Blog

Arpeggio of Blue steel, Vol. 6 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – Much of this volume involves seeing how our heroes will escape from the Japanese military, who have orders to execute everyone involved. Luckily, they’ve made friends in high places, so have the perfect solution, albeit one that delivers quite a bit of blood and gore. That turns out, however, to be the lead-in to a much bigger plot revelation, one that is fascinating and could spin out over the next several volumes. In the meantime, there’s lots of political wrangling and cool submarine battles to be had. If you’re avoiding this series because it’s cute girls are secretly big boats, you’re missing out—this is “What if cute anime boats were written by Tom Clancy?” – Sean Gaffney

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 14 | By Kazue Kato | Viz Media – Japan has always, in all genre types, been big on having the strength to save yourself rather than relying on others to save you. This has, of course, led to a giant bullying culture that doesn’t get fixed. But in manga the others are going to save you anyway, of course. Izumo has had it rough, and has spent most of her school life brutally pushing everyone away with her sharp tongue. Now, of course, as she realizes that she cannot actually deal with the nine-tailed fox on her own, she realizes what she had was true friends, and finally knows she actually loved them. It’s a standard epiphany, but done very well, and there’s lots of cool action as well. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 23 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – I have been waiting for this plot point to come to fruition for what seems like years, possibly as it has actually been years. Kento and Ayane have always been the most uncomfortable of the three main couples, to the point where you realize she has more chemistry with her own teacher than she does with her boyfriend. But Ayane is also bottling a ton of self-hatred, and it finally comes out here and allows her to do what she probably should have done a while ago—break up with Kento, and try to get into the women’s college in Tokyo. Kento has always been one of my least favorite characters, but he takes it well here, even with his desperation showing on his face. The whole volume just sings. Highly recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 23 | By Karuho Shiina | VIZ Media – Most of the time, I am able to imagine what it’s like to be this or that character in a shoujo manga series, but Ayane Yano is the exception. She’s unique and fascinating, coming across as more mature and aloof than her peers, but is crippled by self-hatred for her inability to truly be serious about anything, including her boyfriend. Volume 23 is all about her, as she must decide whether to pursue her dream of attending university in Tokyo while contending with how much she has hurt Kento by not factoring their relationship into her decision. I would’ve been really peeved if things hadn’t ultimately turned out the way they did, but man, it’s hard to watch Ayane hate herself this much. Still, I am already greatly looking forward to her eventual triumph, which makes me wonder how long this series will continue. – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!!, Vol. 7 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | VIZ Media – Much like Kimi ni Todoke above, this volume of My Love Story!! revolves around the main character’s reserved friend trying to return the feelings of someone who loves them. In this case, Yukika Amami has loved Sunakawa since preschool, and he follows through with his pledge to get to know her before responding to her confession. I love that Sunakawa is kind without being condescending and that there are no misunderstandings between Takeo and Yamato as to why he’s been hanging out with this other girl, but most of all I love the emphasis on how his friendship with Takeo makes Sunakawa happier than anything else in his life, and that he basically affirms his love for his good-hearted friend. Amami may be a little hard to like, but if she highlights Sunakawa’s present contentment, then I’m glad she came around. – Michelle Smith

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 19 | By Yuki Midorikawa | VIZ Media – Normally, I am not very big on episodic stories, but I’m always charmed by those in Natsume’s Book of Friends. For the most part, this is a quiet, restful sort of volume, in which Natsume reconnects with an old school friend and deals with some cursed dolls, helps a rock-washer locate his missing apprentice, and learns about an incident in which his grandmother actually helped some yokai. Some angst does arise in the final chapter, however, when Natsume is invited back to the Hakozaki estate to deal with a yokai and runs into exorcists from the Matoba clan, with whom he simply cannot relate. Too, Natsume hopes to follow up on a clue about his grandfather, but nothing comes of it so far. Part of me looks forward to following this plot thread, but honestly, I’d be just as happy with more melancholy episodes like these. – Michelle Smith

Nisekoi, Vol. 13 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – Incremental developments are part of what make good harem series work—knowing when to stick with the status quo and when things have to move forward. It doesn’t even need to involve the main characters—in this volume, Haru finally realizes the “false” relationship between Raku and Chitoge means that he’s not actually being a giant two-timer, and that it’s OK for Kosaki to like him—and Haru as well, of course, though she mostly sublimates this into “help my sister get together with him.” Meanwhile, Ruri gets the more dramatic plot, as she has to deal with her goofy grandfather and that fact that she’s dying—and wants to see her in a happy relationship. I still really enjoy this series. – Sean Gaffney

Non Non Biyori, Vol. 3 | By Atto | Seven Seas – Slice-of-life series can be hard to balance, and I feel that the third volume of this particular one is running into difficulties. Part of it is that the charm of life in a town that’s in the middle of nowhere runs out fast when you realize how few people are actually in this town, or how little there is to do. Another part is that Natsumi, the high-spirited but annoying girl who drives much of the plot, is more annoying than sympathetic, and this leads to things like the world’s worst culture festival, whose humor relies on how painfully awful it is. Obviously asking for better plotting and characterization runs counter to the spirit of slice-of-life, but asking for slightly better writing does not. I hope the next volume works better.-Sean Gaffney

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 3 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – There’s still an arguably interesting story here under all the lolicon crap. Nene is reluctant to use the amazing superpower device, as she wants to get by on her own without relying on it like a crutch. But given that she CAN use the device to save the day, when the day needs saving, why not use it? The trouble is that this moral is still wrapped around fingering vaginal ‘ports’ to gain that power, hence the lolicon crap tag. Ah well, at least Excel Saga fans will get to see an amusing cameo of Kabapu… or rather, of a Kabapu-head costume, which is as horrifying as it sounds. For hardcore Shirow/Koshi fans only. – Sean Gaffney