Michelle Smith

This week, Sean, MJ, & Michelle look at recent releases from Seven Seas, Viz Media, Dark Horse, Kodansha Comics, and Yen Press.

Alice in the Country of Clover: March Hare | By QuinRose and Soyogo Iwaki | Seven Seas – These one-shots can be interesting if you like to see the main male characters in different roles than they usually take. Blood Dupre makes a very good big brother type, and Peter White is rather scary when we see him actually try to act on his desires for Alice – it ends up being sexual assault, albeit cut off, and even though he later apologizes it’s still disturbing. Unfortunately, the main pairing of Alice and Eliot, while sweet, is rather dull overall There’s less of the callous disregard for life that I saw in the earlier series featuring this pairing. So in the end you’re left with a mostly fluffy book. Which is OK once in a while, but I usually expect something deeper and more disturbing from my Alice spinoffs these days. – Sean Gaffney

Bloody Cross, Vol. 2 | By Shiwo Komeyama | Yen Press – There’s a lot less of Tsukimiya and Hinata in this volume and a lot more of Tsuzuki, and I’m not really sure it’s to the book’s benefit. Tsukumiya remains a great lead character, particularly when she’s being cagey or indulging in blackmail. Likewise, we want to find out what’s going on with Hinata, and the cliffhanger clearly is there to drive us crazy. Most of the rest of the volume, though, is a lot of bland fighting, a lot of bland pretty boys, and Momose, who is the diligent catgirl demon type who always seems put into works to interest people who are not me. If you enjoy quasi-religious fantasy with lots of swinging swords, explosions, and triple crosses, this will be pretty good. But I think even the hardcore fans of that sort of genre will find this on the bland side. – Sean Gaffney

Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 1 | By Jinsei Kataoka & Kazuma Kondou | Viz Media – Something I’ve appreciated in the current manga market is its abundance of re-releases, including omnibus editions of older manga, and license rescues of series that I missed the first time around. Deadman Wonderland falls into the latter of these categories, having received its original, incomplete release from Tokyopop before the demise of that company’s North American publishing division. Set in a post-apocalytic “prison” park, in which inmates are forced to battle for their lives for the public’s amusement, this series’ re-licensing amidst today’s rash of “survival game” manga seems like a no-brainer. But though the plight of falsely-accused protagonist Ganta is certainly compelling, I’m not sure I have the stomach for the series’ gleeful violence. Walking a thin line between horror manga and brutality porn, the enthusiasm of the series’ creators feels eerily like that of the prison’s eager spectators. Can I continue? Time will tell. – MJ

Drifters, Vol. 3 | By Kohta Hirano | Dark Horse Comics – I will admit that the plot of Drifters does still exist, and it’s intriguing. The Black King does not appear to entirely be the Big Bad that he’s made out to be, even if his generals all appear to fall into that role. But let’s be honest – this manga exists entirely to see how often Hirano can draw badasses being badass, and all of Volume 3 answers that question: a lot. When even the good guys are all battle crazed insane freaks, , there’s no telling what will happen next. There’s a fair amount of sexism here. Joan is treated hideously, and the constant harassment of Olminu grates on the reader as much as it does on her. But man, everyone here is clever and badass and has plenty of quips and big grins and they kill things and blow things up, and… it’s just a pure adrenaline rush of a manga. -Sean Gaffney

Genshiken 2nd Season, Vol. 4 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – I joked on Twitter that much of this volume felt like taking a bunch of extrovert bombs and dropping them into a crowd of introverts to explode randomly. It’s also about crushes, and the importance of saying how you feel, even if it means that your love is not returned. Hiro’s admiration/crush on his sempai has driven much of his behavior, and even as she notes she’s marrying his brother, Hiro’s attentions seem to be turning more and more to Madarame. Speaking of Madarame, he continues to attempt to awkwardly negotiate the festival while plotting and scheming goes on all around him, leading to a nasty little cliffhanger where Saki is lured into the clubroom so Madarame can confess… though she’s figured things out anyway. The characters keep you coming back to this excellent manga. – Sean Gaffney

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 11 | Original Concept by Hiro Arikawa, Manga by Kiiro Yumi | Viz Media – A piece of art critical of censorship is about to go on display at a museum in Iku’s hometown, and the Media Betterment Committee aims to prevent it being seen by the public. A gunfight ensues, which at first seems like a completely sanitized shoujo version until Iku actually glimpses a dead person and ends up shooting some people. (It’s still 90% sanitized, but that counts as progress, I think.) Meanwhile, she realizes that she really, seriously likes Dojo and they make plans to go to a café on their day off for some chamomile tea. I’ve gotten to the point with this series where I’ve stopped thinking too much about the premise, or how Iku is the weepiest soldier on the planet, and simply enjoy the nice Iku/Dojo moments, of which there are many. It’s a trick I recommend! – Michelle Smith

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

Bloody Brat, Vol. 1 | Original Series by Yuuki Kodama, Story and Art by Kanata Yoshino | Yen Press – Typically, I’m not much of one for comedic spinoffs of successful series, but the humor in Blood Lad happens to suit me, and I reckoned the adorable Mamejirou would be featured prominently, so I decided to give Bloody Brat a try. I actually found it a bit less funny than the original, but there were still a few things that made me giggle. Most of it, though, is neither awful nor amusing. Staz is late to a territory challenge because he’s stuck in the bathroom without toilet paper. Fuyumi is plagued by magic-sapping ogre undies. Bell gains weight and goes on a quest for a miracle drug. It is impressive how well Yoshino can draw in Kodama’s style, though. In the end, this really is just for pre-existing Blood Lad fans. If you’re of that group, I’d say it’s still worth checking out. – Michelle Smith

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 11 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – This seems very much like a breather volume for this series, after all the action and darkness we’ve had before. Sure, there’s Yukio’s worry that he has evil within him that he is unaware of, but that’s a normal part of his character arc. Also, we get a lot of ship tease between our love triangle, as Shiemi decides to ask Yukio to the school dance, but is rejected, and Rin, who was also going to ask Shiemi, decides not to now, and everyone is wonderfully clueless and it all ends with an OT3 at the Bon dance. (An innocent OT3, I might add.) This is just a breather, though – there’s more darkness ahead, seemingly involving creepy student Nemu Takara and our favorite grumpy eyebrows girl Izumo. I expect we’ll get less fluffiness next time around. – Sean Gaffney

Midnight Secretary, Vol. 5 | by Tomu Ohmi | Viz Media – I do so enjoy this mashup of vampire romance and office politics. This volume finally shows strict vampire boss Kyohei showing some vulnerability and admitting his feelings to his secretary Kaya, as he gives up drinking from anyone but her. This causes problems in vampire society and Kyohei’s integrity is called into question, as a predator vampire with only one person to prey on is simply not done. Kaya continues to wonder about the relationship between Kyohei and long time vampire friend Marika, and while she does still manage to keep her professional demeanor on most of the time, her true emotions start showing through. I think this series has a couple more volumes left, which will be just the right amount to wrap things up in a satisfying way. – Anna N

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 2 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – I haven’t really been keeping up with this series at all, so the reveal at the end of this volume actually did come as a surprise to me, even if, looking back at what I read, it should have been obvious. Most of this volume is dedicated to deepening the love triangle of the three leads, and showing how their best friends are trying to nudge them in the right direction (even if said best friends don’t like each other at all, though I suspect there’s a ‘yet’ in there). Mostly this is very standard harem comedy fare, with very little that is original or surprising. But it’s decently told, the three leads never get so annoying that you want the manga to end fast, and the introduction of Tsugumi should provide some more action scenes, if nothing else. This is popcorn manga, and worth reading if you like the genre. – Sean Gaffney

Psyren, Vol. 15 | By Toshiaki Iwashiro | Viz Media – One of the things I’ve liked best about Psyren is its focus on the mindset of its villains, and what they are striving for beyond ‘power’. There’s a monologue in this volume about trying to fill the emptiness that each of them feels with violence and greater and greater enemies that’s quite touching, even though it doesn’t lead to any sort of decision to stop. Likewise, if you recruit an emotionally damaged child and teach her how to destroy, don’t be surprised if you end up with an emotionally damaged teen. At least Sakurako is able to move past the differences in her split personality and her own tortured love for Ageha and come to a peaceful understanding. The final volume is up next, and I suspect it will wrap up too fast, being a Jump series – cut short is the name of the game. Still looking forward to it. – Sean Gaffney

Rin-Ne, Vol. 14 | By Rumiko Takahashi | Viz Media – Rin-Ne has always been more along the lines of UY aand Ranma rather than Inu Yasha, meaning everything here is silly and comedic. I particularly likes the possession of Jumonji, where it’s unclear if he’s using it as an excuse to abuse Rinne or not. We also get a new antagonist introduced, because that’s what these series do. Renge is a damashigami, meaning she has to harvest innocent souls before their time. She’s also better at getting the drop on Rinne and Sakura than previous villains have been. Luckily, as with a few other previous villains, she reckons without the true power of Rinne’s poverty and parsimoniousness, which manages to save the day. Rin-Ne is never going to win any awards for best manga, and it’s only recommended to Takahashi fans. Those fans should have fun, though. – Sean Gaffney

Strobe Edge, Vol. 10 | By Io Sakisaka | Viz Media – I’ve been getting a little impatient with the pacing of this series in the past couple volumes, so I was happy to see that the final volume wrapped up everything so nicely. This is one of those series where it is never in doubt that the main couple Ren and Ninako will get together, so I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by mentioning that they finally work through all the issues that were preventing them from officially dating and embark on a real relationship. It is all very sweet and heartfelt. The main story wraps up quickly, and there are a couple of additional side stories with the other characters included in this volume. Sometimes straightforward well-executed romance shoujo is exactly what a reader needs, and Strobe Edge fills this role easily. I hope the conclusion of this series means that Shojo Beat will release more Sakisaka manga in English. – Anna N

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

Fairy Tail, Vol. 35 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – Leaving aside the fight between Natsu/Gajeel and Saber Tooth’s Natsu and Gajeel-alike’s that takes up half this book, what struck me most was how it’s trying to have a lot of humor but it feels more and more that this is due to the fact that there will be little opportunity for it soon. We see future Levy talking about everyone dying in 2 days (including her beloved… hrm, Gajeel shiptease there?), and Jellal runs into the mysterious hooded figure, who is clearly someone he knows. And of course there’s the opening scene with Lucy beaten so bad she’s hospitalized. Given that, I am more charitable to the giant fanservice scene that is Chapter 298, and am highly amused by Gildarts’ entire chapter that shows that just because one is middle-aged does not mean you stop being a big dumb shonen hero. – Sean Gaffney

Happy Marriage, Vol. 5 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – With all the yaoi manga coming out, I feel like it is a tiny bit unfair that there are so few currently translated smutty manga for older ladies who enjoy stories about forced marriages and vampire bosses! But it is all the more reason to celebrate the few series like that which are translated! Volume 5 of Happy Marriage continues to document the growing relationship between Chiwa and Hokuto along with plenty of Machiavellian corporate machinations. Hokuto is finally showing his more vulnerable side to Chiwa, but not without plenty of misunderstandings along the way. Even though this manga is fairly predictable, it is still consistently enjoyable. – Anna N

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 14 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – The gap between the volumes for this series is getting fairly long, but that just makes me appreciate it even more. Suzuki’s world building and unique character designs make every volume a pleasure to read. In this volume Nanami throws herself into another adventure in order to save a dying Tomoe. The long-lost Mikage of the shrine returns for a visit and drops a few not very helpful hints about Tomoe’s conditions, leading to Nanami undertaking a dangerous trip through time in order to prevent the curse that threatens Tomoe. Along the way she meets Tomoe’s first love and sees a much more warlike and aggressive version of the fox ayakashi that she holds so dear. It’ll be interesting to see the fallout from the journey through time, especially if it changes Nanami and Tomoe’s relationship in the present. – Anna N

My Little Monster, Vol. 1 | By Robico | Kodansha Comics – Neither Shizuku Mizutani nor Haru Yoshida has any friends, the former because she’s obsessed with studying and the latter because of his tendency toward violent and/or bizarre behavior. They somehow manage to strike up a friendship, however, and as Haru learns to relate to the world a little better, Shizuku begins to see the benefits of involving herself with other people. This perhaps makes My Little Monster sound like it’s a drama, but it really isn’t. I snickered quite a few times (even at the back cover, a promising early sign!) and basically loved every time Haru’s pet chicken appeared, which was frequently. Again, I’d stop short of calling this series profoundly great, but it was definitely enjoyable and a nice surprise, since I had no knowledge of it prior to its release here. I’ll be checking out volume two! – Michelle Smith

Phantom Thief Jeanne, Vol. 1 | By Arina Tanemura | Viz Media – I am very seldom in the position of loving an Arina Tanemura series almost without reservation, but such is the situation I find myself in with Phantom Thief Jeanne. I suspect much of this reaction is due to nostalgia—I have fond memories of watching the anime back in the days of VHS fansubs—but I do honestly think Jeanne has much to recommend it. Maron is not your typical happy-go-lucky Magical Girl heroine, and is confident, to boot, with inner dialogue like, “I don’t need to be saved… I’m not a weak little girl.” Too, I really like how Tanemura paces the development of Maron’s relationship with neighbor/rival Chiaki, and how Maron learns he’s been deceiving her just as she’d decided she could trust him. True, the art can be distracting (those eyes!) and there are quite a few unfunny comedic gags, but on the whole this is a series I’m glad to see back in print! – Michelle Smith

Sankarea: Undying Love, Vol. 5 | By Mitsuru Hattori | Kodansha Comics – Again, the cover tells the story, as things really aren’t going well with the whole ‘don’t eat people’ thing Rea’s trying to achieve. Luckily, the cavalry arrives in time, but now Rea and Chihiro are strangely embarrassed to be around each other. (Gosh, I wonder why?) What was more interesting to me was the Wanko subplot towards the end of the volume, where we see that her crush on Chihiro, and desperate realization that it’s not going to happen, is so bad that she ends up trying to turn herself into a zombie to get closer to him. Fortunately, the near-death experiment doesn’t take, and it seems to give her some sort of closure instead, which is a relief. Still, if you read Sankarea as a harem love comedy, I expect you may have run screaming by now. It’s the creepy horror that keeps things hopping. – Sean Gaffney

This week, Sean and Michelle check out recent releases from Viz Media and Kodansha Comics.

Midnight Secretary, Vol. 4 | By Tomu Ohmi | Viz Media – This is a volume of two halves. In the first part, with Kaya and Kyohei separated from each other, they’re both at their best, and she even gets a very tempting marriage proposal – one which, as she turns it down, she notes would likely be better for her than her current situations. Then once she does come back to Kyohei’s side, things turn sour, as his staff think she’s a paid mistress, and a vampire acquaintance reminds her of her place in the hierarchy as a human. To give Kaya credit, she’s able to figure out right away that Kyohei’s vampire pride is getting between them – and we have the added bonus of knowing it’s also due to his growing love for her, and the disbelief that comes with that. At the midway point of this series, it’s still an excellent read for those who enjoy more mature titles. – Sean Gaffney

Missions of Love, Vol. 6 | By Ema Toyama | Kodansha Comics – I have to hand it to Toyama. Most series that begin with prickly, hard to deal with characters have them soften up fairly quickly as circumstances come along. Not Yukina, who six volumes in remains incredibly frustrating to read about. She’s also frustrating for Shigure to deal with as well, as he finds it impossible to get her to accept his feelings even when he asks her straight out. Things are not helped by a) Mami and Akira, who continue to plot to drive the couple apart even as they grow closer, and b) Yukina herself, whose new order for a forced kiss leads to some very uncomfortable areas – something lampshaded by Shigure himself. All in all, however much you want to strangle its heroine, this remains a compelling potboiler of a manga. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 16 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – This is a darker, more serious volume of Oresama Teacher. Oh, there’s still plenty of laugh-out-loud humor, rest assured. But the presence of Momochi as the Student Council’s latest lancer in their attempts to destroy the Public Morals Club is far more frightening than any of its previous comedic types. The club is broken apart so easily that you worry, and it’s quite notable that Hayasaka’s blackmail letter is never actually revealed – I suspect his background will be at the end of the while series. Yui is also learning the danger of having real friends when you have to betray them – you feel horrible about it. It’s a good thing that Aki and Komari’s plot wrapping up is so cute, as it helps to lighten a funny but dark darker volume. – Sean Gaffney

Ranma 1/2 2-in-1 Edition, Vol. 1 | Rumiko Takahashi | Viz Media – Somehow, I have missed out on Ranma 1/2 up until this point. I knew it was an episodic sitcom-esque sort of series, which aren’t really my thing, but as it turns out, I enjoyed this one quite a bit! I’m honestly surprised and I have no choice but to conclude it’s because Takahashi is at the helm. How else to explain that the bickering leads with the occasional glimpse of genuine feeling—Ranma and his unwilling fiancée Akane—do not bother me nearly as much as the bickering leads with the occasional glimpse of genuine feeling in Nisekoi? I also found myself giggling more than expected. Not at the multitudinous conveniently placed bodies of water that trigger Ranma’s gender transformation, but at some of the dialogue. “She’s really a very sweet girl. She’s just a violent maniac.” is a particular favorite. All in all I’m left to wonder why I waited so long. – Michelle Smith

Strobe Edge, Vol. 9 | By Io Sakisaka | Viz Media – I warn you that you will end up very angry at a group of thugs who make their appearance halfway through this volume. Not only do they beat up one of the main characters, but they also ruin the romantic resolution that was so tantalizingly close. And so, with one volume left to go after this, Ninako and Ren are farther apart than ever, even as they both come to terms with their true feelings. Luckily, there’s more to this series than just its two leads. I’ve remarked before on the compelling side characters this story has, and one drama bomb dropped by Ninako’s friend Toda, who in the space of two pages reveals a manga story that I’d love to see and then vanishes from the narrative. Strobe Edge comes to an end next volume, and I hope that Ninako, who has finally learned what love really is, can find happiness. – Sean Gaffney