Ash Brown

Manga Giveaway: UQ Holder! Giveaway Winner

March 4, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the UQ Holder! manga giveaway is… Jenni!

As the winner, Jenni will receive a copy of UQ Holder!, Volume 1 by Ken Akamatsu as published by Kodansha Comics. With recent series like UQ Holder! and Ajin: Demi-Human coming out, I’ve been thinking about immortals in manga, and so for this giveaway I asked people to tell me about some of their favorite immortals. Check out the giveaway comments for all of the specifics, or the even longer (but still select) list of manga below.

Some of the manga available in English featuring immortals of various types:
3×3 Eyes by Yuzo Takada
Ajin: Demi-Human by Tsuina Miura and Gamon Sakurai
Black Butler by Yana Toboso
Blade of the Immortal by Hiraoki Samura
Blood+ by Katsura Asuka
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion by Majiko!
Durarara!! written by Ryohgo Narita, illustrated by Akiyo Satorigi
Five Star Stories by Mamoru Nagano
Hellsing by Kouta Hirano
Hoshin Engi by Ryu Fujisaki
Kamisama Kiss by Julietta Suzuki
Immortal Rain by Kaori Ozaki
Lunar Legend Tsukihime by Sasaki Shounen
Mermaid Saga by Rumiko Takahashi
Olympos by Aki
Kieli written by Yukako Kabei, illustrated by Shiori
Mystique Mandala of Hell by Hideshi Hino
Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka
The Seven Deadly Sins by Nakaba Suzuki
Suikoden III by Aki Shimizu
Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow
UQ Holder! by Ken Akamatsu
Vassalord by Nanae Chrono
Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Princess Miyu by Narumi Kakinouchi and Toshiki Hirano
Wish by CLAMP
Ze by Yuki Shimizu

Thank you to everyone who shared your favorite immortals with me! I hope you’ll all join me again for the next giveaway.

Pick of the Week: VIZ-o-rama!

March 3, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ Leave a Comment

SEAN: Usually people can guess my pick of the week from the Manga the Week of column, and this week is no exception. It has to be the new volume of Oresama Teacher. Always hilarious, I’ve also been following its shonen manga-esque plot, as each villain tries and fails to break apart our heroes. Clearly Hayasaka’s past is endgame – will we be seeing it soon?

MICHELLE: I’m equally predictable, because of course I’m going to advocate for Skip Beat!, one of my favorite ongoing series. Of course, I am still totally going to read Oresama Teacher and Kamisama Kiss, too!

ASH: Skip Beat! is what I’d go for this week, too. It’s a great series that I’ll admit to being behind on, but the omnibus releases make it easier than ever to catch up.

ANNA: There are so many great series coming out this week! I’m going to have to go for Kamisama Kiss just because no one else has picked it yet and it is a series that always makes me smile.

MJ: I’m rushing around in a bit of a frenzy, but I must take a moment to shout “Claymore!” Claymore, Claymore, Claymore!

Claymore!

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: February 23-March 1, 2015

March 2, 2015 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

February has come to an end, but there is still time to enter Experiments in Manga’s most recent manga giveaway for a chance to win the first volume of Ken Akamatsu’s newest series UQ Holder!, published in English by Kodansha Comics. (The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so get those entries in!) Also last week, I posted two in-depth reviews. The first was of Yaya Sakuragi’s manga Hide and Seek, Volume 1. Because Sakuragi was my introduction to boys’ love manga I tend to be interested in and enjoy her work, but I think Hide and Seek may very well be one of her strongest series yet. The second review I posted was of Richard Reeves’ nonfiction work Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II. Technically the book won’t be released until April, but I received an advance copy from the publisher. It’s an informative though strongly worded examination of the internment camps and the service of Japanese Americans in the military during the war.

Elsewhere online, MangaBlog‘s Brigid Alverson has a new gig writing about manga for Barnes and Noble’s Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog. The Comics Journal has an interview with Breakdown Press, which includes additional information about its manga releases. Paste Magazine posted an overview of Fantagraphics’ manga publishing efforts. Seven Seas made two license announcements: Eiji Matsuda’s My Monster Secret and Kashiwa Miyako’s The Testament of Sister New Devil. Yen Press snuck some license announcements in over the weekend as well: Ryukishi07 and Souichirou’s Rose Gun Days: Season 1, Takatoshi Shiozawa’s Final Fantasy Type-0: The Reaper of the Icy Blade, and Daisuke Hagiwara’s Horimiya. Also of note, Drawn & Quarterly will be publishing a new paperback edition of Seiichi Hayashi’s Red Colored Elegy (bringing it back into print) which will include an essay by Ryan Holmberg not found in the original hardcover release. Finally, Graham Kolbeins put together a short documentary, The House of Gay Art, about a private museum in Japan devoted to the preservation of homoerotic artwork.

Quick Takes

His Favorite, Volumes 1-7 by Suzuki Tanaka. I didn’t realize it at first since His Favorite is so completely different, but I actually read (and enjoyed) another of Tanaka’s boys’ love manga several years ago—her collection of short stories Love Hurts. Whereas Love Hurts tended to be a little on the dark side, His Favorite is most definitely a comedy. For the most part, it’s fairly chaste as well. I had actually intended to only read a few volumes last week, but I found myself enjoying the series so much that I ended up reading everything that is currently available in English. There’s really not much of a plot to His Favorite, just an entertaining set up and cast of characters. I especially adore Yoshida, the series’ protagonist who, with his short stature, unpopularity, and somewhat strange appearance, is an extraordinarily atypical boys’ love lead. Then there’s Sato, the other half of the manga’s main couple, who makes all the girls (and some of the guys) literally swoon. Honestly, although he has good looks, Sato is not a very nice person. He does, however, love Yoshida dearly. Of course, since he’s also a sadist, he loves tormenting and teasing him, too. While some aspects of their relationship are questionable, His Favorite is a genuinely amusing series.

Prophecy, Volume 2 by Tetsuya Tsutsui. I was very impressed by the first volume of Prophecy and so was looking forward to reading the second a great deal. One of the reasons Prophecy works so well is that the intense social drama the manga deals in feels incredibly relevant. Paperboy’s desire for justice is understandable, but the methods employed by the group of vigilantes really can’t be condoned, though there are many who find their actions satisfying and even entertaining. The sudden shift in Paperboy’s popularity, the increase in the support of the group despite its blatant criminal activity, the appearance of copycats, the Anti Cyber Crimes Division becoming the villains in the eyes of the public, and many of the other developments found in the second volume of Prophecy are frighteningly believable. Internet culture can be extremely toxic and the manga presents a plausible scenario resulting from that. Though I didn’t find the second volume to be quite as compelling the first—much of the manga is focused on the chase rather than the character’s underlying motivations—Prophecy continues to be an excellent series; I’ll definitely be picking up the third and final installment.

The Seven Deadly Sins, Volumes 4-6 by Nakaba Suzuki. Currently, the fights in The Seven Deadly Sins are probably what appeal to me most about the series, but they can also be a rather frustrating part of the manga. The problem is that when everyone is so incredibly overpowered, and because Suzuki seems to be making up new abilities and powers on the fly, the battles have a tendency to lose their meaning; it never feels like anyone is in danger of actually losing anything of significance. So far, when supposedly important deaths and sacrifices do occur in the series, it tends to be side characters who have barely managed to establish themselves that are falling victim. As a result, the impact isn’t as great as it could or should be. These particular volumes of The Seven Deadly Sins feature a good number of battles, which admittedly can be entertaining. Unfortunately, for the most part the plot falls by the wayside and the protagonists don’t even approach the fighting tournament that they have entered intelligently. However, I was happy that the fourth volume included a side story that explores Ban’s background a bit more since he continues to be my favorite character in The Seven Deadly Sins.

Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment

February 28, 2015 by Ash Brown

Author: Richard Reeves
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 9780805094084
Released: April 2015

I was never taught as a part of my school curriculum about the incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans on United States soil during World War II. I found out about it quite by accident while visiting an American history museum. I was astounded and continue to be astounded that so many U.S. citizens never learn about that particular part of the war, which is why I believe books like Richard Reeves’ Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II are so important. Reeves is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author of more than a dozen long-form works on American politics and history. Infamy, published by Henry Holt and Company in 2015, is a book that he had wanted to write for years. I was very happy to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of the work.

In Infamy, Reeves explores the history of Japanese residents of the United States and Japanese American citizens during World War II. While a large focus of the book is on their evacuation from the West Coast and their internment within concentration camps, the work also devotes some time to the efforts made by the U.S. government to relocate and detain people of Japanese descent living in Latin America (which before reading Infamy I had not known about), as well as to the service of Japanese Americans in the military as translators, support personnel, and combatants. The narrative of Infamy is largely chronological, beginning with Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the signing of Executive Order 9066 soon after in February 1942, which allowed for the establishment of the camps, and ending with V-J Day in August 1945, going on to examine some of the immediate and lasting impacts the internment had on individuals and on the country as a whole.

In writing Infamy, Reeves relies heavily on existing interviews, newspaper articles, and first-hand accounts as well as on official government and court documentation. Infamy is only one among hundreds of works about the Japanese American internment; its extensive notes and bibliography will aid in guiding readers who are interested in learning more to other sources. Stylistically, Infamy is intended for a broad, general audience. It’s approachable, engaging, and easy to read, requiring very little previous knowledge of the subject matter. However, readers looking for an academic or impartial approach will likely be disappointed—Reeves has very strong feelings about the people and events surrounding the internment. While Infamy is factual, Reeve’s personal opinions on the matter are readily clear in his writing; he is outraged and it shows. Initially I had worried the work would be sensationalistic—the subtitle isn’t just “the story of” but “the shocking story of”—but it’s more that Reeves is simply emphatic.

Many factors led to the Japanese American internment during World War II, but the two most prominent to be addressed in Infamy are racism—something that the United States continues to struggle with—and the additional fear and hysteria cause by the war itself. While some German and Italian American citizens and resident aliens were detained, those of Japanese descent were the only ones to be imprisoned or forced to relocate en masse and nearly all of them were innocent of any wrong-doing. In addition to racial tensions, generational conflict was also a significant component that complicated the mass imprisonment. The different generations of Japanese Americans experienced the war and the camps differently, but they were all betrayed by the country in which they lived. Reeves makes a point to address those differences in Infamy in addition to other aspects of the internment. Overall, Infamy is both a readable and informative examination of a part of American history that shouldn’t be forgotten but that is often overlooked.

Thank you to Henry Holt for providing a copy of Infamy for review.

Hide and Seek, Vol. 1

February 27, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Yaya Sakuragi
U.S. publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 9781421555720
Released: July 2013
Original release: 2012

Ever since reading and enjoying Hey, Sensei?, my introduction to boys’ love manga, I have made a point to follow the work of Yaya Sakuragi in English. And so I was particularly pleased when Hide and Seek—one of her most recent series, completed at three volumes in Japan in 2014—was licensed. The first volume of Hide and Seek was published in Japan in 2012 while the English-language edition was released in 2013 by Viz Media’s Sublime Manga. Hide and Seek is a spinoff of another of Sakuragi’s boys’ love series, Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love, which in turn is tangentially related to her earlier four-volume manga Tea for Two. (Tea for Two and Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love share a supporting character while another supporting character in Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love is one of the leads of Hide and Seek.) Although technically all three series are loosely connected, it is not necessary to have read the first two series in order to understand or enjoy Hide and Seek. However, those who have read Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love will better appreciate some of the secondary characters and minor references that are made.

Shuji Tanihara is single, divorced, and currently the parent who is primarily responsible for taking care of Chii, his young daughter. Granted, sometimes it seems as though she is really the one taking care of him. Between Chii, tending the small candy store he owns, and the occasional drink with friends, Shuji doesn’t have much else going on in his life. He’s happy, but also a little bored. But that changes when his shop unexpectedly gains a new customer—Saji, a young, successful doctor whose serious and reserved personality is the complete opposite of Shuji’s relaxed, easy-going attitude. Saji is gay and Shuji, while not usually attracted to other men, has developed an interest in him as well. Though in the past he was a notorious heartbreaker, it’s been a while since Shuji has dated anyone. He intends to enjoy his fling with Saji, but what he didn’t anticipate was actually falling for the guy.

Hide and Seek may very well be one of Sakuragi’s strongest manga yet. And, if the first volume is anything to judge by, it’s also one of her works with the most sexual content. What is perhaps most thrilling about that is the sex in Hide and Seek is completely consensual between two mature, adult men. There are absolutely no dubious connotations, means, or coercion involved. (Sadly, all of this seems to be somewhat rare in boys’ love manga.) Both Shuji and Saji know what they want in bed and they actually communicate, going on to enjoy themselves without shame; Shuji is sexually adventurous and Saji, it turns out, is an especially skilled, experienced, and considerate lover. Though they have their differences, the two men enter into their relationship as equals. Most importantly, they respect each other, which is wonderful to see. Their interactions both inside the bedroom and outside of it reveal a lot about them as individuals.

The sex in Hide and Seek is great (Shuji and Saji would be the first to admit this), but the series’ drama and heart is found elsewhere. While there is still plenty of humor and lightheartedness to be seen in the first volume, Hide and Seek is one of Sakuragi’s more serious manga, especially when compared to its immediate predecessor Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love. Shuji in particular comes across as a slightly more responsible adult than he did in that earlier series, although he is still very carefree and gets a kick out of provoking people to get a reaction out of them. His personality both conflicts with and complements Saji’s. This becomes the basis of much of the series’ humor. It’s also the source of the manga’s drama. Saji, despite his kindness and thoughtful nature, can be socially awkward and has been rejected many times before by other flighty partners reluctant to take a relationship too seriously. Shuji and Saji are a mismatch but seem perfect for each other. I’m anxious to see how their relationship continues to develop.

Manga the Week of 3/4

February 26, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, MJ, Michelle Smith and Anna N 1 Comment

SEAN: It feels like a smaller first week than usual, even with 15 titles. Viz has recently wrapped up a number of series, so it could just be I’m not getting as much stuff personally.

Before we get to Viz, Dark Horse has the 4th New Lone Wolf and Cub.

ASH: Confession: I still haven’t finished reading the Old Lone Wolf and Cub. But I still plan on picking up the New.

SEAN: Kodansha gives us its 5th xxxHOLIC omnibus. Here be dragons. And Syaorans. Honestly, I’d have preferred the dragons.

MJ: I’m good with both. :D

SEAN: Speaking of things I dislike but am in a minority as they are really, really popular, there’s a new Monster Musume due out from Seven Seas.

Seven Seas also has a 7th volume of The Sacred Blacksmith, which has just been confirmed to be ending soon.

D.Gray-Man may have its regular series coming out at a crawl these days, but the 6th 3-in-1 shows it’s still going strong omnibus-wise.

Another long-running series is coming to an end – but not just yet. This is the 2nd to last volume of Claymore. Is a happy ending in the cards?

MICHELLE: Someday, I need to read this. I own quite a large chunk of it.

MJ: I love this series, and I’m certainly anticipating this volume with much eagerness!

SEAN: Another 3-in-1 as we get the 8th Dragonball omnibus (not to be confused with the other omnibus release it’s had).

Kamisama Kiss may have finally ended its long time-travel arc, but the series is still trucking along at Vol. 17. (Did it end yet? We’ve caught up with Japan, so it’s been a while since 16…)

I keep waffling back and forth on Kiss of the Rose Princess, so we’ll see if a 3rd volume sways me one way or another.

ANNA: I ended up liking it more after the second volume. I don’t LOVE it, but I enjoy reading it.

MICHELLE: I’m not sure about this one either, since the second volume as so different than the first. But I *am* planning to check out volume three.

SEAN: Naruto is over, but the volumes still have more to go, so here’s the 69th.

I keep being surprised at how much I’m enjoying Nisekoi, a high school harem comedy with added yakuza. But I am enjoying it a whole lot. Vol. 8 is out in print next week.

It’s no surprise how much I love Oresama Teacher – in fact, the only surprise is that an even more popular series by the same author, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, hasn’t been licensed by Yen Press yet. But I still have Oresama 18.

ANNA: I have a deep and profound love for this series. Consistently hilarious.

ASH: I really need to get around to reading this.

SEAN: Seraph of the End has a 4th volume. Does it still have vampires?

ANNA: I feel like this is a safe assumption! I’m also happy to see that Vertical licensed the light novel series!

SEAN: Another 3-in-1 series, but I think with this 10th volume Skip Beat! may be caught up for the most part.

ANNA: Skip Beat! is great.

MICHELLE: Super great! They could do an eleventh omnibus, since 33 volumes of Skip Beat! have come out so far. This spurred me to look up when the next one comes out, and we’ve only to wait until April 7th for volume 34. This was met with much rejoicing!

SEAN: Lastly, there’s Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds 7, another series that for the life of me I can’t think of anything clever to say about it except “Welp – there it is.”

So what are you getting next week?

Manga Giveaway: UQ Holder! Giveaway

February 25, 2015 by Ash Brown

Despite being the shortest month of the year, for me February always seems to stretch on forever. With that in mind, I thought it oddly appropriate to offer for this month’s giveaway a manga that features immortals. Specifically, this month you will all have the chance to enter for a chance to win the first volume of Ken Akamatsu’s most recent series UQ Holder!, a sequel of sorts to his manga Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, as published in English by Kodansha Comics. (Don’t worry if you’ve never read Negima!, UQ Holder! can be easily read on its own.) As always, the giveaway is open worldwide!

At this point it’s probably not much of a secret that I enjoy manga about immortals and the consequences of immortality. Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal was one of the very first manga that I read and it continues to be a favorite. (It was even the focus of my first monthly manga review project.) More recently, manga series like Ken Akamatsu’s UQ Holder! and Tsuina Miura and Gamon Sakurai’s Ajin: Demi-Human have caught my attention specifically because immortals are involved. Granted, there are other elements in both of those series that intrigue and appeal to me as well. When it comes to immortals, UQ Holder! is interesting in that it features a variety of characters with different types of immortality; most series I’ve read tend to stick to just one.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of UQ Holder!, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite immortal from a manga. (Never encountered an immortal in your manga reading? Simply mention that instead.)
2) For a second entry, name a manga featuring immortals that hasn’t yet been mentioned by me or by someone else in the comments.
3) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

It’s as easy as that. Each person is able to earn up to three entries for this giveaway and has one week to submit comments. Giveaway entries can also be emailed to be directly at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. (I will then post your comments here in your name.) The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on March 4, 2015.

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: UQ Holder! Giveaway Winner

Pick of the Week: All JoJo, all the time

February 23, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N, Sean Gaffney and MJ 1 Comment

MICHELLE: I’m sorry to say I’m not interested in much from this week’s list of releases. However, I am quite interested in the deluxe hardcover edition of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, with new color art and stuff! I haven’t read this classic series (for shame!) so this is a good place to start.

ASH: JooooooJoooooo!

ANNA: JoJo is the clear pick of the week for me!

SEAN: It’s absolutely a JoJo’s week, yes. I never did read the volumes Viz published years ago as it didn’t start at the beginning and I was that sort of person. Now I can rejoice at seeing all the Dio memes for the first time in their proper context. Also, how can you not love a series with someone named Robert Edward O. Speedwagon?

MJ: I was sold even before the REO Speedwagon reference, but that obviously cemented it. JoJo all the way.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: February 16-February 22, 2015

February 23, 2015 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Happy (belated) Chinese New Year, everyone! It’s already been a busy season for me with multiple lion dance and taiko performances for the lunar new year over the last few days (with more to come!), but was I still able to get some reading and writing in, too. Last week was another two-review week at Experiments in Manga, except this time both in-depth reviews were actually of manga. First up was my review of Ken Niimura’s collection of short manga Henshin, which I enjoyed immensely. Niimura is actually a Spanish artist, but Henshin was first released online by the now sadly departed Ikki manga magazine. The second review was of Gamon Sakurai’s Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 2. I had enjoyed the first volume, but things are starting to get really good with the second. Hopefully the trend continues.

So, earlier this year I wrote a quick take of Under the Sign of Capricorn, the first release in the new English-language edition of Hugo Pratt’s Corto Maltese comics. Much to my surprise, I ended up getting a brief mention in an Italian article about Americans’ responses to the comic. (I’ll admit, that was pretty cool.) Elsewhere online, Vertical’s survey for recommendations for Spring 2016 manga licenses is currently underway. Viz Media announced two new manga licenses of its own: Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s Ultraman and Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia. And speaking of Viz, Hope Donovan, one of the publisher’s manga editors, was interviewed over at Panels. I also want to mention Purity, a new Kickstarter project featuring some fantastic creators. Described as a “post-yaoi anthology,” it’s a collection of comics from artists whose work has been influenced in some way by the boys’ love genre.

Quick Takes

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Omnibus 5 (equivalent to Volumes 13-15) by Yukito Kishiro. First of all, I just want to say that I absolutely love the cover of this omnibus; the Space Karate team as a group of rock stars is just about perfect. This may also very well be my favorite installment of Last Order that I’ve read so far. It features epic, over-the-top battles and action as well as some additional backstory. In particular, more about Zazie is revealed. Also, Sechs (who is still one of the characters I like best) plays a major role and gets to be a badass in addition to being an occasional source of comic relief. Although the styles of martial arts in Last Order are fictional, I appreciate that Kishiro actually incorporates small kernels of traditional teachings to create the super-evolved combat forms found in the series. The Space Karate team is prominently featured in this omnibus. As a karateka myself, I get a kick out of the characters and I particularly enjoyed seeing the progression of their tournament fights. Kishiro’s cyborgs and genetically modified creatures allow for some pretty incredible and entertaining combat feats and techniques that otherwise would be impossible.

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volumes 2-4 written by Yuto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki. While the fanservice certainly hasn’t disappeared from Food Wars!, each volume seems to tone down the overly sexually suggestive imagery a little more. Personally, I generally found the over-the-top reaction shots amusing rather than offensive. They’re becoming more and more ridiculous and absurd, however they may still present a barrier for some people. But to the creators’ credit, at least there’s eye-candy in Food Wars! for all sorts of readers–nudity and bare skin isn’t limited to just one gender. And then there’s the eye-candy for the foodies, too; the dishes in the series are gorgeously drawn. Saeki’s artwork in Food Wars! really is one of the highlights of the series. I’m liking the characters and their designs as well. Plenty more have been introduced in these volumes, all with their own personality quirks and culinary specialties. Which, of course, presents plenty of opportunities for some fantastically epic battles and competition in the kitchen. I also like that Soma isn’t the only student at Totsuki Institute who doesn’t come from a rich, high-class background.

Restart by Shoko Hidaka. Since I’m loving Hidaka’s ongoing series Blue Morning, I figured that I should probably look into her other boys’ love manga that have been released in English. Restart is a collection of manga that includes some of her earliest professional work, including the titular “Restart”–her first story to be published in a magazine. Most of the stories follow Tadashi and Aki, two male models who end up in a relationship with each other. Tadashi is the older and more experienced professional of the two, but his popularity is fading while Aki’s star begins to rise, which understandably causes some tension and frustration. A tangentially related story features a fashion photographer and another young model who has yet to really break into the industry. The other short manga shares no connection with the others. It’s about a college student who was never able to confess his feelings because the young man he was in love with went missing. However, over time he finds himself growing closer to his crush’s younger brother. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I didn’t find Restart to be as compelling overall as Blue Morning but even Hidaka’s early manga exhibit solid story-telling and well-developed characters.

Ajin: Demi-Human, Vol. 2

February 20, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Gamon Sakurai
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130853
Released: December 2014
Original release: 2013

I tend to enjoy darker-toned stories about immortals, so I wasn’t particularly surprised that I enjoyed the first volume of Ajin: Demi-Human. The manga series was conceived of by writer Tsuina Miura and artist Gamon Sakurai, but by the second volume it appears as though Sakurai has taken over the story of Ajin as well. (Although, it should be noted that Miura and Sakurai’s pilot chapter for Ajin, “The Shinya Nakamura Incident,” is also included in the series’ second volume.) Ajin: Demi-Human, Volume 2 was originally published in Japan in 2013 while the English-language edition of the manga was released by Vertical at the end of 2014. The first volume of the series established an intriguing premise—immortal beings, considered to be less than human, who are persecuted and subjected to cruel experiments—as well as an exceptionally dark atmosphere, and so I was particularly interested in seeing where Sakurai would take the story next.

Kei is on the run. Recently discovered to be an immortal demi-human—only the third to have been officially confirmed to exist in Japan—he is trying to avoid capture by the Demi-Human Control Commission and hoping to find allies in other immortals. When he is contacted by two rogue demi-humans, Sato (also known as “Hat”) and Tanaka, it seems as though Kei’s hopes have been answered, except for the small matter of the two men having taken his sister hostage. But with a little bit of effort and some unexpected theatrics, Sato is able to readily explain away the kidnapping and even manages to earn Kei’s trust in the process. Though Kei is unaware of it at the time, that misplaced trust will have severe repercussions for him. Sato and Tanaka are very interested in the young man. Not only is he a demi-human, just like the two of them Kei is a variant immortal capable of manifesting and controlling a black ghost. However, it is a power that he has yet to understand or to completely control.

Despite being a large focus of the first two volumes of Ajin and around whom much of the manga’s plot revolves, currently Kei is actually one of the least compelling characters in the series. The people and events surrounding Kei tend to be much more engaging. Sato in particular is a tremendous presence. It is easy to see why he instills such fear among those in the Demi-Human Control Commission—he cannot be controlled. Sato is a coldly calculating and ruthless strategist with extraordinary combat skills and the ability to manipulate both the people around him and the situations in which he finds himself. He is terrifyingly effective in the execution of his plans. At this point only some of those plans have been completely revealed, but it is obvious that Sato is willing to sacrifice anyone in order to accomplish them. In comparison, Kei seems to be incredibly weak-willed and naive, lacking a strong sense of self. Granted, almost anyone would when compared to Sato, but it’s also somewhat understandable since Kei’s entire worldview has been shattered. With his new-found immortality, he is still trying to understand who he is.

Ajin is a very dark and violent manga. The experiments carried out on the demi-humans are brutal and cruel. Generally, the most graphic moments are implied rather than seen, but that makes the torture no less disturbing. Demi-humans, especially those controlling black ghosts, are more than capable of fighting back, though. For example, Sato’s repeated attacks on research facilities associated with the Demi-Human Control Commission and his complete disregard for life are astonishing. Sakurai’s artwork is particularly effective during action sequences, of which there are plenty in the second volume of Ajin. The second volume also addresses some of the social issues surrounding demi-humans, in particular the fact that not everyone feels that demi-humans should be discriminated against just because they happen to be immortal. So far, Sakurai has been able to strike a good balance between the series’ intense action and horror and its exploration of deeper moral and ethical concerns. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how the series continues to develop.

Manga the Week of 2/25

February 19, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, Anna N and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: A fairly sedate last week of the month. Not much from Yen this month, oddly. What will we have to talk about—

DIO: HA! You thought this would be Manga the Week of, but it is I, Dio!

SEAN: Oh right.

Before we get to that, Dark Horse has a very interesting new title coming out: Seraphim 266613336 Wings. A collaboration between Mamoru Oshii and Satoshi Kon, I can only imagine how strange this is going to be. But also highly anticipated.

ASH: I know I’m looking forward to it!

SEAN: Kodansha has a 33rd Air Gear, which continues to be the model all other fanservice-laden roller blade manga aspire to be.

There’s the debut of Maria the Virgin Witch, which would surely have gotten more attention from me if it weren’t surrounded by Kon and Dio. The plot does not interest me, the fact that this is by the author of Moyasimon does.

ASH: That’s what interests me most, too, though I have been hearing good things about the series.

SEAN: And one of my favorite lost causes, The Wallflower, has its 34th volume. I believe the ending is actually coming soon!

This has been out digitally since September, when I think I featured it here, but man, it deserves to be featured again. One of the most influential, over the top manga of the 20th century, we’ve seen its 3rd arc here before, but now you can see it again for the first time, in deluxe hardcover edition. I refer, of course, to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and trust me, that title is not kidding around.

ASH: I am so excited for this!!

MICHELLE: I have to admit I have never read JoJo’s, even though I’ve had the first three volumes (or, rather, the first three volumes of whatever segment of the series VIZ released) for quite a while. Maybe I would love it.

ANNA: I liked it a ton. The hardcover release is very nice, and I enjoyed all the punching, blood, and references to Aztec sacrificial practices. Also, more punching!

MJ: This seems to be the only title on the list I’m really interested in this week, but I’m *really* interested.

SEAN: One of Yen On’s February releases had to be delayed, so the sole light novel this week is the 2nd A Certain Magical Index. I should mention… it has vampires! Well, sort of. Anti-vampires. Ish?

The 2nd Ani-Imo is out, and I suspect will continue to be as edgy as the first one was. A reminder: technically shoujo manga.

There’s also a 3rd Barakamon, which is also out digitally as of this volume, for those who love digital and were bummed it wasn’t available before.

I keep wishing BTOOOM! Added a new O for every volume it gets to, but to no avail, even at Vol. 9.

MICHELLE: Ugh. I didn’t set out wanting to say “ugh” about BTOOOM!, but now that is my reflexive reaction.

SEAN: The first volume of Gou-dere Sora Nagihara was so over the top in terms of its comedy, fanservice, and general attempts to offend that I’m almost tempted to read this second volume to see if it can keep up the pace. Almost. But not quite.

High School DxD has a 4th volume. I wonder if I’d enjoy it more if the light novel were licensed?

Lastly, we have the final volume of Judge, but don’t worry, more animal-headed survival games are coming soon.

Assuming you’re doing the obvious, what else are you buying besides JoJo’s this week?

ANNA: How could anyone want to NOT buy JoJo’s, is the question!

Henshin

February 18, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: J. M. Ken Niimura
U.S. publisher: Image Comics
ISBN: 9781632152428
Released: January 2015
Original release: 2014

J. M. Ken Niimura is probably best known for his collaboration as an illustrator with writer Joe Kelly on I Kill Giants, an award-winning American comic that was completed in 2008. Among many other honors, the work earned Niimura and Kelly the top International Manga Award in 2012. A Spanish artist of Japanese descent, Niimura currently lives and works in Tokyo. Henshin is his first major Japanese publication. The collection includes thirteen short manga that were originally released online between 2013 and 2014 on the website for Ikki, a magazine that has been the home to some of my favorite mangaka, before finally being collected into a single volume. (An interesting sidenote: I Kill Giants was also published in Japan by Ikki Comix.) Henshin was subsequently released in Spanish in 2014 by Norma Editorial and in English by Image Comics in 2015. Out of the three print releases of Henshin, the English-language edition has the largest trim size.

The manga collected in Henshin are short, anywhere from twelve to twenty-eight pages in length. Although there are a variety of genres and styles, the stories generally fall into one of two broad categories: those that are semi-autobiographical, focusing on either Niimura’s creative processes or his love of cats, and those that are fictional narratives largely set in or near Tokyo or otherwise featuring Tokyoites. For the most part, the individual manga are unrelated and stand perfectly well on their own, but the first and last stories do share the same lead characters and there is a running episodic story about Niimura and a cat that lives near his apartment. Henshin includes slice-of-life manga, as well as manga with science fiction and fantasy elements, pieces infused with nostalgia, family and friends, pieces where loneliness and missed connections predominate, stories with a bit of humor, and stories with a bit of sadness.

Although the manga in Henshin are all different, they do share some thematic and narrative similarities. The first story, “No Good,” perfectly captures the tone of the volume as a whole. It starts out as a seemingly innocent tale but it suddenly shifts into something completely unexpected and outlandish. Most of the stories in Henshin have some sort of twist to them that require the reader to reconsider and reevaluate everything that has come before. Those surprising plot developments may be humorous, touching, absurd, disconcerting, or even morbid, in any combination. In Japanese, “henshin” means transformation, metamorphosis, or change, which is exactly what the stories collected in the volume have to offer—pivotal moments in which all of a sudden things are no longer the same, demanding a new and different understanding of reality.

Niimura exhibits a range of art styles in Henshin, drawing influence from Asian, European, and American comics traditions. Some of the illustrations are simple caricatures while others are more detailed or involved, some even reminiscent of classic ink wash paintings. The artwork in each of the short manga is tailored to fit the specific story and its mood, but in every case Niimura’s illustrations show impressive narrative strength. In general, Henshin uses minimal text and dialogue—one manga is even completely wordless—relying on the artwork (which performs magnificently) to actively aid in the telling of the stories. Henshin is an excellent and rather delightful collection of charming and quirky short manga that, in all of its strangeness and occasional absurdity, remains emotionally relevant and carries an impact. I enjoyed Henshin immensely and hope to have the opportunity to read more of Niimura’s comics and manga in the future.

Pick of the Week: Meh?

February 16, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 6 Comments

SEAN: Given that most of this weeks’ titles fill me with apathy, even the ones I actually follow (I blame the endless winter here in the Northeast), I’ll give my pick of the week to the one I’m looking forward to the most: Lucifer & The Biscuit Hammer. The first omnibus was such a great combination of cynical nihilism and action-adventure, and while I hope our hero and heroine snap out of their ‘destroy the world’ motivation, I do also hope it takes them a while.

MICHELLE: The only manga release to excite me this week is the digital debut of Boys Over Flowers: Season Two, and even that is tinged with trepidation. But I see chapter one is up now, so I shall marshal my courage and forge ahead.

ASH: I think I’m with Sean this week. I didn’t really know what to expect from the first omnibus of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, but I liked its quirkiness and at times it could be surprisingly dark. If I’m going to be honest, I’m still not entirely sure what to expect from the series, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

ANNA: I’m going to have to throw in with Michelle and go for Boys Over Flowers since that is for sure the thing I am most interested in this week. I hope we see more digital shoujo releases!

MJ: I… man, I got nothin’ this week. Nothing at all. So I will take this moment to point out that Sparkler Monthly has put Off*Beat and Gauntlet on sale for Valentine’s Day—20% off their deluxe paperback sets! Sale expires on Thursday! Other than that… I got nothin’. Any suggestions from our readership?

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: February 9-February 15, 2015

February 16, 2015 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week was a two-review week here at Experiments in Manga. I read and loved Ellery Prime’s Gauntlet, the first novel to have both started and finished in Sparkler Monthly. I’m not sure the review really does the book justice–the story is difficult to write about without spoiling it–but Gauntlet is really good stuff. Ever since reading the novel, I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. (Coincidentally, both Gauntlet and Jen Lee Quick’s marvelous comic Off*Beat are currently on sale!) The second review posted last week was of Setona Mizushiro’s After School Nightmare, Volume 2. So far, the series remains a disconcerting but compelling work. The manga has a lot of dark, psychological drama, which I tend to enjoy, although that can also make it a difficult read from time to time. Many of the characters simply aren’t very nice people. The review is a part of my monthly horror manga review project; next month it will be Mushishi‘s turn again.

On to other interesting reading and news from elsewhere online! The Young Adult Library Services Association has released its 2015 Great Graphic Novels for Teens. The annual list is always worth a look. The manga for 2015 include All You Need is Kill, My Little Monster, My Love Story, Seraph of the End, Summer Wars, Voice Over! Seiyu Academy, Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki (the only manga included on the top ten list), and World Trigger. Over at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, Laura from Heart of Manga provides The 2015 Shoujo Manga Forecast, a comprehensive overview of the shoujo manga that has so far been announced for this year, listed by publisher and expected release date. And on the Vertical Tumblr there is a post Reviewing the “Best Manga of 2011” from a licensing angle which I found to be particularly fascinating. Speaking of Vertical, three new licenses!–Seraph of the End light novels, Ninja Slayer manga, and KizuMonogatari.

Quick Takes

Air Gear, Volume 32 by Oh!Great. This is actually the first volume of Air Gear that I’ve ever read, and the only other manga by Oh!Great that I’ve been exposed to is the very beginning of Tenjo Tenge. From that limited experience, I expected there to be violence and a fair amount of fanservice in Air Gear, and there certainly is. Since I’m not particularly familiar with Air Gear, its plot, or its characters, unsurprisingly I was a bit lost reading the thirty-second volume. It didn’t help that Oh!Great’s use of flashbacks and flashforwards seems haphazard, making it difficult to maintain a firm grasp on the manga’s chronology, and therefore was not as effective as intended. There are only five more volumes in the series and even though I’m unaware of all of the details, it is quite obvious that there has been a tremendous buildup to reach the thirty-second. The volume concludes at least one major battle and leaves several important characters dead. Even though I wasn’t able to follow everything that was going on story-wise, I could still appreciate Oh!Great’s dynamic artwork (beginning with the stunning cover illustration) and the series’ over-the-top action. If nothing else, Oh!Great can draw.

Assassination Classroom, Volumes 1-2 by Yusei Matsui. The junior high students of class 3-E are the academic underachievers and juvenile delinquents whom no one else in the school wants to deal with, but they’re apparently also the only ones who have any chance of saving the world from being destroyed. The teens have less than a year to assassinate their teacher, a superpowered tentacle creature who plans on disintegrating the planet after their graduation. Although he has a few weaknesses, Koro Sensei is extremely powerful, impervious to most weapons, and able to move at Mach 20. A successful assassination will require a significant amount of creativity and teamwork. Surprisingly, even though he intends to destroy Earth, Koro Sensei is actually a great teacher who seems to genuinely care about his students, challenging them to better themselves and encouraging them not only in their studies but in their assassination attempts as well. Assassination Classroom is a strange but enjoyable series. 3-E is a class of losers and outcasts who, when given the opportunity and shown that someone actually believes in them, are able to overcome challenges even if they haven’t figured out a way to kill Koro Sensei yet.

From the New World, Volumes 6-7 written by Yusuke Kishi and illustrated by Toru Oikawa. The manga adaptation of From the New World frustrates me immensely. The story is fantastic, the setting intriguing, and the atmosphere incredibly dark. But overall the manga just isn’t very satisfying, suffering from tonal imbalance and uneven worldbuilding and plot development. Although there’s still some ridiculous fanservice–Saki’s breasts in particular are constantly being emphasized to the point of distraction–these volumes fortunately are mostly lacking in the explicit sex scenes found throughout the rest of the series that seem completely out-of-place and interrupt the narrative flow of the story. The final volume with its dramatic conclusion of the war between the morph rats and the humans, would have been one of the strongest in the series except for the fact that the last chapter, which serves as a lengthy epilogue, slightly fumbles what is perhaps the series’ biggest twist. Quite a few of the reveals in the final volumes likely would have been more powerful if they had been encountered earlier in the story. In the end, I still think what I really want is to read Kishi’s original novel.

Stones of Power by Isora Azumi. A few years ago I read and enjoyed the first quarter or so of Stones of Power when it was initially being serialized in the Gen anthology. The manga has since been collected into a single volume, including material that I believe hadn’t previously been released. Stones of Power is admittedly unpolished and its artwork fairly generic, but there are things I really like about the manga. It mixes the mundane with the supernatural in rather curious ways, especially in the beginning. Fujita is a young man with a passion for fish who ends up being hired to maintain the aquarium at a small cafe. That might not be a particularly strong hook for most readers, but I happen to really like fish and used to keep a tank of my own. It just so happens that the fish Fujita’s been put in charge of are actually dragon gods and the two siblings he works for are fox spirits. From there Stones of Power spins off into an increasingly strange and dangerous situation in which Fujita, who apparently has an unexpected affinity for the occult (or at least the dragons), is unwittingly dragged into a battle between the foxes and an ancient power that threatens the life of an innocent young girl.

After School Nightmare, Vol. 2

February 13, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Setona Mizushiro
U.S. publisher: Go! Comi
ISBN: 9781933617176
Released: December 2006
Original release: 2005

The second volume of Setona Mizushiro’s After School Nightmare, a disconcerting shoujo manga series with dark psychological elements, was originally released in Japan in 2005. The English-language translation was published by Go! Comi in 2007. The entire ten-volume series is now out-of-print in English, but happily the individual manga can still be found relatively easily. I had initially read the first few volumes of After School Nightmare by borrowing them from a library before deciding to track down a set of my own. However, I never got around to reading the entire manga until now because, although the beginning of the series immediately captured my attention, the manga was honestly discomforting. The first volume introduces a surreal setting in which dreams can be just as terrifying and damaging as the realities from which the characters would like to escape. After School Nightmare is a manga that is both fantastically strange and oddly compelling.

Conflicted and confused over his gender due to having a body that is neither entirely male nor female, Mashiro has tried to keep his physical condition hidden from others by living his life as a boy, but now that closely kept secret is out. Every Thursday after school, he and a handful of other students participate in a special class required for their graduation. During the class they literally share a dream, or rather a nightmare, together. In the process their true selves are revealed to the other students, and so a few of Mashiro’s classmates have found out about his body. Within the dreams, Mashiro has fallen victim to the cruel Black Knight, another student whose identity he is unsure of but who he suspects may be Sou. In waking reality, Sou has forcibly kissed Mashiro, insisting that he is a girl and even going so far as to declare his love for him. It is not a situation that Mashiro is comfortable with and if he can get up the courage he intends to confront Sou, whether it be in the nightmare or outside of it.

Frankly, Sou is a jerk. He may be earnest in his feelings for Mashiro, and he’s at least started to try to reign in his aggressiveness, but he has yet to show Mashiro any sort of respect. I can’t like the guy because of the way he treats Mashiro, however I do still have some sympathy for him. Sou, like all of the other students in the special class, suffers greatly from emotional abuse and trauma. Still, that does not excuse his behavior towards Mashiro. Even so, he is positioned as one of Mashiro’s two potential romantic interests in After School Nightmare, the other being Kureha. Although she has made an exception and is currently dating Mashiro, she hates and despises men. Mashiro and Kureha generally get along, but their relationship isn’t as healthy as it could be, mostly but not entirely due to Mashiro’s continued insecurities over his gender. He seems to believe that his identity is defined and determined by the person he is intimate with. Because he’s desperate to be seen as a man, this calls into question whether or not he’s actually in love with Kureha, or if he’s simply dating her as a way to prove his masculinity.

The shared dreams in After School Nightmare are a way of forcing the students to face and work through the darkness that exists within their hearts and psyches. In theory, those nightmares are supposedly intended to be kept separate from reality, but the two worlds do have an effect on each other. The distorted forms the students take within the dreams can be terrifying, but what really makes them so disturbing are the troubling truths and dark pasts that they reveal. The pain, suffering, and hatred that is readily visible in the nightmares still exists and is present in their waking lives. Usually hidden, suppressed, or otherwise concealed, the prejudices that the students carry within them occasionally erupt violently. The skills and maturity needed to deal with these emotional, psychological, and physical disturbances are at least in part being developed within the dreams. In After School Nightmare, Volume 2, Mashiro begins to learn the importance and power of mental strength and fortitude, but both he and his classmates all still have room to learn and grow.