Archives for December 2013

Finding Manga: Library Love

December 11, 2013 by Ash Brown

Support manga, support your library!

National Library Symbol I recently came to the decision to retire my bimonthly Library Love feature. With the slogan “Support manga, support your library!,” Library Love was a way for me to highlight manga that I was borrowing and reading from my local libraries. It’s time for me to finally say goodbye to Library Love in order to make room at Experiments in Manga for other features and reviews. In the future, I will be including my thoughts on my library manga finds in the “Quick Takes” section of the My Week in Manga feature. As I say my final farewell to Library Love (the feature, not my actual love for libraries which is eternal), I wanted to make one last special Library Love post that focused on actually finding manga in libraries. What I’ll have to say specifically applies to libraries in the United States and Canada since those are what I am most familiar with, but hopefully my comments will apply to library systems in other countries as well.

I adore libraries and I have since I was very young. I don’t think anyone was really very surprised when I fell into librarianship as a career. There are many, many reasons that I’m thankful for libraries which I won’t get into here, but I would like to say this: If it wasn’t for libraries, I would not have become the manga fanatic that I am now. When I first started reading manga, it was all borrowed from libraries. For one thing, collecting manga requires both money and space. Making use of libraries that are already doing some of that collecting is a good thing. It benefits you and it benefits libraries, too. Manga and comics tend to circulate well, and good circulations statistics help libraries in a variety of ways. Plus, by supporting manga at your library, you are also supporting the creators and publishers of that manga.

Manga can be found in all types of libraries: public, academic, school, special. Archives and museums get in on the manga action, too. It’s somewhat difficult to make generalizations regarding how to find manga in libraries because each library is different and serves a different population. Broadly speaking, libraries are organized in the way that best serves its patrons, which means that the same manga found in one library may be shelved in another area entirely at a different library. Some libraries will shelve manga and other comics by subject, mixed in with the rest of the collection. Other libraries will have an entire section devoted specifically to manga and graphic novels. In some cases, a library may divide materials by age group. There any number of ways to organize a collection, and each library is different. Familiarize yourself with your library’s system and be aware that you may need to look in multiple places to find all of the manga.

One of the benefits of a library is that it is a physical location that you can visit. After you figure out where the manga is shelved, take time to browse! It’s a quick and easy way of determining what sorts of manga your library collects and sampling what it has. There’s also this wonderful phenomena called serendipity–you might discover manga that you didn’t even know you wanted to read. But don’t limit yourself to what you can see on the shelf, because the library will always have more manga available. Be sure to make use of the library’s catalog, too. Most libraries have an online catalog that supports searches by title, creator, subject, ISBN, general keyword, and more. Some libraries are even beginning to explore digital options for manga and comics, too.

Finding manga through a library doesn’t stop there, either. Many libraries participate in interlibrary loan programs which allow one library to borrow materials that another library owns. This is a fantastic way to track down copies of hard-to-find or out-of-print manga to read. Many libraries also accept and pursue purchase suggestions from their patrons. If there’s a manga you’d like to read or that you think would be a good fit for your library, let someone know! Generally, libraries want to provide access to the materials that people want or are excited about; they want to spend money on materials that will actually be used. Which brings me to my final point about manga in libraries: Don’t be afraid to talk with the librarians and other library workers! Make suggestions, ask questions, and give feedback. We really are here to help.

Quick Tips for Finding Manga in Libraries
1) Manga might be kept in multiple areas, you may need to look around
2) Browse the shelves, but search the catalog, too
3) Check to see if your library participates in an interlibrary loan program
4) Many libraries accept purchase suggestions. Don’t see what you want? Ask for it!
5) Don’t be afraid of the librarians and other library workers (We’re here to help!)

Mangabox: A Closer Look

December 11, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

We have another entry into the ‘release manga on an online platform’ sweepstakes this week with Mangabox, a project put together by Dena, with assistance from a few manga publishers in Japan, primarily Kodansha. The goal is to release daily manga chapters of various series, some of which may be familiar to English-speaking readers, either because they know the anime, they know the series it’s spun off from, or they’re familiar with the author. It launched last week with about 22 titles available in English, and it’s also available on the Japanese side as well (with a few more titles – more on that below).

All the titles have now had at least one chapter, so we’ve gotten a basic look at the fare we’ll be seeing. It reads very much like a young men’s magazine, with some dumb comedy, some romance, some horror, and some adventure. The daily feed of 2-3 new chapters means that no one series overwhelms the other (again, with one irritating exception), and the app itself is easy to use and very readable (it was initially incredibly bright, but they seem to have toned that down a bit in an update).

So, what are we seeing over here? Let’s do a bullet point list:

The Knight In The Area is actually a spinoff of the ACTUAL Knight in the Area, a popular soccer manga that runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine and is almost 40 volumes and still going (i.e. unlicensable). This is actually a prequel, though, examining the life of one of the coaches from the main series when he was in middle school. It’s quite well done if you like sports manga.

Can’t Ride A Bicycle! is a comedic school life manga about a club composed of young men who all love the idea of riding bikes but have very poor bike riding skillsets. If you like K-On! or Free, this should interest you, though it’s even fluffier than both of those so far.

High-Rise Invasion is a survival game manga starring a young girl who finds herself in a deserted school being pursued by a chainsaw killer. it turns out her brother is around there as well, and she is in a world of high-rises with bridges between them. It hasn’t grabbed me so far, but I am weary of survival game manga.

High School Ninja Girl, Otonashi-san is a 4-koma school comedy about a ninja trying to fit in at high school. It’s slight, but cute. I smiled.

The Great Phrases Women Fall For. Sigh. Every Japanese magazine seems to have an out-of-left-field short gag manga that runs at the end of their magazines, and this is Mangaboxes. It’s composed of definitions of words given by smug men. Not particularly funny, its biggest fault is that it is the only serial here that runs daily. There’s only 2 definitions per day, but that’s 4 pages of my life I will never get back.

Kindaichi Case Files: Takato’s Side is a spinoff of the very popular everywhere but here (where it tanked) mystery series. This side story features Kindaichi’s adversary in school, dealing with his own grisly murder. I suspect it may get rather dark. Well done so far, though.

Billion Dogs shows why I hate judging series with only one chapter. The first chapter of this series made itsound a bit Medaka Box-ish, with the adventures of a proud student council president looking to improve things. The second chapter shows us a darker side, though, and I suspect this may get even more twisted before we’re done. Who are the good guys here? I’m really enjoying this.

Spoof on Titan is what you’d expect, a 4-koma gag manga based on the breakout hit series Attack on Titan. It’s cute and fun, playing on the character’s broad stereotypes. Note that this is not the same as the high-school AU comedy that’s coming out over here in March.

District Hakkenshi (code:T-8] seems to be a retelling of The Hakkendan in a modern setting, starring a lazy yet intelligent high school student. It’s by the creators of Getbackers, so is definitely worth checking out, though I want to read more before committing.

NadeNade ShikoShiko is a comedy about a guy who dreamed of a magical caveman girlfriend, only to find that she’s actually there at his house one day. Could get funnier, but I’m not optimistic.

Schoolgirl Landlord Honoka, from the author of Pastel, is about fanservice. And also a young girl who arrives at her late grandfather’s boarding house and meets the eccentric tenants, yes, but mostly fanservice. Get ready to see a lot of underwear.

Peephole is possibly the most explicit title we’ve seen on here (it really needs a warning), and is equal parts creepy and horrific. Featuring a suicidal young man who finds new life by peeping on his next-door neighbor pleasuring herself, it takes a much darker turn near the end. Needs another chapter for me to get a handle on it. Again, slightly wary.

Girl and Car on the Beat is a police comedy about a new officer and her relationship with the old, beat up police car the station has. The car narrates, and is not all that happy to be saddled with a young woman. No, it’s not a magical car – only the readers hear the narration. Needs more chapters to get a feel for it.

The Chronicles of Akoya is an action-adventure series set in Ancient Times, and starring a young sword-wielding woman who I suspect may be orphaned soon. Some very jarring fanservice at the start, but otherwise a decent opening.

My Grandpa’s Stories Can’t Be This Weird! is a gag comedy that pretty much is what it sounds like, and is in no way related to any Little Sister series, despite the title. If you recall the old Jump gag comedy Bobobobo-Bobobo, this is along the same lines.

GREEN WORLDZ is another action-adventure horror story about a world where plants seem to be killing everyone. And I mean suddenly – it just starts to happen. It’s just gotten started, so we’ll see what happens, but there’s some striking imagery in the first chapter.

Araidoki is another school comedy with supernatural elements, that suffers from mediocre art more than anything else. Some of the gags were vaguely funny, but overall I wasn’t impressed.

Man’s Bestest Friend features a leading man you want to beat to death with a bat, and a heroine who is a dog turned into a human. She’s even called Wanko. I have no desire to read any more of this.

Horizon was the best to date of the action-adventure manga, detailing the life of Genghis Khan as a young man. A lot of gore, as you might expect given the hero, but it’s well handled and I’d like to see more. Fans of Berserk or Vinland Saga will like this.

First Love Suicide Pact is another “this has barely gotten started, needs more chapters” story, but its view of what mindset leads a person to the point of suicide is interesting, and I want to see how it resolves everything. It looks like a teacher-student romance here, though, be warned.

Stra the Warlock is a fantasy series taking place in a world where humans re enslaved by demons. The story so far is meh, but the art is sort of interesting – it has a Masamune Shirow feel to it.

In a Heartbeat is about a young man who has come to the realization that he’s gay, but is generally too shy and nervous to do anything about it. Then he runs into his old childhood friend and first love. Again, only one chapter is far too early to judge this, but BL fans should take a look.

Mangabox is also available in Japan, and has a few extra series there. The untranslated series all seem to have one thing in common: they’re out in Japan in other formats, such as in Young Magazine or Futabasha’s Manga Action. Whereas all the titles we’re seeing translated here are web-only so far. Helps to avoid scanlations. For the curious, Japan also has two Ghost in the Shell: SAC titles (one of which is out over here already); Slave District, which seems to combine gambling and rape, and I would think is VERY unlikely to come out over here; Gainax’s Sudden Death, from the artist who gave us the borderline H harem series Love Junkies, which is all about tea ceremonies; Shoot!, a very old soccer manga, though I’m uncertain if this is reprinting the 1990 series or a spinoff of that; and King’s Game, a survival game manga that seems to trend a bit darker than High-Rise Invasion.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with Mangabox so far. The daily dribbling out of chapters is a good way to keep people coming to the site, and also helps you to not get bored with a specific title. Well, except the Great Phrases Women Fall For manga. That’s boring. But skippable. Definitely recommended so far, and I’ll be interested to see if they bring in new content in a month or two.

Bookshelf Briefs 12/9/13

December 9, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

This week, Sean, Anna, & Michelle look at recent releases from Seven Seas and Viz Media.

Alice Love Fables: Toy Box | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – This is pretty much what it sounded like, a series of short stories, all romance-themed, on QuinRose’s 3 properties. Arabians Lost is the first (and dullest), Alice in the Country of (blank) gets the majority, and Crimson Empire rounds it out. I’m most familiar with Alice, so those were the most enjoyable, even if they lack the twisted core I like in my Wonderland. She gets stories with Peter and Grey as love interest, something we haven’t gotten books for yet. And the Blood story is really adorable and sweet. As for Sheila, she’s the most interesting of the three heroines, but is rarely served as well by her male leads, so her stories don’t really gel as much. Still, nothing here truly bothered me, and it’s a good stocking stuffer for Alice fans. – Sean Gaffney

Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 13 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – By now everyone knows that this is one of the best shoujo manga coming out today, with laughs, thrills, excitement, and frustratingly unconsummated romance that gets even more tantalizing here. Heck, even Akira, who’s been a horrible thorn in the side of our heroes, looks like he may get a bit of redemption after all, once we hear of his tragic past. (You know, the one every character in this series has.) What I really noticed in this volume was the way the art has matured. There’s a scene with Riko receiving something belatedly from Soichiro, and it’s made even more intimate by our never seeing what it is (even though we know). It shows a lovely subtlety that contrasts with the wacky “what color are Teru’s favorite panties” schtick that’s going on next door. I will be so sad when this ends. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi Ni Todoke, Vol. 18 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – This volume, set during Christmas, is the perfect manga to read while curled up by a fire and enjoying some hot chocolate. Lack of communication has caused some issues with Sawako and Kazehaya’s budding relationship. They have a breakthrough around Christmastime, and finally acknowledge how much they care about each other. Sawako and her friends Ayane and Chizu get together for some post-date gossip, as each girl has new romantic developments to report. The whole gang gets together at Sawako’s house for a party, and even Sakako’s overprotective father begins to acknowledge how good Kazehaya is for his sheltered daughter. This slice of life manga works through plenty of emotional developments in a warm and cozy manner, making it the perfect volume for some winter relaxation. – Anna N

Midnight Secretary, Vol. 3 | By Tohmu Ohmi | Viz Media – Things continue to be hot and heavy in the 3rd volume of this josei paranormal romance series. Kaya’s extreme competence as a secretary allows her to work for a subsidiary office by day and then return to her lover/ex-boss and vampire Kyohei at night to serve his secretarial, carnal, and blood bank needs, but her double life begins to take a toll on her. Kaya collapses, and it results in Kyohei trying to rearrange his life to accommodate their new unusual lifestyle. Along the way he begins to realize that he might actually care for Kaya, even though she is a human woman. This series is top notch paranormal romance for those who enjoy that kind of thing, which I certainly do! – Anna N

Skip Beat!, Vol. 32 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – For those who love the love triangle between Ren, Kyoko and Sho, you will revel in this volume and all its glorious horribleness. Sho in particular is in fine form, showing off both his consummate skill at reading Kyoko and his complete and total immaturity when it comes to what she wants or needs. (I could do without Shoko starting to fall for him, though.) He tries the same mental manipulation on Ren, and while it may not work while Sho is there in person, Ren’s distrust of himself is enough to make it niggle regardless. This all comes to a head in the hotel room, where a phone call from Sho causes Ren and Kyoko to both fall out of character… or maybe, given the incestuous subtext between Cain and Setsu, the character and the self may be bleeding together. I warn you, the cliffhanger will drive you nuts. Can’t put this down. -Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 32 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – What a dramatic volume! It definitely feels like the beginning of the end here, with Kyoko getting an inkling of what might’ve happened in Ren’s past, Sho pushing her buttons expertly and getting her to declare that she’ll never fall for Ren (lest she lose herself even more than she did with Sho), and then Sho promptly informing Ren of this fact. Poor Ren’s barely hanging on by a thread (a thread named Kyoko) and with two guys out to possibly snag her affections, he snaps and breaks character when they’re supposed to be on assignment as the Heel siblings, scaring her with the darkness he’s desperately trying to hide. It’s not that I want this series to end, but these developments definitely have me excited for a grand finale to come! – Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: Men, Magi, & Mecha

December 9, 2013 by Ash Brown, Anna N, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and MJ 1 Comment

ASH: It’s a somewhat quieter week for manga releases, but there’s still some good stuff coming out. I’m tempted to select the most recent volume of Tsutomu Nihei’s Knight’s of Sidonia as my pick of the week; the series has turned out to be great mix of sci-fi, horror, and romance. But I’ll have to admit, the manga that I’m probably most excited about this week is SuBLime’s rerelease of Ayano Yamane’s Crimson Spell. Occasionally I just really want to read some nicely drawn, smutty fantasy goodness.

ANNA: I’ll have to go with Knights of Sidionia, as I feel obligated to support awesome manga about mecha fighting aliens in space.

SEAN: I’ll go with Magi, the latest Shonen Sunday hit from Viz. It’s looking good so far, with this Arabian Nights adventure being exciting, heartwarming and funny.

MICHELLE: Since Knights of Sidonia has been safely covered, I’m also going to pick Magi. I enjoyed it from the beginning, but the interesting developments at the end of volume two sealed the deal. This could turn out to be a real favorite.

MJ: And I’ll circle partway back, at least. Though I’m interested in both Magi and Crimson Spell, I’m joining Anna this week in her support for volume six of Knights of Sidonia. I’ve never been a major fan of mecha, but this series has blown me away with its intense poignance and gorgeous artwork. I’m more than hooked.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: December 2-December 8, 2013

December 9, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I posted two reviews here at Experiments in Manga last week. The honor of the first in-depth manga review for December goes to Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 3: Ramba Ral. The fourth volume in the series is scheduled to be released this month, so I wanted to make sure to catch up with my reviews. Though I wouldn’t call myself a Gundam fan, I’m still really enjoying The Origin manga. The second review was for Ivan Morris’ The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan. Originally published in 1975, the work was recently brought back into print by Kurodahan Press. It’s an extremely illuminating and fascinating volume. I also announced the Fairy Tail Feast Winner last week. In case you’re looking for some epic manga to read, the post also includes a list of series that have had at least thirty volumes published in English.

I’ve come across quite a few manga-related things online recently. Sadly, that includes the news that PictureBox will no longer be releasing any new titles. PictureBox had some fantastic manga releases this year, including the start of the Ten-Cent Manga and Masters of Alternative Manga series. It also released The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame. PictureBox’s closing means that the previously announced anthology Massive: Gay Erotic Manga And The Men Who Make It, originally scheduled for release in 2014, is now in limbo.

In happier news, Manga Bookshelf’s MJ was interviewed at Diamond Bookshelf–Understanding Manga: Editor MJ Discusses CBLDF Presents Manga. I thought that Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices was a great resource when I read it, so it was interesting to hear about some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into it.

And speaking of interesting interviews, Organization Anti-Social Geniuses has been Talkin’ Seven Seas and Manga Business With Conner Crooks. Crooks is the Social Media Manager at Seven Seas, which has been having a very good year. Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview series are currently available. Part 3 should be posted on Tuesday.

Continuing on with the Seven Seas theme, Sean Gaffney took a look at the publisher’s recently announced licenses over at A Case Suitable for Treatment. And if you’re interested in all of the anime, manga, artbook, and light novels that were licensed in 2013 (as well as related successful crowdfunding projects), Reverse Thieves has you covered with All the Titles Fit to License, 2013 Edition.

Quick Takes

Hero Heel, Volumes 2-3 by Makoto Tateno. Out of the boys’ love manga by Tateno that I have so far read, I think that Hero Heel is probably one of her better works. At least it has some of the most interesting and believable character development. Although that being said, I’m not sure that I’m entirely convinced by the ending, but that might just be because I feel bad for Katagiri. Minami in particular goes through a lot of change as the series progresses. In the first volume he’s almost the villain of the story, blackmailing and forcing his feelings on Sawada. By the end of Hero Heel he’s a much more sympathetic character and has matured significantly. As for Sawada, he comes across as rather harsh from the start, though how much of an asshole he really is isn’t revealed until later. The themes of hero and villain and what it means to be a good person are very prominent in Hero Heel. It’s interesting to see the parallels between the characters that Minami and Sawada play on the superhero show they costar in and their lives off the set.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Short Stories, Volume 2 by Naoko Takeuchi. For the most part, I think I probably enjoyed the second (and final) volume of Sailor Moon short stories more than I did the first. In general, they don’t rely as heavily on knowledge of the main series; a basic understanding of the Sailor Moon universe is sufficient to follow the short manga in the second collection of stories. Well, at least that’s true for the first two stories. The third short manga “Parallel Sailor Moon” requires a bit more, and even then it’s a really strange, almost nonsensical piece. I much preferred the first two stories in the collection. “Princess Kaguya’s Lover” is the longest and most involved, basically amounting to a one-sided love story between Luna and Dr. Ohzora, an astronomy professor. It has space and astronauts, which I’ll admit to having a fondness for, so that made me happy. (Takeuchi even visited the Kennedy Space Center on a research trip for the story.) “Casa Blanca Memory” is a shorter work featuring Rei, which also made me pretty happy.

Sengoku Basara: Samurai Legends, Omnibus 2 (equivalent to Volumes 3-4) by Yak Haibara. I get a huge kick out of the Sengoku Basara: Samurai Legends manga. I’ve never played Sengoku Basara 2–the video game on which it is directly based (it hasn’t been released in North America)–nor have I seen any of the Sengoku Basara anime (though I may make a point to check it out now), but I do have some familiarity with the Warring States period. Because of the number of characters, battles, alliances, castles and such to keep track of in Samurai Legends, which are all based on historical figures and events, that familiarity has come in handy. Overall, I think the first omnibus of Samurai Legends was a little stronger than the second omnibus. The last half of the series has a few continuity problems in the artwork, and there are some characters who are introduced more because they are a part of the franchise than because they had an important role to play in the manga, but it was still a lot of fun. I really enjoy the series’ over-the-top fights, characters, and dialogue.

Sickness Unto Death, Volume 2 written by Hikari Asada and illustrated by Takahiro Seguchi. Probably because it doesn’t employ nearly as many clichés, the second volume of Sickness Unto Death is much better than the first. Granted, the first volume was needed to set it up the whole scenario; I just think it could have been handled better. But the payoff is mostly satisfying. Even so, the manga still makes me vaguely uncomfortable, and not in the way I think it was intended to. The problem I have with the story of Sickness Unto Death stems from the way Emiru’s case is handled. That Kazuma wants to help and treat her I’m fine with. In fact, there’s some really interesting conflicts of interest and ethical and philosophical questions that arise because of it. At its best, Sickness Unto Death has some marvelously dark psychological elements to it. What particularly bothers me about the series is that Kazuma’s continued “treatment” of Emiru is actually encouraged by his professor, which is highly irresponsible not to mention unprofessional.

Seven Seas announces another license

December 9, 2013 by Brigid Alverson

Seven Seas has Tweeted news of yet another new license; this time it’s D-Frag, a high school story about a guy who is sort of a delinquent who joins a gamer’s club that’s mostly girls. In case you missed it, Sean Gaffney rounds up all the recent Seven Seas announcements, with commentary.

Erica Friedman brings a fresh edition of Yuri News Network at Okazu. And she also presents a yuri-themed gift guide.

Suehiro Maruo’s horror manga Mr. Arashi’s Amazing Freak Show and The Strange Tale of Panorama Island are the topic of Shaenon Garrity’s latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Khursten Santos reviews the Crunchyroll manga service at Otaku Champloo.

Lori Henderson checks out the new digital manga service Manga Box in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama once thought of killing off all the characters at the series’ end, but he has backed off of that; he still wants to “betray his fans,” though.

Reviews: Carlo Santos has some quick takes on recent volumes of Btooom!, Wolfsmund, and more in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Captive Hearts (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Demon Love Spell (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Fuurai Shimai (Okazu)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Genshiken Second Season (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Koi ha Hisokani Minorumono (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of Nabari No Ou (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 69 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of Puella Magi Oriko Magica (ANN)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Sakura Trick (Okazu)
Matthew Warner on Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning, Side A and Side B (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Mark Thomas on vol. 7 of Vampire Hunter D (The Fandom Post)

One Piece, Vol. 69

December 9, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

The majority of this volume of One Piece is composed of running around and fighting, as we tend to get when we’re 2/3 of the way through most story arcs in this series. Everyone is coming together from various disparate points (or, in the case of Luffy, getting dumped way the hell away from everyone) to try to stop Caesar Clown, who is upset that he has to kill them all in his secret base rather than out on Punk Hazard’s surface. We also get to see more of the fighting styles of minor villains Monet and Vergo. And thankfully we also get lots and lots of silliness.

One thing that gets a bit more attention this volume is the way that trust works in the world of One Piece. Luffy is, let’s face it, a man who inspires devotion and loyalty in his crew, but he’s not the only one. Most of the pirates, marines and mooks we see here are all fiercely proud and supportive of their leader, to the point almost of mindlessness. This is where Luffy’s crew stands out, of course – being real characters, they’re allowed to disagree with him or tell him he’s being stupid. The nameless marines and villains, however, don’t have that option, so they remain trusting and gullible to an extreme. When it’s someone like Tashigi who inspires them, that’s fine – she would never tell them to do something stupid, and indeed tries to protect them by stating that their foe is not the real Vergo. When it comes to Caesar, though…

Let’s face it, Caesar is a terrible, terrible liar. His “I am a good guy trying to help you all” act is pathetic, and it doesn’t say much for his mooks that they buy into it wholeheartedly. At least the little kids have the excuse of being too young to really understand. (though kudos to the one kid who sacrifices herself for the others, after Chopper finally convinces her what’s really happening). Caesar is not quite as scummy as, say, Spandam, but it’s still very satisfying to see Luffy beat the ever-loving snot out of him here.

There’s also Zoro and Tashigi, who get a lot of spotlight here. Tashigi’s character has always been fairly problematic, and it doesn’t really get any better here, as her compassion wars with her fierce competitiveness and her belief that Zoro is holding back whenever he’s near her because she’s a woman. Zoro, of course, is not about to tell her the real reason, and in any case is so far beyond her skill level now that he can take out Money, let her get in the final blow, and then agree to have her take the credit for it. Makes no difference to him, as that sort of thing is irrelevant when you’re on the level he is. In short, their relationship is still just as amusing yet awkward to read about as ever. (I did love her nerding out about his new sword as he carries her away from the gas, though.)

So overall another solid volume. The crew get chances to show off (Even Nami, whose weather control works well briefly against someone like Monet), and the collective treatment of Brownbeard is a comedic masterpiece. I am, however, looking forward to this arc being done in a volume or two.

The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan

December 8, 2013 by Ash Brown

Author: Ivan Morris
Publisher: Kurodahan Press
ISBN: 9784902075502
Released: September 2013
Original release: 1975

In some ways, Ivan Morris’ The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan could be considered a companion of sorts to his earlier work The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan. While The World of the Shining Prince explores the beauty of court culture in Japan, The Nobility of Failure addresses the country’s more tragic history. Originally published in 1975, The Nobility of Failure has been out of print for years. Happily, Kurodahan Press was able to rerelease the volume in 2013 with a newly added preface by Juliet Winters Carpenter. Happier still, I was selected to receive a review copy of the new edition of The Nobility of Failure through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. The Nobility of Failure is an important work that examines the cultural and historical background of some of the tragic heroes who continue to influence the modern Japanese psyche. I am very glad that I, and others, once again have the opportunity to read it.

While not unheard of in Western tradition, Japan has a particular, and some might call peculiar, predilection for the tragic or failed hero. They are admired for their sincerity and loyalty even when their causes were meet with failure and their goals could be considered traitorous. Above all else, those heroes adhered to their ideals, especially in the face of their own destruction. In The Nobility of Failure, Morris traces Japan’s tradition of the tragic hero back to the fourth century and the archetype of Prince Yamato Takeru. The following chapters explore the lives and influences of Japan’s legendary and historic failed heroes found throughout the centuries: Yorozu, Arima no Miko, Sugawara no Michizane, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Kusunoki Masashige, Amakusa Shirō, Ōshio Heihachirō, and Saigō Takamori. The volume culminates in an examination of the World War II kamikaze fighters–an unprecedented development in modern warfare which for most countries would have been unimaginable.

One thing that I didn’t realize about The Nobility of Failure before reading the book was how much of an influence Yukio Mishima had on its creation. Morris and Mishima were friends and the book was at least in part written in order to put Mishima’s act of ritual suicide in 1970 into historical context. The volume is even dedicated to his memory. Since I happen to have a particular fascination with Mishima, I found this connection to be especially interesting. Many of the heroes who are the focus of The Nobility of Failure (tragic heroines are only mentioned in passing) were men that Mishima personally admired, but they are also generally recognized as important to Japan as a whole and are even considered to be inspirational figures to some. Japan’s tragic heroes carry immense psychological and cultural significance; their role in Japanese history was crucial to the development of Japan’s national character, perspective, and worldview.

The Nobility of Failure is an extremely illuminating volume. It’s readily clear that Morris put a tremendous amount of thought and research into the volume. In fact, the endnotes, bibliography, and index make up approximately a third of the books’ length. Morris draws upon both primary and secondary materials, including literature, poetry, and theatrical interpretations of the heroes’ stories found in kabuki and Noh. Using a combination of sources, excerpts, and retellings, Morris reveals both the mythic and legendary basis of Japan’s tragic heroes as well as their historical reality and how they have influenced Japan’s culture and psyche. This is particularly evident in the chapter about the kamikaze fighters in which Morris ties in everything that had previously been examined. Even though The Nobility of Failure was written nearly forty years ago, it is still a valuable and fascinating work. Morris’ compassionate analysis deserves to remain in print.

Thank you to Kurodahan Press for providing a copy of The Nobility of Failure for review.

License Roundup – Seven Seas

December 7, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

Seven Seas has put out so many press releases lately that I kept waiting for it to stop before I could do a post summing it all up. Luckily, we seem to be in a lull, so let’s see what they have in the way of 2014 manga for us.

D-Frag! is a Comic Alive title from Media Factory, and seems to combine several popular otaku elements. Young man gets shanghaied into a club with four very strange women and has to deal with their wacky antics. Clearly there will be some harem stuff going on, and with the hero being a delinquent type it’s hard not to think of Haganai when seeing this one, especially as this also involves playing a lot of games.

Speaking of Haganai, after having been on Amazon for several months as a preorder, Seven Seas finally admits they have licensed the Shobon side-story volume, which is going out under the title “Now With 50% More Fail!” because, y’know, translating is good. (I think Shobon is an emoji or something? Totally untranslatable, I suspect…)

Yes, of course there’s a one-shot sequel to the one-shot, with more side-story madness. Given Haganai doesn’t have much of a plot to begin with besides the harem antics, side stories seem a bit odd, but hey, I still enjoy the series. This is called Haganai Hiyori in Japan, and comes over here as Club Minutes.

This title may have been seen before by a few people back in the JManga days, and I’ve always been a huge fan of it. The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer is a rather twisted Japanese take on superheroes, and at 10 volumes (which Seven Seas will be publishing as 5 omnibuses), is just the right length. The hero, in particular, has a certain horrible mindset that makes me smile (and occasionally wince). Of all Seven Seas’ new licenses, this is the one I most recommend. (It’s also a Young King Ours title. We need more YKO over here.)

Looking at that picture, and the fact that this is called “I Am Alice – Bodyswap in Wonderland”, you might be forgiven for thinking this is the latest QuinRose spinoff series in the Country of Hearts. But no, Alice in Wonderland is to 2014 what Survival Games were to 2013. Ore Alice runs in Media Factory’s Comic Gene, meaning it’s appealing to shoujo readers. Given that Alice is in reality a young boy, and that the Wonderland Inhabitants look to be just as bishey as Country of Hearts, I expect there may be BL content in here somewhere, but who knows? I’ll admit this is the title I know the least about.

Lastly, we have three more Strike Witches manga spinoffs, with the cover above being for the story “One-Winged Witches”. We also get “1937 Fuso Sea Incident” and “The Sky That Surrounds Us”. They’re all Kadokawa series, from either Nyantype or Comp Ace, which is to say they are marketed solely to young men with lots of money who want cute girls. None of the Strike Witches manga have come out over here yet, so I can’t really say for sure if this will be another Haganai or another Monster Musume for me. Time will tell. In the meantime, fans of the series have to be happy at seeing all of these.

And that about covers it, at least until next week when they may announce nine more series. Seven Seas has come a long way in just one or two years. Is this all thanks to Country of Clover and Vampire Bund? Well, more licensed manga is always a good thing.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Vol. 3: Ramba Ral

December 6, 2013 by Ash Brown

Creator: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Original story: Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781935654971
Released: September 2013
Original release: 2007

Although I have been aware of the massively popular and influential Gundam franchise for quite some time, my first real introduction to Gundam was through Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s manga series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. The manga is a reimagining of the 1979 anime series Mobile Suit Gundam which launched the franchise. Yasuhiko was one of the creators heavily involved in the visual development of the original series, so it is particularly interesting to see his personal take on the story. Part of The Origin was initially released by Viz Media in the early 2000s. However, the series is now being published by Vertical in a beautiful deluxe release based on the Japanese collector’s edition. Ramba Ral is the third volume in that series, first published in Japan in 2007 and released in English in 2013. This particular volume also includes delightful contributions from Shimoku Kio, the creator of Genshiken, as well as additional Gundam color illustrations by Yasuhiko.

After the overly ambitious Garma Zabi, the youngest scion of the Principality of Zeon’s ruling family, is killed in battle, his brother Gihren resolves to use his death to rally support for Zeon’s fight, going against the wishes of his father. Garma’s sister Kycilia isn’t about to let the opportunity be wasted, either. Zeon may not have access to the same amount of resources available to the Earth Federation, but it has a cause, charismatic leaders, and more advanced technology. Now that the battle of Los Angeles is over, the Federation’s White Base carrier, along with the newly developed Gundam mobile suit, are en route to Jaburo. Its young crew is closer to reaching the Earth Federation’s headquarters, making resupply easier, but Zeon is more determined than ever to either capture or destroy the Gundam. To make matters even worse for White Base, tension continues to mount between the civilians and the military personnel on the ship, making their mission even more challenging.

One of the biggest problems that the crew of White Base faces is that they are both young and inexperienced. In some cases they are rather immature as well. With all of the excitement and battles going on in The Origin, it can be easy to forget just how young many of the characters actually are. Ramba Ral serves as a good reminder, especially when it comes to Amuro Ray, the Gundam’s pilot. He’s only fifteen–an age at which he is easily distracted and flustered by members of the opposite sex–and he makes some extremely poor decisions in this volume of The Origin. His selfishness and petulance puts everyone on White Base in danger. Amuro may be the person in the best position to save his friends, but his immaturity is what put them at risk to begin with. While I can understand where he’s coming from, I found myself rather annoyed with Amuro in Ramba Ral and wanted to shake some sense into him. Unsurprisingly, many of his cohorts harbor some very similar feelings to mine.

While the crew of White Base is inexperienced, the Zeon forces in pursuit are anything but. In particular, the titular Ramba Ral is shown to be a very capable commander in this volume. He may not have the same arrogant elegance that the dreaded Char Aznable exhibits–Ral is much more down-to-earth and straightforward in how he fights–but he is very good at what he does. He’s not afraid to personally enter the fray and takes a very hands-on approach to battle. Ral’s men are extremely loyal and gladly follow him. Ral and Zeon also have an advantage over the Federation forces. While the Gundam is representative of the pinnacle of the Federation’s technology, Zeon continues to research and improve its own weapons and mobile suits. Combined with skilled and experienced pilots and commanders, Zeon’s military can be devastatingly effective. The arms race shows no signs of slowing in the series; the development of weapons is an important aspect of any war, and so it makes sense that it would be an important part of The Origin as well.

New licenses from Seven Seas; Yen Press shutters Yen Plus

December 6, 2013 by Brigid Alverson

Seven Seas has announced a slew of new licenses in the past few weeks: two Haganai spinoffs Haganai: Club Minutes and Haganai: Now with 50% More Fail, both collections of short stories; two new Strike Witches licenses, Strike Witches: 1937 Fuso Sea Incident and Strike Witches: The Sky That Connects Us; and I Am Alice: Bodyswap in Wonderland, a gender-bender take on the original Alice in Wonderland story.

Conner Crooks, the new social media maven for Seven Seas, talks to Justin at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses about his job and what he has learned so far; since all the above licenses were announced on Twitter, Conner has been busy lately.

It’s the end of an era: The December issue of Yen Plus will be the last. The manga anthology started as a print magazine in 2008 and went digital-only in 2010.

The mobile game publisher DeNA has launched a new manga app, MangaBox; it’s free, at least for now, and has a diverse selection of previously unpublished manga from Kodansha and Shogakukan. I’ll be kicking the tires over the weekend. The Japan Times has more.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusse their Pick of the Week and take a look at next week’s new manga.

Digital Manga is releasing 30 new Harlequin titles during the holiday season, ten a week starting… yesterday. They can be found on eManga and are priced at a wallet-friendly $4.99 each.

AstroNerdBoy reviews Crunchyroll’s digital manga service—and discusses how it could be improved.

The folks at Japanator present their holiday manga gift guide. Anna N posts her own manga gift guide at Manga Report, and Lori Henderson devotes her Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu to manga-themed gift suggestions.

News from Japan: Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino has some harsh words for Attack on Titan, saying it is poorly drawn and too violent. Director Hayao Miyazaki’s samurai manga will appear in Model Graphix magazine, but don’t hold your breath; the retired director wants to have eight pages done for publication, but so far he has completed only three.

Reviews: Derek Bown catches up on a couple of weeks’ worth of Shonen Jump at Manga Bookshelf, and the Bookshelf bloggers file this week’s set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown rounds up a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 9 of Attack on Titan (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Black Bard (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 27 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
A Library Girl on vols. 2-8 of Chi’s Sweet Home (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Dengeki Daisy (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vols. 29 and 30 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Derek Bown on vol. 31 of Fairy Tail (Manga Bookshelf)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of From the New World (Manga Widget)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 2 and 3 of Genshiken: Second Season (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna N on vol. 3 of Happy Marriage?! and vol. 5 of Demon Love Spell (Manga Report)
Justin on vol. 1 of Heretic Monk (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Nisekoi (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 31 of Slam Dunk (I Reads You)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 17 of Soul Eater (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 6 and 7 of Strobe Edge (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Sweet Rein (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Tegami Bachi (The Comic Book Bin)
Alex Hoffman on vols. 1 and 2 of Wolfsmund (Manga Widget)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 12 of Yotsuba&! (Comics Worth Reading)

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: November 11-25, 2013

December 6, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

It’s another one of those weeks, where I must apologize for galavanting about being a responsible adult and not making time to write about manga. For this I sincerely apologize. And to save you all from having to read through three separate reviews I say we keep things simple this week and just give a basic overview of my opinions the past couple weeks.

Nisekoi Ch. 98 – 100
Nisekoi has been great the past few weeks. Getting a backstory for Onodera was unexpected but much appreciated. I particularly enjoyed seeing things from her point of view because all of Raku’s reactions in the chapter can be explained by the fact that he’s got a crush on her, but she has no idea. The Tsugumi chapter was great, even if it followed a formula that this series has used before. The fact that it focuses on something a bit less stereotypically girly probably helps. And of course, with chapter one hundred we get an entire chapter focusing on Chitoge. And while she isn’t my favorite character of the series, this most recent chapter provides all of the goofy expressions and comedy I’ve come to expect from Nisekoi. So there are no complaints. Though now I wish the series was about Chitoge’s parents instead of her and Raku.

Naruto Ch. 654 – 655
We finally got rid of Obito, and it looks like he’s going to get his redemption yet. Which I wouldn’t mind, if it weren’t for the fact that Kishimoto has basically been making him more annoying with each passing chapter. And, if nothing else, we get an entire two page spread with all the cast of Naruto looking like they’re completely constipated. And no, I am not above making those kinds of jokes.

One Piece Ch. 727 – 729
If there was any doubt that Doflamingo was a bastard, well these past several chapters executed those doubts gangland style. Kinda like what just happened to Law. The absolute destruction of the faith the people had in King Riku wasn’t bad enough, but then Doflamingo goes and kidnaps the King’s daughter and forces her to work for him in exchange for her father’s life. It’s confirmed that Violet is Viola, Princess of Dressrosa. Which would explain why she destroyed the TV showing Rebecca’s fight, what with that being her niece and all. Right now the question remains, who of Rebecca’s parents was the child of King Riku. My guess is her father. I could go into more detail here, but so much happened and a lot of it is spoilers, but it certainly looks like we’re moving into the final stages of this arc.

Seraph of the End Ch. 4 – 5
So not only does our main character continue to be awful, but now we discover that this series contains worse vampires than Twilight.

No, that is not a typo. This series knows less about vampires than the series that spawned the Sparklers. First of all, why does the vampire queen have the body of a twelve year old? When Mikaela was turned as an actual twelve year old and is now looking like a fifteen year old. So he aged? Vampires age? At least Twilight had the decency to stick to vampires never growing older. But this series just bends the rules whenever it’s convenient. I can’t see how anyone could possibly enjoy this series. Especially when we discover that the Demon Army is less like an actual army and more like a Tite Kubo version of an army. In other words, all the most incompetent people in charge and all letting their personal issues get in the way of actually being an army. Lovely. I look forward to reading more of this like I look forward to cutting out a hangnail.

World Trigger Ch. 38 – 40
World Trigger on the other hand has actually been quite enjoyable. Seeing Yuma bet the tar out of an arrogant twit is always enjoyable, and now we can actually appreciate it after actually getting to know him. The pacing is still terrible, but at least we’re willing the time away with interesting scenes. Which isn’t exactly what I could have said about this series after the first chapter.

Toriko Ch. 257 – 258
The past two chapters of Toriko were quite good. While they were aftermath and transitionary chapters where not too much happened actionwise, we still get a lot of good character moments sprinkled here and there. The moment between Chin Chin and Chiyo was particularly appreciated. Shounen manga aren’t known for their great portrayals of adults and their relationships, so seeing one dealt with quite well here really worked for me. Other than that, it looks like Neo is going to be moving to the Gourmet World, and after the near destruction of the human world I don’t think we can avoid it any longer. Toriko and his friends will have to step into the Gourmet world. Whether to save Komatsu or not, but certainly to go after Neo and get food for the now starving masses.

Bleach Ch. 556 – 558
Komamura’s fight against Bambietta was actually quite solid. It set a good pace, gave us proper development for the new power sets and all that. And for the most part explained what was going on properly. I’m a bit iffy about some parts that took up much more space than they should have, but for the most part I’m satisfied with the past several weeks. Which is not something I can say for other chapters.

Dragonball Z Ch. 39 – 41
We’re almost through the final battle of the Saiyan arc. This is really where the new Dragonball starts to shine. We get some great moments with the characters, some great designs, and of course some great fights. Fights that are a lot more brutal than I remember from the repetitive anime.

Let me know how the last three weeks of manga have been for you. Personally I’ve been checking out some of the Crunchyroll chapters, which I recommend you take a look at. If you want a break from Shonen Jump, try out some Kodansha chapters. But before you do, which series was your favorite the past three weeks?

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives.

Happy Marriage, Vol. 3 & Demon Love Spell, Vol. 5

December 5, 2013 by Anna N

Happy Marriage Volume 3

I continue to enjoy Maki Enjoji’s series about an office lady who abruptly finds herself married to a seemingly cold and domineering company president. Chiwa and Hokuto have gradually grown closer over the first two volumes of this series, and the relationship continues to develop further in the third volume. Chiwa finally deals with Hokuto when he’s in a vulnerable position when he suddenly becomes ill, and she has to tend to him at home. One thing I enjoy is the way Enjoji slips into showing action without words or thought balloons in order to show events with more emotional impact. When Hokuto wakes up in the middle of the night and sees Chiwa sleeping by the side of his bed, he looks absolutely shocked, then silently pulls her over so she can sleep more comfortably beside him. There are still some slice of life humorous moments in the manga, like when Chiwa deals with Hokuto’s hidden slovenly habits at home and her tendency to become an “Octopus Woman” when she sleeps.

The big emotional breakthrough in the volume occurs when Chiwa and Hokuto have to go visit his family, and Chiwa sees how poorly he’s treated by his relatives. This explains a great deal about his personality and motivations, and Chiwa gets so angry she is more emotionally honest about her feelings for her husband as she’s sticking up for him than she’s ever been when talking to Hokuto directly. I’m looking forward to what happens next! It is a bit odd to root for a married couple to get together, but Enjoji manages to pull this situation off with an engaging story and sympathetic characters.

Demon Love Spell Volume 5

This volume will be particularly fun for any fans of Mayu Shinjo’s series Sensual Phrase. Demon Love Spell can be depended upon to serve up plenty of humor and paranormal romance hijinks, and this volume picks things up with a funny plot device. Incubus Kagura and priestess Miko decide that they’re going to move out of Miko’s family home/shrine and her father promptly agrees! But before they go Miko’s father uses his priestly powers and puts a curse on Kagura so that he will be utterly incapable of romancing Miko in any capacity. The young teenager and incredibly old incubus struggle with finding an apartment. Miko starts working a part-time job to support them. They barely ever see each other, and it seems like their new apartment may also be haunted!

In any romance manga, misunderstandings get in the way of true love, and when Kagura decides to go into showbiz in order to make some money to support Miko, she promptly becomes jealous and concerned that he’s getting “powered up” from other women. Kagura’s demonic hotness ensures overnight success as a male model, and he soon becomes a pop sensation as well. Much is made of Kagura’s resemblance to the hero Sakuya from Sensual Phrase, and I found it hilarious that Shinjo’s habit of drawing her male heroes in a very similar fashion was acknowledged in this manner. All in all, this was another fun volume of this series. I’m definitely enjoying Demon Love Spell much more than Ai Ore, and I hope that more of Shinjo’s series get translated over here.

Harlequin manga special on emanga.com

December 5, 2013 by Anna N

I don’t usually run press releases, unless I think the press release is INCREDIBLY AWESOME! I am very excited to see new Harlequin manga coming to emanga.com!

Come celebrate with us!!

It’s a Harlequin Holiday on eManga.com!

Gardena, CA. (December 5, 2013) Digital Manga Publishing Inc., one of the industry’s most unconventional and innovative publishers is proud to announce the latest news with partner SB Creative Corp., distributors of the Harlequin romance manga series of books. Harlequin is one of the world’s leading publishers of books for women and since 2011, eManga.com, Digital Manga’s own online ebookstore, has digitally distributed over a hundred Harlequin manga titles from SB Creative Corp.’s digital library.

Now, for this holiday season, eManga.com brings to all avid fans of manga romance, 30 BRAND NEW Harlequin romance stories. Starting from December 5th, we will be releasing 10 new titles each week on eManga for online streaming at the amazing price of $4.99. Some of the new titles include The Most Coveted Prize, a narrative about an aristocratic young lady who is wooed by a devilishly handsome billionaire, not knowing his ulterior motives of revenged. Along with Raintree: Haunted Vol. 1, the thriller romance about detective Malory, her shady but handsome partner Gideon Raintree, and the homicide they have to investigate. With the holidays are just around the corner, what better way to spread the joy and manga love than by gifting one of our newest titles? They’re sure to be a great stocking stuffer for devoted fans and for new fans alike.

Harlequin K.K. is based in Canada and started off in 1988 by translating hundreds of their romance novels for the Japanese young and hopeless. Later on, their titles were recreated with the magical imagery of manga art. Then through their collaboration with SB Creative Corp., Harlequin started translating their manga titles into English and other languages, so that readers everywhere could enjoy their stories.

Some of their classic titles include Amber by Night, the story of a woman living a double life as librarian by day and seductive waitress by night. As well as The Apartment, the story of a young flute player who is trying to survive on her own without her wealthy inheritance or her overbearing mother. She thinks she’s found her dream apartment until she wakes up the next day to find another renter in her home sweet home! You can find these titles and more from Harlequin on eManga.com.

eManga.com is Digital Manga, Inc.’s own one stop online ebook shop for manga and comics since 2008. They provide a variety of manga and comics to read online and download at the convenience of our customers. Together with our partners and published creators, the platform is an ever growing establishment centered on continuously offering customers with the best electronic manga experience. With a collection of over 2000 eBook titles that is still growing, releases in all genres coming to you every day, and with an updated online eManga Reader equipped with features to make your reading experience that much more enjoyable, eManga is the answer to fill your holiday shopping needs—You can send ebook gifts from eManga to your holiday recipients too! Send a Harlequin title as a gift and be sure to write a review for your favorite Harlequin titles too!

Manga the Week of 12/11

December 5, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, MJ, Anna N and Ash Brown 6 Comments

SEAN: A fairly quiet Week 2 for this last month of 2013, with just a few tasty morsels of manga to take in while you drink eggnog.

MICHELLE: Mmm, eggnog.

MJ: Gimme.

ANNA: Woo hoo!

SEAN: If you like all the wacky misunderstandings, school romance, and tsunderes of shoujo manga, but would like it with BL flavoring, well, here’s Vol. 4 of Awkward Silence, whose cover resembles Ouran High School Host Club if they ditched Haruhi.

Meanwhile, if you want a fantasy sword and sorcery title with demons who insatiable lust for young men knows no bounds, well, SubLime has you covered there as well, with Vol. 1 of Crimson Spell, from the author of Finder.

ASH: Crimson Spell is actually my favorite manga by Ayano Yamane. Only two volumes were released by Media Blasters back in the day, so I’m very excited that SuBLime rescued the series.

MJ: i am really looking forward to reading this. I missed it originally, and it’s so well-loved.

ANNA: Hmm, I’m looking forward to hearing what you guys think about this!

SEAN: Fairy Tail 33 was actually out 12/4, but I forgot about it, possibly as 32 only came out two weeks ago. There’s speedup and then there’s ridiculous.

I will admit, the body horror scene in the last volume of Knights of Sidonia still freaks me out. That said, I’m totally on board with this series now, which hopefully will try not to kill off its entire cast by the time it finishes. Vol. 6 is coming out this week.

ASH: Body horror, mecha battles, and romantic comedy all in one convenient package!

MICHELLE: Not to mention Tsutomu Nihei’s atmospheric art. I still prefer BLAME! for sheer landscape awesomeness, but Sidonia comes close and is far more accessible.

MJ: Yes! I can’t wait to read this!

ANNA: Such a great series, I need to get caught up.

SEAN: Arata the Legend is up to Vol. 16, which means only 2 more volumes and it’s as long as Fushigi Yuugi, which is the series everyone remembers its author for. At least for now. Arata’s day in the sun is coming!

MICHELLE: This is a fun series. I’ll be catching up soon!

Itsuwaribito has wrapped up in Japan recently, but we have a long way to go here in North America. But at least Vol. 10 gets us into double digits. Wikipedia links to some pretty brutal reviews, to be honest. Perhaps a reassessment is needed?

Magi 3 will send us into the manga’s second story arc, and I have been very pleased with what I’ve read so far. I don’t expect that to change.

MICHELLE: Same here! I really like the direction the plot seems to be heading at the end of volume two, and am looking forward to seeing how the story develops from here.

MJ: I’m late beginning this, but it sounds like this is a good time to start.

SEAN: Lastly, the Tiger & Bunny series, like Code Geass, has led to an ongoing series of doujinshi anthologies, which likely lends itself more towards the deep male bonding most fans of this series want to see. (Still clean, though – c’mon, this is being put out by Viz.) We get the 2nd anthology this week.

What appeals to you in this list?