Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Punch Up!, Book Girl

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cvr9781421543543_9781421543543MJ: This is a tough week for me. My favorite item from this week’s shipping list at Midtown Comics would be volume two of Girl Friends: The Complete Collection, but since Sean chose that last week, it feels a bit late to the party. So instead, I’ll go out on a limb and name volume three of Punch Up!, a SuBLime title about which I’ve heard nothing but raves. Obviously I need to catch up first, but I’m feeling optimistic that once I have, I’ll be pouncing on volume three in no time! So, yeah, Punch Up!

MICHELLE: I’m in the exact same boat. Definitely check out Girl Friends, if you haven’t already, but I’ll go with Punch Up! too, since its kitties-interrupting-bedtime-shenanigans cover is quite original and charming. I found volume one to be intriguing, if not exactly my cup of tea. Good enough to challenge me to keep reading, though!

BookGirlv6FinalSEAN: Whereas I’m getting quite a few titles from Yen, any of which would be a decent pick of the week. But I’m still going with Book Girl and the Undine Who Bore a Moonflower, the 6th in the light novel series. Book 5 was a major turning point in both the plot and in the disposition of Konoha, our hero with PTSD from his middle school days who has been slowly brought back out into the world through the series. Now that he seems to have resolved a lot of issues, what will happen? Will he finally open up to Nanase? (I doubt it.) Realize how important Tohko is to him? (Likely that will wait a book.) Find disturbing similarities between himself and whichever screwed-up person the book focuses on this time? (Always.) I must find out!

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Viz Licenses One Punch-Man

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One of the most word-of-mouth popular manga of 2012 is now getting an official release in Viz’s online Shonen Jump Alpha. Technically, One Punch-Man is seinen – it runs in Young Jump’s online magazine. But I suspect that’s only for convenience’s sake, and there’s nothing in this title that isn’t hilariously shonen.

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That’s our hero on the cover, who is pretty much what the title says he is. But this doesn’t make him happy. Victory Is Boring. Of course, what One Punch-Man really is is a fun doofy parody/satire of superhero, kaijuu and monster comics in the Dragon Ball mode, while also having lots of genuinely cool action scenes. The writer, ONE, originally started it as an online webcomic. When Shueisha picked it up, they had the art redone by Eyeshield 21 artist Yuusuke Murata. The hero’s face when not posing manfully on the cover… simply makes me happy. I can’t wait to see this coming out over here. Luckily, I only have to wait a week!

07-Ghost, Vol. 1

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By Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara. Released in Japan by Ichijinsha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Zero-Sum. Released in North America by Viz.

One of the side-effects of reviewing manga and trying to hit most of the new Vol. 1s is that I get exposed to series that I wouldn’t otherwise pay much attention to. And this one definitely falls squarely into that wheelhouse. Epic fantasy isn’t really my thing, and this is overwrought epic fantasy of the finest order. That said, it’s quite good at what it does, especially since it’s apparently the debut work of both creators (who are female – I’m used to male manga creators collaborating, so this is nice to see).

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Teito Klein is your average fantasy bishonen, and indeed there’s more than a touch of the CLAMP influence here. He’s seen as cold by his military academy classmates, who don’t know how much he really feels. He has, however, managed to open up to one kid there, who has become just like family to him. That kid’s name is Doomed. Wait, sorry, no. It’s Mikage. They spend about 40 pages bonding and showing off that they’re skilled fighters, then Teito accidentally hears something he shouldn’t, and suddenly this military school becomes a lot more sinister and evil. Clearly the only thing to do is to run away and end up at a church filled with hot bishops, who are taking out evil wherever they may find it.

Given the authors’ past works (which consist of about 59 million Naruto yaoi doujinshi), I was rather surprised that this didn’t have quite as many BL overtones as I expected. Oh sure, Teito and Mikage have that close bond of friendship, but it actually feels like that. And Frau’s attentiveness towards Teito is somewhat undercut by his constant flirting with everyone and his porn collection. In general, this is about as gay as K-On is lesbian, which is to say that the main cast lacks any real females, so you ship what you can.

There’s a lot of religious symbolism here, with eyes given the names of archangels and discussion of heaven and hell (complete with reincarnation – as always, never let it be said that Japan settles on one religion when it can have them all). I liked the legend talking about the three dreams, which is both suitably epic and nicely sweet. I do note that I feel things went a bit too fast in this first volume. I’d have liked to see more at the military academy before Teito was captured, and we also get precious little of our main antagonist (who seems pretty ambiguous), Ayanami, who appears to have stepped out of the pages of Weiss Kreuz.

There’s a lot of goofy humor here, which helps to relive the tension caused by the apocalyptic events going on with Teito. Clearly he is a messiah figure here, and I imagine things are only going to get worse for him before they get better, which is somewhat sad given that this volume ends with his possessed best friend trying to kill him. Still, if you like CLAMP’s more fantastic titles, such as RG Veda, This should be a good read, and is a nice change of pace from Viz. (I always like seeing series in their plain old ‘Viz Media’ imprint, as opposed to Jump/Beat/Signature.)

Girl Friends The Complete Collection, Vol. 2

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By Milk Morinaga. Released in Japan by Futabasha, serialized in the magazine Comic High!. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

When we last left our heroines, Mari had decided that her love was never going to be requited, and had decided to move on – sort of – and tell Akko that she’d gotten a boyfriend and had gone all the way. This leads us to the first half of this omnibus, which is Akko trying to figure out why this makes her jealous, and dealing with her own newly discovered feelings for her friend. The focus shifting to Akko is very welcome, as though she’s the outgoing one of the pair she is not necessarily more worldly or mature. We see flashbacks to her childhood that show her being very much a solitary person, and even when she made friends (via discussion of fashion and makeup) they didn’t seem to be lasting friendships. This is when she latched onto Mari.

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It’s interesting how Mari and Akko both have misunderstandings about the nature of their relationship, but in ways that are true to their characters. Mari is basically negative, with a “no girl could possibly like me in that way” sort of attitude. While Akko’s problem is that, after kissing Mari impulsively at karaoke, she assumes that all is now well and they *are* together, not realizing that actually discussion of such feelings is needed. This is not helped by Mari’s naivete – one of the best lines in the book is Akko’s exasperated “You don’t usually slip a friend the *tongue*, got it?” That said, this makes it all the more satisfying when they do finally connect and get together as a couple.

Of course, what does that entail? Since they’re both girls, going out together, texting each other late at night… they’ve done that before as just friends. So what’s different? Sexual attraction, of course, and unlike many a mainstream yuri (or faux-yuri) manga the author does spend a fair amount of time dwelling on this. Given both girls lied to each other about their sexual experience, each worries that they’ll screw things up somehow. (This leads to Akko looking at German Porn sites to see how girls do it, which made me laugh out loud). Eventually the two do take things to the next level, in a scene that sort of rides the edge of the OT rating that Seven Seas gave the book.

There is talk of the future, but it’s mostly the same sort of talk you’d find in books with a het romance – Akko’s going to a different school than Mari, leading to stress, but you know their love will see it through, etc. There’s a brief discussion of telling their friends and family about their relationship, but that’s not something that happens in the manga itself, nor do we see any of the fallout that might arise from being a lesbian couple in Japan. This is a seinen yuri fantasy for men that ran in Comic High!, after all. Reality is not welcome in its hallowed halls.

With all that said, I don’t think the manga suffers all that much from avoiding the harsher aspects of Mari and Akko’s relationship. This is meant to be adorable moe romantic fluff, and it succeeds admirably. The emphasis is more on romance here in this 2nd omnibus, but I was pleased to see that friendship is still given a huge spotlight – Sugi gets to be the ‘mature adviser’ type of friend, Tama-min the eccentric cutie, and we even get more development from Kuno and Taguchi, the other two girls in the main circle of friends. I was pleased to see that there was no effort made to pair up the other girls with each other… even though this isn’t overly realistic, having what’s called a “cast Full Of Gay” might have strained my credulity a bit.

It goes without saying that this is a great series that fans of yuri (and moe) will adore. That said, I do have one more very important complaint. If Akko is cosplaying Lum, then Mari should be Ataru… but she just doesn’t have the personality for it. Tama-min seems to have her cosplaying as Ryuunosuke, which she’s also unlikely to pull off, but I can see it if I squint. But if she’s doing Ryu, Akko needs to be Nagisa… which leads to even more problems. Tama-min needs to think these things through! Geez!

(Also, two of those omakes make me think that Milk Morinaga has watched too many 80s American sex comedies… Getting Lucky specifically.)

JManga the Week of 1/17

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SEAN: There are only 3 manga series next week from JManga, but one of them is a biggie. Let’s get the other two out of the way first.

ameiro1A 6th volume of PoyoPoyo’s Observation Diary means a 6th volume of adorable and funny 4-koma slice-of-life cat manga. I approve. (I may not *read*, but I approve…)

JManga has a 4th volume of Crime and Punishment: A Falsified Romance out incredibly fast, meaning I haven’t even had time to come up with a witticism for it. Bah.

And now for one I’ve really wanted to see. Miyabi Fujieda is one of the most popular yuri artists in the West, and his Iono-sama the Fanatics had half of its two volumes released by Infinity Studios before they folded. (It also had a character romanized as Fletch, something I bring up to Erica ALL THE TIME. It is unclear if her name was actually Irwin Fletcher. Somehow I doubt it. Also, Iono-sama really needed a female Irish cop…) Anyway! Ame-iro Kochakan Kandan may be better known here as Chatting at the Amber Teahouse, and it is absolutely adorable. I cannot wait to see it come out in English!

MICHELLE: That was definitely the only one on the list that excited me at all, so I’m glad to hear it’s absolutely adorable! I’d rather read adorable yuri than any other kind.

MJ: I’m with Michelle. As I so often am.

Manga the Week of 1/16

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SEAN: I’ve noted before that Midtown doesn’t always (or even often) use Diamond Distribution to get their orders. As a result, sometimes you get weeks like this. The titles on Midtown’s list for next week arrived most places today. While Diamond is shipping Yen’s stuff to most stores (including mine) next week, but not Midtown. (Again, a reminder that I use Midtown’s list mostly as it’s first, rather than most accurate.)

With that in mind, here’s a fusion of both lists.

Kodansha has the second volume of Missions of Love, which continues to feature a hero and heroine who really aren’t very likeable, and a love rival who is headed that way. It’s fun seeing the reader having to work harder at identifying with everyone. Fun stuff.

MJ: Yeah. Fun…

MICHELLE: Sometimes my need to like characters prohibits me from enjoying shows/books that other people swear are great. This might be one of those times.

ANNA: I really have had no urge to check this out, and I suspect those feelings will continue.

SEAN: I did mean fun in a genuine and non-sarcastic sense, by the way. I quite enjoy this series.

Seven Seas has a slew of titles (most of which, as I noted, arrived today everywhere else). The one I like the best is the 2nd and final omnibus of Girl Friends, which I already praised in my Pick of the Week. Cute yuri fluff/angst.

MJ: I also adore Girl Friends, though I’ve only read it at JManga.

MICHELLE: Same here.

SEAN: Gunslinger Girl is almost finished with its run, which must mean it’s running out of people to kill off. Expect more of that in this omnibus, which contains the Japanese Vol. 13-14.

I Don’t Like You At All, Big Brother!! has an omnibus out as well. with Vols. 3-4. I can’t think of anything funny to say here that isn’t slanderous. Moving on…

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: I know nothing about Jack The Ripper: Hell Blade, a manwha series also from Seven Seas, but the covers to Vol. 1 through 3 (which is out next week) at least reassures me that it isn’t moe. Yay! (Is there a moe Jack the Ripper 4-koma series? Maybe with his sister Jill the Ripper having a tsundere crush on him? Sounds like a winner to me.)

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SubLime has Vol. 3 of Punch Up!, whose cover art is complete and total win. Don’t care if it’s horribly offensive within. I can’t decide if it’s the cat with the ‘yay!’ face, or the glasses-wearing guy’s befuddled “now what was I doing again?… oh right, him” expression. It’s probably both. I do wish that SubLime provided bigger cover images, though…

MJ: From what I understand, Punch Up! is win all around! I gotta start reading this manga.

MICHELLE: I need to continue it! Loving the kitty footprint on the face, too.

SEAN: Yen Press, meanwhile, has a bevy of January releases. Black Butler has hit an even dozen, and continues to apparently be filled with supernatural antics and almost-but-not-quite-BL. But damn, it looks cool.

MJ: I think I am one of maybe three people who really can’t stand Black Butler. Sad, but true.

MICHELLE: I think it’s okay. It falls on the “worth reading” side of the scale for me, but doesn’t manage the heights of “worth rereading.”

ANNA: I did read the first volume of this and decided that was enough.

SEAN: Black God is up to Vol. 18. I know absolutely zilch about it, but now at least I have a group of people I can tag to gush about it for me. Michelle, MJ, gush away!

MJ: Well, hm. Collecting full series without reading them is usually Michelle’s MO, but I have to admit with shame that though I have the entire available run of Black God sitting in my shelf, I have yet to read any of it. This just change!

MICHELLE: Hey now, are you calling me out on my hoarding tendencies?! :) Actually, I’m doing far less of that these days, though I regret nothing when it comes to stuff from ten years ago that I’m very thankful to have snagged. Anyway, I too must admit that I have never read Black God. I do not have a good excuse. Sorry we have failed to provide the gushing you requested!

SEAN: A Bride’s Story is up to Vol. 4, and no doubt will continue to look lush and gorgeous, and feature a heroine that every other blogger in the world except me seems to connect with.

MJ: Though I do connect with the heroine, one thing I appreciated about volumes three and four, is that they are focused heavily on other characters. This is particularly poignant in volume three, but it doesn’t hurt volume four either. You might find more in it for you now?

MICHELLE: I haven’t started this one yet, though I was pondering doing so soon as there’s a new volume to discuss. So far, the only Mori I’ve read has been the first two volumes of Emma and her recent short story collection.

ANNA: I haven’t read volume 3 yet! But I did love Emma and will be catching up on this series eventually. I do love the fact that the editions are so nice.

SEAN: The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan continues to struggle with its slow start, something that is allowed in Japan but not North America, which is far more unforgiving to manga that take a while to get there. We’ve got one volume to go till the good stuff. Till then, enjoy the sweet fluff.

Soul Eater has reached a point where I can’t really divide it into arcs anymore. Disasters just pile one upon another until they seem to reach the sky. I presume the same thing will happen here. But it will look cool, the characterization will be magnificent, and the abstract art style will amaze me. (This is just a prediction, but I’m usually right.)

MICHELLE: This is the first description that’s ever made me want to read Soul Eater.

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SEAN: Lastly, in the “not manga” category, Book Girl and the Undine Who Bore A Moonflower is out, the 6th in the series and the final stand-alone novel before the two-part finale. The title may be a mouthful, but this is probably the best light novel series I’ve seen brought over here to date. And for those who missed Maki in the last book, the ojou with a thing for our Book Girl heroine, she apparently features prominently in this one.

MJ: I haven’t read these either, and I really should, given that both you and Erica are fans.

MICHELLE: Now, here is an instance of a series where I’ve collected all the volumes so far without reading them. I swear I’ve got good intentions!

ANNA: I am slightly ashamed that I have not tried out any volumes of this series because usually as a librarian I would be all over any series with the phrase “Book Girl” in the title. One day I will read it!

SEAN: So what are you combining 3 different release lists to get?

Paradise Kiss, Vol. 2

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By Ai Yazawa. Released in Japan by Shodensha, serialized in the magazine Zipper. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc.

The second volume of Paradise Kiss continues Yukari’s journey into the glamorous world of modeling, even though it’s also about finding that you can’t simply drop everything and start a new career with nothing to fall back on. It’s also about her growing feelings for George, and realizing that a relationship with him is likely going to be far more difficult than becoming a top model. And of course it’s also a josei manga by Ai Yazawa, even within its pages. George is put out that the plot changed in between chapters, he’s chided for reading the manga and seeing Yukari’s inner monologues, and Yukari even gets in on the act, noting that she’s the heroine and can control who the hero is by who she falls for. It does seem a bit odd having her break the fourth wall along with the others. Yukari is the one that’s supposed to be the grounded girl among these flighty artists.

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But Yukari’s image of herself is changing. Miwako helps her land a modeling gig that her sister is designing for (more Neighborhood Story cameos, as fans once again whine that this never got licensed), and she pulls it off quite well. She then uses that contact to get in touch with an agency that wants to promote her. Yukari’s upbringing has basically stomped her self-image into the ground, so there’s a constant feeling from her of waiting for the other shoe to drop. But no, she is really good at this. The words of praise and encouragement from everyone but George help as well, and set up the emotional climax of this volume, where she reconciles with her mother and agrees to return to school (but still model). It’s great stuff.

The problem, of course, is that she’s also fallen for George, hard. And while he clearly has a desire to see her succeed, mature, and become strong, he also does not given her any sort of support or encouragement – at least not explicitly. Yukari has a tendency to overthink everything, so pairing her with a man who’s almost impossible to read is frustrating enough. But you get the feeling that, unlike the rest of the cast, if Yukari were to fail or not measure up to George’s ideals, he would simply move on. He doesn’t emotionally connect, unlike the rest of the cast. We do get more scenes here of Arashi and Miwako’s relationship troubles, and the fact that he’s still jealous and fearful of Hiro. They are both easy to relate to. George is not.

(Poor Arashi is also the only straight man in a cast filled with outlandish characters, and you can see that it exhausts him. This is why he needs to make up with Hiro – he’d finally have someone to take the pressure off.)

George is an incredibly popular character. He’s handsome, dashing, trying to be a good lover (physically, at least – and he’s not the best at that either, as is lampshaded in a conversation between him and Isabella). But he has no interest in the give of a give-and-take relationship, and thus is the sort of guy you like to read about but would hate to deal with in real life. The one time in the volume that he really seems to open up to Yukari is when he’s talking about the clothing that he’s designed. Which is great for a manga that runs in a fashion magazine, but, like Yukari, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. In the meantime, though, no one can deny that this is a glorious soap opera, well-told.

Psyren, Vol. 8

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By Toshiaki Iwashiro. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

No, I haven’t really skipped Vols. 2-7. Psyren simply lends itself well to the brief, one-paragraph reviews I do for Manga Bookshelf every week, and I’ve covered them all over there. Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is a similar title. They’re both what I call ‘mid-range’ Jump titles. They’re not huge, breakout hits, and they tended to linger at the bottom of the table of contents when they were still running. But they fill the magazine, and they provide a good helping of ‘Friendship, Training and Victory’, Jump’s motto. The slow economy means we don’t see as many of these types over here now – Viz tends to wait for breakout hits, like Toriko and Bakuman, or more recently Nisekoi. But all this is not to call Psyren generic shonen. It has its very good points.

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When we last left our heroes, they were back in the Psyren world, which is not particularly one of those good points. I find Ageha and company’s quest to discover the truth about their powers and trying to change history far more interesting when they’re back among the kids of Elmore Wood and their former Psyren mentors. I’m not sure the author agrees with me, but at least this time round we get a little bit more than just desolate wastelands and explosions of power. The attempts to change history are finally WORKING, and even though everything still goes to hell, this time Ageha and company have a few more allies to choose from.

If you take time to look at what’s going on in this volume, you’ll end up with the feeling that you’re being emotionally manipulated. Which, well, is what authors do. Almost every scene in this volume is there to make you squee with joy, or tug at your heartstringas, or laugh out loud (only a couple of times there – this is, for the most part, a serious series). You feel for our heroes when the bad guys take them apart (including ripping off Ageha’s foot, which looks appropriately gross), and grin when the cavalry arrives to rescue them and kick the villain’s asses. (The cover spoils the cavalry’s appearance a bit, but hey.) And the flashback describing the destruction of the world, as well as the death of many of the more adult Psyren charact4ers, is really depressing.

So, I hate the Psyren world, but I’m not alone. The reader really wants Ageha to change things so that this ISN’T the future they have to deal with. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that to do that, we’ll need to be here a while, but hey, there are checks and balances. By the way, if you have friends who read superhero comics and want to see what this manga thing is all about, Psyren would be a very good entry point for them, as it’s basically kids with superpowers they don’t quite now how to control battling a mysterious organization. There’s a little Teen Titans theme going with the Elmore Wood kids. And hey, one of the women in this volume even wears a hilariously awful fanservicey outfit which emphasizes her huge chest, even though she’s canonically shy and modest. What’s more superhero comics than that?

Psyren is not a Jump title you obsess over like Bleach or One Piece. You will forget about the series a few hours after you read the new volume. But that volume will please and entertain you, and gives you good shonen vitamins and minerals. Sticks to the ribs in your quest to stave off a hunger for more manga. Check it out.

Pick of the Week: Girl Friends, Loveless, 07-Ghost

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girlfriends_vol2_fullSEAN: There’s nothing that really inspires me on this week’s Midtown list, so I’ll go with something that my own comic shop is getting but Midtown isn’t. The second and final omnibus of Girl Friends completes the collection, and I am pleased that we got a print release of it from Seven Seas even with JManga releasing it digitally earlier in 2012. This is a different and more fluid translation, but mostly I enjoy just having this coming-of-age yuri story in my hands as a book. There aren’t many yuri stores that make it over here, so I cherish each one. And they’re a cute couple, too!

ANNA: I will pick the second volume of 07-Ghost. I enjoyed the first volume more than I expected to, and I’m hoping that the interesting world building and mystical action continues to entertain in the second volume.07-ghost2

MJ: There are a couple of things I’d like to pick up this week, enough that it’s difficult to choose, but in the end I’ll give my vote to the second omnibus of Loveless. From my review of omnibus volume one: “There’s so much going on … that it comes close to being a train wreck, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that there is no train wreck I love more than a Yun Kouga train wreck. And this, I think, really comes down to characterization. Like a couple of my other Kouga favorites, Crown of Love and (the very different) Gestalt, the strength of the story is that everyone is really interesting. Even when she’s adhering to standard tropes (in this case, BL and shoujo tropes), Kouga doesn’t write standard characters. Everyone in Loveless is kind of a weirdo, in the same way as most actual people are weirdos. They have layers of sometimes-contradictory issues, little idiosyncrasies, both attractive and unattractive flaws—and these are all a real part of the story.” More, please.

loveless3-4MICHELLE: I’m also going to cast my vote for Loveless. I’d heard a little about it when TOKYOPOP was releasing it, but mostly it was all the potentially squicky bits. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it as much as I did, and that’s entirely due to the endearing characters. In the Off the Shelf column MJlinked to, I compared its strong characterization and somewhat hazy plotting to Pandora Hearts, and I continue to stand by that comparison. It’s not just any manga that can make me stop worrying about things making sense, but these two series manage it!

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 1/7/13

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This week, Sean, Anna, and Michelle look at recent releases from VIZ Media and Vertical, Inc.

jiujiu3Jiu Jiu, Vol. 3 | By Touya Tobina | VIZ Media – The halfway decent second volume of Jiu Jiu must’ve been a fluke, because this one was equal parts confusing and dreadfully dull. It’s primarily about a meeting of the various hunter clan members, including the guy who used to be Takamichi’s fiancé as well as the guy who’s her current fiancé. Some family heads don’t approve of using mixed breeds as minions, but right when their actions are facing the most scrutiny, Snow and Night commit various acts of violence that I assume are provoked by jealousy (but it’s all a bit too muddled to be sure). I’m not even able to appreciate the occasional tidbits of fanservice, since I see Takamichi’s canine familiars more as “dogs who transform into hot boys” rather than the reverse. I’ve given it three volumes to snare me, to no avail. I think I may be done with Jiu Jiu now. – Michelle Smith

limit2Limit, Vol 2 | By Keiko Suenobu | Vertical – Limit continues to be shojo for the person who is weary of shojo. There’s no boys on the horizon at all, and being stranded in the wilderness takes the typical high school centric plots out of the equation entirely. Suenobu continues to develop the different personalities and characters of the small group of survivors of a school bus crash. What I found most interesting in this volume was the way the horror of the situation really comes from within each girl. Survival depends on being able to drop the programmed responses that they’ve been taught by modern society. Kamiya is pragmatic almost to the point of being sociopathic, but her knowledge of survival skills and ability to handle the tarot Otaku with a sythe Morishige makes it seem like she’s best fit for survival. Usui’s weakness is her lack of self confidence, and her belief that the mean girl norms of highschool are going to continue indefinitely, and she ends up putting herself in a sticky situation. Konno’s dawning self-awareness and her reappraisal of the situation places her in conflict with Kamiya, but I wonder if Konno’s self-prized trait of being able to go with the flow will enable her to continue on as food and shelter remain scarce. I’m looking forward to volume 3! – Anna N

oresama12Oresama Teacher, Vol. 12 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – I must admit I’m not all that fond of the new character, Aki, who so far has proved to be more of a really annoying pest than anything else. But then, I thought the same thing about Yui at first, and now I love him to bits, the idiot. And speaking of idiots, it’s hard not to feel sorry for Okegawa, who now has to repeat a year because everyone around him is a dork. (But glorious dorks – the traps set up to stop him are the funniest part of this volume). There’s little plot movement here beyond introducing Aki, but I was pleased to see a few heartwarming moments involving Ayabe and his family (and a hint that the student council president isn’t as evil as he seems). Lastly, there’s even a brief feeling of Takaomi possibly getting jealous, and reinforcing his master-servant relationship with Mafuyu. As always, Oresama Teacher is PACKED WITH STUFF. -Sean Gaffney

otomen14Otomen, Vol. 14 | By Aya Kanno | VIZ Media – After adoring Vol. 13 and its Ryo focus, there was no way I wasn’t going to be let down by this new volume, which heads back towards its Otomen focus. That said, there’s stuff to like here as well. Kitora is the focus of the first half of the book, along with Juta’s tsundere sister Kuriko, who likes Kitora in the usual ‘constantly angry at him’ way. There’s also a genuine supernatural element to the chapter, which makes things a bit odder. I wasn’t as wild about the second half, as honestly the otomen plot is wearying, given that every single male character in the series is proving to be a secret otomen. One thing does carry over from last volume – Asuka is still uncertain about what he wants to do with his life, but is beginning to realize that he has to resolve things with his mother before he can move forward. Let’s hope that resolution comes soon. -Sean Gaffney

strobeedge2Strobe Edge, Vol. 2 | By Io Sakisaka | VIZ Media – Oh, Strobe Edge, you’re as sweet and insubstantial as cotton candy, but I still like you. In fact, sometimes my brain needs a comforting and thoroughly unchallenging high-school romance like this. In this second volume, Ninako is trying to move on from being rejected from her first love, Ren, and has asked that they remain friends. Meanwhile, she meets a flirtatious guy named Ando who is sometimes obnoxious and sometimes keenly observant, a trait that comes in handy when Ninako meets Ren’s girlfriend and learns that she’s super nice and cute. What it boils down to is… there’s really nothing new here. But what is here is well done and compelling and easily digestible. It’s like brain balm. I’ll definitely be continuing on. – Michelle Smith

Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 11

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By Kyousuke Motomi. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Comic (“Betsucomi”). Released in North America by Viz.

I’m trying to think when Dengeki Daisy went from ‘shoujo series I quite like’ to ‘one of my top recommendations for shoujo period’. Probably around Vol. 8 or 9, when the thriller aspects of the title were at their height. Of course, this is not to take away from the comedy or the romance, but Daisy blends all three quite well. Judging from the cover, you might think that this was another melodrama like We Were There, and certainly there are a few dramatic angsty elements. But what’s most thrilling about this title is that it feels almost like a movie – action revelations, lots of running around, kidnappings and threats. A modernized Republic serial, without all the stupid bits.

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This volume mostly deals with Teru’s friend Rena, who has come a long way from the ‘princess’-type we saw early in the series. She’s somewhat trapped in an arranged marriage due to her family’s business, and is not very fond of her fiancee. Nor should she be, as he is a jerk through and through, something that the author really doesn’t try to hide at all (she even apologizes to the reader for all the face time he’ll be getting). Amusingly, he’s also shown to be a second-tier bad guys, and the true villains such as Chiharu have little respect for him. But this doesn’t mean he’s not a danger to Rena herself, and the cliffhanger is set up beautifully. It also gives Teru a chance to experience what everyone else in her group goes through when she’s kidnapped or threatened… and I don’t think she likes it any more than they do.

Earlier in the volume, when everyone thinks that Kazuki is merely a jerk fiancee, they set about trying to support Rena and cheer her up – while at the same time allowing her to handle the situation, which she feels she needs to do. I love the way that this manga handles its romances. Both Kurosaki and Kiyoshi (who has a crush on Rena) want desperately to simply sweep in like a white knight and solve all their respective love’s problems, keeping them safe from all harm. But both know that that’s just selfishness, and try to keep a balance between protectiveness and simply being there when needed. (To be fair, this cast does get into danger constantly, so you can see why they’re edgy.) Honestly, few shoujo mangas out right now respect their female characters as much as Dengeki Daisy.

Other things to note: Rena’s trick to inform everyone of her true feelings was brilliant, and they’re right, I hadn’t even thought of that method since childhood. Also, when Kurosaki says “wholesome high school kids read Betsucomi”, all I could think was “And unwholesome kids read Sho-Comi!”. (Kyousuke Motomi, like Mitsuru Adachi and Rumiko Takahashi, likes to plug her own work and her bosses whenever she can.) And that final page simply looks fantastic. If you haven’t been reading this series, try to catch up. It’s a complete winner.

Manga the Week of 1/9

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SEAN: For once, all the manga that was supposed to arrive this week actually did, meaning that next week is quieter than usual, as I’m not shuffling titles that should have come out already around. Let’s hope this trend continues in 2013!

Dark Horse has Vol. 2 of OreImo. Of all the moe faux-incest manga that was published in 2012, it was among the best. Which is possibly the worst compliment ever, but there you go.

MICHELLE: I hate to start the year off with an “ugh,” but… ugh.

MJ: Ditto. Unfortunately.

07-ghost2SEAN: Viz takes up the remaining slots. 07-Ghost receives a new Vol. 2 (an older Vol. 2 came out years ago from publishers now defunct). It’s hard to make amusing comments about this title, so I hope that the series gets to Vol. 7 so that I can at least go with the numerology gag.

MICHELLE: Despite being confusing at times, I found the debut volume of 07-Ghost to be fairly intriguing, so I’m glad that VIZ opted to rescue this title. I’ll definitely be checking out volume two.

MJ: Yeah, I’m genuinely looking forward to this volume! I quite liked Volume One.

SEAN: Case Closed, meanwhile, has hit Volume 45. It has a few more volumes to go before it can pass Inu-Yasha as the longest running North American Shonen Sunday series. I hope that it makes it. (I also hope for an omnibus edition that restores the original names, but I suspect I can whistle for that.)

MICHELLE: I have generally benevolent feelings towards Case Closed, but they’re not sufficient to compel me to personally collect and house a series so notoriously long. I rely on my local library to do that instead. But it is a pretty fun series, if formulaic.

Tangent: I can’t whistle. I’m very bitter about that.

MJ: Awww!

SEAN: Lastly, how do you want your Loveless? There’s the 2nd omnibus, which will no doubt deepen all the mysteries and sexual tension. And there’s Vol. 10, where everything has already exploded messily and you get to see the pieces fly apart in amusing ways. What about it, readers? Slow or fast?

MICHELLE: I never did read Loveless the first time around, so while I’m happy to see those later volumes coming in, I’m still back in the 2-in-1 territory. I really enjoyed the first omnibus, and am looking forward to continuing.

MJ: I admit I’m pretty psyched about this release. I really enjoyed the first omnibus and I kinda can’t wait for more!

SEAN: Does anything catch your eye next week?

Dorohedoro, Vol. 8

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By Q Hayashida. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Ikki. Released in North America by Viz.

I’ve said a few times before that I don’t really read Dorohedoro for the plot, and it’s true. This is the sort of series that is best experienced by, when a new volume comes out, re-reading every previous volume just to remind yourself of all the little details. Since I don’t do that, I’m constantly forgetting things. But even I have to admit that the main plotline is starting to actually give us more than vague hints here. The Cross-Eyes are becoming more and more important, and Risu and Caiman’s search looks to be the same one, from different angles. Most of all, we meet a guy in a flashback who I have a sneaking suspicion is the one man tying this all together.

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All right, enough of the plot. Let’s go back to talking about violence and humor, which are still this manga’s main fuel. Hayashida excels at writing grotesque action scenes filled with gore, and we certainly get that here. The highlight is probably Shin headbutting a man so hard his brain goes flying out the back of his head. I mean, this series isn’t rated M just for the breasts, you know. And quite often the violence and humor combine, such as the fate of the Cross-Eyed’s landlady, which is both horrible and yet somehow amusing. It’s hard to take an evil gang seriously when they’re such schlubs, and I can’t imagine what new bright-eyed character Natsuki sees in them.

The other thing threading through this entire series is drug use and abuse. The way magic works in this universe involves a lot of ‘black powder’ being sold to help non-magic users get a quick fix. Though they’re running out, so they’re starting to sell off some coarser fakes that aren’t as pure. No prizes guessing what the metaphor is here. Meanwhile, En is basically trying to build a new and better hallucinogenic mushroom, and finds that while it makes your wildest dreams come true, the comedown afterwards is rather harsh (poor Fujita…). I have to think at this point that En is aware that Chota is impersonating Nikaido and is just giving him enough rope to hang himself, given Chota’s pathetic attempts at impersonation.

But as always, it’s the relationships and friendships between everyone that are the main reason to read Dorohedoro. Shin may not have a crush on Noi the way she does on him, but his single-minded devotion to finding her is impressive to see. Nikaido and Caiman have swung back into their old groove, though I’m not sure how long that will last. Seeing Dr. Kasukabe reunite with his wife (who has a surprise new job!) is bittersweet but also rather touching, and I hope we see more of her soon. And then there’s Ebisu and her dream of her parents, reminding us that she is more than just comedy relief but a broken young girl.

I still can’t think of a dystopian title I’m enjoying more than Dorohedoro. I know that things will get much worse for everyone soon, but for once I’m actually looking forward to it. This cast does better when its backs are against the wall. And most importantly: will we see more of the Gyoza Fairy?

Nisekoi, Vol. 1

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By Naoshi Komi. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media.

It’s been an awfully long time since I’ve reviewed a Shonen Jump Vol. 1 from Viz. There have been some Jump Square titles, such as Blue Exorcist or Genkaku Picasso. But I never did read Barrage when it was released digitally, or Takama-ga-hara. The reason being that by the time those series really got going enough to pay attention to them, Japan had already cancelled them. (And honestly, I expect sports manga Cross Manage to meet the same fate.) Shonen Jump Alpha had tried to introduce new series simultaneously with Japan, only to come up against the brutal cancellation process that 75% of all Jump series go through. So they needed to try to find an already successful series to bring in, one that didn’t require much explanation, didn’t need censoring, wasn’t over 20 volumes long already, wasn’t getting death threats in Japan, and wouldn’t give their translators nervous breakdowns. The obvious choice was Nisekoi, which has passed the 2-3 volume death range of Jump titles and become a nice little hit over in Japan.

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I admit to being surprised by this one a bit as well, as it requires a bit of a leap of faith from Viz. You see… (whispers) it has no supernatural content. Really! Nor is it about sports. So, for long-time readers of Jump, that leaves two categories. Gag comedy (not gonna happen over here), or romantic harem comedy. Nisekoi fits squarely into the latter, and is Viz’s first attempt at pure romantic Jump since Strawberry 100% and I”s. Luckily, it has a bit more going for it, including a good sense of humor and willingness to make fun of its characters, as well as a yakuza Romeo and Juliet style plot.

Given that a Jump romantic comedy is never going to be hugely original, I was pleased to see the things this series did right. Ichijo is a nebbish, somewhat weak harem hero who nevertheless can stand up for himself and does not automatically fall into cleavage every two seconds. Kirisaki is a tsundere jerk, but most of that is frustration at her upbringing and general poor social skills, rather than it being her default. And the other girl in the love triangle, Onadera, is… well, so far pretty damn cliche. But then she’s a nice sweet girl in a harem genre, so she’s not going to get the guy anyway. In addition, while I’m sure they will come up at some point, it was a pleasure to see a Jump romance that didn’t revolve around underwear or boobs. The comedy stems from the situations and personalities of the leads, which is always a plus.

As for the plot, the series has the subtitle ‘False Love’, which is referring to the fact that, to prevent their rival yakuza families from killing each other, Ichijo and Kirisaki must pretend to be a couple. But there’s also the love issues created by Ichijo’s pendant, which is a lock that his long-forgotten promise girl (anyone who’s read Love Hina knows this plot) has the key to. I’ll bet you two to one there are multiple keys. Ichijo wants to find the promise girl so he can profess his love, but his that real true love? And what about Onadera’s obvious crush?

There’s nothing astoundingly original here. But for anyone who tried the aforementioned Love Hina and found its leads too irritating and its author too obsessed with naked girls hitting the hero, Nisekoi is a more mild alternative. The current chapters are running in Shonen Jump Alpha, with a ‘here’s what happened in the 6 or so volumes before these’ synopsis. I imagine the intervening volumes will come out fairly rapidly to catch up. Digitally, at least. I’ve no idea what the print schedule for this is. In any case, good stuff, and glad to see Viz once again taking a chance on Jump titles that don’t involve demons, ghosts, vampires, or all three.

Pick of the Week: Heart of Thomas & Other Stories

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heartofthomasMJ: There’s a lot going on at Midtown Comics this week, and a lot to look forward to, including lots of new shoujo from VIZ Media (Strobe Edge, Dengeki Daisy) and some hot ticket items from Vertical (Message to Adolf, The Book of Human Insects), but I only have eyes for one thing. That thing, of course, is Moto Hagio’s The Heart of Thomas, produced in beautiful hardcover by Fantagraphics, and lovingly translated by Matt Thorn. I’ve read the advance digital copy and Hagio’s writing and artwork are both more beautiful and emotionally nuanced than I even expected, but I’ll admit I can’t wait to hold this hardcover in my hands. In fact, I’m pretty sure I said the words “I can’t wait” something like ten times in my holiday edition of My Week in Manga. Michelle and I will be talking about Heart of Thomas in this month’s BL Bookrack (Off the Shelf-style) so you can listen to me gush about it more then. Endless love and gratitude to Fantagraphics for bringing us a treasure like this.

ANNA: I agree that Heart of Thomas is the most exciting release this week. I haven’t read it yet, but I am really looking forward to it.

MICHELLE: While Heart of Thomas is the standout on this list for me, too, I don’t wanna just say “ditto,” so instead I’ll note that I’m really looking forward to reading the second volume of Strobe Edge. Okay, no, it’s not exactly a groundbreaking series (firmly in comfort-read territory), but I enjoyed it and liked all the characters, which is sometimes not the case in these high-school romance stories.

SEAN: Heart of Thomas is clearly the most important manga out this week, and I’m definitely looking forward to having it sit on my review pile staring at me balefully, like most important manga does. That said, my picks of the week are the Shojo Beat volumes I always read the moment they come out – Dengeki Daisy, Oresama Teacher and Otomen. I may not know much about art, but I know what I like.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?