Venus Capriccio 3
Posted: March 10, 2010 Filed under: Venus Capriccio Leave a comment »Mai Nishikata – CMX – 2010 – 5 volumes
I reviewed this for the weekly Manga Minis column at Manga Recon, so you can check out my review over there.
Man, I don’t know what it is about shoujo manga from CMX. It’s like it has to be good. It’s the law, or something. Even something like this, which doesn’t excel or make itself stand out in any way is still a very sweet, engaging story with cute one-shot chapters and well-developed characters. I’m still waiting for the second volume to come in, but it doesn’t seem like it’s super-important to read the volumes in order.
Great stuff.
Mixed Vegetables 7
Posted: March 8, 2010 Filed under: Mixed Vegetables 4 Comments »Ayumi Komura – Viz – 2010 – 9 volumes
For the first time, I found myself genuinely drawn into the story in this series. Hana and Hayato are separated and go on separate “training missions.” Hana’s family takes a vacation to France, and since Hana doesn’t want to go, they take Hayato instead. Since that leaves Hayato’s room empty, Hana opts to stay with Hayato’s family and learn a lot about making sushi.
Hana is still the focus of the story, and I’m a little sad to see that Hayato still has not moved any closer to becoming a pastry chef. With hints dropped in this volume, it’s possible he just won’t, which would be sad considering he seems to genuinely want to. Hana has some special skills that are revealed in this volume. Not necessarily concerning sushi, just cooking in general. Even Hayato’s father acknowledges her skill, and she moves up in the world and her training intensifies.
The parts with Hana’s training were the most interesting, especially considering how weird and awkward the France parts with Hayato are. The pastry apprentice from Hana’s family’s shop is also on the trip, and he makes everything extra hard. Things are more or less straightened out by the end of the volume, and Hana’s father makes a surprise request on the last page, but given how much time is spent dwelling on a particular photo and various relationships, I doubt that’ll go anywhere.
I found this volume to be far more interesting, but I still don’t think Mixed Vegetables is anything more than average. There’s still nothing to really hook or engage the reader, it’s just a smooth shoujo story. It’s fine as far as that goes, but there are better series out there.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Wild Act 9
Posted: March 8, 2010 Filed under: Wild Act 1 Comment »Rie Takada – Tokyopop – 2004 – 10 volumes
Ah… hmm. Wow. That was certainly unexpected. Shoujo manga just doesn’t do that. It doesn’t throw such a disturbing wrench into the works.
The end of this volume is a mess, and sets up what will certainly be an epic final volume. The last scene in particular is powerful and disturbing and makes me realize that yeah, this series is pretty amazing in its way.
The rest of the volume went pretty well, too. Much is said about acting, and I was happy to see the rivalry business settle down for both genders. Ryu #2 has backed off a considerable amount, and nobody fell for the jealous girl’s plan to take Ryu away from Yuniko. The acting parts were mostly about getting Yuniko to live up to the legacy of both of her famous parents, so Ryu gets her started and builds her confidence about her acting skills, and she kind of takes off from there. It’s still not nearly as fun to read as Skip Beat, which is probably the biggest strike against it and the reason I’m not enjoying it way more, but it’s still quite enjoyable, and I really like how Yuniko has picked herself back up and is finding an identity outside of “Ryu’s Girlfriend.” I was a little worried that’s what the series was going to turn into now that they’ve moved to California.
The other great part of this volume were the little 4-panel strips in the margins of the chapters. Many of these feature a very realistic frightened Rie Takada face reacting to a variety of scary and vaguely unsettling situations. Excellent stuff. Maybe I should read the author commentary in shoujo manga more often.
I am excited and more than excited to read the final volume. I may just go ahead and do that tonight.
Jihai 3
Posted: March 8, 2010 Filed under: Jihai Leave a comment »Toshimi Nigoshi – CMX – 2009 – 3 volumes
As promised, here’s a link to my full series review over at Manga Recon.
I think I’ve said all I want to say about this series. Basically… meh.
Pluto 8
Posted: March 7, 2010 Filed under: Pluto 16 Comments »Naoki Urasawa – Viz – 2010 – 8 volumes
I’m still rather thrilled that I live in a time when I can read the last volume of my favorite manga series in English less than a year after it ends in Japan. That’s very exciting, and I’m happy that the popularity of manga has advanced so much over the years. There’s still lots of room to grow, but still, it’s great.
You know, I finally figured out wh that bear was. He’s pretty involved with the end here, but his identity isn’t really a secret. In fact, it’s a little confusing as to why we’d been left in the dark for so long. He takes an interesting view on the end of the world, though, and the last few pages are simply amaing because of him. Even more so since I’m reading this in America. It’s almost like it ended because my viewpoint ended. Or something.
The political commentary offered in this series is interesting to the end. Usually I have no interest in such things (with good reason, manga political commentary is most likely to be Japan-centric, and I know nothing about Japanese politics… conversely, there are probably few manga that deal in US political commentary), but I did like it here, and it was obvious enough that even I picked up on what was being said.
As is always the case in Astro Boy, the end of the world is imminent, and the climax is of course Atom fighting Pluto and trying to stop it from happening. Almost all the characters come back in some form or other. It is spectacular. I can’t offer much more commentary than that.
Well… You know that it’s a manga because in the middle of the final climactic battle, both characters stop and have a good cry. I swear, one of these days.
In the end, I feel all the themes came through quite well, something that a lot of manga series have problems with. I also loved some of the subtler storytelling techniques, something that can be lost on both me as a reader and manga in general. For instance, in this volume Tenma stands at the center of nearly everything. He is neither good nor bad, he just is. He also doesn’t offer his thoughts on any of the events, he simply keeps a poker face through everything. Similarly, his son Atom develops the same sort of reation to many things here. Not everything, but he does have quite the poker face.
Ultimately, I think I prefer 20th Century Boys for its ludicrous nature, but Pluto is still quite amazing and tells a very concise story. There were a few points where I was afraid it would mire itself in politics or the messages it was trying to convey, but in the end it pulled through and was very successful. I don’t really think it’s for everyone, and I think there are quite a few non-geeks this would be lost on, but all the same, it’s definitely worth reading.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Case Closed 32
Posted: March 7, 2010 Filed under: Case Closed Leave a comment »Gosho Aoyama – Viz – 2009 – 69+ volumes
Hmm. I was reading an article defending scanlations based on Viz’s “butchering” of this series, and got really wound up, and then I realized I didn’t care that much. The series isn’t “butchered,” only the names are different, and that’s really not Viz’s fault. Changing the names doesn’t change the plot of the story or anything, it’s just kind of a shame. The article’s author didn’t seem to be aware of the fact that the series is rated for 16+ or the fact that nothing is changed aside from the names. I had this big, long response written up, then deleted it, because I just didn’t feel like engaging.
Anyway. This volume was pretty great. I liked all three of the cases this time around. The first was the continuation of the story from last time in Osaka. Harley’s father gets involved after a couple chapters, and it turns into a pretty serious affair, with possibly both Conan and Harley in danger. Things keep building and getting stranger and stranger as people continue to set themselves on fire and commit suicide and whatnot.
The second case brings back Yoko, Detective Moore’s big crush. One of her friends is having an engagement party, but is nearly murdered. You know where this goes. This one was actually pretty simple, but I liked it anyway. Unfortunately, Detective Moore didn’t get his time to shine. At all, come to think of it. I don’t think Conan gets to use his darts one time this entire volume.
The final case was a Detective Boys case where the kids run into a man who looks like the owner of a big animal amusements chain. He’s mistakenly kidnapped, and the kids have to try and find him. This was a strange one, and involves a kind of language puzzle that is actually in English, but involves a slang term that is apparently common in England and Japan but not America. That’s okay, it was still good. As a special bonus, the man the kids helped out was pretty shifty. He was named James Black. Conan made a Moriarty connection (James picked up on the connection the group had with Holmes’ Detective Irregulars), but his last name may be the real clue.
There wasn’t any plot or even character development this time around, but I still enjoyed all three stories immensely. As an added bonus, the detective featured in the back was Mike Hammer, who is awesome beyond belief and I was happy to see him. I’m still a bit behind on this series, so here’s hoping I manage to catch myself up soon.
This was a review copy provided by Viz. I think.
Venus in Love 3
Posted: March 5, 2010 Filed under: Venus in Love 3 Comments »Yuki Nakaji – CMX – 2008 – 12 volumes
As I said, I was reading this volume when I suddenly realized how it was the polar opposite of We Were There. Both are awesome romance series, but while We Were There takes the depressing path of tragedy and emotional brass tacks, Venus in Love is literally one of the cheeriest, most upbeat titles I’ve read. There’s the barest hint of drama towards the end of the volume, but even that is treated lightly and the characters mostly are awkward and scold themselves for being silly. There are plenty of romantic elements, but mostly it’s just Suzu and Eichi together having a good time.
Venus in Love is different from We Were There in that it doesn’t really examine happiness, the characters are happy because they choose to be and are doing things that they feel content with. It’s easy to relate to them, but it can only be done on a superficial level, so it’s not quite as striking as We Were There.
But the happiness isn’t the series’ only asset. There are a handful of pretty unique things about it. First and foremost, it’s set in a college. It reads like a high school romance, and it’s hard to remember that it’s a college, but all the same, it’s a campus romance. Also, time is elapsing. One year has gone by since the beginning of the series. There are other things, too. Suzu has a best friend, but rather than having her be a competitor for the boy she has a crush on, the friend has her own crush and subplot where the two of them get together. Interestingly, the crush seems to have been minimalized already, and most of the story in this volume is about Suzu and Eichi, her crush’s best friend. Eichi is also gay and completely in love with his friend, so he’s also in competition with Suzu, in a way. Except they become friends who cheer each other on, both seeming to know that the crush’s feelings lie elsewhere. I was momentarily afraid that Eichi was somehow going to turn straight to date Suzu, and Suzu definitely begins to develop feelings for him (maybe. a little.), but later, a competitor in the form of a hot new boy on campus shows up with a big crush of his own on Eichi.
Weird stuff. Amid all this, there’s donut munching, rabbit costumes, toy sales, furbies, awkward dates, awkward kisses, student/teacher relationships, and all sorts of other silliness. There aren’t really any jokes, though, which I appreciate immensely. Usually series like this are played for comedy, but this isn’t. It’s merely happy.
It’s not as good as We Were There, but I think it’s quite notable in its own way. I’ve only got one more volume, but I think the next time I see it on sale, I’m going to grab all the current volumes. It’s great stuff.
We Were There 9
Posted: March 5, 2010 Filed under: We Were There Leave a comment »Yuki Obata – Viz – 2010 – 13+ volumes
I was reading Venus in Love, then suddenly realized it was the exact opposite in every way of We Were There. Both are awesome series, but they have two completely different approaches to romance. I’ll talk more about that in the Venus in Love review, but I had to read both together just for the shoujo shock value alone.
We Were There continues to squeeze out every tear you wish to cry for poor Nana and her forsaken love. We Were There’s approach to romance is via tragedy, striking a very realistic chord by touching on every sad emotion one experiences in high school romances and beyond, and then going to great lengths to explain why they are sad and why we feel this way. It’s incredibly touching and subtle even with its pages of explanations, and it is one of the best series for touching on real emotions. Yano and Nana are real people with real problems, and it’s easy to relate to them. I think in a lot of cases, this manga made me tear up not because I was feeling for the characters, but because I was thinking about something that had happened to me.
I’ll admit that happened in this volume. There was a single page where Takeuchi is trying to explain to Nana why she should let go after all these years. He understands that she wants to be true, but nothing that she said or felt back in high school was a lie. Nobody made any mistakes in their relationships, or their feelings. But time has moved on, and that changes things without changing the truth of them. I’m tearing up a little bit now thinking about that, and it has nothing to do with the series.
A lot of the other emotional explanations are give or take. Some time is spent talking about how one feels lonely only after one finds their other half, because then without it they realize what it is to be lonely, if that makes sense. There’s also some discussion about Yano’s confidence in being able to keep a long-distance relationship, and why, towards the end of the volume.
The story itself has moved on from high school and completely skipped college, winding up in Nana’s adult life now that she’s graduating and getting a job. As we learned at the end of last volume, Yano vanishes without a trace, but Nana remains faithful without a word all through the years. It killed me to see her waiting and torturing herself, especially with the emotional support of Takeuchi by her all that time and feeling that she couldn’t lean on him for fear of cheating on Yano. People keep telling her Yano is probably dead and that she should move on, but I could relate to her keeping her promise. I liked seeing that, especially since there are so many shoujo heroines who are very fickle. She made a decision, and has decided to stand by it.
A small hint makes us realize what actually did happen to Yano, and a flashback starts towards the end of the volume that should lead to the answer.
I’m not entirely sure I want to read the next part. It’s sure to be incredibly devastating, especially since I’ve grown to love Nana so much. But I’ll read it as soon as I lay my hands on it, because this is literally one of the best shoujo manga I’ve ever read. It’s incredibly depressing, but touching and real in ways that other series are not. I cannot recommend it enough.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Blade of the Immortal 4
Posted: March 4, 2010 Filed under: Blade of the Immortal 1 Comment »Hiroaki Samura – Dark Horse – 1999 – 25+ volumes
Ooh, this volume was really good. There were two stories this time, the first spotlighting Rin’s weakness and what she would do if she actually met Anotsu, and the second a strange face-off at a street festival with one of Anotsu’s men and Rin’s emotional growth from the first story.
I can’t say too much without spoiling what goes on, but I liked both of them for being very, very interesting. They take a hard look at the character motivations, and there is some light shed on alternate perspectives and how evil the bad guys really are. Rin has to face up to some hard facts both on her skills and reason for revenge, and then later decides that a touch of humility might be the right choice in some situations. There is a strange confrontation at the very end of the volume that depends a lot on knowing how the social system works in Japan. I didn’t realize all of what was going on in that scene until I read the end notes, but I liked it a lot more when I realized just how humiliating it was for Rin to do what she did.
There is no fight for Renji this volume, which is interesting, but he has his own chat with the Anotsu swordsman. The strange and evasive conversation they have with one another is also a high point in the series so far.
This volume was very different from everything that has come before, but I enjoyed it immensely anyway. What a great series.
Dokkoida?! 1
Posted: March 4, 2010 Filed under: Dokkoida 4 Comments »Yu Yagami / Taro Achi – CMX – 2008 – 3 volumes
As I’ve said before, I love sentai manga. Sentai manga don’t appear very often in English, possibly because I’m one of only ten people who enjoy them. They are always very funny, in their way, and I still think that Heroes Are Extinct is a way-underappreciated gem. Dokkoida isn’t technically a sentai manga (there is no team, only a hero, sort of like Ultraman, I suppose), but it’s in the spirit of sentai manga, and is close enough, so it counts.
Unfortunately, of the four sentai manga I’ve read, this one probably ranks lowest. Of course, it’s only the first volume, and I plan on continuing, so it’s not that bad. The humor just wasn’t my thing. Most of the volume is spent introducing new characters, so each of the short chapters is spent in a battle with either a criminal or a competitor for Galactic Police, and then said new character takes a human identity and moves into the apartment complex with everyone else. There’s lots of repetition and stupid jokes, and the character hero and enemy types aren’t that funny or original. As humans, they have no idea who each is, which is kind of funny since the same joke is basically used over and over and, for whatever reason (possibly because Yu Yagami is the creator of Those Who Hunt Elves) there are many girls of various ages and character types who fall in love with the main character. There’s no silly romance, though, that’s mostly just played for laughs.
I was pretty frustrated with things until about halfway through, then the story and sense of humor started to click. Again, I don’t think I like it as much as any of the sentai I’ve read… mostly because I feel it misses the point of being a sentai/hero parody series by not having a ton of jokes based around the hero and monsters. The best jokes in the series do deal with that (like the aforementioned ignorance of alternate identities), so it’s a shame there’s not more.
But now that all the character introduction repetition is over with, maybe other things will happen. It is only three volumes, and I can’t bring myself to dislike a sentai series, so I’ll probably pick up the rest next time I see it on sale. I did like it better than Kikaider, at least.
