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Pick of the Week: Rose King & Butler

September 7, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N Leave a Comment

SEAN: There’s some interesting stuff going on this week, which I’m sure the rest of the team will talk about, so my pick is a title only I care about: the 26th Hayate the Combat Butler. It’s been pretty serious and plot-oriented the last three volumes or so – expect that to change back to its usual goofy fourth-wall breaking humor.

MICHELLE: It’s kind of odd that a VIZ shoujo title is coming out the second week of the month rather than the first, but I don’t mind, since that makes volume two of the versatile Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King an easy choice!

ASH: I’m with Michelle, Requiem of the Rose King is absolutely my pick this week. Although the first volume was a bit chaotic in places, I loved its drama and theatrics. The stage has been set, and I can’t wait to see what’s to come.

MJ: I’m also going to give my vote to Requiem of the Rose King. I haven’t caught up with the first volume yet, but this is easily the most enticing title on the list for me this week. I have a feeling I may even be happy in the end that I can read this two at a time!

ANNA: I’m also going to pick Requiem of the Rose King too. I loved the combination of history, anguish, and surreal visions in the first volume, and I’m excited to see where the story goes.

SEAN: Requiem of the Rose King is awesome, I will admit. But totally sticking with Hayate. Someone has to.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: August 31-September 6, 2015

September 7, 2015 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

A few different things posted at Experiments in Manga last week. First up was the announcement of the Yumi Tamura Giveaway Winner which also includes a list of mangaka whose work the giveaway participants consistently enjoy and follow. For the second post last week, which also happens to be the first in-depth review of September, I took a look at Takeshi Matsu’s second English collection of erotic gay manga Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories which I quite enjoyed. Overall, I think it may even be stronger than his first collection, More and More of You and Other Stories, which I also liked. Finally, over the weekend, I posted August’s Bookshelf Overload for those of you interested in what sorts of things I’ve picked up recently.

A little over a month ago I posted my responses to a game of manga tag. Well, that game is still making the rounds! Most recently, I discovered that Daiyamanga’s Krystallina took the opportunity to talk about her collection. Elsewhere online, Shojo Beat posted a brief interview with Kimi ni Todoke‘s creator Karuho Shiina. And in licensing news, Seven Seas has picked up three more manga: Nanatsuki Takafumi and Risumai’s I Was Abducted by an Elite All-Girls School as a Sample Commoner, Amemiya Yuki and Ichihara Yukino’s Battle Rabbits, and Takeoka Hazuki and Tiv’s Masamune-kun’s Revenge.

My News and Reviews

An Even More Beautiful Lie by Kei Kanai. It was the lovely, ethereal, and sensuous cover of An Even More Beautiful Lie that initially caught my eye and first brought the boys’ love one-shot to my attention. And, except for the creepy way that Kanai draws some of the characters’ eyes, I really liked the interior artwork as well with its strong inking and solid blacks. I enjoyed the basic premise and setup of the story, too, but ultimately I felt a little betrayed by the manga. Kurosu is a university student studying art. He’s particularly fond of the paintings by Yukari, a fellow student, genius artist, and something of a recluse. Yukari’s life is devoted to painting. Sometimes while in the grip of inspiration he’s so focused on creating that forgets to eat or even sleep. Which is why it’s fortunate that he left his umbrella on the train—returning it gives Kurosu the excuse he needed to talk to Yukari and the two grow close; Yukari now has someone who not only cares about his paintings, but cares about his well-being, too. I wish An Even More Beautiful Lie would have continued in that vein, but instead there’s an abrupt shift in the story’s tone that’s and a horrible, unnecessary rape scene. But at least it’s not between the two leads and their relationship remains intact.

Fairy Tail, Volume 49 by Hiro Mashima. The forty-ninth volume of Fairy Tail brings to an end the Tartaros story arc while beginning new one. Since Igneel dominates the cover, I was hoping for an epic showdown between dragons. There is a pretty good fight, but sadly it’s over fairly quickly. In fact, the whole Tartaros arc seemed to be wrapped up sooner than anticipated. And indeed, Mashima mentions in the afterword that it was cut short. Even so, it ends in a suitably dramatic fashion and the next arc promises to be very interesting. Of course, Mashima does have to retcon a few things to really pull it off well. That’s one of the things about Fairy Tail that I’m consistently frustrated by—although Mashima claims to have thought out the story well in advance, due to the lack of adequate foreshadowing and what seems like constant rewriting, I’m not convinced. And as the series continues to grow in length (I don’t see Fairy Tail ending any time soon), keeping internal consistency is going to become more and more of a challenge. Even though magic is obviously a major part of Fairy Tail, I think it’s been used one to many times to backtrack the narrative when Mashima has written himself into a corner; major plot and character developments lose their impact if they can so easily be waved away later on.

Prison School, Omnibus 1 by Akira Hiramoto. Some people, like me, may be familiar with Hiramoto as the creator of the acclaimed manga series Me and the Devil Blues, a supernaturally-tinged historical drama about a blues musician. Prison School is a completely different manga that, except for Hiramoto’s tremendous skill as an artist, has very little in common that earlier series. Prison School is an absurdly dramatic and over-the-top comedy. Even though the manga can hardly be taken seriously it will still likely be incredibly offensive and obscene to a large number of readers since the most powerful characters—the young women of Hachimitsu Private Academy’s shadow student council—are also the most sexualized and fetishized. The men in the series are all varying degrees of despicable, and they unapologetically revel in it. And yet, if one can stand the stunningly less-than-flattering portrayal of just about every character in the series, Prison School can be immensely entertaining and engaging. Considering all of the perversion, sadomasochism, nudity, and violence in Prison School, it’s certainly not a series that I would recommend to everyone, though. I expect that Prison School will be a divisive series, but I’m still intensely curious to see how the manga plays out.

Komomo Confiserie Vol 1

September 7, 2015 by Anna N

Komomo Confiserie, Volume 1 by Maki Minami

So far, Maki Minami’s shoujo series haven’t totally connected with me as a reader. I didn’t care for Special A very much, and while I liked the first couple volumes of Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy, I haven’t gone on to read the entire series. Maybe Komomo Confiserie will finally be the Minami series that I actually finish!

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The series starts out with a flashback, as the incredibly spoiled and rich little girl Komomo picks on a young boy named Natsu. He’s the son of her family’s chef, and Komomo only likes the sweets that Natsu prepares for her. Komomo is ungracious and bossy, but she has an emotional connection to Natsu’s food, it serving as a substitute for companionship as she lives in a huge mansion abandoned by her parents. In just a few panels, this rich yet emotionally empty life is overturned, as Komomo’s father announces that he’s lost their fortune, and Komomo has to work to support herself with a part time job. Life as a rich heiress hasn’t prepared Komomo with the social graces or work ethic to be able to handle any type of employment and she keeps getting fired over and over again.

It wouldn’t be a shoujo manga if Natsu wasn’t about to return to Japan a triumphant celebrity from studying pastry abroad, determined to seek out his old “friend” to exact revenge, only to find that their positions have been reversed in an ironic twist of fate! Natsu has an exceedingly charming pastry shop to run, and he runs in to Komomo just as she is tossed out into the street from her latest misadventure in employment.

If Komomo was absolutely unrepentant and spoiled, this manga wouldn’t work very well, but what I enjoyed most about this series were the cracks in the facades for both Natsu and Komomo. Komomo gradually begins to realize how superficial her previous life was, when none of her old friends come to her aid. While Natsu initially appears to be slightly psychotic in his pursuit of revenge, he is actually moved a few times when seeing Komomo eat his food and try to adjust to her new life. Komomo’s rich girl attitudes come in handy when she’s faced with a new high school. Mean girl bullying just slides off of her, and she sails through unaffected. Komomo is gradually learning to be a real human being, and as her personality changes, Natsu begins to find her more and more adorable.

Minami is a solid shoujo artist, and I particularly appreciated her being able to dramatize facial expressions that are a bit off, for example when Natsu’s kindness is a facade for his evil plans. I’m hoping that Komomo will become more and more adept with dealing with the real world, changing the power dynamic between her and Natsu more in the next few volumes.

Bookshelf Overload: August 2015

September 6, 2015 by Ash Brown

Along with August comes 801 Day, and along with 801 Day comes boys’ love sales, so in addition to usual slew of preorders last month, I replenished my supply of BL manga and novels. I even managed to snag a few that I believe are technically out of print. As for newly-released manga with queer themes, Takeshi Matsu’s second collection of erotic gay manga in English is now available: Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories. (I reviewed the volume a couple of days ago; it’s pretty great.) There were plenty of other preorders that I was happy to see released in August, too, including but certainly not limited to the next installments in the lovely hardcover editions of Kaoru Mori’s Emma and Hirohiko Araki’s Phantom Blood. And as I feared and expected, my artbook collection continues to expand. Last month I picked up the two volumes of Takehiko Inoue’s gorgeous Vagabond illustrations, Sumi and Water. Outside of manga, I was very excited for Haikasoru’s re-release of Otsuichi’s award-winning light novel Goth since I thoroughly enjoyed Tokyopop’s edition of Goth back in the day. Haikasoru’s edition uses the same translation at Tokyopop’s, but it also includes the newly-translated novelette “Morino’s Souvenir Photo,” which I’m looking forward to reading. I also picked up the anthology Press Start to Play specifically because it includes the short story “Respawn” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (the author of All You Need Is Kill and Slum Online), but I was happy to discover that a bunch of other great authors, including Ken Liu, contributed to the volume as well. And, after some delay, Yurei: The Japanese Ghost by Zack Davisson has finally been published!

Manga!
Another by Hiro Kiyohara
Citrus, Volume 3 by Saburouta
Crushing Love by Ritsu Natsumizu
Depression of the Anti-Romanticist, Volumes 1-2 written by Yasuna Suginuma, illustrated by Riyu Yamakami
Dorohedoro, Volume 16 by Q Hayashida
Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories by Takeshi Matsu
Embracing Love, Omnibus 3 by Youka Nitta
Emma, Omnibus 2 by Kaoru Mori
The First Stage of Love by Kazuhiko Mishima
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 7 written by Yuto Tsukuda, illustrated by Shun Saeki
Inuyashiki, Volume 1 by Hiroya Oku
Itazura na Kiss, Omnibus 1 by Kaoru Tada
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Volume 3 by Hirohiko Araki
Love at Fourteen, Volume 3 by Fuka Mizutani
Love Bus Stop by Ritsu Natsumizu
Maria the Virgin Witch: Exhibition by Ishikawa Masayuki
Millennium Darling 2006 by Maki Naruto
My Hero Academia, Volume 1 by Kohei Horikoshi
Poison Cherry Drive by Motoni Modoru
Prison School, Omnibus 1 by Akira Hiramoto
Red by Sanae Rokuya
Sea View by Ayumi Kano
Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 2 by Sui Ishida
Ultraman, Volume 1 by Tomohiro Shimoguchi
Weekend Lovers by Kiriko Fuwa
Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki written by Mamoru Hosoda, illustrated by Yu

Comics!
The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane by Philippe Druillet
Guardians of the Kingdom by Tom Gauld
Here by Richard McGuire
Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits 2000-2010 written by Jen Van Meter
Lumberjanes, Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy created by Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, and Shannon Watters
Pages to Pages by Lai Tat Tat Wing
This Tastes Funny by Suddenly Sentai
Thoughts From Iceland by Lonnie Mann
Wayward, Volume 2: Ties that Bind created by Jim Zub and Steve Cummings

Artbooks!
Sumi by Takehiko Inoue
Water by Takehiko Inoue

Light Novels!
Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City, Part 1 written by Ryo Kawakami, illustrated by Range Murata
Don’t Worry Mama written by Narise Konohara, illustrated by Yuki Shimizu
Goth by Otsuichi
The Man Who Doesn’t Take Off His Clothes, Volumes 1-2 written by Narise Konohara, illustrated by Yuki SHimizu

Anthologies!
Press Start to Play edited by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams

Nonfiction!
Global Manga : “Japanese” comics without Japan? edited by Casy Brienza
Yurei: The Japanese Ghost by Zack Davisson

Attack on Titan, Vol. 16

September 6, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

By Hajime Isayama. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

There is a term that has become popular, particularly with the rise of TV tropes, called ‘The Woobie’. It is a character who you are meant to feel sad and sorry for, sometimes to the breaking point of plot and characterization. While the entire cast of Attack on Titan has, at times, fallen into this category, I’d argue the two biggest woobies in the series are Eren, who got the cover of the last volume staring in dull surprise and Historia, who gets the cover of this volume staring in dull surprise. (It is possible that the reader who still has to keep up with Isayama’s art qualifies as a woobie as well.) The suffering the two of them go through is meant to be complementary, and most of this volume discusses what might happen if Historia takes over Eren’s role in the story, by literally eating him.

There’s a lot of backstory questions answered here (though the story posits new ones as well), with Historia’s family, Kenny Ackerman, and Eren’s father all getting closer and more disturbing looks. Kenny in particular gets more depth, though he’s still really unlikeable no matter what he’s gone through in the past. That said, though, only Historia can make the final decision, a decision that her family has made over and over again. She correctly wonders why her family has simply let the Titans roll right along, and realizes that just having this godlike power does not necessarily mean she will keep the compassion to use it.

And so she rebels, and it’s wonderful, as she tells everyone who’s attempting to show her how to live her life to get lost and saves Eren, even if he’s not particularly wanting to be saved at the moment. (Notably, it’s Ymir’s advice in a flashback that’s the tipping point.) Luckily for her, the struggle she just went through has been juxtaposed with the rest of the cast attacking the secret underground cavern, showing off how unstoppable they are in battle (well, OK, Hange gets hurt, but I’m sure she’s fine), and showing up in time to allow Historia’s choice not to be in vain, and to allow Eren to finally stop feeling pathetic and make his own choice to protect everyone.

This is not a perfect volume. There’s more torture, which I still loathe, even if it doesn’t actually succeed in getting information this time. The flashbacks are very dispassionate, not carrying the emotional load of the main storyline, even when they should. And I’ve already bashed the art, but I can’t help it – sometimes the desperate, tormented faces we’re supposed to see, particularly Grisha and Kenny, merely look hilarious, and distract from the tragedy we’re supposed to be witnessing. Still, overall more good than bad, and we’ll see if Historia et al. can escape from here and try to take on a giant Titan. Wow, fighting Titans, it seems like forever since we’ve done that.

The Manga Revue: Inuyashiki, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and Tokyo Ghoul

September 4, 2015 by Katherine Dacey

I’m fresh out of snappy intros, so I’ll cut to the chase: this week’s column looks at Inuyashiki, The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Omnibus Edition, and Tokyo Ghoul.

Inuyashiki, Vol. 1
By Hiroya Oku
Rated OT, for older teens (16+)
Kodansha Comics, $12.99

Bette Davis famously declared that “Old age is no place for sissies,” a statement borne out by the first chapters of Hiroya Oku’s grimly compelling Inuyashiki. Its hero, a 58-year-old salaryman, is a picture of despair: his family loathes him, his co-workers ignore him, and his health is failing. In a blinding flash of light, however, his life changes. He wakes up to discover that his memories are intact but his body has changed; his once-frail limbs and failing eyes are now military-grade weapons, capable of withstanding lethal force. What to do with this gift? That question animates the final pages of volume one, as Ichiro tests his new body’s limits for the first time.

This final scene is a neat illustration of what’s good — and not so good — about Inuyashiki. Oku stages a suspenseful confrontation between Ichiro and a gang of teenage thugs; though we sense that Ichiro will prevail, how he gains the upper hand is a nifty surprise made more effective by Oku’s meticulously detailed illustrations. The incident that precipitates the showdown, however, is saddled with a heavy-handed script; Oku stokes the reader’s sense of righteous indignation by revealing that the thugs’ intended victim is a good but vulnerable man. By overemphasizing the victim’s inherent decency, Oku reduces him to a saintly caricature, a problem that also mars Ichiro’s early interactions with his family. (His kids are such ungrateful jerks you may root for Ichiro to use his powers on them.)

Even if Ichiro’s catharsis is less earned than contrived, watching him transform from terminal sad-sack to indestructible bad-ass is a deeply satisfying experience. He’s found his purpose and his spine, even if it’s taken him 58 years to do so. Now that’s a fantasy that any middle-aged reader can get behind.

The verdict: Pour yourself a scotch before reading; you’ll need the emotional fortification to navigate the early chapters.

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Omnibus Edition, Book One
By Eiji Ōtsuka and Housui Yamazaki
Rated OT, for older teens (16+)
Dark Horse, $19.99

Scooby Doo for grown-ups — that’s how I’d describe The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, a macabre comedy about five cash-strapped college students who drive around in a van solving supernatural mysteries. The Kurosagi gang’s bread-and-butter are mysterious (and often violent) deaths. Through dowsing and channeling, they discover how and why their “clients” died, enabling the victims’ spirits to cross over to the other side.

The new omnibus edition — which collects the first three volumes of KCDS — includes two of the series’ best stories: “Lonely People,” in which the gang stumbles across a portable altar with a mummy inside, and “Crossing Over,” in which the gang searches for the victim of an organ harvesting ring. Though the denouement of both “deliveries” include a few gruesome panels, the deadpan dialogue, expressive character designs, and snappy pacing prevent KCDS from sinking to the level of torture porn; the horrific imagery functions as a rim shot or an exclamation mark, not the main attraction. The self-contained nature of the stories is another plus: you can begin your KCDS odyssey almost anywhere in the series and still grasp what’s happening, though the crew’s origin story (“Less Than Happy,” the very first chapter) offers an interesting window into Buddhist university culture in Japan.

The verdict: If you haven’t tagged along on one of the Kurosagi crew’s “deliveries,” the omnibus edition gives you an economical way to do so.

Review copy provided by Dark Horse.

Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 2
By Sui Ishida
Rated OT, for older teens (16+)
VIZ Media, $12.99

The first volume of Tokyo Ghoul reads like an urban legend: Ken Kaneki, earnest college student, goes out for dinner with a pretty girl, but wakes up in the hospital with a brand-new set of organs… that used to belong to his date. Within a few days of his release, Kaneki begins turning into a flesh-eating monster, a side effect of the transplant surgery. Volume two picks up where volume one left off: now caught between the human and demon worlds, Kaneki casts his lot with the demons of cafe Anteiku. They teach him tricks for passing as a human, and warn him about the deep divide between the ghouls who embrace their predator status and those who feel some kinship with humanity.

Although volume two introduces several new and potentially interesting characters, Kaneki’s wet-blanket personality continues to put a damper on the story: he whines and frets and refuses to do anything that might compromise the reader’s good opinion of him. As anyone who’s read Death Note knows, however, a charismatic, intelligent protagonist doesn’t have to be good or right to command the audience’s sympathy. Someone who’s flawed, misguided, or tempted to abuse a new-found power might actually invite more self-identification than a goody two-shoes lead.

The verdict: Tokyo Ghoul isn’t bad, just a little too obvious to sustain my interest.

Review copy provided by VIZ Media.

Reviews: Joe McCulloch looks at the new English-language version of Comics Zenon, Michelle Smith and Anna N. post a fresh set of Bookshelf Briefs, and Vernieda Vergara asks if Bleach has overstayed its welcome.

Connie on vol. 19 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie on The Desert Lord’s Bride (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Ash Brown on Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories (Experiments in Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Earthian (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 47 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
James Ristig on Full Metal Alchemist (How to Love Comics)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of Hayate Cross Blade (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 11 of Kamisama Kiss (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 23 of Kaze Hikaru (Anime News Network)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Komomo Confisere (WatchPlayRead)
Jordan Richards on vol. 1 of Komomo Confiserie (AiPT!)
Connie on vol. 14 of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Slightly Biased Manga)
Angel Cruz on vols. 1-2 of Love at Fourteen (Women Write About Comics)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (Manga Xanadu)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Ninja Slayer Kills! (Sequential Ink)
Matthew Warner on vol. 10 of Nisekoi: False Love (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 4 of No. 6 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Jocelyn Allen on Nobara (Brain vs. Book)
David Brooke on vol. 1 of Noragami: Stray God (AiPT!)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of One-Punch Man (WatchPlayRead)
Kristin on vols. 1-2 of One-Punch Man (Comic Attack)
Jordan Richards on vol. 2 of One-Punch Man (AiPT!)
Matthew Warner on vol. 18 of Rin-ne (The Fandom Post)
Sarah on vol. 1 of The Royal Tutor (Anime UK News)
Al Sparrow on vol. 1 of So I Can’t Play H (Comic Spectrum)
Helen on Sweetness and Lightning (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Dustin Cabeal on vol. 1 of Tokyo Ghoul (Comic Bastards)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Tokyo Ghoul (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 6 of Toradora! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 29 of Toriko (Sequential Tart)
Adam Capps on vol. 1 of Ultraman (BentoByte)
Michael Burns on vol. 3 of Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches (AniTAY)

Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories

September 4, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Takeshi Matsu
Publisher: Bruno Gmünder
ISBN: 9783867878432
Released: August 2015

Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories is the second collection of erotic gay manga by Takeshi Matsu to be released in English. Matsu was one of the nine mangaka to be featured in the landmark anthology Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It which is where I initially encountered his work. Matsu can be counted among the few mangaka who have been able to make a career out of creating gay manga, his stories appealing to readers of multiple genders and sexualities. I thoroughly enjoyed “Kannai’s Dilemma”—the story of his collected in Massive—as well as his first English anthology More and More of You and Other Stories (which had the added bonus of in part being a food manga), so I was looking forward to Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories a great deal. The volume, published by the Germany-based Bruno Gmünder in 2015, collects several of Matsu’s short manga, many of which had previously only been available digitally. So, not only are the stories being translated into English for the first time, most of them are being released in print for the first time as well.

Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories collects five of the Matsu’s short erotic manga. The volume opens with the first two episodes of The Dangerous Games of Dr. Makumakuran, a ongoing series featuring the titular Dr. Makumakuran. Both a genius scientist and a total slacker, he spends much of his time working on side projects and annoying his assistants rather than focusing on more commercially productive research. More than once the lead assistant Tachibana becomes the test subject for Makumakuran’s seemingly innocent inventions, including a virtual reality workplace training system which allows for a variety of simulations and a diet formula that shrinks more than just fat cells. The next story, “Yashio and Shibayama,” is about a comedian whose career is struggling after he undergoes a celebrity makeover as well as the lengths he and his manager are willing to go to save it. In “Big Man, Tiny Boss” a strapping underling approaches his superior for some hands-on advice on satisfying a partner, except that he’s straight and his boss is gay. Finally, things unintentionally get a little out of hand in the changing room between a designer and his stand-in model in “Wolf Mask.”

Although I enjoyed More and More of You and Other Stories immensely, overall I think that Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories may actually be the stronger collection out of the two, or at least the one that will be more immediately accessible to a wider audience as a whole. But either way, both anthologies are great. I’ve come to expect Matsu’s work to have a sense of humor and playfulness to it, and Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories doesn’t disappoint. The stories, as well as the plentiful no-holds-barred sex scenes to be found within them, can actually be surprisingly sweet and charming. Even the scenarios with more dubious beginnings end up being rather romantic. One of the things that I particularly enjoy about Matsu’s erotic manga in Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories is that while the works aren’t overly serious and at times can be quite comedic, there is still some relationship drama and honest emotional connections between the characters; the sex is only one aspect of that greater whole.

Except for the first two manga collected in Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories which are part of the same series, none of the works in the volume are directly related to one another. However, there are a few themes that occur repeatedly. Many of the stories feature a transformation of some sort, whether it be physical or psychological. Matsu plays with size and power dynamics a fair bit in Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories as well. Both “Big Man, Tiny Boss” and “Yashio and Shibayama” deal with pushing the boundaries of professional relationships between men with different body types. The changes in size and dynamics in the two The Dangerous Games of Dr. Makumakuran stories are more fantastic and dramatic in nature and the sex ends up having to be fairly creative as a result. “Wolf Mask” turns out to be intense and kinky, too, but ultimately the relationship between the men is kind of adorable. Dr. Makumakuran and Other Stories is a great collection of erotic gay manga, Matsu exhibiting his skills as a creator whose work can be hot and heavy and still have heart. I hope to see more of his manga translated in the future.

Manga the Week of 9/9

September 3, 2015 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, MJ, Michelle Smith and Anna N 1 Comment

SEAN: The second week of the month is always the oddest, in my opinion. Not drenched in Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat or Yen titles, it tends towards Viz’s Shonen Sunday, Seven Seas, and a few oddities. Let’s see what’s out next week.

xxxHOLIC gets its 7th and final omnibus, as the series grinds to a halt, crushing the reader within its mandibles and slowly killing them over the course of a hundred years time. I think MJfeels differently.

ASH: This will be my first time reading the ending, so I’m not sure exactly how I’ll feel about it yet.

MJ: MJfeels differently, indeed.

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 6th volume of comedy and not-quite-harem series D-Frag!, which will continue to make fun of bald heads, large breasts, and its supposed hero.

There’s also an omnibus of the series Dictatorial Grimoire, containing all three volumes. I remember enjoying it more than it possibly merited, mostly due to a side character I really liked.

ASH: Dictatorial Grimoire was a mess, albeit an entertaining one.

SEAN: A third volume of Love Stage!! tells us that in the future, sunglasses will be edible.

MICHELLE: *snerk*

SEAN: Viz has a 23rd volume of Arata the Legend, which is turning into Shogakukan’s answer to Hunter x Hunter in Japan, as it’s on another hiatus.

Yay, it’s time for the twice-a-year release of Hayate the Combat Butler! Vol. 26 is back to all comedy all the time, but it also deals with the fallout from the End of the World arc, namely Nagi not being able to live in the mansion anymore.

The 10th Ranma 1/2 omnibus does not advance the plot (nothing does, really), but it has Ryouga’s depression and Ranma’s confidence finally meet head on and become legitimate attacks, which should not surprise anyone.

Lastly, we get a 2nd volume of Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King, where Richard III and Henry VI meet and are both really pretty at each other. (It’s much better than that sounds, I’m sorry, I just can’t help it.) The 3rd volume should involve less of a wait than this one did.

ASH: Kanno does pretty so well. And oh, the drama! Really looking forward to more of this series.

MICHELLE: Volume one was really interesting and I’ve been looking forward to continuing!

ANNA: I enjoyed the first volume greatly, and this is by far what I’m most looking forward too this week.

MJ: i really need to get into this!

So what’s appealing to you this week?

The Devil Is A Part-Timer!, Vol. 2

September 3, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press.

The second volume of this series does what is expected of it. It expands on the themes and characters of the first book, adds a new villain and a new sort-of heroine, and relies on its comedy and its action scenes to carry it through. Luckily, the writing style is excellent, so this works pretty well. Out of all of Yen’s recent releases, this is one of the most smoothly translated. It also flies by, even though it’s easily the longest book to come out in August by a good 40-50 pages. We’re dealing with fallout from the first book, as back in Enta Isla, the fantasy world our hero and heroine came from, political machinations war with religious purpose in order to find out how to deal with what’s happened. This results in a literal Inquisitor being sent to deal with Maou.

As with A Certain Magical Index, those of a religious inclination might take offense at some of the things this series has to say about the Church, which is portrayed as rather Machiavellian in nature. Suzuno is meant to be of a purer, more moral type, but that doesn’t mean she has not killed people in order to properly serve the church. And, like Emi in the first book, she’s disturbed and distrusting whenever she sees Maou not being evil. In fact, Emi continues to be disturbed by this, and her pursuit of Maou has drizzled down into a sort of “OK, I guess I’ll go stalk him now” duty. Again, I really wonder what sort of horrible things Maou personally did (as opposed to having other evil people doing things for him) in Enta Isla – Chiho speaks for the reader when she says that she can’t judge him based on things she hasn’t experienced.

The main reason to read the series continues to be the comedy, which remains excellent. The narrative voice gets in several cutting remarks as well, without sounding intrusive. There are the standard anime gags – both Emi and Suzuno are annoyed at being flat-chested in comparison to Chiho, and it comes up several times – but there’s also genuine character-based humor. I was especially amused at everyone’s treatment of Urushihara, whose tendency to have everyone think the worst of him is matched only by actually being the worst most of the time. Chiho’s straightforwardness is also refreshing, as she’s straight up admitted she’s in love with Maou, and said so to his face. This does not resolve anything, really – for all the sexual desire he’s shown in the series so far, Maou could be asexual – but it’s still nice to see.

There were a few things that annoyed me towards the end. Sariel is meant to be a gross villain, but the series really goes above and beyond, making him a wannabe rapist who sexually assaults Emi and has delusions of taking Chiho back to Enta Isla as his bride. Maou seems to imply these tendencies were known about Sariel even back in Enta Isla, which is also horrible. The fact that he’s allowed to stay as comic relief (rather than. say, end up in prison, as Olba did) irks me. Still, overall this was another very strong addition to the series, which manages to combine fantasy, humor, and slice-of-life in ways that make the pages fly by.

Manga Giveaway: Yumi Tamura Giveaway Winner

September 2, 2015 by Ash Brown

And the winner of the Yumi Tamura Giveaway is… Olivia!

As the winner, Olivia will be receiving a complete set of Yumi Tamura’s shoujo action thriller Chicago as published by Viz Media back in the day. I came across Chicago because Tamura was also the creator of Basara, a series that I love. And so for this giveaway, I asked that participants tell me about the mangaka whose work they always make a point to read. Check out the giveaway comments for the detailed responses, and check out below for the list of mangaka mentioned in addition to a selection of their works that are available in English!

Aki
The Angel of Elhamburg
Olympos
Utahime: The Songstress

Moyoco Anno
In Clothes Called Fat
Sakuran: Blossoms Wild
Sugar Sugar Rune

CLAMP
Cardcaptor Sakura
X
xxxHolic

Usamaru Furuya
Genkaku Picasso
Lychee Light Club
No Longer Human

Kyoko Hikawa
From Far Away

Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima
Lone Wolf & Cub
Path of the Assassin
Samurai Executioner

Mitsukazu Mihara
Doll
The Embalmer
IC in a Sunflower

Setona Mizushiro
After School Nightmare
Black Rose Alice
X-Day

Jun Mochizuki
Pandora Hearts

Kaoru Mori
Anything and Something
Bride’s Story
Emma

Takeshi Obata
All You Need Is Kill
Death Note
Hikaru no Go

Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us

Atsushi Ohkubo
B. Ichi
Soul Eater
Soul Eater Not!

Eiji Otsuka
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
Madara
MPD-Psycho

Yumi Tamura
Basara
Chicago
Wild Com.

Arina Tanemura
Idol Dreams
Phantom Thief Jeanne
Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura

Jiro Taniguchi
A Distant Neighborhood
The Summit of the Gods
The Walking Man

Osamu Tezuka
Astroboy
Dororo
Message to Adolf

Yana Toboso
Black Butler
Rust Blaster

Naoki Urasawa
Master Keaton
Monster
Pluto

Yu Yagami
Go West!
Hikkatsu!: Strike a Blow to Vivify
Those Who Hunt Elves

Fumi Yoshinaga
Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!
Ôoku: The Inner Chambers
What Did You Eat Yesterday?

For the sake of space, I’ve limited the lists of works to up to three releases each in English, but many of the creators have other manga available in translation, too. And hopefully we’ll continue to see more of all of these mangaka! Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway and share some great mangaka with me. Hope to see you all again for the next giveaway!