Happy Cafe 2
Posted: April 14, 2010 Filed under: Happy Cafe Leave a comment »Kou Matsuzuki – Tokyopop – 2010 – 15 volumes
I reviewed this for the weekly Manga Minis column at Manga Recon, so you can check out my review over there.
It’s… uh, very happy. And not much else. The formula for the episodic stories has grown stale, so I hope a plot emerges soon.
Holy crap, there’s 15 volumes. I certainly hope a plot emerges soon.
You’re So Cool 6
Posted: April 13, 2010 Filed under: You're So Cool 4 Comments »YoungHee Lee – Yen Press – 2010 – 6 volumes
I loved this series so much that I forgive it its really boring final volume that was almost completely packed with Seung-Ha having talks with himself as a little boy about being abandoned by his mother. There’s quite a bit of him hooking up with Nan-Woo, too, and a resolution to the Jay/Hyun-Ho romance that I liked even better than what was going on between the main couple here.
Basically, yeah. Lots of whining from Seung-Ha. There’s a lot of sad things about his mother, and about how he needed to be loved and needed to find himself… blah blah blah. Lots of talks about Nan-Woo being there for him, and a couple nice reunions. But I wish there had been about 80% less of Seung-Ha talking about himself.
In case you were getting bored, Nan-Woo’s mother rolls in and makes things awesome again. I know on some level it’s kind of despicable that it’s implied that she beats up Nan-Woo for little things, but she’s just so unbelievably amazing awesome that I forgive her the rough love, especially since Nan-Woo seems to get in on the action too, and dish it out to Seung-Ha as well as she gets it.
There’s also a pretty great finale, considering how underwhelming the rest of the ending was. It may or may not include the following dialogue: “I wanted to say this from the beginning. You’re so cool! No matter what!” “I know.”
Yes. So girly.
On a final note, my roommate has this bad habit of ruining my Korean comics by picking them up and commenting on how big the guys are in them compared to everything else. He calls them “land of the giants.” And then I see it when I’m reading them. In this one especially. Seung-Ha is huge. I can’t unsee it now.
Otodama: Voice from the Dead 1
Posted: April 13, 2010 Filed under: Otodama 2 Comments »Youka Nitta – DokiDoki – 2010 – 2+ volume
I reviewed this over at Manga Recon, so you can check out my review over there.
This was ridiculously good. Good art, and a great story. It wasn’t as BL-heavy as I thought, coming from Youka Nitta and DokiDoki, but I talk about all that in my review. I love slick thrillers like this, and it excelled at being a supernaturally-tinged mystery. I need more from Youka Nitta, and I need more of this series. I’m happy that it seems to have come off of hiatus recently, I guess, because that means more volumes. Hooray!
Kimi ni Todoke 4
Posted: April 11, 2010 Filed under: Kimi ni Todoke 1 Comment »Kaoru Shiina – Viz – 2010 – 10+ volumes
Once again, I am ridiculously fond of this series. I think my heart lies with super-dramatic and slightly trashy shoujo, but that’s why I need series like Kimi ni Todoke and Otomen to lighten the mood for me a little. They are essential reading in a diet that consists primarily of stuff like We Were There and… uh, Gakuen Prince. Well, this and stuff like Lapis Lazuli Crown, which I also just read and is also a very light shoujo story. But very few things can make me feel genuinely good inside like Kimi ni Todoke.
Which is saying something, considering this volume is mostly depressing stuff about Sawako’s new “friend” and how she’s trying to manipulate her into giving up on Kazehaya. It takes place at the school sports festival (so that you know it’s a manga), but everything going on is so crazy that the mundane setting is completely lost.
Kurumi tries everything to try and get Sawako away from Kazehaya, but Sawako doesn’t understand that her new friend is being a jerk. Kurumi’s attempt at making Sawako meekly submit fails, as does her stab at trying to get Sawako’s attentions to point elsewhere or even doubt her own feelings. She casts a dark shadow over everything in the volume, but it helps that Sawako is completely oblivious and also too smart to fall for her simple tricks. And I like that both of those are possible on the same character.
Sawako’s friends more or less leave her to her own battles, until it becomes obvious that Kurumi is going to start playing very dirty, and has in the past. They do some legwork to try and catch Kurumi in her crimes. The confrontation is comedic, which relieved me since I thought it would be unbearably sad. The friends help lighten the mood immensely, but when Kurumi finally pulls her mask off in front of Sawako, it really is sad to see Sawako’s reaction. She doesn’t believe what she’s hearing at all, and then finally understands. It is most heartbreaking.
And the most heartbreaking thing of all is that Sawako doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She makes me feel guilty for rooting for Kurumi’s downfall. And that’s the magic of Kimi ni Todoke.
There is a love confession towards the end of the volume. It is shoujo manga magical, and unlike any love confession I’ve ever seen. It made me laugh very, very hard. I’m happy to see that this series will take its time dipping Sawako’s toes into things, and that everyone will be there for her when she’s ready to step out on her own.
Man, this series is good. Super good. There is nothing that makes me quite as happy as Kimi ni Todoke, and I love it best because it really isn’t a comedy, it’s just Sawako being herself.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Lapis Lazuli Crown 2
Posted: April 11, 2010 Filed under: Lapis Lazuli Crown 1 Comment »Natsuna Kawase – CMX – 2009 – 2 volumes
Because I said I liked this better than Tale of an Unknown Country, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and finish up the series. Well, that and I’m also trying to read all my backlogged CMX volumes, because every single one of them is great. I’m nearly caught up, and have about seven or so left to read.
Anyway. I don’t really have that much to say about this book, for a change. It’s good, but it’s good because it’s a simple shoujo story that’s upbeat, adorable, and has strong characters that work well together. I liked that the main conflict at the end of the second volume was Radi feeling conflicted over whether he should accept help. Usually problems in series like this are simplified to a ridiculous degree, but in this case, you can see what Radi is trying to do, and you can see what Miel is trying to do too, and it’s understandable that he would be torn. There’s no real right or wrong in his situation, it’s just a problem with a few different solutions he’s working through.
I also liked that it was plot-driven rather than romance-driven. The main couple is there doing their thing, but their relationship is not the source of conflict. Ever. The politics in their magical world wind up making the climax of the story, and I loved that all of Miel’s development and hard work really paid off in the end in far more than just a romantic way.
Basically, if you’re looking for a cute, short, simple shoujo series with a little romance and a little fantasy, then this is it. For sure. I’m really surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It’s no classic or anything, but in the world of series that last for two volumes, it’s certainly near the top of the list.
We Were There 10
Posted: April 8, 2010 Filed under: We Were There 1 Comment »Yuki Obata – Viz – 2010 – 13+ volumes
As much as I love this series, I think I will dread reading every new volume after the things we learned in the last one. This volume starts what is at least a 2-volume flashback telling Yano’s story while he was in high school. I know it doesn’t go anywhere I want it to. I keep thinking that the information we received in the last volume won’t be what I think it is, but… yeah. The end of this volume leaves very little room for doubt.
To be fair, I like the technique, in retrospect. We are learning Yano’s side of the story firsthand, so we can see just how badly things went for him in Tokyo. We aren’t tainted by Nanami’s feelings or anything like that… we are just seeing things how they happen. I also like the way Sengenji is being handled, too. She’s sympathetic, and nothing she does is particularly underhand or even mean-spirited, it’s just how any normal, nice high school girl with a crush would act. It’s hard to hate her in Yano’s version of the story, as you inevitably would if we were learning things from Nana’s side.
The dread I felt in reading this, knowing it was going into a slow crash-and-burn, was nothing compared to what was happening to Yano. The bad feelings just stacked up as his mother began having money problems, he began working whenever he wasn’t at school and letting his studies slide, and then something terrible happened to his mother. Even the good things he tries to call to himself, like Lalami, just aren’t working for him.
How depressing. On one hand, I think the next volume will be more uplifting because Sengenji will be there for him. On the other hand, the Sengenji issue could have been avoided if he would only open up to Nanami more. Yano isn’t exactly a sympathetic character. At all. Actually, yes, there’s even more Yamamoto abuse in this volume, although I just… hate her role. I hate how both she and Yano act, and Yano finally makes things clear between them.
Depressing, but still an excellent read. Probably still at the very top of my good, non-trashy shoujo stack, although I have to admit the downers in every volume do wear on you after awhile. That’s just what it does, though.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Astral Project 4
Posted: April 8, 2010 Filed under: Astral Project 3 Comments »marginal / Syuji Takeya – CMX – 2009 – 4 volumes
I did love this series, and its semi-pretentious plot and philosophical ramblings clicked with me in a way that such things rarely do, but the fourth volume was the weakest of the four.
Unfortunately, the weakest link turns out to be Masahiko’s sister, the initial mystery and the hook that started everything off in the series. It’s appropriate that things come full circle and end with her, but the explanation of her role in the government research of astral projection just isn’t a very satisfying one, and in the end, it doesn’t matter much since the research can only be done on willing subjects. Her reasons for doing what she did are also ultimately unsatisfying, given the care for the justification of cultural problems given elsewhere in the series.
Speaking of the justification of cultural problems, the philosophy got away from me a little bit here, too. Francis Bacon’s painting and Slimy-kun have a conversation about how computers in the life of modern man act as a replacement for real experiences, and are what is causing the sharp increase in astral projection. They touched on this last volume (blaming otaku for bad astral projection that they’ve been witnessing), but they go into more detail here. Topics include how consumerism replaced belief in religion in the US when all the immigrants left their holy lands behind and felt alienated, and how materialism replaced religion in Japan after WWII when the emperor was no longer divine. Actually, they don’t cite materialsm at first, they cite professional wrestling, which I thought was awesome.
The government conspiracy parts are what they are, and function as they should in the story, but I was left feeling like something was missing from that part, or like I was given too much information. The government officials get really preachy in the last pages, and it didn’t feel like they needed to be developed as much as that. Faceless officials with no opinions would have been fine.
The situations with Misa and Zampano work themselves out. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed with the ending since it took out several elements of the series I really liked, mostly involving activities Masahiko gets up to.
Yeah, all around this volume was a bit of a disappointment, but I don’t think that takes away from the series as a whole. It’s definitely not for everyone, and it can be preachy and hard to follow and really out there, but if it hooks you, it’s going to be one of the more unique manga you can read. Thank you, CMX.
Crown of Love 2
Posted: April 8, 2010 Filed under: Crown of Love 1 Comment »Yun Kouga – Viz – 2010 – 4 volumes
I am ridiculously fond of this series. While the plot summaries make it sound like a pretty typical showbiz shoujo manga, it has an excellent sense of mood. Melancholy and melodrama are the orders of the day where most romances, even dramas, usually have a much lighter tone. I think it differentiates itself because the characters take everything so seriously. Hisayoshi loves Rima, and he’s not taking “no” for an answer. This would be creepy in any other series, but he backs off when she calls him out on it, and he finds himself a supportive, non-creepy role in her life that keeps him very close.
Hisayoshi is very serious about his love for Rima, and he’s also prone to pointing out the way adoration and “like” in other people isn’t the same thing as love. I hope the themes are examined in more detail, because calling attention to something like that in a series with celebrity characters could get very interesting.
Aside from the mood and very serious tone, it reads a lot like a regular shoujo manga. Rima is still a very famous idol who lacks confidence in herself, and Hisayoshi is the very popular, charismatic main character that loves her. Hisayoshi is breaking into showbusiness himself in order to get close to her, and is doing a good job because of his personality. But while every woman seems to fall for his charms, being charming is not something he does on purpose, and he isn’t a playboy. He also seems to have a special knack for not letting the girls with crushes on him down… he doesn’t lead them on, he just has a really good way of keeping his distance.
Interestingly, there are a lot of characters, and I was disoriented at the beginning of the volume, but they are all unique, and all seem to have a role to play, and I do admire series that keep all its characters involved.
As I said before, I could go either way on Yun Kouga, but Crown of Love really does seem like a series that’s perfectly suited to her strengths. She writes strong characters and is a master at atmosphere, but I think her other work runs into problems with sci-fi and fantasy themes, which this lacks. It’s great serious-minded shoujo without being too heavy and dramatic, and I’m sad it seems to be on such a slow release schedule. Here’s hoping a lot more Loveless fans find it and give it a try.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Tale of an Unknown Country 2
Posted: April 8, 2010 Filed under: Tale of an Unknown Country Leave a comment »Natsuna Kawase – CMX – 2010 – 3 volumes
I reviewed this for the weekly Manga Minis column at the Manga Recon, so you can check it out over there.
Cute stuff, but pretty middle-of-the-road. I liked it well enough to pick up the third volume and finish the series off, but I think the author’s other series, Lapis Lazuli Crown, is better. To be fair, I think Tale of an Unknown Country is her first work, and it’s pretty good for being a first effort.
The Summit 1
Posted: April 7, 2010 Filed under: Summit | Tags: BL 1 Comment »Lee Young Hee – DramaQueen – 2010 – 8+ volumes
YES. DramaQueen is back! Not only that, but they returned with one of the two titles I wanted so bad it was criminal. The only thing better than volume one of The Summit would probably be the third volume of DVD. But I’ve desperately wanted to read The Summit after the author’s other work, You’re So Cool, became one of my favorite of Yen Press’s girly Korean series.
I was not disappointed. It’s a lot like Totally Captivated so far. The story opens with a lot of complications between the characters… and when I say “confrontations,” I mean a lot of guys get beat up. A tall dark-haired guy gets his pocket picked on the train, and in the course of running down the thief, winds up in some sort of gang fight. Lots of beatings, school quitting, and strange rendezvous between the two nameless characters later, they more-or-less live together, with a lot of strange flirting going on between them. The characters are Moto (the small one) and Han Sae (the tall, dark-haired one), and of course they are about to embark on a smoking hot relationship.
There isn’t so much romance in this volume, just a lot of getting the characters established. Han Sae was apparently stood up on his wedding day, and his fiancee decided to run off with his brother (?) instead. This pushes him to quit school and take a terrible job in an effort to reinvent himself and forget his past. Cheerful, pushy Moto is the one who more-or-less forces his friendship on the rougher Han Sae, and he’s also the one that gets followed around by the rough types. In addition to the random gang that Han Sae beats up at the beginning of the volume, Moto also hides from other gangs, is chased out of his home by yet more rough types, and has an old boyfriend that is somehow not in prison anymore.
The romance is slowly developing, though. Neither one is very forward, but they are growing closer through friendship, and their banter and flirting is extremely enjoyable. There is even a drunk kiss at the end. It’s easy to tell that it will pick up in later volumes, and I am very eager to see it develop.
As a cross between Totally Captivated and You’re So Cool (the main characters look and act a lot like the characters in that series, which is a shame in theory because of the duplication, but is fine since they’re good characters), it’s already in my good graces. Not a lot happens that I can sink my teeth into in the first volume, but it was still really good, and I am really, really looking forward to more. Everyone rush out and buy this so that can happen sometime before three years elapse.
