blah. In the manga Kanata has been trying to contact Yuki. Due to Takashiro trying to cover his tracks Yuki was not at the place Kanata was told and that raised red flags. So Kanata acting concerned actually came across as concern in the manga whereas he seemed like a crazy person in the anime. It also leads me to believe that while Kanata IS the bad guy there are two personalities going on. The “bad guy” from the past and Kanata who hasn’t been reincarnated fully. That makes me happy because I’m a sucker for a love triangle when the best friend forever loses to the cool new guy.

I am sensing that was the wrong thing to say...

Yuki giving Hotsuma the necklace went differently in the manga. Well mainly because Yuki did not give Hotsuma the necklace in the anime. Hotsuma was not present at the time and Shuusei promised to give Hotsuma the magical charm. The manga was more dramatic as Hotsuma turned down the gift directly in Yuki’s face and Luka got to go big bad boyfriend over the situation. While it makes me sad that Yuki got hurt I do appreciate his more direct approach.

It's morphin' time!!!

XO Yuki does useful stuff that doesn’t cause him pain! In the anime Yuki’s powers usually hurt him or come at a big price so he is mainly seen on the sidelines looking useless. But Yuki can set up an X/1999 shield with the best of them. Go Yuki!

The truth is partially revealed!

Lukas and his sad back story are explained a little better in the manga. In the anime Luka saves Yuki from the baddies but it worried that Yuki will view him as a baddie too. Luka gives a few seconds to explain that he enjoyed killing before but then he met Yuki and he was a changed person. In the manga Luka explains why his family has been branded Sinners (aka Luka’s long dead relatives gave Reiga that magic book of doom) and why names hold great importance. Luka also touches on his previous master and how life wasn’t so great as a slave. In the anime Luka tries to act like a badass while in the manga he is a bit more honest.

ANIMATE THIS SCENE NOW!!!!

XO And when I mean honest I mean Luka crumbles to the ground reliving the memories. Now to be fair this stuff still may happen in the anime but I think the manga is doing a better job of making Luka a more well rounded person. Not that I want Luka to be a crying weak person in the corner but I do think it was positive to show how a strong, stoic guy can feel vulnerable and overwhelmed. And another positive LOOK AT YUKI! He isn’t always the one who needs to be protected and comforted. Sometimes he can be that shoulder to cry on. So…I think the anime did a disservice by deleting/putting off that scene.

I can't explain more because that wouldn't be fun!!!

The overall baddie is explained slightly in the manga. I was curious about Takashiro’s scar and the explanation that Yuki can’t heal Zweilt inflicted wounds. Takashiro gave Yuki a bit of a history lesson with MOG Reiga was one of us but he betrayed us for no reason and my heart is BROKEN! Takashiro gave me enough hope to believe that Kanata can be saved because I like happy endings! Sure Takashiro was only giving Yuki the briefest of details. Like he wanted to stop Yuki from digging into the past so he acts like he is being forthcoming when really he is just hiding the really awful stuff. Smart man.

Such love...

Sodom is introduced sooner in the manga. He is awesome in either version and the fact he hates Hotsuma makes me laugh. Of course the fact that Takashiro has all his memories is probably more important…but I like Sodom more. XO

I love Tsukumo so much! XD

Not that this is a good or bad thing but some of the random funny scenes are different. Toma is a little more dramatic when people don’t want to eat his food but Tachibana seems to be mellower in the manga. Yuki finding out he was a girl happened slightly different but both were brief. And then there is this lovely scene. Is it just me or is Tsukumo asking Hotsuma to marry his “spoiled” sister? Don’t mess with my yaoi pairings!!!!

It is important this scene take place while the boys are naked. It adds to the story I swear.

I think the biggest thing the anime fails to do is explain Hotsuma’s powers properly. I thought he just had control over fire and that was that. But the manga truly explains why Hotsuma is a tragic character. It is his emotions that control his power, his voice. Hotsuma has all this hurt inside and if he tries to let it out he will hurt someone and be labeled a monster again. It’s one thing to summon your power and it’s another for your power to summon itself based on emotions. I mean….I have angry thoughts all the time but I don’t want to set people on fire because of a momentary flare up of anger. Dangerous power is dangerous and slightly unfair.

NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!!

Just…wtf is this?! Really WHAT IS THIS! DO NOT WANT!

I think I have covered the major differences between the manga and the anime. Anything else is either really minor or I forgot because it is late XD But either way I love this series. I do worry that the anime will go too much into filler land but I am happy we might get a second season. But the anime needs to step up with the sparkly yaoi scenes and the manga needs to kick stalker girl to the curb!

Just sharing some Shuusei/Hotsuma love. XD