This week, Kate, David, & Melinda check out a handful of new volumes from Digital Manga Publishing, Viz Media, and Yen Press.
The Blacksheep Prince’s Bride | By Miho Tomoi and Martha Shields | Digital Manga Publishing – When the King of Edenbourgh is kidnapped, his daughter assigns lady-in-waiting Rowena Wilde to spy on the prime suspect, handsome American — and royal heir — Jake Stanbury. The budding romance between Rowena and Jake is predictable, filled with sudden reversals and tearful confrontations, but Miho Tomoi creates believable chemistry between her leads. Where the book stumbles is in the handling of its myriad subplots: characters are dropped into the story with little introduction, disappearing just as rapidly when the focus shifts back to Jake and Rowena’s relationship. The artwork, too, leaves something to be desired; though Tomoi’s young female characters are generically attractive, her male cast members have odd, rubbery faces with frog-like mouths. The second of a four-part series, The Stanbury Crown, Royally Wed. - Katherine Dacey
House of Five Leaves Vol. 3 | By Natsume Ono | Viz Media – The primary pleasures of the first two volumes of this Eisner-nominated series have been rooted in the gradual revelation of character. That trend continues in the third, but Ono ups the ante by strengthening the underlying plot of the series. The titular gang of kidnappers finds its group dynamic shifting as Masa, the relative innocent of the organization, becomes more deeply entrenched in their lives. They also face the unwelcome prospect of police attention and the encroachment of rival criminals. Much as I love the introspective nature of the series, the gradual introduction of stronger narrative through-lines is a welcome development. Ono has already demonstrated her gifts in the areas of character development and the establishment of mood, and it’s exciting to see her start to fold those aspects into a story that promises some higher stakes. -David Welsh
I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow, Vol. 3 | By Shunju Auono | Viz Media – “When you’re middle-aged, 80 percent of your life is made up of failure” — so says forty-two-year-old Shizuo Oguro, who quit his job to become a manga artist. Though Shizuo’s mantra suggests he’s a realist, he is, in fact, a delusional optimist, attributing his repeated failures to “luck-related issues” and adopting a pen name in order to get a fresh start. I’d be the first to admit that Shizuo is a difficult protagonist to like: his mediocrity is evident both to the other characters and to the reader, making his ambition seem willfully misguided. At the same time, however, there’s something compelling about his persistence; no matter how many obstacles he encounters, no matter how many people point out his lack of talent, Shizuo soldiers on with his goal of being published, showing incremental signs of improvement. Recommended, though you might want to pour yourself a Scotch first. -Katherine Dacey
La Corda d’Oro, Vol. 13 | By Yuki Kure | Viz Media – With a new competition approaching, Kahoko must work hard to improve her playing. Thankfully she’s got fellow violinist Len to help her, but his emotional confusion brings out some awkward feelings in Kahoko as well. Where this volume most succeeds is actually in what it lacks, by which I mean the uninformed, cringe-worthy discussion of classical music that has permeated too much of this otherwise adorable series. Here, it’s the nature of friendship, love, and various shades of envy that become the series’ real focus. With its musical details kept to a minimum, mangaka Yuki Kure is left to show off what she does best: sweet, slow, almost-romance. Though the series remains true to its roots as a dating sim by keeping Kahoko’s options perpetually open, Kure stirs up just enough romantic chemistry to keep readers hooked. And by “readers,” I mean me. Formulaic? You bet. Fun? Absolutely. - Melinda Beasi
Raiders, Vol. 6 | By JinJun Park | Yen Press – If your chief complaint about The DaVinci Code was “not enough zombies,” have I got the manhwa for you: Raiders, a violent, globe-trotting series about a secret organization’s efforts to weaponize the blood of Christ and create an immortal race. At least, that’s what I think Raiders is about; the last two volumes have been such an incoherent stew of fight scenes and mystical hoo-ha that I’d be hard-pressed to say what, exactly, was happening. Volume six is even more garbled than previous installments, as the characters barely pause to speak to one another at all; the few breaks in the action are mainly for fanservice and hilariously confusing glosses on the Bible. And therein lies Raiders‘ biggest problem: all combat and no character development makes for a seriously dull read, no matter how fun or silly the underlying conflict. -Katherine Dacey
I got the third volume of Natsume Ono’s House of Five Leaves last week but I have yet to read it as I haven’t got volume 2 yet. Can’t wait.
I read volume 13 of Yuki Kure’s La corda d’oro and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed that it was mostly about Len. I am a bigger fan of Ryotaro, so you can guess why I was disappointed. I don’t want this series to end the typical shoujo way but it is obvious it will. There are many great characters in the series other than Len.
I wouldn’t give up hope yet! Remember, it was adapted from a dating sim, where Kahoko could have ended up with any of the love interests at hand.
In regards to House of Five Leaves, I think…was it Kate? Someone was disappointed in how slowly things moved, and how sort of…useless isn’t really the right word…timid and inactive Masa is. I loved that in this volume Masa took action on his own to save Matsu. He pretty much single handedly took care of that (with a little help from Yagi). It impressed me; I felt we got to see a different side to him this time.
Actually, that wasn’t what I said. In my review of volume two, I complained that Ono didn’t quite have the storytelling chops to pull off her “unreliable narrator” strategy; some of the breaks and gaps in the story seemed more like artistic lapses than conscious omissions by the author. I thought volume three was better than volume two, largely for the reasons you outline above, Kris.
I’ve commented on the pace of the series and on Masa’s frailty, but I’ve generally done so in a complimentary context. I think it’s a great mood piece, and I have found it persuasively constructed from the start.