This week, Sean, Anna, & Michelle look at recent releases from Seven Seas, Harlequin, Viz Media, Kodansha Comics, & Vertical, Inc.
Alice in the Country of Clover: Knight’s Knowledge, Vol. 1 | By QuinRose and Sai Asai | Seven Seas – This is an Alice book, and you all know the drill by now. Reasons to check this out: 1) A better look at Alice’s feelings about moving to Clover than Cheshire Cat Waltz had; 2) Despite being an Ace book, showing everyone in love with Alice and trying their damnedest to win her, rather than just giving up when they see who the protagonist of the series is; Ace and Alice’s feelings for each other being unhealthy as hell, something both of them know but only Alice regrets. Other than that, it’s business as usual, with a new artist but the same basic shape, and lots of running around and getting stressed out from our heroine. Buy if you like the Alice series. -Sean Gaffney
The Amalfi Bride | Marito Ai and Ann Major | Harlequin – The strongest thing about this Harlequin manga is the price tag at only 99 cents! It is a passable middle of the road Harlequin title, but I found myself distracted by the very poor quality of the lettering. Regina is a uptight woman on vacation when she spots a devastatingly handsome man embracing an older woman. She assumes that the handsome man is a gigolo and proceeds to engage his services, while he assumes that they’re on a whirlwind date. It will not surprise regular Harlequin readers that Nico is secretly a Prince trying to run away from an arranged marriage. The character designs are attractive, but the illustrations aren’t very detailed. Still, for only a dollar, this is a decent Harlequin manga to try even though it ends up being somewhat forgettable. – Anna N
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 1 | Story by Yuto Tsukuda, Art by Shun Saeki | Viz Media – Fifteen-year-old Soma Yukihira is a talented chef who’s serious about improving his skills and exploring new flavors. But when his father learns Soma plans to do so at their family restaurant, he decides to close up shop and sends his son off to Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute, the most elite culinary school in Japan. While a Shonen Jump-style cooking manga definitely has appeal, what I noticed most about Food Wars! was how much it reminded me of other things. We’ve got a cocky protagonist with a rivalry with his potentially super-famous dad (The Prince of Tennis), over-the-top reaction shots to food-tasting (Yakitate!! Japan), and a character with a palate so sophisticated she sees visions when she tastes things (Drops of God). Plus, there’s fanservice. Still, it was entertaining enough that I’ll continue reading it and hope it evolves more of its own voice. – Michelle Smith
Rin-Ne, Vol. 15 | By Rumiko Takahashi | Viz Media – The danger of a series like Rin-Ne, where nothing really changes, nothing ever advances, and all is sacrificed to appease the great god Comedy, is that when a serious plot *does* show up, you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, knowing that it’s going to end with some anticlimax that will have people face-faulting with their fingers in the air. It’s just how Takahashi rolls. Despite this, the final story in this volume, which shows Renge’s fall from grace (one guess who’s to blame, and the first one doesn’t count) and her tortured crush on Kain is briefly rather heartbreaking, and you wonder if, not being the two leads, they might actually work something out. Alas, status quo. Such is the way when you worship the god of Comedy. – Sean Gaffney
The Seven Deadly Sins, Vol. 3 | By Nakaba Suzuki | Kodansha Comics – We’ve already seen that the look of the Sins don’t necessarily match the sketch on their wanted poster, but the introduction of King in this volume goes one step further; he genuinely is different, to the point where Ban, who he has a new, deadly grudge against, doesn’t even recognize him. The battle between the two of them is the highlight of the volume, showing off both personalities and teasing a backstory while not quite spelling it all out. The lowlight of the volume is the non-death of Sennett’s father, killed off in the last volume and back to life for no good reason except it would be too sad. Don’t pull your punches, Suzuki. Other than that, we’re still setting up the plot. Not bad. – Sean Gaffney
Spell of Desire, Vol. 1 | By Tomu Ohmi | Viz Media – Kaoruko Mochizuki leads a quiet life running an herb shop in a small port town. This all changes when black-clad Kaname Hibiki shows up and announces, “I serve your mother and I am here to protect you.” As it turns out, the mother who abandoned Kaoruko as an infant went off to become the leader of a worldwide coven of black witches, and she has now transferred her powers to her daughter. Kaoruko has trouble controlling them, but never fear, Kaname can get her to calm down with his magical powers of smooching! Actually, though, I liked Spell of Desire more than I thought I would. Kaoruko is a likable protagonist, and although Kaname is clearly interested in bedding her, he’s not one of those creepy, domineering types. Plus, he carefully tends to sick kittens! In the end, this is rather unexpectedly recommended. – Michelle Smith
What Did You eat Yesterday?, Vol. 2 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc.– The second volume of this manga focuses a bit more on the food preparation than the character development, but there are still the great slice of life moments that I love, like Shiro’s quiet exhilaration about perfectly planning his menu so he doesn’t waste any food and some quick glimpses into how Shiro and Kenji first started dating and living together. The meals and dishes describe give me the vicarious pleasure of reading a cookbook and learning about recipes I will likely never prepare. Am I the only one who sometimes reads cookbooks even if I’m not going to actually cook? Recommended as always. – Anna N
What Did You eat Yesterday?, Vol. 3 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – Most of the plot of this cooking manga tends to revolve around Shiro, who has more flaws and less maturity than his partner Kenji. In particular, he still can’t quite deal with his parents, particularly now that they seem more accepting of his relationship than they were previously. It’s even spilling over into his workplace, where he’s usually level-headed and together, but dealing with a cute young intern (who his co-workers, knowing he’s single but not that he’s gay, thinks he’ll score with) proves beyond him. Luckily, he’s still master of grocery shopping and cooking in general, otherwise most of this volume would have been me shouting “You big loser!” over and over again. – Sean Gaffney