Evil’s Return 2
Posted: November 3, 2010 Filed under: Evil's Return Leave a comment »Hwan Shin / Jong-Kyu Lee – Tokyopop – 2004 – 4 volumes
Ugh. This wasn’t even enjoyable in a trashy way. This was just… bad.
There was a fight or two, Sunwoo versus possessed students and Chail versus some sort of higher demon. There’s still lots of stuff happening without much explanation, though the characters do pause to explain a few things in this volume. After some vague references during his fight, later Chail and Sunwoo have a fight and chat to go over just who Chail is and what his powers may or may not be. After she uses some strange power, we also find out what Yumi can bring to the table for the two gents. The story also sees fit to explain Yumi’s true nature and just who’s after her about halfway through this volume.
None of it is terribly interesting though, which is hard to believe given the filthy premise of the series. I mean, aside from demons trying to impregnate a high school student in order to make her the mother of hell, the only thing I can think of that’s worse would be a story about a super-powered entity that drinks breast milk to power up. Or something. The ground is pretty low and level when it comes to stuff like this. If it’s ridiculous and over-the-top enough, I can usually laugh off all the ick factors, but Evil’s Return plays it way too straight to have a plot like this, and isn’t any good at that, even. Qwaser of Stigmata at least ran in a Shounen Champion spinoff, so at least it’s aware that it’s in poor taste and probably runs with it. Evil’s Return… may not know.
Hmm. Well, we’ll see. With two volumes left, I don’t hold out much hope for more fun with this series.
Demon Sacred 1
Posted: November 1, 2010 Filed under: Demon Sacred Leave a comment »Natsumi Itsuki – Tokyopop – 2010 – 11 volumes
I won’t lie. I kind of hate sci-fi themes, and I’m really hard on them here (which is part of the reason I’m disappointed that the only work we’ve seen from Keiko Takemiya in English are all sci-fi related). Jyu-Oh-Sei was only marginally sci-fi themed, with more of a survivalist fantasy vibe, but because it started in a space colony and the goal was to get off the planet, there was a small corner of my heart that couldn’t forgive it. Otherwise, it was pretty amazing, exactly the type of thing I love to read.
This, though. This takes place on Earth. There is a unicorn within the first ten pages, then a disease that reverse ages you into an infant. SOLD.
Also, I love demon themes unconditionally. Even if they aren’t really demons, which is the case initially here.
The virus is caused by “supernatural influence” or something like that, and the unknown creatures that carry it are called… “intelligence,” I think? It changes over to “demon” pretty quickly. The prologue deals with a young married couple and, primarily, the young wife, who “tames” one of these creatures. Then we flash forward to a pair of 15-year-old twins and their caretaker, a distant relative named Shinobu, a gifted scientist who is only 21 years old. One of the twins, Mona, is suffering from the reverse-aging disease.
Basically, the only way to stop it is to catch and tame one of these demons. Luckily, they were raised by one, and he happens by in order to help them catch a fresh demon for the task.
It is a little melodramatic, has pretty art, and is full-blown shoujo fantasy. I LOVE it, but I can see how it can be a little too… fluffy, maybe, for some. Granted, a lot of the pull right now is the ridiculous disease and the demons, who turn into beautiful rock stars based on the desires of the girls that touch them first. But the demon hierarchy looks like it could be interesting, and there are some politics at work behind the scenes that may indicate that Shinobu doesn’t have the girls’ best interests at heart.
It’s also fairly densely plotted, with a lot of exposition. I’m glad that the first two volumes were released together, because I’d like to read at least that much to see where the plot is going past the initial setup here. So far, it’s very interesting, and I couldn’t be more pleased.
A Bloody Kiss Tonight
Posted: November 1, 2010 Filed under: Bloody Kiss Tonight | Tags: BL Leave a comment »Makoto Tateno – DokiDoki/DMP – 2010 – 1 volume
I reviewed this over at the Manga Village, so you can check out my thoughts over there.
It is my least favorite of the limited selection I’ve read of Makoto Tateno’s work, and she’s usually good for it. But it is kind of seasonal, if I can be a day late in the Halloween festivities. Vampires and all.
Blade of the Immortal 7
Posted: November 1, 2010 Filed under: Blade of the Immortal Leave a comment »Hiroaki Samura – Dark Horse – 2001 – 26+ volumes
The plot has… moved in a different direction, but is no less interesting. Manji and Rin are still paired with the rogue organization after Anotsu. Manji comes up with any number of excellent reasons not to trust them, but Rin seems to want to go along with them. They’ve got a plan and a grudge, which Rin is all right with.
There is another moral crisis towards the end of the book, when Rin sees one of the organization’s more ruthless assassins in action. It’s… less of a moral and more of a ruthless slaughter, actually, but while the intent of both parties is death, in this case it’s a question of mercy.
I’m still missing Manji a little, though his observations at the beginning of the book and the way he comes through at the end are pretty choice. And for over-the-top action, I can’t argue with that last sequence, though we have the assassin to thank for that, less than Manji. And by “thank,” I mean… wow. That scene was pretty brutal.
I also liked the cover that Anotsu threw up to cover his escape. He used decoys, and the decoy method was excellent. Very… unlike this series, if that’s even possible. And the hunt for the decoys was even better. Very intense.
I liked this volume a lot better than the last, but it still feels like it’s in a transitional period. I don’t mind, now, since there is much less talking, but I’m eager to see where it moves on from here.
