Flowers of Evil

My Week in Manga: October 27-November 2, 2014

November 3, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

October is finally over, and I somehow managed to survive! I’ve been extremely busy at work which bled over into the rest of my life and has interfered with a lot of things that I would otherwise rather be doing. I’m really hoping that my stress levels and schedule settle down a bit in November, but my immediate supervisor is retiring in December and I’ll be taking on some more responsibilities in my unit (at least temporarily), so we’ll see how that goes! Anyway, I was somehow able to keep on top of my posts here at Experiments in Manga. The most recent manga giveaway is currently in progress and there’s still time to enter for a chance to win Sherlock Bones, Volume 1. Since this past Friday was Hallowe’en, I decided it would be appropriate to review Junji Ito’s manga Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror. It’s been deservedly called a masterpiece, and the deluxe omnibus edition is especially nice. And over the weekend, I posted October’s Bookshelf Overload for those of you interested in what made it onto my bookshelves last month. I’m sure there was plenty of interesting reading to be found online, but I’m afraid I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to pay much attention recently. Let me know if I missed something particularly good!

Quick Takes

Angel Sanctuary, Volumes 1-5 by Kaori Yuki. It’s pretty clear after reading the first few volumes of Angel Sanctuary that this manga is going to be epic, for better or for worse. Angel Sanctuary has a huge cast (most with multiple names and multiple identities) and easily enough material for several completely different and unrelated series. So much is crammed into the early volumes that I’m afraid that Yuki might be trying to do too much at once with the manga. Though he is initially unaware of it, Setsuna is the reincarnation of the angel Alexiel, fated to suffer for her past deeds life after life. This causes significant problems for him–other angels and demons are searching for Alexiel, some to reawaken her soul and some to completely destroy her. But even more problematic is Setsuna’s incestuous love for his younger sister Sara. So far the story is somewhat confusing and difficult to follow, albeit with moments of brilliance. However, I do consistently enjoy Yuki’s gothic artwork, tragic melodrama, and gender play. Many of Yuki’s angels also happen to be sexist assholes, completely capable of murder, deception, and greed, which is certainly an interesting take on the celestial beings.

The Flowers of Evil, Volumes 10-11 by Shuzo Oshimi. Several years have passed since the incident in Kasuga’s hometown and his tumultuous relationship with Nakamura. The time has now come for him to face everything that he has done in his past and to confront how his actions have affected the people in his life–his family, his former classmates, his girlfriend, and most importantly himself. Up until now, he has been unable to move on with his life. His past, though he tries to hide it or run away from it, still defines who he is. The finale of The Flowers of Evil is a very effective exploration of personal identity and responsibility. Oshimi’s artwork, while never awful, has improved tremendously since the beginning of the series. This is particularly important for the last two volumes of The Flowers of Evil since large portions of the manga are completely without dialogue or narration; the art must be strong enough to carry the story entirely on its own, and it succeeds in that. The Flowers of Evil is a surprising series, ending with a very different tone and in a very different place than where it first began. It was quite a journey and it was worth every page.

Free!: Eternal Summer directed by Hiroko Utsumi. I rather enjoyed the first season of Free! and was pleasantly surprised to discover that in addition to its goofiness the anime series actually had some substance to it. And so I was looking forward to watching its second season, Eternal Summer. A lot of the humor and drama in the second season comes from the introduction of several new characters. It was a little strange to have best friends suddenly appear when I’m pretty sure they weren’t even hinted at in the first season, but I ended up really liking the additions to the cast. Although most of the characters see some development, most striking is how much Rin has changed from the first season. His anger and angst is mostly gone and he’s become fairly chill, although he’s still very passionate about swimming. It’s a passion that he shares with the other swimmers in the anime, but each has his own approach and way of expressing it. They really don’t always make the best, wisest, or most mature decisions, though. (Not that I would expect that teenagers would.) Driving the narrative of Eternal Summer is the characters’ struggles and searches for their dreams and futures. The season provided a very satisfying conclusion to Free!.

My Week in Manga: April 28-May 4, 2014

May 5, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I was in Texas for much of last week, attending a conference for work, but I was still able post a few things here at Experiments in Manga. The most recent manga giveaway is underway, for one. This month you all have a chance to win the first omnibus of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist. All you have to do is tell me a little about some of your favorite women mangaka. April’s Bookshelf Overload was also posted; there were all sorts of great releases last month. And finally, the first in-depth manga review of May goes to the very recently released Vinland Saga, Omnibus 3 by Makoto Yukimura. Vinland Saga is one of my favorite series currently being published in English. The entire series is epic and third omnibus is awesome.

Because I was traveling and caught up in conference goings-on, I may have missed some news. (If there’s something that caught your interest last week, do let me know!) However, I did come across a few things that made for good reading. I particularly enjoyed Tony Yao’s post at Manga Therapy, The Ambiguously Amazing Hange Zoe which discusses things like Attack on Titan, gender, and ambiguity. I recently reviewed Jen Lee Quick’s Off*Beat, Volume 2 in preparation for the release of the third and final volume. The series’ editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl offers some Editorial Thoughts on the End of Off*Beat, one of Chromatic Press’ flagship titles. RocketNews24 offers a list of the twenty most popular manga in Japan, based on publication numbers. Justin Stroman interviews Eric Eberhardt (Viz Media’s Director of Digital Publishing) about Viz’s new digital imprint VIZ Select.

And for those of you in the Toronto area next week and weekend, do be sure to check out the Toronto Comic Arts Festival! There will be some phenomenal programming and incredible creators in attendance (including Moyoco Anno, Est Em, and Akira Himekawa among many, many more), and it’s free! TCAF is the only comic festival/conference that I go to and I highly, highly recommend it.

Quick Takes

Constellations in My Palm written by Chisako Sakuragi and illustrated by Yukine Honami. I happen to really enjoy Honami’s artwork–a somewhat softer style with light but expressive lines–so I’ve slowly been getting around to reading the various boys’ love manga that she’s worked on. As far as I know, Constellations in My Palm is the only manga that Sakuragi has written. It’s a fairly realistic romance and tends to be somewhat quiet and subdued. It’s narrated by Mizuho, a college student, whose younger cousin Enji moves in with his family as he is about to start college, too. When they were younger they were very close, but it’s been seven years since they’ve been in contact with or seen each other. Mizuho and Enji both care about each other, but their relationship has become awkward and strained. Constellations in My Palm has some wonderful moments in it, but I was largely frustrated by the manga. So much of the story is driven by misunderstandings, and many of them aren’t even the result of miss-communication. Generally, it’s Mizuho who’s the culprit–even when he’s told something straight to his face, repeatedly, he simply can’t or chooses not to believe it. As Mizuho has some self-esteem issues this does fit his character, but it doesn’t make it any less exasperating.

The Flowers of Evil, Volumes 7-9 by Shuzo Oshimi. I’ve been waiting for the entirety of the third arc of The Flowers of Evil to be released before reading it. I’m glad that I did, because once I started I didn’t want to put the manga down. After the resolution of the incident at the summer festival, there is a timeskip of three years. Kasuga and his family have moved to a different town in order to start over, but he is still haunted by his past. His relationship with his parents is broken and almost nonexistent. His new classmates tolerate him, but he remains distant and disconnected (and understandably so). But then he meets and, despite his weirdness and strange behavior, is befriended by Tokiwa–a popular and attractive girl whom all of the boys have a crush on. Like Kasuga, she’s hiding parts of herself from others, too. On the surface, the third arc is almost tame when compared to what came before it, but it is still extremely effective. It has a very different sort of intensity than the previous arcs. The story has become more subtle but retains a constant undercurrent of dread. Even when good things happen it seems as though they could only possibly be a prelude to some sort of disaster. The Flowers of Evil is an incredibly engaging series and just keeps getting better and better.

Say I Love You, Volume 1 by Kanae Hazuki. I didn’t really know much about Say I Love You before reading the first volume; I was vaguely aware of the series because of its recent anime adaptation (which I haven’t seen yet), but that’s about it. There’s not really much of a “hook” per se in Say I Love You. The characters are fairly normal. The story isn’t particularly unusual. The the two leads are Mei Tachibana–who although she avoids making friends is very aware of others and their feelings–and Yamato Kurosawa–whose popularity stems from his good looks but who otherwise is extremely average. So far the manga is simply about a group of teenagers living out their high school years. This includes all of the cliques and the bullying, the stress caused by interpersonal relationships, the self-consciousness and the issues of self-esteem. But that realism is probably the series’ strength. Say I Love You has some humorous moments, but I wouldn’t really describe it as a comedy at this point since in general Hazuki takes a more serious approach with the series. I’m actually very curious to see how Mei and Yamato’s relationship continues to develop, as well as how the relationships between the other characters evolve as well.

Wolfsmund, Volumes 3-4 by Mitsuhisa Kuji. At first Wolfsmund seemed to me as though it was going to be an episodic series, but with the third and fourth volumes the manga has focused in on an overarching narrative. However, the bleakness and brutality that has been present from the very start of Wolfsmund remains constant. These volumes see the beginning of the Swiss rebellion against the Austrian occupation and all of the violence and death that entails, including the incredible siege of the Wolf’s Maw at Sankt Gotthard Pass. The uprising has been in the planning stages for quite some time, but now the rebels finally have the opportunity to take action. 14th-century warfare is not pretty. There are very good reasons why attacking an overtaking a fortress are difficult tasks to accomplish–they are built to withstand assault and are designed to allow defenders to wreak havoc on invading forces and to cause tremendous amounts of damage. The rebels must face skilled soldiers, traps, fire, molten lead, boiling water, and more. And on top of that Wolfram, the bailiff of the Wolf’s Maw, is a vicious and sadistic leader who is not above torture. In fact, he seems to delight in it. Wolfsmund continues to be a dark and intense manga that is definitely meant for maturer audiences.

My Week in Manga: November 4-November 10, 2013

November 11, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week I announced the winner of the Sankarea manga giveaway. The post also includes a list of zombie manga that has been licensed in English, for those who might be interested. Considering the recent popularity of zombies, I was actually a little surprised to discover there weren’t more. I also posted two reviews last week. The first was for Makoto Kobayashi’s What’s Michael, Book Two, a fantastic cat manga sent to me by a Manga Bookshelf reader for review. My second review from last week was for Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician by Shinmon Aoki, which was the inspiration for Yōjirō Takita’s award-winning film Departures.

And now for a few things that I’ve come across online over the last couple of weeks. Crunchyroll Manga is now up and running. Deb Aoki wrote a good article about it for Publishers Weekly–Kodansha, Crunchyroll Talk Global ‘Simulpub’ Manga . At A Case Suitable for Treatment, Sean took a quick look at the manga series currently being offered through the platform–Kodansha and Crunchyroll Partnership: What Are We Getting?. Mostly unrelated, Kodansha posted on its Tumblr account a great summary of why some manga may never be licensed in North America, even if it’s really good. Rob Vollmar’s essay for World Literature Today “Dark Side of the Manga: Tezuka Osamu’s Dark Period” is actually from last year, but was recently brought to my attention again. And finally, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund focused on Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints (which I think is one of the best comics to be released this year) as part of its Using Graphic Novels in Education column.

Quick Takes

Animal Land, Volumes 5-8 by Makoto Raiku. It took a few volumes for Animal Land to really grow on me, but now that it has I find that I quite like the series. The occasional focus on scatological humor feels a bit out-of-place to me, though it seems to have become less common as the series progresses. The artwork in Animal Land is a little strange–a combination of realism and anthropomorphism–but generally engaging. The characters, particularly Taroza, are very likeable. I have enjoyed watching him grow up. A newborn at the beginning of the series, by the end of the eighth volume he has become a young man who has had to face the hard truths about his idealism. Taroza wants to put an end to the cycle of killing and eating, but to do so will require him to throw all of Animal Land into turmoil. He is not the only one who has an interest in shifting the power dynamics of the world–four other humans have made themselves known and have their own ideas about how things should be. I was a little surprised to see a bit of science fiction and time travel work its way into Animal Land, but I am very curious to see how things continue to develop.

Battle Vixens, Volume 1 by Yuji Shiozaki. Supposedly, Battle Vixens (aka Ikki Tousen) is somehow based on, or at least inspired by the classic Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Had I not known this going into the series, I’m not sure I really would have picked it up from reading the first volume. As far as I can tell, the references are barely there. (Which reminds me, I really do need to get around to finishing Romance of the Three Kingdoms.) What is readily apparent from the first page of the manga is that the English title, Battle Vixens was aptly chosen. The series is all about the fights and the fan service. There might be some sort of plot, too, but after only one volume I am still incredibly confused as to what is actually supposed to be going on. Basically there’s this girl, Hakufu Sonsaku, with a sizable chest and the penchant for getting into brawls. Towards what end? I am unsure. She simply seems predisposed to violence and having her clothes ripped off of her in the process. For a series based on fights the action unfortunately tends to be somewhat difficult to follow, but some of the panels have great composition.

No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Volume 1 by Nico Tanigawa. Okay, I’m just going to refer to this series by its Japanese abbreviation WataMote because I can never seem to remember the title in its entirety. (Plus, it’s really long.) WataMote is simultaneously one of the most funny and depressing manga that I’ve read recently. The story follows Tomoko Kuroki, an extraordinarily awkward and socially inept young woman who has just started high school. Most of her “life experience” has come from reading manga and playing video games, which may explain why she has difficulty interacting with her classmates. They mostly just ignore her or at least tolerate her existence. Occasionally she tries to be more than the weirdo in the corner, but it doesn’t often turn out well for her. I care about Tomoko and find her to be a sympathetic character which is why her trials and errors, though humorous, can also be a bit painful to watch. WataMote isn’t exactly mean-spirited, but it’s not particularly pleasant either. Her interactions with her younger brother are fantastically awkward (granted, all of Tomoko’s relationships are awkward), but there are some glimpses of familial love, too.

Flowers of Evil directed by Hiroshi Nagahama. Based on the manga series by Shuzo Oshimi, the Flowers of Evil anime series is a phenomenal adaptation. It’s one of the rare cases where I might actually prefer the anime over the original manga. That being said, the anime is definitely not a series that everyone will be able to enjoy. First of all, the pacing is excruciatingly slow. It worked for me and I think it creates marvelous tension, but someone who needs a bit more action and forward movement from their anime will be very frustrated. Not much actually happens from episode to episode; the focus is more on the inner turmoil and crises of the characters. The animation also relies heavily on rotoscoping techniques, resulting in a style that doesn’t personally bother me, but I know plenty of people who can’t stand it. I think it was suitable for Flowers of Evil, creating a slightly disconcerting and surreal mood that fits the unsettling atmosphere and darker nature of the series. The use of music and silence in the series is also quite remarkable. The twisted triangle of a relationship between Kasuga, Nakamura, and Saeki is intense. The Flowers of Evil anime captures it perfectly using art film-like sensibilities.

Bookshelf Briefs 4/15/13

April 15, 2013 by Sean Gaffney and MJ 1 Comment

This week, Sean and MJlook at recent releases from Viz Media, Yen Press, and Vertical, Inc.

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 9 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – We wrap up the Impure King arc here, with some really impressive fire power by Rin, and a cute epilogue. Most of this volume, as you’d expect from this series, revolves around Rin and Yukio – Rin learning to accept himself for what he is and use his satanic powers for good, and Yukio learning to trust his brother (though not enough to reveal his own inner demons). Meanwhile, Mephisto continues to do what he does best – look mysterious and not give anything away. Shura, at least, seems to know he has plans for Rin, though can’t do anything about them right now. And I must admit, even if Western fans complain about “nobody dies in Jump”, I was pleased to see a few characters I thought were goners survive through the arc. As ever, Blue Exorcist is a fun romp with lots of alluring backstory. – Sean Gaffney

Devil And Her Love Song, Vol. 8 | By Miyoshi Tomori | Viz Media – Now that Anna is gone, we need to introduce new conflict into the storyline, and much to my surprise it wasn’t that signing teacher. Instead, we get a new first year, Shintaro Kurosu, who is secretly head of a vampire… wait, wrong Shojo Beat series. What Shintaro is is a classic “playboy who finds himself falling in love for real” character, and also has a way of speaking his mind. He and Maria go quite well together, something that Shin immediately notices and is quite pissed off about. Things all come to a head on the beach (great swimsuit montage as well), where Shin confronts some family demons and Shintaro makes his move. I love love love this series. Also, why ids that evil teacher STILL THERE? Why couldn’t Maria’s class be taught by Onizuka? Or Pin? (It would have been much a much shorter manga, yes.) -Sean Gaffney

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 5 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical, Inc. – Time and again this series manages to be genuinely surprising—at least on the surface. As summer vacation approaches, Kasuga and Nakamura begin to hatch their plan for taking things to “The Other Side.” Meanwhile, Saeki goes to extremes to try to win back Kasuga’s attention; but what exactly is she jealous of? Though Saeki’s actions surprised me, the feelings behind them ring uncomfortably true. Once again, these characters seem to have reached an impasse, but what will that mean for them this time? With its new anime series currently running, it seems likely that this story is far from over, but Oshimi has a gift for writing characters into corners they must forcefully bust out of on nothing but their own steam. As always, I’m dying to know what comes next. Still recommended. – MJ

Soul Eater, Vol. 13 | By Atsushi Ohkubo | Yen Press – There are three storylines that get attention as we continue our long march through the castle to stop Arachnae. First, and probably best, is Black*Star’s arrival and battle against Mifune. I say best as we get a terrific flashback showing Black*Star visiting Tsubaki’s family and seeing his resolve to get stronger is not for killing but to protect. I always love seeing the meisters and their weapons bond in Soul Eater, and this gives some additional depth. Second, we see Ox and Harvar battling Kim and Jacqueline, which is a typical “snap out of it, I still love you” shonen battle, but still sweet. And lastly, Kid and Free battle Mosquito, which gives us this volume’s cliffhanger and shows Mosquito is more than just a goofy old guy in a nice hat. Also, the “finest nose” line made me laugh out loud. Complex, but recommended. -Sean Gaffney

The Story of Saiunkoku, Vol. 9 | By Kaira Yura and Sai Yukino | Viz Media – The publishers decided that this would be a good place to end the manga, even if the light novels went on for a while longer. As a result, what we get here is a volume of ‘side stories’ that flesh out a few of the other characters. In theory, this allows us to see the depths of the familial bonds in this series, and how even if they fight, brothers still love each other. In practice, everyone in the entire cast is a giant dork throughout the volume. It’s fantastic—this is mostly gloriously silly, especially the Ryuren chapter (which is justifiably the longest), and I can’t even describe the hilarity that the ‘Shoka masks’ provoked in me. This series was a real surprise winner for me—girl strives to become a civil servant is so refreshing after a lot of “girl struggles to tell boy she likes him” series. Well done, Shurei! -Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: The Flowers of Evil

January 21, 2013 by Sean Gaffney and MJ 2 Comments

SEAN: It’s a fairly slim week of stuff, but there are some intriguing titles. My pick of the week is Vol. 4 of the dark shounen series Flowers of Evil. I admit I’m about a volume or so behind on this one, but it’s worth my catching up on. The cover design has turned darker, and the book seems to be trending the same way. I can’t say I enjoy reading the volumes, but I’m utterly fascinated by them, and want to know what happens next so I can be repelled against my will again. Which is a recommendation, in case anyone was unsure.

MJ: I’m going to go with Sean on this one. The Flowers of Evil is the only print volume I’m really interested in this week, but it should be noted that even in a stronger week, it’d have a good chance with me. I find this series very compelling, and I’m pretty psyched to read more of it. From my review of the last volume, “Volume three is unexpectedly moving as Kasuga comes to the surprisingly insightful realization that putting his dream girl on a pedestal is not the same thing as loving her, and as all three of the series’ main characters are faced with truths they weren’t quite prepared for. If this series’ first volume read mainly as “better than Sundome” its third proves that it is really so much more.”

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: October 22-October 28, 2012

October 29, 2012 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week was the Vampire Manga Moveable Feast. As part of my contribution, I reviewed Vampire Hunter D, Volume 1–Saiko Takaki’s manga adaptation of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s novel of the same name. I still haven’t read the original Vampire Hunter D novels, but the manga adaptation of the series is starting to grow on me. Keeping with the vampire theme, I also reviewed Hideyuki Kikuchi’s vampire novel Yashakiden: The Demon Princess, Volume 3. There are parts of Yashakiden that I really enjoy but there are just as many parts that frustrate me immensely. Since there are only two more volumes in the English release, and I’ve already come this far, I’ll probably end up finishing the series at some point. Completely unrelated to vampires, but because it’s a graphic novel I wanted to mention it here: Over at my other blog, Experiments in Reading, I’ve posted a review of Mark Siegel’s Sailor Twain: Or, The Mermaid on the Hudson, which I quite enjoyed.

Quick Takes

Apocalypse Zero, Volumes 1-6 by Takayuki Yamaguchi. Unfortunately, only six of the eleven volumes of Apocalypse Zero were released in English. I can’t say that I’m surprised and I don’t expect that the license will ever be rescued–the series will appeal only to those with a strong constitution and who aren’t offended easily. It’s extremely graphic, bloody and violent. The imagery is deliberately repulsive, gloriously grotesque, and highly sexualized. Honestly, I feel a little dirty admitting that I loved Apocalypse Zero in all of its outrageousness, but I did. Yamaguchi does make use of a lot of standard tropes and cliches, but he takes them to such ridiculous, over-the-top extremes that they are almost unrecognizable.

Bunny Drop, Volumes 5-6 by Yumi Unita. With a ten year time skip, Bunny Drop has become an entirely different series. It’s not bad, but it has lost much of charm that made the first four volumes stand out. However, the character interactions are still great. The “new” Bunny Drop probably wouldn’t be a series that I would follow had I not already been invested its characters. It seems to have turned into a pretty typical high school drama. I did enjoy seeing the kids all grown up though, Rin and Kouki especially. Unfortunately, Daikichi, who has always been my favorite, has almost become a secondary character in these volumes (although, a very important one). I do still like Unita’s artwork and plan on finishing the last few volumes in the series.

The Drops of God: New World written by Tadashi Agi and illustrated by Shu Okimoto. It’s sad to say, but New World may very well be the last volume of The Drops of God to be published in English. At the request of the author, this omnibus (collecting volumes 22 and 23 of the original release) jumps ahead in the story to a point which features New World wines. As Shizuku heads to Australia and Issei heads to America in search of the seventh apostle, they both manage to get into some serious trouble. The plot might be a little ridiculous at times, but I still find The Drops of God to be entertaining and informative. Who knew the world of wine could be so dangerous?

The Flowers of Evil, Volumes 2-3 by Shuzo Oshimi. I really thought that I was through with middle school dramas, but then I started reading The Flowers of Evil. The series is exceedingly dark and ominous. I have a hard time looking away as the events unfold. I have no idea where Oshimi is going with this series and I’m almost afraid to find out. It’s intense, to say the least. The characters in The Flowers of Evil are so incredibly messed up. Even those who at first appear “normal” have some serious issues; it’s hard to tell what’s really going on in their heads. Kasuga is caught in this agonizing relationship between Saeki, the girl he idolizes, and Nakamura, the girl who torments him but from whom he can’t seem to break away.

Tonight’s Take-Out Night! by Akira Minazuki. A collection of three boys’ love stories, Tonight’s Take-Out Night is the first manga that I’ve read by Minazuki. While I enjoyed the stories, the high-contrast art style is what really caught my attention. The stories are short, so the development of the couples’ relationships has to happen fairly quickly. However, Minazuki’s characterizations are strong enough that they carry the stories fairly well. I liked the pairings and I liked their relationships which were mostly free of non-consensual elements. The first and third story are both good-natured and a little quirky. But the second story, with it’s period setting and supernatural twist, was my personal favorite.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Volumes 1-6 produced by Studio APPP. Technically, the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime adaptation is two series. The last six episodes were released between 1993 and 1994 while the first seven were released between 2000 and 2002. I do prefer the manga over the anime, but the OVA series is an excellent adaptation. The anime strips the story down to it’s core. The humor and the horror elements of the original tend to be downplayed; the anime focuses mostly on the action and battles. This does mean that some of my favorite moments from the manga were cut, but all of the fights that are particularly important to plot and character development are included. No matter what the medium, I love JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/22/12

October 22, 2012 by Sean Gaffney, Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith and MJ Leave a Comment

This week, Sean, Kate, MJ, and Michelle look at recent releases from Kodansha Comics, VIZ Media, Yen Press, and Vertical, Inc.

Cage of Eden, Vol. 7 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Yes, the fanservice is still as gratuitous as ever. That said, there’s a lot to like here. For one, we get more casualties, reminding us that the longer everyone stays on the island, the more the cast is going to be culled. The fact that the group is taken out by what turns out to be ticks is quite chilling. Akira’s open show of determination and leadership, meanwhile, gives everyone inspiration and makes them want to keep up with him. This then takes a much darker turn, as we see the consequences of everyone not wanting to be dragging the group down – the cast getting altitude sickness that nearly kills them because no one will rest. And finally the cast start to hallucinate (a genuine symptom of altitude sickness) – which allows for a cliffhanger involving more horrific extinct animals. Shonen madness! – Sean Gaffney

A Devil And Her Love Song, Vol. 5 | By Miyoshi Tomori | VIZ Media – Maria’s first instinct when confronted with conflict is still brutal honesty, and I admire the fact that the manga shows this remains ultimately a good thing. Indeed, it’s not just Maria in this volume, as Shin shows off his own tendency to say exactly what he thinks. He thus ends up meeting Maria’s friend from her old school, Anna. I knew from the moment we started Volume 1 that Anna would be appearing at some point, and would be an antagonist. Thus I am once again pleased at how believable Tomori-san makes her. Maria, meanwhile, is still having trouble dealing with her feelings for Shin. This fails to surprise anyone, given how she has trouble with friendships, much less love. But I can’t wait to see what happens next. – Sean Gaffney

Fairy Tail, Vol. 21 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – There is a WHOLE lot going on in this volume. We meet most of the Fairy Tail cast doppelgangers – including Lisanna, who’s dead in Natsu’s universe – and find Erza’s working for the bad guys. Speaking of the bad guys, they’re the usual eccentric lot, ranging from obviously sympathetic to completely insane. There’s a healthy dollop of humor here, as we see Lucy’s double showing off how alike the two are and Loki ignoring Lucy’s call to battle as he’s on a date (presumably with Aries). And there are sad and heartwarming moments, such as Carla’s realization of what she’s been involved in, as well as the identity of the cats who briefly harbor them. Most of all, I’ve finally stopped thinking about how much Fairy Tail rips off One Piece when I read it. Which is quite the accomplishment. – Sean Gaffney

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 3 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical, Inc. – Though I had high praise for the first two volumes of The Flowers of Evil, volume three is a weaker and less psychologically plausible installment than what preceded it. Saeki’s increasingly desperate attachment to Takao seems more like a plot contrivance than a natural progression for her character, while Nakamura’s bullying sails over the line from nasty manipulation to outright sadism. The two girls’ tug-of-war isn’t beyond the realm of possibility; nor is Saeki’s unfounded belief that Takao represents something more interesting or profound than what other boys her ages could offer. What feels wrong is the way in which that conflict manifests itself, culminating in a scene that only a teenage boy would feel was an accurate representation of how girls think and behave. I’m not ready to throw in the towel just yet, but I’m no longer convinced that Oshimi has as a firm a grasp of his characters as he did in the first chapters of the series. – Katherine Dacey

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 3 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical, Inc. – I wrote in my brief review of volume two that I “pretty much hated” The Flowers of Evil and couldn’t see myself continuing with it, and yet here I am. I suppose curiosity got the best of me. Volume three deals with the aftermath of Kasuga and Nakamura’s classroom vandalism, during which it becomes clear to Saeki and Kasuga’s mother that he is the one responsible. I actually did like certain things about what follows—especially Kasuga’s admittance that he was only reading Baudelaire in an effort to convince himself he’s special and that he’s scared of facing the real Saeki as opposed to his idealized vision of her—but spent a lot of time baffled by the characters’ actions and reactions. What is clear is that nobody is the person that others thought they were, which seems like a decent note upon which to end the series, but it actually continues from this point. I’m still not sure if I’ll be reading it. – Michelle Smith

Jiu Jiu, Vol. 2 | By Touya Tobina | VIZ Media – First of all, that cover is far saucier than a typical Hakusensha shojo title – something the author lampshades in one of her notes! Despite that, this title is becoming for females what Cage of Eden is for males. There’s lots of rampant fanservice of Snow and Night looking half-naked and sweaty. The plot is still a bit ‘make it up as you go along’, but I’m used to that with Hakusensha. The author hasn’t made it clear whether we – and Takamichi – are supposed to think of the two male leads as pets, or as children/family, or as love interests. It’s somewhat uncomfortable, and I think that’s at least partly deliberate. The addition of a few new cast members is nice to see, but for the most part this is still a three-hander about young people who are very bad at social interaction and the laughs and awkwardness that comes with that. Hope it continues to improve. -Sean Gaffney

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 8 | By Hiro Arikawa and Kiiro Yumi | VIZ Media- Okay, seriously, how did Library Wars end up being so shoujoliciously good? I mean, the premise is rather silly and the characters are far from convincing as soldiers, but the past couple of volumes have been genuinely enjoyable. In volume eight, the truth of why Iku’s being interrogated regarding a book-burning incident comes to light, which ultimately leads to her finally realizing that her commanding officer, Dojo, is her prince, whereupon she freaks out in a pretty awesome way. Combined with her composure under questioning and her reaction to this news, I am finally beginning to like Iku at long last. This volume also prominently features Iku’s awesome roommate, Shibazaki, who is one of those “I am jaded and unable to fall in love but will protect my idealistic friend with all I’ve got” characters whom I always adore. I’m looking forward to volume nine! – Michelle Smith

Pandora Hearts, Vol. 12 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – As tension ramps up over Oz’s questionable origins and the return of a mysterious villain with a penchant for beheading, I’ll admit that what really makes this whole volume for me is a (presumably) throwaway section in which Oz’s younger sister Ada reveals her secret obsession with the occult. That may not sound funny on the face of it, but trust me… it’s honestly hilarious, surprisingly charming, and makes it even harder to continue to hate the supposedly evil Vincent Nightray, to whom she bares her magically-consumed soul. Too, this section highlights one of the strengths of Mochizuki’s writing. No matter how dark and complicated her story becomes, she never loses her sense of whimsy or her deep love for her odd little cast of characters. Humorous interludes aside, volume twelve is full of terrific little nuggets of characterization—just part of the series’ considerable payoff for fans who have stuck with it so far. Still recommended. – MJ

Skip Beat!, Vol. 29 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – I am probably somewhat of a broken record where Skip Beat! is concerned, because not only do I genuinely enjoy every new volume, I also always wish that I had twenty more of them waiting in the wings, that’s how much I adore it. In this volume, Kyoko has realized that she’s on the verge of sprouting feelings for Ren, which scares her very much, since he is able to slip past her defenses so easily. She’s so distracted she allows a male costar to make her over for a wrap party, which yields two developments: Kyoko becomes convinced Ren sees her as too childish to pursue and she gains confidence in her ability to transform herself for a role. That’s Skip Beat! in a nutshell—even when there’s a smidgen of romantic progress, there’s a healthy dollop of career progress for the awesome heroine to go along with it. Perennially recommended. – Michelle Smith

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 2

July 10, 2012 by Katherine Dacey

Do you remember the first time you tried to impress someone on a date? I do: I was fifteen, and thrilled that an older boy had invited me to dinner. (He drove a Mazda two-seater and quoted lines from Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire, which, in 1988, made him a god.) My strategy for wooing him was to describe, in excruciating detail, the nuances of Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka, from the opening tableau to the final notes. I was convinced that if he could see my passion for something as dark and powerful as that ballet, he’d understand who I really was, and fall in love with that person. (Needless to say, we didn’t go on a second date.)

Kasuga, the earnest hero of The Flowers of Evil, finds himself in a similar situation at the beginning of volume two: Saeki, the classmate whom he’s loved from afar, has finally consented to go on a date with him. As they wander the aisles of his favorite bookstore, Kasuga confesses to Saeki that Baudelaire’s Fleurs du Mal “changed how I see the world. I felt as though I’d been an ignorant fool my whole life.” It’s a cringe-inducing moment — not because Saeki mocks Kasuga, or recoils from him, but because Kasuga has exposed himself in such a clumsy, sincere, and godawful manner.

That sincerity is nearly his undoing. Throughout the volume, Nakamura goads Kasuga about Saeki, reacting with fury when Kasuga asks Saeki to enter into a “pure, platonic relationship” with him: how dare he pretend to be normal? Nakamura then redoubles her efforts to reveal Kasuga’s “perversion,” currying favor with Saeki while pouring poison in Kasuga’s ear. But to what end? The final scene of the manga offers some interesting, and surprising, hints at Nakamura’s true agenda while suggesting that Kasuga might, in fact, have more in common with her than he’d care to admit. I won’t reveal what happens, but will venture to say that “orgiastic” is an apt description of those last glorious, frenzied pages.

Review copy provided by Vertical, Inc.

THE FLOWERS OF EVIL, VOL. 2 | BY SHUZO OSHIMI | VERTICAL, INC. | 168 pp.

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 2

July 10, 2012 by Katherine Dacey 12 Comments

Review copy provided by Vertical, Inc.

THE FLOWERS OF EVIL, VOL. 2 | BY SHUZO OSHIMI | VERTICAL, INC. | 168 pp.

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 1

May 9, 2012 by Katherine Dacey

If you grew up in a small town, you probably knew someone like Takao Kasuga, the nebbish-hero of The Flowers of Evil. Kasuga is a precocious middle-schooler who copes with provincial life by burying his nose in a book. His peers tolerate him, but find him a little too smug and strange to be one of the guys. Kasuga, for his part, takes pride in his sophisticated reading habits, stashing poems in his desk and telling his classmates that they’re too stupid to appreciate his favorite writer, Charles Baudelaire.

In a moment of impulse, Kasuga steals the gym outfit of beautiful classmate Nanako Saeki — an act witnessed by Sawa Nakamura, the class outcast. Nakamura confronts Kasuga after school, threatening to expose him as the thief unless he complies with her requests. Her motives for blackmailing Kasuga are complex, a mixture of prurient interest in Kasuga’s sexual fantasies and sadistic delight in wielding power over a boy. At times Nakamura physically dominates him — she punches and tackles him — and at times she manipulates him with humiliating tasks and questions.

I’d be the first to admit that the similarities between Flowers of Evil and Sundome — however superficial — predisposed me to dislike the book. I didn’t think I had the stomach for another story in which a ball-busting girl sexually and psychologically tortured a sad-sack boy. Yet Flowers of Evil proved a far more compelling and honest look at adolescent sexuality than Sundome, thanks, in large part, to Shuzo Oshimi’s sympathetic portrayal of Kasuga.

Throughout the book, author Shuzo Oshimi hints that Kasuga’s character was inspired by his own experiences as a book-toting misfit. “I read Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil for the first time in middle school,” he explains at the end of chapter one. “I didn’t understand much of it, but the book’s feel — suspicious, indecent, yet nastily noble — made me think, I’m so cool for reading it.” Kasuga, too, clearly feels a sense of superiority for having discovered Baudelaire at a young age; in a fit of self-pity, he muses, “How many people in this town understand Baudelaire?” At the same time, however, he’s keenly aware that his peers think he’s weird. Kasuga may be mature enough to appreciate Baudelaire — or perhaps, more accurately, to think he understands Baudelaire — but he isn’t quite old enough to shake off his classmates’ teasing.

Oshimi also does an exceptional job of dramatizing Kasuga’s inner sexual turmoil. Early in the book, for example, Kasuga catches sight of Saeki. In a flash, he pictures her clad in gym clothes, blushing and telling him, “I love you.” His acute embarrassment at being discovered mid-reverie is all the more palpable for the way in which he’s drawn: Kasuga sinks into his chair, his shoulders slumped, brows furrowed, and body foreshortened, making him look like a moist ragdoll. In later chapters, Oshimi uses surreal imagery — a wall of eyes, a fun-house mirror, a giant sink hole — to suggest that Kasuga’s normal teenage discomfort with sexual feelings has become something more powerful and destructive: shame.

If Kasuga is a sympathetic character, Nakamura poses greater difficulties for the reader. She claims her true agenda is to expose him as a pervert, but nothing about Kasuga’s behavior indicates that he is; if anything, Kasuga is naive, torn between romantic and sexual ideas about love. (That he calls Saeki “my muse, my femme fatale, my Venus” suggests the extent of his confusion.) Nakamura, too, appears to wrestling with complicated sexual feelings; in several scenes, she hints at her own predilections, only to accuse Kasuga of harboring even nastier ones. In short, Nakamura seems intent on finding someone more self-loathing and sexually confused than she is, yet her behavior is so violent and manipulative it sometimes feels as if Oshimi is trying too hard to suggest her disaffection; Nakamura’s character veers dangerously close to being a symbol of castration anxiety, rather than an emotionally damaged teenage girl.

That said, The Flowers of Evil is a shockingly readable story that vividly — one might even say queasily — evokes the fear and confusion of discovering one’s own sexuality. Recommended.

THE FLOWERS OF EVIL, VOL. 1 • BY SHUZO OSHIMI • VERTICAL, INC. • 202 pp. • NO RATING (BEST FOR OLDER TEENS)

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 1

May 9, 2012 by Katherine Dacey 11 Comments

That said, The Flowers of Evil is a shockingly readable story that vividly — one might even say queasily — evokes the fear and confusion of discovering one’s own sexuality. Recommended.

THE FLOWERS OF EVIL, VOL. 1 • BY SHUZO OSHIMI • VERTICAL, INC. • 202 pp. • NO RATING (BEST FOR OLDER TEENS)