Michelle Smith

Sean and Michelle look at recent releases from Viz Media and Vertical, Inc.

Cage of Eden, Vol. 15 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Romance is not really one of the main reasons to read Cage of Eden, but it’s been clear from the beginning that Akira and Rion love each other, and the start of this volume reinforces that, with both admitting they’re being strong for the other (though not admitting that out loud, of course). Elsewhere, it’s becoming apparent that the cast have not ended up in the past, mostly due to finding modern machinery that suggests that everything on this island was created by man. Yes, it’s a vast international conspiracy. Not that this matters to Ohmori, who ends up being crucified and set on fire to serve as a cliffhanger. Cage of Eden is still fun, pulpy trash, and I still like it a lot. – Sean Gaffney

Chi’s Sweet Home, Vol. 11 | By Konami Kanata | Vertical, Inc. – One thing I generally do not expect to be whilst reading Chi’s Sweet Home is stressed. Chi’s adorable kitten antics typically have the opposite effect! In this volume, however, we see her future with the Yamada family genuinely in peril. Throughout the series, Chi has had flickers of memory of her mother and siblings, and in the last panel of this volume, she finally comes face to face with the former, who has never stopped looking for her. On top of this, there’s a “lost” poster bearing Chi’s face, and Mr. Yamada has a job prospect that would require the family to move to France. Will Chi be able to stay with Yohei, or will she return to her original home? I am more upset about this cliffhanger than I care to admit. – Michelle Smith

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 12 | By Hiro Arikawa and Kiiro Yumi | Viz Media – After last volume’s exhausting action-filled heroics, I was expecting a step back, and I’m mostly right, though there is some action here as they try to protect an author who may be kidnapped by the government to stop him writing. Instead, we get romantic progression, mildly on the Dojo and Iku front (they’re cute together, but forward motion is as slow as you’d expect), but quite a lot on the Tezuka and Shibasaki front, as she starts to take a more active role and tries to stop Tezuka’s brother from more emotional damage. And if stopping this involves kissing him, well, SO BE IT. This is still one of my favorite shoujo series from Viz, and has really come into its own. – Sean Gaffney

Phantom Thief Jeanne, Vol. 4 | By Arina Tanemura | Viz Media – After the big reveal at the end of volume three, which I shan’t spoil, volume four opens with a bit of backstory and explanation that nicely turns the whole magical girl concept of this series on its end. Happily, or perhaps not, Jeanne’s saintly status is restored when a thoroughly random trip back in time culminates with the original Jeanne d’Arc transferring her powers directly to Maron, who returns to the present reinvigorated. It’s really feeling like we’re heading into a final arc, even though there haven’t been many hints as to what shape that will take. But first, there are romantic confessions to agonize over and to gently reject, and then another big reveal at the end. Occasionally far too silly for me, Phantom Thief Jeanne is nonetheless a good read and probably the best Tanemua series in existance. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 33 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – I know some people are getting tired of seeing Cain and Setsuka, but those people are not me, particularly when it leads to scenes as sexy as the one we get at the start of this volume. Indeed, the tension between Rena and Kyoko, their burgeoning feelings for each other – which for Kyoko is an issue, since love for her is also a trigger for emotional trauma – and the desire to bury themselves in their roles to escape themselves are all present here. There’s also comedy, mostly in Kyoko’s OTT reactions in her head to what Setsuka is doing, but also having to deal with a Cain fangirl, and facing up to jealousy. The fact that Kyoko admitting she’s in love may be a tragic event is part of what makes Skip Beat! still so interesting. – Sean Gaffney

The Wallflower, Vol. 33 | By Tomoko Hayakawa | Kodansha Comics – You would think, given how often the series has dealt with them, that yet another chapter about Noi and Takenaga having a fight would just tread the same water as before. But this is more about how friends in a peer group interact with other friends, as the outgoing Noi finds more fun at the amusement park with Ranmaru and Kyohei, and Takenaga has to deal with jealousy as well as needing to ‘look cool’ despite his introverted qualities. The rest of the volume isn’t so hot, though I was amused at the chapter featuring a Tim Burton lookalike coming to Japan and trying to utilize Kyohei and Sunako in his new film (spoiler: it’s a disaster). This series desperately needs to end, but I still enjoy its zombie progression. – Sean Gaffney

This week, Michelle, MJ, & Anna look at recent releases from Viz Media & Yen Press.

Black Butler, Vol. 17 | By Yana Toboso | Yen Press – Ciel remains undercover at Weston, the Eton-inspired school where he has enrolled to look into student disappearances at the queen’s behest. In order to secure a meeting with the elusive headmaster, he must lead his house to victory on the Quidditch cricket pitch, which he does via ungentlemanly tactics. It’s a good thing I’m a sports manga fan, because otherwise this might’ve gone on too long, but I kind of liked the outrageousness of it. Unfortunately, it leads to a big reveal that made me feel absolutely nothing. And maybe that’s my main issue with Black Butler—it’s acceptably entertaining, but I just can’t really care. Was there someone, somewhere, who was thoroughly shocked by the final page? It’s hard to imagine that being the case. Anyway, I’ll probably keep reading out of idle curiosity. – Michelle Smith

Blood Lad, Vol. 5 | By Yuuki Kodama | Yen Press – Happy as I am to have this omnibus appear quicker than I thought it would, I am nonetheless kind of bummed that a promising new character doesn’t stick around for long. Instead, an old enemy becomes a super-powerful new enemy, and though it’s kind of cool to see the demon world united against a common foe, and to see our core group of protagonists looking for options to defeat him, it does still feel like we’ve been here before. Maybe I’m just grumpy ‘cos this volume wasn’t as funny as some others have been. Still, Blood Lad remains as compulsively readable as ever, even if I’m not entirely convinced that the overall trajectory of the series makes sense. As long as it remains enjoyable on an per-volume basis, I’ll keep reading. – Michelle Smith

The Infernal Devices, Vol. 3: Clockwork Princess | By Cassandra Clare & Hyekyung Baek | Yen Press – Adapting full-length prose into graphic novels is always a tricky business, and when dealing with multi-volume series, it is inevitably trickier with time. Condensing a single prose novel such that it may squeeze itself into the much sparser skin of a single graphic novel may read as “efficient” or “fast-paced,” but three volumes in, the cumulative effect of this process is much more likely to resemble “rushed” or even “nonsensical.” Sadly, both of these things may be said of The Infernal Devices. After holding up relatively well over the course of its first two volumes, the weight of the third is finally too much for this format to bear. Fans of the prose series are likely to be frustrated by what’s missing, while the rest of us are left simply confused, and Baek’s pretty pictures are not quite enough to compensate. Not recommended. – MJ

Loveless, Vol. 12 | By Yun Kouga | Viz Media – It’s been over a year since the last volume of Loveless came out. My strongest memory of it was the scene in which Soubi obeys Seimei’s command to become his fighter once more, leaving Ritsuka behind, and I wanted volume twelve to explore this. Perhaps some scenes from Soubi’s perspective, showing remorse? That would do nicely. But instead, we get some backstory on Seimei’s other fighter/obedient minion, Nisei. And just when that’s starting to become legitimately intriguing and I start to sympathize with a really quite unsympathetic character, Kouga suddenly tosses in a whimsical chapter about one of Ritsuka’s dreams. I don’t mean to complain, because there were still many good moments in this volume, but it was overall a bit disjointed and didn’t pack the emotional wallop I was hoping for. – Michelle Smith

Seraph of the End, Vol. 2 | by Takaya Kagami and Yamato Yamamoto | Viz Media – This shonen series continues to put together a team for brash hero Yuichiro. As he trains to become a member of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, he finds yet another classmate to antagonize in Shiho Kimizuki, a tall, glasses-wearing boy who easily academically outshines Yuichiro. The new recruits are eager to get their demon weapons and the unconventional Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose decides to simply throw his most promising students into a pit of demons and see who survives. In the meantime, we get a bit of background into what has been happening to Yuichiro’s former best friend and adoptive brother Mikaela among the vampires. There are flashes of cynical humor in this shonen title that I quite enjoy, and so far I’m enjoying this series. With the youthful team powered up and ready to take on some vampires, I’m looking forward to more action in the next volume. – Anna N

Skip Beat!, Vol. 33 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – Hooray for new Skip Beat! Unfortunately, because of the time lag between releases, it feels like we have been on this “Ren and Kyoko impersonate the Heel siblings” arc for ages. What’s significant here, though, is that Kyoko finally admits to herself that she is reacting to steamy moments not purely in character, but as herself, and that she’s committed the gravely stupid move of unlocking her heart. What I love is that she is desperate for Ren not to find out, lest he be disappointed in her, and how the actions of a smitten costar serve to remind her of how completely she lost herself in devotion to Sho. It took 33 volumes for her to realize she loves him… how many more until he’s actually aware of it? I’d happily sign up for 33 more, but please… let’s move along from this arc soon, okay? – Michelle Smith

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

Devils and Realist, Vol. 2 | By utako Yukihiro and Madoka Takadono | Seven Seas – Much of the first volume of this series was the lead character being shown various demonic and fascinating things and simply refusing to accept them, attempting to find a rational example for everything. He’s still doing that to an extent here, but this volume is mostly dedicated to showing him that no matter how he defines what’s happening around him, the trouble is that everyone either wants him dead or making a decision for them. As such, there’s a lot more Devils than Realist here, and even the priests can’t be trusted. I’m hoping that starting soon William will find a way to introduce his own brand of rationalism into the demon world instead of shutting it out. – Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 8 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – A lot of this volume is devoted to characters who are unable to have normal friendships managing to find something similar by pretending they are bitter rivals. Kobato and Maria, Maria and her sister Keito, who is also a Sister – a nun has some bad habits, so to speak – and between Sena and Yozora, which Kodaka realizes when he enters Sena’s room, which looks more like a shrine to Yozora than anything else. So much of Haganai is friendship via conflict that when we start to see the softer side of things – such as Kodaka and Sena’s growing attraction to each other, which comes to a head at a karaoke party – we also feel we don’t want to break up the chemistry of the group. Luckily, we’ve a ways to go. – Sean Gaffney

Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 7 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – The conclusion of the previous volume found Chiwa feeling like she and Hokuto were finally “walking together at the same pace,” but they soon discover that even though they love each other, there’s one thing they can never agree about: Hokuto’s father. Hokuto is convinced his dad is responsible for the death of his mother, and refuses to visit his dying father in the hospital. Chiwa can’t bear to see Hokuto so heartless, and he ends up moving out for a while, but they soon realize that though they don’t know how to solve this problem, they still love each other. I thought this was actually a rather insightful thing for a couple to be fighting about in a manga, and though Happy Marriage&! certainly relies heavily on well-trod tropes for its drama, it’s occasionally a pleasant surprise. I’m glad I revisited it! – Michelle Smith

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 10 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical, Inc. – There’s so much I could talk about with this volume of Sidonia. The ongoing oddball harem formed around Tanikaze, which is fine feeling like a family but gets very jealous when it comes to the man himself. There’s also the somewhat disastrous attempts to replicate what’s been done with Tsumugi, which almost ends in tragedy. There’s Izana’s ongoing relationship with her grandmother, who looks so similar to her they could almost be identical twins. Yet what I will most recall from this volume is seeing Tahiro, whose possession so disturbed me five volumes ago, blowing her brains out now that her usefulness to Ochiai is at an end. There’s still a good deal of horror left in Sidonia’s quiver. – Sean Gaffney

Library Wars: Love and War, Vol. 12 | by Kiiro Yumi and Hiro Arikawa | Viz Media Sometimes the key emotional moments in a series seem to have more resonance if more time has been spent building up to them. Library Wars could be a bit hit or miss in earlier volumes, but I always loved the premise of an action oriented series about paramilitary librarians. This volume will be very satisfying to long-time readers, as Iku and Dojo finally go out on a date. Seeing Dojo’s calm and restrained reactions as Iku spazzes out a bit was quite adorable, but the part of this volume that made me want to stand up and cheer was the romance between Tezuka and Shibasaki. Shibasaki does a bit of traditional shoujo gender role switching, with stellar results. On the library side of things, the team is charged with protecting an embattled author, and there might be some more promising developments with Tezuka’s brother thanks to Shibasaki’s intervention. This continues to be a fun series. Anna N

Loveless, Vol. 12 | By Yun Kouga | Viz Media – One of the downsides of consuming something in bulk, is that it’s difficult to top that kind of immersive experience, or even come close to matching it. This is certainly the case with Loveless, with which my own series of omnibus binges could best be described as a soul-consuming love affair. After all that, how could any single volume possibly live up? It couldn’t. It doesn’t. I’d be lying if I suggested otherwise. What the series’ twelfth volume does offer, however, is proof that the series can hold up even without the fervor of new love. While the volume contains a bit more non-linear fluff that I’d ideally prefer, it also provides a lot of substance, especially as regards Ritsuka’s supposed personality change and Seimei’s controlling relationship with his fighter, Nisei. These sections are honestly riveting, and I’m left desperate for more. Just as it should be. Still recommended. – MJ

Spell of Desire, Vol. 1 | By Tomu Ohmi | Viz Media – There’s a lot that’s swirling around the first volume of this new josei-only-not series from the creator of Midnight Secretary. Repression and control as both a positive and negative thing, and when it feels all right to give in to your passions, especially when you haven’t ever had to deal with them before. Tying this into witchcraft helps to make it at least a bit more metaphorical, and while the male lead hasn’t really done’ anything for me yet, I do quite like Kaoruko. The premise of the series seems to hint that we’ll eventually meet her missing mother as well, which promises to deliver some thrills. This first volume still feels a bit incomplete in the end, however. I hope future volumes will give it some solidity. – Sean Gaffney

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

Alice in the Country of Clover: Nightmare Trilogy, Vol. 1 | By QuinRose and Job | Seven Seas – Another month, another Alice book. This one has, as you may imagine, Nightmare as the love interest, and mostly delves into Alice being upset and angry that people are afraid of him, and trying to find ways to get them to see the real man. Who is still a giant loser at times, so he’s not helping. Also not helping is the art in this book, which is some of the weakest I’ve seen in the entire series. That does not bode well given this is the first of three. On the bright side, Joker shows up, continuing to force Alice to truly examine her heart and feelings (big sister doesn’t come into play here). There’s also some amusing humor, mostly at Nightmare’s expense. Still, in the end this is one of the weaker entries in the Alice books. – Sean Gaffney

Black Rose Alice, Vol. 1 | By Setona Mizushiro | Viz Media – If I were to tell you that this is a shoujo series about vampires, you might think that you’d know what to expect. It’s not, after all, a unique premise. Except that’s exactly what Black Rose Alice is: unique. Dimitri Lewandoski is an ambitious tenor in Vienna in 1908 when he is killed in an accident and ultimately brought back to life by a vampire master who has entrusted him with the procreation of the species. The horror and the “colonization” spur a personality shift in Dimitri, and by the end of the volume he’s striking a bargain that might reanimate the body of his true love, lifeless for a hundred years. That’s pretty strange stuff, and I haven’t even mentioned the bugs! Happily, it’s not too strange and when I finished the volume I was left with a profound sense of “What? That’s it?! I want more!” And that is perhaps the highest recommendation I can give. – Michelle Smith

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 22 | By Hiroshi Shiibashi | Viz Media – We’ve just finished a major fight arc, and are about to head into what will be the final arc, so in a sense this is the last breather volume in the series. Like many breather volumes in shonen fighting series, it feels a bit out of place at times, with both heroes and villains putting all their ducks in a row. We do get to see an extensive battle between Nura and a priest who is upset at a forced sword going to an evil Ayakashi (it’s OK, Nura’s one of the GOOD evil Ayakashi), and an attempt on both sides to unite previously fractured clans. That said, Kana and the rest of the class’s presence has become token, and even Tsurara looks to be left behind for the big fight. Nura is starting to overstay its welcome, so it’s good it will be ending soon. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol 16 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – The evil student council in Oresama Teacher is generally surprisingly ineffective, sending agents one by one to take down the public morals club, only to find that the dimwitted delinquents in the public morals club end up befriending their enemy. Here we have more of an orchestrated campaign, as blackmail letters start arriving and picking off the public morals club one by one. Soon only Mafuyu and Hayasaka are left to battle things out with the return of their fiendish faculty mentor Saeki. I see troubled times ahead for Yui, as the wanna be ninja has joined his former masters. Oresama Teacher is always silly diverting fun that pays off for the reader. I was happy to see bancho and his pigeon make an appearance in this volume as well. This is the only long-running comedy series that has managed to hang on to my full attention, and I enjoy the ridiculous situations and occasional bursts of violence featured in each volume. – Anna N

Toriko, Vol. 23 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro| Viz Media – It’s impressive how even in the middle of what is basically a fight between two opposing sides firing power attacks, Toriko can continue to be all about food. The one thing that gets our heroes to work together and take out the monster this time is hearing that the more damage it takes, the more delicious its flesh will taste. And of course there’s Komatsu, who was given ten minutes to make an antidote simpler to cook, took five minutes, then spent the rest of the time figuring out how to make it tastier. It’s no wonder he seems to have picked up another harem member, this one a nameless cook arriving with Setsuno. The way it deals with food makes Toriko a consistent fun title to read. – Sean Gaffney