Shakugan no Shana 6
Posted: August 29, 2010 Filed under: Shakugan no Shana Leave a comment »Yashichiro Takahashi / Ayato Sasakura – Viz – 2010 – 8+ volumes
I had a lot less trouble jumping into this at volume 6 than I thought I would. I know this series is super-popular right now, and the manga is an adaptation, so I was surprised how easy it was to read and understand.
It boils down to being shounen action and romance without a lot of fancy stuff going on, which is what makes it easy to pick up. Yuji and Shana are clearly a cutesy couple, and the fact there wasn’t a whole lot of stupid jokes about the awkwardness between the two made me like it a whole lot more. There were one or two at the very end of the volume, but a big part of the plot seemed to be that Shana could fight because Yuji was there and she liked him. The latter might not be 100% true, but that’s what it seemed to me. Shounen series with established couples like that are rare indeed, and it was a nice thing to see.
Of course, romance came far second to the action here. Shana was engaged in battle with Margery Daw, the “Chanter of Elegies,” for the entire volume, and I entered at just the right place in the story, I think. It started with Shana and Yuji talking to the “Corpse Retriever” and determining that he wasn’t a threat, and making a promise to eliminate any threats to his life. Which is when the battle with the “Chanter of Elegies” starts.
The battle itself is pretty straightforward. There are swords, and spells, and fire. Barriers play a role, which I will forever associate with X and its kekkai, where anything within a barrier is cut off from the outside world and any battle damage will disappear once the barrier is lifted.
Shana seemed like a fairly closed off character, and I’m willing to bet Yuji makes up for any lack of emotion and personality on her part. They are interesting, if only because I find the concept of a shounen manga couple interesting (and I would LOVE to find out how it is that Yuji is dead), but what made me like this book was how Margery Daw was portrayed. Apparently, she is a recurring character, but we get all of her backstory here, including her past and how she came to be a… flame haze. She seems angry and belligerent, but not without reason, and I think the thing I liked most about her was that she seemed to understand when she’d been beaten, and also there seemed to be a lot of people who liked her. Two nice, seemingly normal boys were pretty broken up when she told them she wouldn’t be returning, and after defeat, the evil beast bound to her professes his fondness for her in no uncertain terms as well. She was a bad guy without really being a bad guy.
The other thing I liked was that there wasn’t a special set of vocabulary I had to decipher in order to figure out what was going on. They used magic, and fire magic, swords, flying, and some sort of magical beast. That’s simple enough for me. I was a little lost when it came to the whole… soul gathering for power stuff, but it wasn’t that important here.
I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and pleased with how easy it was to pick up in the middle. Better series don’t have easy entrance points like this, and maybe I just picked up a lucky volume, too. But it seems like it’s quite accessible to anyone interested in the franchise, be it the anime or novel incarnations. It’s got charming and surprisingly sensitive characters, and a plot that is simple without being too shallow that provides a lot of action. It’s pretty great stuff, though it wasn’t quite gripping enough to make me want to pick up more. I’d be interested to see how it compared to the other versions, but it seems like the novels would be far superior in every way since there are… apparently over twenty now? Wow.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Dokkoida?! 2
Posted: August 28, 2010 Filed under: Dokkoida Leave a comment »Yu Yagami / Taro Achi – CMX – 2008 – 3 volumes
Yeah, this isn’t the best series in the world. It’s humor, but unfortunately the humor isn’t really my thing, and it’s banking more on the jokes between characters than it does on the jokes about them being ridiculous heroes and villains. The fact that the latter appears is the only reason I enjoyed it, and I think it has a narrow audience otherwise.
I think I preferred the character introductions last volume to some of the stagnation and repetition in this volume, though it’s hard for me to put down the cute stories. At least the introductions were something different. We do get variety in the form of new Dokkoida powers, but the repetition of the same jokes by the same characters wore on me here.
It did make me smile, but it’s just not as funny as I’d hoped it would be. There’s plenty of cuteness, like Dokkoida discovering new powers because Tanpopo is such an awful cook and he assumes there must be something his suit can do to prepare food, or all the heroes and villains teaming up to scare off a couple of turtle egg poachers. There’s a story later in the volume where Suzuo wants to win a piggy bank in the lottery, and after finding out that the Dokkoida suit has a good luck move, transforms quickly and waits his turn to get the piggy bank instead of another packet of tissues. There’s also plenty of silliness in the ongoing plotline about the Galaxy Police deciding which suit to use in their program, too, since new criminals are on the loose and they are lamer than ever.
I like it when I’m reading it, but it’s just not very good. It left a bad taste in my mouth, but flipping back through, I can see that some of the stories, like the one where all the residents of Cosmos House, hero and villain alike, have to stop a lame hammerhead shark villain at an amusement park whose only power is to make scary rides that don’t really do anything. And the sea turtle, cooking, and good luck stories are all really cute in their way, too. The plots and characters aren’t fantastic, but there’s something endearing about the way they’re told, maybe the setups, or all the crazy things that happen. Some of it is funny, too, just not a high percentage.
As I said last time, I can’t find it in my heart to condemn a sentai manga. I like them a lot, no matter how bad, and something tells me that this isn’t even the worst one we’ve had in English (I’m willing to bet that it’s better than Imperfect Hero, though it’s been a long time since I’ve read that one). It saddens me to badmouth it too, since we get so few in English that it’s worth it to support the genre in hopes that something like Shinesman will come out here when someone with money and spare time goes crazy or something.
Wolf God 1
Posted: August 28, 2010 Filed under: Wolf God 2 Comments »Ai Tenkawa – DokiDoki – 2010 – 3+ volumes
I reviewed this over at Comics Village, so you can check out my thoughts over there.
Nothing too exciting, though the story was well-told, which bodes well for developments down the road.
What I found way more interesting than the story was the author note in the back talking about how her father had just become a Living National Treasure of Japan. There… aren’t too many of those.
I like that the Japanese title is Wolf God x BLOOD. The second half makes it sound just a smidge more extreme than it really is.
Sarasah 1
Posted: August 28, 2010 Filed under: Sarasah 8 Comments »Ryu Ryang – Yen Press – 2009 – 5+ volumes
Yikes. This first volume was rotten. I picked this up in an attempt to snag all five volumes of a Korean shoujo series, so I could marathon it. Yen Press has an excellent track record, and I think I’ve enjoyed every one of the Korean series I’ve picked up from them. The reason I wanted all five volumes together is that I find myself wishing for more after marathoning two or three, and five is a wonderful length to read the entirety of a title. But the fact that I hated the first volume doesn’t bode well for the rest. edit: actually, this series is more than five volumes, I found out, so I lose all around.
It sounds like it might be good. A girl is hated so much by the object of her desire he causes her to fall down the steps and die. Because of the strength of her love, she is revived in a past life to try and win the heart of her beloved in that time, since she doesn’t want to return to the present and an utterly broken heart.
The problem is that the main character, Ji-Hae, is just… I don’t know, a criminal stalker and really, really stupid? As shallow as some heroines are, there are very few who I have trouble getting behind. But Ji-Hae is one of the few and proud. Her devotion to her crush, Seung-Hyu? He’s turned her down before. And again. And again. He’s actually turned her down repeatedly over the course of two years. She perseveres, offering unwanted comments on his appearance and how great he is, in addition to gifts and other uncomfortable attention. She’s not shy, either, and seems to do this kind of thing frequently, but is not charismatic enough to pull it off. So what we’re left with is a stalking situation, which culminates on Seung-Hyu’s birthday, complete with embarrassing banner on the front of the school, confetti shower, and a note that says “Forever you are mine, you can’t get away.”
Now, if I had told someone for two years straight that I had no interest whatsoever, I’d have to say that this might be the last straw for me, too. He doesn’t push her down the stairs intentionally, she falls after Seung-Hyu steps aside to avoid a running tackle while she tries to apologize to him. He feels quite bad about it afterwards, but yes, it does kill her.
After this introduction, I’ll be very disappointed if Seung-Hyu falls for her in the end. She really, really doesn’t deserve it.
So. Ji-Hae meets the Gods in the afterlife, who take pity on her and bring her back to life, telling her they’d send her to a point in the past where she could make amends. I took this to mean a point earlier in her school career, since at no point are past lives mentioned. So I was confused for quite a bit when the Ancient Korea stuff started. I didn’t understand that she was supposed to make past Seung-Hyu fall for her in this time period until I read the back cover and re-interpreted the words. Bah.
And she’s no less annoying in the past. She immediately cuts her hair, because long hair is not her style. When she grasps the situation, and that cutting her hair is an abnormal thing to do in the past, rather than trying to blend in and say it was an accident or something, she continues to insist that it’s just who she is. She makes no effort to pass herself off as a regular citizen of the time period, and is thought to be insane by the family of the girl she took over. She also makes a nuisance of herself for several people, ignores all the rules of dress and sticks out even more, and when she finally does meet Seung-Hyu, lies to him immediately in such a way that she is found out in less than twenty pages.
So… why should I care about anything Ji-Hae does? Why am I rooting for her? She does nothing to help herself, and cares little about Seung-Hyu’s feelings. I don’t even feel like reading further to see her fail, because I’m sure she won’t. There is one other person that expresses interest in her, and maybe the plot of the series will be about him turning her into a decent person. I’ve got four more volumes to read, so I hope that’s the case.
Ze 2
Posted: August 28, 2010 Filed under: Ze | Tags: BL Leave a comment »Yuki Shimizu – 801 Media – 2009 – 7+ volumes
This wraps up the story between Raizou and Kon, and I assume the next volume will feature another troubled kotodama/kami relationship. Or not, since I’m still not clear on what “ZE” stands for. Maybe we will see other branches of mystical and vague magic at work mixed in with the romance next volume, but it’d be a shame for all that kotodama exposition to go to waste.
This was mostly plot-driven, but to be fair, the plot ends about halfway through, and the second half features mostly romantic difficulties and bed scenes between Raizou and Kon. Given how unintentionally poorly they treat each other, there’s a lot of relationship stuff for them to work on and misunderstandings to iron out, so there’s not as much sex as an entire half volume would make you think. But you wouldn’t be remiss in assuming there was some there.
In the first half of the volume, both Raizou and Kon say hurtful things to one another as they try to fumble their way through the kotodama/kami/romantic relationship. They get into a fight, and things end badly when they are separated by Kon’s real kotodama. Kon is kidnapped, but isn’t entirely unhappy that he might get the opportunity to heal a real kotodama and do something useful. Most of the household is in an uproar, but of course, given the individual natures of the inhabitants, they leave it mostly to Raizou to get Kon back. The kotodama situation winds up being more sordid and abusive than Kon originally thought too, so he does indeed need to be rescued.
It’s a decent story, though I don’t think quite good enough to attract people outside the BL realm of interest. I still think the world that the series is set in is extraordinarily interesting, but I didn’t really like Kon and Raizou that much (Kon was too much of an emotionless doll, and Raizou was too apologetic and eager to please, although very heroic). The fact the main couple didn’t click with me is a great reason to praise the upcoming shift in narrative. I will be a little disappointed if things don’t come back to Waki and Ouka/Benio, since they were favorites of mine, but I’m also open to the possibility of new characters too, so it’s not the end of the world.
The romance was well done, even though I wasn’t fond of the main couple. I was dreading that second half, since I thought it would drag quite a bit without an appreciation for them, but the story is well-told enough that I could appreciate all the dynamics and problems being ironed out, which means that this is definitely a cut above the usual BL series.
This continues to be a more than solid BL series, and I am very much looking forward to the change of pace next time.
Stolen Hearts 1
Posted: August 28, 2010 Filed under: Stolen Hearts 4 Comments »Miku Sakamoto – CMX – 2010 – 5+ volumes
only two volumes were published in English
Holy crap, this was cute. Tooth-rottingly so. Most of that has to do with the main couple (of course). Koguma is a very tall, scary kid that nobody dares approach at school. There are lots of rumors about how tough he is, and a single glower in any direction sends people scattering. So of course the volume starts with diminutive Okuma spilling milk on a very expensive kimono he happened to have in his bag. He demands that she take responsibility, and drags her off to his grandmother’s kimono shop, where she’s put to work as an on-the-street kimono model to advertise the business.
Of course, Koguma isn’t nearly as scary as his size and sour face make him seem, and Okuma quickly sees that he’s a very nice and very misunderstood boy, they fall in love, blah blah blah. There’s nothing new here, but it’s just the right mix of sweetness, romance, sensitivity, and humor to be absolutely endearing. The thing about a lot of CMX shoujo is that there’s nothing special about it, but even somewhat shallow characters have chemistry, and relationships aren’t glossed over with bad jokes and accidents making things advance. I like that kind of story too, of course, but these younger CMX shoujo titles really do it for me because the writers really nail the nuances of the little relationships. It’s the sensitivity part that matters most.
What also helps this series is the unusual kimono theme. Each of the chapters is a one-shot story about something happening while Okuma and Koguma are modeling kimono or at kimono-themed events. There are lots of details about the styles and how to wear them, even when the plots of the chapters don’t directly relate to kimono fashion. Kimono are heavily featured in all of them, but another big theme is how well Koguma’s tough-guy image fits him. Okuma sees many different sides of him, and later tries to help the way others see him.
I think my favorite part of the volume was the last chapter, which is the usual school festival chapter. I’m rather sick of these, and rolled my eyes when the students wanted to do a maid cafe, but the theme of the series is kimono, so they decide to have a kimono-themed cafe instead. That took it up a notch (though not unexpectedly, given the theme of the series), but what made it great was a last-minute detail that meant the boys were the ones wearing kimono (for men), and not the girls. It wasn’t a big twist, and I’ve seen plenty of “butler cafe” stories too, but it was nice all the same.
It’s super-girly, unbelievably adorable and romantic, and has the unusual kimono theme, to boot. There’s not a whole lot to chew on plot- and character-wise, but it more than makes up for it in charm. It’s definitely worth a read for anyone into shoujo manga, and it’s yet another loss from the late, lamented CMX. Two volumes made it out, and I would try to pick them up ASAP since the second volume was cancelled out from under me at the first retailer I tried. They’ll probably disappear sooner rather than later.
As a bonus, this also contained my new favorite shoujo manga line: “Uwaaa! You fail as a teenage girl!”
Pet Shop of Horrors 3
Posted: August 28, 2010 Filed under: Pet Shop of Horrors Leave a comment »Matsuri Akino – Tokyopop – 2003 – 10 volumes
Ooh, a deeper look at D this time. He’s not as heroic as most main characters are, and we learn that he can be downright evil when he wants to be. I continue to be completely baffled by the relationship between D and Leon, too. Leon seems to want nothing more than to bust D on anything he can think of, but has no problem frequenting his shop and chowing down on cakes, complaining all the while of D’s sweet tooth. D isn’t bothered by this or Leon’s promises of arrest, either. It’s a really, really bizarre situation.
D’s character development comes more in the flavor of hints about his background and… possible magic powers he has? Or at least one use for his always-covered eye. The first story in particular was a great D story. It talked about his grandfather and his resemblance to him, and the plot involved D fulfilling a promise to one of his father’s old friends, via some seemingly out-of-character but expertly accomplished acts of terrorism and murder. It’s not clear if D really did do all of the violence himself, although it’s strongly implied. The whole chapter was simultaneously interesting and a slap in the face, which is… really something. We also learn a little about D’s father, enough to know that the two are nothing alike, which seems like it invites confrontation down the road.
That first chapter… I just re-read it, because the pieces didn’t fit together. The last page finally makes sense. I see what you did there. Extraordinarily clever, that. I have a new appreciation for this series, because that was a tricky way to tell the story.
There are two “pet” chapters, one about a little girl who wants to get rid of a puppy, and another about a non-pet teddy bear that functioned the same way that any of D’s pets would have. The third chapter is an unusual one about a mythical and uncommon Chinese creature. Elsewhere, Leon is tracking a serial killer, and D seems to be falling for the new chef at a restaurant he frequents. Like most of the mysteries in this series, it is stylish and very fascinating, and D’s reaction to things, when all was said and done, was unexpectedly creepy. I couldn’t see the end coming, and there’s plenty of action to keep things interesting, too.
This volume is maintaining the status quo, and I have to say, it will be hard to beat that first chapter. That was one of the most clever short stories I’d read in a long time.
Moyasimon 1
Posted: August 21, 2010 Filed under: Moyasimon 2 Comments »Masayuki Ishikawa – Del Rey – 2009 – 9+ volumes
I was expecting weirdness going in, but this is truly a level of bizarre I’m having trouble comprehending. I know I like it, though.
I put off reading this because I was a little afraid of it being over-wordy and being more science-y than plot-driven. It is a little bit of both those things, but it is so utterly fascinating that I couldn’t help finishing it in one sitting.
Country boy Tadayasu heads into the city to go to Agricultural University with his friend Yuki. The latter’s family are sake brewers, and Tadayasu’s family specializes in cultivating mold used to ferment and prepare different types of food. They walk into the university in the middle of a missing person investigation, and find what they think is a body buried in the ground. Turns out it’s a giant seal stuffed with birds. A professor shows up to cut it open, remove the birds, tear out their tail feathers, and suck their innards out through their anus. He explains that this is an inuit delicacy.
Oh. Also, Tadayasu can see mold and bacteria, depicted in the series as cute little blobs flying around everywhere. Each bacteria is depicted as a different blob. The series goes slowly through the story of Tadayasu acclimating himself to university life, interspersed with explanations on what the various bacteria he sees do, the process of fermentation, and an explanation as to how the professor in the first chapter is doing research into terraforming.
It wanders around peacefully, with chapters about students bootlegging alcohol suffering from a batch contaminated with a particularly nasty bacteria, a chapter on e.coli, a little explanation on a Swiss sport being played in an empty livestock field, lots and lots about fermentation and food preparation both mundane and exotic, and just… lots of different things, spiced up with lots of science. I think it only get a few days into Tada’s university life before the volume ends.
There’s so much here, and all of it is charming, entertaining, and educational. One wonders how a series like this was proposed to an editor, how it was approved, and how, exactly, it wound up in Evening, a men’s magazine.
I feel like I need to read one more volume to wrap my brain around what’s going on. I realize me just talking about what’s in the book isn’t much of a review, but literally, I can’t get past the bizarre contents. That is Moyasimon’s greatest strength so far. I do have the second volume, but with three such a long way off, I may put off reading it.
Weird stuff. Highly recommended.
Breath 4
Posted: August 21, 2010 Filed under: Breath | Tags: BL Leave a comment »Chifumi Ochi – Yaoi Generation – 2009 – 5 volumes
This has turned into a lovely delicate story with a seriously sinister villain working in the background to really mess things up. I like the darkness hiding behind all the emotional stuff, and I also am glad that Ten’s evil is driven more by a possessiveness rather than a real desire… well, for twincest, because that would creep me out. But the fact Ten’s been manipulating Arata since they were young is a wonderful intro to the depraved depths that it seems Ten is about to drop into. The end of this volume was really… messed up, but in a violence way rather than a sexual way.
I loved the way both Yanagi and Arata were mired in their own bad habits (Yanagi in partying, Arata in abusing his health), and both were trying to compensate for the absence of the other in different ways. This is a pretty common plot device, but it was handled so well here, and drawn out enough and with other things going on that it really resonated with the characters, and made their reunion that much more lovely.
I also loved that Arata had started to turn against Ten prior to Yanagi’s confession. It was probably because he was horrified that Ten and Yanagi might be going out, but that he was getting the bad vibe early on made the fact that he swallowed Yanagi’s explanation easier to take story-wise. As much as he clearly loved Yanagi, who are you going to believe, your twin brother that you still live with as an adult, or the guy who used to force you into having sex with him as a punishment?
While I still wish this hadn’t started with so much non-con, I really love what’s going on right now, and it’s turned into a lovely romance series. I’m sure there won’t be any surprises in the conclusion (other than perhaps a knife fight between Ten and Yanagi), but I’m still pretty excited to finish it off.
Icaro 1
Posted: August 21, 2010 Filed under: Icaro Leave a comment »Moebius / Jiro Taniguchi – IBooks – 2003 – 2 volumes
I had no idea this existed, and I’d heard bad things about it, but there’s no way I could stay away from a pairing between Moebius and Jiro Taniguchi. They’re both so amazing.
And… yeah, unfortunately, this is not. Moebius does the writing and, sadly, does not contribute to the art duties. Normally, it wouldn’t matter to me since I enjoy Jiro Taniguchi’s art plenty enough, but it seems to lack his usual warmth. His character designs are always plain (which usually works in his favor since his stuff tends to be more down-to-earth than this sci-fi story), but his attention to detail comes through in the huge complexes, the cityscapes, and the indoor world, complete with elaborate living quarters, strange costumes, and complex machinery, that Icaro inhabits while under government supervision.
The plot… isn’t so hot. Icaro is born with the power of flight, and thus is kidnapped by the government as an infant and experimented on for years until his usefulness as a weapon develops. It’s suggested that part of their need for Icaro has to do with “test tube” specimens with psychic powers, a failed soldier project that is backfiring on the defense department.
The book opens shockingly enough, with a wordless sequence of a naked pregnant woman flying through the sky, a dream she has while giving birth to Icaro. It then switches to a sexy scene between two female government agents who were clearly interrupted mid-coitus by news of Icaro.
Scenes of Icaro flying are also quite striking, and even inside the building, I loved the way they were drawn and the attention to detail.
The story in the first volume, though, is just… yeah. No surprises. None at all, aside from that opening and those wordless Icaro flying scenes. I doubt that will resolve itself in volume two. I was disappointed, but I kind of knew that going in. I still had to see the collaboration between Moebius and Jiro Taniguchi. It made me want to console myself with Akira, Walking Man, and Arzach.
