Michelle Smith

Bookshelf Briefs, 10/3/11

October 3, 2011 by Katherine Dacey, David Welsh, MJ, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 10 Comments

This week, Kate, MJ, David, Sean, & Michelle take a look at recent releases from Digital Manga Publishing, Yen Press, Kodansha Comics, Viz Media, and Vertical, Inc.

Acting on Impulse | By Natsue Ogoshi, Original Text by Vicki Lewis | Digital Manga Publishing – Opposites attract in this silly but charming romance about a farm girl from Virtue, KS who falls for a reformed playboy from Manhattan’s Upper West Side. When Trudy takes a job in New York City, her friends Meg and Peter appoint Linc to be her “bodyguard” and romance coach. Trudy wants to become a Sex-in-the-City sophisticate, having wild flings and meeting exotic men, while Linc wants to settle down. Their initial compromise — friends with benefits — proves more difficult than either anticipated, as each begins developing strong feelings for the other. (Didn’t they see When Harry Met Sally?!) I’m not giving away much by revealing that Acting on Impulse ends at the altar, but the story earns points for snappy dialogue and a heroine who’s hell-bent on preserving her independence, even if it means turning down a marriage proposal. -Katherine Dacey

Bakuman, Vol. 7 | By Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata | Viz Media – Things continue to go wrong for our heroes in this volume as their first series is canceled, and this may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Bakuman. Most of this volume focuses on the team’s power struggle with their editor, whose opinion about what direction the boys should pursue with their next series differs drastically from their own. This is one of the most interesting looks into the editorial process we’ve been shown thus far, ultimately coming to a conclusion I did not anticipate. Less interesting are Takagi’s potential girl issues, as he begins a professional but intense telephone relationship with female writer Aoki, but even this has its moments. The undeniable truth about Bakuman, is that it continues to be fascinating regardless of its shortcomings. Honestly, I can’t put it down. Still recommended.– MJ

Bamboo Blade, Vol. 10 | By Masahiro Totsuka and Aguri Igarashi | Yen Press – In the last volume, we spent most of the time on the awesome kendo battles, showing how much our team of determined girls has grown over the course of the series. Now we have to set up the next plot arc, featuring Tama matching up against her new rival. That is, if the opposing side can get the new rival onto the show. This volume may be low on kendo action (though there are some nice bouts in flashback), but it reminds you how funny this series can be when it’s on a roll. Chapter 82 and 85 are simply amazing, with Osaka-style overreaction to everything and a manga-within-a-manga parody that hits all the cliched genre conventions. We’re now about 3/4 through the series, and it’s good to see it can still make me laugh like this.-Sean Gaffney

Bloody Monday, Vol. 1 | By Ryou Ryumon and Kouji Megumi | Kodansha Comics – As a story, there’s nothing really novel about Bloody Monday, but the execution is so solid that I’m not bothered. A high-school computer hacker, Fujimaru Takagi, divides his time between the newspaper club and helping is secret-agent father decode sensitive computer files. Takagi, the senior, ends up on the wrong side of a conspiracy, leaving Fujimaru to try and clear his dad’s name, protect his sickly sister, and defend Japan against a mysterious disaster involving a virus of the organic kind. Ryumon piles on the plot twists but manages to keep things both orderly and suspenseful. Megumi’s art is very much in the crisp, Takeshi Obata vein, which always suits material of this nature. The visual fan service is certainly in evidence, but it’s pretty benign and hardly surprising considering that this is a story created for high-school boys that stars high-school boys. Overall, Bloody Monday is more than solid enough on all fronts to make me want to know what happens next. – David Welsh

Codename: Sailor V, Vol. 1 | By Naoko Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics –The thing I like best about this precursor to Sailor Moon is the fun its heroine has being a “champion of justice.” Lots of contemporary super-girls tend to mope over the necessity for secrecy and the burdensome nature of heroic duty, but Minako Aino seems to be having a ball. And why shouldn’t she? She gets to be glamorous, powerful, and popular, all while saving the day. Takeuchi also manages to tweak a lot of fan-culture mainstays along the way, from teen idols to spin-off merchandise to hunky juvenile delinquents. On the down side, the stories here tend to get a little repetitive, and it would be nice if Takeuchi relied a little less on the fact that Minako is kind of a dingbat to generate comedy. It’s fun to watch Sailor V kick ass and look fabulous doing it, but it would be more satisfying if she seemed to take more genuine pride in her work. – David Welsh

Kekkaishi, Vols. 7-9 (omnibus edition) | By Yellow Tanabe | Viz Media – There’s more classic shonen situations in these three volumes of Kekkaishi. We see the tragic backstory of Gen, whose life before joining the Shadow Organization is shown to be pretty much awful. A nasty villain is shown treating his fellow villainous colleagues as pawns, and sacrificing them just because he’s in a bad mood. A new teacher arrives to beat some sense into our heroes, and she turns out to be a hot dark-skinned girl (shades of Bleach). But it’s a sign of Yellow Tanabe’s craft that these cliches don’t feel worn, and I’m still enjoying the byplay between everyone as more of the plot is uncovered. Yoshimori gets less to do here, but this is made up for with a great sequence involving Tokine, who shows why she iss ruthless and not to be underestimated. A very good series, which I will now sadly have to get single volumes of.-Sean Gaffney

A Liar in Love | By Kiyo Ueda | Published by Digital Manga Publishing – On the surface, A Liar in Love looks like generic BL, featuring as it does a handsome playboy named Hiroki who makes a game out of seducing his brother’s timid and kind coworker, Yasuyuki. Actually, though, it’s pretty great, as Hiroki quickly finds himself out of his depth in this new relationship. It’s often difficult to sympathize with him, as he tends to treat Yasuyuki shabbily when confronted with his own shortcomings, but his journey from an inveterate player clinging to the notion that it’s all just a game to a person who can actually be genuine about his feelings is believable and compelling. Yasuyuki’s no slouch, either, especially when he’s able to stand his ground against Hiroki when the latter is at his most callous. With true-to-life characters in a realistic and difficult situation and lovely, expressive art, A Liar in Love is a gem. Highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Psyren, Vol. 1 | By Toshiaki Iwashiro | Viz Media – Psyren is pretty much equal parts Gantz, The Drifting Classroom, and The Hunger Games, though it lacks the specific urgency of any of those entertainments. A dumb-but-decent, fight-happy boy named Ageha winds up sucked into a game-conspiracy where survival means victory and failure equals death in a dessicated, dystopian landscape. Ageha has a slight edge over his fellow competitors in the form of his desire to protect a classmate, Sakurako, who seems to have been suffering under the game’s random rules for some time. Sakurako, with her combination of ferocity and fragility, is the most interesting thing Psyren has to offer, and the prospect of getting to know her better is the most compelling reason to keep up with the series. Other than that, it’s competent enough as mayhem-survival drama goes. With so much really good survival-mayhem drama at your disposal, Psyren ends up feeling kind of inessential. Recommended for readers who like their body counts high and can withstand a lot of déjà vu. – David Welsh

Twin Spica, Vol. 9 | By Kou Yaginuma | Vertical – This volume of Twin Spica is not necessarily filled with warmth and good cheer, and certainly has many sad and wistful moments, but did not seem quite as melancholy as Volume 8 was. Our cast is now in its third year, and things get tougher as you would expect, but the praise is also coming more easily, even from their hardest instructors. Moreover, even as he’s seen less and less, Mr. Lion’s storyline continues to fascinate me. As Asumi grows older and more confident, and the actual reasons behind the fatal crash begin to slowly be revealed, we see him start to wonder if it’s finally time for him to move on. The fact that this is done with minimal dialogue is another tribute to the craft we see exhibited here. There may be trouble on the horizon for Marika, though, which is a shame as we also see her open up a bit more here. A nice peaceful ride, with lots of scenery. -Sean Gaffney

Let’s Get Visual: Celebrating the Pretty

October 2, 2011 by Michelle Smith

MICHELLE: The long-awaited return of Sailor Moon has inspired us to devote this month’s column to classic shoujo art, focusing on a celebration of its sheer prettiness. Normally, we try to be astute in these columns—their whole purpose is to provide experience in seriously considering the artistic merits of manga—but it’s possible that this time we’ll be reduced to just sighing happily.

MJ: Yes, it’s quite possible indeed. But honestly, I think that’s valuable in its own way, and maybe we’ll end up learning a little something about why these things make us sigh happily.

MICHELLE: Perhaps so!

So, for my contribution I’ve chosen two memorable moments from the first volume of Naoko Takeuchi’s Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. The first one comes from a chapter in which the protagonist, Usagi Tsukino, has infiltrated a masquerade ball in an effort to determine whether the Legendary Silver Crystal might be found there. Possible foe/possible ally Tuxedo Mask is also on the crystal’s trail, but pauses to give Usagi a twirl on the dance floor.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Volume 1, Chapter 4, Pages 142-143 (Kodansha Comics)

Takeuchi’s art perfectly captures the sheer dreaminess of this encounter for Usagi. In the top panel, the lacy screentone mimics the flare of her skirts, and the way that the smaller panels are framed focuses attention on facial expressions and reinforces the feeling that no one and nothing is capable of intruding upon this perfect moment for them.

And, of course, her dress is purty.

MJ: This sequence truly is dreamy. What particularly pulls me in here is the screentone. Its texture brings a 3D quality into this 2D world, as though the moment was preserved and wrapped up in an elaborate scrapbook that I could reach out and touch—as though it was someone’s real memories of the moment. Even just looking at something that has such a familiar texture stimulates my sense of touch, bringing me more fully into the scene. I think this kind of tangible decoration not only lends a fairy-tale dreaminess to the scene, but also makes it feel more personal for the reader.

MICHELLE: Ooh, you’re right, it does feel like a page from a scrapbook! In that sense, the screentone almost seems like it represents a snippet of the actual material of Usagi’s dress.

In addition, Usagi has used her transformation gadget for this chapter and is supposed to appear a little older than usual. I think her expression on the lower left page captures that subtle distinction nicely.

MJ: I’ll note too, that while this particular brand of big-eyed shoujo tends to get a lot of flack outside shoujo fandom, that it’s Usagi’s big, shining eyes that really let us know how she feels here, and just how dreamy this moment really is for her (and subsequently for us).

MICHELLE: You know, I think I’ve become inured to the big-eyed thing, except with extreme cases, because I don’t even notice it anymore. It just seems like such an obvious way to convey youth and wonder.

My second “memorable moment” is an example of a Sailor Moon action sequence.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Volume 1, Chapter 5, Pages 188-189 (Kodansha Comics)

In its way, this selection is just as pretty as the other one. Luna tosses Makoto her transformation pen, which glows in an appealingly magical girl fashion, transforming the girl—who is somewhat insecure about her physique—into Sailor Jupiter, someone both beautiful and powerful. Meanwhile, the enemy lurks on a nearby rooftop, and I’m impressed how this single panel so effectively establishes setting and atmosphere when one doesn’t have the preceding pages to furnish that information. Makoto’s first attack is simultaneously feminine and effective, giving her the opportunity to vanquish the enemy with her thunder bolt on the next page.

Looking back at some of the adjectives used in the paragraph above, I find that they aptly convey what it is I like about this moment: beauty and power, femininity and effectiveness. Sailor Moon shows that these things need not be mutually exclusive.

MJ: Those are great adjectives, Michelle, and actually this brings up a point I’ve been wanting to make since I listened to the podcast you participated in about Sailor Moon.

When male manga fans are trying to explain why something written for girls might be appealing to them as well, they will often attribute this to what they perceive as male or “shounen” elements in the story, like team-building or action sequences. And while I appreciate their enthusiasm for the work, I’m a bit perplexed as to why these would be considered exclusively “shounen” to begin with. Sure, certain genres of shoujo manga might share these things in common with certain genres of shounen manga, but I honestly don’t see what’s not inherently shoujo about them. Girls enjoy things like action, adventure, teamwork, and battling evil just as much as anyone, and there’s nothing odd or incongruous about these elements standing alongside things like beauty and femininity. These things naturally coexist in the minds of many girls, and when they’re all put together, they are not only exciting and inspiring, but really freaking pretty.

MICHELLE: You’re right, and though I agreed with them that there were some “shounen” elements to Sailor Moon, I didn’t mean to imply that they’re not just as easily shoujo elements, but simply story aspects that are more common to shounen manga. If that makes sense.

MJ: I guess what I’m saying is, though maybe there are more shounen action series than there are shoujo action series, it’s not as if it’s uncommon in shoujo. The entire magical girl genre pretty much exists in that realm, and those series share as much or more in common with fantasy, adventure, or sci-fi shoujo like Basara, X/1999, or They Were Eleven as they do with shounen manga—all of it very shoujo and very pretty.

I don’t mean to derail this discussion with my shoujo manifesto, though, so please forgive me. I’m just happily overwhelmed by the sparkly loveliness of this action sequence.

MICHELLE: No worries; I agree with you. But perhaps we should move on. What pretty shoujo have you chosen?

MJ: Well, it may seem like an odd choice, given the vast pool of classic pretty to choose from, but I’ve chosen an 8-page scene from volume three of Reiko Shimizu’s Moon Child, and there are a number of reasons why.

Moon Child, Volume 3, Pages 146-153 (CMX)

First, of course, there is quite a bit of objectively lovely imagery in the later panels of the scene, including rippling water, a flowing seascape, and a billowy-haired mermaid, all rendered with a perfect balance of simplicity and detail. I’m particularly fond of Shimizu’s style of character design as well, which is very much in step with most of the ’80s and early ’90s manga I’ve read. For whatever reason, this is probably my very favorite period for shoujo character design.

Most of all, though, there is an eerie, vaguely melancholy tone throughout the entire scene, particularly the first two pages, which I will admit are my favorite. I even consider them the prettiest of the whole sequence, though they have none of the flowing seascape that decorates the rest of the scene. They are, however, beautifully strange, and a perfect example of what I personally find prettiest in shoujo manga. This may seem like an odd thing to say, but I find the strangeness—this particular brand of strangeness—to be really, really beautiful. When I look at the first two pages of this sequence, I can feel the smooth surface of the water as the character brings his face near, touching the ends of his hair and the tips of his nose and chin. That smooth pool of water and the way he just falls slowly into it—it’s difficult for me to articulate exactly why I find it beautiful, but I really do.

Yes, I love these character designs, and the pretty page layouts, but sometimes what I find most beautiful about older shoujo manga is its strangeness. It brings to mind a dreamworld, I guess—one that looks like our world but somehow just isn’t in a way that engages the most obscure, most beloved corners of my imagination. These stories make themselves part of my private world, and I find them beautiful for it. If that makes any sense at all.

MICHELLE: It absolutely makes sense. And for what it’s worth, I studied the pages before I read your commentary and also felt that the exquisitely slow descent into the fountain was the loveliest part. I like, too, how Teruto slips into the fountain with such grace and barely a ripple and how this is contrasted off-panel by the little girl who has observed what happened. The inability of an everyday person to access the same magic only reinforces its strangeness.

MJ: Yes, exactly! It seems so clear that he exists in a different state of being from the regular people around him, which is part of what makes it feel so dreamlike, I think. There is a lot of that kind of thing in this series, which is really, exquisitely strange. I think the dreamlike tone makes it easier to suspend disbelief as well.

MICHELLE: From the examples we’ve both chosen, it seems that, to some extent, it’s the dreaminess of pretty scenes that is at least partly responsible for the happy sighing. Of course, we realize that real life is seldom so lovely, but it’s nice to abandon oneself for a while in a reality where that sort of thing really can happen.

MJ: I think where I often find solace in shoujo manga, is that it offers exactly what you describe—a reality that contains the stuff of dreams—but held together by real human feeling, such that even the wildest tale can often shine much-needed light on our real-life emotional turmoil. At the heart of all this strange, sparkly fantasy, there is a solid base of real emotional truth, which is sometimes easier to face when it’s presented in a pretty, dreamlike package.

MICHELLE: Well put! I think that’s one of the major strengths of genre fiction in general, actually, no matter the media.

MJ: Agreed! Of course, nothing does “pretty” quite like classic shoujo.

MICHELLE: Indeed not. That’s just icing on the cake!

Off the Shelf: NETCOMICS Lives!

September 28, 2011 by MJ and Michelle Smith 17 Comments

MICHELLE: Hey, MJ! What’s the best way to carve wood?

MJ: I don’t know, MIchelle. What is the best way to carve wood?

MICHELLE: Whittle by whittle!

MJ: Oooooo that one was a little painful.

MICHELLE: Sorry! I can’t help it; I love dumb jokes.

Okay, so. We should probably explain how this column is going to be a little different than most.

MJ: Yes, I suppose we should. Was it your idea? I think it might have been your idea.

MICHELLE: I can’t remember. Anyway… Before there were VIZManga.com, eManga, or JManga, there was NETCOMICS. Back when MJand I both wrote for Manga Recon, we got introduced to their site—where chapters of various series (mostly manhwa and BL) are available online for 25 cents each—and found some truly great titles just waiting to be discovered. The site remained a regular destination of mine, and I was concerned when no new releases were posted for about six months earlier this year.

Happily, NETCOMICS is now back with a vengeance and is currently actively releasing chapters from four series: Full House, Small-Minded Schoolgirls, So I Married an Anti-Fan, and Core Scramble. And it just so happened that three of those achieved a full volume’s worth of material within the past week or so, making them candidates for consideration in this week’s Off the Shelf!

MJ: Since Michelle and I are both such big fans of NETCOMICS manhwa, we decided to do mutual reads of all three of these new volumes, so while we usually each bring our own books to the table, this week, we’ve both read all of them!

MICHELLE: Indeed! So, where should we start? Perhaps with So I Married an Anti-Fan?

MJ: Excellent choice!

So I Married an Anti-Fan comes to us from the manhwa-ga Wann, author of 100% Perfect Girl, a series I liked…. really not at all. While trashy romance is certainly fine in my book, controlling love interests are not, and 100% Perfect Girl‘s Jarte was too awful for me to find romantic in the slightest. Fortunately, though I Married an Anti-Fan offers up a typically cold, arrogant male lead, our heroine is more than a match for him.

There’s a lot of plot in this first volume, but here’s the basic premise: Reporter Geunyoung Lee is drinking at a club, where she witnesses a popular male idol brutally rejecting a girl. In her stupor, she snaps a photo with her camera, but the idol, Joon Hoo, catches up to her as she flees the scene, and deletes the photo from her phone himself, at which point Geunyoung vomits on his shoes.

Thanks to the power of Joon’s agency, the incident costs Geunyoung her job and, ultimately, her apartment, which she can’t afford to keep. Enraged, she embarks on a fierce anti-fan campaign in an attempt to discredit Joon, which, through a series of wacky circumstances (in true K-drama form), results in her being chosen to basically live and work with Joon on a “reality” show called, “So I Married an Anti-Fan.”

MICHELLE: Though I never read 100% Perfect Girl myself, I definitely remembered your aversion to it, so was quite pleasantly surprised to find myself kind of loving this first volume. Part of what sold me were the modern touches—I loved seeing Geunyoung’s brawl with some Joon fangirls on YouTube, loved the sequence where she starts a blog and is immediately inundated with negative comments, and loved the whole reality series idea. How can it be that this hasn’t been the plot of a manhwa or manga before?! It’s so rife for cracktastic goodness!

I also liked that while Geunyoung is definitely fierce and a match for Joon, neither of them is exactly the archetype they may seem to be. Geunyoung, for example, is not always shrill and abrasive, but is honestly searching for what she wants to do with her life and mostly upset by the fact that she lost her job. Even though she didn’t love being a reporter, the writing was important to her. And Joon is not the arrogant celebrity, but honestly regrets what he did to Geunyoung—he had no idea she wasn’t really some ruthless paparazzi out for scandal—and finds peace in her presence because, since her opinion of him is already as low as it could get, he doesn’t have to worry about maintaining an idealistic image.

The reality show itself hasn’t started as of the first volume, but I find I am really looking forward to it! In fact, I’m tempted to read the two chapters of volume two that are now available, but figure the story will be best enjoyed in full-volume chunks.

MJ: I mentioned earlier that the plot here is in true K-drama form, and really, it reads just like a TV drama to me, which isn’t an insult in the slightest. This volume is well-paced and compelling, with a strong dose of my favorite flavor of grown-up girls’ manhwa humor. The romance is predictable, of course, but the upside of this is that I know I’m going to enjoy watching it play out. It’s a great fit for fans of something like You’re Beautiful, and actually less far-fetched. Definitely a check in the “win” column for NETCOMICS.

MICHELLE: I have yet to actually make it past the first episode of any K-drama, but if they’re like this perhaps I will have to make more of an effort. It also makes me think I should give another Wann series a chance. Perhaps not 100% Perfect Girl, but maybe Can’t Lose You, which is also available on the NETCOMICS site.

MJ: So, what’s next? Core Scramble?

MICHELLE: Sure! So, this is a boys’ love story that is actually pretty light on the romance so far. Our protagonist, Chaeun Shin, wields his magical powers in service of an organization called Clarus Orbis, which is tasked with doing away with “halls” (essentially interdimensional portals) and the “bugs” that come through them. Chaeun is devoted to his commander, Gayoon, even though Gayoon is a cold-hearted jerk who casually abandons his team mid-battle to go hang out with his girlfriend. And Chaeun’s never really tempted to leave Gayoon’s team, either, even though he’s presented with a perfectly viable alternative. Meanwhile, another group of magic users is interfering with the C.O. guys, but I never really understood what it is they’re after. In any case, their leader, Moonhoo, likes to feel Chaeun up whenever he’s presented with the opportunity.

MJ: That is a more coherent summary than I could possibly have mustered. I salute you, Michelle! That’s pretty much the story, or at least as much as we understand at this point.

Let’s face it: Core Scramble is a mess. It’s an attractive mess that has definitely caught my attention, but really, it’s a complete and utter mess. To be fair, I’m not sure this is all the author’s fault. The adaptation is sloppily executed, with some text clearly ending up in the wrong places here and there, making the story’s heavy exposition even more confusing than it has to be. Also, some of the BL elements feel a bit tacked on, as though the author was feeling pressure to get them in earlier than was natural, so that fans of the genre wouldn’t wander away before the story really got going.

There’s a lot I really want to love here. The BL market, at least here in the US, offers very little outside the standard romance genre, so I was pretty thrilled to see that Core Scramble is an all-out sci-fi/fantasy, with more plot packed into one volume than most BL series manage in their entire run. The protagonist, Chaeun, is very relatable, even when he’s inexplicably sticking by his complete ass of a boss. There’s too much going on for the volume to really gel, though, and it’s hard to say whether this will improve going forward.

What was your impression, Michelle?

MICHELLE: Much the same, I’m afraid. It seems to me that in trying to be both sci-fi and BL right out of the gate, it succeeds at neither. I really hate the “Hello, I’m Moonhoo and I’ll be your gropy seme for this book” introduction of that character, and when he randomly kisses Chaeun on their first meeting (under the guise of administering a drink or water or something) I was about ready to quit reading. And though I find Chaeun’s inexplicable loyalty to Gayoon kind of interesting, and think the C.O. organization has some potential, it’s just not defined well enough yet.

I will say, though, that I really enjoyed the kickass female soldier, Chief Song. Here’s a screenshot of her in action:

After recent internet talk this week about the so-called “sexually liberated” women of DC Comics, I thought, “Well, here’s a lady who looks simultaneously sexy and powerful. And though her clothes may be a bit skimpy, they’re really not that revealing. Her body is proportionate, and she looks absolutely confident and fearless. If you want to draw a scantily clad woman in your comic without offending female readers, this is the way to do it.

MJ: That’s a great point, Michelle! I’m completely with you on Chief Song.

And maybe this comic will recover from its early chaos, I don’t know. The introduction of Moonhoo you mention is exactly what I was thinking of when I said some of the BL felt tacked on. It’s obnoxious and doesn’t fit in with the story otherwise. On the other hand, their encounter in the last chapter of this volume was honestly intriguing and pretty sexy. If only that’s where the overt BL had started, I think it could have really worked. All the stuff earlier in the book just felt really off.

MICHELLE: I didn’t find the kiss itself at the end at all intriguing, but I like that Moonhoo is kind of amused by Chaeun’s attempts to protect him from harm (since Chaeun doesn’t know Moonhoo is affiliated with the other magic users) and I like that Chaeun interpreted the sudden smooch as a means to shock him out of his freakout mode over yet another desertion by Gayoon. It’s extra, surprising layers like that that will bring me back for volume two.

MJ: I think what I liked about it, is that in that moment, they both really just seemed like real people, enjoying a real attraction (even if their understanding of the moment doesn’t necessarily match), which is so much the opposite of the earlier groping scenes, which felt completely contrived. And yeah, despite my complaints, I’ll be back for volume two as well.

So… Full House… *happy sigh*.

MICHELLE: I have to admit I was finally and fully won over by volume five. I enjoyed it very much. It’s also worthy of note that, although Full House was previously published in English by CPM, they only got as far as volume four, so this is all-new material for us!

MJ: I am so pleased to hear that you’ve been won over! Now, I’ve discussed Full House at length before, but only the first two volumes. I hadn’t ever made it into volume three, so this was a big catch-up for me. And now having read the third and fourth volumes, I can understand better some of your complaints, as the screwball comedy bickering started to become a bit too much.

That said, volume five offers some pretty serious payoff, as Ryder’s (mistaken) anticipation of his own doom leads him to become in real life the sort of romantic hero he usually plays in films. He gives the house back to Ellie, and then when she is kidnapped, rushes in like a madman to save her. This could have been disastrous, but Sooyeon Won pulls it off so well, it really just swept me away. Ryder’s character shift feels completely real, and more importantly, Won is careful not to strip Ellie of her agency just to give Ryder his moment. Watching the two of them escape on the power of pure nerve was one of the most satisfying things I’ve seen in a while.

MICHELLE: Ryder’s shift does feel real, but I think Ellie’s does, too, since when he gives the house back to her with a minimum of fuss, she suddenly regrets having made his life so miserable up until that point. She starts to realize that, even though she’ll have the house, she may actually be losing something important. And, of course, I love that in the moment she most needs him, he is suddenly there, and reliable, and just thinking about that whole escape sequence is giving me a mild case of geekbumps because damn, they make a good team. I am really curious to see where Sooyeon Won will take the story from here.

MJ: I think I’ve always given Ellie the benefit of the doubt, mainly because I just like her, but yes, I agree that she does experience a shift here, too. And oh that moment, Michelle… I have never been a big fan of a man swooping in to save the woman, but when Ellie’s stuck, desperate and terrified, having exhausted all the options she can think of to escape her captors, and he’s just there… I admit I may have swooned.

MICHELLE: Oh, and then there’s this exchange:

Bad Guy: This rude, brash, crazy woman who doesn’t know what’s good for her. Not to mention she’s a plain-looking Asian who doesn’t stand out at all!

Ryder: You’re right!

Bad Guy: You don’t mean to say you love this girl, huh?

Ellie: What are you asking that for?

Ryder: … Probably.

I might’ve squeed (though, of course, Ryder’s comment is downplayed later). This reminds me, too, that the kidnapper’s identity completely surprised me and yet totally made sense in the context of the story. So, that made me enjoy it more than if it had just been some completely random kidnapping thrown in to manufacture some drama.

MJ: I most certainly squeed at that point. And, yes! The kidnapping made so much sense, it’s almost as if the author planned it from the beginning. If only more romantic comics really felt that way!

MICHELLE: And I don’t really want to spoil why Ryder is mistakenly anticipating his doom, but all of that makes a certain kind of sense, too. I’ve gone from being unable to comprehend there being sixteen volumes of this series (plus a sequel) to wanting all of that story to materialize right now. Happily, NETCOMICS already has the first chapter of volume six on their schedule for… today, actually, though it’s not up yet.

MJ: I expect I’ll be digging into that next chapter as soon as it’s available.

Thank you, NETCOMICS, for coming back to life. We missed you. Truly.

MICHELLE: Indeed. In just a few days, their update schedule for October will be revealed, and I hope it will be as packed as September. Of course, I’d also like to see some other series get updates (especially The Adventures of Young Det) but I am happy with the current lot, as well. And when the third volume of Small-Minded Schoolgirls is completed in a few weeks, I plan to talk about it in this space as well.

MJ: When I first realized that NETCOMICS had re-emerged, I felt some regret over having re-assimilated Manhwa Bookshelf. I hope they continue to make me regret that for a long time to come.

PotW: Insects, Dogs, & Other Stories

September 26, 2011 by MJ, David Welsh, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and Katherine Dacey 8 Comments

It’s a quiet week at Midtown Comics, but the battle robot’s choices are clear!

MJ: We’ve hit a slow week again at Midtown Comics, but there’s at least one standout in the mix. This week, we’ll see the release of Osamu Tezuka’s Book of Human Insects, which was announced in Vertical’s panel at last year’s New York Comic Con. There’s no way I’d be willing to miss this, though it’s an interesting pick for me. I have a feeling it’ll be one of those books that blows me away with its artistry while simultaneously killing me with its outlook on humanity. A bleak Tezuka can be hard on us optimistic types, but it’s impossible to reject his genius, and I’d be a fool to try. This is absolutely my must-buy manga for the week.

DAVID: I should try and spread the wealth, but I just have to second MJ’s choice. This is my very favorite kind of Tezuka: crazy plotting and intense social commentary, with some indelible characters. I found Ayako disappointing, but Book of Human Insects is right up my alley.

KATE: Since David and MJhave taken up the cause of Human Insects, I’m going to plug Stargazing Dog. I don’t know if Takahashi Murakami was inspired by Vittorio DeSica’s Umberto D., but like that 1951 film, Stargazing Dog features a down-on-his-luck man whose only companion is his dog. Yes, I know, that sounds horribly mawkish, but Murakami manages to tug on the heartstrings without being sentimental. More impressive still, he pulls off that feat while allowing us to be privy to the dog’s thoughts, something DeSica didn’t have the stones to try. Highly recommended for dog-fanciers, though be warned: have tissues handy, as you will need them.

MICHELLE: Aw man, I was going to pick Stargazing Dog! I guess I will just have to second what Kate says here, and note that despite the fact that I am a bona fide cat lover, I am totally weak against endearing canines in fictional form. One interesting thing to note is that at the same time that Stargazing Dog is coming out in print, courtesy of NBM Publishing (who’ve also released some quality manhwa), it’s also available on JManga.com as Star Protector Dog.

SEAN: If I had to rely on Midtown’s lists for my PotW, I’d never mention Kodansha at all. And I already mentioned Sailor Moon and Sailor V two weeks ago. So I will once again go to the Negima well. Last volume was rather depressing, with all sorts of horrible things happening to our heroes. Naturally, that means that this volume is the one where our heroes step up and start kicking ass. I feel I should note that Volume 31 features my favorite scene in all of Negima to date. A scene so awesome that the entire cast comments later on about how awesome it was. And yes, there will be more fanservicey nudity here too. It’s Negima, that’s how it rolls.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 9/26/11

September 26, 2011 by MJ, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 6 Comments

This week, MJ, Sean, & Michelle look at recent releases from Yen Press, Kodansha Comics, Digital Manga Publishing, and Viz Media.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 26 | By Hiromu Arakawa | Viz Media – One of the greatest strengths mangaka Hiromu Arakawa has displayed over the course of her long-running series Fullmetal Alchemist is the ability to tell a single, clear, focused story in 20+ volumes containing a multitude of related subplots and supporting characters, quite a number of whom are more fully fleshed out than some series’ protagonists. The payoff for this kind of discipline, of course, is that when such a substantial, well-plotted story finally reaches its climax, it’s got the power of 20+ volumes and a multitude of beloved characters behind it. In other words, it’s a doozy. As one finishes the penultimate volume of a series like this one, it’s difficult to muster any response more professional than a bit of unintelligible muttering and some unabashed squee, and frankly, I’m not in any condition to try. Fullmetal Alchemist: It’s freaking awesome. Gimme the final volume NOW. *mutter mutter* – MJ

Goong, Vol. 12 | By Park SoHee | Yen Press – Sloppy melodrama and deadly cliché have given the so-called “soap opera” a bad name, even within the credibility-starved romance genre. Label a story “romance,” and you’ve narrowed its audience to mostly women. Label it “soap opera” (or serial romance) and half of them won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. To be honest, I’ve been one of these soap-shunning women at various times in my life. Fortunately for me, there are comics like Goong around to remind me that ignoring any genre is just plain foolish. This series’ romance has been an especially slow burn, full of agony and missed chances on both sides. While volume eleven seemed to offer a substantial payoff for our pain, it’s got nothing on volume twelve. Now, that’s my kind of soap opera. Luke and Laura, eat your hearts out.– MJ

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 6 | By Kiiro Yumi, based on the novel by Hiro Arikawa | Viz Media- I’d been waiting for a volume to focus on Iku’s cool and collected friend Shibazaki, and this one totally delivers for me, as she gets several chapters as a focus. We get to see how she came to form the ‘mask’ that she hides behind most of the time, her ways of dealing with romance, and her one weakness – Iku, or rather a guy who reminds her far too much of Iku. Given this is not going to be a yuri series, and Iku is clearly meant for Dojo, I was amused that it was so obviously implied that Shibazaki is going out with this guy because his simple straightforwardness reminds her of Iku. Plus we get to see Iku defending Shibazaki while her face and eye are all bandaged up, which is hilarious. Other than that, there’s not as much plot advancement here, except at the very end, after a seemingly unrelated chapter, where we meet Tezuka’s big brother… who may be the series’ new big bad. It’s a bit of a slight volume, but there’s plenty of meaty character development for fans here.– Sean Gaffney

My Girlfriend’s a Geek, Vol. 4 | By Rize Shinba, based on the novel by Pentabu | Yen Press – At last. Four volumes in, and I finally get what I was waiting for from this couple, which is proof that they are a couple, rather than just a BL girl and her boytoy. Taiga is still behaving suspiciously, and we see Yuiko genuinely troubled about it. And later on, they have a big fight, as Taiga blasts off on her for being an otaku freak while he’s trying to study, and Yuiko accusing him of cheating on her. Of course, naturally if ether of them had actually talked with each other, this could all have been avoided. And when they do talk, it’s pitch-perfect – no Sebastians at all (which Taiga notes), and he admits to himself that Yuiko yanking him around is part of why he enjoys things. This is not to say there is not the usual yaoi fangirl hijinks here – the epilogue to the fight has some amazing deadpan from Kouji, and the first chapter with Taiga watching over a sick Yuiko is a pun-filled treat. But mostly, this volume is payoff for those of us who wanted to see them grow as an actual romantic pairing. And good timing, next volume is the final one.– Sean Gaffney

Shugo Chara!, Vol. 12 | By Peach-Pit | Published by Kodansha Comics – This final volume provides an abundance of closure, starting with three stories featuring supporting characters. While Peach-Pit stops short of overtly pairing these characters off in grand shoujo style—they are still preteens, after all—they’re obviously suggesting that they will wind up together one day. Whatever. It’s happy, fluffy shoujo. Just go with it. I don’t really care at all about the wedding that happens in the final chapter, but it provides the setting for the final three dangling plot threads to be sewn up, so I can’t complain too much. I will say that it feels really strange for Amu, the main character, to be absent for so much of the final volume, but I suppose there really wasn’t much left for her to do. I’ve definitely enjoyed reading Shugo Chara! and anticipate the November release of Shugo Chara Chan! with equal parts enthusiasm and trepidation. – Michelle Smith

This Night’s Everything | By Akira Minazuki | Published by Digital Manga Publishing – I’ve got a penchant for BL with an actual plot, and darkly stylish This Night’s Everything delivers on that front. Aoi, a cold-eyed young man equipped with a sword that’s sharp but unused, joins the ranks of an organization serving as the “bodyguard squad” for a man known as “the professor” and is partnered up with a jaded assassin named Nanao. Nanao quickly realizes that Aoi doesn’t quite belong, but it takes three years before he’s realized the truth about his partner’s background. I liked this moody one-shot, but have to wonder how much story is really here when all of the style and atmosphere is stripped away. Too, the romantic relationship that eventually develops between the leads seems so doomed and joyless that it left me depressed for hours afterwards. Recommended, but have a proven mood-lifter nearby. – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 6 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media- Every Jump series has one of these volumes, and now it’s Toriko’s turn; the entire volume is devoted to fight after fight after fight, as the heroes try to get closer to the Jewel Meat while battling the various GT Robots sent to stop them. Highlights include Coco’s Edvard Munch pose, Sunny’s battle with the GT Robot equivalent of a Luna Lovegood (sort of), and Toriko evolving thanks to the Jewel Meat and his “Gourmet Cells”. The plot here is still completely ludicrous, but that’s hardly unusual in the world of Shonen Jump. Likewise, we get an apparent character death here, but given the ‘Next Volume’ preview talks about a celebration after the battle, rather than a funeral, I’m going to bet that Rin is Not Quite Dead. You won’t be analyzing this manga for deep hidden meanings, but as far as watching awesome people hitting each other awesomely, well, it’s a good way to pass the time.– Sean Gaffney

Warning! Whispers of Love | By Puku Okuyama | Published by Digital Manga Publishing – One of the first notes I made about this quirky BL short story collection (rated 16+) as I was reading it was “weird but kind of cute,” which turns out to be a good description for the entire volume. The title story is a lighthearted look at fetishes—one boy is unabashedly obsessed with cleaning the ears of the other—and it’s pretty fun, but I actually preferred the other three stories, each of which comes with a two-page epilogue. One’s about a lonely guy and his cheerful new roommate, the next is about a pair of childhood friends, and the third is about a couple who is denied moments of closeness by the most adorable, show-stealing dog on the planet. I think he’s worth the price of admission all by himself, honestly. – Michelle Smith

Some Sailor Moon Links!

September 25, 2011 by Michelle Smith

First, a plug…

Shortly after my reviews of Codename: Sailor V and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon were published, I was invited by Scott Spaziani of Otaku in Review to participate in a podcast about the series. And here is the result! It was my first time ever on a podcast, and nerves made me babble a bit, but all in all it turned out pretty well. (My bit starts around 32:30.)

Next, some art!

Sailor MMM is a site where members can submit fanart inspired by the series. Some of the submissions are quite stunning, like this one of Sailors Saturn and Pluto. The shoes and weapons, in particular, capture Takeuchi’s style very well.

Lastly, some silliness!

Ask a Pretty Soldier is a Tumblr where readers can submit questions for Sailor Moon characters and possibly receive an answer in illustrated form. The results are usually pretty amusing.

Enjoy!

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

September 21, 2011 by Michelle Smith

From the back cover:
John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it. He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.

He’s obsessed with serial killers but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.

Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don’t demand or expect the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there’s something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat—and to appreciate what that difference means.

Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

Review:
It’s hard to resist a book with a title like I Am Not a Serial Killer, at least for me, and when I picked this up I figured I was in for something akin to “Dexter: The Early Years.” But that was before Wells pulled a genre switcheroo.

Fifteen-year-old John Wayne Cleaver is a markedly self-aware sociopath, in that he is fully cognizant of his lack of empathy and bizzare compulsions and narrates about them in an articulate manner that I wouldn’t be surprised to learn is uncommon in others of his kind. He’s seeing a therapist and trying to keep “the monster” at bay by following a series of strict, self-imposed rules (a what-to-avoid list gleaned from intensive serial killer research) designed to keep him from going down a dangerous path. When mutilated bodies start showing up in his small town, John is excited and fascinated, but the more he learns about the crimes and the fact that the killer never intends to stop, the more he comes to realize that he may be the only person who can prevent the deaths of more innocents by letting “the monster” out to kill the perpetrator.

Soon it becomes clear that John is dealing with something supernatural. Ordinarily, it would bug me when a “real world” mystery suddenly veers into the supernatural for its resolution, but it actually kind of works for me here. John is such a broken person that he can’t understand why the culprit is doing certain things, and eventually realizes that even a demon is more capable of genuine human emotion than he is. This ties in some with the depiction of John’s family life—an absentee father who never follows through with promises and a mother who loves with desperate urgency to try to make up for her ex-husband’s shortcomings—since one of the most important moments of the book occurs when John is finally able to achieve a bit of real understanding with his mom instead of just faking it.

I guess the book is somewhat gross. None of the descriptions of the crimes bothered me, but the mortuary scenes—John’s mom and aunt run a funeral home and allow him to assist sometimes—are clinical and grim. They made me think of my late grandmother and made me want to call my parents. That said, I appreciate how familiarity with the mortuary layout and equipment pays off later in the story.

Ultimately, I Am Not a Serial Killer is pretty interesting. Though I’m not sure I buy the extent of John’s self-knowledge, he’s still an intriguing protagonist, and I thought Wells did a decent job of making him simultaneously sympathetic and abnormal. When I picked up the book I didn’t realize it was the first of a trilogy, but it was a pleasant surprise. Look for a review of book two, Mr. Monster, in the near future.

Winter by John Marsden

September 19, 2011 by Michelle Smith

From the back cover:
For twelve years, Winter has been haunted. Her memories will not leave her alone. There are secrets she does not remember—but needs to know.

The time has come for her to go back home.

Every journey starts with a single step. But sometimes if you want to step into the future, you must first step into the past…

Review:
After reading Checkers, So Much to Tell You, and Take My Word for It, I realized that John Marsden has a certain… preferred pattern. In each case, something profoundly traumatic has happened to the (Australian) teenaged heroine and the slim book consists of her first-person narrative as she attempts to work past whatever it was, while gradually divulging enough tidbits to enable readers to figure out what happened. In many ways, Winter is very similar, though in this case, the titular heroine begins the book as in the dark as anyone else.

It’s been twelve years since sixteen-year-old Winter De Salis has set foot on the family estate of Warriewood. Both of her parents died when she was four, but she wasn’t told much about them by the relatives with whom she spent the intervening years. Now old enough to leave school and return home, that’s exactly what determined Winter does, and makes short work of dispatching the dishonest caretakers of her property while questioning anyone who might provide some useful information concerning her parents’ deaths. After making friends with a girl around her age, enjoying a bit of romance, and uncovering the family secret, she is eventually able to face her future without obsessing over the past.

Despite the structural similarities to other Marsden books, Winter doesn’t much feel like them. Its setting is more rural, for one thing, so there are sections like the one describing the cathartic process (for Winter) of removing unwanted blackberries from the property, or the depiction of her first attempt to take care of the cattle by herself. Winter is a unique protagonist, and I love how Marsden shows her capacity for being difficult—when you’re underage and you want something strongly, sometimes the only weapon in your arsenal is being stubborn—while simultaneously showing that she really is a good kid. She’s grateful for kindness and not so wounded that she can’t make new friends, and posits at one point that perhaps the early death of her famously strong mother is what has enabled her to become so strong herself. It’s a pretty devastating truth that she learns, but it’s believable that she is able to move on from it and not dwell too long on questions that will never have answers.

My only minor quibble is that the romance feels somewhat superfluous; granted, it plays an important role in demonstrating Winter’s progression from someone fixated on the past to someone anticipating the future, but I would’ve liked the boy (Matt Kennedy) to be a more well-rounded character. I’d almost wish for a sequel—perhaps a story set twenty years later with Winter and Matt as parents to a new protagonist—but I suppose that would require something traumatic to happen to their offspring, and we wouldn’t want that!

Pick of the Week: FMA, Zoo in Winter, Arata

September 19, 2011 by Sean Gaffney, MJ, David Welsh, Katherine Dacey and Michelle Smith 5 Comments

The choices are meaty this week at Midtown Comics, and choosing just one has given most of us a bit of heartache. See what we settled on below!

SEAN: As I noted in my shipping post earlier in the week, Fullmetal Alchemist is up to its penultimate volume. And you know what that means. That means the apocalypse is upon us. I had missed this series for quite some time because of a plot point early on that frankly creeped me out so much that I never wanted to go near the thing again (you can probably guess which one), but I have caught up, and am glad I did. With lots of awesome moments (both for men and women alike – FMA has some of the most badass heroines in manga) and a plot that rarely gets sidetracked, we should be headed up to one hell of a finale. If everyone can survive this book, that is.

MJ: I’m really torn this week, because though I feel it’s urgent that someone choose the fourth volume of Natsume Ono’s House of Five Leaves, if I really could buy only one volume of manga this week, it would have to be Fullmetal Alchemist. One of this series’ biggest draws for me is the fact that Hiromu Arakawa has really never strayed from her heroes’ primary objective, which means that we’re truly reaching the climax of the entire series. And with so much work and planning put toward building this up, you better believe it’s a doozy. I decided a long while ago that I was in this series for the long haul, and I’ve never regretted it. There’s no way I’d give it up now, even for the likes of Ono. Thankfully, in the real world, I don’t actually have to choose.

DAVID: It is hard to pass up on either Fullmetal or Five Leaves, but I can never seem to resist throwing my support to boutique publisher Fanfare/Ponent Mon and its mainstay manga-ka, Jiro Taniguchi. Now, I unexpectedly find myself liking Taniguchi’s manly-man meditations, books like The Quest for the Missing Girl, just a little bit more than his more subdued pieces like A Distant Neighborhood. In my perfect world, we’d be getting a new volume of The Summit of the Gods before the debut of A Zoo in Winter, which is basically a portrait of the artist as a young assistant. That’s just splitting hairs, obviously, as anything by Taniguchi hovers near the top of my must-have list, and I know we’ll be getting more Summit before too long. Fans of Bakuman might appreciate this alternate take on the subject, which will probably be more Sundance Channel than Shonen Jump.

KATE: I second David’s recommendation! I, too, like Taniguchi’s manly-man manga, whether he’s paying tribute to film noir (Benkei in New York, Hotel Harbour View) or writing a man-against-nature saga (Summit of the Gods), but I think Taniguchi is at his best when writing about more prosaic subjects. A Distant Neighborhood, for example, was a lovely meditation on adolescent awkwardness, while A Zoo in Winter, his latest, is about joining the world of adult responsibility. There are a few overdetermined moments, but on the whole, it’s a thoughtful, semi-autobiographical story about a young man who discovers that being a manga-ka is a lot more work than he ever imagined. Taniguchi’s art is crisp and evocative, and the script heartfelt but never saccharine.

MICHELLE: I intend to buy every single book mentioned above, but I’m going to have to award my pick to volume seven of Yuu Watase’s Arata: The Legend. I dove into this series just recently and fell in love with it in a big way. It’s got all your shounen adventure trappings—a modern-day teen in a fantasy world who is chosen by the most awesomest sword-god around and tasked with saving the princess—but with a real shoujo flair, as romances gradually develop, past trauma plays a part in present conflicts, and handsome guys regularly walk around bearing their studly midriffs. While I like certain of Watase’s shoujo works—I steered clear of Absolute Boyfriend but positively adore Fushigi Yûgi—I’m starting to think that shounen is where she really belongs!

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 9/19/11

September 19, 2011 by Katherine Dacey, David Welsh, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 4 Comments

This week, Kate, David, Sean, & Michelle take a look at recent releases from Viz Media, Digital Manga Publishing, Kodansha Comics, and Vertical, Inc.

Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 4 | By Kumiko Suekane | Viz Media – Afterschool Charisma has all the right ingredients to be a Kaori Yuki manga: there are impossibly attractive leads wearing fanciful costumes (see Florence Nightingale’s clone), evil bishies (see Rasputin’s clone), wackadoo plot twists (see Hitler and Napoleon’s clones), and excursions into taboo territory (see Joan of Arc’s clones). What sets Afterschool Charisma apart from Fairy Cube or Grand Guignol Orchestra, however, is that Kumiko Suekane uses action sequences to advance the plot and not just interrupt the talking. In so doing, Suekane liberates her characters from the burden of explaining what’s happening — a key shortcoming of Yuki’s storytelling, which often bogs down in long-winded exposition. Suekane isn’t as wildly imaginative as Yuki, but shows a similar talent for creating and sustaining a mood of almost unbearable dread, producing a story that’s both incredibly suspenseful and deliciously silly. Recommended. -Katherine Dacey

Kimi ni Todoke, Vol. 10 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media- Sometimes you can get frustrated with a series taking so long to buildup to what seems like an obvious conclusion. You stare at the leads misunderstanding each other over and over, and wish that they’d just get on with it. Of course, when they DO get together, and it’s even sweeter than you possibly imagined, you forget you were ever frustrated in the first place, because it’s all worth it. This is an entire volume of payoff. Right from the cover, which seems to be a mirror of the first volume, through our desire to KILL Joe for being what he is – an author-crafted character designed to get in the way, and through Pin once again being helpful and yet appalling at the same time, it’s all worth it for those wonderful scenes of Sawako and Kazehaya finally achieving enlightenment. I think it can best be summed up by the start of Chapter 42, where Sawako has written notes her herself all over her room telling her it wasn’t a dream. No, but it sure felt like one, huh?– Sean Gaffney

March Story, Vol. 3 | By Kim Hyung-Min and Yang Kyung-Il | Viz Media – After two hit-or-miss volumes, March Story has finally found its sea legs. The five stories that comprise volume three run the gamut from folklore (“Wedding March”) to horror (“Song of the Waves,” “The Sword-Maiden and the Glass Palace”) to comedy (“Extra Version”) while giving each of the principal characters a turn in the spotlight. It’s hard to single out one chapter as the volume’s highpoint, though “Ode to a Doll” comes close: the plot revolves around a toy who develops a deep attachment to its owner, going to extreme lengths to bring a lonely little girl a few moments of joy. As in the previous two installments, the artwork is a pleasing amalgam of stylistic influences from Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away to Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. The character designs, faux-European settings, and objects are rendered in meticulous detail, making March Story one of the best-looking titles in the VIZ Signature line. Recommended. -Katherine Dacey

Mardock Scramble, Vol. 1 | Created by Tow Ubukata, manga by Yoshitoki Oima | Kodansha Comics – I’m probably as guilty as anyone of judging books by their covers, and I can’t say this one’s made a great impression, with its aggressively vulnerable but sexy waif gazing out at me. I was pleasantly surprised by the content behind that cover, though. It’s about a homeless prostitute who’s nearly murdered but ends up rescued and remade with amazing powers by an odd pair of private investigators. Our heroine, Rune Balot, adapts quickly to her new abilities to sense and control all of the electric currents around her, but she’s much less sure of her place in the world and even her willingness to stay in it. There’s a genuine gravitas to Rune and her plight, which elevates the book over its familiar and potentially pandering premise. Here quirky benefactors – a mad scientist named Dr. Easter and a great partner named Oeufcoque – have lots of promise. There is a lot of formula evident here, but there’s also a lot of sincere feeling and some fun surprises. – David Welsh

One Piece, Vol. 58 | By Eiichiro Oda | Published by Viz Media – Much like volume 57 before it—which saw the beginning of a battle at Marineford, where Luffy’s brother Ace is scheduled to be executed—the first half of volume 58 sidelines even Luffy (the only Straw Hat pirate we’ve seen in some time) to focus on the conflict between Whitebeard’s crew and the navy. That’s not to say that the conflict isn’t epic or interesting, but that it does not feel immediate. Not to worry, though, as Oda brings the emotional gut-punches to the second half of the volume, driving Luffy to the point of death to achieve his goal, reminding everyone of various familial or family-esque bonds, and then showing how such costly sacrifice can be squandered when one is unable to put aside their pride. This is tragedy, folks, in the Greek sense of the word. – Michelle Smith

Rabbit Man, Tiger Man, Vol. 1 | By Akira Honma | Digital Manga Publishing – In this yakuza-themed romance, Nonami, a brash mobster, falls in love with Uzuki, the timid doctor who saved him from bleeding to death in an alley. No yaoi cliche goes untouched: Nonami is boorish and heterosexual, but inexplicably and powerfully drawn to Uzuki, while Uzuki discovers that he’s attracted to Nonami, even though he’s sorely afraid of him. (Poor Uzuki sweats like a triathlete whenever Nonami calls him or walks into the same room.) Nothing about the characters or their relationship has a whiff of plausibility about it: is the Japanese economy so abysmal that Tokyo U. grads are really taking gigs as hit men? The artwork is Rabbit Man, Tiger Man‘s sole redeeming feature, as Honma demonstrates a flair for drawing handsome male characters and cute animal caricatures. Strictly for yaoi enthusiasts. -Katherine Dacey

Twin Spica, Vol. 9 | By Kou Yaginuma | Vertical – While this series is ultimately very gentle, I’m consistently impressed by the way Yaginuma makes the most of small character grace notes. In this volume, a relatively brief sequence shows an unexpected but rewarding side of Asumi, Yaginuma’s tiny, determined heroine. A younger student moves into her rooming house, and Asumi is troubled by the lack of respect she receives from the newcomer. One of Asumi’s defining traits is that she looks so much younger than she actually is, but it’s never really shown as bothering her. She compensates by redoubling her efforts. Now, she’s presented with someone who isn’t aware of those efforts, and just reacts to Asumi’s surface. It results in a few extremely telling moments that give Asumi the luxury of being a little egotistical and one of her friends the chance to show how well he understands Asumi. It’s not a seismic event, but it really adds to the overall narrative. – David Welsh

Velveteen & Mandala | By Jiro Matsumoto | Vertical – I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, besides ‘alternative’. I was surprised, therefore, to find that it held my attention for almost the entire volume. Yes, I could have done without the casual body humor, and the fourth-wall breaking, normally something I’m quite fond of, didn’t really work for me in this setting. But much of the volume is spent trying to figure out what’s going on – how much of what Velveteen and the Super say is true; is this is post-apocalypse, the afterlife, or something in between; what’s alive, dead, or a zombie; and the entire problem of whether one of the two leads actually exists. I thought that it fell down a bit right at the end – after Velveteen is hit by the car, things fell apart for me. But just because the ending didn’t quite satisfy dind’t mean the journey wasn’t worth it. And I did love both final images of the heroines, each of which give a strange hope that isn’t anywhere in the actual narrative. Flawed, and not for the easily grossed out, but worthy.– Sean Gaffney

Nancy Drew: The New Case Files, Vols. 1-2

September 18, 2011 by Michelle Smith

By Stefan Petrucha, Sarah Kinney, and Sho Murase | Published by Papercutz

You might wonder why I read a couple of Nancy Drew graphic novels, but when I tell you that these volumes comprise parts one and two of an arc called “Vampire Slayer,” perhaps you will understand. It was the unlikely union of Nancy Drew and Buffy—and yes, said show is specifically referenced in the endnotes—that compelled me and my compatriots at Triple Take to make this our pick for this month. I admit I didn’t expect to like this very much, but the story turned out to be even more blah than I was anticipating.

Here’s the premise: Nancy and friends Bess and George are on their way to see the hot new movie, Dielight. If they arrive in costume, they get a discount, so when they are chased by a pointy-toothed guy in the cemetery (is it supposed to be a fun twist when it’s revealed that he’s actually running from Nancy’s dog?) they assume he’s headed there, as well. He doesn’t show up for the film, but Nancy spots a mysterious-looking cloaked figure lurking alone in the back of the theatre.

Afterwards, tooth dude pops up again and introduces himself as Gregor Coffson. He is super intrigued by the fact that Nancy is a detective and asks her out, prompting this oh-so-hilarious exchange:

Nancy: Thanks… I’m flattered, but I already have a Ned… I mean… boyfriend.

Gregor: So?

Ned: Hi. I’m boyfriend. I mean Ned.

Gregor: Oh.

Oh boy am I ever rolling on the floor now. *eyeroll*

Anyway, things don’t improve very much from here. Gregor indicates that he has a secret, but he won’t divulge it until he is sure that he can trust Nancy. And because Nancy is a big nosypants, she ends up hanging out with him all the time, oblivious to Ned’s growing jealousy. At first I was pleased that Ned was confident that Nancy would not cheat on him, but that doesn’t last long and he soon begins throwing jealous hissy fits. Gregor’s secret turns out to be totally lame—someone’s stalking him because they think he’s a vampire—and so does the resolution of the story.

Ultimately, the adjective that most comes to mind when describing this story is “lazy.” In addition to the fact that Gregor’s secret is a letdown and Ned’s reaction predictable, there are other signs of shoddy craftsmanship. Gregor claims not to have a cell phone, but then how is he receiving threatening text messages from his stalker? The big reveal (spoilers, if you care) that the stalker is actually Gregor’s long-lost sister Garina is torpedoed when Nancy refers to the girl as Garina several pages before the existence of Gregor’s twin even comes up. And I’d swear that one scene of Gregor and Nancy sitting at a table was simply copied and pasted from one place to another, with only a slight adjustment of Gregor’s arm and the application of some green tint to Nancy’s shirt to differentiate them.

Probably they thought that only kids would read this and no one would notice, but kids deserve effort and originality, too. About the best thing I can say about this is that Nancy’s friend, George, is appealingly androgynous. She should get her own series.

Additional reviews can be found at Triple Take.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 8

September 16, 2011 by Michelle Smith

By Joss Whedon, et al. | Published by Dark Horse

Because I’ve spent so much time and energy in the attempt to quantify why and how Season Eight lost me, I find myself sorely tempted to dismiss this final volume with a simple “meh,” but I suppose I can summon one more burst of effort.

This volume comprises the last five issues of Season Eight (#36-40) and also includes a fun Riley one-shot by Jane Espenson called “Commitment through Distance, Virtue through Sin.” When last we left off, Buffy had turned down sex-spawned paradise to return to this dimension and help her friends fend off the demons that poured in once her mystical boinkage with Angel created a new universe. Then Spike showed up.

As usual, the arc actually starts off pretty well. We see how Angel was convinced (by a talking dog who gets some great lines of Whedon dialogue) to take up the Twilight cause, and some of how Spike became involved. (Please note at this point that Spike has just apparently read Buffy’s name in the newspaper, where she is labeled a terrorist. This will be relevant in a moment.) Now with Buffy and the others, Spike says that “the seed of wonder,” the source of all magic in the world, can stop all of this. And it just so happens to be in the Sunnydale Hellmouth, guarded by the revived Master.

So everyone goes there or maybe they were there already. I have honestly lost track. Anyway, Twilight is very displeased that its parents have abandoned it, and while Buffy and friends are ostensibly protecting the Seed, Twilight possesses Angel and makes him attack Buffy. Long story short: Giles attempts to kill Angel with the scythe, but it’s absolutely hopeless and Angel breaks his neck (just like Jenny Calendar). Buffy, mad with grief, has just had enough and she breaks the seed, severing the connection between this world and magic. Willow, who had possibly been making some headway against the attackers, is promptly stripped of her powers. Though I often criticize Georges Jeanty’s art, Willow’s expression at this moment is some of his best work.

Issue #40 picks up four months later and largely serves to set up Season Nine. Buffy is crashing on the couch at Dawn and Xander’s San Francisco apartment, working in a coffee shop and routinely dealing with confrontations with Slayers and Wiccans who feel that she betrayed them. Dawn has gone back to school and Xander has once again found gainful employment in construction. Giles left everything to Faith in his will (ouch!), including a London flat. She is also apparently the only one willing to care for a catatonic Angel, which I think is pretty awesome. Given their affinity, it makes perfect sense that she’s the one willing to forgive him when no one else can so much as even look at him.

So. Here are the things I disliked about all of this:

1. I swear sometimes that Whedon is actively trying to get me to hate Buffy. In issue #31, she confesses her love for Xander. In issue #34, she boffs Angel. In issue #36, she is still glowy about that, despite the havoc that ensued. “You gave me perfection and you gave it up. That’s not just the love of my life. That’s the guy I would live it with.” Um, did you forget the 206 girls he killed to get to that point? I can buy Faith’s actions so much more easily than Buffy’s because though she forgives him, it’s not like she’s forgotten all that he’s done.

As if this weren’t bad enough, in issue #37 Buffy is talking with Spike and begins daydreaming about making out with him. A throwaway comment suggests that perhaps this is a remnant of Twilight mind control, and I hope that’s true. I’m not suggesting that Buffy is usually virtuous or that she doesn’t make some impulsive choices when lonely, but holy crap. What a horndog!

2. Remember that newspaper that mentioned “terrorist Buffy Summers”? Well, how is Buffy able to resume life in San Francisco under her own name? In a recent Q&A, Scott Allie says “Buffy didn’t become a household name,” but issue #36 sure seems to indicate otherwise.

3. So far, I feel nothing about Giles’ death. It just doesn’t feel real. There wasn’t enough impact or something. Hearing his will helped it sink in more (and he gets a middle name: Edmund), but, odd as it sounds, I want to be sobbing over this, and I am not.

Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t good things in this volume. Looks like there’s 3 of those, too.

1. There are some great scenes between pairs of characters. Giles and Buffy have a nice scene and Giles and Xander do, as well. Probably my favorite scenes involve Spike and Buffy, though, because he is pretty frank concerning how disgusting he finds everything.

Spike: Under all that demon viscera, you still reek of him, and that’s not a treat for me—but it can’t be Buffy if she doesn’t bonk the bad guy, right?

Buffy: Snark!

Spike: Comes with the sizable package.

As mentioned, Willow’s grief is pretty amazing, and Kennedy haters will rejoice to learn that Willow soon breaks up with her. Less awesome is the throwaway reveal that Willow possibly loved her sexy snaky mentor, whom she will now never see again thanks to Buffy.

2. The fulfillment of the “betrayal” issue. Back in issue #10, Buffy and Willow went to visit a… seer or something, who shows Buffy a glimpse of herself (a pose that is finally realized in issue #39 after the seed has been destroyed) and says that it’s due to “Betrayal. The closest, the most unexpected.”

At first, I was kind of annoyed that the traitor was not conclusively identified, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized this is quintessential Whedon. Buffy betrayed everyone by boinking the enemy, bringing down demon hordes, and then ridding the world of magic. Buffy and Angel betrayed the new universe they created. Angel betrayed Buffy by killing Giles… Ultimately, I think the prophecy refers to Buffy herself, but it’s kind of neat that it can be interpreted in several different ways.

3. One might not expect a one-shot prequel starring Riley and his wife Sam to be kind of awesome, but this one is. It’s full of great dialogue (and when I mentioned my favorite line to Jane Espenson on Twitter she actually replied!) and reminds us once again why Sam is so fantastic. I think I now want a mini-series focusing on these two as they are occasionally summoned away from bucolic corn-growing bliss to save the world.

So now the big question is… will I read Season Nine?

While there were some things I disliked about earlier arcs in Season Eight, Brad Meltzer’s penultimate “Twilight” arc was the proverbial straw that broke the fangirl’s back, and I resolved to stay away from further Buffy comics once this particular season had wrapped up. Advance press for Season Nine, however, has made me change my mind.

Season Nine just sounds so much more like something I’d want to read (and will be co-written by Andrew Chambliss, who penned my favorite Dollhouse episode, “A Spy in the House of Love”). For example, the synopsis for the second issue begins “Buffy continues her nightly patrols while trying to cobble together a sensible life…” That sounds great to me! Much better than all this big-budget sprawl. And the Angel and Faith companion series sounds like it could be even better!

I may end up disappointed, but I just don’t think I’ll be able to resist.

Off the Shelf: A Little Sunshine

September 15, 2011 by MJ and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

MJ: *blinks* Oh. Hello Manga Bookshelf world. Wow. I’ve been far, far away from here for the past week. Michelle? Are you still here?

MICHELLE: Oh, sorry. I was just in the back room clearing out some cobwebs. It’s amazing how much time seems to pass between these weekly columns.

MJ: *cough* It’s a little dusty in here, too.

MICHELLE: It is. Shall I open the musty curtains of disuse and allow the sunshine of manga goodness to brighten our dingy surroundings?

MJ: Please do!

MICHELLE: Alrighty, then! It’s going to be a Shonen Sunday week for me, as I take a look at the latest volumes of a pair of series published by VIZ under this imprint.

The first is volume seven of Yuu Watase’s Arata: The Legend and I’m just going to state right up front: as a fan of Watase’s Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden and as a fan of shounen series by female creators, you really must read this series. (Conveniently, the first five volumes are available on VIZManga.com!) The general premise of Arata might sound like a typical modern-kid-in-a-fantasy-world adventure, but trust me, the execution makes all the difference.

In a world known as Amawakuni, Princess Kikuri has reigned for 60 years and has maintained control over the hayagami (gods in sword form) wielded by her twelve attendants (known as shinsho). On the day of a ceremony in which she is supposed to transfer power to a successor—played by a boy in drag named Arata for reasons one needn’t go into—she is cut down by one of these shinsho, but manages to hang on to a shred of life. Meanwhile, Arata is blamed and through various plotty means changes places with a modern high-school kid named Arata Hinohara, who is promptly chosen by a super special hayagami that will enable him to save the princess, in a nutshell.

Where the story gets really interesting is with all the complications Watase imposes upon this narrative. Hinohara was tormented by a bully in middle school, and can’t be the kind of sho that goes around making others submit to him, which in this case actually involves giving up one’s life to reside in another’s hayagami. He’s experienced that sort of forced domination, and can’t inflict it on anyone else. Instead, he convinces his opponents to entrust their souls to him, and has become the target of all of those who would stop him and take the throne for themselves. Meanwhile, he’s falling in love with the other Arata’s childhood friend and now his tormentor has arrived in Amawakuni, sending a powerful shinsho to Japan in his place who starts killing off his old classmates.

It might seem like there’s a lot going on in this series and, indeed, there is, but Watase just handles it so well it never feels overwhelming for a second. The world makes sense, characterization is consistent, and she employs a sure hand in dealing out story details on a need-to-know basis. In addition to his quest to save the princess, Hinohara is also battling his own emotional trauma and it’s this (plus the bevy of attractive fellas) that gives Arata something of a shoujo flair.

I look forward to volume eight almost as much as I look forward to you reading this!

MJ: I’ve actually read the first two (maybe three?) volumes, and I agree it’s my kind of story! You’re making me feel very anxious to pick up the later volumes, though. For whatever reason, I really I do love shounen series written by women.

MICHELLE: One issue I had with the first few volumes was that Arata (the one now stuck in Japan) wasn’t given much of anything to do. Now that that’s been addressed, the series seems a bit… invigorated. The same can be said of my conviction to read Genbu Kaiden soon, durnit!

So, what had you been reading this week?

MJ: Well, I’ve been pretty well consumed with my day job over the past few days, so I haven’t read a lot. But I did find time to gobble down the latest volume of CLAMP’s xxxHolic, which was just released in (some) stores this week. I know you haven’t caught up on recent volumes, so I’ll try very hard to avoid spoiling you.

With volume seventeen, we’re now further into the portion of the series that was renamed xxxHolic Rō in Japan, following a major event in the story’s plotline. The ramifications of that event have really settled in, and this volume feels more solid than the previous because of it. It’s mesmerizing, really, to watch Watanuki, now so fully immersed in his new role. One of the things that struck me about this volume, too, is how much we’re learning about Yuuko, simply by watching Watanuki. She’s always been an enigma, and suddenly she’s someone we can truly understand. I really don’t want to spoil you, so I won’t explain further, but really, Michelle, it’s something to see.

This is my first taste of xxxHolic in quite some time, and I found I’d almost forgotten just how stunning the artwork is. I often talk about my love for Tokyo Babylon, and there are a lot of things that endear me to that series in particular. But one of its major draws for me is the artwork, and xxxHolic is the first of CLAMP’s series since then to affect me in the same way, visually. It’s all about the use of black. Now of course, Tokyo Babylon is more heavily toned, so the black isn’t necessarily as stark as it is in xxxHolic, which has such dark blacks and clean, deliberate line work it often looks like it could have been created with woodblock printing. Opening a volume of xxxHolic again was a visually spectacular experience, which I hope to be able to repeat soon.

Michelle, I hope you are able to catch up on this series soon, because I’m dying to be able to discuss it with you in more detail. I know there are people whose interest in xxxHolic waned early on, but I’ve only become more deeply involved as the series has progressed. I really can’t get enough of it.

MICHELLE: Now I feel guilty that I am restraining you from praising it to the extent that you desire! I will read it soon!

What you were saying about the artwork actually brought to mind another series that I’ve been reading lately, and that’s Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei. These two series could not be more different, and yet they treat the color black in a very similar way, with sleek and stylized results.

Art is cool.

MJ: Funny you should mention that series in particular, since Zetsubou-sensei’s character design has actually always reminded me of Watanuki!

MICHELLE: I can see that!

MJ: So, what’s your other Shonen Sunday pick this week?

MICHELLE: My second Shonen Sunday pick is volume five of Mitsuru Adachi’s Cross Game, which I recently cited as my favorite series beginning with a C for David’s latest Favorites Alphabet column. In short, this is the story of a slackery boy named Ko Kitamura who is motivated to make the most of his baseball skills by the passing of a dear friend who dreamed that he’d make it to Koshien.

I’ve talked at some length about my ardent love of sports manga, and it’s true that I avidly devoured the regional tournament match between Ko’s team and their heavily favored opponents. Adachi doesn’t just depict the action of the game, but recreates the whole experience. The crowd, the clouds, the passageways underneath the stadium that finally emerge behind a row of sunlit seats… It’s about as lovely as a baseball game can ever get, reinforced by a story that prizes sheer love of the game over pride and ego.

But there’s more to Cross Game than baseball. Even though she doesn’t survive beyond the first volume, Ko’s childhood friend Wakaba continues to make her presence felt in this volume, which comprises volumes ten and eleven of the original release. Several of Ko’s teammates are united in their goal because they want to fulfill Wakaba’s dream, and this similar feeling of unity in the face of loss is reinforced when a new girl with an uncanny resemblance to Wakaba moves into the neighborhood. The stunned reactions are conveyed poignantly, and even though Ko has been steadily growing close to Wakaba’s prickly younger sister, Aoba, it makes perfect sense why the presence of this new girl might generate some confusion.

If you like sports manga, you will like Cross Game. And if you don’t like sports manga, you will still like Cross Game.

MJ: As you know, I’ve gotten as far as actually buying the first volume with Viz’s digital app, and every time you and David talk about the series, I think about just how much I need to sit down and read it. Maybe this time I finally will. You make a compelling argument, as always.

MICHELLE: It’s really very very good. And you know I don’t say that lightly. Another great thing about it is that you’re getting at least two volumes at once. It’s hard to believe we’re already over halfway through with the series! I don’t have a clue how well it sells but I am really hoping that VIZ decides to release more Adachi in similar fashion.

MJ: I hope so, too!

Oh, this week has done me in, Michelle. Can I go to sleep now?

MICHELLE: Sure you can! But don’t forget to brush your teefs.

MJ: Cross my heart! ‘Night!

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1

September 13, 2011 by Michelle Smith

By Naoko Takeuchi | Published by Kodansha Comics | Did I Mention Squee?

I think it’s probably impossible for me to be impartial about Sailor Moon. I just love it so much. The third season of the anime comprised one of my first exposures to shoujo anime, and even though I’m cognizant of its shortcomings, I can’t look back upon it and feel anything other than nostalgic adoration.

I’ve read the manga before. I was warned early on that the TOKYOPOP versions changed some characters’ names and relationships, so I never bothered trying to acquire them. Instead, I remember checking the website for Boston’s Sasuga Books (sadly no longer with us) regularly to see whether the latest volume of the gorgeous tenth anniversary edition was available for order. Reading each volume was a fairly painstaking process of matching a text-only translation to the images in the physical book. But one makes do.

Still, as with Codename: Sailor V, I feel like I got much more out of the experience this time when reading a professionally prepared English translation. It felt more immediate to me. Alas, though I would love to be able to report that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is free from the text errors that plagued Sailor V, I can’t. I only spotted four problems, though: two cases of misplaced sound effects (one only noticeable if you read kana) and two where the word “who’s” is used instead of “whose.” Pretty minor, yes, but still disappointing. I can’t be alone in wishing for a flawless edition.

Moving on!

Because Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon came about due to the earlier success of Codename: Sailor V, there are some obvious similarities in their lead characters. Like Minako Aino, fourteen-year-old Usagi Tsuniko is a below-average and perpetually tardy middle-school student with a fondness for video games. Where Minako craves the spotlight and is somewhat more bold, however, Usagi is a crybaby who’s inclined to take the easy way out. Both are informed of their special destiny by a talking cat—white (male) Artemis for Minako (Sailor Venus) and black (female) Luna for Usagi (Sailor Moon)—and both soon find themselves squaring off against “the enemy” whose plans invariably involve sucking energy out of the populace.

From the start, Usagi handles her duties differently than Minako. She’s more empathetic, but has a tendency to feel overwhelmed and require encouragement. (These are still, of course, early days.) She’s bolstered by her fellow guardians, however, and quickly accumulates three allies: the brilliant Ami Mizuno, guardian of water and wisdom (Sailor Mercury); classy and clairvoyant Rei Hino, guardian of fire and passion (Sailor Mars); and tomboyish yet girlish Makoto Kino, guardian of thunder and courage (Sailor Jupiter). Luna provides them all with information—I enjoy any scene that depicts the kitty in research mode—and handy gizmos that allow them to communicate and transform.

Together they face off against Queen Beryl and her Four Kings of Heaven, who are busily concocting schemes to collect energy to revive their “great ruler” while simultaneously searching for the “legendary silver crystal.” (We learn more about the enemies here than in Sailor V, incidentally, which makes them much more interesting. It’s still slightly disconcerting to see how quickly some of them are defeated, though, considering how long they stick around in the anime. Nephrite, for example, is vanquished after just one chapter!) The Guardians want to find the all-powerful crystal too, and are also searching for “the princess,” whom they are duty-bound to protect.

Also searching for the “legendary silver crystal” is a handsome fellow called Tuxedo Mask, two words that efficiently describe his costume. He has dreams wherein a faceless woman begs him to find the crystal, and so he tries to comply. Usually his efforts consist of lurking around when Sailor Moon is busy confronting the enemy, so as to be ready to bolster her confidence. Meanwhile, in his civilian guise of high school student Mamoru Chiba, he and Usagi keep running into each other and exchanging insults. I never much cared about their relationship in the anime, but it actually kind of works for me here. Maybe manga!Mamoru is appreciably more dreamy than his anime counterpart, because I can at least see why Usagi finds him so appealing. In this volume, there’s also some question as to whether he’s friend or foe, which gives Usagi something to worry about. (In general, while I don’t mind hyper Usagi, I like her much more when she’s being serious.)

I would probably still like Sailor Moon if it were merely the story of a band of cute girls in colorful outfits who defeat the enemy with various nifty/goofy attacks like “moon tiara boomerang” and “flower hurricane,” but its feminist message definitely elevates it in my esteem. While Usagi may be drawn to Mamoru and while Makoto may yet pine for the sempai who rejected her, these girls are fully cognizant that they’ve got a mission that’s more important than romance. Consider this exchange in which Makoto is explaining her reason for transferring schools:

Makoto: It seemed there was something far more important… even more important than falling in love… that was waiting for me here.

Rei: You’re right! We don’t have the luxury of the time it takes to cry over a man.

Though normal teens until just recently, these girls are quickly coming to grips with their destiny and the enormous importance of preventing the crystal from falling into the wrong hands. One gets the sense that this experience, though dangerous, is going to be critical in forming who they become as people, especially lazy Usagi, who is now thrust into a leadership role. And even though Mamoru does help her on occasion, it never comes off as condescending, but more like he’s reminding her of the strength that she already possesses. He, after all, has no powers of his own so it’s up to her to save the day.

Thank you, Kodansha Comics, for licensing this series and giving us a proper translation at last. I’m happy for myself and other existing fans, but I also can’t wait to see what Sailor Moon newbies make of the story.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is published in English by Kodansha Comics. They’ve licensed the tenth anniversary edition, which condensed the eighteen-volume series into twelve volumes of the main narrative plus two volumes of short stories. It also has pretty new covers and some retouched art.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Codename: Sailor V, Vol. 1

September 12, 2011 by Michelle Smith

By Naoko Takeuchi | Published by Kodansha Comics | Squee

There are few things in this world that can literally make me do “the dance of squee,” but the arrival of the first volumes of Codename: Sailor V and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon at my house definitely did the trick. My husband can bear witness.

I’ve read Codename: Sailor V before (back in 2003), but that was with the Japanese edition in hand and a text translation on the computer screen, doing my best with my limited Japanese skills to put words and images together. But now it’s out in English, and translated by the venerable William Flanagan, to boot! I feel like I got a lot more out of this time, but whether that’s due to increased comprehension or a change in personal perspective, I can’t really say.

First, a bit of publication history. After completing her first series, The Cherry Project, Naoko Takeuchi and her editor decided that her next series would feature a magical girl in a sailor suit who fights for love and justice. The result was Codename: Sailor V, which premiered in the magazine Run-Run in July 1991. An anime was soon planned, but instead of starring only Sailor V, it would feature a five-person team, with the focus on a new character named Sailor Moon.

The Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon manga debuted in 1992, with the anime premiering shortly thereafter. Chapters of Codename: Sailor V continued to be released periodically, and actually wrapped up a couple of months after the Sailor Moon series. In this way, it functions both as a prequel and as a companion series to the more famous work.

Now to the story itself! Minako Aino is thirteen years old and in her first year of middle school. She’s got some… quirks—she is described at one point as a “binge-eating, nap-taking, below-average student” who “likes standing out in a crowd”—but also thinks fast on her feet and has acute physical reflexes. After observing her for a while, a mysterious white cat introduces himself as Artemis and tells her she has been chosen by the planet Venus. “You were born to fight to protect the world of incandescent heat. And you have a mission. A duty that no one but you can fulfill.” This whole sequence reminds me a lot of a young Buffy, similar in temperament and ability, hearing similar words from her first Watcher.

Minako promptly faints, and when she wakes she thinks the conversation was just a dream. When she spots her crush brainwashing a girl into becoming his slave, however, the “boss” speaks to her through a magical pen (really) and tells her that he is her enemy and that she must defeat him and save everyone. (She’s also got a crescent-shaped compact that can be used as a weapon and for creating disguises.) Her first transformation into Sailor V is accompanied by the following narration:

I feel liberated! I’m overflowing with power!! I’m struck with the urge to act!

And there, in a nutshell, is why this magical girl franchise appeals to feminists like me. It’s not about a girl in a sailor suit looking cute to attract boys or being validated by them. It’s about a girl choosing to become strong herself, to achieve her full potential, and to contribute to the welfare of the planet by actively engaging “the enemy.” If you’re tired of passive heroines—got those Black Bird blues?—then you really do need to read these books.

Further adventures pit Sailor V against a series of idols represented by the Dark Agency, whose modus operandi is to stage concerts and suck out the energy of their fans, who then become their slaves. The Agency president is a woman named Fluorite and she reports to an unseen guy named Danburite, and so far they seem content to try to take over the world by repeating the same tactics over and over, though they do eventually change things up a little near the end. These episodic stories do dull the impact of Sailor V’s mission slightly, but her introductions to her foes are always fun. Here’s my favorite:

Using idols to brainwash both men and women, young and old… Now that’s just greedy! Those are horrendous business practices and the Japanese Tax Office will not stand for it!

I am sometimes a GI Fighting Girl, and sometimes a Debuting Idol Beauty… But my true form is…—Moon Power: Transform!—Codename: Sailor V!! Champion of Justice!! The Pretty Guardian in a Sailor Suit! Sailor Venus… has arrived!

Takeuchi’s art is lovely, if somewhat busy. (Sometimes I wonder if she has a phobia of white space, because a lot of screentone is used to fill those areas. My favorite is the one that inexplicably mixes stamps and penguins.) I’m particularly fond of the chapter title pages, because Sailor V looks especially cool and mature in those. The English translation reads well, too, so it’s really too bad that the rest of the text has so many minor errors. For the most part, these consist of misattributed dialogue or sound effects being placed in the wrong spot. Though annoying, they don’t hamper one’s enjoyment much. The reference to Science Ninja Team Gotchaman (sic) in the end notes did elicit a cry of dismay from me, though.

So, yes. It is truly wonderful to have Codename: Sailor V available in English. Perhaps it won’t appeal to everyone as much as it does to me, but it’s got more depth that one might expect, and is definitely worth checking out.

Codename: Sailor V is published in English by Kodansha Comics. They’ve licensed the tenth anniversary edition, which condensed the original three volumes into two.

Review copy provided by the publisher.