Michelle Smith

This week, Sean and Michelle look at recent releases from Seven Seas, Vertical Comics, Kodansha Comics, and Viz Media.

Alice in the Country of Joker: Nightmare Trilogy, Vol. 3 | By QuinRose and Job | Seven Seas – I’ve criticized this particular spinoff before, for what I consider subpar art and for its tendency to meander. But this volume steps up the danger for Alice, and utilizes the Joker setting almost as well as Circus & Liar’s Game. The fact that Joker’s many lethal weapons all deal with perception and memory fits very well into the Alice universe at large, and Julius fans will be pleased (maybe) to see he’s joined Ace as two of the Joker’s henchmen. As for Alice and Nightmare, the waffling is the point – both of them are dealing with scary feelings, and overcoming those brings this trilogy to a close. Overall, not as strong as many of the other spinoffs, but it stuck the landing. – Sean Gaffney

Girls & Panzer: Little Army, Vol. 2 | By Girls Und Panzer Projekt and Tsuchii | Seven Seas – The action-filled climax to this volume happens about halfway through, as Miho and Maho’s teams take to their tanks for a one-on-one battle. If you know this series and how old these girls currently are, the outcome won’t surprise you. What this volume does do is flesh out Maho a bit and make it more clear that she’s obeying her mother in all things partly to shield Miho from such a harsh upbringing. Unfortunately, this does not really help Miho as much as she’s like, since her mother is still a horrible parent. Luckily, things resolve as well as they can with a few well-placed cheer up speeches. A cute prequel to the main series, but I prefer that one. – Sean Gaffney

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 13 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical Comics – Well, the harem wraps itself up here, and in a way that I really did not expect, though it was signposted very heavily in retrospect. This leaves us with most of the volume once again devoted to the war against the Gauna, and more opportunities for Tanikaze to show off how amazing he is in combat. Indeed, it’s actually leading to negatives as well, as the new recruits are so frustrated by their inability to do much in battle that they’re getting reckless. There’s also another chilling cliffhanger, made even worse by the fact that we’ve caught up with Japan, and will have to wait till the fall to find out what happens. Still one of my most surprising manga hits. – Sean Gaffney

My Little Monster, Vol. 7 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – Two of the three main romantic plotlines are seemingly wrapped up in this volume. Mitchan realizes he actually has be be meaner than he’d like to get Natsume to give up, and it’s realistically told and uncomfortable to read. Meanwhile, Oshima finally gives a direct confession to Haru, and (eventually) gets an equally direct rejection. That just leaves Yamaken and Shizuku, which is the only one that survives the volume and also the most annoying. It survives as Shizuku doesn’t get he likes her, and he’s too frazzled and scared to actually admit it to her. Add to this the arrival of a servant of Haru’s father who is HIGHLY irritating, and you have another up and down volume of this up and down series. – Sean Gaffney

Spell of Desire, Vol. 3 | By Tomu Ohmi | Viz Media – It’s not that Spell of Desire is awful, exactly, because it isn’t. It’s just that the characterization is lacking to the point that events don’t really impact me one way or another. In this volume, Kaoruko learns that in order to access her abilities as a witch, she must first lose her virginity. (In other words—can’t become a powerful female character without relying on a man!) So, she and Kaname finally admit and consummate their love, and then Kaname becomes an outcast for breaking his vow to the witch queen, and there is punishment and angst and resolve to become powerful enough to protect him. About the only slightly interesting thing going on is the conflict between Kaoruko’s black witch lessons and her white witch upbringing, and that might just be enough to get me to finish out the final two volumes of this blessedly short series. – Michelle Smith

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

D-Frag!, Vol. 4 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – This volume introduces the little sister of the protagonist, but fear not, for once we have no incest subtext. Instead we get some more excellent comedy, mostly as Noe turns out to be almost a carbon copy of Kazama – she too is a tsukkomi to all these bokes around her. Her presence also revitalizes Sakura, who shows off more of her magnificent troll personality here (probably to the surprise of anime fans, as the anime cut most of her out). There’s also a lot of opportunity for physical comedy, a small amount of romance (as always, kept on the back burner), and more gags about the size of Takao’s chest. Comedy is the first and most important mission with this series, and it keeps delivering. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 3 | By Aya Shouoto | Viz Media – Kiss of the Rose Princess seems to change direction with every volume. The first one seemed more like a goofy fantasy manga, the second took a detour into darker themes, and the third volume seems to be launching into some sort of odd Cardcaptor Sakura retread. Anise and her rose knights say what I’m guessing is a temporary farewell to the yellow rose of jealousy, but things get more complicated at school when Anise’s mysteriously possibly evil father installs himself as the new school doctor. Anise has to go on a quest to collect more cards to level up her powers, and the sudden presence of young male celebrities at school is certain to complicate things even further. I am finding myself more bemused then amused by this manga, but at the same time it is plenty diverting if I don’t think about it too hard. – Anna N

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 3 | By Aya Shouoto | Viz Media – While Kiss of the Rose Princess is still far from the best or most original series I’ve ever read, I do have to admit that it’s growing on me a little. In this volume, Anise makes a “true contract” with her knights without knowing what it entails. Turns out, she will need to romance one of them so that he will achieve his ultimate power-up as a knight. Meanwhile, her Watcher dude announces that it’s her responsibility to collect some “Arcana Cards” that are the manifestations of shards of the seal. Enemies—who apparently politely waited for Anise to learn about the cards’ existence—are going to be after them, too. So, it’s like a dating sim crossed with Cardcaptor Sakura? That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose, and I am intrigued by the block on Mutsuki’s memories, so I’ll probably stick around a little while longer. – Michelle Smith

Library Wars, Vol 13 | By Kiiro Yumi and Hiro Arikawa | Viz Media – Having built up plenty of anti-censorship principles and budding romances in the first few volumes, reading a new volume of this series feels a bit like catching up with old friends. Iku and Dojo continue to be a wonderful example of an awkwardly adorable couple. Chief Genda is back and semi-recovered from his injuries, and the reader gets a chance to check in on Komaki and Marie. The Library Forces are defending an embattled author, and Iku actually manages to come up with a brilliant strategy for ensuring his freedom of expression amidst all the odd warring censorship battles raging in Japan. This volume is on the light side, with plenty of victories to celebrate with some humorous bits of character interaction along the way. I think we’re pretty close to getting caught up with the Japanese releases, and I’m not looking forward to a long wait for the next volume. – Anna N

Nisekoi, Vol. 8 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – I’ve talked often about Nisekoi’s amazing skill at preserving the ‘balanced harem’. This doesn’t mean we don’t know how it will end – we know Chitoge will win – but that a mostly equal amount of time is set off to show every girl’s viewpoint and thoughts. Last volume was overbalanced toward Chitoge for plot reasons, so this one skews the other way, with Valentine’s Day providing an excuse for Onodera, Marika and Tsugumi to show off their skills (or lack thereof) and quest to try to get Raku to make a choice. Even a highly comedic character like Marika and her life-sized chocolate statues don’t get devalued – she pauses to seriously note how real her love for Raku is. This remains one of my favorite romantic comedy manga. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 18 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – After a couple of comedic chapters in which Mafuyu participates in summer vacation standards like a test of courage and a trip to the beach (I love that most of the guys are oblivious to her bikini), a new semester starts and plot things actually happen! After abducting their enemy, student council president Hanabusa, at his urging, Mafuyu begins to suspect that he’s not actually working on his father’s side in the bet against Takaomi, but perhaps has a wager of his own. Could it involve rehabilitating the misfits he drafted onto the council? The most interesting stuff, though, involves Hayasaka, as Hanabusa suggests he would’ve picked him for the council had Mafuyu not come along, while Momochi seems to be systematically erasing his happy memories with the Public Morals Club. Things are getting interesting and I’m looking forward to volume 19 to see how they develop! – Michelle Smith

Rin-Ne, Vol. 17 | By Rumiko Takahashi | Viz Media – You know things are bad when not only can you not figure out what to say about a book to fill up a 500-word review, but it’s even hard to come up with enough for one of these briefs. Rin-Ne excels when it ties back into its main plot, but sadly, none of Vol. 17 bothers to do that. Yes, Rinne’s dad shows up, and we get the shyster brother and sister, but for the most part Rin-Ne has a very Urusei Yatsura feel to it – what’s the supernatural disaster of the chapter that will cause humorous chaos? Which is fine when Ataru and Lum are the leads, but Rinne and Sakura simply don’t have the charisma to carry it off. More plot, please!. – Sean Gaffney

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

Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 10 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – After being stabbed protecting Hokuto from an assailant, Chiwa drags her feet on showing her husband the letter his late father had delivered to her after his funeral. Eventually, the truth comes out and, to protect Chiwa from family machinations, Hokuto proposes a divorce, after which he promptly disappears. It was a foregone conclusion that this series would end with a happily ever after, so though there is angst here, there is no sense of urgency. Even the revelation of who was behind the attempt on Hokuto’s life (and the death of his mother) is completely ho-hum, though I guess I appreciate that the guilty party’s motivations made sense. Plot isn’t the point of a series like this, anyway. If you enjoyed previous volumes of Happy Marriage?!, this conclusion (however inevitable) is still worth checking out. – Michelle Smith

Honey Blood: Tale 0 | By Miko Mitsuki | Viz Media – Even though I am so over stories in which immortal men fall in love with teenage girls, I did like the bittersweet aspect of Honey Blood‘s ending, so I appreciate the opportunity to read the three one-shot stories that preceded the serialized version. The things that bugged me are still present, but so too is the acknowledgment that the couple is basically doomed for a dark future. Two unrelated stories round out the volume: one about a pair of childhood friends who wait too long to confess their feelings, and the other about a tomboy who feels like she needs to completely transform herself (physically and behaviorally) in order to attract the boy she likes. That’s a horrible message, obviously, but it was kind of cute, too. In the end, Mitsuki did some intriguing things with some stock concepts, and I hope we see more from her in the future. – Michelle Smith

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 17 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – We’ve finally cone to the end of the ‘past’ storyline, and Nanami has done most everything she needs to do. As a result, much of this volume is simply seeing the results of her past meddling, as it affects the important players: Tomoe, Yukiji, and Akura-Oh. After that, we finally get to see the fruits of her labors, even if it requires a brief detour to 20 years ago so that Mikage knows that she’s the one who is able to save Tomoe where he can’t. And the payoff is beautiful, something that fans of this series have been waiting for since it began. I’d be happy if it ended here, but there’s plenty more to go in Japan (Vol. 21 is due out next month), so instead let’s go out on both Nanami and Yukiji’s ecstatic faces for now. – Sean Gaffney

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 4 | by Takaya Kagami, Yamato Yamamoto, and Daisuke Furuya | Viz Media – I continue to be impressed with the amount of worldbuilding and character development on display in this action packed manga about the last dregs of humanity turning to demonically infused weapons to fight off vampires in a futuristic dystopia. After the adopted brothers Yu and Mika found their paths diverging, with one joining a group of vampire hunters and the other becoming a vampire, the inevitable confrontation occurred in this volume, and the results were so intriguing. Mika sees Yu being used by vampire hunters and Yu vows to save Mika from his new vampire family. The opposing groups are neither good or bad, and with some interesting facts being divulged about Yu’s chosen side, I’m very interested to see where this story is heading next. – Anna N

The Wallflower, Vol. 34 | By Tomoko Hayakawa | Kodansha Comics – Even after 34 volumes, the core message of The Wallflower has been fairly consistent, albeit occasionally abused for the sake of comedy. ‘Don’t make yourself into something you’re not because of anyone’s opinion’ drives this series, and Sunako’s consistent inability to become ‘the lady’ her aunt wants is due to this. In this volume, we see the tomboyish Machiko get told her relationship with Yuki isn’t romantic enough, and a lonely spoiled brat learning that it is possible to have fun like a normal child and that her grandfather really does love her. As for Kyohei and Sunako, that takes a back seat here, but given the manga is wrapping up soon, I imagine that the next volume will take care of that. – Sean Gaffney

This week, Sean and Michelle look at recent releases from Kodansha Comics and Viz Media.

Cage of Eden, Vol. 17 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – In this volume, we see a welcome return of massive killer beats, this one a genetic monstrosity that seems to be an attempted chimera. It allows this manga to do what it does best. No, not the fanservice and commentary on the fanservice, though there’s that too. Seeing the cast inspire each other to use their abilities to their fullest in order to survive is something both Sengoku and Yarai to a lesser degree have been doing, and there’s lots of impressive fighting attempts, even if some of them don’t work. Sadly, this can also lead to OVERconfidence, as we see with fake Miina, who tries to take out the beast and gets eaten. Hard to come back from getting eaten. Or is it? – Sean Gaffney

Magi, Vol. 10 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – This volume reminds us how far our heroes have cme since the start of this book, and how closely they work as a team. So when you add a new element to that team, Hakuryu, he can find himself quickly falling behind – something that makes him insane with envy and self-hatred. It takes Alibaba to remind him that they’ve all made mistakes because they tried to take too much on their own, and his mistakes cost people their lives. In among this, we get Morgiana stepping up to new levels of awesome as she learns to use her vessel, a sneering villain who does his best t drive the group onward and will likely prove to be testing them, and some new arrogant bad guys to provide a cliffhanger. What more culd you want? – Sean Gaffney

Meteor Prince, Vol. 1 | By Meca Tanaka | Viz Media – The premise of Meteor Prince—“a naked alien prince falls from the sky to tell [our heroine] that out of all the girls in the universe, he’s come to Earth to mate with her”—is virtually guaranteed to make one dubious. However, I’m glad I overcame my initial doubts because the series won me over in the end. Io, said prince, is an innocent horndog with alien abilities who easily overcomes the horrible luck that has forced heroine Hako Natsuno to keep her distance from all but a few good friends. As a result, there’s a nice balance of comedy and romance, and Tanaka even finds time to hint at feelings between a couple of the secondary characters. Two volumes seems just the right length for this series, which ultimately reminded me of the type of shoujo once offered by CMX. Surprisingly recommended! – Michelle Smith

One Piece, Vol. 73 | By Eiichiro Oda | Viz Media – No volume of One Piece is ever bad, but some are more emotionally affecting than others. Volume 73 is a good balance of sympathetic islanders—a much-loved king forced to betray his people by a villain, swept-under-the-carpet undesirables plotting rebellion, Franky crying his eyes out over their story…—and action, as the storylines converge and our heroes make ready to help out. I like how the alliance with Trafalgar Law has affected the crew, and how Nami is the one to really recognize the merits of his strategy, and I really liked the arrival of a certain (presumed) character and the effect this had on Luffy. Did any of this make me personally verklempt? Well, no, but it’s still pretty great. – Michelle Smith

Say “I Love You”, Vol. 6 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – Well, it didn’t take long for Megumi’s plans to come crumbling down around her, did it? It helps that Mei has her first major rival/villain on her side now, one that can see through all the garbage. Given that we also see a sizeable chunk of Megumi’s past here, I suspect she may also end up becoming more likeable to the reader, though I suspect it will take longer. What’s more interesting is the cliffhanger, which makes you wonder if Mei and Yamato will have their first time together. I’m inclined to guess they won’t, but we’ve seen quite a bit of sexual activity in the book already, so you never know. In any case, this is still one of those mangas I always try to read as soon as it arrives. – Sean Gaffney