Archives for June 2015

By Sui Ishida. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Young Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

I am highly amused at the cover art for the first volume of this series, designed to draw in readers. It shows our hero, Kaneki, posing artfully on a chair, shirt untucked and collar undone, a hand to his head, a glowing red eye sdtaring at the reader, and a small fake-looking smile on his face. It is a look that says “Ladies, I am undead and hot. Please read my story.” It does not bear any resemblance whatsoever to Kaneki in this entire first volume, who from the moment he is attacked by a ghoul is in a state of panic, hunger or guilt. But then seeing him crying and creaming on the cover wouldn’t give the manga the right image. And while I think it’s a decent start, this manga does seem to be more about looking cool than plot and characters.

The premise is simple and easy to understand. Our hero is a bit of a nerd with a crush on a gorgeous girl who reads the same erudite horror novels he does. On their first date, however, he discovers she is a ghoul out to kill him and eat his flesh. Fortuitously, she is killed by a passing act of God – or possibly some I-beams to the head – and he survives, albeit on the brink of death. The doctor, wanting to save his life and having a convenient corpse handy, replaces some of his organs with those of the ghoul. Thus when he wakes he finds himself a hybrid, not human or ghoul… but still craving the taste of human flesh.

There is some horror here, rest assured, but I’d say it’s far more of a thriller than a horror series, like most of the current zombie genre. I will admit to one pleasant surprise in this first volume. We see a young woman with her hair draped over one eye, who was giving our hero and his love interest/ghoul the stink-eye early on. I was fairly certain he would end up being rescued by her, and that she would turn out to be a ghoul hunter or somesuch, showing him their dark organization and asking if he wants to destroy ghouls with them. Totally wrong, in fact. In fact, Touka is also a ghoul, and the dark organization she belongs to is basically a ghoul halfway house, dedicated to allowing them to live relatively safely without becoming serial killers, like Kaneki’s crush turned out to be. She also (supposedly) wants nothing to do with Kaneki. I’m sure that will change.

This is a solid first volume. The villains we do meet are nicely nasty, and it’s nice to see a damsel in distress be male for once. That said, I didn’t really find much here that would make me want to read past the first volume. If I’m going to be reading horror, I’d like a bit more humor – this is a Very Serious title – or a bit more complexity, a la Umineko. But for those who enjoy zombies – pardon me, ghouls – and action thrillers with seemingly high body counts, you’ll get a kick out of Tokyo Ghoul.

By Shimura Takako. Released in Japan by Enterbrain, serialized in the magazine Comic Beam. Released in North America by Fantagraphics.

It’s always interesting to see which expectations this series plays into and which ones it subverts. Nitori and Anna are still dating throughout this volume, and it’s really, really cute. I adore them as a couple. And when Nitori confesses about wanting to wear girl’s clothing, Anna is not only seemingly fine with it but by the end of the volume is getting them matching accessories. But the question is, is this where the series is actually going to go? Because I think a lot of folks are expecting that Nitori and Takatsuki will end up together, because they’re the leads, and because that’s the sort of things that happen in romance titles like this. Except Wandering Son isn’t really a romance title.

Speaking of Takatsuki, after last volume’s explosions with Chiba, it’s interesting to see that they’ve patched things up to a degree, though this does lead to the most awkward foursome ever when they come across Nitori and Anna on a date and everyone ends up at a karaoke booth. Takatsuki is trying to fittle victories this time around. Sarashina is the sort who can wear a boys’ uniform to school and not fear consequences. Takatsuki has to make do with things like wearing a tie rather than the school ribbon. And then there’s the hair, which is starting to grow out and “become more feminine”. Takatsuki’s gender identity has always felt more ambiguous and conflicted than Nitori’s, and that’s evident here, as we’re dealing with a child who’s still trying to decide between two states.

I was surprised to see the addition of Doi, who seems to be starting to move on from his ‘bully’ stage, but it was a nice moment, as it led to a) some very funny business for when he actually meets Yuki, and b) the revelation to him that yes, trans people an be incredibly attractive and are not the stereotypical drag queens with stubble that Japanese entertainment enjoys showing them as (see One Piece as an example of this). Doi and Nitori’s scenes together are filled with awkwardness, but it’s also his desire to see Nitori dressed as a girl, compounded on top of Nitori’s budding relationship with Anna and some well-meant advice from Sarashina, that leads to the cliffhanger ending of this volume.

Last time I wrote a review of this title, I talked about how it was harder for Takatsuki to do this, and now we’re seeing the inverse of that. Takatsuki can, in a pinch, get away with dressing in a boy’s uniform at school and get off with nothing more than mild scoldings. When Nitori goes to school dressed in a girl’s uniform, there’s immediate punishment – Nitori’s parents are called. We don’t see what happens next – we’ll have to wait for the as-yet unscheduled Vol. 9 for that – but I can’t imagine it’s going to be anything good. The first 3/4 of this volume were perhaps the lightest this series has gotten. The next one is, I suspect, going to be deeply unpleasant and yet utterly fascinating. Still highly recommended.

By Go Ikeyamada. Released in Japan as “Kobayashi ga Kawai Sugite Tsurai!!” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shoujo Comic (“Sho-Comi”). Released in North America by Viz.

In general, I’m a sucker for over-the-top comedic shenanigans in a shoujo manga, but it can be very difficult to actually achieve this. The author has to be ridiculous while still keeping the reader interested, and suspend disbelief without hanging it by the neck. It can also be very easy to slide into drama, particularly if you run in a magazine like Sho-Comi. When done right, though, it can be pure fun. I think the first volume of So Cute It Hurts!! shows a lot of promise, and while not perfect, has enough fun that I will be reading more.

The author was previously best knows for Suki Desu Suzuki-kun!!, an 18-volume series that I thought might be licensed by Viz but never was. (Not that you’d know that by the back of this book – all the extras are included, including the cast of SDSK talking to us about the new title.) This new one is 11 volumes and counting, and for once actually feels like it was planned out to be a long series rather than a short one that catches on and gains plot points afterwards. Our heroes are identical twins, one male and one female. Mitsuru is good at athletic things, a bit of a playboy, and a bit of a delinquent. Megumu is a history otaku who plays Edo-period datesims. Together, they do not fight crime at all – in fact, they don’t really interact as much as you’d expect. But when Mitsuru’s grades are in danger, he asks his lookalike sister to swap with him for the week and take the tests for him.

To her credit, she refuses. Of course, he then proceeds to switch anyway, as he’s that sort. Mitsuru spent the first volume annoying me, to be honest, and I had to occasionally remind myself that his character development is part of the point. He does despise bullying, of course, like all manga heroes, and when he comes across a deaf girl who is being harassed by the queen of the school, he not only falls head over heels but starts to study sign language. As for Megumu, she’s in at the deep end at the boys’ school, not even trying to act like her brother and accidentally winning fights by tripping and headbutting the opponent’s crotch. She does meet a sexy aloof guy, though. With an eyepatch.

If all of this sounds melodramatic, you are absolutely correct. Naturally, the deaf girl seems to be in love with the eyepatch guy. Naturally, the Queen of the School ends up falling for Mitsuru (in another disguise), and absolutely everyone is completely amazed at the feelings in their heart! The humor is broad but fun. I like that the twins never even bother to try to imitate each other beyond the outfit swap, and how it works anyway. I like Mitsuru’s cocky ‘I can’t believe I’m this cute’ persona, which provides the title for us but also tells me he’s being set up for a fall. I like how Megumu may be a shy girl falling in love, but she’s still happy to rabbit on about Masamune for minutes on end in front of her crush.

this first volume doesn’t knock it out of the park. It’s fun but slight, and I hope it will continue to develop its characters as it goes along. If you’re a Shojo Beat fan, this should please you.