Grand Guignol Orchestra 1
Posted: March 29, 2011 Filed under: Grand Guignol Orchestra Leave a comment »Kaori Yuki – Viz – 2010 – 5 volumes
Kaori Yuki and You Higuri are two artists that fall in the same category in my mind. They have almost nothing in common. But both are artists whose new series in English are always must buys for me, despite the fact I almost never really like the books. Why bother? For You Higuri, it’s because Ludwig II was really spectacular. In the case of Kaori Yuki, I just love her art. Her stories, though… she has really awesome ideas, but I always get at least a little lost in the execution. But her ornate art and interesting premises usually keeps me at least mostly satisfied when I’m working my way through one of her series (of which there are several in English, but the best one is probably still Angel Sanctuary).
I was hoping the narrative problems would have mostly worked themselves out with this, her most recent series, but I found myself more than a little lost within the first few pages. Set in medieval times (says Yuki, but they drive a car and use electricity), it tells the story of a land overtaken with a kind of zombie virus that turns people into “guignols,” or living marionettes that are after humans and can turn people to their kind with a bite. The main characters are a team of traveling musicians that can keep the guignols at bay, and also cure the ills of the human heart when it comes to grieving the dead/recently turned. The first half of the book focuses on a character named Eles, the young prince of a town recently struck by guignol-related tragedy, and helping him and the rest of the town come to terms with the deaths that took place there. The second half has the orchestra moving on to a different town, this one inhabited by an older ladykiller-type prince that wants the head of the orchestra, Lucille, as a bride.
It… took me a bit to wrap my head around the fact that the guignols are just zombies (this is never explicitly stated, but that’s more or less what they are). It was harder for me to take in since the zombies do gain marionette hands and appear to get cracks in their body and… I don’t know, shatter or something as well. This is awesome, and Yuki’s art makes it even more so, but there’s no real good reason for it other than looks. There doesn’t have to be, of course, this is a manga, but even so, this really, really doesn’t make sense. The explanation at the beginning of the book, for both the guignols and the introductions for the members of the orchestra, is also really rushed, and I was about a third of the way through before I felt like things calmed down enough for me to start making sense of it all. I was a little disappointed, too, that the characters were still rather under-developed by the end of the book, but what they lack in depth they make up for in mysterious pasts, and I’m definitely looking forward to that.
That aside, there’s still a lot to like here. Though Yuki says it’s the middle ages, it looks more like Victorian times, and a lot of the best fashions from Godchild/Earl Cain make their way over to all the characters. I did like Lucille, who makes for a fun main character, even if not a whole lot has been revealed personality-wise just yet. And even if it doesn’t make much sense, I can’t fault a story about a band of misfit musicians traveling from town to town to stop zombie puppets and those who love them. It’s hard to make that subject boring, and that alone is enough to fill the five volumes of this series with interesting enough content to keep me coming back.
Basically, the first volume is confusing, but… you know. Zombie marionettes and misfit musicians. Gotta love ‘em. And even after a little break (I believe she took a hiatus in order to raise her children), Yuki’s art still looks amazing. She uses a lot more intricate detail than you’ll find in most shoujo artist work, puts a lot of thought into her settings and scenery, and has wonderful fashion sense in series like this one. Again, that alone is why I will come back to her series every time, even though I’ve never really loved any of them. This one has the most interesting premise yet, so I’m curious to see how far the story can go in five volumes.
Slam Dunk 13
Posted: March 29, 2011 Filed under: Slam Dunk Leave a comment »Takehiko Inoue – Viz – 2010 – 31 volumes
Though Hikaru no Go has ended, I still have Slam Dunk to give me my sports manga fix (if Go can be considered a sport… in manga, it’s the same idea). I don’t like this series as much as Hikaru no Go, or even Eyeshield 21, but it’s still an awful lot of fun to read.
There’s not much to say about this volume. They play basketball vigorously. Shohoku is still fending off Kainan tooth and nail, and this volume barely makes it through the first half of the game. While, of course, the boys still have to work together as a team, this volume is all about Rukawa and his showboating. And to Rukawa’s credit, he is spectacular, and not really trying to show off. He’s just trying to win, and doing whatever it takes to get him there.
What’s really great is that everyone, players and audience included, still has such an extreme reaction to a slam dunk. I love that it’s the name of the series, so that every time it happens, it’s like saying a special password that causes everything to stop and go haywire.
There’s not a whole lot to the success of this series, it’s just really, really entertaining to watch the characters play basketball, and the volume’s always over in a heartbeat. Like most of the best sports manga, you get drawn into the enthusiasm courtesy of a handful of great characters. Even though I don’t care about basketball, I still really want to see Sakuragi play. He wants to play so bad. He does play here, and it is both entertaining and genuinely awesome.
I think it’s interesting that the game’s only about half over at the end of this volume. I’m willing to bet that it won’t end until at least volume 15. And that’s the halfway point of the series, meaning that we will have gone 15 volumes and only seen… really, two major games, right? That blows my mind. It’s crazy, but it works really well for Slam Dunk. I don’t know that many modern sports manga could pull something like that off. What’s even more interesting is that the only hints we’ve been given about the next opponent are some smarmy comments from the peanut gallery that almost reminded me of Prince of Tennis opponents. You know. The kind that are completely full of themselves, and you really want to see their smug faces pounded into the tennis court. Most sports manga I’ve read are all about showing off the next opponent, or the next series of difficult opponents so that you know just how hard the coming games will be, but not Slam Dunk. The whole focus is on the current game.
But yes. Still good, I promise. At this point, you’re either reading or you’re not, so I doubt this review’s going to convince anyone, but just in case… still not boring! Still great! Not my favorite, but still quite good.
Hikaru no Go 23
Posted: March 27, 2011 Filed under: Hikaru no Go 8 Comments »Yumi Hotta / Takeshi Obata – Viz – 2011 – 23 volumes
Here it is. The end to one of my all-time favorite Shounen Jump series. As good as this series is, as much as it makes you really care for the characters and really want to know how their go games evolve despite yourself… the ending is unfortunately a letdown.
We get the rest of the Hokuto Cup, of course. The Japan vs. Korea game. We get to watch all of Hikaru’s game in-depth, with a lot of different people giving commentary about the surprising turns of events during the game. The game is good, though I liked it a little less because Hikaru’s Korean opponent was a little less developed and likable than some of the others throughout the series. It was certainly intense, and there are few games that last an entire volume and end… well, the way this one does.
And that’s the end. The Hokuto Cup ends, and then the series ends, too. There are two one-shots in the back, indicating that the rivalry between Akira and Hikaru will continue, and that it will fuel another generation of go players. I especially liked that one of the stories featured young Hikaru and Akira, and the other one featured them as professionals a couple years in the future.
But seriously. It just ends. And it ends on a rather sour note. Granted… there’s no real good way to draw a go series to a conclusion. But I was so bummed.
Actually, the thing that bothered me most is a spoiler, so I’m going to cut and talk a little bit behind a spoiler tag.
But in the meantime, don’t let the lukewarm ending deter you. The first sixteen or so volumes of this series are well worth a read. I’ve read the whole thing twice now, and I hardly ever re-read series anymore. But Hikaru no Go is worth it. It’s one of the best examples of a character-driven series, and shows that you don’t need a lot of action and magical powers or sports-related miracles to make an interesting series. Sometimes all it takes is a boardgame and the right people playing it.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Aria 6
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Aria 1 Comment »Kozue Amano – Tokyopop – 2011 – 12 volumes
As I mentioned in my earlier Aria roundtable note, this month’s Manga Moveable Feast is devoted to the Aqua/Aria series by Kozue Amano. I prefer a roundtable discussion to a straight-up review, but with the way I’ve been falling behind on current series lately, I figured I’d use the MMF as an opportunity to dust off my copy and read it. It’s been a year between volumes, and I’m just glad it’s at least popular enough to warrant a continuation in English. I was always more than happy to wait for CMX series that I knew only a handful of people read (sobsob… Eroica…), and I’m happy to do the same for Tokyopop.
Anyway, Aria is the type of series that wouldn’t be very much fun if you got to read it all the time. It’s all about stopping to smell the roses, so to speak (though it’s wintertime in Neo-Venezia at the moment, so no roses), and such pleasures are always more sweet if they are an occasional treat. Also… as much as I like the series, the meandering one-shot chapters would probably get old fast if I was reading a volume every month, or every other month.
I always have trouble discussing these volumes because, really, it’s mostly just Akari oogling the world around her and being told stories of Neo-Venezia, life, or telling stories of her own, and the experience is reading it for yourself. Having me tell you the story is no substitute, and I feel like I can’t really critique it since I can’t adequately describe the experience of the storytelling. The stories and art blend seamlessly, especially in some of the wonderful winter tales here. Two in particular really take advantage of the Neo-Venezia setting: one where Akari ponders the existence of a Galaxy Express (Aika explains it away as the train sounds traveling farther in the quiet night, but Akari wrangles a magical journey out of it), and another where Venetian glass art is discussed at length and Akari goes on at length about the differences between the real and loving imitations/homages as she paddles through the canals of Neo-Venezia.
Other stories look at the characters. The first chapter is a bittersweet story about Alicia, Athena, and Akira practicing together as singles and how they rarely get to see each other now, and the last chapter is a bizarre fantasy courtesy of President Aria where all the characters in the series receive a gender swap. Another short, almost wordless chapter looks again at just how charming Alicia really is. Another takes a look at the gruff Alice and her weakness for kittens in a surprisingly touching story.
But really, it’s all about the experience, moreso than most other series. While there’s not a whole lot to sink your teeth into story-wise, it’s good at what it sets out to do, which is to simply tell charming stories that make you stop and think about the world around you. The visuals really help support the meandering stories that spotlight the setting more than anything else. It’s likely not for everyone (I can picture some stifling a yawn at the prospect of reading this), but I love taking a little time to stop and savor each volume.
Manga Village New Release Picks for 3/23/11
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Articles on Other Sites Leave a comment »I should link to these more often here (and may do so in a series of post-dated posts), but I have a lot of fun every week choosing my choice from the week’s new stuff over at Manga Village. Check out the choices over there.
I actually read a volume of the same series today. It’s good stuff.
Breaking Down Banana Fish, vols. 14-16
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Articles on Other Sites 2 Comments »We re-convened for another chat about Banana Fish over at the Manga Bookshelf, so join Melinda, Michelle, Eva, Khursten, Robin, and I as we discuss what is quite literally my favorite part of the series. Check it out over there.
Seriously. Few things give me joy like that Museum of Natural History fight. I have no idea why that is plausible to me, but the war that takes place in the city streets immediately after is not. What a great series.
Moveable Manga Feast: Aria Roundtable at Manga Village
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Articles on Other Sites, Manga Moveable Feast Leave a comment »This month’s Manga Moveable Feast focuses on the series Aqua/Aria, the story of an apprentice gondola operator named Akari and her ceaseless awe of the city around her. We did a roundtable over at Manga Village that takes a look at the series, so check it out over there.
This is a fun series (Aqua is a seamless prequel to the longer Aria), and prior to this roundtable, I hadn’t read a volume in quite some time. The MMF also gave me an opportunity to dust off and read volume 6, the most recent volume from Tokyopop, so I’ll probably be talking about that here tonight as well. Fun stuff!
Mad Love Chase 5
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Mad Love Chase Leave a comment »Kazusa Takashima – Tokyopop – 2011 – 5 volumes
This was a real surprise favorite of mine, and I was absolutely dying for the last volume. I read it, about a month ago, and somehow forgot to write it up here.
I love it to pieces, but there’s not that much to say about the ending that won’t spoil it. The story basically goes through its logical conclusion, where the characters all have to return to hell and deal with their actions. Kaito is prince of hell, and seeing him as a serious and competent demon ruler is… rather a shock. The two forms he has couldn’t be more different. Still, I love it. There’s lots of drama, of course, as Touma, Souya, and Taiki are blamed for Kaito’s disappearance and are punished, with Kaito protesting the whole time. Things get sad, bloody, prison is involved… blah blah blah. Lots and lots of emphasis on friendship. You know how these things go. The ending wasn’t spectacular, but it was what I’ve been looking for all this time. I also loved seeing all the characters stand up for each other and try and take the blame. Especially Taiki and Kaito. The whole thing’s about them anyway, right? And the heavy BL implications continue, but never really go anywhere of course. Taiki absolutely broke my heart with how hard he tried for Kaito, though.
This is definitely a series for shoujo fans only (especially those who want a slight BL flavor), but if you’re looking for a light, silly read that’s not a huge time/volume investment, this series is definitely worth checking out. The characters are a lot of fun, the chapters are mostly one-shots that are a great mix of humor and light drama, and… well, Taiki and Kaito just make for really fun leads. I loved it to pieces all the way through, and I’m glad I happened across that first volume, because otherwise I almost certainly would have passed it over. It deserves better.
Though I still don’t know why the original name of the series is “Harlem Beat Until Dawn.”
Blade of the Immortal 15
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Blade of the Immortal 3 Comments »Hiroaki Samura – Dark Horse – 2006 – 27+ volumes
I read an essay on the Dark Horse website just before picking up this volume, and I’m sad I’m apparently embarking on one of the most difficult-to-read portions of the series. I had a hard time stomaching that type of thing when it was happening to Hyakurin for an entire volume a little bit ago, and I like Manji a whole lot more. Plus, it sounds like he gets it for a lot longer. Ugh.
But before that, we have some more fighting. Last volume, it sounded like Manji was ready to join up with the Mugai-Ryu, but then Rin is kidnapped by the Itto-Ryu in order to draw Manji out, so it raises the question again… is he going to be both Mugai-Ryu and Rin’s bodyguard? Rin hasn’t said anything about seeking out Anotsu again, so I’m not sure what the status of that quest is. But the way she gets kidnapped and targeted makes me think she probably still needs a bodyguard. But in this case, she’s kidnapped as an easy way to lure out Manji, so maybe she wouldn’t need one if Manji wasn’t around? Hm.
Though she isn’t in this book that much, her role is still a good one. She’s bound and helpless again, of course, though the Itto-Ryu (mostly Magatsu) promise her that she won’t be hurt since it’s Manji they want. But they break out the worm poison that is Manji’s one weakness, and Rin desperately tries to free herself from her bonds in order to warn Manji. When she breaks out at the end of the volume, it’s a great scene, even if she still isn’t really helping. I like her a lot more now, and I’m hoping… with Manji out of the picture, we’ll get to see a whole lot more of her adapting and becoming her own person.
There’s a fight, of course. Itto-Ryu versus Manji, and the Mugai-Ryu member that Manji fought last volume tags along for a piece of the action… for some reason. He fights Magatsu, and while I don’t care about the Mugai-Ryu, I really like Magatsu. I’m not sure which side his bread is buttered on right now, and I’d like very much for him to be a friend to Manji. Which he is. Sort of. Except when the guys he’s with want to kill him. He’s a great character, and I love that he’s not faceless and ruthless as many of the Itto-Ryu are.
Manji’s fight involves worm poison. Of course, the first wound that re-opens is the one where his eye got taken out, so he’s blind for the duration. Blind and desperate. It makes for an incredible fight scene. I was worried his limbs would start dropping off if the degeneration went far enough back.
Later, Manji is taken to some sort of high-ranking general. I’m not sure what happens from there. I intend to find out.
Oh My Goddess 37
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Oh My Goddess! 2 Comments »Kosuke Fujishima – Dark Horse – 2011 – 42+ volumes
So this volume had a couple surprises! There was a new goddess! That doesn’t happen very often. Other than the main three, we’ve only met Peorth and Lind. I always like finding out little bits and pieces about the goddess world, so a new face is always welcome.
The downside: She’s a maid goddess.
I always stick up for this series, because although it’s proto-harem seinen where the main couple have only kissed, like, twice in 40 volumes, I can always defend it by saying that’s not really the point of Oh My Goddess. It’s really good at pinpointing wonderful joie de vivre moments, and if you’re reading it for fanservice, you’ll be sorely disappointed. But occasionally… Chrono happens. A clumsy maid goddess. Well, at least all the characters agree that it’s hokey and that Peorth has a terrible sense of humor. Her bangs hide her forehead, and while her real and very awesome position was revealed at the end of the volume, I keep waiting for someone to push her bangs aside and remind her of who she really is. Or something. Because Oh My Goddess would do something like that.
Putting that aside, I do like it when a new goddess shows up, but unfortunately Chrono’s story isn’t very good. Possibly because Chrono herself isn’t that interesting (she’s really, really clumsy and apologetic… and not much else). Basically, Chrono was sent to deliver a program to Belldandy, but drops it enroute. The program shatters, and the rest of the volume is spent recovering the pieces.
The upside? Remember what I said about the joie de vivre? The program is a music program, used to periodically tune all the “music” in the world. Belldandy explains that if the world loses its tune, civilization will collapse since music is the basis of all culture. As they recover the program, it’s from people doing quirky things, like beating on empty cans, riding around obsessively on squeaky bikes, et cetera. While the technique is not all that subtle (and admittedly, not used all that well), I did like the emphasis on the rhythm of everyday life.
Hmm. This is one of the few series that I’ll read as soon as it comes out of the mailbox, no exceptions, but lately it’s been very hit-and-miss for me. But… I’ll keep reading, and looking forward to new volumes, because what else am I going to do? Quit 37 volumes in? Especially after a new goddess just showed up? No way.
