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Maid-sama!, Omnibus 1

August 12, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiro Fujiwara
U.S. publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 9781421581309
Released: August 2015
Original release: 2006-2007

Maid-sama! is an eighteen-volume manga series created by Hiro Fujiwara. The series was initially licensed for English translation by Tokyopop, which released the first eight volumes of the manga between 2009 and 2011. More recently, Maid-sama! was rescued by Viz Media. The manga is being released under the Shojo Beat imprint in an omnibus edition, each English-language omnibus collecting two volumes of the series’ original Japanese release. The first Maid-sama! omnibus was published in 2015 and includes the first and second volumes of the manga published in 2006 and 2007 respectively. (The first volume also contains Fujiwara’s earlier short manga “A Transparent World.”) Maid-sama! was Fujiwara’s first major success as a mangaka. However, it wasn’t until Viz’s release of Maid-sama! that the series came to my attention when I noted the enthusiastic response of fans surrounding its return. I was therefore very happy to have the chance to read a review copy of the first omnibus in order to see what the excitement was all about.

Seika High School, previously an all-boys’ school, has only been co-ed for a couple of years. The student population is still largely male—the boys outnumbering the girls four to one—and Seika High still has a bad reputation. And so Misaki Ayuzawa has decided to take things into her own hands, becoming Seika’s first female student council president in order to clean up the school’s act, improve it standing, and create a more welcoming environment for young women. Misaki rules over Seika with an iron fist, though not everyone appreciates her strength and intelligence or the changes she’s making. Because of that, she’s particularly careful to keep the fact that she works part-time at a maid cafe a secret; she doesn’t want to ruin her image or risk losing what little authority she has. But then her classmate Takumi Usui discovers how she’s spending her time after school. Misaki has caught his attention and interest, perhaps even romantically, though understandably she’s not very happy about the awkward turn of events.

I absolutely adore Misaki. She’s a smart, strong, motivated, hard-working, competent, capable, and highly accomplished individual. She’s not perfect though. Her drive to overachieve and handle everything by herself along with her reluctance to rely on the help of others means that she frequently overextends herself, wearing herself down. Misaki could stand to relax a little, but the believable combination of her strengths and weaknesses make her the most well-developed character in the series. While I love Misaki, I am significantly less enamored with Takumi. Sometimes he can be a great guy, but on occasion he can be an utter creep. His skills and talents match and even surpass those of Misaki, often in superbly ridiculous ways which are admittedly amusing, but he seems to frequently be emphasizing that she’s a girl as if that somehow makes her inferior. I want to see the Takumi who supports Misaki for who she is and who doesn’t feel the need to dominate her. Early on in Maid-sama! it seems this would be a possibility, but the more of the omnibus I read the less likely it appeared that the series would be going in that direction.

Although in part Maid-sama! is a romance, ultimately that particular plot line in the manga is the one that interests me the least. (If I actually liked Takumi more than I currently do, I would probably feel differently.) I enjoy the series most when it focuses on Misaki as she grows as a person. I like seeing her become less of a tyrant as the president as she learns to consider other people and their needs instead of completely overruling them without making an effort to hear their concerns. At first she is disliked by almost all of the students, but as time passes more and more of them, male and female alike, come to admire, trust, and appreciate her and where she is leading Seika High. Although there are certain things about Maid-sama! that bother me—most notably the distinct possibility of Takumi being idealized as a romantic lead—overall I did find the beginning of the series to be entertaining and a lot of fun. And since I do like Misaki so incredibly well, at this point I definitely plan on reading more of Maid-sama!.

Thank you to Viz Media for providing a copy of Maid-sama!, Omnibus 1 for review.

Spell of Desire Vol. 5

August 11, 2015 by Anna N

Spell of Desire Volume 5 by Tomu Ohmi

It is the final volume of Spell of Desire! What’s happening in the conclusion of this paranormal romance series?

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Throughout Spell of Desire Kaoruko has been heading towards a confrontation with her mother, the mysterious Witch Queen. She finds out that her mother sealed herself away as part of a spell to balance out the positive and negative energy that was building up in the world. The Witch Queen emerges, and Kaname confesses that he’s no longer able to serve as the Witch Queen’s knight due to his love for Kaoruko. The Witch Queen promptly wins an award for worst mother of the year when she announces that she’s going to curse her daughter’s boyfriend by taking all of his senses away, followed by taking his memories of Kaoruko away too. Kaname is blinded, and he slowly becomes more and more debilitated.

This curse presents quite the conundrum, and Kaoruko is determined to harness her power for once and for all in order to save Kaname. She’s been slowly inching towards claiming her power, so it was great to see her finally take charge and do something. She’s aided by an elderly black witch who shows up and indulges in a great deal of exposition as the volume wraps up.

Overall, I thought the pacing of this series was a bit off. I enjoyed the world building and character introductions in the first couple volumes a great deal, but the rest of the series felt like it was just marking time until the big witch battle happened in the final volume. Kaoruko’s rise to self-assurance and command of her power felt a bit rushed, but I still appreciate that by the end of the series she was making her own decisions and acting heroically in order to create her own happy ending. While Spell of Desire wasn’t the best example of paranormal romance, Ohmi’s clear visual storytelling made it easy to read.

I see that this manga hasn’t sold as well as Ohmi’s other series to be translated into English, Midnight Secretary. This is a bit of a shame, because I was hoping that Viz would bring out her earlier series Kindan no Koi de Ikou, since there is such a dearth of werewolf manga romance being translated into English. We have all the vampires we need, what about some werewolves for a change? I’d still recommend Spell of Desire and Midnight Secretary to romance manga fans, and I hope more of Ohmi’s work gets translated here.

My Hero Academia, Vol. 1

August 11, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

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

It has to be said, if you’re looking to succeed in Weekly Shonen Jump, ‘write the same thing as everyone else, only your way’ is a pretty good description of how to go about doing it. And to a degree, that’s what the author does with this new series. Even though the front cover parodies Marvel and DC Comics, and the kids are ‘superheroes’ in a Western sense, this is very much in the classic Jump mold – indeed, some of the amusing yet insane superpowers reminded me of the late lamented Medaka Box. Our hero as well is a sweet kid, the Naruto sort who starts off weak and bullied but will improve by leaps and bounds because he tries hard and refuses to back down when his principles tell him it’s wrong.

Our hero Izuku (abbreviated to ‘Deku’ for reasons that Viz won’t explain because Jump titles don’t have endnotes) is the small guy on the cover, as you no doubt guessed. The world about 25-30 years ago evolved superpowers in about 80 percent of the population. And Izuku really, really loves superheroes – he’s pretty much an otaku. Sadly, he’s in the 20% that doesn’t have powers. This, naturally, leads to bullying on the part of all his school classmates, particularly Katsugi, who plays the role of the selfish ass quite well in this volume, though I suspect he will gain greater depth as the title goes on, particularly give his childhood past with Izuku.

Luckily, Izuku gets a superpower transferred to him from the other guy on the cover. Even more luckily, the power does not just magically make him a superhero – he has to go through an amusing and heartwarming training montage, complete with the usual ‘drag a refrigerator across the beach’ stuff, till he’s no longer a wimpy kid but rather a wimpy kid with a muscular build. And he doesn’t really get a chance to train with his powers, either – which means he’s in trouble when he applies to Superhero School, where the goal is to be awesome immediately.

Nothing here is really original, but also nothing here is really poorly done, either. The author has learned from Barrage, his previous series. Izuku is a bit of a shy coward without being unlikeable, All Might’s secret allows him to be hilarious as well as inspiring, and his new friend Ochako is cute, and not Shiemi from Blue Exorcist despite all appearances saying she is. The fight scenes look smooth and non-confusing, and there is actual tension as you wonder how this will get resolved – it also allows Izuku to be clever, which is the best way to advance when you also have cool superpowers. Add on a reluctant mentor and some random giant woman fanservice, and you can see exactly why this became a bit hit while Barrage was cancelled after 2 volumes.

If you want something you’ve never seen in Jump before… why do you read Jump, exactly? But if you want something light and fun, with potential for more, My Hero Academia may be right up your alley.

Pick of the Week: Nearly United

August 10, 2015 by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: I know I’ve picked Magi at least a half dozen times before, but really it’s just that good. It’s fun, in the way that one expects a shounen adventure to be, but it also prioritizes character growth and world-building. I am really, really enjoying it.

SEAN: Yeah, I’m going to go with Magi as well, which is doing some really great worldbuilding and has some nice smug villains.

ANNA: I will pick Magi too, even though I’m not that far along in reading the series.

ASH: Wow, well, I apparently need to get around to reading Magi at some point! But as for my pick this week, I’m going to go with the third omnibus of Embracing Love. It’s been a while since I’ve read the series, but I’m glad that it was rescued.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: August 3-August 9, 2015

August 10, 2015 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Okay! In addition to the usual My Week in Manga feature, I managed to post three other things last week. First up was the announcement of the Sparkler Monthly Giveaway Winner, which also includes a list of the current, ongoing series being released in Sparkler Monthly (which is only a fraction of the total content). The other two posts were in-depth manga reviews; I took a look at a couple of Kodansha Comics’ recent releases. The first in-depth review of the month went to Naoshi Arakawa’s Your Lie in April, Volume 2, which I enjoyed. But then again, it’s a music manga, so it’s not too surprising that I like it. I also reviewed Masayuki Ishikawa’s Maria the Virgin Witch, Volume 3. It’s the last volume of the series, although the seque Exhibition is scheduled to be released in English later this year. Maria the Virgin Witch is somewhat uneven, but I still found it to be both intriguing and engaging.

As seems to always be the case nowadays, life was keeping me very busy last week, but I still came across some interesting things elsewhere online. A translation of an interview of Daisuke Igarashi, for example. Last week also marked the seventieth anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. It’s quite timely then that Last Gasp launched a Kickstarter project to create a hardcover edition of Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen with schools and libraries specifically in mind. To coincide with this, Paul Gravett reposted his article “Keiji Nakazawa: Barefoot in Hiroshima”. Barefoot Gen is a tremendous work. One of the Manga Moveable Feasts was even devoted to it back in the day. If anyone is interested in learning more about Nakazawa himself as well as some of the historical context surrounding Barefoot Gen, his autobiography was translated into English several years ago.

Quick Takes

Prophecy, Volume 3 by Tetsuya Tsutsui. The first volume of Prophecy is the one that left the greatest impression on me, but in general it’s a very strong series. I didn’t find the second volume to be quite as compelling as the first, but the third provides a mostly satisfying conclusion to the series even though in some ways it felt a little anticlimactic. One of the members of Paperboy tips off the police and soon the Cyber Crimes Division has been able to identify the four terrorists. As the investigators draw closer and closer to capturing the men, they begin to notice what at first seem to be mistakes, slip ups, and inconsistencies in the group’s behavior. However, everything falls into place once Paperboy’s true motivations for committing all of the crimes are revealed. Prophecy is a realistic, smart, and engaging series with the added bite of social commentary. There’s apparently also a Prophecy spin-off series. I don’t think that it has been licensed, or that there are any current plans to do so, but I’d certainly be interested in reading it.

xxxHolic, Omnibus 6 (equivalent to Volumes 16-17) by CLAMP. For the most part I have been enjoying xxxHolic since the beginning of the series, but I think this omnibus has been my favorite so far. I really liked its brooding, ominous atmosphere. The humor that was so prevalent earlier in the series is actually almost entirely gone. The comedy in xxxHolic could be fun, but I have a particular penchant for the series’ supernatural angst, and that’s definitely taken the forefront in the last few volumes. I also initially found the crossover between Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic to be intriguing, but I’ll admit that I was happy to see that the other series didn’t intrude too much in this omnibus. Instead, xxxHolic is focusing on how Watanuki and the others are coping now that Yuko is gone. Watanuki takes it especially hard and his tendency to slip in and out of dreams is becoming increasingly dangerous. There’s not much that the people who care about him can actually do except to watch over and support him as best as they can.

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 3 by Miki Yoshikawa. There really are witches in this series! With its good-natured comedy and gender play, I’ve liked Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches a great deal from the very start. But with the third volume, Yoshikawa has started to really develop the series’ worldbuilding and is diving even further into the details of how the magic works. The relationships between the characters are also becoming more fleshed-out and complicated, which I’m enjoying as well. One of the things that I particularly appreciate about the series is that it seems perfectly okay for a guy to be crushing on another guy. Yes, it’s because there are some strange supernatural powers at work, but it’s also not treated like something gross. The setup also allows kissing to freely occur regardless of gender, which is fun. There’s still plenty of fanservice in Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, as one would probably expect from a shounen series full of gender- and body-swapping, but I generally find it to be tastefully done.

Bookshelf Briefs 8/10/15

August 10, 2015 by Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

Sean and Michelle review print and digital manga from Kodansha Comics, VIZ, and Yen Press.

Handa-kun, Vols. 1-2 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – This was going to be Yen’s first digital-only release, but I guess the demand was high enough that it’s getting print in January, so it’s just digital first. This is a prequel to Barakamon, showing the adventures of Handa in high school. If Barakamon is Yotsuba&!, Handa-kun is Azumanga Daioh, being a gag manga that’s sort of the dark mirror of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto. Rather than being perfect and having everyone stand in awe, Handa is an unsociable wretch who worries constantly about everyone hating him… except everyone stands in awe. There’s some hilarious comedy here, and you’ll appreciate how far Handa has come by Barakamon. It’s pretty slight, though; don’t expect much plot. – Sean Gaffney

So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 2 | By Go Ikeyamada | VIZ Media – Twin siblings Megumu and Mitsuru Kobayashi have traded places for a week so Megumu can help her academically challenged brother. They both end up falling in love and things move swiftly in this second volume, with the nature of the relationship between the twins’ love interests, Aoi and Takenaka, turning out to be what most readers probably expected, and with the masquerade seemingly coming to an end after some ridiculous shenanigans involving a not-really-that-deep hole and an inadequate grip on a towel. I’m still feeling quite “meh” about this series even though this volume is a little better than the first. Not even Aoi’s too-brief questioning of his sexual preferences can add any real depth, and I can’t believe this series is at twelve volumes and still ongoing! It’s so slight, I would’ve pegged it for four, tops. – Michelle Smith

Today’s Cerberus, Vols. 1-2 | By Ato Sakurai | Yen Press – This is digital-only, and is fluffy enough that you can see why—there’s not much here you haven’t seen in other comedy manga with a supernatural bent. That said, there’s relatively minimal service compared to other titles in this genre, and the male lead’s dilemma is actually rather interesting, as he’s missing the part of his soul that causes him to feel joy. Cerberus is, as you’d expect, a girl who can switch between three heads (with three personalities), each of whom have a crush on her new master. Add the standard human girl who’s loved him from afar, and a few enemies (including a major one for the second cliffhanger), and you have a series I recommend to those who like Monster Musume and the like. – Sean Gaffney

Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy, Vol. 12 | By Maki Minami | VIZ Media – I suspect reactions to the final volume of Voice Over! will vary depending on each reader’s tolerance for important moments being left to the imagination. Although we do see Hime’s last performance as Shiro as a rousing success that even affects her cold-hearted mother, we get only the merest glimpse of her subsequent path to stardom as herself. And though we see Senri not only discover that Hime is Shiro, but also understand her motivation and recognize that never once has his interaction with either of her identities been anything less than genuine, we never see them talk about it. There is no confession, no kiss. And yet, it’s still a satisfying ending that stresses that falling in love is not going to derail Hime from pursuing her dream. I can’t really quibble with a message like that! – Michelle Smith

Voice Over! Seiyu Academy, Vol. 12 | By Maki Minami | Viz Media – Well, that was sweet and heartwarming and… really easy. All the conflicts seemed to resolve by simply not conflicting at all. Senri finds out Shiro is Hime… and is OK with it. Sakura’s mom starts to put Shiro under her spell… but is undone by Shiro’s essential shininess. Hime’s mother, who has destroyed her daughter’s sense of self-worth, sees her voice acting and suddenly realizes how wrong she’s been. It’s a bit pat, isn’t it? Couldn’t someone have gotten mad beyond half a page? That said, aside from that, everyone is cute and funny and I thought Shiro taking his glasses off there was a brilliant move that shows how Hime has grown as an actress. I just kinda wish more had actually gotten in her way. – Sean Gaffney

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Vol. 3 | By Maki Yoshikawa | Kodansha Comics – At last, after what seems like waiting forever, witches have now been mentioned in this title. And the implication is that there are more to come, but most of this is devoted to fallout from Nene trying to blackmail Ryu… which naturally blows up in her face, as it was obvious fairly immediately that she was the arrogant girl who thought too much of herself, so was guaranteed to be taken down a peg. More interesting to me is that the series still seems to love fluid sexuality (an excuse for lots of kissing), and the revelation of Ryu’s real powers added to Nene and Urara’s only helps add to that. I suspect everything will end hetero ever after, but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. – Sean Gaffney

Tokyo Ghoul Tops the Best-Seller List

August 10, 2015 by Brigid Alverson

The first volume of Tokyo Ghoul tops the New York Times manga best-seller list. Want to check it out? Viz is offering an extended preview on its digital service.

The Attack on Titan: Before the Fall manga is two degrees of separation from the original series—it’s an adaptation of a light novel spinoff—but even so, it’s doing well, with 1.4 million copies in print in Japan, according to Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shōnen magazine, where the series runs. Kodansha Comics publishes the manga in North America, where the fifth volume is due out on August 25, and Vertical publishes the light novels.

Deb Aoki’s advice to journalists who want to interview manga-ka has lots of interesting tidbits about the industry and cultural differences that make it a good read for any manga fan.

Zainab Akhtar has a quick introduction to the two Inio Asano titles that will be published next year, A Girl on the Shore and Goodnight PunPun.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

The venerable shoujo manga magazine Margaret has launched a digital edition.

Reviews

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Black Rose Alice (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Blue Exorcist (The Comic Book Bin)
Zainab Akhtar on Fragments of Horror (Comics & Cola)
Lori Henderson on vols. 2 and 3 of Genkaku Picasso (Manga Xanadu)
Richard Gutierrez on vol. 1 of Log Horizon (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 75 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Warner on vol. 28 of Toriko (The Fandom Post)

Maria the Virgin Witch, Vol. 3

August 9, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Masayuki Ishikawa
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781632360823
Released: June 2015
Original release: 2013

Maria the Virgin Witch is a three-volume manga series (four volumes if counting the sequel Exhibition) created by Masayuki Ishikawa. It was actually because the series was by Ishikawa, who is also the creator of Moyasimon (which I enjoy), that it first came to my attention. The first volume of Maria the Virgin Witch intrigued me, and the second ends with the heroine in a rather dire-looking situation, so I was very curious to see how the story would continue to play out in the third. Happily, Kodansha Comics was kind enough to send a review copy along to me. Maria the Virgin Witch, Volume 3 was originally published in Japan in 2013. Kodansha’s English-language edition of the volume was released in 2015. Despite being a short series, the narrative of Maria the Virgin Witch has the tendency to be a little unfocused, but I still find the manga to be consistently engaging. I especially appreciate the quirkiness of the series in general as well as the quirkiness of its characters specifically.

Maria had been warned by the Archangel Michael: If the young witch continued to interfere with the natural order of the world she would be struck down. However, so devoted to ending the long-lasting war between France and England, Maria continued to flaunt her powers, even while in the presence of Michael’s messenger Ezekiel. Now the time has come for her to face the consequences of her actions. She was, however, somehow able to survive what was intended to be a fatal blow from Michael’s spear. But she’s still vulnerable and must rely on the protection of her two owl familiars and the kindness of her fellow witches who don’t necessarily approve of her efforts to force a peace. Maria was at one point alone in the world—the Heavens, other witches, and even some of the humans she was trying to save all standing against her—but over time her earnestness and innocence has earned her some friends, a few of whom could have at one time been counted among her enemies. But even with their support Maria is beginning to lose her naiveté, realizing that bringing happiness to humanity may be more complicated than she initially considered.

Maria the Virgin Witch has always been a peculiar mix of quirky humor and more serious philosophical and theological reflection. There are a lot of ideas that Ishikawa was able to work into such a short series, although at the same time it’s difficult to thoroughly explore all of them in only three volumes. (It actually makes me wonder if Maria the Virgin Witch was originally intended to be a longer story.) The third volume brings up questions about Maria’s family and backstory without really answering them. Also, apparently many if not all witches are loners, something that wasn’t clearly established until now. Maria’s close friendship with the English witch Viv develops suddenly, and their discussions about the true meaning of happiness and love come across as a little forced. It was as if Ishikawa needed to rush in order to make sure that the heart of the series was addressed and made absolutely clear, paring down the seemingly extraneous elements introduced earlier in the manga.

Although overall the narrative of Maria the Virgin With is somewhat uneven, in the end I did largely enjoy the series and I would like to read Exhibition as well. Since the very beginning of the manga, I’ve been particularly fond of Maria herself. While she and the other witches feel more contemporary in thought and appearance than the rest of the series’ setting, I do appreciated her struggle to come to terms with not only her own position in the world, but also the role of the higher powers of Heaven. It’s a debate that humankind has been wrestling with for ages and is one more link between the manga’s historical backdrop and the present day. Ishikawa explores the answer to this timeless question through Maria’s growth as a character. She begins as a young, determined woman seeking to right the wrongs of the world, becoming wiser and more mature as she is confronted with the often brutal realities of life. But importantly, Maria never loses her ideals or succumbs to despair, which is why so many people come to love her so dearly.

Thank you to Kodansha for providing a copy of Maria the Virgin Witch, Volume 3 for review.

One Piece, Vol. 75

August 9, 2015 by Sean Gaffney

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

The Dressrosa arc has gone on for a long time, and it’s got a long, long way to go. This can be a bit exhausting, especially given that this volume takes an already chaotic situation and threatens to turn it into incoherency. Thanks to Usopp, the toys are all turning back into people, and those left behind have regained their memory of them – including Violet and Rebecca. But Doflamingo is not going to let this stop him, as he deploys several body doubles and puts bounties on everyone who has opposed him – including Usopp, who gets the highest bounty of all, possibly the funniest moment in the book. There’s a lot going on, and One Piece is always enjoyable, but I always feel like I should reread the previous few volumes before I start this new one.

At least I’m finally able to talk about some revelations, even though the reappearance of Sabo has been the most obvious plot twist since Sogeking turned out to be Usopp. He and Koala are here representing the Revolutionary Army, who have to stop Doflamingo, but in reality he seems to mostly be here to help Luffy. This now means we have every major force on the island – pirates, marines, revolutionaries, actual residents, Tontattas… and it makes for a giant melee, as there’s just no way Dressrosa can contain this. At least Robin’s not a toy anymore. Oh yes, adn the tournament is over, as the Flame-Flame fruit is claimed by the victor. Somehow I don’t think Luffy will object too much.

Speaking of Luffy, he and Law make for an amusing comedy team throughout. Law is still cuffed with seastone, so literally all he can do is lay there and whine, and boy howdy does he. It’s always wonderful in One Piece to see the incredibly cool characters show off how nobody is ever that cool all the time, and Law’s frustration with Luffy’s ‘whatever, just go with it’ attitude is simply always funny. That said, I do hope he gets unlocked soon, as I’m fairly certain Doflamingo is not going to be as easy to defeat as Caesar Clown.

I’d say there are a few weaknesses. Rebecca continues to not be as strong a character as I’d expected, though to be fair to her she’s really going through a bunch of traumas that would make anyone break down. The huge cast and need to switch to a different part of the city every 2-3 pages does not make for easy reading, and I also miss Sanji, Nami, and other major Straw Hats, who have been shuffled off the page till this is all over. And I will admit, I thought everyone making fun of Pica’s voice was a bit mean. That said, it’s One Piece. If you read it, you’ll love it. If you don’t, you aren’t going to pick up Vol. 75.

Also, Sabo and Koala are totally Luffy and Nami, right? She even carries his hat!

The Manga Revue: Back to School Special

August 7, 2015 by Katherine Dacey

My inbox is overflowing with emails touting back-to-school deals on everything from sneakers to school supplies–a sure sign that the fall semester is right around the corner, and a nice reminder that Seven Seas, VIZ, and Vertical all have new (well, new-ish) school-themed comedies arriving in stores this month. Today, I take a look at Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, a comedy about the World’s Most Fascinating High School Student; My Hero Academia, a shonen adventure about a teen who’s studying to become a superhero; and My Neighbor Seki, a gag series about a slacker who elevates procrastination to an art form.

Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Vol. 1
By Miki Sano
Rated Teen
Seven Seas, $12.99

Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is “The Aristocrats” of manga, a basic joke that yields endless variations, each more baroque than the last. The premise is simple: transfer student Sakamoto is handsome, brilliant, and athletic, making him a natural target for bullies and lovelorn girls. Any time a challenging situation arises–a bee in a classroom, a classmate injured by a softball–Sakamoto effortlessly meets that challenge, in the process revealing a previously undisclosed talent.

In the hands of a less imaginative storyteller, Sakamoto might be a wish-fulfillment character for every teenager who’s ever been tongue-tied or harassed by other students. Nami Sano puts a distinct spin on the material, however, portraying Sakamoto as so calculating and unflappable that he’s genuinely creepy; Sakamoto never smiles, laughs, or shows any discernible human emotion, even when confronted with other people’s tears or anger. (The real joke seems to be that everyone admires Sakamoto anyway.) I’m not sure that I LMAO, but Sakamoto’s odd persona and equally odd talents are a welcome rebuke to the school council presidents and earnest strivers who populate most teen-oriented manga; I’d much rather spend time with him than a standard-issue shonen prince.

The verdict: You’ll either find Sakamoto’s antics inspired or too weird to be amusing.

My Hero Academia, Vol. 1
By Kohei Horikoshi
Rated T, for teens
VIZ Media, $9.99

Meet Izuku Midoriya: he’s an ordinary teen living in a world where 80% of humanity possesses a super power. That doesn’t stop Izuku from aspiring to become a professional hero, however; since childhood, he’s dreamed about the day he might gain admission to prestigious U.A. High School, a training ground for future crime-fighters. A chance encounter with All Might, a celebrity superhero, gives Izuku a chance to prove his mettle and get the coaching he needs to pass the U.A. entrance exam.

Though the plot twists are unsurprising, and Izuku’s classmates familiar types (e.g. the Bully, the Spazzy Enthusiast), the breezy script propels My Hero Academia past its most hackneyed moments. The clean linework, playful superhero costumes, and artfully staged combat further enhance the series’ appeal; Kohei Horikoshi could give a master class on the reaction shot, especially when a supervillain is wrecking havoc on a downtown skyline. Most importantly, Horikoshi respects the sincerity of Izuku’s ambitions without letting the character’s earnest intensity cast a pall over the fun–in essence, it’s a Silver Age comic in modern shonen drag, with all the corny humor and fist-pumping action of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s best work on Spider-Man.

The verdict: My Hero Academia is as predictable as death and taxes, but a smart script and crisp artwork help distinguish it from other titles in the Shonen Jump catalog.

My Neighbor Seki, Vols. 1-3
By Takuma Morishige
Unrated
Vertical Comics, $10.95

Like Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, My Neighbor Seki is a one-joke series: middle-school student Seki goofs off during class, much to the consternation of his seat mate Rumi. Seki isn’t just doodling in his notepad, however. He pets kittens, builds elaborate sculptures from shoji pieces, runs an intraschool mail service, and hosts a tea ceremony. To vary the rhythm of the joke-telling, artist Takuma Morishige occasionally transplants the action from the schoolroom to the playground, though the set-up remains the same; Seki does something outrageous and Rumi reacts, prompting the teacher to scold Rumi for not paying attention.

Given Seki‘s slender premise, it’s not surprising that each volume is a hit-and-miss affair. In volume one, for example, Seki knits a cactus plushie using a double-ended afghan hook. Rumi initially scoffs at his choice of tool; as she observes, “The hallmark of afghan knitting is its unique thickness and softness. It’s a texture best utilized when making sweaters,” not stuffed animals. When she sees the final results, however, she concedes that Seki has chosen the perfect technique and materials for his cactus, sending her into a rapturously funny meditation on yarn. Not all the gags are as successful: Seki’s penchant for staging elaborate scenes with action figures is moderately amusing at first, but grows more tiresome with each new and less imaginative iteration. Still, it’s impossible to deny the energy, creativity, and specificity with which Morishige brings Seki’s exploits to life, making this series more “win” than “fail.”

The verdict: My Neighbor Seki is best enjoyed in one or two chapter installments; when read in large bursts, some scenarios read like 4-koma strips stretched to epic and unfunny proportions.

Reviews: Over at Manga Connection, manjiorin reviews the first four volumes of Princess Jellyfish, which are currently available on Crunchyroll. TCJ columnist Joe McCulloch jumps in the WABAC machine for a nostalgic look at Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga. In honor of 801 Day, Megan R. reviews a title from the Tokyopop/BLU Manga catalog, Shout Out Loud.

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Michael Burns on vol. 5 of Assassination Classroom (AniTAY)
Nick Creamer on vol. 4 of A Bride’s Story (Anime News Network)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of First Love Monster (Anime News Network)
Michael Burns on vol. 7 of Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma (AniTAY)
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Adam Capps on vol. 3 of My Neighbor Seki (Bento Byte)
Connie on No Touching At All (Slightly Biased Manga)
Adam Capps on vol. 75 of One Piece (Bento Byte)
Ken H. on vols. 9-11 of Sankarea: Undying Love (Sequential Ink)
Matthew Warner on vol. 7 of Say I Love You (The Fandom Post)
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Connie on vol. 1 of World’s Greatest First Love (Slightly Biased Manga)
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SKJAM! on vol. 1 of Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches (SKJAM! Reviews)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Your Lie in April (Experiments in Manga)