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My Week in Manga: July 31-August 6, 2017

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My News and Reviews

The winner of The Royal Tutor manga giveaway was announced last week at Experiments in Manga. As usual, I also used the giveaway as an excuse to compile a thematic list of manga–in this particular case, a list of some of the manga available in English which feature royalty. This week I’m (once again) probably going to be switching around my regular posting schedule a little bit. Normally, this week would feature the Bookshelf Overload for July, but I’ve been working on an in-depth review of Kazuki Sakuraba’s A Small Charred Face which I would like to post sooner rather than later.

There are a few interesting things that I’ve recently encountered online that I’d like to share. First of all, MariNaomi has created the Queer Cartoonists Database (which does include mangaka), a followup of sorts to the Cartoonists of Color Database, both of which are fantastic resources. Khursten Santos and Thomas Baudinette, both scholars of queer themes in Japanese media, discuss gay manga, boys’ love, and such on the latest episode of the Fujojocast. Also, hat tip to Khursten for pointing out the recent audio recording and transcript of Masafumi Monden’s fascinating talk A Portrait of Shōjo: The Poetic Ambience of Japanese Girlhood.

As for some of the Kickstarter projects that have caught my attention lately: Sweethearts of 1989 is a queer romance comic by Kale Jeffery which is also in part an homage to anime and manga from the 1980s and 1990s. Zainab Akhtar is campaigning for a second volume of Critical Chips, an anthology of comics and comics criticism. (At least one essay will be about manga, specifically Taiyo Matsumoto’s No. 5.) Allison Shaw’s ongoing comic adaptation of the Greek myth of Persephone looks lovely. And of course, the Sparkler Monthly Year 5 campaign is still underway and could use a boost to help fund another twelve months of fantastic new content.

Quick Takes

I Hear the SunspotI Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino. Although in Japan it was serialized in a magazine that focuses on boys’ love manga, Fumino didn’t originally envision the story of I Hear the Sunspot with that in mind. However, even if the potential for the manga’s to lead characters to become romantically involved was added at a later point, their relationship grows and develops beautifully. After an illness in middle school resulted in permanent hearing loss, Kohei has struggled not only with his sudden disability but also with finding acceptance and understanding from others. Now in law school, Kohei has become withdrawn and has closed himself off from his peers, though that doesn’t stop his more outgoing and personable classmate Taichi from trying to become his friend. As the importance of their unexpected friendship naturally takes hold both Kohei and Taichi have their own issues to deal with, but it is obvious that they care tremendously for each other. As a whole, I Hear the Sunspot is a lovely story, but the nuanced characterization and character growth in the manga is particularly excellent. The depiction of Kohei’s hearing loss and how it has impacted his life and who he is also handled very well. I wholeheartedly loved I Hear the Sunspot.

Liselotte & Witch's ForestLiselotte & Witch’s Forest, Volumes 1-3 by Natsuki Takaya. While waiting for the next volume of Twinkle Stars to be released, I figured I might as well give another of Takaya’s recently-translated manga series a try. (Liselotte & Witch’s Forest is actually one of Takaya’s most recent manga period, although I believe in Japan it’s on hiatus at the moment.) So far, while I am still enjoying the series, Liselotte & Witch’s Forest doesn’t work as well for me as either Twinkle Stars or Fruits Basket. I think the biggest impediment is that there seems to be a significant imbalance in the tone of the manga. The underlying story is dark and tragic–Liselotte & Witch’s Forest largely following in the tradition of Western fairy tales–but the narrative often relies heavily on lighthearted humor to carry it out. As a result, it feels as though Takaya can’t quite decide whether the series should be a drama or a comedy; every time something serious happens it’s countered by something ridiculous and it doesn’t always mesh well. It also takes a little while for the story to take off, although it’s interesting once it does. A young woman of noble birth, the titular Liselotte is now living in exile along with two servants, her stubborn cheerfulness obscuring the anguish she feels.

Stages of RotStages of Rot by Linnea Sterte. The comic Stages of Rot is the first published work by Sterte, an illustrator and animator currently based in Sweden. I wasn’t previously aware of Sterte’s creative output before reading Stages of Rot, but if the comic is at all representative, it will be well worth seeking out more. Although Stages of Rot does include some dialogue and narration, the comic is largely wordless, the strength of Sterte’s gorgeous illustrations easily carrying the flow of the narrative. The story unfolds in five chapters, each of which uses a different palette of muted colors to depict the passage of time and the evolution of nature and civilization within the fantastical world that Sterte has created. The title is derived from the comic’s narrative impetus–the body of a giant sky whale has crashed to the earth, the creature’s death allowing both life and conflict to flourish in ways that would have otherwise been impossible, the accomplishments of one era in some ways dependent on the decay of another. If nothing else, the comic is visually stunning, but the themes exploring the cyclical nature of life and death are also marvelously executed. Stages of Rot is a curious, beautiful, and ultimately hopeful work; I am very glad to have encountered it.

Kaze Hikaru Vol. 25

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Kaze Hikaru Volume 25 by Takeo Watanabe

Every August I’m always happy because another volume of Kaze Hikaru comes out, but I’m also a little bit sad because I wish it came out more frequently! But I’ll be happy with what I can get. As always, whenever I pick up a volume I am amazed at how well Watanabe combines romance, action, and intricate historical detail.

The first part of this volume continues with the flashback that was introduced in the previous volume, as the reader is treated to seeing the Shinsengumi leadership when they were young and struggling in a different way, not yet in the leadership positions they would later attain. Most of the volume is centered on a financial forensics detective story, as Sei is assigned to help out with the accounting division.

She discovers that 50 Ryo is missing, and the chief accountant Kisaburo begs her not to report the problem until he can send for more money from his parents. He notes that times are tough for the men in the Shinsengumi and they’ve tapped into the saved funds before. Sei isn’t happy about this, but wants to help out and tries to discover who the culprit is. As the slowly building romance between Sei and Soji continues, it is fun to see them growing more and more conscious of each other. Soji is worried because he thinks Sei is hiding a crush on Kisaburo, while Sei is being her usual intrepid self and trying to resolve the problem on her own.

As the secret gets out, the vice captain uses his trademark harsh methods for dealing with the theft, and Sei doesn’t understand his judgement and reasoning. As with most issues with the Shinsengumi, the resolution very much depends on the Bushido code, and consequences coming to people who aren’t acting in accordance with it. Kaze Hikaru is such a pleasure to read, I always enjoy the clarity of Watanabe’s art and how well she is able to handle such an extended cast of characters and the relationships between them. I wish it came out more often than once a year!

No Game No Life, Vol. 6

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By Yuu Kamiya. Released in Japan by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Daniel Komen.

The author says in this afterword that this 6th volume was very last minute, as the anime was coming out soon, they needed something quick, adn his editor suggested that he do this flashback explaining the past of Disboard that he had laid out for “some point in the future”. I applaud the editors, because it’s an excellent choice, and ends up giving us what is easily the best volume in the series to date. Told by the God Tet (in disguise) to Izuna (mostly so that she can break in and point out the obvious similarity between the stars in the past and our current stars), we get a “grim and gritty” backstory that actually works for more than just “being dark”, showing us the horror of the war-torn land and why it was worth sacrificing so much in order to ensure it became the game-ruled world it is today.

Of course, we’re not necessarily dealing with an entirely new cast – as Izuna testily points out, Riku and Schwi are clearly analogues for Sora and Shiro, and Couron is Steph’s distant ancestor and the founder of their kingdom. This allows readers to get a good visualization of them, even if the personalities don’t quite intersect – Schwi is pretty dead on for Shiro, but Riku is basically Sora if he’d been broken by reality even more. As for Couron, she’s Steph without the abuse, and therefore perfect. Indeed, a lot of the “ha ha the writer thinks this is funny” fanservice is absent from this book, as the war setting means that it’s hard to trot out the sexual perversions and humiliation of Steph. Yes, Riku is teased about being a lolicon, and there’s a few “dying a virgin” remarks that Sora would be proud of, but that’s about it. This book knows now is not the time.

We also, by the way, see Jibril, and in many ways she’s the villain of the book. We knew that her past life before the Games became the rule was filled with a lust for blood and carnage, and her fight with Schwi here shows off her impatience and tendency towards overreacting, even if it ends up doing her harm in the end. That said, we also see that she’s definitely different from the other Flugel, even if it will take Sora and Shiro to really drag her potential forward. Much of the book is Riku doing what Sora normally does, which is to say plan an elaborate series of moves that end up winning the game for humanity. Tet says Riku and Schwi are stronger than [ ], as their world didn’t have the “game rules”. Sadly, this also means that they’re not granted protagonist immunity, so be prepared for some tragedy as well.

This was an excellent book, and the big downside to it is that it shows off that the author can be really good when he wants to be, but frequently lets it get buried under a need for fanservicey jokes and stupid anime tropes. Book 7 (which is in December, NGNL has settled into twice a year now) returns us to Sora and Shiro, and it will be nice to see them again, but I hope we can keep some of the added depth and gravitas we saw here and not just have a series of jokes about Steph’s tits. If you want to test out the series, though, 6 is the way to start, oddly enough.

Manga the Week of 8/9/17

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SEAN: Stuff, stuff, stuff! So much stuff!

Dark Horse gives us a new volume of Drifters, the 4th. It comes out sporadically, so I will no doubt have to refresh my memory about what’s happening besides cool old famous people reincarnated and fighting each other. Actually, no, that should do it.

ASH: Let’s see, the last volume was released in English in… 2014. I didn’t expect that we’d ever see more of the series! I suspect that last year’s anime adaptation may have something to do with that.

SEAN: And there is a 4th omnibus of “Like Evangelion, only stupider” spinoff manga Shinji Ikari Raising Project.

J-Novel Club has a new debut, but it may seem familiar: Clockwork Planet, whose manga adaptation Kodansha has been releasing. This is their first Kodansha license, and will hopefully open the way for more in the future.

And we have the 4th In Another World With My Smartphone, which I hear is where the plot really kicks off.

Kodansha has titles both digital and print. Digitally we have the 2nd Altair: A Record of Battles, which is clearly not on the fastrack like some other digital titles.

ANNA: Good reminder for me to read the first one!

MICHELLE: Same!

SEAN: And the 2nd Aoba-kun’s Confessions as well.

I was unprepared for the Attack On Titan: Before the Fall adaptation to be this long, but here we are, Volume 11. Huh.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind, but I do largely like how the manga further develops and expands the story and characters from the original light novels.

SEAN: Back to digital with the 5th Full-Time Wife Escapist. Will these two poor communicators finally get together?

ANNA: I enjoy this series!

MICHELLE: Me, too. I’m always happy when I see a new installment on the schedule.

SEAN: And L♥DK has hit double digits, and presumably has not run out of ways to frustrate its heroine.

Seven Seas has the most titles out next week. There’s a lucky 13th volume of Devils and Realist.

And the 2nd print volume of the light (hah!) novel Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid will try to ride out the post-anime depression with its 4th volume.

The debut next week is Nirvana, an action fantasy with a “trapped in another world” veneer, the gimmick being the protagonist is female for once. It’s written by Jin, the creator of Kagerou Daze, and runs in Comic Gene.

Not Lives gives us a 6th volume. Has the cast diminished yet?

Also at double digits next week is Servamp. (poses) Vampires! (peers around, crickets chirp) Could it be the running gag has gone on too long?

ANNA: Maybe we need more mermaids or pirates.

SEAN: SuBLime has a digital-only release next week with Am I In Love Or Just Hungry, from popular author Akane Abe.

In print, they have the 2nd Deluxe Edition of Finder.

And the 5th volume of Ten Count, which has managed to irritate most of Manga Bookshelf by now.

ANNA: Yeargh.

ASH: I’m still reading it, though I completely understand why people dropped the series. The character’s relationship is far from healthy–right now to me it actually reads more like a horror manga and less like a romance.

SEAN: Viz has a 5th digital release of The Children Nowadays, whose existence I keep forgetting.

In print, they have the 21st volume of Itsuwaribito, which must be reaching a climax of some sort, I say as if I read past Vol. 1.

And a 2nd Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

ASH: I’m enjoying this adaptation so far; I’m also glad that it doesn’t end with the second volume.

SEAN: Magi has reached 25 volumes! In Japan it’s wrapping up, here we still have a ways to go.

MICHELLE: I’m always kind of relieved to hear a series is ending. It’s probably the reassurance that I’ll actually get the complete story.

SEAN: Lastly, we have a 9th volume of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter, which wars with Yu-Gi-Oh in how often it ends a Manga the Week of column and leaves me with nothing to say.

What do you say? Anything for you next week?

Manga Giveaway: The Royal Tutor Giveaway Winner

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The Royal Tutor, Volume 1And the winner of The Royal Tutor manga giveaway is… Black_wind!

As the winner, Black_wind will be receiving a copy of The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 by Higasa Akai as published in English by Yen Press. I have a particular fondness for court intrigue, so for this giveaway I asked participants to tell me a little about their favorite member of royalty from a manga since it often seems as though you can’t have one without the other. Be sure to check out the giveaway comments for everyone’s detailed responses as well as the list below for even more manga!

Some of the manga available in English featuring royalty:
ACCA 13 by Natsume Ono
Andromeda Stories written by Ryu Mitsuse, illustrated by Keiko Takemiya
The Angel of Elhamburg by Aki
Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
Basara by Yumi Tamura
Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane
Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma
Emma by Kaoru Mori
The Heroic Legend of Arslan by Hiromu Arakawa
Iono-sama Fanatics by Miyabi Fujieda
Ludwig II by You Higuri
Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
No Need for Tenchi! by Hitoshi Okuda
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga
Red River by Chie Shinohara
Requiem of the Rose King by Aya Kanno
The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda
The Royal Tutor by Higasa Akai
The Seven Princes of the Thousand-Year Labyrinth written by Yu Aikawa, illustrated by Haruno Atori
The Story of Saiunkoku written by Sai Yukino, illustrated by Kairi Yura
Sugar Sugar Rune by Moyoco Anno
Two Flowers for the Dragon by Nari Kusakawa
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

As usual, the above certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should at least provide some interesting starting places for readers looking for a bit of royal flair in their manga. Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway and shared your favorite members of royalty with me. I hope to see you again for the next giveaway!

Twinkle Stars, Vol. 3

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By Natsuki Takaya. Released in Japan as two separate volumes by Hakusensha, serialized in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Sheldon Drzka.

I laugh heartily at my comment in the last review that Hijiri was absolutely perfect. She’s still my favorite, but this omnibus seemed entirely designed to show off that no, Hijiri is not perfect, that she is arrogant and headstrong and coming from a definite position of privilege, and when combined with the genuine fear she has of seeing her best friend get hurt again, it naturally leads to a bad confrontation. Which does, at least, get us Chihiro’s backstory, and the girl that he was supposedly in love with, Sakura. The love that it was, though, was a deeply unhealthy one, something the reader is well aware of as it plays out. Takaya is always at her best when showing off emotional pain, and we get that in spades here – there’s a suicide attempt, mostly successful, and implications that Chihiro also has suicidal thoughts. Fortunately, Takaya also writes Pollyannas, and that’s exactly what’s needed from Sakuya here.

Back to talking about Hijiri, literally everyone in the book realizes that she is doing the wrong thing and calls her out on it. First Yuuri, then Saki… it’s something that only she can do, being rich enough to basically have Chihiro’s entire past investigated to make sure that he’s not going to be causing Sakuya pain. And then, when she finds out about Sakura, his old love, telling her about it. Then she compounds it by refusing to admit what she did was wrong. It takes everything tat we’ve loved about the character for the last two omnibuses and turns it on its head, showing off the unpleasant and negative sides that her personality can have. We also learn how she first met Sakuya, and how her curiosity about those who felt pain turned to guilt and horror as she realized what that really means. Oh yes, and thankfully the crush on the teacher is not going to happen.

As for Chihiro, he’s more of a Yuki than a Kyo, if you know what I mean. It’s always a challenge to see someone repressing all their past emotional wounds and scars and not have them turn out somewhat flat, and again, Takuya is a master of doing this the right way. His confrontation with Sakuya at the reservoir is the highlight of the book, as we see that his obsession with Sakura (even the names are similar – at least in romanji) to an eerie degree) can turn to hatred as much as it does to love. Sakura is also a lonely child with a tragic past of abuse, like half the cast here, but she’s not written in a sympathetic way. I’ve no doubt she’ll wake up at some point, and I do wonder if she and Sakuya will ever meet.

Twinkle Stars gives fans of this author exactly what they want – deep emotional heartache and catharsis, calling out abuse for what it is, and showing that just because someone has a tragic past does not mean that their current joy and happiness has to be faked. I can’t wait to see where this goes next.

Durarara!!, Vol. 7

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By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Sooner or later in the life of every light novels, you get the volume that consists of short stories, usually because the author is still figuring out where to take the series next. And so it is with DRRR!!, which gives us 4 stories here surrounded by Izaya recuperating from his stab wound he got last time in the hospital, where he runs into a girl that literally everyone has forgotten, including him (and the creators of the anime, who were unhappy to see this, I imagine). The ‘theme’ of these stories seems to be Ikebukuro on holiday, and indeed, Narita has discussed the idea of the city as a character in the volume before. And of course there’s also some setup and moving of chess pieces for future books, most obviously in the story with Shizuo and Tom, which gives them a new co-worker.

First, though, we have to deal with the story nobody wanted. I think if you were to ask Western fans in particular which DRRR!! characters they never want to see or hear from again, the insane triangle of Namie, Seiji and Mika would likely top the list. And what’s worse, Narita has them in your face here, never letting you forget how much Namie wants to screw her little brother, or that Mika is seriously looking to EAT CELTY’S HEAD so that she can get closer to Seiji, or that Seiji… well, no, Seiji continues to be a nonentity. He gets some depth here, of a sort, but his main theme still seems to be “what do these two see in him?”. It’s not the most pointless story in the book, but it is the most disturbing. We then get a look at the backstory and current life of Akabayashi, the yakuza with a sweet cane and missing an eye we’ve seen in the previous book. He deals with the fallout from Akane’s kidnapping, stops some drug dealing on his turf, and escapes an attempt on his life with ease. He’s here to be incredibly cool, and succeeds. He also has a surprising tie to Anri, which is good as the “main” trio of teenagers otherwise make very minor to no appearances in this volume.

The best story in the collection, even if you don’t love her (which I do) is the third one, in which Vorona is cooling her heels at Russian Sushi and wondering what to do with her life now that she’s been beaten and humiliated. The answer? Join Shizuo and Tom in shaking down local deadbeats who rent porn and then never pay for it or other such offenses. Tom is rather startled at how good Vorona is at beating others up, and impressed at her wikipedia brain. Shizuo (who does not recognize her as the woman who kidnapped Akane, as she was wearing her motorcycle helmet) is just happy to be able to mentor someone. And Vorona is watching Shizuo closely, seeing how he manages to be stronger than everything else, and deciding that he’s her “prey”… much to the displeasure of Akane, who has decided that she needs to take out Shizuo as well, despite the fact that she really likes him. (It is implied that getting kidnapped on top of the family revelations kind of broke Akane, but that’s Narita for you.) This story is filled with humor and unnecessary violence, and the book is worth getting for just this one.

We end with a cute, if completely pointless, date between Shinra and Celty, who have gone off to the mountains to get closer but keep getting interrupted by the rest of the cast calling Shinra for one reason or another. This mostly serves to remind us that, eccentric as they are, these two are the least screwed up couple in the series. The book overall is marking time, but it’s still worth reading, provided you don’t mind the author occasionally reminding you that he loves to read horrible people being horrible at each other.

Bookshelf Briefs 7/31/17

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Blue Exorcist, Vol. 17 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – Well, Yukio is STILL keeping things a secret, though it’s getting very hard. Much of this volume belongs to Shura, who comes from a family who, due to a curse, tend to live to 30, give birth, then die. Sadly, Shura isn’t giving birth anytime soon, and is pissing off the local god her family made this bargain with. To the rescue come Rin and Yukio, which gives us an opportunity for them to hash things out and at the same time resolve absolutely nothing, as well as remind us that Rin is the standard shonen protagonist. I really could have done without young Shura going topless and trying to seduce Father Fujimoto, though. This is a pretty good volume, but not as good as the arc before it—it still feels like it’s marking time. – Sean Gaffney

Giant Killing, Vol. 3 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – ETU’s pre-season match against Tokyo Victory continues, and it’s great to watch the team gaining confidence and enthusiasm. The fans agree, and after Tsubaki makes a mistake that grants their opponents a 2-1 advantage, it’s former captain Murakoshi who reinvigorates everyone’s hopes. Next, Tatsumi talks big at a press conference, slaying the crowd with jokes and promising to spice up the soccer world and then, at their first game of the official season, ETU ends up losing 4 to 1. There’s no way ETU’s road to success would be smooth, but I do still relish the moments of triumph when they come. In this volume, there’s a great two-page spread when Murakoshi scores, for example, followed by a two-pager of reaction shots. The pacing of this series is masterfully exhilarating. If you like sports manga, you should be reading this! – Michelle Smith

Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Vol. 5 | Natsuki Takaya | Yen Press – This is an interesting volume of Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, in which quite a lot happens. Initially, the focus seems to be on Vergue and his hatred of humans for their rejection of him, and there’s a great scene in which Anna expertly manipulates him into coming to tea. (It gave me Hanajima/Kyo feelings, actually.) Engetsu, Anna and Alto, and Vergue all get a little more backstory, none of it good, and then Engetsu whisks Liselotte off to see the village festival, where she spies her brother and promptly flees. While she’s busy dealing with a new witch on the scene, Engetsu sits down for a conversation with her brother, Richard, about his plans for Liselotte. Pretty exciting, right? Eager for the next volume, right? Well, too bad. This series has been on hiatus since 2013. Join me in feeling very grumpy about that. – Michelle Smith

My Monster Secret, Vol. 7 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – While we do get another character introduced in the form of the world’s worst fallen angel, for the most part this volume continues to do what it does best—tell really funny stories about supernatural high schoolers who are super awkward. Fortunately, after the events in the last volume, Asahi and Youko make up, though it takes being stranded in a snowstorm and a bad cold to break past the discomfort. Youko’s father also shows up to play the world’s most dangerous game of Life, and though we keep getting hints that we’ll find out how he and Youko’s mother finished high school, we never do. The funniest chapter, though, is the competition to see who can be sexiest, which needs to be read to be believed. Great stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 6 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – I was right that Chinatsu was going to be partnering with Fujita berfore long, but it’s not smooth sailing—in fact, it’s the opposite of smooth sailing. Fujita’s been spoiled by having perfect partners till now, and Chinatsu’s struggling as before this she was the lead as she only danced with other female partners. Learning how to be a good lead is harder than learning how to copy others, especially as Fujita finds it’s the GUY they look at in the prelims, and if he and Chinatsu can’t sort this out it’s all over. Add to this the gorgeous artwork, which continues to show off the dancing to its best effect, and you have a gripping series, even as it pours on perhaps a bit too much angsty drama. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Shining Wind And Twinkling Stars

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MICHELLE: It’s that time of year again! I’m very interested in the conclusion of Otherworld Barbara as well as I Hear the Sunspot and She and Her Cat, but I am simply unable to pass up my annual chance to squee about Kaze Hikaru. I agree with AshLynx, who expressed a wish that VIZ would start making the annual release a 2-in-1 volume. Otherwise we won’t catch up to where Japan is now until I’m retired!

SEAN: I can’t break with the yearly tradition. It’s definitely Kaze Hikaru as my pick. My goal is for it to sell well enough that we might see it… dare I hope… TWICE a year!

ANNA: Kaze Hikaru all the way for me as well. I love that series!

KATE: Add my name to the chorus of folks recommending Kaze Hikaru. I’m glad VIZ continues to publish new installments, but second Michelle’s request for a slightly faster release schedule. The East Coast will be underwater before we get the final volume here in the US!

ASH: Despite its slow release schedule, I’ve still somehow managed to fall behind with Kaze Hikaru. And so while I do plan on reading it because I do like the series, my pick this week (perhaps surprisingly) actually goes to Twinkle Stars. Although the series is a little trope-worn in places, I found the first two omnibuses to be both compelling and emotionally resonant.

My Week in Manga: July 24-July 30, 2017

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My News and Reviews

Last week saw the beginning of the most recent manga giveaway here at Experiments in Manga. This time around I’m giving away a copy of Higasa Akai’s The Royal Tutor, Volume 1 which was recently released by Yen Press in print after having previously only been available digitally. The winner will be announced this coming Wednesday, so there’s still a little time left to enter for a chance to win; simply tell me a little about one of your favorite members of royalty from a manga. Otherwise, it was fairly quiet around here last week, although one of my many cousins got married so I did spend a long weekend in Pittsburgh with my parents and siblings. Pittsburgh’s a really interesting place and we had good time. I’m really glad I wasn’t the one driving, though; Pittsburgh’s roadways are intense!

Anyway. Elsewhere online, Japanese author Hiromi Kawakami was recently interviewed for the Huffington Post–”The Stories Behind Ordinary Lives and Things.” I definitely need to read more of Kawakami’s work, but I have reviewed her novel Manazuru in the past. She’s also a frequent contributor to the literary magazine Monkey Business which I enjoy a great deal. Udon Entertainment hasn’t made many public comments regarding the status of The Rose of Versailles, but Nick Rowe recently talked to the publisher and it sounds like the manga might finally be released sometime next year. If you didn’t make it to the San Diego Comic Con, Jamie Coville has posted audio recordings of many of the panels including Manga Superheroes: Super Differences Between Japan and US. Heidi MacDonald, Deb Aoki, and Brigid Alverson recorded a few more episodes of Three Women in a Hotel Room at SDCC, too, talking about all sorts of things related to comics, manga, and pop culture in North America.

Quick Takes

Don't Be Cruel: Plus+, Volume 1Don’t Be Cruel: Plus+, Volume 1 by Yonezou Nekota. I’ve been meaning to read Nekota’s boys’ love manga series Don’t Be Cruel, but I haven’t actually had the opportunity to yet. However, I did recently  find myself in the possession of the first volume of Don’t Be Cruel: Plus+, a manga which more or less collects the main series’ side stories along with some additional content. I’m sure that Plus+ would be more meaningful to someone has read Don’t Be Cruel proper, but I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible it was even though I haven’t. (It probably does help that I have read a fair amount of boys’ love in general, though.) I don’t know how much humor is in the main series, but Plus+ is definitely not attempting to be serious. The manga basically brings Nekota’s Don’t Be Cruel doujinshi together, and some of them are intentionally unrealistic and over-the-top ridiculous, including one in which the characters switch bodies. There’s also a fair amount of sex, too. The stories focus on the physical and emotional relationships that have developed between Maya and Nemugasa, two young men with vastly different personalities. Even though I haven’t read Don’t Be Cruel, I found myself consistently amused by the surprisingly sweet mix of silliness and smuttiness in Plus+.

Venus Wars, Volume 1The Venus Wars, Volume 1 by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. Not very many of Yasuhiko’s manga have been released in English and of those only one Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin is currently available in print. In Japan, The Venus Wars was four volumes long. One volume was released in English, but as far as I can tell, Dark Horse actually published about half of the series as individual floppy comic issues. The Venus Wars is similar in genre, tone, and illustration to Yasuhiko’s work on Gundam, but I didn’t find myself quite as engaged by it. (I may have felt differently if more had been translated.) However, I did really like the series’ setting and basic premise. After Venus is struck by an asteroid in 2003, the planet is so greatly changed that it becomes possible for humans to terraform and colonize it. By 2089, the two major powers on Venus–Ishtar and Aphrodia–are drawing closer to all-out war and Earth is far enough away that its government and military can do very little to effectively intervene. Ken Seno is a young man who has been scouted by an elite unit of the Aphrodia military. He eventually joins, although initially it seems that his decision is based less on of any sort of patriotic duty than it is on his interest in the powerful, high-tech battlebikes that will come along with his assignment.

Wolf Children: Ame & YukiWolf Children: Ame & Yuki by Yu. I haven’t actually seen Mamoru Hosoda’s film Wolf Children, so I have no idea how Yu’s adaptation compares with the original anime, but I can definitely say that I enjoyed the manga. Originally a three-volume series, Wolf Children has been collected into a single, hardcover omnibus for it’s English-language release. At its heart, Wolf Children is a lovely, bittersweet tale about love, family, and growing up. Hana is a young woman in college who becomes romantically involved with a man who is half-wolf. They eventually marry and have two children together who, like their father, can also transform into wolves. After he dies unexpectedly, Hana finds it more and more difficult to provide for and protect her daughter and son. In order to keep them and their secret safe, Hana ultimately moves the family to the secluded countryside where, for the first time, they truly become part of a community. Wolf Children is largely told by Yuki, the oldest of the two siblings, tracing both her family history and her and her brother Ame’s childhood. Over time, Yuki and Ame grow and change, their lives taking drastically different paths as they struggle with being part-wolf and part-human. But through everything, their mother Hana and her immense love for them is always there.