Michelle Smith

Sean and Michelle are briefin’ it again with titles from Seven Seas, Kodansha, and VIZ.

D-Frag!, Vol. 6 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – This is a gag comedy, one that mostly revolves around a few tsukkomis among a large group of bokes. As such, it amuses me when this is lampshaded over and over—Kenji is told that, more than the loud people fighting, it’s his constant comebacks that are causing a headache; and we meet Kenji and Noe’s mother, who proves to be just as much of a straight man as they are. In fact, this volume may have TOO many new characters—the cover shows “Kussie-sempai,” a girl with a creepy expression but good intentions, and we also meet Roka’s younger (and much taller) sister, who has a huge sister complex. That said, who all these people are isn’t important—they’re all funny, and that’s what counts. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 6 | By Aya Shouoto | VIZ Media – There’s no denying that Kiss of the Rose Princess has on occasion been kind of lame, but I find that I’m less critical of its flaws these days. It’s not merely that I’ve given up on expecting it to be something it isn’t, though that’s part of it, but having defined villains to go up against—the fake rose princess and her four fake (though no less bishounen) knights—and the romantically suggestive scenes that inspire various of Anise’s knights to achieve their “first awakening” power-ups have provided new energy and focus that is decidedly welcome. Okay, true, I am still utterly baffled as to why these fellows all love her, and it seems pretty obvious who she’s going to end up with in the end, but I think the series deserves credit for its improvement. Now I’m genuinely curious to see how the story is going to wrap up. – Michelle Smith

Love Stage!!, Vol. 3 | By Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou | SuBLime – So far, Love Stage!! has been about 99% love, 1% stage. In this volume, Izumi makes his celebrity debut and the job offers start pouring in, but we don’t see what comes of any of that. Instead, he spends most of the volume figuring out just exactly what it is he feels for Ryoma, whom he learns had to work quite a bit harder than he let on to get Izumi’s favorite mangaka to give encouraging feedback on Izumi’s laughably lame manga creation. I do like how they finally get together, especially Ryoma’s happy tears, but dangit, I want to see some acting! As it stands, Love Stage!! is a pleasant though fluffy BL romance, but I keep wishing for it to go in the “Izumi finds the thing he was destined to do” direction. Maybe it still will, now that Izumi and Ryoma are an established couple, but I’m not holding my breath. – Michelle Smith

Non Non Biyori, Vol. 2 | By Atto | Seven Seas – I really do wish this cast was just a little bit older—Hotaru being an eleven-year-old with the body of a seventeen-year-old for fanservice purposes will never stop being creepy —but that’s probably the only annoying thing about this peaceful, character-driven slice of life series. The ‘in the middle of nowhere’ aspect still takes precedence—there’s a very funny chapter dealing with waiting for the last train home, and Renge’s older sister trying to show off how awesome everything is in the big city where she goes to school (only to be undercut by Hotaru being an actual city girl). It’s not on a level of Yotsuba, or even K-On!, but it’s friendly enough, and despite the attempts at mild fanservice there’s no indication anything genuinely untoward will happen. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 2 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – Richard in this manga is being redone from the ground up—not just because of the ambiguous gender, which is made even more ambiguous in this volume, but because Shakespeare’s Richard III was a villain from the moment he was first seen on stage in Henry VI Part 2, and only got worse as he went along. We’re meant to feel bad for this Richard, though, whose grief and rage lead him to taking the life of a soldier with a family—and then becoming an unstoppable monster of death. Henry and Margaret, on the other hand, are dead-on in the way they’re portrayed from Shakespeare. This is well done, but I suspect folks unfamiliar with the original may end up getting more out of it. – Sean Gaffney

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 4 | By Miki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – Now that we’re actually talking about witches, they’re popping up more and more frequently. Here we see Meiko, who has the ability to form a sort of telepathic hivemind, and Maria, who can see the future (much to her detriment). That said, what the creator is really good at in this series is making every situation far more complicated than it first appears, for maximum frustration and embarrassment to all involved. That said, we may be running into a bit of a problem—everyone here is too nice for their own good, and Yamada is perhaps the worst offender. The drama arrives quickly but leaves just as quickly. This is a series in desperate need of a larger villain. – Sean Gaffney

Sean and Michelle (but mostly Sean) present a plethora of briefs.

Alice in the Country of Hearts: White Rabbit and Some Afternoon Tea, Vol. 1 | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – I’m always happy when the series’ primary artist is back in the saddle. The cover of this volume is very promising, with Peter and Boris holding guns to each other’s heads while Alice sweatdrops. As for the rest of the volume, I can’t stand the idea of an Alice/Peter romance myself, so this one was always going to take more to win me over. It does a good job, though, emphasizing the capriciousness of everyone bar Alice, showing off some flashbacks with Alice at school in the real world, and keeping Peter annoying and yet still amusing. For picky Alice fans, this should be a solid offering in the series. -Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 2 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – While there is tragedy and horror here, particularly for cat lovers, I think the primary focus on this title remains the relationship between Chise and Elias. He’s made a bit less aloof and fatherlike in this volume, as if the artist realized that calling her a bride would involve a bit more give-and-take. Here he seems to show confusion at genuine human emotions at a few points, and it is remarked upon how Chise is changing him. As for Chise herself, she’s a magic sponge, but here finds out that that doesn’t translate to a very long life. The highlight of the volume, though, may be the appearance by Oberon and Titania, who have come to see Elias’ new disciple, judge her, and then tease the hell out of both of them. -Sean Gaffney

Cage of Eden, Vol. 18 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Cage of Eden is one of the more consistent manga out there. Never overly fantastic, never truly dire, it continues to do what it does: put its cast into perilous situations, has them team up and act clever in order to get out of those situations, and celebrates by showing off the large breasts of its female cast. Added to that this time around are the return of a character we thought long dead, and an examination of the psychological terror that captors can exert over their hostages. Still reliably tense and exciting. Also, the two-page breakdown showing exactly what’s happened to Oomori’s clothes over the course of the series is both hilarious and sad. -Sean Gaffney

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! High School!, Vol. 1 | By Kurone Mishima and Satoshi Wagahara | Yen Press – This sort of comedy spinoff is rife in Japan—we’ve seen something similar with Haruhi Suzumiya. Here, the entire cast are not adults trying to hold down jobs, but typical high school students in a typical high school, getting into hilarious (?) situations as Maou attempts to become Student Council President. As you might expect, Maou really loves doing hard work in order to advance, Emi really likes being a giant tsundere (and yes, there’s a panties joke), and Chiyo is just sort of there. If you enjoyed the original, but wished it were duller, flatter, and not as funny, this is the perfect series for you. Everyone else should stick with the primary series. -Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 22 | By Karuho Shiina | VIZ Media – In a volume that gives just about equal time to each of the three female leads and their romantic relationships, most of the characters are struggling with selfish impulses. Only Chizu gives voice to these, telling Ryu “don’t go,” even though he’s working so hard for his dream, and feeling terrible about herself afterwards. Kento is debating whether to say the same to Ayane, while Kazehaya has decided not to make such a request of Sawako. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a scene in a shoujo manga where two guys talk about their girlfriends possibly moving away to pursue their dreams and must say that it’s extremely gratifying! I’m not sure how Shiina could juggle following all of these characters as they go their separate ways into adulthood, but here’s hoping she figures out a way. I’m not ready to say goodbye, either. – Michelle Smith

Komomo Confiserie, Vol. 1 | By Maki Minami | VIZ Media – Having fallen in love with Voice Over! quite unexpectedly, I was really looking forward to reading Minami’s next series to hit North America. As a spoiled little rich girl, Komomo Ninomiya loved to torment Natsu Azumi, the son of her family’s pastry chef, but ten years later her family fortunes have evaporated and the tables have turned. Komomo’s attempts at holding down a part-time job are a spectacular failure until Natsu comes along, offering her a job at his pastry shop and relishing the opportunity to make Komomo dance to his tune this time around. I was initially disappointed that neither Komomo nor Natsu is particularly likable, but as the cast broadened out and Komomo entered public school, where she proved naturally immune to mean-girl antics, I warmed to her a bit. I’ll keep going, but right now I can’t tell if I’ll grow to love this one or not. – Michelle Smith

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 13 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – For a series where Alibaba is meant to be one of the major heroes, and probably the closest we’ll ever get to a real romantic lead, it really does enjoy abusing him as much as it possibly can. And, as we see in this volume, there’s a good reason for this. Alibaba when he’s whining and neurotic is hilarious, and everyone knows it—even Morgiana, who is a stoic with a nascent crush on him. Luckily, that’s not all—we also see Hakuryu starting to open up to others, and we end off with another somewhat terrifying villain, who has an army of children to do her bidding thanks to mysterious powers that make her motherly to everyone’s eyes. Magi is still top-tier shonen, and it’s not even in Jump. -Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 11 | By Naoshi Komi | VIZ Media – The main cast gets stuff to do in this volume, with Chitoge’s continued attempts to deal with her own feelings (the amnesia arc is resolved rather quickly), and Onodera’s pure heart and waffling spirit. The best part of the volume, however, is the introduction of Marika’s hometown friend Mikage, who is loud, brash, and likes to snuggle cute girls in the best ‘not really a lesbian, but likes to attract yuri readers’ tradition. Mikage is mostly here so that Marika and Raku can pretend to go out— he’s getting rather good at that—but there’s also hints of something darker, but only hints. (Secretly dying? Secret engagement?) Most importantly, the balance between the girls is not only kept but emphasized—it’s still my favorite part of the series. -Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 2 | By Aya Kanno | VIZ Media – I’ve really been looking forward to the second volume in this series! This installment is pretty intense, weaving together historical high points from the War of the Roses with Richard’s increasingly extreme reactions to those events, culminating in a fascinating yet macabre moment that I won’t spoil but that I’d be willing to bet no one who reads this volume is ever going to forget. On top of all this, the surreal visitations from Joan the Arc continue, Richard reigns in his mad thirst for Lancaster blood and accepts his role as the “darkness behind the light” of his brother the new king, and the repercussions from his desperate actions are seemingly poised to come home to roost in the person of Elizabeth Woodville. Good stuff, riveting stuff, possibly not always the most coherent stuff. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 35 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – There’s really no getting around how manipulative Ren is of Kyoko in this whole volume, and it’s a credit to Nakamura’s skill that it ends up coming off as cute and romantic rather than anything else. It helps that Kyoko is still a bit dense about what’s really going on—even though Kyoko’s own evil thoughts realize what’s going on, she still hasn’t quite connected Ren to Kuon. As for Ren himself, he’s still trying to move on from his tragic past, and finding that even with Kyoko’s help, it’s difficult. Despite some production issues (one panel was oddly still in Japanese, and the removal of honorifics made a scene where Kuon asks to not use them confusing), but still a very good volume. -Sean Gaffney

The Wallflower, Vol. 35 | By Tomoko Hayakawa | Kodansha Comics – Given that the series ends with the next volume, you’d think that Hayakawa would be getting around to finally resolving the few main plot points she has. You’d be wrong, and anyone who read this for the plot has long since abandoned it. Fans of the comedy will be quite happy, though, as we see lots of Sunako’s horrified SD-reactions, more of Sunako and Kyohei being perfect for each other but not acknowledging it, Sunako showing off how she’s never ever going to be a real lady, and our pretty boys being really pretty, sometimes to their detriment. There’s not as much Noi here, but we do get a lovely Ranmaru and Tamao chapter. This series is what it is, and I love it, even though I suspect Kodansha USA will be happy it’s over soon. -Sean Gaffney

Michelle and Anna are holding down the fort this week and, surprisingly, it’s not all shoujo!

Black Rose Alice, Vol. 5 | By Setona Mizushiro | VIZ Media – I’m usually a bit hesitant to recommend series that are on hiatus, but Black Rose Alice is the rare exception, just because it is so quirky, unsettling, and well-executed. The emotional stakes go even higher as Alice meets up with Koya, the student who Azuza saved when she gave up her life and joined the vampires. Mizushiro never goes for tidy resolution, and the encounter between Alice and Koya will continue to affect the rest of the group. I’m sad that there’s only one more volume left, but I’ll take whatever I can get of this fascinating series. – Anna N

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 7 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | VIZ Media – Sometimes, Food Wars! makes me feel bad for liking it. In this volume, the preliminary round of the Fall Classic gets underway, and I appreciate that quite a few female students—including unassuming Megumi, from whom the audience does not expect much—make an impression. One of these girls, Miyoko Hojo, is driven by the desire to achieve culinary prestige that the sexist all-male kitchen staff at her family restaurant will have to respect when she returns to lead them one day. Again, I appreciate that! What I don’t appreciate is that Hojo’s introduction features an extreme boob closeup and “bwoing” and “jiggle” sound effects. Siiiiiigh. I thought I had become inured to the fanservice in this series, but I guess not. Otherwise, it’s an enjoyable volume and features some tasty-looking curries. I look forward to seeing what Soma has come up with. – Michelle Smith

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 13 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – By Magi standards, volume thirteen is merely pretty good, but that certainly doesn’t mean that it is bad. Rather, it’s transitional. Aladdin, Morgiana, and Hakuryu (the latter of whom gets to be significantly useful on several occasions!) all have individual quests they want to pursue, so they set sail from Sindria, ostensibly leaving a sulky Alibaba behind. Only, he has stowed away and has seemingly abandoned his petulance in favor of a goal of his own. And, indeed, when the group encounters some pirates who are abducting children, it’s a return to the clear-eyed, doing-the-right-thing Alibaba of the past as he declares he and his friends will save the day. And that’s great to see! It’s just all so introductory. I’m sure the next volume will be much more satisfying. – Michelle Smith

Say I Love You., Vol. 9 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – It’s a rare thing that I feel bad for a romantic rival in a shoujo manga, particularly one with a track record of nastiness like Megumi’s, but when her contest-winning “date” with Yamato makes inescapably clear there’s no room for her in his heart, she earns my sympathies. Despite trading on her cute looks, she wants someone who looks past her appearance to really see her, and that’s something the Kurosawa boys seem genetically disposed to do, as the rest of the volume tells the story of Yamato’s brother, Daichi, and the love he once had, then lost, and is now struggling to move on from. In a way, this reminds me of Hatori’s story in Fruits Basket, and I wonder if we’ll check in with him from time to time, as he lets down his walls and achieves happiness once more. I really enjoy this series. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 35 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – Much as I love Skip Beat!, I have mixed feelings about this volume. On the one hand, Ren talking to Kyoko in the guise of Corn the fairy allows him to admit his feelings freely and also to make progress toward accepting that his terrible past experiences were necessary to get him where he is today, where he was able to meet Kyoko. On the other, Ren is tricking Kyoko, using her unquestioning belief in fairies to explain away his appearance and manufacturing a story about a curse in order to manipulate her into kissing him. When she is exceedingly reluctant, this grown man literally says to a teenage girl, “Liar. You said you’d do anything to help me but you didn’t mean it.” Of course, he instantly feels bad about it, but ugh. I hope she is righteously pissed off when she eventually learns the truth. – Michelle Smith

Sean and Michelle weigh in on some recent releases from Seven Seas and VIZ Media.

Black Rose Alice, Vol. 5 | By Setona Mizushiro | VIZ Media – I’m an unabashed shoujo fanatic, but even I must admit that, when it comes to romance, one can usually predict how a story is going to end. Not that Black Rose Alice would exactly fall under the “romance” genre, but it does center around Alice making a choice between suitors and with some surprising arrivals, departures, and developments, the story has taken a fascinating turn and I genuinely have no clue what will happen next! Alice is a mess of guilt, confusion, and indecision and Dimitri continues to be an enigmatic character whose professions of love fail to ring true, but what I liked most was getting to know one of the twins better (Kai) and seeing how his growing connection with Alice spurs jealousy and flashbacks in his brother (Reiji). I’m already sad that volume six will be the last we see for a long while. – Michelle Smith

Citrus, Vol. 3 | By Saburouta | Seven Seas – The thing that makes Citrus still readable is that Yuzu, despite being the cliched flakey girl, is the only one in the entire series with an ounce of sense and maturity. Her worries about her relationship are sensible and founded on the lack of communication she has with Mei, and the lack of communication makes sense give everything that happens here. Sadly, everything that happens includes Matsuri, a former childhood friend of Yuzu’s who spends the entire volume being so petty and evil that I found myself just wanting to put the book down. Her final conversation with Mei is well done, but was it worth all the aggravation that came before it? It’s nice to see more yuri over here, but Citrus remains highly variable. – Sean Gaffney

Evergreen, Vol. 2 | By Yuyiko Takemiya and Akira Caskabe | Seven Seas – Teenagers have chronic misunderstandings. It’s part of being a teenager, and there’s just as much media attention on it in Western media as there is in Japanese animation. There’s also a sense in Evergreen that our two leads have a darker, more dangerous snse of low self-worth than has already been suggested, due to tragic pasts and health concerns. That said, this volume of Evergreen is basically “hope you like miscommunication,” both in its main pairing (if it is one—I’m still not sure about that) and the best friend x playboy side pairing that actually takes up equal time in this volume. I may actually find their relationship more interesting than the main one—not uncommon in many romance manga. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 7 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki| Viz Media – This is a tournament arc in a shonen manga, and even though we’re talking about food rather than fights the basic setup is the same. Lots of last-minute moves, astonished gasps from the gallery, the judges and announcers frantically talking about what they’ve just seen or eaten, and amazing poses of either a) the chef looking cool and awesome or b) annoying fanservice eating shots. The authors made a good choice saving Megumi for last, though—given we’ve been with her story since the beginning, it’s heartwarming to see her newly developed skills catapult her to the next round here, not sacrificing what makes her cooking best. Good stuff, skip the orgasms faces. – Sean Gaffney

One Piece, Vol. 75 | By Eiichiro Oda | VIZ Media – I always enjoy reading One Piece, but I found this particular volume to be bloody fantastic. Masterful, even. What could’ve easily been pure chaos—the Straw Hats once again splitting up to help free an island’s local populace from a cruel ruler, with battles raging on multiple fronts—is instead easy to follow and riveting, to boot. Going against Doflamingo is the most significant thing Luffy has done yet, for in addition to being a fearsome opponent with a loyal family of officers on his side, defeating him will bring down the wrath of one of the four emperors upon Luffy and his current ally, Trafalgar Law, and that future faceoff will bring Luffy one step closer to his goal. And if all this weren’t enough, we also get great scenes for other members of the crew and meet the worthy successor to Ace’s flame-flame fruit! Go read it! – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 29 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – As I expected, one of the major mentor characters in this series is brought down here. That, combined with losing his major battle and Komatsu being kidnapped, leads to a mental breakdown for Toriko that takes ages to snap out of (credit to Rin for figuring out what might do it—she’s come a long way from the comedy girl in love with oblivious guy). As for Komatsu, he may be an enemy prisoner, but he’s still able to make the most amazing food he can using only the weak ingredients provided. In a manga filled with superheroes with amazing powers, Komatsu actually ends up seeming like the author’s favorite who can do no wrong. And I’m 100% OK with that. – Sean Gaffney