Michelle Smith

Bookshelf Briefs 3/4/13

March 4, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ, Anna N and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

This week, Sean, MJ, Anna, and Michelle look at recent releases from VIZ Media, Yen Press, and Kodansha Comics.

Ai Ore!, Vol. 8 | By Mayu Shinjo | VIZ Media – Ai Ore! is now on hold in Japan while Shinjo works at other projects, which honestly is fine with me, as I’m starting to get really bored with these leads. Rolling back the canon so that they are not sexually active did get rid of some of the more rapey aspects of Akira, which I can only approve of, but it also made him slightly duller. As for Mizuki, I have to regard her as a failure even compared to other weak Shinjo heroines. When the best part of the manga for her is having a mental breakdown at losing her guitar—for 30 pages—you know something’s wrong. That said, there’s nothing actively offensive here like Vol. 1 had. It’s cute and fluffy, and mostly tame. Which is great for generic shoujo manga fans, but a disappointment to those of us who want anything but boring pablum from this artist. It’s sad that I preferred it when it offended me yet kept my interest.– Sean Gaffney

Bakuman, Vol. 18 | By Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata | VIZ Media – With the end of this series quickly approaching, Mashiro and Takagi come very close to achieving their dreams, which is actually more gratifying than I expected. Even Mashiro’s ill-conceived romance now feels like something to root for (though the manga fan in me still balks at the idea of an anime adaptation as his ultimate goal). Now that the series’ leads have become truly likable, it’s much easier to revel in their successes, and this volume offers up a lot to celebrate. Even Hiramaru’s strange romance gets a satisfying boost in this volume, and I came out pretty much adoring Aoki, which was a real surprise for me. An inside look at assistant politics adds excitement as well. Though I’ve long established myself as an addicted fan of this series, it’s nice to see it push through towards the end with such strength and verve. Still recommended.– MJ

BTOOOM!, Vol. 1 | By Junya Inoue | Yen Press – Battle Royale has a lot to answer for, even though I don’t think it anticipated creating its own genre. But “Survival horror” is very big now, and Yen’s High School of the Dead sells well enough that they’ve bought two more series in a similar vein. BTOOOM! is the first, where a NEET who is master of the gaming world but a failure at getting a real job finds himself on a deserted island with only a bunch of bombs and people trying to kill him. He’s also lost his memory, which is helpful as it allows others to explain the plot to him in detail. There’s a hot girl I’ve no doubt we’ll learn more about soon, and a few villains running around. But for the most part, this gives you lots of action, lots of explosions, and the occasional examination of morals surrounded by “who will die next” tension. It’s not breaking any new ground, but it’s perfectly decent at doing what it wants to do.– Sean Gaffney

BTOOOM!, Vol. 1 | By Junya Inoue | Yen Press – While BTOOOM! might not be able to claim the most original premise ever, it is nonetheless fairly entertaining. Unemployed Ryouta Sakamoto, a 22-year-old living with his long-suffering mother, is the best of the best at the online game BTOOOM!, even though his real life is in pretty bad shape. When he wakes, disoriented, on a remote island, he gradually realizes that he’s been drafted into a real-life version of the game, with deadly stakes. Even though a lot of what happens is completely predictable to the reader, and some of Ryouta’s anguished faces as he deliberates moral questions are actually kind of comedic, it’s still a quick and reasonably fun read. I could’ve done without the buxom competitor and the obligatory focus on her crotch, of course, but you can’t win ’em all. – Michelle Smith

Cage of Eden, Vol. 9 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Speaking of survival horror, it’s time for a new volume of Cage of Eden, which deals with a lot of the same moral lessons. In particular, Zaji and Mariya coming to blows (well, OK, Mariya getting beaten up) over whether they should abandon Kanako, who has been kidnapped by a King Kong-alike. Mariya points out that they’re facing a lethal and intelligent beast, and have to put the safety of the whole party over just one person. Zaji says screw that. This is shounen manga, so Zaji is, of course, correct. Meanwhile, there is a brief reminder that these are a bunch of puberty-stricken teenagers on a deserted island, with both guys and girls taking a poll for best boyfriend/girlfriend. No surprises to see who wins each side. The fanservice continues to be utterly blatant, but the series still clips along and provides what readers want.– Sean Gaffney

Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 11 | By Yuu Watase | VIZ Media – Oh, the angst! The pain! The total awesomeness! With only one volume left of this fantasy-adventure to go, I can’t help being torn between joy and grief. This is unsurprisingly an action-packed installment, filled with difficult battles, epic emotional drama, and some genuine tragedy. And if some of the series’ primary conflicts are a bit too easily resolved, it’s pretty difficult to calm down one’s adrenaline long enough to notice. Overall, this series offers up a terrific example of the enduring appeal of shoujo adventure stories, and it’s gratifying to see it holding its own alongside the ever-growing stack of high school romances. Now, with the Qu-Dong army approaching and Takiko’s life hanging in the balance, the agonizing wait for volume twelve begins! Highly recommended. – MJ

Jiu Jiu, Vol. 4 | By Touya Tobina | VIZ Media – I could feel my interest in this title start to wane a bit in the third volume, and I’m sad to say that state of affairs is continuing with the fourth. The plot wrinkle for this volume is a sudden Jiu Jiu exchange where Takamichi’s familiars Snow and Night are sent away and replaced with alternates. Takamichi’s reaction to being away from her beloved companions is a sudden increase in her crafting habits, producing far too many dog plushies. Tobina’s art is as stylish as ever and there are some quirky humorous parts of the story, but I’m still not emotionally invested in what might happen to these characters. I’m sure this series has plenty of appeal to some readers because it is generally well-executed and quirky enough to be interesting, but unfortunately I am not one of them. – Anna N

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 13 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – The cover of this title is a lie! It shows Super Bun on the cover, but Mafuyu spends most of her time in this volume as her male alter ego Natsuo. The fact that the juvenile delinquent heroine of this series has secret identities both as a spastic bunny superhero and as a man is why my interest in this comedy manga shows no signs of slowing down even at the thirteenth volume. Mafuyu and her team take on a man-hating member of the student council and there’s a bonus appearance by my favorite character Bancho, which always makes me happy. – Anna N

Pandora Hearts, Vol. 14 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – Well, wow. I suspected that this volume would be dramatic, but despite my open adoration of this series, I didn’t actually expect it to be so well-executed. Volume fourteen opens with a fairly large plot twist, and then proceeds (with uncharacteristic coherence) to escalate from there. But the greatest joys in this volume are to be found in its relationships, particularly as concerns Vincent, Ada, Gilbert, and Break. That there is enough room for such careful emotional nuance amidst all this series’ action and (girl-aimed) fan service continues to be surprising, but gratifying indeed. That this series is still ongoing means that we’re still in for a long haul, but Mochizuki just continues to get better, and she’s quickly making up for her plotting issues early on. Still recommended with unabashed fangirl glee. – MJ

Pick of the Week: VIZ all around

March 4, 2013 by MJ, Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney and Anna N 2 Comments

MJ: There’s a lot to choose from this week, including a number of my traditional favorites (Bakuman, Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden), but I’m going to betray everything I thought I knew about myself and pick something from the pen of Mayu Shinjo. That’s right—I’m getting behind Demon Love Spell, the latest volume of which is due out this week. I read volume two for this weekend’s Off the Shelf, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t just charm the heck out of me. Mayu Shinjo, I judged you too soon.

MICHELLE: Given that I have only one more chance to say it after this time… my vote goes to Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden. Events are moving very briskly towards the end!

SEAN: It feels like forever since I’ve PotW’d One Piece, which almost gets taken for granted these days as simply being omnipresent. But there’s a reason why it is so popular (in Japan, at least): it’s amazing fun, week after week, balancing comedy, drama, action, and more comedy. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does make it to 100 volumes, even if that might make Viz cry a bit.

ANNA: I would normally go for Genbu Kaiden, which I adore, or Demon Love Spell which I expect to adore when I pick it up. But since those are taken I will go for Oresama Teacher. Bancho forever!!!!!!

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Off the Shelf: Teahouse, Love Spell, Barrage

March 2, 2013 by MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

MJ: Good morning, Michelle! We’ve both been so busy, it feels like we haven’t talked in weeks. Good thing it’s time for Off the Shelf!

MICHELLE: It literally *has* been weeks since we’ve had one of these, what with our recent time off. I just can’t read as much as I’d like these days.

MJ: It’s a busy time, for sure. So, with your limited time, what have you been digging into this week?

MICHELLE: Well, I managed to finally get around to reading the first volume of Ameiro Kochakan Kandan, which JManga released back in January. The title translates to Chatting at the Amber Teahouse, and in fact that’s the title used all over JManga’s edition. Why they didn’t just call it that (instead of using the Japanese title, which I have great difficulty remembering), I do not know. Anyway, I found this slice-of-life yuri story from Miyabi Fujieda to be pretty charming! Oh, it’s decidedly uncomplicated, but that doesn’t keep one from enjoying the chaste (so far) love story.

Tucked away in a peaceful neighborhood is a little shop called The Amber Teahouse. Its proprietor, Seriho, is a tea enthusiast who opened the shop with lottery winnings. She’s not exactly scatterbrained, but she could use some looking after. Enter her one employee, responsible high school student Sarasa, who loves the teahouse (and Seriho) so much that she decides to go to school to become a pastry chef rather than attend some prestigious university. There’s a nice metaphor early on that likens their relationship to a “pot-san,” who made tea that no one came to drink, and the “cosy-san” who arrived and kept the pot warm ’til customers finally came around. Only by the end of the volume are there inklings of a possible romantic relationship between them; so far it’s mostly “stay with me for the next 50 years and then some” and lines like that.

Probably I have actually made this sound a little more plot-centric than it actually is. Many of the chapters are quite short, and some can be summed up like, “Sarasa and Seriho ponder adding sweets to the menu.” The art style is quite simplistic, with a few stock character designs that remind me a little of K-ON! and its ilk. Certainly this series isn’t likely to win any awards for profundity, but I liked it and found it much more my speed than Hanjuku Joshi, which we talked about a couple weeks ago.

MJ: I have to say that the teahouse setting sounds very appealing to me. I love stories set in the workplace, and this kind of workplace in particular really does the trick. Ever since Antique Bakery, I guess… in any case, it sounds quite charming. I’ll admit that I’m not incredibly fond of the type of artwork you describe, but it’s popular these days, so what can you do?

MICHELLE: It didn’t bother me much in the main story itself. It’s a bit worse, and some of the side characters more outrageous, in the prequel stories at the end of the volume, but since those were written first, I tried not to let them diminish my opinion of the main series.

Anyways! What have you been reading this week?

MJ: Well, I began my week with volume two of Demon Love Spell, the latest from Mayu Shinjo. Though I haven’t always been a fan of her work, the first volume of this series charmed me pretty thoroughly, so I was definitely looking forward to digging in further.

For those just joining in, Demon Love Spell is the story of a shrine maiden named Miko, who (through a series of wacky events) has become attached to an incubus named Kagura, without whom she’s unable to see spirits. Though Kagura is an incredibly powerful demon, he spends most of his waking hours in cute, hamster-sized form, only receiving the physical love he requires to maintain his power by entering Miko’s nighttime dreams, during which she’s able to leave behind her daytime inhibitions. It’s a premise that should be creepy as all hell, but somehow manages to be palatable, mainly thanks to the fact that most of the real power in the relationship has been granted to Miko.

Volume two starts off pretty irresistibly, by introducing an adorable fox (I mean adorable) who has fallen in love with a human girl. He wants to be with her so much that he gives up all of the usual fox behavior in order to for her to be happy. Though he’s not quite able to attain full human form—he’s still got his fox ears—he resolves to try to be with the girl. For reasons I won’t mention here (spoilers!), this is impossible. Furthermore, he’s mistaken our heroine, Miko, for the young priestess he fell in love with, leading to lots of confusion on her part and some pretty intense jealousy from Kagura. The fox story is sweet and tragic and just the kind of thing guaranteed to tug my heartstrings, but the story’s real focus is on Kagura, and his slow realization that Miko’s love is more important to him and better able to sustain him than their sexual activity.

The concept is kind of trite, but the execution really works, and even the volume’s second story arc—involving Kagura’s relentless pursuit of a promised “lovey-dovey day”—is able to continue along these lines without becoming tiresome or creepy. I have to say, it’s kind of a strange treat to be able to read some seriously trashy shoujo that doesn’t make my skin crawl. And even when it possibly should, Shinjo’s artwork is so adorable and her humor so charming, she’s able to keep things just light and airy enough to avoid giving offense.

MICHELLE: That is an adorable fox! Especially the one semi-flattened ear.

This does sound fairly promising for a Mayu Shinjo title, but the question I’m left with is… does Kagura’s realization regarding love in any way dissuade him from sexing up Miko during her dreams? It’s not that she isn’t a fully willing participant, but not remembering it was seriously troubling her in the first volume, if I recall rightly.

MJ: Actually, it does. It’s interesting how Shinjo manages to pull it all off, too. Since Kagura’s an incubus, his character would fall apart were he to become any less, er, sexually driven. But she’s managed to awaken Kagura to some ideas about love and respect that don’t feel incongruous with his need for female attention. She’s just shifted things slightly towards emotional gratification rather than only physical gratification, and it somehow works. Also, I’m impressed by her ability to make the fox-ears bit genuinely funny. I feel like my dislike for Ai Ore! has caused me to deny her the credit she’s due as a romantic comedy writer. It’s nice to be proven wrong.

So, we have a mutual read to share this week as well. Wanna hit us with an introduction?

MICHELLE: Sure!

Barrage is a quite recent Shonen Jump series that is making its English-language debut next Tuesday. This two-volume series is the story of “spunky slum kid” Astro who ends up taking the place of spoiled Prince Barrage, who flees his duty to protect Planet Industria from hordes of invading aliens and is promptly dispatched by an assassin. Astro’s primary motivation in accepting the dangerous task is to provide a home for the gaggle of abandoned kids that he’s been caring for, but when he ventures out of the relatively peaceful capital and discovers that losing one’s family is routine for people in more war-torn parts of the planet, he realizes that it’s up to him to protect them. (I should mention here that Astro can wield a special royal weapon, the orgue, and that he’s being accompanied on his journey by Tiamat, a military officer who’ll teach him how to fight.)

All of this may sound rather generic, but there are some things about the story that set it apart. For one thing, Astro spends hardly any time pretending to be Barrage, and comes clean to the king almost immediately. For another, though he is brave and has this swanky weapon, he’s still just a kid who needs instruction. There were several spots in the story that made me giggle and only a couple that made me snerk. Despite its teen rating (probably due to the violence), this reads like a kid-centric tale, and so you get bad guys making proclamations like, “I am an elite spy from Planet Assassinia!” How stealthy!

MJ: It is generic, certainly, but I think what makes that okay is that it doesn’t try to pretend it’s not. Instead of trying to make all of its well-worn plot points seem like something new, author Kouhei Horikoshi really embraces the story’s comfy familiarity and just works to make that as much fun as possible. I may never get the sense that Astro is in real danger and it’s difficult to imagine that anything truly surprising will ever happen (though, as you say, having Astro come clean so early on was a nice touch), but the truth is, I’m having too good a time to care.

Despite the fact that he’s saddled with some pretty heavy-handed messages about responsibility and family, Astro is a genuinely lovable hero, who manages to be headstrong and impulsive without the strong resistance to authority or even to asking for help that so often goes along with that—perhaps another indication that it’s a kid-centric title. He’s unwilling to give in to calls to duty when families are on the line, but he’s also willing (and even eager) to please his planet’s King and to take instruction in combat from Tiamat—a far more experienced fighter than he. Conversely, he doesn’t have any of the prickly pride that shounen heroes often display, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s easy to control, as his devotion to the concept of “family” comes before all else. It’s an interesting combination, really, and feels oddly refreshing.

Also, I kind of adore Tiamat. He’s pretty kick-ass, but vulnerable at the same time—a killer combination for me.

MICHELLE: You’ll have to imagine me sitting over here nodding, ‘cos I was doing a fair amount of it. I especially like your comments regarding Astro and how he differs from the typical shounen hero. Some of the same good qualities, some of the same bad (or at least impulsive) ones, but personal hangups all his own. I’m really interested to see how the series wraps up in the second volume, and I also wonder whether it was intended to be this short or if it was a casualty of one of those popularity contests we see all the time in Bakuman.

MJ: Yeah, I was wondering about that, too. I hope it at least got a decent wrap-up, either way. And I’ll certainly be looking forward to whatever’s next from this artist.

Manga the Week of 3/6

February 28, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N, MJ and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

SEAN: Ah, the first week of the month, the only week I never have to worry about things to talk about. And sure enough, there is a LOT coming out. Let’s discuss:

Dark Horse has two titles that aren’t Gantz or Evangelion, an achievement in itself. Including the debut of a new series, Blood-C. Which is yet another CLAMP franchise designed to promote an anime, made in conjunction with Production I.G. It’s a girl by day, monster slayer by night sort of story, and I believe gets quite dark. The artist did the Bandai manga version of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

ANNA: I feel like as a long-time CLAMP fan I should be more interested in this, but this is just reminding me that I need to get that 4th Cardcaptor Sakura omnibus.

MJ: I find I’m never really interested in these anime-related projects of theirs. But the new omnibus of Tokyo Babylon comes out soon, so I’ll be able to rave then.

SEAN: And for those who liked the Evangelion doujinshi anthology, there’s one coming out for Trigun called Multiple Bullets. Given Trigun has an actual creator,. this is a little more serious than the other types we’ve seen, and includes a 2-chapter story by Nightow he wrote for the movie premiere.

Kodansha has the 6th Negima omnibus. The translation had been fixed by this point, and it has no extra content, so it’s really just for anyone who didn’t get it the first time and is annoyed that it’s not available digitally yet.

Seven Seas may not be listed on Midtown, but my shop is getting in at least one of their titles (and, I conclude from incomplete data, the other one as well). Cheshire Cat Waltz has been sort of a middling Alice in the Country of ______ title, being neither as annoying as the Twins one nor as intriguing as the main narrative or the Joker series. But it’s decent enough, and Boris is one of the less insane people in it.

ANNA: I read the first volume of Cheshire Cat Waltz and wasn’t compelled to try other volumes, but I’m finding Joker much more interesting.

MICHELLE: I didn’t hate Cheshire, but Joker is definitely superior. I’d like to forget that I ever read the Twins one.

SEAN: There’s also Volume 2 of Mayo Chiki, for those who want it.

Vertical has the 3rd volume of Heroman, which is Stan Lee! How can you not like a Stan Lee! manga? (Best not answer that, la la la…)

MJ: I wish I could like this, for Vertical’s sake. But. Yeah.

SEAN: And, of course, there is a giant pile of Viz. Bakuman is still rumbling along towards its finish, and Vol. 18 will no doubt have lots of Jump drama, long stretches of dialogue, and annoying casual sexism.

MJ: I can’t help it, I’m hooked!

MICHELLE: I’m really behind, but I’ll catch up one of these days!

SEAN: Barrage is the first of Viz’s Shonen Jump Alpha premieres, where the Western World learns just what happens to 3/4 of all Jump manga every year – they go 2-3 volumes and then stop. And no, the popularity here has nothing to do with it. But given Viz is mostly avoiding longer Jump series right now, Barrage is a good short investment. It has the good old fashioned “posing as the prince” storyline, and is already half over!

ANNA: I’m reading this in preparation for a full review and am enjoying it a bunch. Actually I wish more shorter shonen series were released here, so I could get quick hits of shonen manga as opposed to committing to a very long series.

MJ: I’m really looking forward to this! Michelle and I will be covering it soon for Off the Shelf, and I’m feeling kinda eager.

MICHELLE: I wasn’t especially eager ’til I read Anna’s comment, but now I am! :)

SEAN: Ai Ore is over, but don’t worry, Mayu Shinjo’s series live on. I find my enjoyment of Shinjo depends on how much she humiliates her hero, so greatly enjoyed Vol. 1 of Demon Love Spell. Not sure how long that will last with Vol. 2…

ANNA: Demon Love Spell is fab! I also enjoyed the first volume very much!

MJ: I did too! Shockingly so!

MICHELLE: I liked it okay. Didn’t I read somewhere that Ai Ore! is not considered officially over, though? If it really is, I might have to do a cartwheel.

SEAN: Yeah, sorry, “End of Part One.”

I honestly keep forgetting that Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden is still running, given that its author is famous enough that her publishing schedule for it is “whenever”. But hey, here’s a new volume.

ANNA: For me, new volumes of Genbu Kaiden are always an excuse for a celebration. I love this series.

MJ: I completely agree, Anna. This series is such a treat anytime it turns up.

MICHELLE: Forsooth. Genbu Kaiden is great, but I feel bad that every time I read it or talk about it I always want to add “I hope she writes Byakko Kaiden next!”

SEAN: One Piece is almost at the 2/3 mark in its quest for 100 volumes! And best of all, Vol. 66 finally wraps up Fishman Island and starts a new arc! Halle-freaking-llujah! Of course, even the poor One Piece arcs are miles better than most shonen.

MICHELLE: I fell behind on One Piece, too, but am determined to get caught up and do a brief of volume 66 in the near future.

SEAN: Oresama Teacher remains one of my favorite comedies that Viz is putting out, and Vol. 13 features everyone’s favorite superhero, SUPER BUN, on the cover. What more could one ask for?

ANNA: Indeed. I only hope there are some pigeon note-passing antics in this volume as well.

MICHELLE: Pigeon note-passing antics?! Did this occur recently? I haven’t read volume twelve yet… did I miss cute pigeon-y goodness?

SEAN: There is Pokemon Adventures Vol. 15, apparently a 2nd edition of same. I don’t follow Pokemon at all, but know that it brings in piles of cash. In my headcanon, this and Yu-Gi-Oh are paying for the end of Excel Saga.

Psyren starts its second half with Vol. 9, which features more battles, more teamwork, more psionic powers… in other words, a lot more Jump. Not sure anyone’s head will explode, though. “Nooooooo!” BOOOOOM! (See, Even A Monkey Can Draw Manga’s influence is still felt today…)

MICHELLE: Here’s another shounen series I like that I’ve fallen behind on. (That makes three this column!) There just aren’t enough hours in the day to read everything I’d like to read.

SEAN: Rosario + Vampire Season II hits Vol. 11, which must be very confusing if you mix up the Arabic and roman numerals…

Skip Beat’s 3-in-1s return by popular demand! Vol. 4 has the original 10-12, which if I recall is right in the middle of the Dark Moon shoot.

MICHELLE: Yay, Skip Beat!

SEAN: Strobe Edge has a 3rd volume. Having introduced the rival girl, and then done a side story that really showed she’s not a villain at all, I’m interested to see where the series takes this.

ANNA: This seems like a nice conventional shojo series. Nothing wrong with that at all.

MJ: I’m a lot more interested in this series than I thought I would be when I started it, so this is a happy thing.

MICHELLE: I like it quite a lot. It might be taking a conventional route, but it’s not being lazy about it, which I appreciate.

SEAN: And Vampire Knight has Vol. 16. The series was just announced as coming to a close, so I assume there’s only one or two volumes left to go. In any case, I plan to be riveted yet hopelessly confused, as always when I read Vampire Knight.

MICHELLE: Oh, I hadn’t heard that news! Perhaps I’ll just hold on for the final volumes to come out here and then read it all in a chunk; probably things will make a lot more sense that way. Maybe.

SEAN: That’s a lot of manga. What are you getting?

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

February 28, 2013 by Michelle Smith

Book description:
It was a senselessly violent crime: on a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. And as if this didn’t present enough problems for the Ystad police Inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word is “foreign,” leaving the police the one tangible clue they have—and in the process, the match that could inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.

Unlike the situation with his ex-wife, his estranged daughter, or the beautiful but married young prosecuter who has piqued his interest, in this case, Wallander finds a problem he can handle. He quickly becomes obsessed with solving the crime before the already tense situation explodes, but soon comes to realize that it will require all his reserves of energy and dedication to solve.

Review:
I reckon that most people would think, quite reasonably, that a mystery with a name like Faceless Killers would be riveting. Unfortunately, those people would be wrong.

I’d been aware of the acclaim that some Scandinavian crime fiction has garnered in recent years, and the Wallander series seemed the most visible—not saying it’s the best of the lot, but there is that Kenneth Branagh series on the BBC—so I decided to start there, and with the first book in the series.

It’s January 1990 when a seventy-year-old man wakes in the night, sure he’s heard something amiss at his neighbor’s house. He’s right—the couple inside has been brutally murdered, and the wife’s dying words (as well as one particular detail about the crime) suggest involvement by one or more of the many foreign refugees flooding into Sweden. Wallander and his team investigate.

I like to think I could’ve pegged this for a first book in a series even if I hadn’t known. There’s just so much to give that away. Wallander has a set of stereotypical “detective issues,” for one, including a drinking problem, an estranged wife and daughter, a crazy parent, and a thoroughly random obsession for opera. (Perhaps the specificity of “opera” isn’t quite a stereotype, but I have definitely encountered several detectives who randomly groove to classical music while on the job.) The vast majority of the policemen in the background are utterly indistinguishable from one another, with the exception of one guy who might not be around in subsequent installments. Wallander’s personal issues miraculously resolve themselves off-camera in a fast-forward that happens towards the end of the book. Occasionally, characters engage in pointless debates/rants about immigration policy. And after much plodding around, the case is ultimately solved thanks to the conveniently (and implausibly) amazing memory of one witness.

It took me ages to get through the first half of the book, but things did pick up a little bit towards the end. Wallander’s transformation into someone more positive doesn’t feel earned, as it mostly happens during that fast-forwarded period, but it does make him a character that I’d have more interest in revisiting. Until the point he got over the wife and made up with the daughter and father, I was pretty sure I would not be coming back, but if he can shed at least some of the clichéd personal baggage, there may be hope.

Bookshelf Briefs 2/25/13

February 25, 2013 by Michelle Smith and Sean Gaffney Leave a Comment

This week, Sean and Michelle look at recent releases from Seven Seas, Yen Press, and VIZ Media.

Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game, Vol. 1 | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas- It occurs to me that I’ve started several of the post-Country of Hearts series in this franchise, but haven’t yet made it to the second volume of any of them. It’s not that they’re bad, there’s just nothing about them that really compels me to continue. For the most part, the same can be said about Country of Joker. There are some things I definitely like, especially ominous hintings about both the past and the future, but this volume feels mostly like recap and exposition all at once, and so despite having much more at stake than Alice’s romantic prospects, it ends up being a little dull. Still, if there were any sequel/spinoff I’d be likely to continue, I reckon this is the one. – Michelle Smith

A Devil And Her Love Song, Vol. 7 | By Miyoshi Tomori | VIZ Media – And so, for the moment, the Anna arc is over. And it’s as emotional as I expected, with Anna finally getting through to Maria that her sort of help is only making things worse, even if it’s with the best intentions. Anna has to do this herself, and can’t, so seeing Maria and her circle of friends is a fresh wound every day. In addition, the author has perhaps realized that Maria/Shin is becoming a bit too obvious as the endgame, so Yusuke gets a whole lot of face time here, confronting Maria about how she deals with things in ways that Shin doesn’t or won’t. And at the back of the plot is still Maria’s late mother, who appears to us in a nightmare that Maria’s having pretty much all the time. Also, no evil teacher this time, but we do get a new creepy adult to balance it out. Never has “technique” sounded so forbidding. Highly recommended.-Sean Gaffney

Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 11 | By Yuu Watase | VIZ Media – I’m so glad I finally got caught up with this series last October. Now I can enjoy the final volumes along with everyone else! Volume eleven is the penultimate volume in the series, which means that a ton of very important stuff happens. The revelation of truths, or of someone’s true intentions. The willingness of some to sacrifice themselves for the good of others. The feeling amongst your friends that, with all this heavy responsibility, you and the one you love deserve some stolen moments of happiness. It is perhaps a trifle rushed—we barely spend any pages with the final Celestial Warrior before he’s handing Takiko the scroll and they’re preparing to summon Genbu—but the feeling that we’re being carried along to something truly tragic and climactic makes up for it. Highly recommended. Michelle Smith

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 2 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – This continues to be the most interesting of Seven Seas’ recent moe pickups, though it also continues to suffer from the same problems – you feel somewhat dirty reading it. This is not helped by the addition of Kodaka’s younger sister Kobato, who is as screwed up in the head as the rest of the cast. That said, the fact that they apparently aren’t incestual feelings here speaks volumes. The manga is going to play around with horrible moe and sexual tropes, but is not going to take that extra step into horrible. (It comes damn close, though.) This means that you’re allowed to get some character development and (gasp!) sweet scenes, particularly between Kodaka and Sena. I’ll pick up Vol. 3, and am interested in seeing what happens next. Still feel uncomfortable recommending it beyond otaku.-Sean Gaffney

The Misfortune of Kyon and Koizumi | By Various Artists | Yen Press – Unlike the Evangelion doujinshi anthology that was released the same week as this, the authors herein are not all that well-known, beyond “see who we can grab at the Kadokawa offices”. Unfortunately, despite having a variety of artists and styles, there’s a somewhat exhausting similarity between the comics. They’re clearly meant to appeal to a more female-oriented audience than Haruhi generally tries to attract, with lots of BL tease (but no delivery). The characterization is also at its baseline to drive the gag humor, meaning that the Haruhi we see here is the default Vol. 1 girl with no character development. There are a few cute gags here, but for the most part I’d recommend this only to the most hardcore Haruhi fans who must possess everything, or to BL fans who likewise must possess everything.-Sean Gaffney

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 13 | By Hiroshi Hiibashi | VIZ Media – I’m getting rather weary of this Kyoto arc (has anyone done a list of which manga/anime series have “Kyoto arcs” in some way?), and I admit that the parts I found the most interesting were the darkest ones. The ongoing butchering of young innocents for their livers (is it implied that the TV reporter is added to that stack?), the tragic backstory of Aotabo, who became a yokai in order to protect those he loved (yokai who enjoy being evil are not the sort of yokai that Rikuo tolerates), and Yuki-Onna considering killing herself so that she won’t be “bait”. Oh yes, and some blatant Rikuo/Yuki-Onna ship tease (Kana who?). The rest of this volume is showing Rikuo that his power is all about the feelings of his friends/underlings, which we already knew, because this is Shonen Jump, and that’s how it works.-Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Noncommittal

February 25, 2013 by MJ, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

To keep things consistent, we’re officially transitioning to Sean’s Manga the Week of lists as our source for Pick of the Week, in place of the Midtown Comics list we’ve traditionally used. That said… maybe we picked the wrong week?

SEAN: Um… Cage of Eden? I guess? Whatever… you all can choose among the Yen stuff if you like, given what else there is… Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…

MICHELLE: I suppose I’ll throw in for Kitchen Princess. I’ve never read it, but I know David liked it, and that’s good enough for me!

MJ: Well, given the choices, I guess I’ll take advantage of the description of this as a “transition” and go for one of the Yen titles that’s turning up at Midtown this week (but appeared on Sean’s list last week). And that title would be BTOOOM!, a sort of adventure/survivalist story by Junya Inoue. I read it for Off the Shelf a couple of weeks ago, and found it to be great (if unoriginal) fun.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

JManga the Week of 2/21 and 2/28

February 23, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

SEAN: (I was away last week, so you get a two-fer this time around.)

I appreciate – I really do – JManga getting out all these Vol. 3s and 5s and 7s. For a while it seemed that we’d get Vol. 1 of selected series with nothing else, so it’s great to see that they’re moving on with many titles to further volumes.

That said, damn, it’s hard to come up with new ways to break everything down. But here we go…

Joshi Kousei (High School Girls) has Vol. 6 this week and Vol. 7 next week. For those who are truly HSG fanatics, the release of Vol. 6 here means we now have all the reissued covers, including the ones DrMaster never reprinted. Woot! Funny series, too. Everyone should read it.

MJ: I will. I promise. Soon.

SEAN: More Elemental Gelade.

More PoyoPoyo’s Observation Diary.

A new Ninja Papa, which hopefully will avoid the gentle downward slide it’s had since its ludicrous beginnings.

The Mythical Detective Loki gets a 4th volume, and I continue to be confused as to whether it’s the original or the Ragnarok that ADV put out.

And Sun-Ken Rock has a 3rd volume for me to catch up on, and is easily the MANLIEST thing in this entire list – yes, it even tops Ninja Papa.

MICHELLE: I am sad to say I have absolutely nothing to say about any of these.

MJ: It’s getting difficult, isn’t it?

Anything catch your eye?

Manga the Week of 2/27

February 22, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and MJ 3 Comments

SEAN: The main problem with my list of manga that’s coming out is it originated on my Livejournal page as a list to remind me what *I* might be getting at any given time, with the titles I wasn’t buying included because well, why not? As a result, I tend to keep these lists geared towards me. With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the sources I use:

a) My comic shop in New Haven. This is mostly via Diamond Distributors. “But Sean,” (I hear you cry), “Diamond is showing Yen’s stuff coming out the week of 2/27, not 2/20!” Yes, but I got Yen stuff on Wednesday, including this Umineko volume that is as big as a small house. This is because Diamond sometimes splits its shipments over two weeks, shipping to some stores (such as the Northeast Corridor) before others. This happens to me a LOT with Yen, which I frequently get early.

By the way, rule of thumb for Diamond. Ships early: Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, Seven Seas. Ships late: Kodansha, Vertical. Ships on same date: Viz, Yen (except Northeast Corridor).

b) Midtown Comics list, which goes live sometime Wednesday Afternoons. They have their own distribution for many publishers (i.e., not Diamond), including Viz and Seven Seas. This is why they sometimes have Viz titles a week late, and frequently have Seven Seas titles very late. This is what allows Aaron to list the same Seven Seas titles in comments over multiple weeks. :)

c) Amazon, where I usually fill in the blanks from the other two lists.

With that said, almost everyone who isn’t me will get Yen Press titles the week of 2/27, so just port those over to this list.

So what ELSE is coming out next week? Kodansha, mostly. We have the 27th volume of Air Gear, which ships only a few months before they try to entice in new readers with the Air Gear omnibus. For me, though, the prospect of Tenjo Tenge-style fanservice plus rollerblading has always left me a bit cold.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I have never been able to muster the fortitude to try Air Gear.

MJ: Nor have I.

SEAN: Battle Angel Alita: Last Order hits Vol. 17. I got way, WAY behind in this series (as in, I still have to finish the original non-Last Order Alita), so I suspect I’ll just wait for the omnibus. Which has new content anyway, apparently.

MICHELLE: I have the first three volumes of the original series, but I still haven’t read them. One day!

SEAN: Cage of Eden is up to Vol. 9, and will be resolving its psychic arc while no doubt showing that there are a lot of large-breasted females and hideous carnivorous animals in it. As I said, the perfect comic for 12-year-old boys.

MICHELLE: My Air Gear comment can easily be applied here as well.

MJ: Mine, too. Wow, I have so little of interest to say this week!

SEAN: And Kitchen Princess hits its third omnibus. I don’t have much to say about this, except it’s great shoujo that for once you could actually give to a young girl to read – well, mostly. It can get a bit dark at times.

MICHELLE: I can’t believe I’ve owned this series for so long without reading it even though I’ve heard very good things about it! Bad me.

MJ: I missed this series the first time around, so I’m pretty happy to have a chance to catch up now!

SEAN: I have no idea if Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love is any good, but the covers are magnificent. The lead male, despite his gigantic chest of death, still appears to be the grumpiest man on the planet, and his companion is the perfect contrast, having a face that anyone would love to hit. Seriously, look at that “Oops!” face. Anyone would understand why the big guy is so mad. Well, besides “Why did they draw me so wide…?”

MICHELLE: I read the first two volumes of this and didn’t like it very much. The shrimpy guy is just as annoying as he looks and I have no idea what the grumpy dude could possibly find to like about him. I don’t intend to bother reading any more of it.

MJ: My biggest issue with this series (aside from finding it just kinda boring) is that the drawing style and the age difference—particularly in one scene early in the first volume—give it a shotacon vibe I just can’t stomach. It’s definitely Not For Me.

SEAN: Assuming anyone stuck around after the meandering opening, what’re you getting?

Pick of the Week: Misanthropy & Other Stories

February 18, 2013 by Michelle Smith, Anna N, Sean Gaffney and MJ 2 Comments

MICHELLE: Wow, pickings sure are slim at Midtown this week. If you’re not interested in the latest Evangelion tie-in, volume 30 of Wallflower, or the paperback reprint of Ayako, you are out of luck. Of these, Ayako would be the one I’d choose (if I didn’t already own it in hardcover)—it may be misanthropic, but it’s definitely worth reading.

ANNA This is somewhat sad. So sad in fact that I’m going to pick something that isn’t even manga at all! It looks like the 10th issue of Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’ Saga is coming out this week. I enjoyed the first trade paperback of this series very much, and it is nice to see more nifty titles coming out from Image Comics. I’m looking forward to the second volume of this adult space opera.

SEAN: Sheesh, I do all I can to expand Manga The Week Of, and everyone then proceeds to stick with Midtown’s paltry offerings. My pick this week is therefore the second Umineko omnibus, which wraps up the first arc. Less heartwarming than Higurashi so far, its grand guignol over-the-top style appealed to me, and you gotta love those screaming faces (from those still alive, that is).

MJ: I’ll admit that I feel hesitant about choosing from Sean’s lovely selection of Yen titles, as even online retailers list their release dates as yet a full week away, but I guess I’ll take this opportunity to highlight a series that rarely makes it into our Picks. That series would be Nabari no Ou—you know, the other ninja manga. I’ve been a fan of this series from the start and though I’ve fallen behind, now that its penultimate volume has arrived, I feel the time for a marathon is now. I’ll be setting up a “book club” marathon in the forums later today. Come join me?

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Manga the Week of 2/20

February 14, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ and Michelle Smith 2 Comments

SEAN: Third week of the month, which is starting to traditionally mean that Diamond Comics ships Yen Press stuff a week early to me. So this Midtown list is augmented by the Yen stuff my shop will be getting.

Dark Horse has run out of Evangelion spinoffs, so is dipping into the well of doujinshi anthologies, a type of manga we’ve previously seen over here with the Code Geass: Knight and Queen manga. They’re put out by real publishers, so don’t expect anything over 18 rated, and are by various artists and writers. I’m going to guess the majority will be humorous, but who knows?

MJ: Possibly this will put me on many fan hate lists, but… I’ll admit I’m tired of Evangelion. I loved the anime series (like everyone) and I’ve read some of the manga adaptation, but if it’s come to publishing doujinshi, can we just admit that there’s nothing left here to milk but fanfic? Which is fine—I’m pro-fanfic, but I kind of expect that to remain in fan circles. Am I being a big fuddy-duddy here?

MICHELLE: Not at all. I’ve consumed even less of Evangelion than you have and I’m still weary of it!

SEAN: Kodansha Comics has Volume 30 (yes, 30) of The Wallflower, which is to shoujo harems what Hayate the Combat Butler is to shounen harems. It will never ever resolve, and no one will have their character developed. But – funny things will occur! Love those funny things.

MICHELLE: Yeah, this is just not my kind of shoujo series. I wish I could like the funny things, but the lack of evolution wears me out after a while. Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei is another example of that happening.

SEAN: Seven Seas (like Yen, shipping via Diamond but not to Midtown) has the 2nd Dance in the Vampire Bund omnibus. The first one is still sitting in my to-read stack, so I can’t really tell you much about it. Maybe someday…

MJ: This series’ fanbase has made me reluctant to try it out, but I should probably look past that, shouldn’t I?

SEAN: Another softcover re-release from Vertical, this one of Tezuka’s Ayako. It’s still a brick, but may weigh a bit less.

MJ: Ayako has its issues, but it’s well worth reading. If you missed the hardcover, this is a must-buy.

SEAN: And now it’s time for a giant pile of Yen to hit comic shops. The Betrayal Knows My Name has hit five volumes. I guess the betrayal’s knowledge isn’t enough to end the series all that fast, so there must me more to the protagonists than just the name. (You can always tell which of the series I discuss I don’t read, can’t you?)

MJ: I featured this volume in my latest My Week in Manga, so I can make up the difference. :D

MICHELLE: I haven’t read any of this either, but I will someday!

SEAN: We have a new action series that will likely appeal to the Battle Royale/High School of the Dead crowd, this one with the compelling title of BTOOOM! The covers may have been changed to avoid lawsuits, but the contents inside still scream survival game.

MJ: Michelle & I discussed this in Off the Shelf last week. I found it unoriginal but decidedly fun.

MICHELLE: It looks uncomplicated, which is actually a compliment.

SEAN: The Misfortune of Kyon and Koizumi is the second doujinshi anthology we’re talking about this week, oddly enough. This one’s based off of the Haruhi Suzumiya series, and features the two guys in the main cast. I’m not actually sure how BL-heavy it’ll be – Haruhi‘s fandom still skews very male. But we shall see.

MJ: I’m going to contradict myself and admit that I’m actually kinda interested in this one. So Evangelion fans can start throwing heavy objects at me now.

MICHELLE: Not me. I avoid all manga iterations of the Haruhi story.

SEAN: I’ve long since lost track of what’s going on in Nabari no Ou, but this is the penultimate volume, and would seem to be flashback-tastic. Recommended to ninja fans who can’t stand Naruto.

MJ: That’s me! :D Seriously, though, I love Nabari no Ou. I’m behind on the series as well, but I plan to catch up soon!

MICHELLE: I don’t love Nabari no Ou, but I’ve still managed to read nine volumes so far, and will probably finish it. I don’t hate it, but it just doesn’t seem to stick with me.

SEAN: Pandora Hearts, of course, is nowhere near finishing, even as it reaches 14 volumes. I don’t follow this one either, so I’ll just note that the serious guy on the cover looks very serious indeed. I’d do what he says if I were you.

MJ: This series totally owns me. It’s a perfect example of how deeply I can love something that’s flawed. I love Pandora Hearts with my whole heart.

MICHELLE: Again, I am stopping short of admitting that I love this series, but I am happy when I see new volumes of it.

SEAN: Triage X has managed to get out a 2nd volume. I’m not certain if its cover is as appalling as the first volume, but it certainly tries hard. Meanwhile, nurses, guns, motorcycles, and explosions.

MJ: Ugh.

MICHELLE: Double ugh.

SEAN: Umineko: When They Cry has hit the end of its first arc with this 2nd omnibus. I’m pretty much expecting everyone to die horribly, because that’s what this author does. But will they die horribly in a fascinating and endlessly debatable way? Oh, I hope so. A bit less uuu-uuu would be welcome, though.

MICHELLE: Gah, that “uuu!” crap was so annoying. I will probably read this, since I read the first half, but I am not anticipating loving it.

SEAN: Lastly, in the 3rd omnibus of Until Death Do Us Part, our hero and his charge go on the run from innumerable assassins and other killy things. Luckily, they’re the stars. That counts for a lot in a manga series.

MJ: I still haven’t tried out this series, but I’m thinking about it. Thoughts?

MICHELLE: I actually kind of like this series, but I find that I can’t really give a coherent explanation. I like the premise, I guess, and the supporting organization that helps the hero, etc.

SEAN: Omnibus? Doujin anthology? What’s your poison?

Bookshelf Briefs 2/11/13

February 11, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

This week, Sean, MJ, and Michelle look at recent releases from Kodansha Comics, VIZ Media, and Vertical, Inc.

Fairy Tail, Vol. 23 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – This volume can pretty much be summed up by: cool things happen. Seemingly every five pages. We’re still in the middle of the battle in Edolas, and we see Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy combine their dragon powers to take on the insane king; Erza fighting her doppelganger while also plummeting from a great height; Edolas Fairy Tail showing up just in time to be Big Damn Heroes and prove their mettle. In the middle of all this is Mystogan, aka the Edolas version of Jellal, who has a cunning plan to save Edolas that, much to my relief, is immediately exposed as being mind-numbingly stupid. And since the best way to combat stupid is with stupid, it’s up to Natsu to save the day. There’s a lot of fighting going on here, but it’s certainly never dull. And the next volume should finally wrap up this arc.-Sean Gaffney

The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 4 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical, Inc. – Though on the surface this series appears to be getting darker, for Nakamura and Takao this volume offers up the opportunity for a kind of camaraderie that hadn’t previously been possible. Where this leaves poor Saeki is another question, but though Takao and Nakamura are clearly headed down a perverted path, the tone is decidedly jubilant as this volume comes to a close—for better or worse. In a way, it just feels like their story is back on track, though I think it needed to fall apart in order to get there, and especially to put Takao and Nakamura on something closer to equal ground. Either way, I can’t deny that I’m more intrigued by this story than ever at this point, which indicates that things are going very much right. Readers who found the first few volumes a bit too dark to handle will not see any relief here, but for the rest of us, this volume is a must-read. Still recommended. – MJ

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 12 | By Julietta Suzuki | VIZ Media – A new arc starts here, as Nanami is abducted by the servents of a spoiled-brat yokai who is engaged to marry Himemiko. The trouble there is Himemiko is already in love with a human boy, Kotaro. Of course, she hasn’t actually told him who she really is. There’s some examination of the huge gulf that exists between kamis and humans, and why most people regard Himemiko’s affair as a mere fling. Nanami doesn’t, though, and she continues to be the best part of the manga simply by being herself. Laying the smack down on the spoiled yokai while trying to espouse the virtue of true love, it’s almost as if she has some other reason for wanting Himemiko’s marriage to a human to happen. There’s a lot of romantic angst here, as we try to resolve a minor subplot that’s been simmering for far too long…-Sean Gaffney

Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations, Vol. 4 | By Kenji Kuroda and Kazuo Maekawa | Kodansha Comics – And so the second series of Phoenix Wright manga volumes comes to a close, with two more fairly typical cases. These have been good reads for those who merely want to see more of Edgeworth being cool, or Gumshoe being dumb. But they’re frustrating for anyone wanting long-term character development, as they can’t change (or even mention) their original source material, the games. The best chapter in this series was the one where Ema Skye returned from America, simply as it was a connection to past and future games we were being allowed to see. Most of the series, unfortunately, didn’t have that, leaving it as a series of cute one-shot crimes with little to no emotional content. Also, Phoenix makes a much better protagonist. Sorry, Edgey.-Sean Gaffney

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 9 | By Naoko Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – I firmly believe that there are no bad volumes of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, but this is an especially good one. The aim of the villainous Dead Moon Circus is to turn people’s dreams into nightmares, and so each of the “inner senshi” gets a chapter to herself in which she triumphs over an enemy attempting to instill doubt (and the notion that she should just find a nice boy and settle down) in her, earning a new attack phrase in the process. It’s great to spend some quality time with the girls individually, and there are some truly rewarding moments (especially concerning Artemis), but the best chapter is about the “outer senshi” and the little family they’ve become in the six months since they made a pledge to raise baby Hotaru. All in all, a truly great volume. My only complaint is that the Amazon Trio are vanquished so quickly! Tiger’s Eye in particular is barely a blip. Sniff. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 30 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – Lory’s school of Enforced Method Acting to sure his proteges’ deep inner traumas has always been for everyone, not just Kyoko, and here we once again see the effects it’s having on Ren, who’s forced to relive the past that he’s been blocking out. Ren is not doing a particularly good job at this, and is starting to lose himself in the role – something that Kyoko is all too familiar with. And it’s not just the serial killer character of BJ, either – Ren and Kyoko’s roles as Cain and Setsu are blurring together as well, and the intentional incestual subtext is getting to be a bit too much to bear for both of them. Things seem to be reaching a boiling point, though I’ve said that before, and this series has now gone 30 volumes with no sign of romantic resolution. Still, maybe a kiss? Hrm? Sadly, no kiss here. Still great stuff, though.-Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Butlers & Knights

February 11, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

SEAN: Given I can barely move my arms after digging out from over 3 feet of snow, I’d better have a comfort manga for my pick of the week. So let’s go with the biannual release of Hayate the Combat Butler. Yes, its art is moe and pandering, and yes, it’s a harem genre of the most brutal kind. But I admire its ability to never take itself seriously, and (when it doesn’t feature Athena) it’s really, really funny. Every single character, even the minor ones, has the ability to bring the funny to any situation. It may sell poorly, but that just makes each new volume a cherished treat. Well, unless lack of romantic resolution upsets you. Then this is the WORST MANGA EVER, as that is its main bread and butter. Not resolving anything.

MJ: I’m in similar pain today, but instead of comfort manga, I will opt for just immersing myself in something really compelling and go with Tsutomu Nihei’s Knights of Sidonia, arriving at Midtown this week from Vertical. Michelle and I read this for Saturday’s Off the Shelf, and I am not sure I’ve gone more than five minutes since without it on my mind, at least lurking around in the background. I found it incredibly engaging and visually stunning to boot. And though I’m anxious for the next volume, for the time being I’ll settle for re-reading the first. It’s that good.

MICHELLE: A big “me too!” on the Knights of Sidonia front. More human and accessible than BLAME!, Knights of Sidonia is still pure Nihei, both visually and in the particular, mysterious feeling reading his works evokes in me. I loved it without reservation.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Off the Shelf: Explosions, Missions, & Mecha

February 9, 2013 by MJ and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

MICHELLE: Hey, MJ! I’d make a joke here, but after viewing various pictures of startling amounts of snowfall, I just hope you’re staying warm!

MJ: I am! We may be buried in snow, but at least we have electricity! We’re very lucky.

MICHELLE: That’s good! I presume having some electricity means that you’re up for talking about some manga this morning!

MJ: I am indeed! Though it’s possible that the snowstorm is at least partly responsible for today’s choice of reading. As I perused my stack of books to review this morning, I was immediately drawn to Junya Inoue’s BTOOOM!, a debut series from Yen Press with a decidedly survivalist feel.

Ryouta is a “loser,” according to the book’s marketing materials, and while I think that characterization may be a little harsh, for the moment we’ll go with it. He’s an avid gamer with dreams of working in the video game industry, but with these dreams yet to be fulfilled, he’s essentially a freeloader living off his mom while rejecting her efforts to secure him some kind of paying job. He’s especially skilled at an online game called “BTOOOM!,” in which players fight each other only with a variety of small explosive devices. Having defeated the game’s entire pool of Japanese players, he’s ready to move on to world domination, but the world apparently has other plans.

One morning, Ryouta wakes up to find himself hanging from a parachute on a remote tropical island. He doesn’t know where he is or how he got there, but through a series of (occasionally deadly) encounters, soon discovers that he’s been placed into a sort of real-world rendering of “BTOOOM,” in which he must kill other real-life players in order to escape the “game.” As other players help him put the pieces together (or try to blow him to pieces, depending on their dedication), Ryouta battles his own conscience and sense of humanity as he struggles to survive.

As you may have already determined from reading my description, there’s nothing remotely original about BTOOOM! or its hero’s inner struggle, at least not so far. Stories like these are so common and so evenly spread across every storytelling medium in existence, that it’s impossible for me to even identify Inoue’s specific influences. That said, I can’t deny that I had a good time. Setups like these become cliches for a reason—when done well (or even passably), they work, and BTOOOM! is no exception. Even as I rolled my eyes at the series’ premise, I found myself becoming engaged in Ryouta’s story, and chances are I’ll tune in for more.

MICHELLE: Yeah, as I was reading your description there were various other stories that kept springing to mind, but I agree—this one looks potentially interesting. I like the cover, too. I’m not sure why little boxes with timers on them look cool, but they do, so just go with it, I suppose!

MJ: Exactly! Sometimes familiar-but-fun is exactly enough to satisfy, and I feel like the cover conveys the truth of that pretty well.

So what have you got for us today?

MICHELLE: This week I decided to check out the first two volumes of Ema Toyama’s Missions of Love (published by Kodansha Comics). Despite generally enjoying Toyama’s I Am Here!, I was fairly skeptical about this one, largely due to its Japanese title (Watashi ni XX Shinasai!) translating more or less to “Do XX to me!” I was expecting something smutty, an impression that the cover images seem to wish to reinforce. As it turns out, though, there’s really no smut in sight.

With her icy glare, third-year junior high student Yukina Himuro is known to her classmates as the “Absolute Zero Snow Woman.” Little do they know that she’s actually the famous cell phone novelist, Yupina, and the reason she always seems to be staring at them is that she’s gathering material for her stories. One student who has never been able to inspire her is the most popular boy in class, Shigure Kitami, who always maintains the same smiling, pleasant demeanor. When Yukina learns that her fans would prefer more love scenes, she’s troubled, since she’s convinced she’ll never be able to experience love herself and will therefore not be able to write about it convincingly. Luckily, she promptly stumbles upon proof that Kitami is not what he seems and uses this to blackmail him into doing things like holding her hand, clutching her to his manly bosom, etc. so that she can produce updates to her story that make her fans’ hearts skip a beat.

By the end of volume two, Yukina and Kitami seem to be on the path to developing real feelings for each other, but there’s still a lot of contention and distrust in their relationship. He has discovered her secret weakness—it’s pretty dumb—and uses this against her, but feels bad when she ends up hurt by what happens. Meanwhile, Yukina’s cousin and only friend, Akira, reveals that he loves her and wishes she’d use him for boyfriend experience instead of Kitami the creep.

Honestly, I am not sure what I think about Missions of Love at this point. The leads are struggling between their real selves and their facades, and as a result, sometimes they’re likeable and sometimes they’re not. Sometimes Yukina is smart—she skillfully deflects several of Kitami’s attempts to trip her up—and sometimes quite dense, especially when pondering such shoujoriffic concepts as “This pounding in my chest… what does it mean?” Akira has potential to stir things up, but so far his primary character trait is that he’s always snacking. There must be something to this series—after all, it won a Kodansha Award last year (for best children’s manga, while here it’s rated for older teens)—but so far the only things tempting me to continue are the brief glimpses of the story Yukina’s writing and the idea that eventually Kitami is going to give up his disguise (which has already begun to slip) and face the consequences.

MJ: Hm. Well, so far it sounds like it possibly could benefit from some of that smut its title promised. Well, maybe not for you, but I’m feeling the tediousness of the heart-pounding revelation pretty keenly here. Also, I’m already anticipating the pain of Guy #2. Am I way off-base on that?

MICHELLE: Not even a little. This is about as clear-cut a case of Guy #2 as there could ever be. Kitami might be a jerk, but he’s the one. Here’s a scene in which Yukina describes why Akira’s not suitable for her experiment:

Yukina: Akira is my cousin; he means a lot to me. I could never do to him what I’m doing to you.
Kitami: So you can’t use him, but you can use me?!
Yukina: Of course I can use you!! You’re the one that makes my heart skip a beat!

Of course this is said while clutching the back of his jacket in the way shoujo heroines do.

MJ: Poor Guy #2… sigh.

MICHELLE: Yep.

But now for something completely different! I am really eager to talk about this one, but I’m curious to see how you’d describe it, so you wanna introduce it for us?

MJ: Sure! So, our mutual read this week is volume one of Knights of Sidonia, a new science fiction series from Vertical, created by Tsutomu Nihei, the author of Blame! I’ve never read Blame! nor seen the anime adaptation, but after getting this taste of Nihei’s work, I can’t deny that I now want to.

Nagate has lived his whole life in the “underground” of an enormous space ship, with only his now-deceased grandfather for company. Though it was grandpa’s wish that Nagate never leave their isolated environment, hunger sends Nagate on a quest for rice that ultimately brings him to the attention of the ship’s larger human society. Things have changed drastically since grandpa’s days, with most humans now possessing the ability to photosynthesize for sustenance and some bred from both human and animal species. Humans have also officially developed beyond the gender binary to include people who are neither male nor female and who can reproduce with either (or even just by themselves).

Human evolution aside, however, there is at least one aspect of Nagate’s lifelong isolation that has made him a real asset to his new human community. With little else to occupy him, Nagate logged an enormous number of hours in a battle simulator designed to train humans to operate a type of mecha known as “Garde”—the humans’ only defense against the alien Gauna who wiped out human life on Earth centuries ago. Nagate’s skill earns him the right to pilot Tsugumori, an older Garde with legendary status, much to the dismay of at least one other young trainee. Though piloting mecha and fighting the Gauna are the focus of Knights of Sidonia‘s plot, the story’s real drama so far really comes out of Nagate’s attempts to navigate a new social environment that still holds a lot of mystery for him.

MICHELLE: I am not going to be coy. I pretty much loved Knights of Sidonia with every fiber of my being.

I have read BLAME! (and really liked it), so I can’t help but approach Knights of Sidonia with an eye for comparison. It’s true that BLAME! had many story elements that weren’t fully explained to the reader, but so far, there is less of that with Sidonia. On a few occasions, readers are propelled into scenes without explanation, but Nihei’s very good about filling in the details in a timely fashion. The characters are more accessible—more human, despite whatever evolution they’ve undergone—and the overall tone and look is lighter.

But oh, that look. I’m not the greatest connoisseur of manga art, but there’s just something about Tsutomu Nihei’s style that pushes my buttons in a big way. I LOVE the labyrinthine feel of the place, which reinforces Sidonia’s immensity. Doors, pipes, tubes, stairs, deep dark abysses… I simply cannot get enough. I even love the mecha, and the fact that the chapter title page illustrations constitute a gallery of random spots around the ship is just icing on the cake.

I feel like I should probably comment on Nagate’s attempts to adapt—and don’t get me wrong, I loved all of that, too—but I’m so rarely bowled over by art that I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to wallow in it a bit.

MJ: Wallow away! This manga earns it. I can get right on board with your admiration of Nihei’s artwork, too. It’s detailed and mysterious—much like the story itself. But while there is still a lot of mystery still for readers (as well as for Nagate) at the end of the first volume, that sense of the unknown is far from overwhelming. I’ll admit that I had to read the book twice in order to feel that I really understood it, but I honestly don’t consider that a negative in any way. I’m a fast reader, but it’s not too often that a single volume captures me so easily that I’m really happy to re-read it immediately afterwards, just to catch more of its details.

I’m also really anxious to find out more about some of the series’ mysteries, both in terms of the sci-fi plotline (What are the Gauna? What really happened back on Earth? Why does Nagate seem to possess inhuman skill?) as well as the already-complicated human relationships (What’s Izana’s story? And what’s the deal with Kunato?). I’m very much on the edge of my seat at this point.

MICHELLE: Me, too! And that’s why it delights me to report that this series is at nine volumes in Japan and still ongoing. This is longer than Nihei’s six-volume Biomega (recently released by VIZ and which I now feel an urgent need to finally read) and likely to be longer than BLAME!, which has ten volumes. A story like this needs as much time as possible to really unfurl its layers. Happily, it looks like Vertical has scheduled volume two for April, so maybe we’ll get regular bimonthly releases!

I did want to note… even though mecha stories certainly aren’t new, and even though there were a few scenes (like the assembly wherein the awesome and capable captain informs everyone about the threat) that reminded me of Battlestar Galactica, Knights of Sidonia never once felt derivative to me. I think the details and careful world-building are largely responsible for that.

MJ: Agreed all-around! Knights of Sidonia is a real treat, and I’m anxious for more!

JManga the Week of 2/14

February 8, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

SEAN: The danger of doing a weekly column like this is that you run into weeks where nothing that inspires you is coming out. For the print manga column, that’s somewhat rare, and it’s been more common but still rare for JManga as well.

Next week, we have a 7th volume of PoyoPoyo’s Observation Diary, and the third Tsumanuda Fight Town.

…I got nothing. Look forward to them, fans of those series!

MJ: Yep.

MICHELLE: *nods sagely*