Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Archives for June 2012

Let’s Get Visual: Takehiko Inoue

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MICHELLE: It’s been a while, but Let’s Get Visual has awoken from its hibernation in time to celebrate the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast. Joining me for this occasion is special guest host Anna Neatrour, who is also co-hosting the MMF with me! Welcome, Anna!

ANNA: Thank you! I am excited to join in on a Let’s Get Visual post for Takehiko Inoue, because I think he is one of the top contemporary manga artists. He has an incredibly detailed and realistic style that really sets his manga apart from other series.

MICHELLE: I just started reading Vagabond the other day, and there was one close-up picture of Takezo drawn with extreme care and obvious skill, and I thought, “Y’know, this should be the image that all manga fans carry around to immediately dispel the misconceived notion that all manga looks alike and/or involves big, sparkly eyes.”

ANNA: I think that Inoue’s style (particularly in Real and Vagabond) is probably more reader-friendly to Western comics fans who haven’t read much manga before.

MICHELLE: Yeah, probably so. I’ve often thought that Western comic fans would probably like a bunch of seinen manga if they’d give it a chance.

Anyways, I suppose we should proceed to get visual! The images I’ve chosen are the very first pages in the very first volume of Real.

Real, Vol. 1 (VIZ Media)

I chose these images because they demonstrate how well Inoue is able to communicate Togawa’s character here without needing any words at all. Okay, sure, this guy is in a wheelchair, but he’s clearly driven. He’s pushing himself, possibly to the point of pain (if that’s what that one black panel represents). He has bulging muscles, so he’s clearly been at this a while. He’s moving fast. He may have a disability, but it doesn’t mean that he can’t take being an athlete seriously.

And then you turn the page and see that he is all alone. Inoue pulls back to show the entirety of the gym to emphasize Togawa’s solitude, and if that wasn’t enough, we get a glimpse of the empty school campus, as well. This sets the stage for what we later learn (which you mention in your review)—that Togawa’s attitude toward his wheelchair basketball team does not mesh well with his hobbyist teammates. Here’s a guy who is giving it his all, and he is the only one.

There’s just so much we can tell from this elegant introduction that it kind of blows me away.

ANNA: I agree that one of the things I like best about Inoue’s art is how much the images are able to contribute to the storytelling of his manga without overtly telling the audience anything. The themes touched on in the images you showed are addressed again later in the manga. Togawa’s ego and isolation contribute to his central struggle in the manga, and at the same time his willingness to practice all by himself shows just how dedicated he is to his sport.

MICHELLE: I will always, always be a big fan of nonverbal storytelling, so Inoue really wins my heart here by going above and beyond impressive art.

Want to tell us about the images you picked?

ANNA: The panels I chose were from Volume 26 of Vagabond, collected in the ninth VIZBIG edition of the series.

Vagabond, Vol. 26 (VIZ Media)

One of the reasons why I love Vagabond so much is that the fight scenes are never merely about two people fighting. There’s always a psychological or philosophical element involved. We see Miyamoto Musashi in a midst of battle against 70 members of the Yoshioka sword school, an ambush he willingly walked into. As he battles, he’s focused on centering himself and living in the moment. The close-up panels of his face show the process of self-reflection even as he is mowing down his opponents.

MICHELLE: That’s a really striking sequence. I like how he seems to be looking off into the horizon as he tells himself to have no aspirations for the future, as if to acknowledge the existence of other paths that he’s not allowing himself to take. Granted, I’ve not read the series that far—I’m barely on volume two—but it almost seems to me like he could walk away from this fight if he wanted to, but he’s not letting himself do it. Is that anywhere near the case?

ANNA: I don’t think Musashi is capable mentally of walking away from a fight like this. There are a lot of things that lead up to this sequence of many chapters where Musashi takes on the entire sword school, but one thing that struck me about the battle as a whole is that while you see Musashi getting beaten down and injured, towards the end Inoue almost has the reader concluding that it was really unfair to the 70 men who were planning on ambushing and attacking Musashi from behind that they had to go up against this one particular single opponent. Vagabond’s
fight scenes are always interesting, even when they stretch on for hundreds of pages, simply because the exquisitely rendered battles are contrasted with the internal struggles of the people who are fighting. Battle is as much of a mental exercise as it is a physical one.

MICHELLE: That’s an interesting point! So far I’ve only seen a few fights, and there hasn’t been much on Takezo’s (as Musashi is known at that point in the story) mental state yet. But I definitely admired the pacing and structure of Inoue’s artistic approach to battle—even watching Takezo just turn around and notice one opponent still standing becomes something frankly terrifying.

ANNA: One the things I enjoy about Vagabond is seeing the way Musashi changes over time. The man fighting the sword school in these panels has a measured sense of self and an inner stillness as he fights opponent after opponent. This is totally different from the way Takezo is portrayed in the earlier volumes, where he is more arrogant and animalistic.

MICHELLE: I definitely look forward to seeing how he gets from point A to point B. I admit, I still prefer Inoue’s sports-related series, but there’s just no denying that Vagabond is a masterpiece.

Thanks to everyone for reading, and we hope we’ve inspired you to check out some Inoue!

Women Write About Comics: Interview

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Good morning, Manga Bookshelf readers! I have a quick link to share this morning, to a not-so-quick interview I gave last week to Claire Napier at the blog carnival Women Write About Comics. Claire asked me some really great questions about manga, blogging, female representation, and storytelling in general. It was a real pleasure to talk with her.

The interview is here.

I hope you’ll check it out if you have a moment (or, uh, twenty). And if you’re a woman who writes about comics (or a man who has our backs), take a look at the blog carnival in general and how it works. It’s a great opportunity for us to really expand our conversations, blog-to-blog, and I’m hoping to participate soon myself. The latest topic is Harassment in the Geek Blogoshere, which will be running through July 7-8. You can also check them out on Twitter and Facebook.

Takehiko Inoue MMF Roundup: Part Three

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What started as a trickle has become a steady stream as the Takehiko Inoue MMF begins drawing to a close!

At Experiments in Manga, Ash brown checks out the second Vagabond VIZBIG omnibus, particularly praising the way battles in the series have lasting repercussions for the characters.

At Manga Report, Anna digs into the past for highlights from the Inoue archive page.

Animemiz posts about Inoue’s artwork at the New York City Kinokuniya location.

At Manga Village, the gang collects a bunch of quotes in praise of Inoue’s Slam Dunk and Lori Henderson gives Vagabond a try but ultimately concludes it’s just not her thing.

Lastly, be sure to check out this really interesting article at Manga Therapy that ponders the notion of strength, as depicted in Vagabond.

My thanks to all the contributors!

Takehiko Inoue MMF Roundup: Part Two

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I’ve got a few more Inoue-riffic links to share with you today!

First up, Lori Henderson at Manga Village looks at volume 22 of Slam Dunk, the most recent volume to become available in English, and points out that this is one sports manga where the sport itself is perhaps more important than the typical shounen theme of striving for improvement.

Next, MJand I devoted last night’s Off the Shelf column to a discussion of Inoue’s seinen wheelchair basketball series, Real, which we pretty much rave about unreservedly.

Lastly, my lovely cohost Anna contributes another review (love the Peter Sellers reference in the title!), wherein she shares her thoughts on the first six volumes of Slam Dunk. You might recall from our introductory post that she had yet to try the series, but I am happy to report that she likes it! She also writes really good concluding paragraphs, like this one:

One of the reasons why I liked it so much is that there’s a general feeling of warmth that you get when reading this manga. Sakuragi is often made fun of, but he’s portrayed with affection. He even inspires a bit of grudging respect from his teammates as his basketball skills keep getting better. As a bonus, the reader also gets treated to a variety of ’90s fashions and hairstyles. Inoue’s enthusiasm and love for the game informs the manga, making it seem more personal and interesting than a shonen manga that is developed by committee with the aid of magazine polls. After reading Slam Dunk, I can understand why it was one of the top-selling manga in Japan. If you haven’t tried reading Slam Dunk yet, don’t be an idiot like me and wait for several years—just pick up a few volumes as soon as possible.

What she said!

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 6 May

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

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Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [494.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [455.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [442.0] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [408.1] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [399.0] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [394.4] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [384.8] ::
8. ↑6 (14) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [361.9] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [335.0] ::
10. ↑6 (16) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [310.2] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Yen Press 80
Tokyopop 75
Viz Shonen Jump 74
Viz Shojo Beat 56
Kodansha Comics 43
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 38
DMP Juné 17
Dark Horse 16
Vizkids 15
HC/Tokyopop 12

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,205.4] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [875.2] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Black Butler – Yen Press [849.2] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [604.8] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [588.5] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [580.6] ::
7. ↓-2 (5) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [545.3] ::
8. ↑9 (17) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [478.5] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [442.4] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Blue Exorcist – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [423.5] ::

[more]

New Releases
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [494.8] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [394.4] ::
8. ↑6 (14) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [361.9] ::
12. ↑5 (17) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [295.3] ::
13. ↑5 (18) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 3 – HarperCollins, Apr 2012 [294.6] ::
15. ↓-7 (8) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [279.5] ::
23. ↓-1 (22) : Highschool of the Dead 6 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [239.9] ::
24. ↑96 (120) : One Piece 62 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [235.6] ::
28. ↓-7 (21) : Durarara!! 2 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [223.3] ::
29. ↓-4 (25) : Skip Beat! 27 – Viz Shojo Beat, Apr 2012 [212.6] ::

[more]

Preorders

5. ↑2 (7) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [399.0] ::
14. ↓-2 (12) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [288.9] ::
16. ↑3 (19) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [274.1] ::
19. ↑7 (26) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [256.2] ::
27. ↑84 (111) : Ouran High School Host Club 18 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2012 [223.5] ::
51. ↓-12 (39) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [163.0] ::
67. ↑102 (169) : Skip Beat! 28 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2012 [129.9] ::
71. ↑9 (80) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [126.9] ::
72. ↑3 (75) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [124.3] ::
83. ↓-11 (72) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [113.0] ::

[more]

Manhwa

307. ↓-62 (245) : Priest Purgatory 1 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [38.4] ::
348. ↓-39 (309) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [32.8] ::
496. ↑164 (660) : Black God 16 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [20.9] ::
506. ↑124 (630) : Color Trilogy 1 The Color of Earth – Macmillan First Second, Apr 2009 [20.4] ::
618. ↓-99 (519) : Ragnarok 1 – Tokyopop, May 2002 [14.8] ::
829. ↓-80 (749) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [8.0] ::
838. ↓-60 (778) : Toxic (anthology) 1 – Udon, Jul 2012 [7.9] ::
942. ↑29 (971) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [5.5] ::
1131. ↓-122 (1009) : INVU 5 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [2.8] ::
1237. ↑401 (1638) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [2.0] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

51. ↓-12 (39) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [163.0] ::
68. ↑10 (78) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [129.8] ::
72. ↑3 (75) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [124.3] ::
87. ↑64 (151) : Gravitation vols 3-4 collection – Tokyopop, Aug 2009 [112.0] ::
90. ↓-11 (79) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [109.0] ::
96. ↑186 (282) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [100.7] ::
122. ↑83 (205) : Love Mode 1 – Tokyopop Blu, Nov 2005 [86.3] ::
142. ↓-28 (114) : Vassalord 3 – Tokyopop, Sep 2009 [76.8] ::
158. ↑69 (227) : Good Morning – DMP Juné, May 2012 [71.4] ::
162. ↓-12 (150) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [70.9] ::

[more]

Ebooks

8. ↑6 (14) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [361.9] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [335.0] ::
11. ↔0 (11) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [297.1] ::
20. ↑4 (24) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [254.9] ::
31. ↓-4 (27) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [212.3] ::
40. ↓-8 (32) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [182.5] ::
44. ↑10 (54) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [169.8] ::
50. ↑1 (51) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [166.1] ::
54. ↓-1 (53) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [154.3] ::
57. ↓-10 (47) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [149.6] ::

[more]

Digital unlocks second Tezuka license, Utena manga-ka starts new series

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It’s that time of the week again: I checked out the list of this week’s new manga releases at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo gave her take in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney has a look at next week’s new manga, which look absolutely stellar, with new volumes of Wandering Son and Drops of God, as well as the manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters per Second.

Digital Manga’s Kickstarter drive reached its goal of $20,000 to publish Osamu Tezuka’s Unico, so the second new license has been unlocked: Tezuka’s Atomcat, a feline spinoff of Astro Boy. And if they reach $26,000, which looks likely, they will have yet another license to announce. Christopher Butcher and Johanna Draper Carlson voice some concerns about Digital using Kickstarter this way, but at the newly revived Manga Widget, Alex Hoffman argues that it’s an appropriate way to market a book, although not really necessary with a Tezuka property.

With the year half over (that was fast!), Kate Dacey asks her readers: What are the best new manga of 2012… so far? You can vote for up to five in her poll.

At Soliloquy in Blue, Michelle Smith presents the first roundup of posts in the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast, and at Manga Bookshelf, Michelle and MJ devote this week’s Off the Shelf column to Inoue’s Real.

Jason Thompson devotes this week’s House of 1000 Manga column to the samurai manga Satsuma Gishiden.

Matt Blind has another list of manga best-sellers, this one for the week of April 29. Sailor Moon is still going strong, but it has a bit of competition.

Hey, all of a sudden it’s summer con season! Anime Expo is this weekend, and Deb Aoki has the manga highlights for you. And plan ahead, because Arina Tanemura is going to be the guest at AnimeFest in Dallas at the end of August.

Manga Therapy posts a video of author Helen McCarthy giving the history of manga in just nine minutes.

Ash Brown is giving away a copy of vol. 1 of From Eroica With Love to one lucky reader.

Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at Monthly Gessan, the monthly cousin of the weekly Shonen Sunday.

BIG news from Japan today: Chiho Saito, the creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena, will launch a new series, Torikae Baya, in the next issue of Shogakukan’s Monthly Flowers.

Reviews

Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Alice in the Country of Hearts (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sesho on vol. 1 of Flowers of Evil (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
TSOTE on vol. 1 of Kitaro Collection (Three Steps Over Japan)
A Day Without Me on vol. 1 of Kitchen Princess (omnibus edition) (GAR GAR Stegosaurus)
Anna on vols. 1-5 of Real (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on Yume Yori Sutekina (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on Yuri Anthology Dolce (Okazu)

Alice In The Country Of Hearts Omnibus, Vol. 3

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By Quin Rose and Soumei Hoshino, based on the game by Quin Rose. Released in Japan as “Heart no Kuni no Alice ~Wonderful Wonder World~” by Mag Garden, serialized in the magazine Comic Blade Avarus. Released in North America by Yen Press.

I have a sad confession to make. You see… I forgot to spoil myself for the end of this manga. I know, it sounds unusual. After all, you are my faithful readers, and know me well. You know that I traditionally spoil myself rotten. And indeed, later on in this review I will be discussing ‘the big spoiler’, be warned. But when Tokyopop released Vol. 5 of this series, they hadn’t yet gone under, and there wasn’t as big a need to find out what was going on. Afterwards, well, I just forgot to. What this means, though, is that for once I came at an ending with no idea what would happen, and thus managed to be both surprised and pleased. Which is especially surprising given the ending’s hardly happy…

In a previous review of this series, I had noted that what I enjoyed most about it was that all of Alice’s choices for her ‘reverse harem’ were so broken. And even though there was a good deal of ‘and she changes them with her pure heart and friendship’ to it – this is still an adaptation of an otome game, after all – many of them stayed pleasantly psychotic and bloodthirsty anyway. Indeed, Ace was probably my favorite character, as he recognizes and is actively fighting against what Alice represents. There’s also some good backstory given throughout, especially regarding Blood Dupre, Vivaldi, and Eliot March. You get the sense that life actually happened before Alice arrived, which is hard to achieve in a setting like this.

I understand, having spoiled myself NOW, that fans of the games were a little annoyed at the opaqueness of the manga, especially towards the end. There’s apparently a whole lot left out about the nature of Peter White, etc. (Which doesn’t seem to bother me as much, mostly as I loathe Peter White. The manga apparently turned up the ‘jerk’ level on several characters, and he was the worst of them.) This is the nature of such adaptation, though, and I recall Higurashi fans being similarly annoyed with the anime. The question is whether one can get a gleaning of what actually happened from what the manga writer givens us. And I think the answer is yes, though it’s only a gleaning. (Apparently the manga writer didn’t understand the game’s ending.)

Here’s where I talk spoilers, by the way.

We’ve had Alice in Wonderland for most of the manga series, but occasionally she gets these pangs of conscience that she really should “wake up” and return to the real world, as her big sister is waiting for her. And as she interacts with the others, the vial she was given at the start fills up with liquid. When it’s full, she can return. And so she does, despite some misgivings, and others telling her not to, and those strange headaches she gets sometimes. And when she returns, she finds… well, actually, she doesn’t. Blood Dupre goes screaming off grumpily into the ‘real world’ after her and forces her to return. Having gotten approval to do this by Nightmare, who can now ‘Seal Off’ Alice’s memories again. And then we see her older sister in a coffin.

And suddenly the entire premise is thrown on its ear. Suddenly instead of ‘a teenage girl lands in a magical fantasy land where she must decide which hot guy she likes best’, it would seem that the land itself is attempting to prevent Alice from sinking into what is presumably hopeless despair in the real world, and that her sitting with her sister having tea and talking books is actually the dream. And that the vial which fills up as Alice interacts with the others is likely to be filling with ALICE’S feelings, not the guys falling for her. And we see why she gets so upset when all the others in Wonderland keep trying to murder each other (well, besides the usual reason anyone would).

So what we have here is a bunch of sociopathic clockwork people attempting to rise above their station and change themselves, even though that is completely impossible, and also help to heal the heart of a broken and damaged young woman devastated at a death in the family by sealing off her memory and keeping her in a fantasy world filled with blood and chaos. And that’s fantastic. Discomfiting, but fantastic. In short, this manga is more for Higurashi fans than for, say, Ouran fans. Highly recommended, and re-reading all 3 omnibuses in one stroke definitely helps as well.

Off the Shelf: Real

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MICHELLE: Good evening and welcome to a special installment of Off the Shelf. You might be aware that I am co-hosting (with Anna from Manga Report, who’s also a contributor to the Bringing the Drama column here at Manga Bookshelf) the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast this week! And so, I have enlisted MJ’s participation so that we might devote this week’s column to Inoue’s seinen series, Real.

Inoue is most famous for Slam Dunk, a thoroughly shounen series about a delinquent who finds his way via basketball, and there are definitely some elements of that in Real. What’s different, however, is that two of the main protagonists are wheelchair-bound and the one able-bodied fellow draws his inspiration from seeing how hard disabled athletes work to achieve their goals.

MJ: I’m thrilled to be talking about this series, Michelle. It was my first exposure to Inoue, and my first experience with a manga series about sports that wasn’t created to fit the standard shounen formula.

Should we talk about the main characters a bit?

MICHELLE: Sure! Actually, I think Anna summed up their personalities very well in her review, so I am just going to quote her, if that’s okay!

Real centers on three main protagonists. Tomomi Nomiya is a wanna-be tough guy who is a bit of an outcast at school even though he is on the basketball team. He was involved in a motorcycle accident that paralyzed his passenger, a girl named Natsumi whom he had just picked up randomly. Hisanobu Takahashi is the arrogant new basketball captain who is about to experience something that will change his life forever. Kiyoharu Togawa is an elite athlete who had most of one leg taken off due to a childhood brush with cancer. His driven personality isn’t a good match with the hobbyists on his wheelchair basketball team.

That’s how we find them at the beginning of the series, and as the story progresses, they inspire each other (and others) in seemingly infinite ways while each struggling to find and pursue their own path. Ultimately, for each of them, basketball turns out to be that path, but this is definitely far from being your typical sports manga.

MJ: I think “far from being your typical sports manga” is really key here. Even, as you say, when these characters serve as inspiration, there’s no heroic glow carrying the story forward. Their pain and their disappointments are real, and not easily banished by fine speeches or awe-inspiring action scenes. Real is not afraid to get into the real darkness its protagonists fall into at various points in the story, nor does it gloss over their wrongs. Real is unforgiving, much like life.

MICHELLE: The plight of Hisanobu Takahashi, the aforementioned arrogant guy, best illustrates what you’re talking about, I think. Here’s a guy, obsessed with comparing himself to others, who becomes paralyzed as a result of being hit by a truck while fleeing on a stolen bicycle. Inoue relentlessly takes us through his ups and downs, hopes that bubble up and are quickly dashed, and doesn’t try to artificially improve Hisanobu’s attitude overnight. There are encounters that buoy him for a while, a rivalry with Nomiya that motivates him, but he’s in a fragile state and can still be sent spiraling down by the sight of a seeming weakling who is better at physical rehab than he is.

It’s as if Inoue is saying, “You can borrow some strength from others, but in the end, it’s all up to you to follow through.”

MJ: Takahashi’s is perhaps the most interesting journey to me, I think because Inoue doesn’t let him off the hook for anything, so when he does achieve small successes, they really feel earned. Though I also like the fact that Nomiya is traveling what could be considered an impossible path (to become a professional player). I admit I’m really anxious to see where that goes in the end.

MICHELLE: Me, too. I desperately hope he is able to make the pro team, and that’s what I’ve been groomed to expect from my years of loving sports manga, but I’m faced with the very real possibility that Inoue will depict him not making it and being shattered by the experience. I really love Nomiya very much, and one of my favorite scenes is where he’s just lost his job after trying so hard at it, and he really needs to see Togawa’s wheelchair basketball team, The Tigers, achieve their dream after putting in so much effort. They don’t, however, and I wonder what sort of blow it’ll be to him if he also fails. I feel as though I’m watching a friend put their everything into something that might not pan out, so I root for them but also I worry.

MJ: Of course, that’s part of what makes this series work so well. Both volumes nine and ten acquired some vaguely shounen tendencies, with a lot of (from my review of volume 10) “grand declarations, gritty determination, and talk of achieving one’s dreams,” but even then, there’s no sense that this will necessarily happen.

MICHELLE: But, you know, I still can’t loving those moments. If there is any one drawback to Real, it’s that I kept expecting them to, like, all join the same team and get awesome together and beat their rivals. But it takes until volume ten for Hisanobu to remember his one encounter with Togawa, the basketball badass in a wheelchair, and realize “I could do that.”

Not that I’m complaining, of course, because so much of his journey is learning how to really work for something again, which he hasn’t done since he was a kid, essentially on account of his father abandoning the family.

Y’know… we haven’t seen any of Nomiya’s childhood yet, have we? We’ve seen some of Togawa’s and quite a lot of Hisanobu’s, but none of Nomiya’s. We just hear about his mother bringing back sweets from her various trips.

MJ: You know, that’s a good point. It’s been a while since I looked at early volumes, but I don’t recall that we have. Perhaps that’s yet to come.

Actually, I realize now that with volumes 9 and 10 freshest in my mind, I’ve let Togawa go a little bit. With Takahashi’s and Nomiya’s stories really hitting their stride, Togawa’s hasn’t been quite as much front-and-center as of late.

MICHELLE: No, it hasn’t. But it was certainly getting lovely there for a bit, with the introduction of Ryo, a sullen disabled teen, who is inspired by Togawa just as a young Togawa was by Tora, the original founder of the Tigers. And the beauty of it all is that Togawa has no idea that he’s become such a figure for this kid. We’ve heard a lot about the history of the Tigers, how it went from Tora’s era, to Yama’s (a friend of Togawa whose physical condition is deteriorating rapidly), to Togawa’s. I’m sure it’ll be Ryo’s era after that. I delight in seeing this familiar character through fresh eyes, while we’ve become entirely accustomed to his various faults. Inoue sure is adept at introducing new/secondary characters who immediately become integral to the story.

MJ: That’s true! I’m currently quite enamored with Hara-sensei, Takahashi’s badass… uh, physical therapist? I guess that’s what she probably she, but without any of the touchy-feely Florence Nighiengale-y images that might normally spring forth.

MICHELLE: I also like his two friends in rehab, who are challenging his notions of ranks and worth. There’s Shiratori, the famous wrestler, who is actually behind where Takahashi is in his recovery, and then there’s Hanamaki, the scrawny otaku, who is farther along than both of them, but who yet is a major Shiratori fanboy. Supporting each of the three protagonists are people who can help them change and find their way, including a couple of intriguing female characters that I wish we got to learn more about.

MJ: It’s true, the series’ female characters seem to come and go rather quickly. I’m particularly interested in Azumi, Togawa’s childhood friend who also manages the Tigers. There’s a favorite scene of mine in volume 10, where she must indignantly remind Togawa that she has goals and dreams as well.

MICHELLE: The pair of them actually remind me a little of the main character and his sidekick in Drops of God, but Azumi seems to be more complicated than her counterpart, which I appreciate.

One thing we haven’t yet touched upon is Inoue’s art in Real, which is pretty damned awesome. He excels at both action and expression, but some of my favorite sequences are more fanciful, like when Hisanobu and Nomiya engage in a mutual daydream about what would’ve happened had they been present for their high school team’s final game.

MJ: I become impressed all over again by how expressive Inoue’s artwork is with every new volume. The series has a gritty, realistic look to it, but there’s such life on the page! In volume ten, page 148, there’s a tear running down Shiratori’s otherwise mostly covered face, and it’s the most oddly expressive, moving, not even remotely beautiful tear I’ve ever seen. It has none of that graceful mono no aware sensibility that tear-shedding moments so often have. In fact, it could just as easily be a trickle of sweat. But to see it on this huge man’s covered face is just… kind of stunning.

MICHELLE: It’s art that really serves the characters instead of merely being technically proficient. The first few pages of the first volume stunned me, because in that opening sequence you learn practically all you need to know about Togawa. In fact, I plan to discuss them in greater depth in a Let’s Get Visual column this weekend.

Another great thing about Real is that it feels far from over! We’ve talked about Nomiya’s impossible-seeming goal, but Togawa also wants to make it to the Paralympics, so perhaps the series, in sports manga fashion, will end there? I admit that would be very satisfying, but I don’t know that we should expect it.

MJ: It’s really impossible to guess! Like you, I’d love to see all three characters achieve their dreams (and in spectacular, shounen-style fashion) but I’m not making any bets!

MICHELLE: Well, volume eleven is due in November, so perhaps there’ll be a little closer to their goals at that point!

MJ: I can’t wait!

Reviews of Real at Manga Bookshelf: Real, Vol. 10 (MJ), Real, Vol. 9 (MJ), Real, Vols. 1-8 (MJ), Real, Vols. 1-4 (Kate), Real, Vol. 10 (Kate)

Manga the Week of 7/4

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A few things before we begin:

1) There was no post last week as Midtown had no manga this week. not a scrap. Sorry. They’re making up for it next week.

2) Diamond is shipping on time, so comic shops open on 7/4 should have your manga right on time.

3) Diamond has been doing weird things with Viz deliveries the last two months. They’re staggering them, shipping a few at a time. I can’t say if this is deliberate or not. All I know is of the Viz I’m listing below, I’m not getting several of them till later. And I *still* don’t have Toriko 10 from last month. Diamond, why?

Now, onward.

Fantagraphics has the 3rd volume of outstanding seinen masterpiece Wandering Son, which will continue our story of its two leads and their ongoing exploration of gender, puberty, and life. This should be on everybody’s pull list.

Kodansha delivers to Midtown a bunch of stuff that’s been out in bookstores for a bit. Ongoing volumes of Air Gear, Bloody Monday, and Mardock Scramble. A new reissue of Gon. And an omnibus edition of one of their biggest shoujo sellers, Kitchen Princess. The big one for this week, though, is the debut of their new shonen series, Attack on Titan. Part apocalyptic horror, part military bonding, and part action thriller, Vol. 1 of this manga start fast out of the gate and doesn’t let up. Kudos to Kodansha for getting this award-winning series.

Penguin is releasing Gandhi: A Manga Biography. Note that it is only ‘A’ manga biography, which I can only assume is just in case they decide to add Gandhi to the cast of Legend of Koizumi.

Vertical is releasing the 4th volume of Drops of God, which wraps up the first ‘arc’ of this series, and reveals the 2nd Apostle! They’re also putting out a Five Centimeters Per Second, which is a poignant and thoughtful look at friendships, love, and the unrelenting passing of time. It’s worth checking out, and is complete over here in one collected volume.

Viz. Oi. Time for the bulleted list:
— Afterschool Charisma 6, an Ikki title hitting a week early. Clones!
— Bakuman 12. Manga writing!
— Bleach, Vols. 42 and 43. Speedup!
— Case Closed, Vol. 43. Not actually in Shonen Jump. Still called Jimmy!
— Claymore, Vol. 20. Youma!
— D.Gray-Man, Vol. 22. Gothic!
— Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 10. Go bald!
— Hana-Kimi, Vols. 7-8-9. Go buy the rest individually!
— Mameshiba: We Could Be Heroes. Adorable tie-in!
— Naruto, Vol. 57. Epic ninja battles!
— Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 12. Yokai! And no threesomes, sorry, fandom.
— One Piece, Vol. 63. Pirates! Fishmen! Together, they fight… well, each other.
— Ooku: The Inner Chambers Vol. 7. Shogun! (Not by James Clavell, honest.)
— Oresama Teacher, Vol. 9. Comedy! And banchos!
— Pokemon Black & White, Vol. 8. Um… Pokemon?!? (shrugs)
— Psyren, Vol. 5. Powerups!
— Rin-Ne, Vol. 9. Sakura not getting angry!
— Rosario + Vampire Season II, Vol. 9. Fairy Tale! but not Fairy Tail? … wait, now I’m confused.
— Skip Beat!, Vols. 7-8-9. Go buy the rest individually!
— Skip Beat!, Vol.. 28. Just kiss already!
— Vampire Knight, Vol. 14. Vampires! Angst! Prettiness! And you CAN’T STOP READING IT!
— WINX Club, Vols. 1 & 2. More tie-ins!

The debut from Viz this week is Jiu Jiu, which is a new Hakusensha title (woo hoo!) which began in Hama to Yume and now runs in spinoff The Hana. It’s from the author of Clean Freak: Fully Equipped, for those who recall that cut short Tokyopop series (hey, why not ask Stu about it at AX this weekend?), and is about a girl and her werewolf bodyguards. As with many Hana to Yume series, it’s better than it sounds. Looking forward to this one.

Lastly, Yen has Olympos, which I mentioned already a post or two ago, but which Midtown is getting in next week for some reason.

So, out of that nightmarish pile, what suits you?

Takehiko Inoue MMF Roundup: Part One

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The Takehiko Inoue MMF is underway and submissions are beginning to come in! I’ve got three of them to share this morning.

First up is a post from Matt at Matt Talks About Manga , where he talks about the first VIZBIG collection of Vagabond, comprising the first three volumes of the series. I have to admit that my favorite quote is, “The art. Oh, God, the art. It’s beyond fantastic.”

Next up is Ash at Experiments in Manga, who looks at the first two volumes of Inoue’s Slam Dunk for the My Week in Manga column.

Lastly, my cohost Anna checks out the first five volumes of Real at her site, Manga Report. She’s written the post as a volume-by-volume synopsis, pointing out the particular highlights of each, but my favorite observations are right at the end:

While Real centers around the wheelchair basketball world, it uses that setting as a way of exploring the underlying psychological issues of the protagonists. Nomiya desperately searches for a form of redemption. Hisanobu’s toxic habits of personality and thought patterns threaten to derail his rehabilitation. While there is no question that Togawa has the drive and personality to be an elite athlete, his lack of people skills while playing a team sport might threaten his bright future. Real is just an absolutely gripping manga, and I know I’m going to be seeking out the remaining translated volumes of the series as soon as possible.

Thanks to all contributors! And remember, if you want to participate… the MMF is running through June 30th and you can email me (swanjun at gmail dot com) with links to your submission!

It Came from the Sinosphere: My Queen

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The cover of My Queen

My Queen is a 2009 idol drama. For an explanation of the meaning of the Mandarin title Bài Quǎn Nǚwáng check out Jade’s post at Wai-Taiwan.

Story Overview

So, Shan Wushuang is a hard-working journalist who, at the age of 33, is … single. Actually, “Shan” can also be read as “dan,” which means single, and “wushuang” means “not in a couple,” so her name pretty much means “SINGLE!!!!!!” in Mandarin. At work, she overhears her co-wokers make snide remarks about how men don’t want her because she is so career-oriented. Meanwhile, there is a handsome man, Lucas, who works odd jobs. Through a series of ridiculous events related to her job, Shan causes Lucas to lose the pay for one of his gigs, which means that Lucas can’t pay his rent. Understandably, Lucas is pissed off at Shan.

Shan feels bad about causing Lucas to lose the money he needs to pay rent, so she lets him stay at her place. She sees having a handsome man in her apartment as an opportunity, so she puts on her sexiest dress and tells him that she won’t let him refuse her. He does not, in fact, refuse her, but being a responsible person, he wants to fetch a condom before things go too far. While he’s searching for his condom, Shan sees the birthdate on his ID card … and realizes that he is 8 years younger than she is! That’s it for her—she does not want to get in bed with a man 8 years younger than she—which is pretty frustrating to Lucas.

Oh, and then Lucas get a new job … at Shan’s company.

This is of course just the beginning of the story (and I didn’t even talk about Shan’s big scoop), but it should be pretty clear that this is a romance between Shan and Lucas, and that the major obstacles are a) Shan’s reluctance to date a younger man and b) Lucas’ propensity to get irritated by Shan (often due to misunderstandings).

Location

My father enjoys watching re-runs of The Streets of San Francisco. It is not a show noted for great storytelling. However, unlike some TV shows “set in San Francisco,” The Streets of San Francisco actually was shot in San Francisco. The main reason he watches so much of it is that he enjoys trying to identify the various locations in the episode, and comparing 1970s San Francisco with present day San Francisco. Location-spotting is also one of the reasons I enjoy watching idol dramas (though the storytelling tends to be much better in idol dramas than in The Streets of San Francisco, thank goodness).

The idol drama and Taiwanese tourism industries are aware of their symbiotic relationship. Idol dramas are mostly shot in Taiwan*mdash;filming abroad is rather expensive—but since idol dramas are mostly escapist, they try to find locations which allow viewers to get their minds off of their everyday lives. Sometimes they even try to sell a drama based on the location. For example, there is an idol drama called Love in Alishan (Alishan is one of the most visited tourist spots in Taiwan). Likewise, tourism companies try to use idol dramas for their own benefit. A tour operator I talked to said that they try to get the places where they offer tours shown on TV so that “everybody knows how beautiful Taiwan is” (and of course to get more business). Taiwanese tourism bureaus offer brochures based on idol dramas, and I have seen one travel book dedicated entirely to locations shown in idol dramas.

To me, the most notable locations in My Queen are the ones close to home—quite literally. A few scenes in My Queen were shot in Taoyuan City, where I live. The first episode in My Queen has a scene shot in Hutoushan Park, which I can walk to from my apartment in under and hour. There is also a scene shot in the Taoyuan City Night Market, which I can also walk to in under an hour. For the record, I like the Taoyuan City Night Market more than most of the famous night markets (Shilin Night Market and Liouhe Night Market, this means you). The Taoyuan City Night Market has a chill, relaxed atmosphere, and has a nice, humble, neighborly feeling. While they don’t show it in My Queen, there is a nice comic book rental shop right next to the Taoyuan City Night Market. If somebody out there is wondering how I got ahold of some of the out-of-print manhua I reviewed in my The Condor Trilogy in Manhua posts, there’s your answer. I used to think that I would never see Taoyuan City shown in an idol drama, so it was nice of My Queen to prove me wrong.

There are also some scenes shot in what I think is Miyuewan (Honeymoon Bay) in Yilan County, though I have not confirmed this. Miyuewan is one of the most popular spots for surfing in Taiwan. One of my guidebooks claims that Miyuewan has a nickname among the locals, “Killer Bay.” This is supposedly because some fatal accidents happened there. In the story of My Queen, somebody does die there.

What I Liked and Disliked

These are the parts of the story I liked the most 1) whenever Shan used sneaky tricks for the sake of her job 2) whenever Shan and Lucas engaged in silly activities or witty banter with each other. In short, I liked My Queen when it acted like a romantic comedy.

As a romantic comedy, it works quite well—Shan and Lucas are very good foils for each other. Shan is overall a very serious person, but she lengths she goes to in order to fulfill her journalistic duties are quite funny. Her boss’ attitude—that she is the jewel of the company who must be protected so she can keep on getting the best scoops—is also amusing. Lucas, on the other hand, has a sense of humor, and while Shan’s attention is often very focused, Lucas is more broad-minded. This turns out to be pretty fertile ground for friction and sparks between the two. At the same time, it’s clear that they are good for each other. Lucas helps Shan chill out and make work just one part of her life instead of the overwhelming totality her life, whereas Shan helps Lucas focus on getting his own life together.

What did I dislike? Mainly, I disliked most of the parts where it did not act like a romantic comedy.

For example, one of my least favorite scenes is (trigger warning) the attempted rape scene. This was not because it was an attempted rape scene per se. For example, The Outsiders has a rape scene. But The Outsiders is a dark drama which, among other things, has women who are kidnapped, pushed into sexual slavery, and forced to take strong recreational drugs so they are dependent on their captors for their next fix. A rape scene fits thematically in The Outsiders. A rape scene—even just an attempted rape scene—does not fit thematically in My Queen. What’s worse, shortly after the scene happens, the victim recovers very quickly and it does not seem to affect her very much. The scene was so brutal that it should have had some tangible effect on her for the duration of the drama. But really, the scene just should not have been there in the first place.

I also generally disliked the subplot around Shan’s fiancé. I recognize that the drama needed to let Shan show some vulnerability, that the story needs some gravitas, and that, this being an idol drama, she needs to have a romantic alternative to Lucas. But for some reason, this subplot rubbed me the wrong way. I’m not sure why. Maybe I just did not like the fiancé.

That said, I did not always dislike it when My Queen played it straight. After all, the best comedies have some seriousness. However, I liked the serious parts best when they were well-connected to Shan and Lucas’ relationship and foibles. For example, I liked the arc where Lucas is accused of a committing murder and Shan has to use her journalistic prowess to clear his name.

Feminism?

One of the reasons I was interested in this drama is that it supposedly discusses feminism. In the first draft of this post, I talked about how the show failed to meet my expectations on this matter. But I was disappointed because I had forgotten this is an idol drama.

This is escapist entertainment shown late at night on TV when people are tired. This is not where cultural attitudes get challenged. This is where you see how the culture has already changed.

Even though the age gap felt more like a gimmick to me than a launching point for serious examination of Taiwanese notions of age, gender, and romance … the fact that an idol show would have the main couple be a woman and a man 8 years her junior shows that Taiwanese culture is changing. And Shan’s mother gets to pursue romance herself—it’s played for laughs, but it is still very unusual to see a woman her age to find new romance in an idol drama. And while Lucas does turn out to be the son of a man with a lot of power and influence, at least Shan is not economically dependent on his family and she does not play his Cinderella.

Of course, one could also look at this drama and see how far Taiwanese culture has to go when it comes to gender equity. Ultimately, it does not question the attitudes held by Taiwanese people 30 or younger, it just shows that that the attitudes of the young people are in fact different from the attitudes of their elders.

Availability in English

Dramafever offers My Queen with English subtitles for streaming in North and South America. If you don’t live in North or South America, if it’s any consolation to you, I don’t live in North or South America either.

Conclusion

My feelings about this drama are mixed. Some parts are very entertaining … and some parts fell flat for me. I think I would have had a better attitude about this drama if I had entered it with lower expectations. However, people in North and South America can try this drama for free. If that is you, I recommend trying this drama to see if it hits your spot.

Next week: Special Tuesday-Friday Double Feature about a Really Popular Wuxia Novel That Was Not Written by Jin Yong

Sara K. has a love-hate relationship with idol dramas. On the one hand, they have jaded her by recycling the same plot over and over again. On the other hand, they still make her laugh, and, when she’s caught off guard, make her cry. She keeps on telling herself that she’ll quit idol dramas after she has finished drama X, or at least take a long hiatus … and then she picks up another one at the DVD rental shop.

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 29 April

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↑2 (3) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [506.3] ::
2. ↓-1 (1) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [505.5] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [459.3] ::
4. ↑2 (6) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [415.6] ::
5. ↑3 (8) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [404.0] ::
6. ↓-2 (4) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [403.0] ::
7. ↓-2 (5) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [394.9] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [378.6] ::
9. ↑10 (19) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [330.0] ::
10. ↓-3 (7) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [329.0] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 74
Yen Press 73
Viz Shojo Beat 59
Tokyopop 52
Kodansha Comics 45
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 37
DMP Juné 34
Dark Horse 15
Vizkids 15
HC/Tokyopop 11

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,266.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Black Butler – Yen Press [836.6] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [798.1] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [606.1] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [581.8] ::
6. ↑2 (8) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [580.5] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [565.8] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [531.9] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Blue Exorcist – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [475.1] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Pokemon – Vizkids [473.1] ::

[more]

New Releases
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↑2 (3) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [506.3] ::
2. ↓-1 (1) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [505.5] ::
5. ↑3 (8) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [404.0] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [378.6] ::
10. ↓-3 (7) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [329.0] ::
17. ↓-7 (10) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [283.5] ::
18. ↑55 (73) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 3 – HarperCollins, Apr 2012 [262.4] ::
21. ↑5 (26) : Durarara!! 2 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [248.8] ::
22. ↓-5 (17) : Highschool of the Dead 6 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [244.9] ::
23. ↓-12 (11) : Bleach 39 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2012 [242.9] ::

[more]

Preorders

7. ↓-2 (5) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [394.9] ::
12. ↑8 (20) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [311.4] ::
14. ↑18 (32) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [300.4] ::
19. ↑9 (28) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [261.8] ::
26. ↑18 (44) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [239.6] ::
39. ↓-4 (35) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [186.2] ::
45. ↑113 (158) : Spice & Wolf (novel) 6 – Yen Press, Jun 2012 [169.8] ::
72. ↑10 (82) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [124.1] ::
75. ↑6 (81) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [121.0] ::
78. ↑12 (90) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [118.0] ::

[more]

Manhwa

245. ↑ (last ranked 8 Apr 12) : Priest Purgatory 1 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [46.0] ::
309. ↓-15 (294) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [35.2] ::
519. ↑ (last ranked 8 Apr 12) : Ragnarok 1 – Tokyopop, May 2002 [18.7] ::
630. ↑122 (752) : Color Trilogy 1 The Color of Earth – Macmillan First Second, Apr 2009 [14.2] ::
660. ↑389 (1049) : Black God 16 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [13.1] ::
749. ↓-22 (727) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [10.7] ::
778. ↑204 (982) : Toxic (anthology) 1 – Udon, Jul 2012 [10.0] ::
971. ↓-53 (918) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [5.9] ::
1009. ↑ (last ranked 8 Apr 12) : INVU 5 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [5.5] ::
1028. ↑ (last ranked 5 Feb 12) : XS 1 – Dark Horse, Jun 2007 [5.2] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

39. ↓-4 (35) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [186.2] ::
75. ↑6 (81) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [121.0] ::
78. ↑12 (90) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [118.0] ::
79. ↑9 (88) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [117.1] ::
114. ↑ (last ranked 8 Apr 12) : Vassalord 3 – Tokyopop, Sep 2009 [87.0] ::
150. ↓-12 (138) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [70.6] ::
151. ↑ (last ranked 8 Apr 12) : Gravitation vols 3-4 collection – Tokyopop, Aug 2009 [70.0] ::
188. ↓-14 (174) : Dog x Cat 3 – 801 Media, Jun 2012 [59.0] ::
205. ↑ (last ranked 25 Mar 12) : Love Mode 1 – Tokyopop Blu, Nov 2005 [55.5] ::
227. ↓-21 (206) : Good Morning – DMP Juné, May 2012 [51.0] ::

[more]

Ebooks

10. ↓-3 (7) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [329.0] ::
11. ↑2 (13) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [312.7] ::
14. ↑18 (32) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [300.4] ::
24. ↓-1 (23) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [240.1] ::
27. ↑4 (31) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [233.0] ::
32. ↑1 (33) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [209.1] ::
47. ↔0 (47) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [169.5] ::
51. ↑1 (52) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [161.6] ::
53. ↓-3 (50) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [161.1] ::
54. ↑2 (56) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [160.9] ::

[more]

Tokyopop goes to AX; Digital Kickstarts Tezuka’s Unico

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I took a look at this week’s new manga releases at MTV Geek. I also reported on JManga’s new a la carte system, along with some suggestions for manga you can buy with those freely acquired points.

Now this is interesting: Tokyopop will have a panel at Anime Expo. Daniella Orihuela-Gruber will be on the panel, and she clues us in as to what to expect:

I’ll be helping Stu Levy explain what happened to TOKYOPOP in 2011, what we’re doing now and what the future holds. It will be my first time on an official industry panel, so I’m a bit nervous!

We’ll have news, trivia, giveaways and a few surprises! It will be a great panel, especially for Hetalia and Bizenghast fans, so I’ll hope you’ll join us, even if you weren’t originally planning to. Hope to see you there!

It’s time for the Manga Moveable Feast again! This month the focus is on the works of Takehiko Inoue, and it’s being co-hosted by Anna Neatrour (who will archive older links at Manga Report) and Michelle Smith (who is collecting current links at Soliloquy in Blue). Anna and Michelle explain a bit more at Manga Report.

Comics Alliance has a generous preview of Moyoco Anno’s Sakuran up right now; it’s mature content and they say it’s SFW but it wouldn’t fly in my workplace, so your mileage may vary.

Digital Manga wants to bring back Osamu Tezuka’s Unico, an all-ages tale of a cuddly unicorn, and they are running a Kickstarter campaign to fund it. As of this writing, it is almost funded, and if they hit their goal with time to spare, they will announce a second license.

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan will end in this week’s Shonen Jump in Japan (and thus in a couple of weeks in Viz’s Shonen Jump Alpha), but Japanese SJ editor Hisashi Sasaki says the sequel, which will run in Jump Next! in August, will be available in English as well.

ALC and JManga are collaborating to publish three yuri manga series from Comic Yuri Hime: Sorairo Girl Friend, Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu, and Yuru Yuri.

The Sugoi Books Android app is terminating as of August 7. The bad news is that after that date, any book not downloaded onto the user’s device is gone forever. The good news is that the app is so bad that I doubt many people will have anything to lose.

Jason Thompson talks about Kentarou Miura’s Berserk, “one of the greatest, darkest and longest fantasy manga ever made,” in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Nenena discusses the gender aspect of Attack on Titan.

How do you know when a series is going to end soon? Japanese readers suggested some warning signs in a recent survey.

News from Japan: Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto says he knows the end of the series and that the manga is currently heading toward its climax. The next story arc of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan will be in Jump Next!, not its usual home, Shonen Jump. TPeach-Pit (creators of Shugo Chara! and Rozen Maiden) has announced a new series is in the works, to run in Kodansha’s Dessert magazine. Nyankoi! creator Sato Fujiwara has started a free web manga, Ore to Moyashi to Ohanaya-san, in the web magazine Comic Meteor. The Idolm@ster game franchise is inspiring not one but eight manga spinoffs.

Reviews: MJ and Michelle Smith discuss some new yaoi releases in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf. Kate Dacey has some short takes at The Manga Critic. Ash Brown rounds up a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kristin on vol. 5 of Ai Ore (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 12 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on chapter 4 of Barrage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 1 of Excel Saga (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg McElhatton on Fallen Words (Read About Comics)
Connie on Finder Series 6: Passion in the Viewfinder (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alexander on issue 12 of GEN (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Hana-Kimi (Manga Xanadu)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 23 of Hayate the Combat Butler (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on Honey Darling (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sweetpea616 on vols. 1-6 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Jormungand (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Kanojo to Camera to Kanojo no Kisetsu (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 32 of Kekkaishi (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Love Hina (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna on vol. 18 of Ouran High School Host Club (Manga Report)
Sesho on vol. 2 of Sailor Moon (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 28 of Skip Beat! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Victoria Martin on vol. 8 of Soul Eater (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Sunshine Sketch (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 6 of Tenjho Tenge (Full Contact Edition) (Comic Attack)

Sunshine Sketch, Vol. 6

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By Ume Aoki. Released in Japan as “Hidamari Sketch” by Houbunsha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat. Released in North America by Yen Press.

As I have noted many times before, there are certain manga that I like *because* I can go into them and not be surprised. Most 4-koma style manga fall into that category, mostly as plot development, if any, is glacial. In the case of Ume Aoki’s Sunshine Sketch, I have a limited pallette I want to see. Will Sae and Hiro have not-quite-yuri moments? Will Miyako be extremely silly and weird? Will Yuno be adorable? And indeed I got all of these things while reading the 6th volume of this series. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that I did also get some character development, as well as a sense that Vol. 7 may be the final one (at least for our favorite third-years).

First off, it has to be said that Yoshinoya-sensei, the girls’ teacher, has never particularly been a favorite of mine. She’s there purely as comic relief, and the exhibitionist and boob jokes have always seemed vaguely out of place in a moe blob series like this. And indeed, we still get both of those here. But I was also pleased to see signs that she is a good teacher at heart, as well as a few strips showing her bonding with her own generation of friends. And her advice to Hiro at the end is spot on, seeing through all of Hiro’s stress right to what’s really going on, and soothing her while letting Hiro understand the solution has to come from her. It’s a nice thing to see.

Speaking of Hiro, I was rather surprised by the final collection of strips here, as I figured that if anyone was going to freak out about graduation and losing her best friend, it would be Sae. Hiro has always seemed to be the more mature and together one in our favorite pair. That said, the desire to have a beloved situation stay exactly the same is a well-known one. Hiro’s choice of career, as Sae notes, is an excellent one, and has been quietly signposted through the previous volumes. But most of all, there’s Sae’s reassurance that things will be OK, even if the two are separated that finally soothes Hiro and gives her resolve. They are a wonderful couple (except they aren’t a couple), and everyone around them knows it.

As for the rest, Nazuna has the cover with Yuno this time around, and I’m slowly getting used to her and Nori. She seems to be funniest when horrible things are happening to her, sad to say. As for the art style, well, it’s Volume 6. If readers disliked the art I’m sure they would have dropped it by now. I have noticed a lot less ‘squashed SD’ style in these latter panels, as the girls seem to be drawn more ‘normally’, presumably as Aoki has gained confidence in her work.

Sunshine Sketch 6 gives readers exactly what they want from this sort of series: more of what they like about it. And, as an added bonus, there’s some additional depth as well. An excellent quick read.

BL Bookrack: June 2012

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Welcome to the June installment of BL Bookrack! This month, Michelle takes a look at Honey Darling, a rare print release from SuBLime Manga, while MJchecks out Juné’s recent reprinting of fan favorite Only the Ring Finger Knows. In Brief: Kaoru Kun from the Digital Manga Guild, and an early look at The Young Protectors from Yaoi 911.


Honey Darling | By Norikazu Akira | Published by SuBLime | Rated Mature – In a word, Honey Darling is “adorable.” So adorable, in fact, that I am perfectly willing to forget the few minor quibbles I have with it.

Chihiro Takahashi is a young man “just drifting through life.” He doesn’t have any goals or aspirations, and he’s never had a serious relationship. When he happens past an abandoned kitten, however, he can’t just ignore her, and ends up becoming a well-intentioned, if uninformed, pet owner. When the kitty (Shiro) develops a cold, a frantic Chihiro takes to the streets where he conveniently runs into Daisuke Kumazawa, gruff but kind veterinarian. Kumazawa gives Chihiro a stern lecture about the responsibilities of pet ownership, and after Chihiro tears up at the enormity of his error, offers him a job as a live-in housekeeper, saying, “You’d be like… my wife.”

I was fully prepared for Chihiro to be incompetent at the tasks assigned, but he actually does a good job and works hard. Over time, he decides that he’d like to become a veterinary nurse. And really, it’s the amount of weight given to this plot point that really makes me love Honey Darling. Sure, a romance is slowly developing between Chihiro and Kumazawa, but the story reads like the main point of it all is Chihiro finding a place where he belongs, and discovering something to be passionate about. And that will always, always be my favorite plot ever, no matter how many times I read it.

There’s no crazy, out-of-left-field drama in Honey Darling. Sure, it’s not the most realistic thing ever, but it’s sweet and cute and cheery. I’m not fond of Daisuke referring to menial labor as the wifely role, true, and the character designs are a little bland, but I enjoyed this oneshot very much and honestly wish there were more of it.

– Review by Michelle Smith


Only the Ring Finger Knows | By Satoru Kannagi & Hotaru Odagiri | Published by Juné | Rated YA – What makes a romance story work? This was the question most on my mind as I breathlessly finished Only the Ring Finger Knows, a sort of neo-classic BL manga (based on a popular light novel series) which was originally released in English in 2004—three full years before I began reading manga, and long before I started reading in the boys’ love genre. It’s been out of print for some time, but with the final volume of the light novel series due for release this fall, DMP has reprinted the manga, allowing latecomers like me to finally join the party. And what a lovely party it is.

The setup is typical of standard high school romance. There’s a fad sweeping through Wataru’s high school, in which students indicate their relationship status by the placement of (sometimes matching) rings on their fingers. Various configurations indicate friendship, availability, or (of course) love. When Wataru discovers that his own ring (bought on a whim) matches that of a popular upperclassman, Yuichi Kazuki, the situation is primarily annoying, as every girl in school wants to know where he got his ring. Furthermore, Kazuki himself is inexplicably hostile to Wataru, though he seems to be kind to everyone else.

Of course this is BL, so we know that all signs point to love, but as with all romance, the story’s success depends on its execution, and here’s where my opening question comes up again. What makes a romance story work? I’ve stated many criteria in the past, including compelling characters, believable relationship development, emotional truth, blah blah blah, but what is it really that makes the difference between a perfectly pleasant tale of romance and the kind that sweeps us away completely, filling our hearts with joy and a sweet, sweet anxiety that lingers long after we’ve turned the last page?

I tend to be a big-picture thinker, but in this case, I suspect that the devil is in the details. Within this questionably original setup, it’s the little things that matter. The tilt of a chin, a hurried glance, the tentative movement of a hand—these are the details that accent the story’s most significant emotional beats. With these perfect details, the tension between Wataru and Kazuki is thick and volatile from the start, far ahead of Wataru’s own understanding of what’s happening in his own heart and mind. The combination of intense interest and awkwardness between the two main characters seems so real, to continue reading almost feels like an intrusion. It’s painfully delicate and honestly breathtaking in a way that only romance can be, and to a great extent, it’s reminded me why I like the genre so much in the first place.

Satoru Kannagi’s original light novel is no longer in print in English, but as much as I’d like to read it, I must admit that Hotaru Odagiri’s expressive artwork does so much of the heavy lifting here, it’s difficult to imagine the story playing out so gracefully in prose. If, like me, you missed Only the Ring Finger Knows the first time around, don’t let this reprinting pass you by. Joyfully recommended.

– Review by MJ

In Brief:

Kaoru Kun | By Suguro Chayamachi | Digital Manga Guild | Rated YA – Most regular readers of Manga Bookshelf are by now pretty familiar with my personal tastes in BL, including a penchant for what I once described as “quiet/ideosyncratic character studies.” Kaoru Kun fits that description to a T, while also proving that this alone is not enough—or perhaps that not enough is not enough. The volume starts strong as mangaka Suguro Chayamichi introduces Kaoru, an abused, neglected child desperately searching for affection wherever he can find it. Later chapters check in with Kaoru as his life improves and he learns to let his naturally gentle nature heal the wounds of others. Unfortunately, just three chapters in, Chayamachi (or her publisher) drops the ball, abandoning the character we’ve learned to care so much for in favor of several unrelated stories that fail to fill the gap left by his absence. Though the result is ultimately unsatisfying, Kaoru’s unfinished story is still worth reading. Hesitantly recommended. – MJ

The Young Protectors | By Alex Woolfson, Adam DeKraker, & Veronica Gandini | Yaoi 911 – Probably the greatest weakness in Alex Woolfson’s otherwise terrific sci-fi webcomic Artifice is the author’s decision to shortchange his characters’ relationship development in order to get to the juicy bits. In his new comic, The Young Protectors, Woolfson accelerates this further by putting one of those bits right up front, but perhaps with better results. As the series opens, a young superhero is caught emerging from his first trip to a gay bar by a hunky supervillain, leading fairly quickly into a semi-coerced makeout session that *just* manages to avoid feeling unforgiveably creepy by the fact that it reads more like the boy’s fantasy than anything else. In another author’s hands, starting with that kind of hormone-heavy fantasy might read like an intro to plotless porn, but in this case it seems likely that we’re in for something deeper, and perhaps by getting some of this out of the way from the get-go, Woolfson will feel at leisure to take more time with the good stuff. I’m optimistic, and you should be too. Check it out. – MJ

Review copies provided by the publishers.

Disclosure: MJ is currently under contract with Digital Manga Publishing’s Digital Manga Guild, as necessitated for her ongoing report Inside the DMG. Any compensation earned by MJin her role as an editor with the DMG will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Other recent BL reviews from MJ & Michelle: Honey Darling (SuBLime)