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Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

kobato

Bookshelf Briefs 1/2/12

January 2, 2012 by Melinda Beasi, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

This week, Sean, Michelle, & Melinda take a look at recent releases from Viz Media, Yen Press, and Del Rey Manga.


Blue Exorcist, Vol. 5 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – The revelation from Volume 4 continues to reverberate in this volume, as now that Rin is known to be the son of Satan most of the class is treating him differently – even Shiemi, much to his dismay. To her credit, she at least realizes that what she’s doing is wrong. Still, it was nice to see Izumo step up and show she doesn’t think anything has changed. A lot of this volume deals with what Rin is supposed to be because of his heritage versus what he actually is in real life – as Rin notes, he did not personally destroy entire families, so why is he being blamed for it? Meanwhile, we meet Ryuji, Renzo and Konoekomaru’s families, and get into the next big plot point, involving the theft of demonic artifacts. As always with Jump titles, a lot of the time the resolution comes down to shouting at other people. But that’s OK, it’s still a lot of fun.-Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 6 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – Much of tis volume has another old, tried-and-true trop from shoujo manga. We meet a girl, Kayako Hiragi, who would appear to be a new rival as well as a horrible person who sneers at Nanami and has no idea how she could possibly get anyone to follow her… then spend the next few chapters showing how this attitude is a facade and she’s really broken and terrified deep down. It works here because Suzuki is a good writer and because Nanami does not let lack of raw power interfere with her basic niceness. Of course, she also DOES show some awesome new power here. One thing to note: the scene with the black tar spider demon attempting to possess/eat Nanami was bad enough, but Nanami’s cry of “don’t come inside me” gave it an even creepier feeling I wasn’t expecting from a cutesy Hana to Yume manga.-Sean Gaffney

Kobato., Vol. 5 | By CLAMP | Yen Press – The fifth volume of Kobato. provides some long-awaited details concerning how supernatural being Iorogi found himself chaperoning human Kobato on her heart-healing journey while stuck in the body of a stuffed animal. Unfortunately, despite this information and some truly gorgeous illustrations, I still just cannot connect with this series. I just don’t care that Kobato has fallen in love with Fujimoto, the hardworking part-time employee of Yomogi Kindergarten, and I just don’t care that her failure to complete her mission and have her wish granted has some sort of unfortunate consequence for Iorogi and his former underlings, who spend most of this volume standing around telling each other things they already know in order to fill in background for the reader. The most intriguing aspect of the series continues to be the yakuza, Okiura, but he’s only around for a few pages. Still, I’ll read the final volume to see how it wraps up. – Michelle Smith

My Girlfriend’s a Geek, Vol. 5 | By Rize Shinba and Pentabu | Yen Press – There’s nothing too exciting about the conclusion to My Girlfriend’s a Geek, but I think it’s probably better that way. Instead of manufactured drama, there are chapters about Taiga allowing the BL story he wrote for Yuiko’s eyes only to be posted to a website, the continuing effort to figure out whether Taiga’s friend Kouji has picked up on his sister’s otaku interests or is just really dense, and the final story, in which Taiga concludes that, though Yuiko is kind of bizarre and manipulative, being her boyfriend is “not such a bad life really.” It’s a pretty satisfying ending, though I could’ve done without the side story, in which a BL fanboy coerces his roommate to partake in his hobby with lines like, “You will do as I say, or I will sell your soiled underwear to dirty old men!!” What a charmer! – Michelle Smith

My Girlfriend’s A Geek, Vol. 5 | By Rize Shinba and Pentabu | Yen Press – I really enjoyed Volume 4, feeling that it finally managed to give Yuiko enough depth so that we could accept why Taiga would continue to be with her despite simply liking her looks. I was hoping for more from this, the final volume, but instead it seems a bit more like “we’ve run out of plot, do a few more chapters then wrap it up.” Not to say there’s not interesting material here – I was highly amused at finding that Kouji sees his sister in such a set way that he doesn’t realize that in reality she’s MUCH WORSE – but the chapter focusing on two roommates who are a BL version of Yuiko and Taiga felt very tacked on and pointless. Luckily, the last chapter was rather sweet – it stems from Yuiko’s fujoshi tendencies, and intimacy is still some ways away, but I’m happy we got to know this couple, and pleased we got to read this amusing if cynical look at BL fans and the men who put up with them.-Sean Gaffney

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 10 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – This volume was a more slice-of-life turn from Natsume, as we see his attempts to help an old classmate who has fallen for a spirit, and impersonating a harvest god so that a local festival can go on. The latter is the far more dangerous task, and we get to see several action sequences that I’m not really used to seeing in this manga that’s usually more mellow about its yokai. This story also involves Natori and Hiragi as well, and I enjoy the way that Midorikawa-san draws their relationship. I also like the fact that the yokai are still not used to Natsume’s basic kindness and concern. Everyone continues to try to see an ulterior motive. Luckily, we have other characters to be the flawed types in this manga. Natsume’s just the upright noble lad – and we’re glad to see that.-Sean Gaffney

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 6 | By Hiroshi Shiibashi | Viz Media – I generally try to avoid letting my shipping biases affect my reviews of any manga, so I will limit my discussion of the first chapter of Nura 6 to a brief SQUEE! and a note that Yuki-Onna really gets to be utterly badass. That said, the rest of the volume is not without its pleasures as well. The Tamazuki arc finally comes to an end, but not before he gets to show off exactly why he’s never going to beat Rikuo – the scene where he starts sacrificing his own Night Parade is chilling. The second half of the manga shows off Rikuo and his classmates investigating a rumored yokai at a coastal village, and features some chilling art – Shiibashi is particularly good at drawing good guys revealed to be bad guys in a creepy way. Nura is nice, solid Shonen Jump, and will appeal to those who enjoy Jump-type relationships and a more active yokai series than Natsume’s Book of Friends.-Sean Gaffney

Toriko, Vol. 7 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – After wrapping up their search for jewel meat (and saving Rin, who was not quite dead, as I suspected when I read Vol. 6), the majority of this volume shows Toriko on his own, accompanied only by his battle wolf Terry. Though it’s odd seeing him separated from pint-size best friend Komatsu, we do get a few character moments here and there – most notably Toriko’s hard love towards Terry, who has a tendency to try to protect Toriko from lethal creatures that Toriko doesn’t necessarily need protecting from. As always, though, the main reason to read this is to see what ludicrous food the author will come up with. BB Corn may look normal, but proves to be anything but – and we hear for the first time about what Toriko plans to make his entree. God. That is to say a food named God, before people start to panic. Still dumb fun.-Sean Gaffney

xxxHolic, Vol. 18 | By CLAMP | Del Rey Manga – One of several metaphysical themes that runs through the entirety of xxxHolic is the idea that time and place for are not things to be taken for granted. The series is filled with searching and waiting for that right time or place, and it tirelessly urges its characters to be patient as they endure. And though the series proper ended a couple of volumes ago, I find I’m grateful that it did not quite end, because watching someone like Watanuki actually learn how to wait has been a very special joy for me. To hear some factions of fandom tell it, I shouldn’t be enjoying this series anymore, but if anything, I’m enjoying it more than ever. Readers should not expect the kind of dramatic tension one usually finds in a series’ penultimate volume—that moment passed several volumes ago—but this postscript is well worth reading. Still recommended. -Melinda Beasi

Filed Under: Bookshelf Briefs Tagged With: blue exorcist, kamisama kiss, kobato, my girlfriend's a geek, natsume's book of friends, nura: rise of the yokai clan, toriko, xxxholic

Off the Shelf: CLAMP & More

August 3, 2011 by Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

MELINDA: So. Hi!

MICHELLE: Yo.

MELINDA: I’m feeling extremely frazzled and not at all witty. How about you?

MICHELLE: Kind of sleepy, actually. Maybe readers should just think up a joke here and pretend one of us said it.

MELINDA: Good call. So. Read anything lately?

MICHELLE: Indeed I have! I decided to make it a CLAMP week, and first up is volume four of Kobato., currently being released by Yen Press.

I wasn’t very impressed with the first three volumes of this series, which follows the dim-witted titular heroine in her attempts to fill a magic bottle with wounded hearts so that her wish can be granted. Kobato is very compassionate, so she heals hearts pretty well when given the opportunity, but has been spending a lot of time with two particular wounded people—Sayaka, the proprietor of a kindergarten, and Fujimoto, her part-time assistant—and so hasn’t made much progress on filling her bottle. In this volume her guide, the irascible Ioryogi (some kind of supernatural being currently stuck in the body of a stuffed dog) learns that she’s only got six more months in which to complete her task. If she fails, her wish can’t be granted and he can’t regain his original body.

Getting background information on Ioryogi and his motives—mostly revealed in conversations between serious-faced animals—at last is very welcome, making this volume an improvement over the last, but I still can’t say I am enjoying Kobato. all that much. I wish I could like someone, but I just don’t. Kobato would be okay, especially as she works out her burgeoning feelings for Fujimoto, except CLAMP seems to have a fixation with her falling down as much as possible. Ioryogi is always yelling, and not even a mysterious background can make him a compelling character for me. The kindergarten employees seem to have one default emotion each. Heck, the most interesting character in the whole series is the yakuza who’s trying to close the kindergarten down. Let’s jettison everything else and just follow him for a while, eh?

Still, there are a few mysteries that will keep me reading. What is the precious thing in the Heavenly World that Ioryogi is after? What is Kobato’s wish? And why is it so important that she not remove her hat? With either two or three volumes remaining, I figure I can stick around long enough to at least see whether these questions are answered.

MELINDA: I haven’t gotten as far in to this series as you have, though I think I might like it a bit more. Mostly because I actually do like the title character. But I admit I rather wish CLAMP were spending their time continuing Legal Drug instead. Is that terrible of me to say?

MICHELLE: Not at all. And, in fact, they just finished Kobato. in Japan, so at least it’s not actively consuming any more of their time.

It’s not that I hate Kobato, either, but more like I feel CLAMP is doing her a disservice, if that makes sense.

Annnyways, what have you been reading this week?

MELINDA: Well, earlier this week, I dug into the first issue of GEN Manga, a new “indie” manga magazine available online or in print from GEN Manga Entertainment. I happened to have the print version, provided in a small, red volume about the same trim size as a standard volume of manga in the US.

GEN‘s promotional material is pretty up-front about their artists being unknown. “GEN puts on no airs about how grand their authors are. In fact, they readily admit that their authors are underground. GEN is manga the way it should be without the flash, for the fans, raw and fresh.” They make a lot of noise about the magazine’s “indie” feel, too. “This original work of graphic fiction boldly challenges the industry while breaking new ground. It presents what manga readers are hungry for, the release of fresh underground work from Japan.”

Trouble is, the stories don’t really read as ground-breaking so much as amateurish. Each of the volume’s four stories has its strengths, certainly, but it’s rarely enough to compensate for its flaws. Both Nakamura Shige’s “Wolf” and Suzuki Yu’s “VS Aliens” suffer from convoluted plotlines that fail to live up to an initial, fairly ambitious premise. Karino Arisa’s “Souls” is intriguing, but artistically immature. Mihara Gunya’s “KAMEN,” the story of a man controlled by a mask he can’t remove, holds up the best, but offers just the barest glimpse of what the story might be.

On the other hand, the volume is currently free for download, ($9.95 in print), which renders it worth checking out at the very least. Don’t get me wrong. I really like what GEN is going for, as a concept anyway, and I’ll definitely be watching to see what kind of work might come out of it in the future. There’s just not much there for me so far.

MICHELLE: I’ve certainly been interested to see what happens with GEN, but admit that I haven’t personally been tempted to try it out. I guess I’m less hungry for “fresh underground work,” especially in short story format, than I am for “much-loved classics” that offer multiple volumes to enjoy.

MELINDA: I admit I’d be more interested in some of these stories if I knew they were first chapters of something that’s going to be serialized. But that’s not what the promo material suggests, sadly.

So, what’s your other CLAMP selection this week?

MICHELLE: My second CLAMP selection is the Magic Knight Rayearth Omnibus Edition, which was recently released by Dark Horse.

I’ve seen the Rayearth anime, and read TOKYOPOP’s second edition of the manga (with unflipped art), so this was really my third time through the material. I’d never previously counted this as among my favorite CLAMP series, so I thought a reread might be kind of a slog, but I ended up really enjoying it! The first story arc (originally comprising three volumes) benefits greatly from being contained in one volume, where momentum propels one through the adventure at a steady clip and doesn’t let up until the not-exactly-what-one-expects ending. The remastered art looks great, the color pages are beautiful, and, in the end, Rayearth has vaulted up several levels in my esteem.

Another really neat thing about the series is how CLAMP subverts demographic expectations. (Which they continue to do with series like Kobato., which has a shoujo-sounding premise but is, if anything, seinen.) Consider this description of the plot:

Three junior high students are visiting Tokyo Tower on a school trip when they are suddenly summoned to Cefiro by its princess, Emeraude. Emeraude has been kidnapped and the students are tasked becoming the Magic Knights of legend, rescuing the princess, and saving Cefiro, which has plunged into chaos in her absence. They agree, and are outfitted with magical armor and weaponry. As they head out on various tasks, their abilities grow and weapons evolve even as they forge a tight friendship. They are absolutely determined to save Cefiro, vanquish many menacing monsters along the way, and are frequently depicted in fierce and badass poses. Eventually, they awaken some giant mecha and defeat Zagato, the high priest who is holding Emeraude captive.

Now cast the students as girls and remind yourself that this ran in a shoujo magazine. The shounen-style fantasy flare makes for a fun adventure, but there’s a pretty powerful shoujo punch waiting in the final pages. I really enjoyed this series on a reread—though I’m not too enamored of the silly comedy—and eagerly await the omnibus of the second half.

MELINDA: Well, wow, you’ve inspired me to want to read this as well! I have to admit that despite being a CLAMP fan, I bogged down in the first volume of the TOKYOPOP editions. But you make this sound genuinely fascinating and fun!

MICHELLE: I remember bogging down myself when I first started the anime, but this time I breezed right through the story and ended up with a greater appreciation of the characters and the art, which is often quite pretty. I’d definitely say it’s worth another look. Plus, any Tsubasa or xxxHOLiC fan should enjoy seeing where Mokona originally came from!

What’s your second pick this week?

MELINDA: Well, It’s a bit of a strange one, or at least strange for me. While I’m used to receiving a variety of manga for review from Viz, I admit to being quite surprised when my latest review package contained volume one of Pokémon Black and White. I can say with complete honesty that I’ve never had the slightest interest in Pokémon, and really I missed its initial craze entirely, but there it was, in my apartment, Pokémon Black and White. So without any real knowledge of the Pokémon universe, I decided to sit down and read it.

Thankfully, as a series for kids, it wasn’t as difficult as it might have been to try to pick up the basic premise, though I can’t say I actually understand what Pokémon are, or why they are being raised up for “trainers” to have battles, but that indeed is what is going on. The main character being introduced here is “Black,” a guy who is so deeply obsessed with winning the “Pokémon League,” that in order to think about anything else at all, a creature named Musha must empty his brain— literally wipe it completely clean—so that new information can be introduced into it.

Though this all sounds a bit creepy, I admit I find the concept pretty compelling (I could use a Musha of my own, these days). Unfortunately, very little is made of Black’s periodically emptied brain at the time, and the rest of the volume is pretty much devoted to his first “trainer battle” with a guy who can’t tolerate heat.

Obviously, I am not the audience for this series, and I’d be hard pressed to find a reason to buy volumes of it on my own, but it does contain some surprisingly interesting elements, along with a slew of genuinely cute creatures. I developed a particular fondness for one called a “cottonee,” that was so distressed by its inability to protect its heat-intolerant trainer from fire, that it put itself in harm’s way to try to overcome its weakness.

MICHELLE: You win the gold star for diversity in this column!

I actually do know a little bit about Pokémon because I was teaching piano at the height of its craze and, of course, wanted to get the best stickers with which to motivate my students. At one point, I could even tell you which creatures morphed into which, but now all I really remember is that Snorlax is adorable. I even had a plushie.

Anyway, even though I can’t say I want to rush out and read this for myself, it sounds like kids are for in for a treat.

MELINDA: I do think it is pretty vital for kids to have at least some introduction to Pokémon before trying to make sense of this bit of the series, which is actually why I didn’t end up sending it off to our own Jia Li for review, but yes, kids who are interested in the franchise should find quite a bit to enjoy in this volume, I’d think.

MICHELLE: I think kids would probably find Rayearth a lot of fun, too, actually. Dark Horse lists the age range as twelve and up (there are a few ladies in butt-floss garb) but the real issue would be whether a kid could actually lift the durn thing.

MELINDA: Heh, that’s good to know. I’d say that Pokémon skews younger, but it’s always nice to see manga out there that the under-13 crowd can enjoy.

MICHELLE: Definitely!

Filed Under: OFF THE SHELF Tagged With: GEN Manga, kobato, Magic Knight Rayearth, Pokémon Black and Whilte

Bookshelf Briefs 7/4/11

July 4, 2011 by Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith and David Welsh 4 Comments

This week, Michelle, Kate, & David take a look at new releases from Viz Media, Yen Press, Vertical, and Seven Seas.


Black Butler, Vol. 6 | By Yana Taboso | Yen Press -After several mediocre, talky volumes, Black Butler returns to form with a deliciously spooky plotline involving a traveling circus. Sebastian and Ciel once again go undercover, this time as a knife-throwing, high-wire act. Though the gothic costumes and campy dialogue may remind readers of Kaori Yuki’s Godchild, Yana Taboso is a more disciplined storyteller than Yuki, focusing less on atmosphere and more on narrative. As a result, volume six unfurls at a brisk clip, offering readers just the right amount of action, humor, and horror; anyone who’s ever wondered what really goes on beneath the big tent will have their worst suspicions confirmed by Sebastian and Ciel’s discovery. – Katherine Dacey

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 2 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – I know Michelle just reviewed this last week, but I have to reinforce the interesting spectacle of Kato trying to do interesting, specific things with this story and with her attempts to insert some of the shônen-y-est things that were ever shônen-y. Among the students at the school for exorcists is a young man named Suguro who seems to have sprung fully formed from the pages of the chapter about shônen rivals in Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga. His temperament and design are fresh from the factory. Fortunately, the rest of the class consists of interesting or amusing types that show a lot more promise for future storytelling. On the whole, this tale of budding demon fighters is building on the strengths of the first volume and largely avoiding its weaknesses. I’ll be sticking around to see how these kids grow into their roles. – David Welsh

Chi’s Sweet Home, Vol. 6 | By Kanata Konami | Vertical, Inc. – For me, a lot of the fun of this series is the way that Konami keeps generating new material without cheating by making her kitten protagonist too human in her thinking. She’s getting into Chi’s head instead of inserting unlikely or implausible thoughts there. As cute as the series is, there’s an impressive level of narrative fidelity in evidence. Konami respects pets and the ways humans care for and react to them. Of course, it’s also very entertaining, especially for animal lovers like myself who enjoy trying to figure out just what that furry critter is thinking as it undertakes evidently complex adventures that I can never fully understand. I do sometimes wonder about the learning curve of Chi’s human family. Everybody knows you don’t leave a cake on a low table with a kitten in the house. – David Welsh

Cross Game, Vol. 4 | By Mitsuru Adachi | VIZ Media – When it comes to Cross Game, I simply love it too much to linger over any areas for possible improvement. I’ve come to accept the frequent fourth-wall breakage, for example, and even some unfortunate potty humor can’t dim my enthusiasm as Ko and the Seishun team begin competing in the regional tournament. In addition to the riveting baseball action, which is a phrase I never thought I’d be uttering, Adachi shows, through a series of small moments, how in sync Ko and Aoba really are. It’s impressive enough that they share the ability to tell when the other is nursing a hidden injury, but when Ko senses Aoba’s unspoken melancholy at being left out of a post-victory celebration, it leads to one of the nicest moments in the volume. Even if you don’t think you like sports manga, you ought to give Cross Game a try. – Michelle Smith

Kobato, Vol. 4 | By CLAMP | Yen Press – Kobato may be CLAMP’s strangest manga to date. On one level, it’s a saccharine story about a clumsy but sweet girl on a quest to heal broken hearts. But on another level, it’s a bizarre fantasy in which exiled angels have been condemned to walk the Earth in the form of bears, stuffed animals, and one-eyed jack-rabbits. (At least, that’s what I think Ginsei is meant to be.) The two plots don’t mesh as seamlessly as they should, thanks to a confusing script; the angels’ conversations teeter on the brink of pompous nonsense, and it’s never entirely clear if CLAMP is being serious, or is subverting the angels-among-us genre. The artwork, however, is lovely to look at, filled with sensual lines, playful images, and gracefully executed character designs that make it easy to overlook Kobato‘s more serious flaws. – Katherine Dacey

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 7 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – I think this series lost something when it shifted from more episodic storytelling to longer-form arcs, but I still enjoy it a great deal. In this volume, Natsume tries to figure out who or what is conducting a series of vicious attacks on yôkai and crosses paths with a ruthless exorcist with mysterious motives. It’s a solid mystery, but it lacks the delicacy and emotional resonance that this story displays at its best. It does add a few more shades to Natsume’s expanding world view and the occasional disillusionment that comes with it. There is an excellent side story that features a game of tag between Natsume and his yôkai companions that’s both raucous and wistful. And there’s an unrelated bonus tale that’s almost purely wistful in the best sense of the word. The meat of the volume may not be perfect, but the sides are choice. – David Welsh

Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura, Vol. 2 | By Arina Tanemura | VIZ Media – The first volume of Sakura Hime: Legend of Princess Sakura earned the series a second look by introducing a murderous love interest. Though volume two curtails this conflict pretty quickly by having the Emperor propose a youko-hunting mission by which Sakura (part youko herself) can prove her loyalty to humanity and thereby achieve his protection, the story is still much darker than one might expect from Arina Tanemura. Oh, sure, there are bishounen aplenty and loads of romantic angst, but Tanemura seems to be making a real effort to stretch the boundaries of what kind of story fits in Ribon, and is even reining in her use of screentone! Sakura Hime isn’t perfect—it’s still pretty shallow and generic—but I think Tanemura deserves some kind of “most improved” sticker in recognition of her efforts. – Michelle Smith

Toradora!, Vol. 2 | Story by Yuyuko Takemiya, Art by Zekkyo | Seven Seas – If you remember how awkward boy-girl friendships were back in high school, you’ll appreciate Toradora!, a slapstick comedy about two teens who agree to help each other improve their romantic prospects. The twist? Taiga and Ryuuji spend so much time together that their classmates conclude that they’re dating, defeating the very purpose of their alliance. Volume two has its share of overly familiar moments, but it also boasts some genuinely funny scenes of Taiga and Ryuuji venting their frustrations and sharing embarrassing secrets. The only thing that prevents Toradora! from being a slam dunk are the supporting characters; Ryuuji’s helpless, dumb-as-toast mother is one of the least appealing second bananas in recent memory. Still, that’s a minor criticism of a series that captures the exquisite awfulness of teenage courtship with humor, warmth, and energy. – Katherine Dacey

Filed Under: Bookshelf Briefs Tagged With: black butler, blue exorcist, chi's sweet home, cross game, kobato, natsume's book of friends, sakura hime, toradora!

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