Very! Very! Sweet 4
Posted: December 28, 2010 Filed under: Very! Very! Sweet Leave a comment »JiSang Shin / Geo – Yen Press – 2009 – 7 volumes
I do love Korean girls’ comics almost unconditionally (I’m looking at you, Sarasah), and this one is no exception. But I’d be the first to admit there’s… a lot of the usual stuff going on here, with a pretty strong heroine surrounded by a good group of friends and a difficult relationship. I’ve forgotten how big a jerk Tsuyoshi was in the other volumes, so at this point he’s even a decent guy that the heroine’s falling for. I’m going to forego commenting too much on this volume in favor of watching the relationship build a little more and seeing if there’s more to say about it then, but there are a couple interesting things to note here.
There is, of course, the jealous lovers coming in between Tsuyoshi and Be-Ri’s fake relationship. I think the language barrier is an interesting element in this story. Not only because Tsuyoshi can’t express himself clearly to Be-Ri and others, but also because it gives Tsuyoshi’s former Japanese girlfriend something of a shield to hide behind when she wants to talk to Tsuyoshi without the others knowing what she’s saying.
I also thought the racism being represented between the elderly Korean woman and Japanese man was interesting. That never, ever comes up in manwha, and it’s almost made into a joke here (more precisely, used as an excuse to push something aside), but it was interesting just how violent the grandmother got in this scene, and just how much was between the lines there. The translation note in the back spelled it out clearly.
Other than that… a relationship is revealed between Tsuyoshi and his keeper, Be-Ri’s older sister is going through a rocky time with her boyfriend, Tsuyoshi and Be-Ri are growing a little closer… you know the drill. Like I said, there will probably be more to comment on next volume. I’m planning on finishing this off within the next couple days, too.
Evil’s Return 3
Posted: December 28, 2010 Filed under: Evil's Return 1 Comment »Hwan Shin / Jong-Kyu Lee – Tokyopop – 2005 – 4 volumes
Oh, Evil’s Return. You’re just so bad. So much T&A, so little plot, so much gore. I especially like the way the female student’s clothing just… shreds inexplicably at the slightest sign of conflict.
I can’t even tell you what’s going on here, or critique it in any meaningful way. Much like the other two volumes, the plot centers around a fight scene, and not much time passes. There’s a new character introduced at the beginning of the volume (a Catholic exorcist with special powers, in the form of a hot young teenage girl), and outside… maybe two scenes establishing her as a new character, there is a long fight scene, then a flashback shortly afterwards where we learn the past life of Cha Il, the Warrior God Chi Yu. That’s mostly a fight scene with some violence thrown in, along with a truncated time line.
The fight scene is with the enemy… the White White Cult’s leader, or whatever. There’s a clever ruse to distract Tae and the new girl (that involves buxom female zombies and a lot of violence) while the leader goes after Cha Il and Yumi. After a not-so-lengthy struggle, the scene flashes to Tae’s monastery, where Cha Il is taken in order to heal him after his… infection by darkness. The only way to do that is to awaken Chi Yu, hence the flashback.
I mean, stuff happens. It’s certainly entertaining. But even with that flashback, I wouldn’t say there’s any real plot or character development. The flashback explains a character… that isn’t even really in the story, and it doesn’t give him any real depth since he simply kills and is possessive. And the plot certainly doesn’t really go anywhere, save for a twist at the end. “Twist” is… less accurate than saying it’s moving somewhere.
I’m not bored, but this is still pretty rotten stuff. I’m only digging it because I enjoy ridiculous violence, and the fanservice is really making me laugh. For the record, this is worse than Arm of Kannon.
Also, I think it’s really funny that the next volume preview says we have to wait for the next volume to come out in Korea before it could be translated into English, as if there was a lot of suspense building in the story here and we had to wait with baited breath. I do like that Tokyopop used to always put the release dates and a next volume preview in the backs of their books, and I liked it even better when we were given an explanation like this when there would be a delay. The fourth volume of Paradise Kiss had a preview like that. I guess it was the suspense of waiting for that last volume of Paradise Kiss for a year that makes this sound really silly. I mean, I really wanted that book. The fourth volume of Evil’s Return… not so much. I can’t imagine anyone was really wound up for it.
Tsubasa 26
Posted: December 28, 2010 Filed under: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Leave a comment »CLAMP – Del Rey – 2010 – 28 volumes
Okay, so I’m riding the good vibes from last volume, where we got information in the form of an easy-to-process flashback and a fun story that recalls good things from Cardcaptor Sakura. We’ve… still got some of that going on in this volume, but it’s getting hard to follow again. Which isn’t important, because a big chunk of the ending is an elaborate and surprisingly epic fight scene.
Once again, my questions are answered. Watanuki’s situation is explained in great detail. It makes me angry to see it here, rather than in XxXholic. Why wasn’t that explained in the series where he was the main character? Because Syaoran is better than him? The original? Likely because it was more relevant to the plot of Tsubasa, but the fact that the explanation wasn’t suitable for XxXholic makes it pretty poor. What I found most interesting was the language Fei Wang used to describe Watanuki. He called him an anomaly in space and time. Interesting because of what he became and the role he now fulfills.
We learn… just what happened to time, and why, though the explanation is still a little tenuous and hard to grasp. Why was that point frozen while everything else was allowed to move? Why wasn’t it turned back as well, so that Syaoran could just step in? Was it a safeguard? I guess?
There’s a whole lot of melodrama here, piled on from the last volume, concerning the future of the relationship between Fai, Kurogane, and Syaoran. I’m not sure who Syaoran thought he was kidding, but that was a lot of needless suspense.
The fight was… simultaneously boring and amazing. As nice as CLAMP art is, and they do draw some amazing pages, the fight itself relies too much on big panels and flashy shounen manga explosions. It doesn’t really matter who’s hitting what or what magic’s being used. There’s just a fight. Parts do look impressive, though, and I do like the climax of the story hinging on Syaoran’s fight with his opponent here. There were some crazy pseudo-X-type panels towards the end of Syaoran’s fight, plus a great fake-out. A REALLY GREAT fake out. Never let it be said that this fight doesn’t end spectacularly. It’s probably my favorite thing in Tsubasa so far. Even better, it’s completely wordless, which makes the impact that much greater. We don’t really need characters yelling and protesting. We can see what’s going on.
I’m… not sure how the ending can stretch out into two more volumes. Let’s see how this goes.
Bleach 32
Posted: December 27, 2010 Filed under: Bleach Leave a comment »Tite Kubo – Viz – 2010 – 48+ volumes
There are very few manga that can divide my opinion as much as Bleach. I like this current storyline a lot. I like the basic plot. I even like some of the new enemy characters, the ally characters, the setting, and maybe some of the fights. But man, Bleach is really bad at these long fights. They just drag on forever. And there are so many characters to engage in them. The plot has really slowed to a crawl, and fear of these long and irrelevant fights makes it hard for me to pick up new volumes of Bleach, even while I like everything else that’s going on.
But whenever those fights happen, there’s always something to like. And no matter how long and boring, I can always think “Well, at least these aren’t the main characters. The Ichigo fights will always be cool, at least.”
This entire volume was an Ichigo fight. With Grimmjow. They both changed forms. And fought.
I think it was supposed to be elegant, symbolic of a change that Ichigo was going through. Or maybe that he wasn’t changing. Orihime watched from the sidelines, scared, and more characters were introduced mid-fight that commented on the power being used. And there was a distinction between human and soul reaper.
Grimmjow turned into some sort of animal thing, and we got his backstory.
It was still… just… so long. And not cool. Even though it involved Orihime and Ichigo.
I don’t even know what I want from Bleach anymore, if not this.
I do like Nel. I’m hoping she’ll turn out to be someone interesting sometime soon.
Tsubasa 25
Posted: December 26, 2010 Filed under: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 4 Comments »CLAMP – Del Rey – 2010 – 28 volumes
Guys. You won’t believe it. This volume of Tsubasa… not only was it enjoyable to read, it made sense of the story from the previous volume. Some of my questions were answered. I was shown, rather than having a character sit down and explain it to me.
It was amazing. Or pretty good, at least.
This volume is almost entirely a flashback. We learn when and why Syaoran met Sakura, and it was indeed the seventh day before her seventh birthday. We find out why Syaoran went to Clow, and why he grew up there, and what the deal was, and a whole lot of other things. And there are a ton of heart-meltingly adorable scenes between Syaoran and Sakura. We also find out what happened to Sakura, and just what Syaoran’s wish is.
In fact, the biggest question I have now is just what Fei Wang’s wish is, and what exactly Syaoran… must’ve given him to fulfill his own wish? If that even happened? There’s a very interesting twist here.
Actually, there’s all sorts of other questions. Why two Syaorans? Why two Sakuras? How does Watanuki figure into all of this again? Is it significant that he had to hold Syaoran’s place in modern Japan? Was he even doing that, since he has no memories?
Boy, is it creepy to see Yuko up and around, too. That was a little jarring. I forgot that this is a little… earlier than the volume of XxXholic I’m on right now.
I’m… looking forward to the ending of Tsubasa? I’ve been dreading it all year, but I’m planning on finishing it off over the next few days. Maybe… maybe it won’t be as bad as I thought?
Haruhi Suzumiya 4: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Posted: December 26, 2010 Filed under: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Leave a comment »Nagaru Tanigawa – Yen Press / Little, Brown – 2010 – 9+ volumes
This is a novel
So I liked the first book in the series, but hated the second. I hated the second enough that I probably wouldn’t have picked up any others in the series, except I’d preordered 3 and 4 based on the strength of the first. The third volume is, more or less, a collection of short stories about the SOS Brigade, so I didn’t think that would really win me back. But the plot of the fourth book sounded very, very interesting. I skipped the third and read this one in a desperate attempt to remember why I liked the first one so much.
I hated the second one because I just could not deal with Kyon’s near-constant, repetitive complaining. The plot was also way less interesting, and the only part I was really interested in, the resolution, was rushed.
The events of the third volume were mentioned offhandedly a few times here, and one of the stories is very much tied into what goes on in this volume, but it’s not necessary to have read it since you can figure out what happened from context. Also, Kyon just gives you the short version. Makes me not want to read the third even more now, but the way it ties into this volume makes me wonder if the other stories will re-appear later, too.
I’m a sucker for this type of story: Kyon wakes up one day to find that everyone in the SOS brigade is… normal. They don’t have special powers, they don’t know him, and some don’t even go to his school. He wakes up in a world with no SOS Brigade, basically. The solution to his problem involves time traveling, with extensive details about how the situations need to be set up and executed, and most importantly, Kyon has to figure out if he wants a normal life or the craziness he’s complained about for three solid novels. So he can’t blame any of his misfortunes on anybody else. Essentially, it is him starting the SOS Brigade and sanctioning its activities from this point out, should he make that choice.
Or maybe he finds a happy medium. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I love that the weakness of the narrator was turned around and made into a legitimately interesting plot point along with a “restore the present and people you know” story. Plus, I love time traveling if it’s done right, which it is here.
It’s interesting seeing “normal” versions of all the characters, and while there’s no character development save for Kyon (which is significant) and one other Brigade member, I loved seeing Kyon acting crazy and how all the characters regarded him as the nutjob for once. I also liked that, even without their powers, some characters were just themselves, and no amount of normalcy can strip them of their personalities. I do like Kyon too, I like that he’s the eye of the storm in the club, and he is a decent narrator, I just hate the excessive complaints. Hopefully we’ll see a reduction of that in future volumes.
I do like Kyon, but I realized after I finished this that… these novels are treading in dangerous territory, since I don’t love any of the characters. Aside from the narrator, the others in the Brigade are still too shallow to really get behind. One of the characters was definitely fleshed out here, but she’s still a little too much of a stereotype for me to really appreciate. I realize that’s the point, but even so… I need somebody to love, or I’m not going to like this series for very much longer.
What I also liked is that time is progressing in the world of the novels. The first book took place just after school started in spring, the third book was a collection of events from summer vacation (or at least the Tanabata story was), and this book contained a Christmas story. It’ll be interesting to see if the characters age and prepare for graduation and adulthood, or whatever, as the novel series progresses.
It was a lot of fun this time around, and I’m going to happily pick up the next couple novels, at least. I liked it for different reasons from the first book, though. While I liked that the first book simultaneously parodied common anime plot devices and used them effectively, this one just took a type of plot device I love and used it well, with a suitable set of established characters to pull it off. I don’t think the series is anything spectacular, and I have a feeling I’m going to have to weather a few more bad with the good, but hopefully I’ll still get to read a few more Haruhi Suzumiya books I like as much as this one.
Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!
Posted: December 20, 2010 Filed under: Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy! 3 Comments »Fumi Yoshinaga – Yen Press – 2010 – 1 volume
I do love Fumi Yoshinaga, and I love every new volume of her work in English. Even the series I liked the least, The Moon and Sandals, was still pretty decent, and that was her debut work. She could write manga stock quotes and I would probably still like it.
Not being a “foodie,” that’s exactly what this is for me. I actually started skipping the middle parts of the chapters towards the end of the book because they stopped making dinner conversation and I just did not care about the food. There are still three Yoshinaga series unlicensed in English, and it’s quite strange that one of the ones that made it over here first is essentially a manga version of a Japanese restaurant guide.
Don’t get me wrong. I love that it’s semi-autobiographical. It stars mangaka “F-mi Y-naga” and her assistants and friends. Y-naga’s choice of manga genre is yaoi manga, as stated on the first page. Admittedly, it’s been awhile since Yoshinaga’s drawn a yaoi manga, unless Ooku sort of counts (I don’t think it does). There’s a disclaimer at the front that says all the people and events are fictitious, but it’s hard not to imagine the stories as little snapshots into Yoshinaga’s life. There are some really funny and awkward conversations among Y-naga’s dinner guests, and they cover topics from employment to marriage prospects to childhood memories and embarrassing outings. All the chapters are about eight pages long, and all consist of a page or two of introduction, then a meal shared among friends described in great detail, usually with a somewhat personal dinner conversation framing the story.
The stories are frequently funny, sometimes touching, and it is interesting to see all the character relationships and who knows who. But it’s mostly a food porn, and if you’re not into that part of it… well, it’s not really worth it. It’s almost entirely composed of talking heads with no backgrounds, and frequently the characters are drawn vaguely “cartoony.” And the talking heads just talk about food all the time. The only artistic quirk I got a kick out of was the complete transformation Y-naga went through when she went from frumpy manga artist to made-up dinner date.
If you’re interested in the restaurants the characters eat at, there’s information at the end of each chapter, along with price ranges and recommendations for groups. And the meals and food are described in exhaustive detail that almost puts Oishinbo to shame. Since I’m not going to be in Tokyo anytime soon, or ever, I suppose I just didn’t appreciate it.
The fact I finished this is a testament to just how much I like Fumi Yoshinaga, and how she can add a little charm to even uninteresting topics. And there’s plenty to like if you’re really into food. There’s a wide range of restaurants covered, including Western/pub-style, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean.
But I’m not. Sadly, this is at the bottom of all the work I’ve read by Yoshinaga. I do like the ridiculously long title, though, and I do appreciate the fact Yen Press licensed it and published it in English. And that William Flanagan translated it, no less. It has a lot of end notes and just about everything you could want on food. It’s just… light on story. I’m going to pick Ooku back up now.
I am a little worried about how this volume bodes for Kinou Nabi Tabeta?, a current and as-of-yet unlicensed series of hers. I hope it’s more Antique Bakery than it is this.
Rasetsu 7
Posted: December 20, 2010 Filed under: Rasetsu Leave a comment »Chika Shiomi – Viz – 2010 – 9 volumes
I think this just ended in Japan, but I’m not sure if there are nine or ten volumes. Either way, I am happy that it didn’t go on for too long. There’s not a whole lot to the plot, so stretching out the “who will she fall for? when will the demon come?” idea for too much longer wasn’t going to work for me.
But it is pretty perfect the way it is. I keep saying it, but it’s true that every volume of this series I pick up makes me like it more and more. It is a simple story, and it boils down to a pretty basic romantic triangle, but even so. It’s got some fun supernatural pieces, and I do like the looming deadline aspect of it, where Rasetsu will be spirited away on the off chance she doesn’t seal the deal with one of the two male leads.
And while there’s still chapters that deal with a lot of romantic wavering, I also like that other plot points also drive the story forward. In this volume, we learn about the boss and Kuryu. I had forgotten there was more of a mysterious past to Kuryu that we were not privy to. It ties quite neatly to the boss, but leaves us with even more unanswered questions. Dire ones. I am very much looking for explanations, since the conclusion that I came to, and the one that Kuryu volunteers himself, is just not possible. Plus… what? The boss would never keep him close. And yet there is something clearly wrong with Kuryu.
Even with this mystery, I’m still rooting for him over Yako. What can I say? He’s the dangerous, mysterious one. He’s not even in the running, according to Rasetsu, who is still stuck on Yako. Yako keeps wavering, and almost gives in, but seems to have strengthened his resolve for more tragic reasons as of the end of this volume. Things still heavily favor him as of right now, which displeases me, but I still feel like rooting for the unlikely candidate in a shoujo manga for once. This manga even makes Kuryu seem less unlikely than he ought to.
I like this so much, I’ve finally gone back for the prequel series, Yurara. I picked up the first couple volumes recently, but want to get ahold of the last three before I start it. I’m hoping for another solid, supernaturally-themed romance with decent characters. Hopefully I’ll be compelled to read all the volumes together if I like it as much as I do Rasetsu. I definitely want to pick up Night of the Beasts, too.
Ouran High School Host Club 15
Posted: December 19, 2010 Filed under: Ouran High School Host Club 3 Comments »Bisco Hatori – Viz – 2010 – 17 volumes
Oh man. Every time I read a volume of this series, I have to remember how much I love Tamaki. He’s a great shoujo manga character. So silly, and he brings out the funniest in everyone. I thought last volume was a lot of giving the reader what they’ve wanted all this time, but this volume kicks it up a notch.
I had forgotten about the surprise the club had been preparing (?) for Tamaki, and a lot of the beginning of this volume is an “Orienteering Tournament” where Tamaki pairs up with Kanoya and goes around to various challenges and checkpoints prepared by the Host Club members (most catered specifically towards Tamaki winning, though they hide it by claiming it’s an event for their patrons and Host Club-centric, rather than Tamaki-centric). The Orienteering tournament is… okay. It serves as a catalyst for Kanoya (we finally find out what’s bugging her) and also as a device for Haruhi to let Tamaki know that he should share his problems with the club rather than bottling them in. It’s important, but honestly, I’m ready to be finished with this series, and I can feel the ending coming… I’d just as soon have the volume spent sorting out the rest of the character problems, rather than going through more plot. Not that the tournament is boring or bad in any way, I’m just impatient to see the resolutions, is all.
In the aftermath, Tamaki admits to everyone that he has a crush on Haruhi, and we get to see the silliness of how he deals with Haruhi now that he’s realized this, and how his superior attitude makes poor Hikaru feel. It’s Tamaki turned way up, and there are just so many cute scenes of him freaking out or going off on tangents, or everyone trying to calm him down. He really is great, the series is 100% worth reading because he’s such a great character, and every volume spent with Tamaki in a good mood is an absolute pleasure to read.
There are two volumes left! I’m very much looking forward to finishing this series up. I’m hoping we’ll see both within the year. I am happy that it hasn’t worn out its welcome yet, and I’m also curious to see how things will wrap up with Tamaki.
Deka Kyoshi 2
Posted: December 19, 2010 Filed under: Deka Kyoshi Leave a comment »Tamio Baba – CMX – 2010 – 3 volumes
Ooh, this breaks my heart! I didn’t realize this was one of the June titles that got cut short! What a shame, it was so close to having the whole series published.
Honestly, the second volume leaves off in a very good place. Makoto and Mr. Big find out what’s causing the flare-up of bizarre behavior in the classroom, they settle the matter, and all is well. Apparently, the next volume dealt with a different kind of conflict and Mr. Big getting to be a heroic police officer. I would’ve liked to see that, but again, the two volumes leave off in a satisfying, if slightly underwhelming, place.
We see more and more of the “flare-ups” among the students in Class 5-2, and we are given some pretty blatant hints, then an explanation and a resolution. This was so painless that it felt a little strange resolving things so easily, with just a talking-to, basically. It’s very after-school special, and it fits in with the younger age range of this title (a shame it’s rated T+, I would feel comfortable giving this to a 10-12 year old, but I’m also not a very good judge). One of the best things about CMX was titles like this, where they were clearly for a younger audience, but were still readable and enjoyable by someone older like me.
Why was this so much fun? I couldn’t tell you. It does fit nicely in with a lot of manga rules, and there’s even a sports festival and some misunderstandings and stuff like that. But there’s a lot of interesting things going on, too. Mr. Big, the teacher, is a fun character. He’s a go-get-’em police officer undercover, and doesn’t have any trouble maintaining his secret identity or getting along with the kids. He’s their friend as well as their protector, and I like the way he resolves a lot of the situations, even if it’s nothing flashy or impressive. The problems that the students deal with in their “flare-ups” can be either by-the-book or something else, too. The sports festival event deals with a student who contemplates setting a fire in order to get out of their events, which is borderline disturbing, but definitely saves it from the usual boring sports festival story. Another is a great little original story about a misunderstood student with a terrible home life who winds up getting along with one of the main characters and his grandparents. I love the spotlights on all the students in the class, and while none of them are terribly original, there’s something vaguely interesting about most of them. Enough to keep you reading, anyway.
So this is a nice little title, good for a young reader and an older one looking for a fun, light read. It is missing the last volume (CMX closed down before publishing it), but the two that are out read like a complete story. It’s a cute mystery and a nice action title, so pick it up if you are so inclined.
