Michelle Smith

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

Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 10 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – After being stabbed protecting Hokuto from an assailant, Chiwa drags her feet on showing her husband the letter his late father had delivered to her after his funeral. Eventually, the truth comes out and, to protect Chiwa from family machinations, Hokuto proposes a divorce, after which he promptly disappears. It was a foregone conclusion that this series would end with a happily ever after, so though there is angst here, there is no sense of urgency. Even the revelation of who was behind the attempt on Hokuto’s life (and the death of his mother) is completely ho-hum, though I guess I appreciate that the guilty party’s motivations made sense. Plot isn’t the point of a series like this, anyway. If you enjoyed previous volumes of Happy Marriage?!, this conclusion (however inevitable) is still worth checking out. – Michelle Smith

Honey Blood: Tale 0 | By Miko Mitsuki | Viz Media – Even though I am so over stories in which immortal men fall in love with teenage girls, I did like the bittersweet aspect of Honey Blood‘s ending, so I appreciate the opportunity to read the three one-shot stories that preceded the serialized version. The things that bugged me are still present, but so too is the acknowledgment that the couple is basically doomed for a dark future. Two unrelated stories round out the volume: one about a pair of childhood friends who wait too long to confess their feelings, and the other about a tomboy who feels like she needs to completely transform herself (physically and behaviorally) in order to attract the boy she likes. That’s a horrible message, obviously, but it was kind of cute, too. In the end, Mitsuki did some intriguing things with some stock concepts, and I hope we see more from her in the future. – Michelle Smith

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 17 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – We’ve finally cone to the end of the ‘past’ storyline, and Nanami has done most everything she needs to do. As a result, much of this volume is simply seeing the results of her past meddling, as it affects the important players: Tomoe, Yukiji, and Akura-Oh. After that, we finally get to see the fruits of her labors, even if it requires a brief detour to 20 years ago so that Mikage knows that she’s the one who is able to save Tomoe where he can’t. And the payoff is beautiful, something that fans of this series have been waiting for since it began. I’d be happy if it ended here, but there’s plenty more to go in Japan (Vol. 21 is due out next month), so instead let’s go out on both Nanami and Yukiji’s ecstatic faces for now. – Sean Gaffney

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 4 | by Takaya Kagami, Yamato Yamamoto, and Daisuke Furuya | Viz Media – I continue to be impressed with the amount of worldbuilding and character development on display in this action packed manga about the last dregs of humanity turning to demonically infused weapons to fight off vampires in a futuristic dystopia. After the adopted brothers Yu and Mika found their paths diverging, with one joining a group of vampire hunters and the other becoming a vampire, the inevitable confrontation occurred in this volume, and the results were so intriguing. Mika sees Yu being used by vampire hunters and Yu vows to save Mika from his new vampire family. The opposing groups are neither good or bad, and with some interesting facts being divulged about Yu’s chosen side, I’m very interested to see where this story is heading next. – Anna N

The Wallflower, Vol. 34 | By Tomoko Hayakawa | Kodansha Comics – Even after 34 volumes, the core message of The Wallflower has been fairly consistent, albeit occasionally abused for the sake of comedy. ‘Don’t make yourself into something you’re not because of anyone’s opinion’ drives this series, and Sunako’s consistent inability to become ‘the lady’ her aunt wants is due to this. In this volume, we see the tomboyish Machiko get told her relationship with Yuki isn’t romantic enough, and a lonely spoiled brat learning that it is possible to have fun like a normal child and that her grandfather really does love her. As for Kyohei and Sunako, that takes a back seat here, but given the manga is wrapping up soon, I imagine that the next volume will take care of that. – Sean Gaffney

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

Cage of Eden, Vol. 17 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – In this volume, we see a welcome return of massive killer beats, this one a genetic monstrosity that seems to be an attempted chimera. It allows this manga to do what it does best. No, not the fanservice and commentary on the fanservice, though there’s that too. Seeing the cast inspire each other to use their abilities to their fullest in order to survive is something both Sengoku and Yarai to a lesser degree have been doing, and there’s lots of impressive fighting attempts, even if some of them don’t work. Sadly, this can also lead to OVERconfidence, as we see with fake Miina, who tries to take out the beast and gets eaten. Hard to come back from getting eaten. Or is it? – Sean Gaffney

Magi, Vol. 10 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – This volume reminds us how far our heroes have cme since the start of this book, and how closely they work as a team. So when you add a new element to that team, Hakuryu, he can find himself quickly falling behind – something that makes him insane with envy and self-hatred. It takes Alibaba to remind him that they’ve all made mistakes because they tried to take too much on their own, and his mistakes cost people their lives. In among this, we get Morgiana stepping up to new levels of awesome as she learns to use her vessel, a sneering villain who does his best t drive the group onward and will likely prove to be testing them, and some new arrogant bad guys to provide a cliffhanger. What more culd you want? – Sean Gaffney

Meteor Prince, Vol. 1 | By Meca Tanaka | Viz Media – The premise of Meteor Prince—“a naked alien prince falls from the sky to tell [our heroine] that out of all the girls in the universe, he’s come to Earth to mate with her”—is virtually guaranteed to make one dubious. However, I’m glad I overcame my initial doubts because the series won me over in the end. Io, said prince, is an innocent horndog with alien abilities who easily overcomes the horrible luck that has forced heroine Hako Natsuno to keep her distance from all but a few good friends. As a result, there’s a nice balance of comedy and romance, and Tanaka even finds time to hint at feelings between a couple of the secondary characters. Two volumes seems just the right length for this series, which ultimately reminded me of the type of shoujo once offered by CMX. Surprisingly recommended! – Michelle Smith

One Piece, Vol. 73 | By Eiichiro Oda | Viz Media – No volume of One Piece is ever bad, but some are more emotionally affecting than others. Volume 73 is a good balance of sympathetic islanders—a much-loved king forced to betray his people by a villain, swept-under-the-carpet undesirables plotting rebellion, Franky crying his eyes out over their story…—and action, as the storylines converge and our heroes make ready to help out. I like how the alliance with Trafalgar Law has affected the crew, and how Nami is the one to really recognize the merits of his strategy, and I really liked the arrival of a certain (presumed) character and the effect this had on Luffy. Did any of this make me personally verklempt? Well, no, but it’s still pretty great. – Michelle Smith

Say “I Love You”, Vol. 6 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – Well, it didn’t take long for Megumi’s plans to come crumbling down around her, did it? It helps that Mei has her first major rival/villain on her side now, one that can see through all the garbage. Given that we also see a sizeable chunk of Megumi’s past here, I suspect she may also end up becoming more likeable to the reader, though I suspect it will take longer. What’s more interesting is the cliffhanger, which makes you wonder if Mei and Yamato will have their first time together. I’m inclined to guess they won’t, but we’ve seen quite a bit of sexual activity in the book already, so you never know. In any case, this is still one of those mangas I always try to read as soon as it arrives. – Sean Gaffney

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

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 5 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – This volume does a god job of balancing out the slice-of-life and the worldbuilding. ON the one hand we have chapters like the one with Kyoko and her brother, which reassures us that despite both being goat/human hybrids they’re still a typical family with rivalries and brattiness. On the other you have the last chapter, showing the history of how the centaurs gained rights, with this world’s Napoleon promising them freedom if they fight under his command. And in the middle we see Suu and her childhood friend appear to talk about manga romances not being the same as real life (she seems a bit creeped out). This series is decidedly odd, and that’s what keeps it so readable. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!, Vol. 4 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – With a minimum of fanservice, and a good heaping help of classic Shonen Jump tropes, this is the best volume of Food Wars! to date. Soma’s battle with Shinomiya is really Megumi’s battle, and she shows off once again why she’s an amazing chef if she can just learn to stop panicking. But for Soma, who knows they won on a technicality, the frustration of losing leads to self-harm (don’t worry, it’s just punching a wall). And while the last volume saw Megumi on the verge of expulsion as the cliffhanger, here we see Soma in the same situation, as his breakfast menu has not gained any support. There’s also the usual bevy of eccentric characters and amusing one-shot gags, and it may just be the lack of ‘this food is making me having an orgasm’ pages, but I’ve come to love this. – Sean Gaffney

Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 10 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – In our final volume, most everything gets resolved. What I appreciated most was the implicit realization that both Hokuto and Chiwa married too soon, and how to fix that without simply breaking up, as they do love each other dearly. That said, they just can’t stop getting on each other’s nerves, and it’s fitting that the final chapters show off how they’re always going to be fighting each other, and have simply come to accept it. The series has existed on that sort of tension, so doesn’t just want to get rid of it with an overly soppy ending. But they’re married – again – and Chiwa may be pregnant, so all is well. The marriage parts of this were, in the end, the victor over all the ‘Hokuto’s backstory’ parts. – Sean Gaffney

Honey Blood: Tale Zero | By Miko Mitsuki | Viz Media – This volume collects the first chapters of Honey Blood, where we get a previous version of the story that is a bit more humorous and improbable, and the heroine has a slightly less strong personality. I think the changes in the version for the two volume manga were for the better, but it was interesting to get a peek into the creative process involved in reworking a story for longer serialization. The volume is rounded out with some additional short stories, one featuring a tomboyish girl with a crush on an aspiring male makeup artist, and a story between a boy and girl next door that doesn’t end well. This volume is probably best for completists only, the other two volumes of Honey Blood stand on their own. While I think this series didn’t completely come together, I’d like to check out other works by Mitsuki, because I did enjoy the art and aspects of the plot. – Anna N

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 2 | By Aya Shouoto | Viz Media – I was hoping the second volume of Kiss of the Rose Princess would help me decide what to make of this series, but it’s so different from the first—introducing a villain who attacks two knights and kidnaps a third, as well as a weakening seal on the demon lord that can only be repaired with a terrible sacrifice—that I remain kind of baffled. I appreciate the more serious moments, though there is still plenty of unfunny comedy, and it’s really jarring when what could’ve been an important moment is undermined by a stupid gag. Too, I suspect either Shouoto or her editor was a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because there are a couple of plot elements that are so similar they’ve got me wondering. Still, it’s an improvement overall, and I find myself willing to stick around a bit and see where this goes. – Michelle Smith

Soul Eater, Vol. 24 | By Atsushi Ohkubo | Yen Press – I appreciated the reminder midway through this volume of how terrifying the series can get, as Crona’s attack on the infiltrators is something that I will likely have nightmares about. That said, even Crona can’t stop Asura from being the final big bad, and it’s up to Maka, Black*Star and Death the Kid (who has a brief comedic detour back to Earth, the best joke in the volume) and their respective weapons to stop him. We’ve only got one more volume to go, and that sounds about right, as there’s time for one last battle, Shinigami-sama’s death (which is clearly lampshaded here), and a big celebration to end it all. Soul Eater has given us a bizarre skewed shonen manga, right to the end. – Sean Gaffney

Toriko, Vol. 26 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – It’s all battles again in this new Toriko, so I have less to talk about. It was interesting to see an actual death of a named character, as Tommyrod is finished off by Sunny in a battle of the disturbing. Meanwhile, Brunch’s battle against a supposed immortal invincible character shows off how little those attributes actually mean in a manga like this. The most troubling battle goes t Toriko, who is almost killed off before revived by the sound of Komatsu crying for him (in case you hadn’t figured out he’s the heroine by now). Is he actually ready to take on Starjun? And is this the real enemy, or is there now a 3rd party gumming up the works? Man, remember when this was all about food? More food, please. – Sean Gaffney