Manga Bookshelf

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Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Tokyo Babylon

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tokyobabylon1SEAN: Far be it from me to break with what I suspect is going to be unanimous. The clear pick this week is the first omnibus re-release of CLAMP’s Tokyo Babylon. I joked about it being the story of Hokuto and those two other guys, but it is certainly true that Hokuto is my favorite thing about it, and I’ll likely be digging into this volume especially for her. That said, the tragic story of Subaru and Seishirou is no slouch, and if I want to pretend things end happily I can just stop with this first volume anyway. This is one of the books that made CLAMP famous, and justifiably so.

MJ: I’m sure that by now it’s obvious I concur. Though there are at least two series I love just as much on this week’s list (Fullmetal Alchemist and Paradise Kiss) Dark Horse’s re-release of Tokyo Babylon is one of my most euphorically anticipated of the year, and there’s no way I can turn down the opportunity to try to bring more readers into the fold. I love everything about this series—its overblown comedy, its sometimes-clunky drama, and its eighties fashion sense—but mostly I love it for its slow-developing characterization and, well, its cruelty. CLAMP goes at this story with full force, and isn’t satisfied until they’ve beaten you into an hysterical, bloody heap. If you think I’m exaggerating, you haven’t read Tokyo Babylon. So go to it!

MICHELLE: I’m not gonna be the one to buck the trend! The best thing about the series being in print again is that readers who missed out the first time will be able to discover it. I hope we see some reviews from first-time readers in the near future!

ANNA: I think all of this peer pressure means I have to give this series a second chance.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

JManga the Weeks of 3/7 and 3/14

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SEAN: I have to admit I am impressed with the anonymous teams behind these series that are all coming out at a rapid rate, even if I don’t know who they are because they aren’t credited. The translation quality, while still not perfect, has risen considerably since the start back in August 2011, and the series are cranking out so that, presumably, we can focus on fresh new series in the future.

All of which is a nice way of saying I still don’t have much to say. The big manga for me this week and next is Joshi Kousei (aka High School Girls), which wraps up with the release of Vols. 8 & 9, and finally resolves the unanswered question about the Takarazuka pair. No, not whether they’re actually lesbians, that’s still unanswered. (Though obvious.)

MJ: I admit I don’t have much to say, either, which isn’t to say that I’m necessarily disappointed with what’s happening at JManga. Sure, I miss some of the weeks when they introduced scads of new series, and it’s been a while since some of my personal favorites have been updated. But I appreciate the fact that they’re carrying on, updating what they can, when they can.

MICHELLE: My sentiments exactly. I’m sure at some point, there’ll be something for us to squee over again.

SEAN: There’s also Vol. 5 of Biscuit Hammer, which puts us at the halfway point, and Vol. 6 of Crime and Punishment: A Falsified Romance, which is also 10 volumes, but otherwise quite different from Hoshi no Samidare.

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And Vol. 12 of Tactics, which has blown past the old Tokyopop releases (which ended with 8, I believe) and is blazing its own trail. The series is still ongoing from Mag Garden, I believe, and I still can’t remember what it’s about aside from “fantasy”.

MJ: Though I lost interest in Tactics midway through the Tokyopop run, I’ll admit that seeing so many available volumes pop up has re-awakened my curiosity. Should I give the series another shot? I’m thinking I just might.

SEAN: Speaking of fantasy (indeed, they’re by the same author), there is also Vol. 5 of The Mythical Detective LOKI. Please note that this version is not played by Tom Hiddleston, despite what Tumblr may tell you.

Lastly, Tsumanuda Fight Town still has maids who fight. I should really actually read this rather than mocking it, as it does run in Young King OURS, home of many of my beloved titles.

Anything catch your eye here?

One Piece, Vol. 66

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By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

The cover to this volume of One Piece is very telling, given that this volume ends one arc and begins another. In the foreground, we have Luffy, Jimbei and Shirahoshi, but new events are creeping in in the background, with Big Mom’s pirates one the right and Smoker and Tashigi on the left. Things are in a state of flux, and we aren’t quite sure where the manga is headed next. (That is, if we’re reading the manga only by volumes, Most North American readers can now read Shonen Jump weekly on Viz’s site, where Punk Hazard has just finished. Viz seems content to have the volumes be about a year behind the weekly chapters.)

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Hody Jones having been defeated at the end of the last volume (and his comeuppance is highly amusing, and makes for a good capper to the “drugs are bad” plotline he and his mates had), all that’s left is to stop the ark crashing into the island and sinking it. Which is done, with the help of some ancient and powerful sea monsters who are mostly there to be mysterious. Then there’s the standard “we’ve won, let’s have a party” finale, which always gives us a nice two-page spread.

Most of what’s interesting about this volume, though, is the backstory we don’t really see. Robin has discovered the true nature of Shirahoshi, and it’s quite surprising. (And makes me wonder about Alabasta, which told of the location of another one of those ancient weapons – man, if it turns out to be Vivi, I’ll be highly amused.) Jimbei tells us that Akainu and Aokiji fought to see who would be leader of the Marines. It’s not a big surprise that Akainu wins, but Aokiji then resigning might lead to more surprises down the road. Oda sometimes compresses manga stories for time, and I suspect this is a battle he wanted to show but just never got a chance to. And of course this means the Marines are still after them, with Smoker and Tashigi, both now promoted, hot on their trail.

Speaking of Tashigi, the Marines seem to be treating her as they did Hina, which is to say half-awesome Captain and half sexpot. Hina, like Nami and Robin, didn’t really give a rat’s ass what they said. But Tashigi is obviously bothered by the sexism, and calls it out. Of course, I doubt very much this will stop it. Oda’s less sexist than some other Jump authors, but it creeps in here and there (look at how he draws most of the women now vs. 10 years ago), and I think Tashigi drawing attention to it just makes it more obvious. But hey, I’m glad to see her back regardless.

The Straw-Hat crew, meanwhile, leave Fishman Island to travel to, naturally, the most dangerous place Luffy can find (this is after going through a deathtrap waterspout with the help of some whales who aren’t Laboon, but could be his parents). There’s some lovely art here, and I like that, while the spout itself terrifies the designated crew members who get scared (Nami, Usopp, and Chopper), the terrifying visage of the New World just makes everyone happy. Well, happy till they reach Punk Hazard, with its ravaged landscape, fire-breathing dragons, and bottom halves of samurai. Oh, and half the crew already captured. Never let it be said that Oda paces things slowly.

If you love One Piece, you’ll love this. If not, this is absolutely not the perfect place to start – go back and read the early volumes.

Manga the Week of 3/13

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SEAN: I have a sneaky suspicion I know what the Pick of the Week is going to be next week… regardless of that, let’s see what publishers have to offer.

Blade of the Immortal may have come to a close recently in Japan, but Dark Horse still has a few more to go. The back cover to Vol. 26 hints that Tonight Someone Dies, so it is no doubt very important that everyone grab this.

MICHELLE: Someday I will continue with this series.

tokyobabylon1SEAN: And then there’s the first Tokyo Babylon omnibus. Which is filled with Hokuto, who is awesome and the only real reason to read this early CLAMP title! Oh yeah, there’s her brother as well. And some guy. I suppose a few people might read it for them instead.

MJ: TOKYO BABYLON TOKYO BABYLON TOKYO BABYLON. Okay, yes, I’m a fangirl on a massive level, here, but there are so many reasons why this is my favorite CLAMP series (and one of my favorite manga series of all time). I’ll save my loudest raving for Pick of the Week (and Off the Shelf), but out of all the CLAMP re-releases Dark Horse has undertaken over the past few years, this is the one I’ve anticipated most eagerly. I’m so looking forward to re-reading the series.

MICHELLE: I agree, but cannot possibly match MJfor sheer enthusiasm!

ANNA: Maybe I should give this series another try? I read the first few volume and found it so much less gripping than X\1999 that I don’t think I ever finished it. That being said I do have feelings of pleasant nostalgia whenever I think of early CLAMP series in general.

SEAN: SubLime has the third volume of His Favorite, whose cover makes it look like this is a manga about Luffy the uke and Robin the seme. I’m sure it’s not about that at all. Not that that would not be a highly entertaining title in its own right.

MJ: This is one of my favorite recent series from SuBLime, though your comment adds an element of hilarity I hadn’t considered!

MICHELLE: Wow, I had never noticed the similarity in scars before.

SEAN: Vertical has the 3rd and final re-release of Paradise Kiss, which most everyone else got this week. It’s a terrific series, and I particularly love the ending. If you didn’t get it yet, get it.

MJ: I’m a bit sad that the debut of Dark Horse’s Tokyo Babylon omnibus will probably overshadow the end of Paradise Kiss, so I’ll do my best to rave about both. I had some quibbles early on regarding Vertical’s adaptation of some beginning chapters, but these have long since been made up for by subsequent volumes. And if I had to choose the loveliest of Vertical’s work on this series, I’d have to go with volume three, which is stunning in every way. This is absolutely a must-buy this week. It’s on my personal top ten as well!

MICHELLE: There are things about the ending to Paradise Kiss that give me geekbumps to even *recall*, even though it’s been years since I last read it.

ANNA: I’ve been enjoying the Vertical editions of this series and plan on buying this!

SEAN: The rest is all Viz. 07-Ghost hits Vol. 3 and shows us that the best answer for ‘who is ready to lead the Church’ is ‘how much TRAINING have they had’? I bet the Papal Conclave doesn’t concentrate on that at all.

MJ: I never got any further than volume one of this series, but I’ll catch up eventually! And I’m looking forward to it, too.

MICHELLE: Ditto.

ANNA: I have been hoarding the 2nd and 3rd volumes and plan to read them together very soon. I enjoyed the world building and action in the first volume very much.

SEAN: Arata the Legend hits lucky Vol. 13, whose luck is to come out a week after a Fushigi Yuugi release and thus likely be ignored. Shame.

MICHELLE: Aw. Arata is quite good, too, though it’s true I don’t love it as well as Genbu Kaiden.

ANNA: I don’t think Genbu Kaiden can help it though because it is so intrinsically loveable.

SEAN: Fullmetal Alchemist has a 3-in-1 out, covering Vols. 10-12. This is, in my opinion, the only shonen manga to give One Piece a run for its money at perfection. It’s that good.

MJ: Since this series also made my all-time top ten list, I certainly agree with you. Wow, it’s a banner week for my favorites, isn’t it?

MICHELLE: It is. And it’s high time you read some One Piece, missy, so that could be your favorite, too!

evangelion2ANNA: I agree that Fullmetal Alchemist is a magnificent series and it is unfortunately one that I stopped reading due to it having so many volumes. I intend to reread the whole thing and finally finish it one day though.

SEAN: Neon Genesis Evangelion also says it’s a 3-in-1, but the first volume was deluxe, more like their VizBIG line. Re-reading the start of the series re-kindled my interest in it again, so I’ll definitely be taking a look at it.

Lastly, RIN-NE Vol. 11 continues to have cute little one-shots, occasional dramatic mini-plots, and no forward progression. (sniffle) It makes me so nostalgic for Ranma and UY’s lack of any progress… it’s like Takahashi has come home!

MICHELLE: I really enjoy RIN-NE for what it is, and without any expectations for it to be anything else. I’ve described Takahashi’s comforting, homey works before as “manga meatloaf,” and I think RIN-NE epitomizes that ethos.

SEAN: What are you folks reading this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 3/4/13

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

aiore8Ai Ore!, Vol. 8 | By Mayu Shinjo | VIZ Media – Ai Ore! is now on hold in Japan while Shinjo works at other projects, which honestly is fine with me, as I’m starting to get really bored with these leads. Rolling back the canon so that they are not sexually active did get rid of some of the more rapey aspects of Akira, which I can only approve of, but it also made him slightly duller. As for Mizuki, I have to regard her as a failure even compared to other weak Shinjo heroines. When the best part of the manga for her is having a mental breakdown at losing her guitar—for 30 pages—you know something’s wrong. That said, there’s nothing actively offensive here like Vol. 1 had. It’s cute and fluffy, and mostly tame. Which is great for generic shoujo manga fans, but a disappointment to those of us who want anything but boring pablum from this artist. It’s sad that I preferred it when it offended me yet kept my interest.– Sean Gaffney

bakuman18Bakuman, Vol. 18 | By Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata | VIZ Media – With the end of this series quickly approaching, Mashiro and Takagi come very close to achieving their dreams, which is actually more gratifying than I expected. Even Mashiro’s ill-conceived romance now feels like something to root for (though the manga fan in me still balks at the idea of an anime adaptation as his ultimate goal). Now that the series’ leads have become truly likable, it’s much easier to revel in their successes, and this volume offers up a lot to celebrate. Even Hiramaru’s strange romance gets a satisfying boost in this volume, and I came out pretty much adoring Aoki, which was a real surprise for me. An inside look at assistant politics adds excitement as well. Though I’ve long established myself as an addicted fan of this series, it’s nice to see it push through towards the end with such strength and verve. Still recommended.– MJ

btooom1BTOOOM!, Vol. 1 | By Junya Inoue | Yen Press – Battle Royale has a lot to answer for, even though I don’t think it anticipated creating its own genre. But “Survival horror” is very big now, and Yen’s High School of the Dead sells well enough that they’ve bought two more series in a similar vein. BTOOOM! is the first, where a NEET who is master of the gaming world but a failure at getting a real job finds himself on a deserted island with only a bunch of bombs and people trying to kill him. He’s also lost his memory, which is helpful as it allows others to explain the plot to him in detail. There’s a hot girl I’ve no doubt we’ll learn more about soon, and a few villains running around. But for the most part, this gives you lots of action, lots of explosions, and the occasional examination of morals surrounded by “who will die next” tension. It’s not breaking any new ground, but it’s perfectly decent at doing what it wants to do.– Sean Gaffney

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

cage9Cage of Eden, Vol. 9 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – Speaking of survival horror, it’s time for a new volume of Cage of Eden, which deals with a lot of the same moral lessons. In particular, Zaji and Mariya coming to blows (well, OK, Mariya getting beaten up) over whether they should abandon Kanako, who has been kidnapped by a King Kong-alike. Mariya points out that they’re facing a lethal and intelligent beast, and have to put the safety of the whole party over just one person. Zaji says screw that. This is shounen manga, so Zaji is, of course, correct. Meanwhile, there is a brief reminder that these are a bunch of puberty-stricken teenagers on a deserted island, with both guys and girls taking a poll for best boyfriend/girlfriend. No surprises to see who wins each side. The fanservice continues to be utterly blatant, but the series still clips along and provides what readers want.– Sean Gaffney

genbukaiden11Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 11 | By Yuu Watase | VIZ Media – Oh, the angst! The pain! The total awesomeness! With only one volume left of this fantasy-adventure to go, I can’t help being torn between joy and grief. This is unsurprisingly an action-packed installment, filled with difficult battles, epic emotional drama, and some genuine tragedy. And if some of the series’ primary conflicts are a bit too easily resolved, it’s pretty difficult to calm down one’s adrenaline long enough to notice. Overall, this series offers up a terrific example of the enduring appeal of shoujo adventure stories, and it’s gratifying to see it holding its own alongside the ever-growing stack of high school romances. Now, with the Qu-Dong army approaching and Takiko’s life hanging in the balance, the agonizing wait for volume twelve begins! Highly recommended. – MJ

jiujiu4Jiu Jiu, Vol. 4 | By Touya Tobina | VIZ Media – I could feel my interest in this title start to wane a bit in the third volume, and I’m sad to say that state of affairs is continuing with the fourth. The plot wrinkle for this volume is a sudden Jiu Jiu exchange where Takamichi’s familiars Snow and Night are sent away and replaced with alternates. Takamichi’s reaction to being away from her beloved companions is a sudden increase in her crafting habits, producing far too many dog plushies. Tobina’s art is as stylish as ever and there are some quirky humorous parts of the story, but I’m still not emotionally invested in what might happen to these characters. I’m sure this series has plenty of appeal to some readers because it is generally well-executed and quirky enough to be interesting, but unfortunately I am not one of them. – Anna N

oresamateacher13Oresama Teacher, Vol. 13 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – The cover of this title is a lie! It shows Super Bun on the cover, but Mafuyu spends most of her time in this volume as her male alter ego Natsuo. The fact that the juvenile delinquent heroine of this series has secret identities both as a spastic bunny superhero and as a man is why my interest in this comedy manga shows no signs of slowing down even at the thirteenth volume. Mafuyu and her team take on a man-hating member of the student council and there’s a bonus appearance by my favorite character Bancho, which always makes me happy. – Anna N

pandora14Pandora Hearts, Vol. 14 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – Well, wow. I suspected that this volume would be dramatic, but despite my open adoration of this series, I didn’t actually expect it to be so well-executed. Volume fourteen opens with a fairly large plot twist, and then proceeds (with uncharacteristic coherence) to escalate from there. But the greatest joys in this volume are to be found in its relationships, particularly as concerns Vincent, Ada, Gilbert, and Break. That there is enough room for such careful emotional nuance amidst all this series’ action and (girl-aimed) fan service continues to be surprising, but gratifying indeed. That this series is still ongoing means that we’re still in for a long haul, but Mochizuki just continues to get better, and she’s quickly making up for her plotting issues early on. Still recommended with unabashed fangirl glee. – MJ

Pick of the Week: VIZ all around

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potw-3-4MJ: There’s a lot to choose from this week, including a number of my traditional favorites (Bakuman, Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden), but I’m going to betray everything I thought I knew about myself and pick something from the pen of Mayu Shinjo. That’s right—I’m getting behind Demon Love Spell, the latest volume of which is due out this week. I read volume two for this weekend’s Off the Shelf, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t just charm the heck out of me. Mayu Shinjo, I judged you too soon.

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

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

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

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Comic Tribute

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By Various Artists, based on the franchise created by khara and GAINAX. Released in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten direct to tankobon. Released in North America by Dark Horse.

We’ve been seeing more and more of these doujinshi anthologies over here in North America. Quite common in Japan, both official product and fan-produced, doujinshi in this case doesn’t mean porn featuring the characters (at least not yet; Kadokawa just announced another Eva spinoff and I think they’re running out of other ways to make it work), but getting other artists around the office to draw parody comics making fun of said franchise, with the tacit approval of the creators. Given that Anno is quite happy making fun of his own work, an anthology like this was probably inevitable. But the question is, is it readable?

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Well, yes, but only if you’re a hardcore Evangelion fan. As you’d expect, this volume makes absolutely no attempt to interest casual readers, and relies on everyone knowing not only the series itself but also the fandom and cliches regarding said series. The very first story involves the pilots dealing with their public approval rating dropping because they’re whiny and morose, there’s mocking of the fake “episode 26”, Shinji Ikari Raising Project, and even the live-action Eva that was in production at one point. Everyone is equally skewered, though admittedly Shinji gets the majority of the abuse here. And fear not, Eva fans who like to admire the girls, there’s lots of fanservice here, from normal “Ooooh, pretty girl” art from the Macross character designer all the way to leeringly horrible “Look, boobs!” parody as Misato and Ritsuko try to get Shinji to study by dressing in increasingly skimpy outfits.

That said, I feel pretty safe in saying this isn’t for everyone. It’s almost entirely comedy, with only the author of Loveless, Yun Kouga, providing a serious character study towards the end. Much of the humor relies on knowing the other titles the artist is famous for, which is fine if it’s say, the Sgt. Frog artist (who did the cover, of course) but verges towards incomprehensibility when you see artists such as Keiichi Tanaka and Tony Takazaki clearly making use of their own stylistic humor… which is lost on me. Given this is edited by Carl Horn, some liner notes might have been appreciated. Then again, given there’s a Sambo joke towards the end, maybe they were better off without them.

All that said, I did laugh quite a bit while reading this, even if it was sometimes “what the hell, this is so stupid!” laughter. Easily the best bits in here are the ones by Yushi Kawata and Yukito, “Neon Genesis Revolutionary Legend Evangelion”. They get three short chapters all to themselves, so I suspect the editors liked them as well, and have just the right amount of humor, snark, and insanity. Yoko Sanri’s Eva-san (the author of B Gata H Kei) is also fun, an amusing 4-koma Eva that feels like a relaxing breeze amidst all the loud Osaka comedy in this that tries a bit too hard.

I think Evangelion fans will like this, but even for them it may be a bit of a risk, as it’s simply so diffuse. The sort of book you’d describe as madcap. But recommended to Eva fans anyway, provided you don’t mind a lot of making fun of the cast. Oh yes, and Rikdo Koshi does a color page at the start, in case people wondered if my Excel Saga radar hadn’t gone off.

Even More Vertical Licenses

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Yes, they just won’t stop announcing things! Well, they may stop for a couple of months at least, as they’ve now filled their 2013 calendar. (Except they say ACen will have 2014 licenses. Can anyone stop Vertical, those mad licensing fools?) So, what do we have this time?

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Shin Sekai Yori, aka From the New World, is an adaptation of a 2003 novel that’s been running in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, which these days is getting far more licenses over here than its parent weekly magazine. Seems to be a future utopia that may not be as utopian as the lead characters would like to think, and also has BL and yuri elements. It’s 2+ volumes, though I imagine that Vertical got an assurance from Kodansha that it wouldn’t go over 10 volumes before they picked it up.

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Meanwhile, for those who saw Vertical’s license of Helter Skelter and wondered if that meant they might get more Kyoko Okazaki josei titles, wonder no more! Pink is a late 80s title from the publisher Magazine House, and is a heartwarming, touching story about a girl and her pet. Sort of. Anyone who says there’s not enough josei out there should love this complete-in-one title.

Manga the Week of 3/6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: I can’t help it, I’m hooked!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MJ: I did too! Shockingly so!

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

SEAN: Yeah, sorry, “End of Part One.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MICHELLE: Yay, Skip Beat!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wallflower, Vol. 30

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By Tomoko Hayakawa. Released in Japan as “Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge” by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Friend (“Betsufure”). Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

Recently, Vol. 30 came out of two separate successful shoujo series. Yet while the reaction of most online fans to Skip Beat! 30 is “Yay! I’m so happy that it’s still running!”, the reaction the The Wallflower 30 tends to be more “EEEENNNNDD!!! EEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNDDDDD!” Partly this is due to The Wallflower’s writer having little to no idea on how to resolve her romance without destroying her comedy, as I’ve noted before. But another reason is that The Wallflower is so episodic. If you jump from Vol. 6 of Skip Beat! to Vol. 25, you’re going to be somewhat lost. This is much less of a problem with this series, where even in this volume, where three of the stories interweave a small amount, each can be read on its own if you just happen to pick up that month’s Betsufure after a 4-year-hiatus.

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There is also, every chapter, the illusion that progress is being made and characters are growing. I’m not sure how much of it is deliberate, actually. But every chapter in this volume has that one moment where a character (either Sunako, Kyohei, or both) has that moment of realization where they understand what someone else is thinking and what needs to be done. Their empathy with Sunako’s aunt when she’s once again taken advantage of; Sunako noting that “I’ll just pretend we’re not friends” is a horrible strategy when trying to avoid having your friend get bullied; Kyohei realizing that there is a difference between ‘watching Sunako get embarrassed’ and real emotional and physical pain; and Sunako finding that regarding Kyohei as a ‘bright, shiny object’ as she always does is only what everyone else in the world has done to him forever, and he HATES it. You sense that everyone is gradually growing up… yet you aren’t surprised when they backslide next month.

Because everyone still serves the comedy. Which is how Ranmaru can be the most awesome fiance ever in one chapter and then (literally five minutes later in story terms) announce he’s going to go out and pick up more women. (By the way, props to Takenaga for calling him out on it – Noi wasn’t even there to impress!) Meanwhile, Tamao gets a bit more development here, but I’m not sure it’s to her benefit. She’s always been the nice, perfect princess who loves Ranmaru no matter what and doesn’t get angry, but now we see her life at school involves another, less perfect princess bullying her every day, and she simply takes it with a niceness that borders on surreal. Thank God Sunako shows up (looking gorgeous, by the way, one of the best ‘Sunako pinup’ shots in ages). Oh well, it could be worse – she could be Yuki, who the author has totally forgotten about.

This series continues to have all the weaknesses that it’s well-known for, and is not getting rid of any of them soon. (My favorite being the author’s complete inability to draw backgrounds half the time – the story could take place in a white void for all we know.) But it also continues to have all of the same strengths, and Kyohei and Sunako are both perfect for each other, even if they don’t see it. Best of all, the series is still funny, as everyone in this manga, except maybe Yuki and Tamao, are completely insane. Which is why we get shots of the leads dressed as PIRATES! in the first chapter here. Looking forward to the next 30 volumes!

Emerald and Other Stories

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By Hiroaki Samura. Released in Japan as “Sister Generator” by Kodansha, serialized in various magazines. Released in North America by Dark Horse Comics.

Well, first off, there’s not a samurai in this thing. It’s an anthology similar to the one we saw recently from Kaoru Mori, aka “I need to do something different occasionally and show off my chops”. As with most anthologies, the quality is highly variable, but the author is good enough that even the stories I didn’t really get into here had something to offer. It’s a good short story collection, all told.

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The collection itself was published by Kodansha, and it’s likely no coincidence that the three strongest stories in it ran in that company’s seinen magazine Monthly Afternoon, also home to Blade of the Immortal, the work that Samura is most famous for. This North American version uses Emerald as the title story (Sister Generator is an amusing title, but I think would convey the wrong image over here), and it’s a straight-up Western, with gunslingers, saloons, and an orphan playing a tortured game in order to save her family’s good name (and her chastity). As with the best Westerns, the morality is incredibly ambiguous, but there’s a heartwarming center to it despite it all.

The stories are interspersed with some short gag comics that ran in Ohta Shuppan’s QuickJapan for a while, all based around Japanese schoolgirls snarking around whatever fashionable trend they’re dealing with at the moment. It reminded me quite a bit of Furuya’s Short Cuts series, and while these aren’t quite ko-gals, there’s the same surreal quality to a lot of their conversations (probably my favorite is where two of the girls compare their fan fiction, and we find that one of them basically writes straight-up bad porn). I like these sorts of stories, but I can see how they might be a weak link for any other readers. Another weak link might be Shizuru Cinema, a short story from Media Factory’s Comic Flapper, which I think ended up being a little TOO weird and diffuse for me. (The same could be said about Brigitte’s Dinner, but that won me over with its stark imagery.)

The real winner, though, is “The Kusein Family’s Grandest Show”, a dark and twisted story about a family where all is not as it seems. I don’t want to give away too much about the plot – the way you can tell I really love a story is I either spend 5000 words or 6 describing it – but it shows a very dark take on daughters taking after their mothers, what we leave behind, and exactly what it means to fulfill a man’s dying wishes. The mood, dialogue, and sinister plot all combine to create something almost poetic – although it’s a subdued, erotic poetry. The whole volume is worth it for this story.

As with a lot of short story collections, you want to come out of them saying “I’ve got to get more of this author’s work!” As such, I’m really interested in both Blade of the Immortal and his other NA short story collection, Ohikkoshi. The man can certainly spin a tale. And if all else fails, you can take pride in his amazing mahjong hand, as seen in perhaps the most obscure manga in this collection.

Bookshelf Briefs 2/25/13

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

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

devil7A Devil And Her Love Song, Vol. 7 | By Miyoshi Tomori | VIZ Media – And so, for the moment, the Anna arc is over. And it’s as emotional as I expected, with Anna finally getting through to Maria that her sort of help is only making things worse, even if it’s with the best intentions. Anna has to do this herself, and can’t, so seeing Maria and her circle of friends is a fresh wound every day. In addition, the author has perhaps realized that Maria/Shin is becoming a bit too obvious as the endgame, so Yusuke gets a whole lot of face time here, confronting Maria about how she deals with things in ways that Shin doesn’t or won’t. And at the back of the plot is still Maria’s late mother, who appears to us in a nightmare that Maria’s having pretty much all the time. Also, no evil teacher this time, but we do get a new creepy adult to balance it out. Never has “technique” sounded so forbidding. Highly recommended.-Sean Gaffney

genbukaiden11Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 11 | By Yuu Watase | VIZ Media – I’m so glad I finally got caught up with this series last October. Now I can enjoy the final volumes along with everyone else! Volume eleven is the penultimate volume in the series, which means that a ton of very important stuff happens. The revelation of truths, or of someone’s true intentions. The willingness of some to sacrifice themselves for the good of others. The feeling amongst your friends that, with all this heavy responsibility, you and the one you love deserve some stolen moments of happiness. It is perhaps a trifle rushed—we barely spend any pages with the final Celestial Warrior before he’s handing Takiko the scroll and they’re preparing to summon Genbu—but the feeling that we’re being carried along to something truly tragic and climactic makes up for it. Highly recommended. Michelle Smith

Haganai2Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 2 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – This continues to be the most interesting of Seven Seas’ recent moe pickups, though it also continues to suffer from the same problems – you feel somewhat dirty reading it. This is not helped by the addition of Kodaka’s younger sister Kobato, who is as screwed up in the head as the rest of the cast. That said, the fact that they apparently aren’t incestual feelings here speaks volumes. The manga is going to play around with horrible moe and sexual tropes, but is not going to take that extra step into horrible. (It comes damn close, though.) This means that you’re allowed to get some character development and (gasp!) sweet scenes, particularly between Kodaka and Sena. I’ll pick up Vol. 3, and am interested in seeing what happens next. Still feel uncomfortable recommending it beyond otaku.-Sean Gaffney

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

nura13Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 13 | By Hiroshi Hiibashi | VIZ Media – I’m getting rather weary of this Kyoto arc (has anyone done a list of which manga/anime series have “Kyoto arcs” in some way?), and I admit that the parts I found the most interesting were the darkest ones. The ongoing butchering of young innocents for their livers (is it implied that the TV reporter is added to that stack?), the tragic backstory of Aotabo, who became a yokai in order to protect those he loved (yokai who enjoy being evil are not the sort of yokai that Rikuo tolerates), and Yuki-Onna considering killing herself so that she won’t be “bait”. Oh yes, and some blatant Rikuo/Yuki-Onna ship tease (Kana who?). The rest of this volume is showing Rikuo that his power is all about the feelings of his friends/underlings, which we already knew, because this is Shonen Jump, and that’s how it works.-Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Noncommittal

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To keep things consistent, we’re officially transitioning to Sean’s Manga the Week of lists as our source for Pick of the Week, in place of the Midtown Comics list we’ve traditionally used. That said… maybe we picked the wrong week?
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SEAN: Um… Cage of Eden? I guess? Whatever… you all can choose among the Yen stuff if you like, given what else there is… Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…

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

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

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Umineko: When They Cry, Vol. 2

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Story by Ryukishi07; Art by Kei Natsumi. Released in Japan in two separate volumes as “Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Legend of the Golden Witch” by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Gangan Powered. Released in North America by Yen Press.

And so the first arc of Umineko: When They Cry is finished, and even more than the first Higurashi arc, it shows us that what we’ve been reading for the last 1100 pages is simply a prologue for everything that is to come. It shows us the main players, allows us to see the family drama at the heart of everything, and of course has a number of gloriously gruesome murders, but you keep expecting the last page to be, with apologies to The Goon Show, Wallace Greenslade announcing “And this is where the story REALLY starts.”

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There’s a lot more emphasis on the mystery itself than there was in the Abducted by Demons arc, with each new killing propelling the remaining cast to desperately try to figure out how in God’s name they’re happening. This is made possible by the deliberate closed-in locked-room style of the series, which does not allow much in the way of escaping or trying to forget about everything. Thus Umineko is a more oppressive series than Higurashi, but it’s also more focused. Character allegiances shift rapidly, as Eva, one of the more sensible character in the first volume, proves to be incredibly nasty at trying to pin the crime on Natsuhi; Maria’s split personality is genuinely looked into as possibly being a product of her mother’s resentment; and Natsuhi herself finally takes control of the family at the expense of… well, a whole lot.

Jessica and Kanon are on the cover, but they really don’t get much of a look in beyond the fact that Jessica clearly has a crush on Kanon. (I understand the second arc focuses more on Jessica and George’s relationships.) But the inside cover tells the real story of this book, showing a frustrated and enraged Battler and a smug, grinning Beatrice wielding chess pieces at each other.

Then there’s the tea party. I’ve been reading through a couple of the Higurashi Visual Novels (available legally from Mangagamer, by the way – one of the few non-porn things they’ve done), and each of them ends with a short ‘tea party’ set in the cafe where the cast, out of character, go over what happened in the book and whether it was due to demon or human elements. That said, it’s totally independent of the VNs themselves, and was dropped from the manga adaptation as being irrelevant. Is was therefore a big surprise to me to see the tea party actually adapted for the manga… and it proved to be the biggest plot twist as well. It’s all very well and good to deny the existence of a witch who appears as shafts of light or butterflies, but her physical presence really throws Battler for a loop. And when he continues to deny her involvement… let’s just say things don’t end well for our heroes.

And so we seem to have a plot and a meta-plot, as Battler and Beatrice are now in competition to find the best explanation for the events at Rokkenjima (note that actually trying to stop the murders doesn’t seem to be an option anyone brings up this time). And then at the very end there’s a meta-meta plot, as Beatrice has her own tea party with another witch named Bernkastel… who we’ve seen in the Massacre arc breaking down the Higurashi plot with Rika. Indeed, Bernkastel looks exactly like Rika… and while Ryukishi07 has apparently said that the two are not the same, there’s clearly enough similarities that they’re connected in some way.

The balance between mystery and horror is what drives this series, as the author himself notes at the end. And while events may be more dramatic, gestures more declamatory, and events far more hopeless than Higurashi, the key is whether a reader wants to read on and find out more. I certainly do, especially since I want to find out more about Beatrice, who insists she’s behind everything, but hasn’t really given a reason why beyond “cause I’m evil like that”. I’m going to guess that’s not the real reason.

Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 21

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By Kenjiro Hata. Released in Japan as “Hayate no Gotoku!” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz.

I’ve given every volume of Hayate since I began this blog a full review, so want to keep up the tradition. Of course, that tends to mean I have to keep finding new things to say. Should I talk about how the North American audience views harems… no, wait, did that already. What about the relation between gags and serious… no, did that too. It doesn’t help that Hata is very slowly putting all his pieces into play for what promises to be an epic storyline… but it isn’t yet. As a result, we get a lot interruptions here, including some characters who haven’t appeared in so long that Hayate and Nagi have to direct readers to the appropriate volume.

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For those who like Maria, enjoy that cover, she’s barely in this volume. (To be honest, aside from one-shot chapters, she’s never really going to be relevant again, unless Hata comes back to her if/when he wraps this up.) The two major events in this book are a beach volleyball game challenge given by Gilbert, the aforementioned character who no one remembers anymore; and Sonia, the nun with a crush on Wataru, trying to steal the Ougyoku Stone. This Stone has come up once or twice since the series began, but here is where it starts to really play a major role, in that Nagi’s Machiavellian grandfather states if Hayate allows anyone to steal or destroy the stone for more than an hour, Nagi loses her inheritance. And there’s a lot of people who want that to happen, including Athena, now 10 years older and living in Greece. The stone is the gimmick that will drive the next few volumes.

The beach volleyball game is the funniest part of this volume. Gilbert immediately shoots himself in the foot by demanding Hayate partner with Hinagiku, as she’s so “weak and frail”. Unfortunately, Hina is dealing with her usual self-image and tsundere love for Hayate, so she decides to pretend to be as weak as Gilbert says she is. Complete with monotone “Eek” noises. Thankfully, Gilbert is *such* an ass that this only lasts for a couple of pages before she decides to kick his ass. (By the way, I note that now that Hata has revealed that Miki is in love with Hina, he’s allowing her to be a lot more open about it, demanding Hina wear a bikini and essentially lusting after her.)

The most romantic part of the volume is the one with Sonia, though she isn’t the reason why. She’s stealing the stone so that she can help Wataru get his *own* family fortune back, and therefore return Sonia’s love. Hayate is absolutely not the best person to figure this out, given that he has all the sensitivity of a hammer. Luckily, Ayumu is there with him, and once again makes you wonder why she isn’t the heroine of some other manga. She calms Sonia down, points out Wataru wouldn’t like her just for money, gets the stone back, comforts Hayate, *and* gets to kiss him (on the cheek) to boot. She would be the clear winner of any other harem manga, but is only a long-shot in this one. Which is a sign of how balanced Hata keeps his harem… and his readers.

Due to the typical low sales of almost all harem manga these days, the next volume will not be out till August. But Hata, for the most part, delivers what readers want – some fanservice, some laughs, some romantic tease, and a few sweet moments. If you read Hayate scanlated, get over the fact that your pairing may not win and buy the manga. As for new readers… why are you buying Vol. 21?