Sean Gaffney

By Izumi Tsubaki. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz.

One problem with licensing manga in North America is that when you see a series that gets insanely popular, the gut reaction is to go back and find earlier works by the author. And this can often lead to disappointment, as you realize that the series you love was the point where the author really took off, and the work they did before just doesn’t quite measure up. Fruits Basket is an excellent example, as it’s Tokyopop’s biggest hit, but Tsubasa: Those With Wings and Phantom Dream did not have nearly the same sales, because, well, they weren’t as good. But with Oresama Teacher, we’ve already gotten the early series out of the way. The Magic Touch came out here first, and even though it had only one fan (me), it still made it through nine volumes. And now we see the successor, Oresama Teacher, which is, in most ways, a better series overall.

This isn’t to say the manga is perfect. The fact that you need TWO cast sheets is a big clue that there are simply too many people in this manga, and it requires referring back and forth sometimes to remember who the more minor characters are. Indeed, one of the cadre of ‘bad guys’ laments the fact that she’s bored, and wonders when she’ll be able to have a role in this series. Every time we return to Mafuyu’s old school (including in this volume), things seem to drag a little more. And for readers of Shojo Beat, it might be a little odd seeing a series like this, filled with gang wars, goofy comedy, and a complete lack of romantic hijinks. But to me that’s what makes it better. Let’s face it, if Hakusensha had a shonen magazine, this series would be in it. But it doesn’t, it has Hana to Yume.

And so when we see our heroes going off to rescue Kanon, they do so by kicking as much ass as possible. In fact, part of the thrill of these first two chapters is seeing just how intelligent everyone is in regards to fighting, particularly Mafuyu. She’s good at being a gang leader for many reasons. She’s strong, and has endurance. She plans ahead, or at least tries to. And the guys who make up run of the mill henchmen help her by being idiots. Seeing her use one as a ventriloquist dummy, or making a deal so that they won’t open the door for 30 seconds when she’s running from them… it’s hilarious, but also showcases that she’s not merely the main character because it’s a shoujo manga.

The other thing I loved about Kanon’s rescue arc was that it showed that the whole “boys bully the girl they like” attitude that elementary schoolkids are supposed to have is simply pure bullying, full stop. And that, while you can’t change the past, you can try to move past your actions. Kento’s plan was quite stupid, but it does end up leading him to what he needs to do: he needs to apologize to Kanon for everything he did back then. It’s his realization o this that’s the climax of this arc, and I am relieved that, while accepting his apology, Kanon continues to not give two shits about him.

The other plot point that’s come up over and over again is Mafuyu’s memory loss, and we see a chapter devoted to that in this volume. Since it’s clear she can remember things when prompted (even if she doesn’t want to, as they’re always humiliating to her high school self), it would appear that there’s some major event in her past that caused her to repress everything involving Takaomi – and that he is not ready to tell her what that is. Indeed, it’s not even clear if he knows what that is – he’s been surprised once or twice at her lack of memory. It can be a bit discomfiting seeing that she and Takaomi are still the closest thing to a potential couple in this manga – indeed, we see scenes here of their childhood selves play-acting a rather disturbing family – especially given that Takaomi has to a certain extent raised Mafuyu to be the badass she is today. Still, would not be the first older man/younger woman shoujo manga ending if it does happen.

We seem to be gearing up for a new arc here, as Mafuyu and company are going on a class trip that I suspect will take all of Vol. 15 and more. But I don’t know if I’m all that invested in the major plot points behind Oresama Teacher, even as I go on about them in my review. This is a fun title with badass characters and a tendency towards hilarity. Movement of the plot is simply gravy at this point.

By Katsura Hoshino. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized originally in Weekly Shonen Jump, currently ongoing in Jump Square. Released in North America by Viz Media.

I’ve often felt that the most popular Jump series in the West, the ones with the most fanatical followings, are ones where no one noticed them until 10 volumes in, when they hit a groove. Suddenly, word of mouth is telling everyone “Oh man, you have to read this awesome series! Don’t worry, it gets better!” With that relief in mind, the reader powers through however many volumes are at the start, secure in their knowledge that they will reach the really good bit. Kenshin has its Kyoto arc, One Piece has Arlong Park, Bleach has Soul Society. This even applies to unlicensed titles, such as Medaka Box and the Student Council Battle arc (notably, most fans were frustrated as this is exactly where the anime stopped).

I bring this up because D.Gray-Man seems to be falling into the same groove as most other popular Jump series, in that it’s a slow starter. There’s nothing bad or boring about this omnibus; I found it quite entertaining. But there’s nothing in it, aside from maybe the pretty young men, that makes you go “Oh, that’s why it has a big fanbase here.” Indeed, it’s not even the most popular exorcist series in Jump Square, its current home – Blue Exorcist has that won hands down. The series starts the way most do in Jump (where it ran for years before the author’s health caused it to move to the monthly title) – with a series of one-shot battles followed by a couple of brief, volume-long arcs that introduce us slowly to each member of the main cast, particularly our hero, Allen Walker.

I’ll be honest here – it’s hard for me to read this series and not see Hayate Ayasaki in the lead. Shonen Sunday’s Combat Butler shares many traits with D.Gray-Man’s Exorcist, be it a similar appearance, tremendously tragic backstory, heroic self-deprecation, a desire to save everyone, or just the ability to do one-fingered push-ups. Allen’s rather mild-mannered compared to the loud boisterous Jump heroes we’re used to, and the series itself also seems to run in more muted tomes. That said, the quieter nature of this series does help to emphasize the series’ biggest strength, and the thing I ended up enjoying most: the horror.

This can get quite scary when it wants to. The art is grotesque and bishonen in almost equal amount, and the villain is straight out of the “monster clown” handbook. but it’s not just scary images; the first chapter points out how absolutely horrific an Akuma is, and how its creation and ongoing life involves the eternal torment of an innocent soul. Allen, indeed, feels this torment more than his colleagues do, which can sometimes put him at odds with the standoffish Kanda or the matter-of-fact Lenalee. (Lenalee, sadly, was one of the weaker parts of the book for me, partly as she’s quite similar to Allen in temperament and partly as she didn’t do much but kick things and get captured. I hope that improves.)

D.Gray-Man has been running since 2005, and is up to 23 volumes, so it seems odd to come at it from a newbie perspective as I am. But that’s how I’m seeing it. It’s a promising new series to me, with some good characters, some characters who could be good with more effort, a diffuse plot that could use more direction, some decent goofy humor, and some very nice art. Oh yes, and a BL fandom that is one of the largest of all modern BL Jump fandoms, up there with Reborn! and Prince of Tennis. It didn’t reach out and shake me by the shirt, but I will definitely try a 2nd omnibus.

(Dull cover, though. That black border does it no favors at all.)

By Anastasia Shestakova and Crimson. Released in Japan as ‘Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de’ by Micro Magazine, serialized on a mobile service. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this series going in. Its author is supposedly Russian (though that feels like a pen name), and it originally ran in Japan, as far as I can tell, as a cellphone manga. Those are a lot bigger there than they are here, and it’s gotten up to nine volumes. The gimmick, as it were, is that this is a shonen fantasy re-imagining of the console wars between Sega and Nintendo in the 1980s, with our heroes on the Sega side battling the evil Nintendo Empire. (I do admit this does not look good for our heroes, if we stick to established history…) I know a little bit about gaming, but not much. So how confusing would this title be to me?

The answer is not very. Honestly, if it weren’t for the obvious Kingdom names – “Segua” vs. “Ninteldo” – and the author’s interspersed notes giving a brief history of gaming in the 80s, I may not even have noticed the metaphor. The leads are supposed to represent a different game – Gear, the hero, is Sonic the Hedgehog; his childhood friend Nel is Phantasy Star 2; his tsundere love interest Opal is Fantasy Zone, etc. I didn’t know this until the notes told me. More importantly, these are stock shonen characters – the author even admits she created Gear to be a shonen manga role model, and that he is.

Because when it gets right down to it, this isn’t really for fans of computer games as much as it is fans of Fairy Tail. Gear is a fast fighter who wants to avenge the death of his friend. He goes to the capital city and joins the army by means of simply defeating everyone in it. Opal is even more stock character, immediately hating and challenging the young man who appears out of nowhere, but falling for him the second she is defeated. Even the perverse mentor who shows our heroes how to get stronger while constantly making suggestive remarks feels right out of Dragon Ball.

This has the feel of a Magazine title more than Jump, mostly due to the sexual overtones. There’s actually very little fanservice so far (much to my surprise), but the aforementioned perverse mentor (who’s meant to be Tetris, I think) keeps talking about plugging the gaping holes in everyone’s defenses with his rod, and also gropes the heroine to teach her a lesson after she’s magically exhausted. And the army commander, Ramses (she’s meant to be Columns, I guess?) gets sexually aroused seeing Gear fight (we see her naked, in the one piece of fanservice in the volume) and is describes as having ‘unspeakable hobbies’. But again, these types of sexualized ‘guy jokes’ would not be out of place in Magazine or Champion.

In all honesty, this is pretty generic shonen. I’m interested in seeing how Ninteldo (which is, of course, led by Mario) looks once we see them in action as more than just evil guys. That said, I am totally behind Seven Seas licensing this and putting out more of it, for one very good reason: it’s nothing like anything else they publish. Seven Seas is trying to expand a bit away from their mainstay market of ‘otaku fanboys’, as we’ve seen with the female-oriented Alice spinoffs. This is another step in that direction, showing off a series that appeals to the shonen boy in all of us; a young man vowing to fight for his country against the bad guys, using powerful moves. Let’s see how Gear can differentiate himself from Luffy or Natsu.

By Yoshikazu Yasuhiko; Original Story by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate; Mechanical Design by Kunio Okawara. Released in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in the magazine Gundam Ace. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc.

When we last left our heroes, they’d finally gotten back to Earth. Of course, this proves to be only the beginning of their troubles… they’re in enemy territory, and are being told by their allies in South America “get here first, then we’ll tell you what to do next.” Their ace pilot is having a bit of a PTSD attack, and wants no part of all of this. The refugees they picked up are resorting to taking hostages just to be allowed to leave. And our man in charge, Bright Noah, just can’t seem to get any respect. But then, this is what happens when your enemies call your ship the “Trojan Horse”… you have all the luck that Troy did.

To get the obvious out of the way first, most of what you enjoyed about the first book is present and correct here in the second. The battles are done very well, with lots of attention to detail and realism (given that these are robot wars), but don’t take up so much of the book that you get bored with all the combat. The overall tone is serious, but there are some very amusing dashes of humor, including Lieutenant Reed’s ulcer, Fraw Bow’s jealousy (and a flash of the same thing from Amuro), and every exasperated face Noah makes. But overall, the message continues to be what Gundam does best: war is a horrible thing that destroys entire cities, and one should never revel in it.

I think my favorite party of the volume was watching every single interaction between Char and Garma. After all the earnestness that our heroes fall into, it’s great seeing two people who clearly despise each other attempting to one-up each other in how politely smug they can be. Char’s needling of Garma, and manipulation as the story goes on, really shows of his people skills, albeit not in a good way. He spends much of this volume simply watching things develop (well, that and taking long showers so that he can properly show off his fantastic naked body to the reader). This makes his arrogant sneering at Garma right at the end all the more startling, and reminds you once again that he may be the bad guy you love to hate, but he’s still the bad guy.

As for Amuro, he gets the bulk of the second half of this volume, as he reunites with his mother. I’ll be honest, I totally expected him to return and find his mother dead – all the signs were pointing that way – but then, this series has pointed one way and gone another before, so I shouldn’t be surprised. What we got was even better, though – his mother has no context for what’s happened to Amuro at all, and all she can see is that her little boy has become a killer. This is far more visceral than most stories of this time, given Amuro has to lethally fight his way out of the encampment his mother is living in. It’s the emotional heart of the story.

And then there is the titular Garma. The Gundam story makes sure that we don’t simply see the Zeon enemy as “space Nazis”, and Garma’s desire to be worthy of his name, as well as his romance with an Earth girl, is part of this. I was never quite sure till the end how invested he was in Icelina, but it seems to be more genuine than I thought, and I wonder if she’ll return at some point down the line. But in the end, this is a story about war and the prices that one pays during it, and the final images we see are a father brutally gunned down in front of his daughter, and a father stunned to hear of the death of his son.

I admit I would perhaps have slightly fewer mech battles if I were plotting this, but oh well. Gundam is still a riveting and fascinating series, and fully justifies why it has endured all these years. And the presentation, again, is fantastic – a real coffee table book. It’s hard to wait three more months to see what happens next.

By Asumiko Nakamura. Released in Japan as two separate volumes by Ohta Shuppan, serialized in the magazine Manga Erotics F. Released in North America by Vertical.

I didn’t know a whole lot about this series going into it, except that it had striking cover art, and the premise seemed to promise a whodunnit sort of thing. As it turns out, the death at the start of the book is more of a catalyst than a mystery. Instead, it’s the story of several really broken people, and watching them all move through life, desperately trying to find the purpose they lack. And trust me, that’s a lot more riveting than trying to figure out how someone really died.

The plot of the manga involves a well-known writer who has apparently begun a new series in a monthly magazine called ‘Utsubora’ – an archaic Japanese word that can mean ‘hollow space’. The fictional story and the manga both are inhabited by people who define that word, be it the writer himself, the mysterious girl who seemed to be his muse, his exasperated editor, or the niece who is seemingly the most normal girl here. One of the things I really liked about the manga is the way that Nakamura makes you shift sympathies as you read and understand more – I really empathized with Tsuji, the young editor, at the start, and then less and less as the story went on and we saw how far he’d go regarding his crush. Likewise, Mizorogi started off as a stoic creep, but gradually I felt deep pity and empathy for him.

Despite what the title may imply, not every series that runs in Manga Erotics F has to have sex in it. This one does, though, and we see quite a few scenes of lovemaking. The interesting thing is that they’re all presented very differently depending on who is present. Mizorogi’s psychological issues mean that sex with him is very different from sex with someone like Tsuji, a fact that is pointed out immediately by the girl who’s been with both of them. (It also ties in to his issues with being able to write, and using “Fujino” for that.) And a later scene showing Tsuji and a desperate female author who’s in lust with him seems far dirtier than the other scenes, less loving and more passionate and quick.

I haven’t talked much about the two girls on the front and back covers, even thought they are very much the focus of this work. Indeed, for a while I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with them at all. The mystery set up at the beginning was less about the death and more about what happened before, and how much we, as a reader, could trust what’s presented to us. In the end, though, I’m left with an almost aching sadness as I look back on what happened with Aki Fujino, Sakura Miki and Fujiko Akiyama, and it’s her character that conveys the meaning of the title the most. At the start, and at the end, she stands stoic before us, but in between those times the raw emotion is almost too much to bear.

Utsubora is a book, I think, that has to be felt almost as much as it has to be read. Its examination of a writer’s life, and the people that surround that life, is tangible and heartbreaking. There’s a lot of stuff I wasn’t even able to cover here, simply as I didn’t want to spoil too much about this book, which is highly unusual for me. Seek this out, it’s one of the best titles I’ve read this year.

By Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. Released in Japan by Futabasha, serialized in the magazine Manga Action. Released in North America by Dark Horse.

I had never read Lone Wolf and Cub when I started to get into manga back in the day. My tastes ran more towards Ranma and Sailor Moon at that time, and it was also in a weird format, with smaller trim than what I was expecting. Then as it went on I simply never got a chance to go back to it. Now Dark horse is releasing the series in large omnibuses, sized like the other books on your shelves (although still flipped), with the first three volumes in this giant 700+-page monster. Is it worth picking this up?

Well, if you already have it, I wouldn’t get it again, as there’s no new translation or anything. If you don’t have it, though, this is a surprisingly gripping tale of assassination and vengeance. I say surprising as, at least for these three volumes, it’s also very episodic, bouncing back and forth between various parts of feudal Japan. It appears to all take place in the same year, given that Daigoro (the ‘Cub’ of the title) stays about 3 years old throughout, but there’s little continuity between each story, and we really don’t even know much of why Ogami is an assassination for hire beyond “he was set up and his wife was killed”. This is an early 70s seinen action manga, so there’s not a lot of heavy continuity here.

That said, this also adds to the purity of the story. Our hero roots out corruption (he even makes sure to get the FULL story from his clients, including everything they’ve done wrong, just in case) and metes out his own brand of justice. Naturally, given that the protagonists are a killer assassin and his three-year-old son, the villains tends to go either two ways: horrible and cowardly villains who die like the dogs they are, or noble-yet-conflicted samurai who duel to the death with dignity. And they all know who Lone Wolf is, not to mention his Cub. Doesn’t really stop him from getting what he wants, even if he has to take out 8 female ninja assassins, or fight on a rickety bridge, or even inside an inescapable prison.

This is, of course, written by Kazuo Koike, later known for works like Crying Freeman. It will not surprise anyone, therefore, that Ogami is also an excellent lover, though we don’t see that quite as often as I expected here. Partly as the focus of the series is sword battles, but also because the women here tend to be dead or evil – I was rather surprised when one chapter showed a thief/prostitute actually surviving to the next chapter. At least I think that’s her in the next chapter – the artist is not that great at differentiating between his characters. Luckily, Ogami’s eyebrows are large enough so he can be spotted anywhere.

This is a giant tome of a book – it may actually read easier in its original non-omnibus format – and we have a ways to go, as the series runs to the mid-20s or so, and this is only Vol. 1-3. Nonetheless, it’s highly influential, and you can see why – as a mood, the book is stellar. Recommended for those who like manly manga, swordfights, or samurai.