Ash Brown

Manga Giveaway: Juné Manga Giveaway Winner

July 2, 2014 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Juné Manga Giveaway is…Muteee!

As the winner, Muteee will be receiving a copy of Flutter by Momoko Tenzen as published by Juné, one of Digital Manga’s boys’ love and yaoi imprints. Because it was June and the wordplay amused me, I decided to hold a Juné giveaway, asking those who were participating to tell me a little about their favorite Juné manga (if they had one). After ten years of publishing and over four hundred volumes of manga and novels, there are quite a few Juné titles to choose from. Because I enjoy making lists, I’ve gathered everyone’s responses (and added a few additional favorites of my own) below. Check out the giveaway comments if you want all the details, though!

Some favorite Juné manga:
Café Latte Rhapsody by Toko Kawai
Caramel by Puku Okuyama
Cut by Toko Kawai
Deadlock written by Saki Aida, illustrated by Yuu Takashina
Dear Myself by Eiki Eiki
Don’t Say Anymore, Darling by Fumi Yoshinaga
Hero Heel by Makoto Tateno
Gorgeous Carat Galaxy by You Higuri
I Give to You by Maki Ebishi
In the Walnut by Toko Kawai
Invisible Boy by Hotaru Odagiri
Kiss Blue by Keiko Kinoshita
Little Butterfly by Hinako Takanaga
Loveholic by Toko Kawai
Ludwig II by You Higuri
Maiden Rose by Fusanosuke Inariya
Men of Tattoos by Yuiji Aniya
The Moon and the Sandals by Fumi Yoshinaga
Mr. Mini Mart by Junko
Necratoholic by Maguro Wasabi
No Touching at All by Kou Yoneda
Only Serious about You by Kai Asou
Only the Ring Finger Knows written by Satoru Kannagi and illustrated by Hotaru Odagiri
Our Everlasting by Toko Kawai
Rin! written by Satoru Kannagi and illustrated by Yukine Honami
Same Cell Organism by Sumomo Yumeka
Seven Days written by Venio Tachibana and illustrated by Rihito Takarai
Solfege by Fumi Yoshinaga
Thirsty for Love written by Satosumi Takaguchi and illustrated by Yukine Honami
Time Lag written by Shinobu Gotoh, illustrated by Hotaru Odagiri
The Tyrant Falls in Love by Hinako Takanaga
Yellow by Makoto Tateno

Thank you to everyone who shared their favorites with me. There are a few manga on the above list that I actually haven’t yet read that I’ll need to track down now. Hope to see you all again for the next giveaway!

My Week in Manga: June 23-June 29, 2014

June 30, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Another three posts last week! It’s the end of June, so I decided to have a Juné Manga Giveaway. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so there’s still some time left to enter for a chance to win a copy of Momoko Tenzen’s boys’ love one-shot Flutter. Last week I also took a closer look at the two Gengoroh Tagame manga recently published by Bruno Gmünder, Endless Game and Gunji. (And speaking of Bruno Gmünder, more titles for its Gay Manga line have been announced! Look for Mentaiko Itto’s Priapus, Takeshi Matsu’s More and More of You, and Tagame’s Fisherman’s Lodge in English later this year.) Finally, I posted a review of Kaoru Ohno’s historical novel Cage on the Sea which is about the survival and eventual repatriation of the Japanese holdouts on Anatahan Island after World War II. It was a story that was sensationalized in the 1950s, but Ohno’s thoroughly researched novel is a much more nuanced portrayal of the events and people involved.

Quick Takes

Fairy Tail, Volume 38 by Hiro Mashima. While the battles and challenges could be entertaining, I’ll admit that I had started to grow a little weary of the Grand Magic Games arc of Fairy Tail. Thankfully, a secondary (which has now become primary) plot was introduced which has much higher stakes than who will be declared the winner of the tournament. The possibility of the world being destroyed by the return of the dragons is a pretty big deal, after all. The lengthy buildup of the Grand Magic Games pays off in this volume though as the tournament reaches its conclusion. Actually, I think it’s one of the better volumes of Fairy Tail to have recently been released. Most of it is devoted to the various battles which are taking place, the Guild members showing just how much they’ve grown and how strong they’ve become in a very dramatic fashion. Friendship, loyalty, and teamwork have always been vital to Fairy Tail, but it really shows in this volume. Even though there is a focus on the action and fighting, there are also some important plot twists and story developments in the thirty-eighth volume, too.

My Love Story!!, Volume 1 written by Kazune Kawahara and illustrated by Aruko. I absolutely adored the first volume of My Love Story!!–it’s funny and charming, and the characters are incredibly amusing and endearing. Although Takeo is heroic, enthusiastic, loyal, manly, and strong, he’s not traditionally good-looking, so people often overlook his better qualities. He falls in love easily, but all of the girls he likes fall for his attractive best friend Suna instead. (So far, Suna’s turned them all down, though.) But when Takeo saves a girl named Yamato from a groper on the train it seems as though his chance at love has finally arrived, if he isn’t too dense to realize it, that is. Takeo’s developing romance with Yamato is delightful, but his close friendship with Suna is marvelous, too. I’m not sure for how long the creators will be able spin the series’ basic premise without it feeling drawn out, but the manga is currently still ongoing at six volumes in Japan. Regardless, I’m looking forward to the next volume immensely; My Love Story!! is easily one of my favorite manga debuts of 2014.

Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 7 by Mitsuru Hattori. Bub’s condition continues to decline, so Rea has decided to leave for the ZoMA research facility, hoping that her unusual form of zombism will provide a clue to save him. (Is it sad that an undead cat is actually my favorite character in Sankarea?) Chihiro isn’t about to let her go on her own though, in part because he still feels responsible for Rea and wants to protect her, but also because he’s very interested in visiting the “zombie holy land.” Sankarea is a quirky series which tries to balance horror and romantic comedy. This volume actually succeeds fairly well in that. Chihiro has always expressed interest in zombie girls, and he is very excited to meet more of them at ZoMA, which causes him to reevaluate his relationship with Rea. Does he like her simply because she’s a zombie? Would he still like Rea even if there was a way to revive her? Considering Chihiro’s reactions to the other zombies, I could actually see Hattori going either way with the story. The seventh volume is a solid addition to the series, and ends on a pretty intense cliffhanger.

Pick of the Week: My Love Story!!

June 30, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, Anna N and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: There’s one obvious title that really leaps out this week: My Love Story!!. Anything from the High School Debut creator is worth a read, the premise sounds terrific, and even the cover is funny. Can’t wait for more silly shoujo.

ASH: My Love Story!! is my obvious pick this week as well. I haven’t read High School Debut, but thanks to an early shipment I’ve already read the first volume of My Love Story!!. It may very well be one of my favorite debuts of the year; I loved it.

MICHELLE: I have proclaimed my love for High School Debut for a long time, so I am beyond excited for My Love Story!!.

ANNA: I’m not going to go against the general trend here. I’m also looking forward to My Love Story!!

MJ: It was Michelle who hooked me on High School Debut several years ago, and it’s been a while since I’ve gleefully anticipated a new shoujo series to this extent, so you can count me on board for My Love Story!! as well!

What looks good to you this week?

Cage on the Sea

June 29, 2014 by Ash Brown

Author: Kaoru Ohno
Translator: Giles Murray
U.S. publisher: Bento Books
ISBN: 9780983951384
Released: March 2014
Original release: 1998

Cage on the Sea is the first book by Kaoru Ohno to be translated and released in English. The novel, originally published in Japan in 1998, was released in English by Bento Books in 2014 with a translation by Giles Murray. It was Bento Books’ involvement that brought Cage on the Sea to my attention. Though he has written novels, Ohno is primarily known as a journalist and as an author of nonfiction works with a particular emphasis on Japanese military history and World War II. Cage on the Sea suits Ohno’s interests perfectly. Based on a true story and meticulously researched, Cage on the Sea is about a group of Japanese holdouts on Anatahan, a remote island in the Marianas, and their eventual repatriation after World War II. Their tale of survival was sensationalized by the mass media in the 1950s and has served as an inspiration for various other films and novels in addition to Ohno’s Cage on the Sea. Though once a well-known story, more than fifty years later relatively few people are as familiar with this particular history of Anatahan.

In 1944 three Japanese ships–the Hyosukemaru, Akebonomaru, and Kaihomaru–were destroyed by American air raids on the Mariana Islands, stranding the surviving crew on the sparsely populated island of Anatahan. They expected reinforcements and rescue to follow soon afterwards, but days, weeks, months, and eventually years passed before they would leave the island. Initially sheltered by employees of the South Sea Development Company supervising copra production on Anatahan, the more than thirty men quickly exhausted the food stores and supplies meant for less than a handful of people. With resupply increasingly unlikely and with the continued bombardment by the Americans, the group fled for the island’s forested interior, doing their best to survive off of the land by foraging and growing what they could and by capturing lizards and bats for food. After the war in 1950, James B. Johnson, a United States naval commander, began attempts to peacefully remove the Japanese holdouts from the island, hoping to prevent additional casualties on both sides. But by that point, due to injury, disease, and infighting, only twenty men and a single woman, Kazuko Higa, were still alive.

Despite the multitude of named characters (all of whom are based on actual people), Cage on the Sea primarily follows the perspectives of three men: Lieutenant Commander Johnson, Sugataro Nakai, a seaman aboard the Hyosukemaru and a balladeer, and Seargent Junzo Itami of the Kaihomaru, the highest ranking member of the Japanese military present on Anatahan. But the person with the most vital role in Cage of the Sea, the focus to the point of obsession for many of the men and the reason for so much of the group’s conflict and strife, is Kazuko Higa. Johnson’s account actually provides the framing story for the novel, looking back on the events surrounding the repatriation of the Anatahan holdouts from the perspective of his retirement. In particular, he wonders what has become of Higa. Nakai and Itami’s narratives deal more specifically with the efforts to survive on a nearly uninhabited island for seven years, capturing the constantly shifting social dynamics and alliances among the group–a mix of civilians, seamen and fishermen, and enlisted men.

Frequently, Cage on the Sea almost feels as though it’s a documentary. Ohno has put a tremendous amount of research into the work, motivated by the question of what it must have been like to have lived and survived from one day to the next on Anatahan Island for all of those years. He read the memoirs of Michiro Maruyama, one of the survivors; he spoke with and interviewed the holdouts and those who knew them; perhaps most importantly, he gained access to Johnson’s personal archives and to the materials recording the efforts to peacefully rescue the Japanese from Anatahan. Prior to the Anatahan mission, holdouts who resisted surrender were met with force. Johnson’s innovative approach unquestionably saved lives. In the end, Cage on the Sea is a novel, so to some extent the events and key players have been fictionalized and dramatized–but Ohno treats the story with realism, sympathy, and respect, avoiding sensationalism and presenting a much more nuanced version of the events and the people involved than had previously been seen.

Random Musings: Two from Tagame

June 27, 2014 by Ash Brown

Gengoroh Tagame is an extraordinarily important creator of gay erotic art and manga. He is extremely influential in Japan, but his talent is also recognized worldwide. Tagame’s work has been published in French, Spanish, and Italian, but it wasn’t until 2012 that any of his manga received an English-language release when “Standing Ovations” was collected in the third issue of the erotic comics zine Thickness.

There was a persistent rumor that Tagame didn’t want his work to be published in English, which may have been one of the reasons it took so long for a major release of Tagame’s manga to emerge. Happily, that rumor was unfounded and not at all true; 2013 saw the publication of The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: The Master of Gay Erotic Manga, which collected stories from over a decade of Tagame’s output.

In part, The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame and the efforts of its editor Graham Kolbeins and its producer and translator Anne Ishii led to the establishment of Massive, a line of apparel and goods inspired by gay manga (and especially by the work of Tagame and Jiraiya). Massive also imports, produces, and translates gay manga and collaborates directly with creators of gay Japanese art and comics. I’m very much looking forward to Massive and Fantagraphics’ release of Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It in late 2014 which will include interviews, photography, essays, illustrations, and manga. Tagame will be one of the nine artists featured in the volume.

The publication of The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame may have also helped to open the doors for the German publisher Bruno Gmünder to release two more collections of Tagame’s work in English: Endless Game and Gunji. Bruno Gmünder specializes in high quality releases of gay fiction, nonfiction, comics, art, and photography, so Tagame’s manga fits the publishing house perfectly. In addition to the manga themselves, the volumes also include color illustrations by Tagame. Endless Game and Gunji are the first volumes in Bruno Gmünder’s Gay Manga line of comics. 2014 will also see the release and English debuts of works by Takeshi Matsu and Mentaiko Itto, as well as one of Tagame’s most recent manga, Fisherman’s Lodge. Tagame was also included in Bruno Gmünder’s 2014 artbook Raunch.

Interestingly enough, Bruno Gmünder’s release of Endless Game was actually the volume’s world debut. The English-language edition of Endless Game was published in 2013, while the Japanese edition of the manga wasn’t collected until 2014. Endless Game originally began serialization in 2009 and was completed in 2012. I was particularly interested in the volume because prior to its publication I had only had the opportunity to read selections of Tagame’s short manga; all one-hundred-seventy-six pages of Endless Game are devoted to a single story about a young jock named Akira and his descent into prostitution.

Tagame is particularly well-known for the hardcore BDSM themes found in his manga and artwork and he doesn’t shy away from rape scenarios in his work. The sex in Endless Game however, while still being hardcore and exceptionally explicit, is entirely consensual. Granted, Akira might not be aware of the extent to which he is being manipulated. But everything that he does, all of the filthy and degrading acts in which he participates, he does so willingly. Akira has an insatiable sexual appetite and even when he is being taken advantage of, he revels in it. There is still power play and intense sexual scenarios in Endless Game, but the extreme brutality seen in some of the shorter manga collected in The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame is missing, making this volume more approachable as a whole to a wider audience.

Gunji collects two of Tagame’s earlier works: the Gunji tetralogy (“Gunji,” “Scars,” “Flash Rain,” and “Pyre”), which was serialized between 2002 and 2003, as well as a slightly revised version of “The Ballad of Ôeyama” from 2004. Both of those manga had previously been released in Japanese and in French before the English translation was published in 2014. The Gunji series was serialized in the Muscle Man manga magazine. The anthology became a crossover of sorts between boys’ love and gay manga and attracted both female and male readers and creators. Because of this, Tagame deliberately incorporated more boys’ love-esque elements into the story. The men, while still very masculine, have considerably less body hair compared to some of his other works. “Gunji” was initially written as a one-shot story, but proved to be popular enough that Tagame followed it up with a serialized prequel. Whereas sex drove the plot in Endless Game, in the Gunji manga the plot drives the sex. The titular Gunji is a skilled sushi chef who is tormented by the sadistic son of his late master, whom he loved.

“The Ballad of Ôeyama” is a historical period piece set in 10th-century Japan. The short manga was inspired by the military commander Minamoto no Yorimitsu (also known as Raikō) and the legend of the oni Shuten Douji. In the afterword, Tagame notes that “The Ballad of Ôeyama” was also greatly influenced by Osamu Tezuka’s 1969 manga General Onimaru which he enjoyed reading as a child. (Even Tagame is influenced by Tezuka!) Raikō and two of his followers are sent to quell a demon which has been terrorizing the people of Ôeyama but find themselves captured instead. The demon, it turns out, is a shipwrecked foreigner who after being shunned for so long desires human contact and forcibly takes Raikō. Tagame’s reinterpretation of the Shuten Douji myth is spun into a surprisingly romantic tragedy. As with the Gunji tetralogy, while the erotic content is certainly important to “The Ballad of Ôeyama,” the story itself seems to take slightly more precedence in the development of the manga. Granted, Tagame himself would be the first to admit that his work is pornography and he is very candid about that fact. But one of the things that I appreciate the most about Tagame’s manga is that in addition to being gorgeously and viscerally drawn they also have interesting narratives and compelling psychological elements.

Manga the Week of 7/2

June 26, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, MJ, Michelle Smith and Anna N 3 Comments

SEAN: It’s not QUITE as bad as last month’s pile, but there’s a ton of things out the first week in July. Let’s to’t.

Dark Horse continues to give us omnibuses showcasing Lone Wolf & Cub in larger trim size and far more pages. Here’s the fifth.

ASH: Excellent! I’ve been needing to do a binge read of Lone Wolf & Cub and the omnibuses make that much easier.

MJ: I’m always happy to see more of these!

SEAN: Six volumes is an awfully long time for a Blue Sheep Reverie from DMP. Maybe the sheep should come out of it soon.

MICHELLE: *snerk* I actually kind of liked this one—at least it tried to have a plot—but just sort of drifted away from it. I’m glad it continues to exist.

SEAN: And another ‘we’re not just BL!’ title from DMP, as they put out the first volume of seinen dog-focused manga Kinokoinu – Mushroom Pup, which runs in Comic Ryu (home of A Centaur’s Life), and involves a man who can’t get over the death of his pet dog.

MJ: That sounds… heartbreaking.

Seven Seas has a quartet of titles dropping. Knight’s Knowledge is a Country of Clover title from the Alice franchise. It stars Ace. I’ve found titles where Ace is supporting are much better than titles starring him, but maybe this will be different.

ANNA: It probably says something about me that Ace is my favorite because he is so murderous. I haven’t read any of his solo titles, maybe I will give this a try.

The new series from SS this month is Arpeggio of Blue Steel, which runs in Young King Ours, home of Excel Saga and Hellsing. I warn you in advance, this is another ‘sentient warfare/battleships shown as cute girls’ series. That said, I’ve heard this one is a slight cut above the usual fare, so we’ll see what it brings to the table.

Haganai is a popular series, both here and in Japan, so it makes sense that we’d see a few of the spinoff manga. Now With 50% More Fail is apparently filled with cute comedic one-shots that don’t impact the plot (such as it is).

Lastly, The Sacred Blacksmith continues to nudge its way forward towards its own main plot, here with Vol. 5.

Flowers of Evil 10 is a good 3 volumes over what I expected it to be, but hey, more creepy arty manga is always welcome, even if I dropped the series ages ago. Others here like it, right?

ASH: I do, indeed! The series seems to get better and better with each arc.

MJ: Indeed!

SEAN: The rest is Viz. They’re still giving readers of D.Gray-Man a chance to see it again, with the 4th 3-in-1 due out.

Demon Love Spell features what I believe is the 6th and final volume, and therefore I suspect will finally have a love scene that takes place in the *real* world, unless Mayu Shinjo has been corralled by the Margaret editorial department.

MICHELLE: Will Miko become more powerful than her dad and break his spell so she can get it on with her boyfriend?!

ANNA: I think this is the series where Shinjo effectively blends the sexy angst that was the trademark of her earlier series like Sensual Phrasewith the comedy stylings of Ai Ore. I’ve really enjoyed this series, and I hope Viz has another Shinjo series waiting in the wings.

MJ: I have fallen behind on this series, and am feeling very regretful!

SEAN: Midnight Secretary is almost over, this being the penultimate volume, so no doubt things will get far more serious and dangerous for our vampire and human couple.

ANNA: EEEEEEEE, Midnight Secretary!!!!!!!!

MJ: Heeeeee.

SEAN: Viz’s new shoujo series, My Love Story!!, is one I’ve been looking forward to. By the author of High School Debut, it’s about a guy who longs for a shoujo romance (and this is a shoujo title), despite looking like your typical big, burly, not bishonen at all guy. His struggle begins here.

MICHELLE: I am looking forward to this so much!

ANNA: This sounds great. Planning on picking this up!

ASH: My copy arrived early and I’ve already read it and I loved it and Takeo is the best!

MJ: I am so on board with this.

SEAN: Naruto hits Vol. 66. Be careful! That’s the Third Cousin Once Removed of the Beast!

Nisekoi drops the print volume of Vol. 4. Will it continue to juggle the girls it has, or add a new one to the mix? The eternal question of every harem title.

Phantom Thief Jeanne has Vol. 3, and I suspect things will get even more serious soon, given we’re just about halfway through this omnibus-ish rerelease.

MICHELLE: I’m enjoying this quite a lot.

ANNA: This is my favorite Tanemura series. I’m glad it is getting reissued with an updated translation.

SEAN: Speaking of omnibuses, though not ish in this case, Skip Beat! has its 8th omnibus pop up as well.

MICHELLE: Yay, Skip Beat! Now if only the next standalone volume would hurry up and come out!

ANNA: Skip Beat! is the best.

SEAN: Sweet Rein comes to an end with its third volume, ending inappropriately enough in mid-summer. Expect more Santa and reindeer antics.

ANNA: This was sweet and cute, if not very deep.

MJ: I can’t say that I’m sad to see it go. Does that make me a grinch?

SEAN: Lastly, there is a Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal 5, which I can’t even make jokes about. Here it is, Yu-Gi-Oh fans.

What’s tickling your fancy?

Manga Giveaway: Juné Manga Giveaway (Flutter)

June 25, 2014 by Ash Brown

The end of June is almost here, which means it’s time for Experiments in Manga’s monthly manga giveaway. And, because it’s June, I thought that I would hold a Juné manga giveaway. (I can’t help it, the wordplay amuses me.) This month (almost) everyone has an opportunity to enter for a chance to win a copy of Momoko Tenzen’s boys’ love one-shot Flutter! The giveaway is open worldwide, but if boys’ love and yaoi is illegal in your country, please don’t participate. (Sorry!) You must also be at least eighteen years of age for this particular giveaway.

Last year I received a request to do a Juné manga giveaway. I actually do take requests, for giveaways as well as for reviews, though it might take some time for me to be able to follow through. Still, a Juné manga giveaway was something that I was pretty sure I could make happen. Juné is one of Digital Manga’s boys’ love imprints, taking its name from Japan’s earliest boys’ love magazine June. It’s also one of Digital Manga’s largest imprints with currently over four hundred manga and novels in its catalog. Juné’s first title, Satoru Kannagi and Hotaru Odagiri’s Only the Ring Finger Knows, was released in August 2004, which means the imprint will be celebrating its tenth anniversary very soon. With so many Juné manga to choose from, and with so many that I’ve immensely enjoyed, I had a difficult time picking just one to give away. After putting some thought into it, I finally settled on one of the imprint’s newer one-shot manga that I’ve read recently: Momoko Tenzen’s Flutter. It’s an enjoyable volume with endearing characters and a slowly, quietly developed, slightly awkward romance between two grown men. Plus, one of them happens to be legitimately, and openly, gay. This isn’t particularly common in many of the boys’ love manga that have been translated, so it always makes me happy to see.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Flutter?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about your favorite Juné manga, if you have one. (And if you don’t, simply mention that.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

It’s as easy as that! For this giveaway, each person can earn up to two entries and has one week to submit comments. Entries may also be submitted via e-mail to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com if you prefer or if you encounter problems trying to leave comments. (I will then post the entry in your name.) The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on July 2, 2014. Good luck, and happy June!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, 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: Juné Manga Giveaway Winner

Pick of the Week: Favorites & Fallbacks

June 24, 2014 by Ash Brown, Sean Gaffney, MJ, Anna N and Michelle Smith 2 Comments

ASH: Despite the variety of the manga being released this week, there aren’t many that I’m actively following with one exception: the debut volume of Attack on Titan: No Regrets (which I was happy to receive an early copy for review). Currently the only explicitly shoujo version of Attack on Titan, the series is the origin story of two of the most popular (and possibly most frequently shipped) characters, Erwin and Levi. It’s also pretty great; I’m looking forward to reading the next and final volume.

SEAN: No Regrets is excellent, but since it’s been picked, I’ll go with the new Sword Art Online:Fairy Dance manga volume. An adaptation of the novel due out in December, it’s apparently quite divisive, adding a harem element back to the story after being theoretically removed when Kirito and Asuna got together, and placing Asuna out of the action for a good chunk. We will see what it can bring to the table.

MJ: I’m firmly with Sean this week. Though I’m looking forward to the novel with more verve, I’m still interested in the manga adaptation of Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance. The second arc is likely to prickle my inner feminist somewhat, much as its anime adaptation did, but I like these characters and am looking forward to seeing how they are handled by the manga.

ANNA: I have to admit, there isn’t that much that appeals to me that is coming out this week. So I’ll go with one of the manga that’s on the top of my “to-read” pile, Vinland Saga Volume 3! What warm June day isn’t improved by manly Vikings pillaging things?

MICHELLE: I’m in the same boat as Anna this week, so I’ll go back a couple of weeks and pick one I skipped in favor of Tiger & Bunny—the second volume of Say I Love You.. I’ve enjoyed these new shoujo series from Kodansha, and this is what’s presently on top of my to-read pile.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: June 16-June 22, 2014

June 23, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Well, it wasn’t entirely intentional, but both of my in-depth manga reviews from last week featured manga released by Kodansha Comics. I managed to get my hands on an early copy of Hikaru Suruga’s Attack on Titan: No Regrets, Volume 1, the first installment in a short shoujo series focusing on Erwin and Levi and their pasts. It’s a welcome addition to the Attack on Titan canon and I enjoyed it a great deal. The second review was of Hinoki Kino’s No. 6, Volume 7 which may very well be the best volume yet in the series; it’s intense. I’d still love to read the original novels, but I’m glad that the manga adaptation is being released. I also had a bonus post last week–Random Musings: Cherry Bomb, Cinderseed, and Skyglass. Cherry Bomb is the mature imprint of Chromatic Press. Cinderseed was released through Cherry Bomb and is the prologue to the illustrated novel Skyglass which debuted earlier this month. I’m absolutely loving what I’ve seen of Skyglass so far.

And speaking of great stuff from Chromatic Press, I encourage everyone to check out its Kickstarter to release Gauntlent in print. As for other interesting things found online: The fifth part of Revealing and Concealing Identities: Cross-Dressing in Anime and Manga was posted at The Lobster Dance and focuses on Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son. Sean has a roundup of the recent license announcements from Seven Seas at A Case Suitable for Treatment. The UK-based comics publisher Breakdown Press is launching a series of classic and avant garde manga in translation, starting with Seiichi Hayashi’s Flowering Harbour in July. And last but not least, I discovered manga brog a newish site which already has some extremely interesting content, like a translation of a conversation between Taiyo Matsumoto, Inio Asano, and Keigo Shinzo.

Quick Takes

Click, Volumes 5-8 by Youngran Lee. The relationship dynamics in Click are exceptionally complicated, made more complicated by the fact that Joonha’s sex and gender are in flux. After spending sixteen years of his life physically and mentally as male, the fact that he now has a female body has presented some problems. Initially he tried to separate himself from those closest to him, but now they’re back in his life. For better and for worse, Joonha still hasn’t fully explained the situation or his peculiar genetic condition. Some people treat him as the boy he once was, others treat him as the girl he seems to be now. Surprisingly enough, Joonha seems to care less and less about gender, more or less ignoring it in order to focus on other aspects of life. (Which really is how it should be.) Click is extremely melodramatic, emotions run high, and the plot can occasionally take some absurd turns. Despite being somewhat of a jerk, most everyone seems to be in love with Joonha and those feelings are returned. As a result, the manhwa forms an extraordinary mess of romantic entanglements.

Crimson Spell, Volumes 3-4 by Ayano Yamane. The first two volumes of Crimson Spell were originally released in English by Media Blasters. I was thrilled when SuBLime rescued the license; Crimson Spell is my favorite Yamane series, and there are relatively few boys’ love manga set in a sword and sorcery fantasy world. On rereading the series, I realized that I had forgotten just how funny it can be, too. Granted, the third volume takes a fairly serious turn when Halvir is captured and Vald must go to his rescue. The plot is getting more involved, more and more characters are introduced, and Vald’s curse and the bond between him and his demon self are growing stronger. Halvir and Vald desperately need to sort out their feelings for one another, a particular thorny issue since Vald has now discovered that Halvir has been taking great pleasure in satisfying the carnal needs of the demon without Vald’s knowledge (or consent). Understandably, Vald isn’t particularly happy to learn this. With all of the drama, magic, and sword fights, and all of the smut to go along with it, I’m still loving Crimson Spell.

Eyeshield 21, Volumes 35-37 written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. These last three volumes of Eyeshield 21 feel like an afterthought to the series more than anything else. The Christmas Bowl is over, but with the Youth World Cup about to begin Japan needs to pull together its all-star team. Basically this final arc amounts to an excuse to bring all of the favorite characters from the various Japanese teams together one last time. Despite it being a world championship, Eyeshield 21 seems to have lost the sense of urgency and emotional investment that was present during the battles in the Christmas Bowl. In part this is probably due to the fact that most of the members of the other national teams are new to the series, so any established rivalries or histories are missing. As expected, the championship game in the Youth World Cup comes down to Japan versus America. It’s a good game, but I found it to be rather anticlimactic in the end. Still, Eyeshield 21 is a lot of fun and as always Murata’s artwork is fantastic. I mean, the image of Ceasar riding a dinosaur? That’s some great stuff there.

My Little Monster, Volume 2 by Robico. I’m quite enjoying My Little Monster. I particularly appreciate the series’ quirky, offbeat characters–a group of misfits with varying degrees of social awkwardness, ineptitude, and obliviousness. Shizuku is currently struggling to find the balance between her accidental friendships, her feelings towards Haru, and her studying, which had been the only thing in her life that had been constant. As for Haru, he’s starting to become more comfortable at school and around other people. But, though he means well, his more violent tendencies still cause some problems. Haru’s older brother is introduced in this volume and some of Haru’s troubled family life is revealed as well, adding some mystery and ominous undertones to what is generally a fairly lighthearted series. I like Robico’s dry sense of humor in My Little Monster. So far, the series has achieved a nice blend of more serious and more comedic elements. There are certainly some uncomfortable moments, but at this point the series has avoided becoming too heavy. I’m looking forward to reading more of My Little Monster.

JJBATV1 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure directed by Kenichi Suzuki and Naokatsu Tsuda. The first season of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure television anime series covers the first two parts of Hirohiko Araki’s inter-generational action manga epic. Phantom Blood is adapted in a mere nine episodes but still manages to hit most of the major plot points and remains coherent despite its quick pace. The remaining seventeen episodes are devoted to the second story arc, Battle Tendency. While they both obviously belong to the same anime series, the individual parts have their own stylistic quirks in the music and animation that give each its own feel. Phantom Blood has a classically oriented soundtrack and palette while Battle Tendency introduces dubstep and bright, fluorescent colors. Some shortcuts were taken with the animation in order to keep to a budget, some of which are more effective than others. However, the story remains entertaining and engaging, a mix of horror, revenge, and intense battles and action with strong psychological elements. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure can be, well, bizarre and over-the-top, but I’ll gladly admit that I get a huge kick out of it.

Random Musings: Cherry Bomb, Cinderseed, and Skyglass

June 21, 2014 by Ash Brown

Back in April 2014, Chromatic Press announced Cherry Bomb, its new imprint for mature readers. The intent was to provide an outlet for Sparkler Monthly‘s creators to explore a sexier side of their already established characters and stories with a goal to include original, unrelated material in the future as well. Cherry Bomb’s coordinator Lianne Sentar probably sums it up best: “We want our erotica to be emotionally cathartic, with a purpose and meaning behind some smoking content. If it’s all smut and no context, that’s not good enough – we demand both!”

Personally, I was very excited to learn about Cherry Bomb. The imprint launched with five titles: two short stories from Tokyo Demons, which I had previously read and enjoyed (I’ve written a little about my Tokyo Demons obsession in the past); two short comics from Awake; a Gauntlet side story; and Cinderseed, the prologue to the then upcoming illustrated novel Skyglass written by Jenn Grunigen with art by Mookie.

I’m rather ashamed to admit that after the initial Cherry Bomb announcement, I actually completely forgot about Cinderseed. But then came the even more recent announcement for Skyglass, which made its debut in June 2014 in Sparkler Monthly, Issue 11. The prose series was described as “throwing Ai Yazawa’s Nana, a space opera, and a really fresh take on post-apocalyptic Earth into a blender.” With a line like that, I knew that I needed to read Skyglass. It was at that point that I was also gently reminded that Cinderseed existed, and the lovely folk at Chromatic were kind enough to send along a review copy to me.

Cinderseed opens with a girl floating through space, a fire elemental who has been ripped from the sun, her home, and confined within a human body. Understandably, she is somewhat confused and not particularly pleased by this turn of events and violently lashes out at the humans who would try to control her further. Soon after she meets Kri, who hopes that she would kill him, too. But as a Pleasure Intelligence, he doesn’t have much say in the direction his life is taking or even ownership over himself.

The two of them make an interesting contrast, similar to each other in some ways but vastly different in others. Neither are entirely human, but Kri has been designed by humans and his thoughts and behaviors are influenced by that. On the other hand, Phoenix’s actions and ways of thinking are often disconcertingly inhuman. (As they should be.) However, they both feel trapped, experience loneliness, and want to reclaim themselves and take control of their own lives. Phoenix, though, is much more likely to redirect her feelings towards revenge than Kri is.

Technically, while reading the prologue may not be absolutely necessary to follow what is going on in the novel proper, it does provide background information and additional insights into the world and characters of Skyglass, particularly the re/birth of Phoenix. Plus, it’s sexy. And hot, often literally so. (Phoenix is a fire elemental, after all.) Female-friendly, queer-friendly, and kink-friendly, too. The science fiction setting provides the opportunity for some particularly creative, audacious, and delightful, scenarios. And keeping with the intent of Cherry Bomb, the sex serves a purpose beyond titillation in Cinderseed; it’s integral both to who the characters are as people and to the plot itself.

One of the taglines for Skyglass is “Sex, elves, and rock ‘n’ roll.” The prologue covered the sex, but the elves (I promise, it makes perfect sense within the context of the story) and rock music don’t come into play until the first chapter with the introduction of the novel’s other main character Moss Wick—a half-human/half-elvish drummer who has…significant issues. And on top of those, Phoenix has attached herself to him. Unlike the prologue, which was written in the third person, the main narrative (or at least the initial chapter) alternates between Moss and Phoenix’s perspectives and is told in the first person, allowing the readers to get a very good sense of who they are. If Kri and Phoenix were opposites, Moss and Phoenix are even more so; their relationship should be quite interesting to watch unfold.

Even after only having read the prologue and the first chapter, I’m already loving Skyglass. The wait for the release of each new chapter will be torturous, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading more. The novel is shaping up to be smart and sexy and incredibly offbeat science fiction, with interesting and entertaining characters, a fascinating setting, and an engaging writing style. Personally, I think Cinderseed and Skyglass, not to mention the rest of the offerings from Chromatic Press, are well worth checking out.

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No. 6, Vol. 7

June 20, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hinoki Kino
Original story: Atsuko Asano
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781612625539
Released: June 2014
Original release: 2013

I have been following Hinoki Kino’s manga adaptation of Atsuko Asano’s science fiction novel series No. 6 since its beginning. The manga got off to a bit of an unsteady start, but it quickly improved its pacing and setting development, each passing volume becoming stronger and building on those that came before it. No. 6, Volume 7 was initially published in Japan in 2013 while Kodansha Comics’ English translation, which includes a bonus story from Japan’s special edition, was released in 2014. I haven’t read Asano’s original novels (sadly, they have yet to be licensed in English) so I can’t directly compare the manga series, but I have seen the anime adaptation. In fact, it was because I liked the characters from the anime so well that I sought out another interpretation of their story. Though both the anime and the manga began around the same time, the anime was completed in 2011 while the ninth and final volume of the manga was released in 2014. The anime and manga share many similarities with each other, but in the end they are their own works.

Rat and Shion’s daring plan to infiltrate the city of No. 6’s Correctional Facility has so far been surprisingly successful and, with a little outside help, they have been able to penetrate the building’s first line of defenses. Gaining access to the Correctional Facility and surmounting the initial challenges preventing the rescue of Shion’s close friend Safu is only the beginning; even with their unexpected luck, things will prove to be much more difficult for Rat and Shion as they continue on their mission and press on farther into the Facility’s interior. Considering that Safu was once counted among No. 6’s elites, Shion is convinced that she must be being held captive in the most secure, upper levels of the Correctional Facility. At best, he and Rat have mere minutes before their intrusion is discovered. After that there is no knowing what they will have to face and they were working with very limited information to begin with. Both Shion and Rat anticipated that the rescue attempt would be extremely dangerous, and at this point there is no turning back.

Since I have seen the anime adaptation of No. 6 and am therefore familiar with many of the important plot points found in the manga, I can’t say that I was particularly surprised by some of the major developments in No. 6, Volume 7. That being said, there are still some incredibly shocking moments which can be attributed to the strength of the underlying story as a whole. Especially potent and devastating is the evolution of Shion’s character over the course of the series. In the last few volumes in particular he has changed so much it seems that Rat’s fears are starting to come true–at times he is no longer even recognizable as Shion anymore. He has become a different person. Gone is the innocent and optimistic young man who was so quick to see the good in people. In his place is a person within whom hatred is growing and whose sense of justice has taken a dramatic and dangerous turn, not only for those around him, but for himself as well.

Taking into account everything that Shion has been through so far, it’s not unexpected that he and his outlook on the world has changed. His own life and the lives of those he holds dearest have been repeatedly threatened. He has personally witnessed the poverty and despair of the residents of West Block as well as the horrors of the Manhunt. Shion has seen senseless violence and death. He has learned about the atrocities committed in the name of No. 6, and yet he still doesn’t know everything. Rat and Shion gained access to the Correctional Facility in order to rescue Safu, but in the process they discover even more of the city’s dark secrets. The truths behind No. 6, its establishment, and its continued existence are not pleasant ones. It’s a so-called perfect society, but the leadership is more than willing to turn on its own citizens in order to maintain that perfection. Shion is trying to come to terms with all of this and to protect the people that he cares about and loves, but in doing so he may very well lose himself entirely.

Manga the Week of 6/25

June 19, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown and MJ 2 Comments

SEAN: The final week of June, and the end of Manga’s Fiscal Year 13-14. There are a few interesting titles coming out.

It’s right about time for a new Vampire Hunter D novel, so Dark Horse has Vol. 21 all ready for us.

ASH: You know, I’ve read the manga adaptations, but have yet to actually read any of the novels. I should probably get around to that one of these days.

SEAN: There’s also a 31st volume of Air Gear. That is a lot of roller blading.

The volume Attack on Titan fans have been waiting for, here is the first volume of No Regrets, giving us some (not all) the backstory on Levi, along with a good look at Erwin too. It’s a shipper’s dream, even though they barely interact here. I reviewed Vol. 1; it’s a good ‘un.

ASH: I actually just posted my own review of the volume. I’m liking the series, too.

SEAN: The last Sankarea ended with our heroine being spirited away by the morally ambiguous teenage scientist. Will she end up dissected, and thus have this volume be the last? (checks) This volume is not the last, so I guess not.

Vertical has the 2nd volume of Cardfight!! Vanguard, which I have not really looked at whatsoever, so… cards? Fighting? Shonen excitement?

And we have June’s slate of Yen Press. There’s the 5th Are You Alice?, indicting that Alice has still not quite discovered the answer to this himself. Yes, him. It’s that sort of title.

MJ: Heh, I need to get back into this title, I think.

SEAN: I was a bit less enthused with the 2nd volume of Bloody Cross, but there’s still enough potential that I look forward to the third. It’s at its best when the two leads snark at each other.

A new volume of Judge, the 4th, means we are 2/3 of the way through this series, and therefore, what, 2/3 of the cast must be dead by now?

Madoka Magica has the 2nd volume of its Different Story, focusing on Mami and Kyouko.

I was fairly gushing about my praise of the first Sword Art Online manga/novel, to the point where I got several people telling me that it went way downhill with its second arc. Naturally, this makes me want to read the 2nd arc and find all the great things about it, because I am a contrary sort. Here’s Vol. 1 of Fairy Dance (no more omnibuses), where we find out what life is like after Aincrad.

MJ: I thought the anime had some issues in the second arc as well, but I still want to read the novel. Count me in!

SEAN: This Fairy Dance is the manga, actually. The novel ships in December, after the 2nd Aincrad novel in August.

Lastly, remember Tales of the Waning Moon? It’s been almost 2 years since the last volume, possibly as it runs in Houbunsha’s Cita Cita magazine, which only comes out quarterly. But rejoice! Here is Vol. 4!

MJ: This. I. Really, I can’t believe there is enough story left to tell for more volumes. I can’t.

SEAN: What titles make you want to spend your hard-earned cash?

Attack on Titan: No Regrets, Vol. 1

June 18, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hikaru Suruga
Original story: Gun Snark
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781612629414
Released: June 2014
Original release: 2014

I think it’s probably safe at this point to call Hajime Isayama’s manga series Attack on Titan a worldwide phenomenon. It has spawned successful anime adaptations as well as multiple manga spinoffs, a series of novels, and games, among other media. Most of those have been, or soon will be, released in English, too. When it comes to the side manga, I was especially curious about Attack on Titan: No Regrets because so far it has been the only explicitly shoujo offering to be included as part of the franchise. (I was therefore very happy to receive a review copy.) The short manga series in an adaptation by Hikaru Suruga of a Nitroplus visual novel written by Gun Snark and supervised by Isayama himself. The first volume of No Regrets was released in Japan, and then soon after in English by Kodansha Comics, in 2014. Kodansha’s English-language release also collects the story’s prologue chapter, which was included as part of Japan’s special edition of Attack on Titan: No Regrets, Volume 1.

Behind Wall Sheena lies the royal capital and the surrounding city where those who are lucky enough are able to live in luxury. But below it all is the Underground, where outcasts and criminals live in slum-like conditions. It’s there that Levi and his two comrades Isabel and Furlan call home, but they swear to one another that one day they will leave their criminal pasts and the Underground behind and live up above. Their chance comes in the form of Erwin, a young, talented, and devoted Survey Corps squad leader. Levi’s exceptional vertical maneuvering skills have caught Erwin’s attention and after some effort he has caught Levi as well. Erwin offers Levi and his crew a choice: join the Survey Corps themselves, lending their natural strengths to humanity’s fight against the Titans, or submit to the Military Police to answer for their many crimes. The decision isn’t a difficult one to make, but being forced to join the Survey Corps against their will doesn’t sit at all well with Levi; he plans to have his revenge against Erwin.

Arguably, Erwin and Levi are two of Attack on Titan‘s most beloved characters. (Not to mention one of the pairings that I’ve most frequently seen shipped.) There’s a certain intensity to their relationship in the original series–it’s obvious that they share a history and a past with each other–which means exploring their origins and how that bond developed in No Regrets makes a good deal of sense. Personally, I’ve always found Levi and Erwin to be particularly interesting characters, making No Regrets a welcome addition to the Attack on Titan canon. In the first volume of No Regrets their relationship is a volatile and antagonistic one. It’s an extremely important element of the series, but the manga also explores who they are as individuals, which is just as crucial. Each in their own way, both Levi and Erwin are intimidating and formidable men. Erwin may actually be the more terrifying of the two–he’s cool, calm, collected, and incredibly calculating–but Levi’s more obvious aggressiveness and propensity towards violence also leaves an impression.

In addition to focusing on Erwin and Levi, No Regrets features cameos from a few of the other key players from the original Attack on Titan and also introduces new characters, most notably Furlan and Isabel. Granted, seeing as this is still Attack on Titan and that No Regrets already has a considerable death count, there’s certainly no guarantee of their survival. All of the main characters in No Regrets, and to some extent the series’ side and background characters as well, have very distinct personalities which are exhibited through their facial expressions, body language, and individual manners of speech. Suruga’s artwork in No Regrets takes its cues from Isayama’s original series but in general is much cleaner and consistent. Story-wise, the series exhibits an excellent balance between political intrigue and action, including fantastically dynamic vertical maneuvering sequences. For the most part No Regrets stands fairly well on its own, although those familiar with Attack on Titan will get the most out of it. I quite enjoyed the first volume of No Regrets and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Thank you to Kodansha for providing a copy of Attack on Titan: No Regrets, Volume 1 for review.

Pick of the Week: Old Favorites & New

June 16, 2014 by MJ, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown and Anna N 1 Comment

MJ: Though I’m interested in a few of this week’s releases, including the latest from the author of Girl Friends, I’m unable to restrain myself from recommending the second omnibus volume of CLAMP’s xxxHolic. These volumes are some of my favorites in the early series, responsible for much laughter, tears, and for my everlasting Watanuki/Doumeki ‘shipping (seriously, if you are not on board by the end of volume six, there’s no help for you). In fact, I think I must reread them in honor of this release. If you never picked up this gorgeous and occasionally maddening series, now is your chance!

SEAN: I’ll chime in here, then, and make Gakuen Polizi my pick for this week. It’s got a lot of things that people like Morinaga Milk for: yuri tease (though a lot less than Girl Friends, obviously), broad comedy between an outgoing young girl and her more introverted friend, and of course high school antics (even though our leads are technically police officers). Sometimes you just want to read something FUN. This should fit the bill nicely.

MICHELLE: I’m going to have to cast my vote for the xxxHOLiC omnibus, too. Especially since this reissue will give me the opportunity to pick up the final few volumes of the series that I originally missed!

ASH: Vertical’s deluxe release of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin is always worth mentioning, but my pick of the week actually goes to Battle Royale: Angels’ Border. In addition to a new translation of the original novel and The Battle Royale Slam Book (which was great), the manga makes the third Battle Royale release from Viz this year.

ANNA: Since no one else is picking Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, I’ll have to go with that! Civil war! Mecha! Space! Char Aznable being evil! Seriously, what else does a reader need?

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: June 9-June 15, 2014

June 16, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I posted two in-depth manga reviews at Experiments in Manga last week. The first was of Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi’s The Summit of the Gods, Volume 3. It’s the middle volume of a five-volume, award-winning series and is a critical turning point for the story and characters. The Summit of the Gods is my favorite Taniguchi collaboration as well as one of my favorite manga series in general. And if manly mountain men don’t interest you, perhaps my review of Mari Okazaki’s out-of-print josei collection Sweat & Honey might entice you to track down a copy for yourself. The short manga included in the anthology focus on the close and often complicated relationships between women. The post is a part of my Year of Yuri monthly review project and makes the seventh installment. Only five more reviews to go!

Elsewhere online there were plenty of interesting things to read. Yen Press has a new set of license announcements. Organization Anti-Social Geniuses had two posts last week that I particularly liked: an interview with Cho, the founder of the site English Light Novels (which is an incredibly useful resource that I was previously unaware of), and a look at some of the reasons why people tell publishers they read illegal version of manga. Otaku USA has a nice interview with Helen McCarthy, whose newest book A Brief History of Manga will be released soon. The Lobster Dance has posted Revealing and Concealing Identities: Cross-Dressing in Anime and Manga, Part 4, with at least one more part to come. Lastly, the second manga studies column at Comics Forum is now available, focusing on the history of manga and Kitazawa Rakuten .

Quick Takes

A Centaur’s Life, Volumes 2-3 by Kei Murayama. The more I read of A Centaur’s Life, the more I like the series. It can be incredibly sweet and adorable, and Murayama’s world-building is fascinating. Not all of that world-building makes it into the series proper (at least not yet), but the extra material between chapters and at the beginning and end of the volumes. Is interesting, delving into the politics, history, and mythology of A Centaur’s Life. It’s obvious that a lot of thought has been put into the series to make it as realistic as possible; Murayama takes into account even the smallest details of everyday life and how things like cars, furniture, and buildings have to be modified to accommodate races with completely different anatomies. A Centaur’s Life is fairly episodic, but more and more recurring characters are introduced as the series progresses. These two volumes in particular frequently feature the youngest generation of centaurs and other folk. Like any kids, they can be hellions but they can be super cute, too.

Same Cell Organism by Sumomo Yumeka. Much like Yumeka’s later manga, The Day I Become a Butterfly, Same Cell Organism tends to be fairly quiet and subdued. Yumeka’s artwork is lovely, with a light, airy touch to it, though her character designs from one story to the next are similar enough to cause some brief confusion from time to time. Same Cell Organism is a collection of some of her earliest boys’ love manga. It’s a somewhat uneven volume, mostly do to the fact that one of the stories, “To Make an Angel” was never actually completed. All of the set up is there, but then it suddenly ends with no real conclusion. However, I absolutely adored the titular story “Same Cell Organism” and its subsequent chapters. The story follows two young men in high school who might seem like unlikely friends because their personalities are so different: Yokota is loud, enthusiastic, and outgoing while Nakagawa is much quieter and reserved and has a more difficult time expressing himself. However, their relationship develops naturally and is delightfully loving and sweet.

Say I Love You, Volume 2 by Kanae Hazuki. I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed the first volume of Say I Love You and so was very interested in seeing how the characters’ stories and relationships continued to develop in the second. I particularly like the leads, Mei and Yamato. Mei especially is marvelous; she’s confident enough in herself to avoid bad situations involving other people, which made me very happy to see. Yamato obviously cares for Mei and is very respectful of her. However, many of the other characters aren’t likeable at all, and much of the second volume is devoted to them. Hayakawa is a womanizer and an absolute asshole. His story arc in this volume is a bit uncomfortable–he gets his comeuppance, but he also gets the girl. (I worry about her, so I truly hope that his colors have changed having been redeemed by love.) Aiko, who apparently used to be a lovely young woman, is simply not a nice person at all anymore. She has her reasons, but she’s still not sympathetic. Say I Love You deals very honestly with sex and its emotional repercussions at such a young age. Some of the relationships in the series aren’t at all healthy, making the budding romance between Mei and Yamato refreshing in comparison.

Sherlock Bones, Volume 5 written by Yuma Ando and illustrated by Yuki Sato. Sherlock Holmes reincarnated as a puppy is still a rather silly premise, but I’ll admit that I’ve largely been enjoying the series. Occasionally there’s an unnecessary flash of underwear, but generally that’s fairly easy to pass over. The mysteries in the series are interesting with some very clever, though sometimes outlandish, twists. The artwork provides clues for readers to pick up on if they’d like a more interactive story experience, too. One of the things that I actually liked best about this particular volume of Sherlock Bones is that the story moves from Takeru being a high school student to his entry into the workforce. Unsurprisingly, coming from a police family and considering his recent work solving crimes with Sherdog, Takeru becomes a patrol officer. Already it’s proving to supply even more cases for him and Sherdog to investigate, and a few new characters are introduced as well. Sherlock Bones continues to be an entertaining series, and I look forward to reading the remaining two volumes.