Unshelved

Tempted by Viz Digital Bundles

March 10, 2015 by Anna N

The bundles Viz has been running recently for digital manga are great deals! In many cases previously I’ve already had the print manga for the featured bundles, so I haven’t taken advantage of them. I forgot to get in on the One Piece bundle that was available before, but there are some great bundles currently available that I’m about to buy.

Cross Manage – I haven’t heard much of Cross Manage before, but $10 for a sports manga seems like a great bargain to me!

Claymore Vols 1-10 – I have a few scattered print volumes of Claymore, and I enjoyed reading the first three volumes of this series. $20 for a solid shonen fantasy manga is a great deal, and I’m probably going to buy this for myself.

10 volumes of Nana is a crazy deal for some great manga! I would totally be buying this if I hadn’t collected all the print volumes as they were coming out.

I also own all of Biomega already, but this is a wonderfully illustrated series that features a talking bear with a machine gun. Lovely art and action sequences. If you have to buy only one manga that features a talking bear with a machine gun, buy this one!

There are some other great sampler bundles for you to check out a variety of first volumes.

Sparkler Monthly picks up Orange Junk

March 10, 2015 by MJ 2 Comments

Orange-Junk-cover2-571x800 We’ve got some exciting digital comics news to break today! As of, well, right now, Manga Bookshelf favorite Chromatic Press (Sparkler Monthly) is the official publisher of shoujo-style comedy series Orange Junk, formerly one of the most popular comics at the (mostly) fan-funded Inkblazers.com, which officially shut down earlier this year.

From Mexican comic artist Heldrad, Orange Junk is billed as an affectionate parody of shoujo comedy tropes, and though it certainly delivers on that front, early signs indicate that it stands to offer quite a bit more. Like most truly successful parody, Orange Junk mocks its influences by becoming them, in all the best ways possible.

For the uninitiated, here’s the premise:

“When Louise’s wealthy family loses everything, she has to pull herself up by her bootstraps and start over in a new high school – where the smartest boy is the meanest, and the hottest boy is the weirdest. But Louise needs tutoring, so the three become a team… It’s a riches to rags school story with a whole lot of screaming. In the vein of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun and Ouran High School Host Club, Orange Junk is a comedic love letter to shojo’s ridiculous, beloved traditions. “

In short, Orange Junk is warm-hearted, hilarious, smartly drawn, and skillfully constructed to both entertain and satisfy fans of shoujo manga. And they’re not kidding about the screaming.

The series’ revised back chapters are available in full today, along with a downloadable ebook of the first four chapters (a second ebook will be available later this month), and new chapters of the series will begin running in Sparkler‘s April issue (Issue 21). Ebooks retail for $6.00. For those who yearn for print, the first volume or so is expected out this summer. In the meantime, treat yourself to some delicious shoujo goodness, free of charge, right now at Sparkler Monthly.

Bookshelf Overload: February 2015

March 7, 2015 by Ash Brown

JooooooJoooooo! It’s finally here! By far the manga I was most excited to get my hands on in February was Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Volume 1. I’m thankful for the manga’s recent anime adaptation, otherwise I’m not sure we would have ever seen the series licensed in English. Viz has done a beautiful job with the release. (I hope to have an in-depth review of the volume in the near future.) Other February manga releases that I was particularly happy to see included Prophecy, Volume 2 by Tetsuya Tsutsui, the second omnibus of Satoshi Mizukami’s Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer (the first volume surprised me, and I’m very curious to see where the series goes), and Gangsta, Volume 5 by Kohske. I’m also looking forward to reading the second Milkyway Hitchhiking omnibus, a gorgeous full-color manhwa by Sirial. And because February usually means Valentine’s Day sales on romance manga, I managed to pick up a random assortment of boys’ love manga by creators whose other work I’ve enjoyed in the past for a great price.

Manga!
Akame ga Kill!, Volume 1 written Takahiro, illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro
Alice in the Country of Clover: Ace of Hearts by Mamenosuke Fujimaru
Alice in the Country of Clover: Nightmare by Yobu
Assassination Classroom, Volume 2 by Yusei Matsui
A Centaur’s Life, Volume 5 by Kei Murayama
Devils and Realist, Volume 4 written by Madoka Takadono, illustrated by Utako Yukihiro
From the New World, Volume 7 written by Yusuke Kishi, illustrated by Toru Oikawa
Gangsta, Volume 5 by Kohske
His Favorite, Volume 7 by Suzuki Tanaka
Intriguing Secrets by Rize Shinba
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Volume 1 by Hirohiko Araki
Juicy Cider by Rize Shinba
Little Cry Baby by Keiko Kinoshita
Love at Fourteen, Volume 1 by Fuka Mizutani
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Omnibus 2 by Satoshi Mizukami
Mars, Volumes 1-15 by Fuyumi Soryo
Mars: Horse with No Name by Fuyumi Soryo
My Little Monster, Volume 4 by Robico
No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Volume 6 by Nico Tanigawa
Obediant One by Yutakamaru Kagura
Prophecy, Volume 2 by Tetsuya Tsutsui
The Seven Deadly Sins, Volume 4 by Nakaba Suzuki
Shy Intentions by Shoko Takaku
Star by Keiko Konno
Tale of the Waning Moon, Volumes 2-4 by Hyouta Fujiyama
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Omnibus 1 by CLAMP
Ubel Blatt, Omnibus 1 by Etorouji Shiono
Wild Butterfly by Hiroki Kusumoto
Witchcraft Works, Volume 3 by Ryu Mizunagi
xxxHolic, Omnibuses 1-3 by CLAMP

Manhwa!
Milkyway Hitchhiking, Omnibus 2 by Sirial

Comics!
Fast Friends written by Dale Lazarov, illustrated by Michael Broderick
Huddle! by Ngozi Ukazu
The Unicorn and the Woodsman by Kate Brown

Novels!
Secondhand Memories by Takatsu

Anime!
Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran directed by Akitaro Daichi
Wolf Children directed by Mamoru Hosoda

Manga Giveaway: UQ Holder! Giveaway Winner

March 4, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the UQ Holder! manga giveaway is… Jenni!

As the winner, Jenni will receive a copy of UQ Holder!, Volume 1 by Ken Akamatsu as published by Kodansha Comics. With recent series like UQ Holder! and Ajin: Demi-Human coming out, I’ve been thinking about immortals in manga, and so for this giveaway I asked people to tell me about some of their favorite immortals. Check out the giveaway comments for all of the specifics, or the even longer (but still select) list of manga below.

Some of the manga available in English featuring immortals of various types:
3×3 Eyes by Yuzo Takada
Ajin: Demi-Human by Tsuina Miura and Gamon Sakurai
Black Butler by Yana Toboso
Blade of the Immortal by Hiraoki Samura
Blood+ by Katsura Asuka
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion by Majiko!
Durarara!! written by Ryohgo Narita, illustrated by Akiyo Satorigi
Five Star Stories by Mamoru Nagano
Hellsing by Kouta Hirano
Hoshin Engi by Ryu Fujisaki
Kamisama Kiss by Julietta Suzuki
Immortal Rain by Kaori Ozaki
Lunar Legend Tsukihime by Sasaki Shounen
Mermaid Saga by Rumiko Takahashi
Olympos by Aki
Kieli written by Yukako Kabei, illustrated by Shiori
Mystique Mandala of Hell by Hideshi Hino
Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka
The Seven Deadly Sins by Nakaba Suzuki
Suikoden III by Aki Shimizu
Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow
UQ Holder! by Ken Akamatsu
Vassalord by Nanae Chrono
Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Princess Miyu by Narumi Kakinouchi and Toshiki Hirano
Wish by CLAMP
Ze by Yuki Shimizu

Thank you to everyone who shared your favorite immortals with me! I hope you’ll all join me again for the next giveaway.

Bookshelf Overload: January 2015

February 8, 2015 by Ash Brown

Well, 2015 is off to a rather impressive start when it comes to the somewhat ridiculous amount of manga making its way into my household. Thanks to some gift cards, major sales at my local comic book shop (where I picked up a ton of out-of-print manga), and one of the biggest boxes of review copies that I’ve ever received, my wallet isn’t hurting nearly as much as it might initially appear. (Thankfully.) There were still quite a few preorders in January, though. I was particularly pleased to see the third volume of Black Rose Alice by Setona Mizushiro (which I believe was technically released in February and I just happened to end up with an early copy), as well as What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 6 by Fumi Yoshinaga and the debut of My Neighbor Seki by Takuma Morishige. Ken Niimura’s Henshin is another interesting, and rather delightful, release from January. (Review to come soon!) As for out-of-print finds, I was very lucky to come across a complete set of Museum of Terror, an anthology series from Dark Horse of some of Junji Ito’s horror manga. I was also able to fill in a couple of missing copies from my Tramps Like Us collection, which made me happy.

Manga!
Air Gear, Volume 32 by Oh!Great
Alice in the Country of Hearts, Omnibus 3 by Soumei Hoshino
Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fanatic Rabbit, Volumes 1-2 written by Owl Shinotsuki, illustrated by Delico Psyche
Apple and Honey: His Rose Colored Life by Hideyoshico
Attack on Titan, Volume 14 by Hajime Isayama
Attack on Titan: Before the Fall, Volume 3 written by Ryo Suzukaze, illustrated by Satoshi Shiki
Attack on Titan: Junior High, Omnibus 2 by Saki Nakagawa
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Omnibus 5 by Yukito Kishiro
Black Rose Alice, Volume 3 by Setona Mizushiro
Cage of Eden, Volume 16 by Yoshinobu Yamada
Does The Flower Blossom?, Volume 1 by Shoko Hidaka
Earthian, Volume 4 by Yun Kouga
Fairy Tail, Volumes 44-46 by Hiro Mashima
Finder, Volume 7: Desire in the Viewfinder by Ayano Yamane
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 4 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Hands Off!, Volumes 1-8 by Kasane Katsumoto
Hands Off!: Don’t Call Us Angels, Volumes 1-2 by Kasane Katsumoto
Henshin by Ken Niimura
The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Volume 2 by Hiromu Arakawa
IC in a Sunflower by Mitsukazu Mihara
Lone Wolf and Cub, Omnibus 7 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Goseki Kojima
Manga Dogs, Volume 2 by Ema Toyama
Missions of Love, Volume 10 by Ema Toyama
Museum of Terror, Volumes 1-3 by Junji Ito
My Little Monster, Volumes 5-6 by Robico
My Neighbor Seki, Volume 1 by Takuma Morishige
Noragami: Stray God, Volumes 2-3 by Adachitoka
Oishinbo, A la Carte: The Joy of Rice written by Tetsu Kariya, illustrated by Akira Hanasaki
Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 10 by Mitsuru Hattori
Say I Love You, Volume 5 by Kanae Hazuki
R.I.P. : Requiem in Phonybrian by Mitsukazu Mihara
The Seven Deadly Sins, Volumes 5-6 by Nakaba Suzuki
Terra Formars, Volume 4 written by Yu Sasuga, illustrated by Ken-ichi Tachibana
Tramps Like Us, Volumes 11-12 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Omnibus 2 by CLAMP
UQ Holder, Volume 3 Ken Akamatsu
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 6 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Whispered Words, Omnibus 3 by Takashi Ikeda
Will You Be My Cute Crossdresser? by Mitohi Matsumoto
Witchcraft by Yamatogawa
xxxHolic, Omnibus 4 by CLAMP
xxxHolic: Rei, Volume 2 by CLAMP

Manhwa!
Give to the Heart, Volume 2 by Wann
The Tarot Café, Volume 4 by Sang-sun Park

Comics!
Never Forgets by Yumi Sakugawa
Prince of Cats, Issue 6 by Kori Michele Handwerker
Starfighter, Chapter 3 by HamletMachine

Nonfiction!
Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan edited by Mark McLelland, Kazumi Nagaike, Katsuhiko Suganuma, James Welker
Infamy: The shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II by Richard Reeves

Anime!
Ai no Kusabi: The Space Between directed by Katsuhito Akiyama

Film!
Ping Pong directed by Fumihiko Sori

Music!
Aku no Sanka (Flowers of Evil soundtrack) by Hideyuki Fukasawa

Manga Giveaway: Cinderalla Giveaway Winner

February 4, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Cinderalla manga giveaway is…Olivia!

As the winner, Olivia will be receiving a copy of Junko Mizuno’s Cinderalla as published by Viz Media. This giveaway was a tie-in to the Female Goth Mangaka Carnival which celebrated the work of Junko Mizuno as well as Kaoru Fujiwara, Maki Kusumoto, Mitsukazu Mihara, and Asumiko Nakamura. I asked entrants to tell me a little about their experiences reading manga by any of the creators of that group. Be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses. The responses were great, so thank you all for sharing! For those of you who are curious about which manga from these creators are (or were) available in English, here’s a handy list:

Kaoru Fujiwara
If You Wanna Destroy the World (through JManga and now unavailable)

Maki Kusumoto
Dolis

Mitsukazu Mihara
Beautiful People
Doll
The Embalmer
Haunted House
IC in a Sunflower
R.I.P.: Requiem in Phonybrian

Junko Mizuno
Cinderella
Hansel & Gretel
“The Life of Momongo” (collected in Secret Comics Japan)
Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu
Princess Mermaid
Pure Trance

Asumiko Nakamura
Chicken Club
Classmates
Double Mints
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist

Master Keaton Volume 1 Giveaway!

January 19, 2015 by Anna N

I have an extra copy of Master Keaton, so I’m going to give it away!

Leave a comment with the profession you would use as your back-up job while spending most of your time globetrotting on action-packed insurance investigations!

Professor? Etsy Crafter? Bike messenger? Foghat roadie??

Contest will be open for one week!

US residents only please.

Commenter #5, Angel won the giveaway! Stay tuned for another giveaway soon!

New License Roundup

January 10, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

It’s the start of 2015, and some publishers are just itching to give us some new titles, even though cons in January are thin on the ground. The solution is, of course, social media. This week Seven Seas and Yen Press/Yen On announced titles. Let’s take a closer look.

Seven Seas is gracing us with four new titles. Akuma no Riddle is a newish title from Kadokawa’s Newtype magazine, and it also had an anime series last spring. The most important points about this series, in no particular order, are 1) it’s written by Yun Kouga, the author of Loveless, and drawn by Sunao Minakata, the artist of Pixy Junket. (Oh come now, surely SOMEONE remembers it…). 2) It has a yuri vibe to it, taking place at an all-girls school. And 3) It’s about girls being trained to be assassins. The last may be the most important.

Golden Time is a more comedic title, running in ASCII Mediaworks’ Dengeki Daioh. It’s based off of a light novel, and has everything you’d expect if you hear the words ‘comedy/romance’; childhood friends, one of whom has now forgotten everything; a female lead who is somewhat difficult for fans to like but will clearly be the main romantic option; and lots of angst. It’s by the author of Toradora!, which Seven Seas also releases.

Orenchi no Furo Jijō (Merman In My Tub) is for female readers what Golden Time might be for male readers. It runs in Media Factory’s Comic Gene, which specializes in oddball shoujo, much like Kodansha’s Aria. The premise sounds a lot like Monster Musume or Ane-Imo, only with a BL subtext couple.

And there’s Mushoku Tensei – Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu. This runs in Media Factory’s Comic Flapper, which already gives it a leg up in my opinion. A middle-aged NEET who’s wasted most of his life get killed trying to stop a truck from hitting three high school students, and is reincarnated in a fantasy world, determined to make better choices and live a life with no regrets. The series has a lot of fans, though I have heard the lead character has a lot of perverted talk. But hey, based on a light novel, what did I expect? In any case, should be fun for fans of SAO or Log Horizon.

Next, let’s take a look at Yen Press, which announced four titles yesterday: one purely manga, and 3 where they announced the light novels on the Yen On line, and the manga (already out in one case) on the Yen Press side.

Oh, yes, there’s some Madoka Magica as well. Let’s start with that. Puella Magi Homura Tamura is a cute slice-of-life spinoff series, for those who like the characters but wished they stopped dying tragically all the time. There’s also Homura’s Revenge, where Madoka joins Homura in going back in time to change things, and I expect it will end badly.

Rust Blaster is the debut work from Yana Toboso, and I believe complete in one volume. It has vampires! And is by the author of Black Butler! Can’t imagine why this was licensed, who would buy such a combination? :)

On the LN/manga combo side, we first have Strike The Blood, which also has vampires, one of which is our hero. He’s being watched closely by a teenage sword expert who has been sent to follow (indeed, stalk might be more accurate) the vampire and take him out if he becomes a threat. If you guessed their love story is part of the story, you’re right. The manga runs in Dengeki Daioh, and the author is also known for the g-dropping series Asura Cryin’.

Black Bullet looks far more future apocalypse, detailing the world 10 years after being ravaged by a virus, which is being combatted by Cursed Children and their minders. Basically, he’s a high school student who can do Tendo Style Martial Arts (I’m sure it’s a coincidence), she’s a childhood friend with superhuman powers. Together, they fight crime! The manga ended at 4 volumes, and ran in Dengeki Maoh, a Daioh spinoff devoted to games and light novels.

Lastly, and to the horror of Baccano! fans, who keep waiting for their big day, Yen On announced they have licensed the Durarara!! light novels by Ryogho Narita. Yen Press has been putting out the manga for a couple of years, and I suspect this, along with Index, was their most requested license. The story of Ikebukuro and the truly insane weirdos who inhabit it, the 2nd series of the anime is also set to begin soon. By the way, perhaps the biggest news for me: All three of these light novels will have digital versions. After seeing SAO, Accel World, and Index all print-only, I was worried that Dengeki Bunko was a no-go area for digital reads. It’s great so see this.

So which one of these new titles excites you the most?

Manga Giveaway: WataMote Giveaway Winner

January 7, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the WataMote giveaway is…MegaKnogga!

As the winner, MegaKnogga will be receiving a copy of the first volume in Nico Tanigawa’s No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! (hereafter referred to as WataMote) as published by Yen Press. Because WataMote is a humorous, if sometimes painful, story about otaku, for this giveaway I asked that entrants tell me a little about their favorite otaku or otaku manga. Check out the WataMote giveaway comments for the detailed responses.

Some otaku manga (or manga with great otaku characters) available in English:

Barakamon by Satsuki Yoshino
Blood Lad by Yuuki Kodama
Flower of Life by Fumi Yoshinaga
Fujoshi Rumi by Natsumi Konjoh
Galaxy Angel by Kanan
Gin Tama by Hideak Sorachi
Genshiken by Shimoku Kio
Hayate the Combat Butler by Kenjiro Hata
I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow by Shunju Aono
Insufficient Direction by Moyoco Anno
Kiss Him, Not Me by Junko
Love Stage!! written by Eiki Eiki, illustrated by Taishi Zaou
Lucky Star by Kagami Yoshimizu
My Girlfriend Is a Geek written by Pentabu, illustrated by Rize Shinba
No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! by Nico Tanigawa
Oh My Goddess! by Kosuke Fujishima
Oreimo by Sakura Ikeda
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori
Peepo Choo by Felipe Smith
Welcome to the N.H.K. written by Tatsuhiko Takimoto, illustrated by Kendi Oiwa

Welcome to the N.H.K. got quite a few mentions, which made me happy (the novel is great, as are the manga and anime adaptations), as did a few of my other otaku favorites like Fujoshi Rumi and Genshiken (and Flower of Life and Gin Tama, too!). Thank you to everyone who participated and shared; there are a few manga that I definitely need to pick up. I hope to see you all again for the first manga giveaway of 2015!

Bookshelf Overload: December 2014

January 4, 2015 by Ash Brown

It may have been the last month of the year, but that certainly didn’t stop me at all from acquiring a slightly absurd amount of manga. Part of that is thanks to Right Stuf’s major holiday sales. I picked up a couple of anime series–Shiki and Princess Tutu–as well as a rather large stack of mostly out-of-print boys’ love manga for super cheap. Also thanks to the sale, I finally got around to picking up the new Tokyo Babylon omnibuses. Other than that, most everything else was either a preorder or a gift. December was a particularly notable month for gay manga. Bruno Gmünder’s releases of Takeshi Matsu’s More and More of You and Other Stories (which I believe technically came out in November) and Gengoroh Tagame’s Fisherman’s Lodge are now both available. From Fantagraphics there was Massive: Gay Japanese Manga and the Men Who Make It and it’s fantastic. I’ll be reviewing Matsu’s English debut in the very near future and my review of Massive has already been posted. Chromatic Press also had some notable releases in December. Ellery Prime’s Gauntlet, the first Sparkler Monthly original novel to receive a print edition, is now available. As is one of the books that I’m most excited about (so much so, there’s even a quote from me on its cover), the paperback of the second volume of Lianne Sentar’s Tokyo Demons, Add a Little Chaos. I actually reviewed the novel back in July, but needless to say, I loved it and it looks great in print.

Manga!
Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 2 by Gamon Sakurai
Alice in the Country of Hearts, Omnibus 2 by by Soumei Hoshino
Alley of First Love by Ellie Mamahara
Barakamon, Volume 2 by Satsuki Yoshino
Citrus, Volume 1 by Saburouta
Desire written by Maki Kazumi, illustrated by Yukine Honami
Dorohedoro, Volume 14 by Q Hayashida
Drug and Drop, Volume 1 by CLAMP
Fairy Tail, Volume 43 by Hiro Mashima
Fisherman’s Lodge by Gengoroh Tagame
Just Around the Corner by Toko Kawai
Knights of Sidonia, Volume 12 by Tsutomu Nihei
Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu, Volumes 1-2 by Junko Mizuno
Massive: Gay Japanese Manga and the Men Who Make It edited by Anne Ishii, Chip Kidd, Graham Kolbeins
Master Keaton, Volume 1 written by Hokusei Katsushika, Takashi Nagasaki, illustrated by Naoki Urasawa
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 8: Operation Odessa by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
More and More of You and Other Stories by Takeshi Matsu
My Love Story!!, Volume 3 written by Kazune Kawahara, illustrated by Aruko
New Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 3 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori
Ninth Love by Lalako Kojima
Opus by Satoshi Kon
Passionate Theory by Ayumi Kano
Renai Sample by Homunculus
Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 9 by Mitsuru Hattori
Say I Love You, Volume 4 by Kanae Hazuki
Steppin’ Stone, Volumes 1-2 by Shiuko Kano
Stones of Power by Azumi Isora
Tokyo Babylon, Omnibuses 1-2 by CLAMP
You See, Teacher…, Volume 1 by Ei Tachibana
Warning! Whispers of Love by Puku Okuyama
Witchcraft Works, Volume 2 by Ryu Mizunagi

Manhwa!
Lie to Me by Youngran Lee

Comics!
Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn by Hugo Pratt
Gaylord Phoenix by Edie Fake
In These Words, Chapter 12 by Guilt | Pleasure
Lucidity by Guilt | Pleasure
The P. Craig Russell Library of Opera Adaptations, Volumes 1-3 by P. Craig Russell
The Ring of the Nibelung by P. Craig Russell

Light Novels!
Gauntlet by Ellery Prime
Cold Fever by Narise Konohara
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Volume 1 by Fujino Omori
Tokyo Demons, Book 2: Add a Little Chaos by Lianne Sentar

Novels!
Manazuru by Hiromi Kawakami
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata

Collections!
The Great Mirror of Male Love by Ihara Saikaku

Anime!
Princess Tutu directed by Junichi Sato
Shiki directed by Tetsuro Amino

Bookshelf Overload: November 2014

December 7, 2014 by Ash Brown

Once again, November mostly brought preorders and a few review copies to my doorstep, but I also made a point of picking up some first volumes of older series that I’ve been meaning to try, like Pandora Hearts, Bakuman, and Oresama Teacher. As for the preorders I was particularly happy to see arrive, there was the penultimate volume of Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura, Kaoru Mori’s A Bride’s Story, Volume 6, and Takehiko Inoue’s Real, Volume 13. I also picked up a couple of alt-manga releases: Akino Kondoh’s Nothing Whatsoever All Out in the Open and Masahiko Matsumoto’s The Man Next Door. It was a good month for fans of Fumi Yoshinaga, too; both Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Volume 10 and What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5 are now available. But the release that I was probably most excited about in November wasn’t actually even manga. The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro by Edogawa Rampo, a collection of four stories featuring one of Rampo’s most famous characters, has been published by Kurodahan Press!

Manga!
Ani-Imo, Volume 1 by Haruko Kurumatani
Assassination Classroom, Volume 1 by Yusei Matsui
Attack on Titan: No Regrets, Volume 2 by Hikaru Suruga
Barakamon, Volume 1 by Satsuki Yoshino
Bakuman, Volumes 1-2 written by Tsugumi Ohba, illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Blade of the Immortal, Volume 30: Vigilance by Hiroaki Samura
A Bride’s Story, Volume 6 by Kaoru Mori
Clamp School Detectives, Volumes 1-3 by CLAMP
Devils and Realist, Volume 3 written by Madoka Takadono, illustrated by Utako Yukihiro
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 3 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Gangsta, Volume 4 by Kohske
The Garden of Words written by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Midori Motohashi
Genshiken: Second Season, Volume 5 by Shimoku Kio
Love in Hell, Volume 1 by Reiji Suzumaru
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Omnibus 1 by Satoshi Mizukami
The Man Next Door by Masahiko Matsumoto
Manga Dogs, Volume 1 by Ema Toyama
Missions of Love, Volumes 8-9 by Ema Toyama
No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Volume 5 by Nico Tanigawa
Nothing Whatsoever All Out in the Open by Akino Kondoh
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Volume 10 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Oresama Teacher, Volume 1 by Izumi Tsubaki
Pandora Hearts, Volume 1 by Jun Mochizuki
Prophecy, Part 1 by Tetsuya Tsutsui
President Momoi-Kun by Higashi Nishida
Real, Volume 13 by Takehiko Inoue
Sense and Sexuality by You Higashino
Showa: A History of Japan, 1944-1953 by Shigeru Mizuki
Tale of the Waning Moon, Volume 1 by Hyouta Fujiyama
Terra Formars, Volume 3 written by Yu Sasuga, illustrated by Ken-ichi Tachibana
Ubel Blatt, Omnibus 0 by Etorouji Shiono
Yukarism, Volume 1 by Chika Shiomi
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5 by Fumi Yoshinaga

Manhwa!
Milkyway Hitchhiking, Omnibus 1 by Sirial

Comics!
Hotblood!: A Centaur in the Old West, Volume 2 by Toril Orlesky
Oglaf, Book Two by Doug Bayne and Trudy Cooper
Open Spaces and Closed Places, Parts 1-6 by saicoink
Outwards by Elephant Wendigo
The Tribute Album: An Authorized Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal Fan Artbook

Collections!
The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro by Edogawa Rampo
Season of Infidelity: BDSM Tales from the Classic Master by Oniroku Dan

Manga Giveaway: Seven Seas Sampler Winner

December 3, 2014 by Ash Brown

Dictatorial Grimoire, Volume 1: Cinderella

And the winner of the Seven Seas Sampler manga giveaway is…Karen Swartz!

As the winner, Karen will be receiving A Centaur’s Life, Volume 1 by Kei Murayama; Dictatorial Grimoire, Volume 1: Cinderella by Ayumi Kanou; Gakuen Polizi, Volume 1 by Milk Morinaga; and Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, Omnibus 1 written by Satoru Akahori and illustrated by Yukimaru Katsura. Over the last couple of years, Seven Seas has really taken off, adding more licenses than ever before and diversifying its catalog. So, for this giveaway, I asked people tell me a little about some of their favorite manga released by Seven Seas. I’ve compiled a list below (those with an asterisk were mentioned by more than one person), but be sure to check out the Seven Seas Sampler comments for more details.

Some favorite Seven Seas titles:
Afro Samurai by Takashi Okazaki
Alice in the Country of created by Quin Rose
Amazing Agent Luna written by Nunzio DeFillippis, Christina Weir, illustrated by Shiei
Blood Alone by Masayuki Takano
Boogiepop created by Kouhei Kadono
A Centaur’s Life by Kei Murayama
A Certain Scientific Railgun written by Kazuma Kamachi, illustrated by Motoi Fuyukawa
Citrus by Saburouta
*D-Frag! by Tomoya Haruno
Dance in the Vampire Bund by Nozomu Tamaki
*Devils and Realist written by Utako Yukihiro, illustrated by Madoka Takadono
Dragonar Academy written by Ran, illustrated by Shiki Mizuchi
Freezing by Kwang-Huyn Kim
Gakuen Polizi by Milk Morinaga
*Girl Friends by Milk Morinaga
*Gunslinger Girl by Yu Aida
*Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends written by Yomi Hirasaka, illustrated by Itachi
Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto by Nami Sano
Hayate X Blade by Shizuru Hayashiya
Inukami! written by Mamizu Arisawa, illustrated by Mari Matsuzawa
Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink by Milk Morinaga
Kokoro Connect written by Sadanatsu Anda, illustrated by CUTEG
*Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries written by Hey-jin Jeon, illustrated by Ki-ha Lee
Love in Hell by Reiji Suzumaru
*Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer by Satoshi Mizukami
Magical Girl Apocalypse by Kentaro Sato
Strawberry Panic written by Sakurako Kimino, illustrated by Takuminamuchi
*Toradora! written by Yuyuko Takemiya, illustrated by Zekkyou
Witch Buster by Jung-man Cho
*Young Miss Holmes by Kaoru Shintani
Zero’s Familiar written by Noboru Yamaguchi, illustrated by Nana Mochizuki

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway and shared some of your favorites; I hope to see you all again for the next one!

Sweet Rein 1-3 Giveaway

December 1, 2014 by Anna N

I’m getting rid of some of my manga! I have a bunch listed on ebay right now, but I thought I would also do a giveaway as well. So appropriately for the start of the holiday season, I’m going to give away Sweet Rein Volumes 1-3. Just leave a comment on this post and I’ll select a random winner in a week.

Random Musings: Picking My Next Monthly Review Project

November 21, 2014 by Ash Brown

Now that I’ve wrapped up my Year of Yuri monthly review project, it’s time for me to decide which manga I’ll focus on next. Like last time, in order to help me choose another monthly manga review project, I wanted to get some input from the readers of Experiments in Manga. So, once again, I’m putting it to a vote. Recently, I’ve been in the mood for horror manga. Using a fairly broad definition of horror, I’ve narrowed down my options to five (technically six) manga series that I would be interested in reviewing. After the fact, I noticed that the horror manga that made the final cut coincidentally all had something in common–the creators all happen to be women. (Well, except maybe for Shin Mashiba, whose gender I’m uncertain of, but whose manga has a shoujo flair to it.) For my next monthly review project, I will be tackling one of the following series:

After School Nightmare by Setona Mizushiro
Unlike the other completed options on this list, I haven’t actually finished reading After School Nightmare. I initially borrowed the first few volumes of the manga from my local library and on the strength of those volumes alone I sought out and purchased the entire series. So why did I never finish reading it? Honestly, I’m not sure, but I think I might have actually been afraid to since some of the themes are pretty hard-hitting. Published in English by Go! Comi, all ten volumes of After School Nightmare are now out of print, but fortunately they are still relatively easy to find.

Dorohedoro by Q Hayashida
Dorohedoro is a very strange and weird manga, but one that I enjoy immensely. It’s a series that somehow manages to be both gruesome and charming all at the same time. Dorohedoro is violent and graphic, dark and grimy, but also incredibly goofy with an exceptionally black sense of humor and a cast of absurdly quirky characters. I’ve previously reviewed the first volume of Dorohedoro, so this option will include in-depth reviews of the remaining volumes currently available in English as well as any future volumes that are released.

Mushishi by Yuki Urushibara
Mushishi was one of the first manga series that I made a point to collect in its entirety, but because it was released before I started blogging at Experiments in Manga, I’ve never really written much about it. I love the series (the anime adaptation is a favorite, too), and find its quiet, contemplative creepiness to be especially appealing. Mushishi was initially published by Del Rey manga and is out of print (some of the volumes are now very expensive), but happily the entire series is now available digitally from Kodansha Comics.

Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun by Shin Mashiba
Nightmare Inspector began serialization in a shoujo magazine, but when it folded the manga was moved to a shounen monthly. Initially it seems to be episodic, but by the end of the series a heartrending overarching story emerges. With its dark, melancholic atmosphere, Nightmare Inspector is a manga that I am particularly fond of. I wrote a little about the series as a whole for the Horror Manga Moveable Feast a few years ago, but I’ve always wanted to go back and revisit Nightmare Inspector again in order to really dig into the individual volumes.

Tokyo Babylon/X by CLAMP
The first time I tried reading X, I didn’t actually like it much at all and gave up after only one volume. But then I tried reading it again when the omnibus edition was released and promptly became hooked. Tokyo Babylon, to which X is a sequel of sorts, also took a while to really grow on me. So I’ve been wondering if, like X, I might appreciate Tokyo Babylon more if I gave it a second chance. This option will include in-depth reviews of the two Tokyo Babylon omnibuses from Dark Horse as well as the six X omnibuses from Viz Media.

So, what’ll it be? My fate is in your hands.

(The poll will be open through the end of November!)

Morning Manga Spotlight: They Were Eleven

November 18, 2014 by MJ Leave a Comment

I’ll admit that it’s been tough trying to curb my “classic” inclinations when it comes to recommending manga for my teen students, and there are days when it becomes impossible. Today is one of those days, as I find myself irresistibly drawn to the work of Moto Hagio, specifically her early short series, They Were Eleven.

Originally serialized over three issues in Shojo Comic in 1975, They Were Eleven follows a young student named Tada through the final stage of his entrance exam to the elite Galactic University. From my write-up of the series at Comics Should Be Good:

“Sometime in the distant future, hopeful students from all over the galaxy gather for the difficult entrance exams at the elite Galactic University. For the final test, [the students] are divided into computer-generated groups of ten students each and sent off to various locations where they must survive as a group for fifty-three days without pushing the provided emergency button, which immediately summons a rescue team, resulting in automatic failure of the entire group. One group is deposited on a derelict ship, devoid of engine power and filled with dangerous explosives, which they must safely maintain in orbit for the length of the test. As the group arrives on the ship, however, it becomes apparent that there are eleven students rather than the assigned ten, indicating that one of them must be an impostor. Potential disasters pile up quickly, including an unstable orbit and the presence of a deadly disease, and in the midst of it all the group begins to suspect Tada, a young Terran (Earth descendent) with intuitive powers and uncanny knowledge of the ship’s layout, of being the eleventh member.

With the ship’s mechanical problems and deadly health threat driving things forward, it is young Tada’s story that takes focus, as he struggles to understand his relationship with the decrepit ship while also attempting to clear himself of the other students’ rapidly-mounting suspicion. Despite the fact that his intuition saves the group early on, it also becomes the greatest point of contention amongst the group, and as more about Tada’s own history comes to light, each revelation seems to point more clearly to his potential guilt.”

As a psychological drama wrapped in a sci-fi package, They Were Eleven is glorious, and benefits particularly from Hagio’s clear, expressive artwork and her minor obsession with gender identification. On the flip side, like a lot of older manga, the gender discussion can be problematic. Again from my write-up:

“Two of the characters in the story are species whose gender is not determined until adulthood. One of these, Frol, who is decidedly feminine in appearance (referred to hereafter as “her” and “she”), is taking the test because she will be allowed to become male if she passes, a privilege otherwise only granted to a family’s oldest child. On Frol’s planet, “men govern and women work,” and becoming a woman would mean relinquishing all autonomy and joining the harem of the neighboring lord (eighteen years her senior), so it is understandable why she would want to instead take advantage of her society’s male privilege and collect a harem of her own. Still, it’s a little bit jarring that when the story finally reaches a point where it becomes clear that they may very well not pass the test, the only other alternative presented to Frol is for her to leave her own people, become a woman, and marry someone else.

The fact that in every scenario her future as a woman leads directly to marriage is not a fantastic message for today’s young girls (nor is the fact that Frol, the story’s only obviously “feminine” character, is depicted as capricious and “simple”) and it is this that dates the series more than anything else.”

This attitude towards femininity is perhaps best reflected in the tagline of Viz’s Four Shoujo Stories, in which They Were Eleven appeared alongside works by Keiko Nishi and Shio Sato. “It’s Not Just Girls’ Stuff Anymore” the cover proudly proclaims, assuring us in advance that its content is smarter and better than that (“It’s for girls, but it’s still good, I swear!”)

So why am I recommending this to teens, you’re asking? I’m recommending it because it’s beautifully-drawn, fantastic storytelling. I’m recommending it because it was part of a female-led revolution in girls’ comics, which had previously been drawn mostly by men. I’m recommending it because, despite its issues, it presents us with a very stark view of Hagio’s own struggles as a woman and an artist in a time not so far removed from the present, and the hopelessness of a world in which the only imaginable destination for a woman is marriage (also not so far removed from the present). Most of all, though, I’m recommending it, because it’s a great comic.

They Were Eleven was published twice by Viz, first as a series of four floppies in 1995, and then later in Four Shoujo Stories. Both are out of print (though the floppies show up often on eBay, which is how I acquired mine). Fortunately for my students, I own the series in both formats, so they have a couple of options to choose from. Fortunately, too, some of Hagio’s other works are available in English now as well, thankfully in print, thanks to Matt Thorn and Fantagraphics (students: these are available from the MJLibrary as well). I hope we’ll see a lot more!