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My Week in Manga: April 28-May 4, 2014

May 5, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I was in Texas for much of last week, attending a conference for work, but I was still able post a few things here at Experiments in Manga. The most recent manga giveaway is underway, for one. This month you all have a chance to win the first omnibus of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist. All you have to do is tell me a little about some of your favorite women mangaka. April’s Bookshelf Overload was also posted; there were all sorts of great releases last month. And finally, the first in-depth manga review of May goes to the very recently released Vinland Saga, Omnibus 3 by Makoto Yukimura. Vinland Saga is one of my favorite series currently being published in English. The entire series is epic and third omnibus is awesome.

Because I was traveling and caught up in conference goings-on, I may have missed some news. (If there’s something that caught your interest last week, do let me know!) However, I did come across a few things that made for good reading. I particularly enjoyed Tony Yao’s post at Manga Therapy, The Ambiguously Amazing Hange Zoe which discusses things like Attack on Titan, gender, and ambiguity. I recently reviewed Jen Lee Quick’s Off*Beat, Volume 2 in preparation for the release of the third and final volume. The series’ editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl offers some Editorial Thoughts on the End of Off*Beat, one of Chromatic Press’ flagship titles. RocketNews24 offers a list of the twenty most popular manga in Japan, based on publication numbers. Justin Stroman interviews Eric Eberhardt (Viz Media’s Director of Digital Publishing) about Viz’s new digital imprint VIZ Select.

And for those of you in the Toronto area next week and weekend, do be sure to check out the Toronto Comic Arts Festival! There will be some phenomenal programming and incredible creators in attendance (including Moyoco Anno, Est Em, and Akira Himekawa among many, many more), and it’s free! TCAF is the only comic festival/conference that I go to and I highly, highly recommend it.

Quick Takes

Constellations in My Palm written by Chisako Sakuragi and illustrated by Yukine Honami. I happen to really enjoy Honami’s artwork–a somewhat softer style with light but expressive lines–so I’ve slowly been getting around to reading the various boys’ love manga that she’s worked on. As far as I know, Constellations in My Palm is the only manga that Sakuragi has written. It’s a fairly realistic romance and tends to be somewhat quiet and subdued. It’s narrated by Mizuho, a college student, whose younger cousin Enji moves in with his family as he is about to start college, too. When they were younger they were very close, but it’s been seven years since they’ve been in contact with or seen each other. Mizuho and Enji both care about each other, but their relationship has become awkward and strained. Constellations in My Palm has some wonderful moments in it, but I was largely frustrated by the manga. So much of the story is driven by misunderstandings, and many of them aren’t even the result of miss-communication. Generally, it’s Mizuho who’s the culprit–even when he’s told something straight to his face, repeatedly, he simply can’t or chooses not to believe it. As Mizuho has some self-esteem issues this does fit his character, but it doesn’t make it any less exasperating.

The Flowers of Evil, Volumes 7-9 by Shuzo Oshimi. I’ve been waiting for the entirety of the third arc of The Flowers of Evil to be released before reading it. I’m glad that I did, because once I started I didn’t want to put the manga down. After the resolution of the incident at the summer festival, there is a timeskip of three years. Kasuga and his family have moved to a different town in order to start over, but he is still haunted by his past. His relationship with his parents is broken and almost nonexistent. His new classmates tolerate him, but he remains distant and disconnected (and understandably so). But then he meets and, despite his weirdness and strange behavior, is befriended by Tokiwa–a popular and attractive girl whom all of the boys have a crush on. Like Kasuga, she’s hiding parts of herself from others, too. On the surface, the third arc is almost tame when compared to what came before it, but it is still extremely effective. It has a very different sort of intensity than the previous arcs. The story has become more subtle but retains a constant undercurrent of dread. Even when good things happen it seems as though they could only possibly be a prelude to some sort of disaster. The Flowers of Evil is an incredibly engaging series and just keeps getting better and better.

Say I Love You, Volume 1 by Kanae Hazuki. I didn’t really know much about Say I Love You before reading the first volume; I was vaguely aware of the series because of its recent anime adaptation (which I haven’t seen yet), but that’s about it. There’s not really much of a “hook” per se in Say I Love You. The characters are fairly normal. The story isn’t particularly unusual. The the two leads are Mei Tachibana–who although she avoids making friends is very aware of others and their feelings–and Yamato Kurosawa–whose popularity stems from his good looks but who otherwise is extremely average. So far the manga is simply about a group of teenagers living out their high school years. This includes all of the cliques and the bullying, the stress caused by interpersonal relationships, the self-consciousness and the issues of self-esteem. But that realism is probably the series’ strength. Say I Love You has some humorous moments, but I wouldn’t really describe it as a comedy at this point since in general Hazuki takes a more serious approach with the series. I’m actually very curious to see how Mei and Yamato’s relationship continues to develop, as well as how the relationships between the other characters evolve as well.

Wolfsmund, Volumes 3-4 by Mitsuhisa Kuji. At first Wolfsmund seemed to me as though it was going to be an episodic series, but with the third and fourth volumes the manga has focused in on an overarching narrative. However, the bleakness and brutality that has been present from the very start of Wolfsmund remains constant. These volumes see the beginning of the Swiss rebellion against the Austrian occupation and all of the violence and death that entails, including the incredible siege of the Wolf’s Maw at Sankt Gotthard Pass. The uprising has been in the planning stages for quite some time, but now the rebels finally have the opportunity to take action. 14th-century warfare is not pretty. There are very good reasons why attacking an overtaking a fortress are difficult tasks to accomplish–they are built to withstand assault and are designed to allow defenders to wreak havoc on invading forces and to cause tremendous amounts of damage. The rebels must face skilled soldiers, traps, fire, molten lead, boiling water, and more. And on top of that Wolfram, the bailiff of the Wolf’s Maw, is a vicious and sadistic leader who is not above torture. In fact, he seems to delight in it. Wolfsmund continues to be a dark and intense manga that is definitely meant for maturer audiences.

Love to Be Love

May 5, 2014 by Erica Friedman 1 Comment

We’ve talked a lot here on Magazine no Mori about what manga salarymen in Japan read. Today, we’re going look at a magazine with an adult female homemaker readership, Be Love magazine, from Kodansha. It’s a truism that Josei manga rarely does well as anime.

Stories in most magazines for adult women follow career, family, romance, all of which make pretty “meh” anime, but are often very successful as live-action TV dramas.Be Love magazine includes a very notable exception to the rule – Tsuetsugu Yuki’s extremely popular game manga series, Chihayafuru (which was ran as an anime TV series, original DVD animation and a Light Novel series.) It’s not terribly surprising, then, that on the tail of Chihayafuru‘s success, Be Love has another Karte-related series, as well, “Houkago Karte.” Also following up a popular series, the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home, Konami Kanata, has another domestic cat series, “Fukufuku Nyaan” that runs in Be Love.

First published in 1980, Be Love now has a monthly circulation of 120,405 according to the Japanese Magazine Publisher’s Association. It sells for 460 yen ($4.49 at time of writing) an issue, for approximately 420 pages. An indication of the audience for this magazine being homemakers are the contest prizes and giveaways from the magazine, which include items like microwaves, vacuum cleaners and matching pot sets, making this magazine the manga equivalent of afternoon soap operas.

Be Love does have a website, with a focus on purchasing released volumes of manga (with a rather lovely search for titles “like this” and “in the same genre,” as well as sample chapters from various manga series, series news, character intros, messages from the creators, and downloads like computer wallpapers.

As a whole, it is very hard to put a single label on the magazine.It has manga about adults and about children and adults with children; the stories tend to be realistic with an edge of fantasy, rather than purely fantastic. The magazine has decidedly less focus on romance than other Josei magazines, but makes up for it with other complex emotional situations. Be Love, from Kodansha: http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/magazine/index.php/02766

Pick of the Week: Beginnings & Endings

May 5, 2014 by MJ, Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown Leave a Comment

MJ: I’m going to surprise myself a bit here by going for a title I hadn’t even heard about before this week’s column! That would be volume one of Whispered Words, out this week from One Peace Books. What this basically boils down to is that pretty much every yuri manga that Sean has ever recommended has turned out to be something I loved. So why would this be any different? This has quickly become my must-buy item for the week!

SEAN: Whispered Words is fantastic, and you won’t regret it, particularly as it gets more serious. Your picking it allows me, even though my real POTW is obviously that as well, to pick the final volume of Otomen. I’ve enjoyed mocking it almost as much as I have reading it, but the fact remains that this series has been filled with tons of funny, romantic, heartwarming moments about how men and women can do whatever the hell they want without worrying about gender roles. Also, Ryo. Ryo forever in my heart.

MICHELLE: It is Whispered Words 100% for me! I’d actually heard of Sasameki Koto, but missed the news of its license, so this is a very pleasant surprise for me, too. I hope it does well enough for One Peace to publish the full series.

SEAN: The 2nd omnibus, with Vols. 4-6 is scheduled for November and available for preorder! My guess is the last 3 volumes will be in a 3rd omnibus in Spring 2015.

MICHELLE: Ah, there it is! Somehow I missed it! Even more securely my pick of the week, then!

ANNA: It seems like everyone else has the yuri fans covered, but I couldn’t help noticing that there’s a great shoujo series ending with the 10th volume of Strobe Edge. This is one of those series that got better and better as it went along, and the concluding volume is very satisfying. It is my pick!

ASH: I’ll be joining Sean this week in picking the final volume of Aya Kanno’s Otomen for all of the reasons that he outlines. Also because Ryo carrying Asuka princess-style on the cover is one of the most perfect things ever. Hopefully the series has done well enough for Viz that the publisher might consider releasing more of Kanno’s work–I’ve particularly got my eye on her manga inspired by Shakespeare’s Richard III.

What looks good to you this week?

Gangsta Vols 1 and 2

May 4, 2014 by Anna N

Gangsta Volumes 1 and 2 by Kohske

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I was pretty intrigued by Gangsta when I first heard that Viz was going to be translating this title. I always am interested in series that get the deluxe treatment of the Viz Signature line. The art looked very stylish, and I generally enjoy the few examples of seinen written by women authors that we get translated over here, so I was already intrigued for a few months before finally getting my hands on a couple volumes.

First of all, to totally judge a manga by its cover, I was immediately captivated by the cover designs! The front and back covers of both volumes show the same scene from different perspectives, showcasing the personalities of the main characters Nic and Worick. The first volume shows Nic glaring out at the reader, with Worick turned away. On the back Worick has his finger raised over his lips to prevent someone from telling a secret. Worick and Nic are handymen, mercenaries, couriers, and assassins taking on jobs no one else will. Their day opens in a way that conveys the gritty and corrupt nature of the city of Ergastulum, as a hooker gets beat up and the police chief asks the handymen to deal with recent gang activity, promising them “all their goods” as payment.

As the day unfolds, more gets revealed about Nic and Worick. Nic is a “Tag” or “Twilight,” who appears to be an ex-soldier who was the subject of some sort of enhancement experiments that have turned him into a deadly warrior. Nic is deaf, and Kohske has come up with some clever ways of portraying this, by representing his sign language with a different style of word balloons and carefully drawing them as emanating from his hands as he gestures. Nic is incredibly deadly, but he is viewed as subhuman by almost everybody but Worick. The duo quickly becomes a platonic (so far) threesome, as the handymen decide to liberate Ally, the hooker who was being beat up by her john before. When the police chief objects, Nic yells that the handymen will take whatever they want.

What follows is a mix between slice of life communal living issues, drug deals, and over the top action scenes as Ally putters around the handymen’s apartment, reading sign language dictionaries and answering their phone. She gradually learns a little more about Worick and Nic, including the fact that Worick occasionally hires himself out as a gigalo and that his past might be very far from the circles where he runs in now.

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There are a few elements of Gangsta that reminded me of other series, but not in a bad way. The intense friendship of Nic and Worick set against a gritty background with mysterious drugs enhancing human abilities gave me some slight Wild Adapter flashbacks, although Gangsta isn’t very shonen-ai (yet). I’m sure there’s some Gangsta doujinshi out there that is though! Worick’s mysterious and privileged past made me remember Antique Bakery a bit. And the 3 rules for Twilight behavior are basically Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robotics. But Kohske hints at so many different plots to be explored in future volumes, I’m wanting to see the shared past of the handymen explored, wondering if Ally is better off with them than without them, and curious to see how Nic manages to deal with the latest in a procession of super human enemies.

Kohske’s art is gritty and stylish, showcasing the dynamic nature of the fights the handymen find themselves embroiled in as well as the run down area of the city where they live. The illustrations in this book are for sure not style over substance, as there are nuanced and varying character designs for all the members of the expanding cast. Nic’s growling antagonism and Worick’s intelligently constructed careless facade are both nimbly portrayed, as are the wordless exchanges and day to day moments that say volumes about the friendship they share. After enjoying the first two volumes, I’m certainly going to see about reading the rest of this series.

Dorohedoro, Vol. 12

May 4, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

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

This volume of Dorohedoro is particularly good at showing off all the myriad reasons why it’s become one of the more addicting seinen manga out there. There are some amazingly violent fight scenes, some hysterical humor, a dose of complete insane weirdness, and some truly visceral horror – and not body horror this time around. I had wondered at first how long the series could keep its premise up, now I worry that with the series ending in Japan soon it won’t have time to tell me everything that I need to know.

Let’s start with the violence, which spirals out after En’s death. And En definitely appears to be dead this time, though there’s a suggestion they can reverse it if they find Judas’ Ear, who is missing. En’s people are somewhat gutted by this – even Noi, who notes that she hated En for forcing her into all of this, but still feels at a loss. As for Fujita, he’s absolutely devastated, having flashbacks and trauma from finding the body. Luckily, Shin knows that everything will be solved by finding the parties responsible and killing them. Finding the cross-eyes is the next step, and killing them mostly goes well, at least until the climax. Hayashida knows just how to choreograph fights, and also that her audience does not mind seeing splattered limbs.

Her audience also wants a healthy does of humor and weirdness, both of which dovetail nicely with the creation of a living En doll to try to lead them to the location of the real En, assuming he is alive. This involves baking a giant pizza, out of which the doll En them rises. If you can’t quite understand what I’m talking about, that’s because it makes no sense unless you see it. Any time Turkey appears things are odd, but this one takes the biscuit. We then get a very amusing chase scene, as the Doll En has a mind of its own and is not interested in letting Shin and Noi keep up with it. If you combine this with the ongoing humiliation of Natsuki (involving nudity this time, natch), we’ve got a lot of laughs in here.

But what I suspect folks will take away from this volume is the flashback that explains Nikaido’s past, who she’s so reluctant to do magic, and the horrors of time travel. Some lessons, particularly when you’re a child, need to be learned firsthand, and this is a particularly horrifying and bitter one for Nikaido, whose friend is lost forever thanks to her own folly about time magic. It contrasts with the cover art with Asu and a child Nikaido, with a blue sky and blooming flowers belie the serious contents within.

And so, in the end, we have something for everyone, a little bit of plot advancement, a lot of weird humor, and some terrifying existential terror. In other words, all the reasons to read Dorohedoro, encapsulated in one book. At least until the next volume, when I assume we’ll find more. We even see the gyoza fairy again!

Vinland Saga, Vol. 3

May 3, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Makoto Yukimura
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781612624228
Released: April 2014
Original release: 2007-2008
Awards: Japan Media Arts Award, Kodansha Manga Award

Vinland Saga, an award-winning manga series by Makoto Yukimura, is a title that I’ve been wishing for a release in English for years. Thanks to Kodansha Comics, it’s finally available, and in a deluxe hardcover edition no less. I couldn’t be happier. If I loved the first omnibus, I loved the second omnibus even more. Vinland Saga has easily become one of my favorite manga series currently being released in English. The third Vinland Saga omnibus, published by Kodansha in 2014, collects the fifth and sixth volumes of the original Japanese edition, released in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Vinland Saga, Omnibus 3 also includes a brief section of questions answered by Yukimura about the series which is exclusive to the English release. Vinland Saga is Kodansha’s first foray into deluxe manga releases and features color pages as well as a slightly larger trim size than most of its other manga which allows Yukimura’s artwork to present itself as strongly as his storytelling skills. Vinland Saga is an excellent series and has won both a Japan Media Arts Award as well as a Kodansha Manga Award.

The Danish invasion of England is steadily progressing. The English forces are preparing to surrender, which doesn’t sit well at all with Thorkell the Tall. A Viking mercenary fighting on the side of the English with an insatiable thirst for battle, he would much rather see the war continue indefinitely. One way he can encourage the conflict to continue is by taking Canute, the son of Denmark’s King Sweyn and second in line to the throne, captive. Canute is currently being escorted by Askeladd and his band of mercenaries. They initially escaped Thorkell’s pursuit by fleeing to Wales. Askeladd planned to rejoin with the main Danish force, but to do so required traveling through English-controlled territory. To make their situation even worse, winter and a heavy snowstorm forced them to halt their march in a small English village. Their presence behind enemy lines is discovered far sooner than they had wished or expected. Askeladd and his men are once again faced with confronting Thorkell and his mercenaries in bloody battle.

The struggle for the control of Canute and his fate is pivotal to the story of Vinland Saga. It also provides a phenomenal opportunity for battle sequences and they are brutal. Yukimura doesn’t hold back or spare any details, depicting broken bones, severed limbs, crushed skulls, blood and gore as needed or required. Askeladd’s plans are falling apart around him and his men are beginning to lose confidence in their leader. Already in disarray, they are in an extremely bad position when Thorkell and his band catch up with them. The battle as a whole is intense, but then comes the fight between Thorkell and Thorfinn. Their confrontation in the second omnibus was impressive to begin with, but their duel in the third is even more so. Thorfinn is skilled, quick, small, and volatile while Thorkell is a literal giant of a man who primarily relies on his strength. Their fight is incredible to watch unfold. Thorfinn holds his own against Thorkell surprisingly well, but Thorkell’s physical feats are astounding.

The battles and duels in Vinland Saga are well-executed and thrilling, but just as important to the series is the development of the story and of the characters. Particularly astonishing in Vinland Saga, Omnibus 3 is the remarkable growth of Canute. Up until this point he has seemed sheltered and coddled; he abhors the senseless violence around him which makes the others view him as weak. However, Canute is all too aware of his unfortunate situation. Askeladd and Thorkell are surprised to discover that Canute carries very little value as a hostage, nor will his survival necessarily be appreciated by the king. Ultimately, it is up to Canute himself to take control of his own destiny. His true strength is revealed and it is utterly magnificent. This marks a turning point not only for Canute but for the entirety of Vinland Saga. Yukimura mixes historical fiction with meticulously researched historical fact and the results are extraordinarily engaging. Vinland Saga is the epic that I’ve been waiting for and I can’t wait to read more.

Bookshelf Overload: April 2014

May 2, 2014 by Ash Brown

Well, I knew at the beginning of the month that April was going to be rough on my wallet, what with all of the preorders and such that I had in place. Fortunately, I also had a couple of gift cards to burn, which alleviated some of the pain, but the month still ended up being a little embarrassing when it came to the amount of manga and other delights that made their way into my place of residence. April had some great releases, though. The manga that I was most excited for was the third Vinland Saga omnibus by Makoto Yukimura. (Review to come very soon. That is, most likely tomorrow.) My copy of the first omnibus in Takashi Ikeda’s series Whispered Words from One Peace Books arrived earlier than expected, which means it will likely become the next entry in my Year of Yuri review project. Comics-wise, I was delighted to see the nice, hardcover release of Mike Richardson and Stan Sakai’s 47 Ronin. (Also of note, Lone Wolf & Cub‘s Kazuo Koike served as the series’ editorial consultant.) Battle Royale is seeing a resurgence in English, including the release of the The Battle Royale Slam Book (it’s great; expect a review of this one soon, too) and a completely new translation of Koushun Takami’s original novel. Oh, and the final Berserk: The Golden Age anime film was also released! I’m still not completely sold on the use of the 3D CG, but I do love me some Berserk.

Manga!
Alive by Hajime Taguchi
Attack on Titan, Volume 12 by Hajime Isayama
Bokurano: Ours, Volume 1 by Mohiro Kitoh
Bunny Drop, Volume 10 by Yumi Unita
Crimson Spell, Volume 3 by Ayano Yamane
Dorohedoro, Volume 12 by Q Hayashida
Dictatorial Grimoire, Volume 3: Red Riding Hood by Ayumi Kanou
Drifters, Volume 3 by Kohta Hirano
The Drifting Classroom, Volumes 4-7 by Kazuo Umezu
Fairy Tail, Volume 37 by Hiro Mashima
The Flowers of Evil, Volume 9 by Shuzo Oshimi
Knights of Sidonia, Volume 8 by Tsutomu Nihei
Library Wars: Love & War, Volume 11 by Kiiro Yumi
Lone Wolf and Cub, Omnibus 4 written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Goseki Kojima
Mail, Volumes 1-3 by Housui Yamazaki
Man of Many Faces, Volumes 1-2 by CLAMP
No. 6, Volume 6 by Hinoki Kino
No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Volume 3 by Nico Tanigawa
Oishinbo, A la Carte: Vegetables written by Tetsu Kariya, illustrated by Akira Hanasaki
Say I Love You, Volume 1 by Kanae Hazuki
Sunny, Volume 3 by Taiyo Matsumoto
Tegami Bachi, Volumes 1-14 by Hiroyuki Asada
Vagabond, Omnibus 5 b Takehiko Inoue
Vinland Saga, Omnibus 3 by Makoto Yukimura
Whispered Words, Omnibus 1 by Takashi Ikeda
Wolfsmund, Volume 4 by Mitsuhisa Kuji
xxxHolic: Rei, Volume 1 by CLAMP
Yakitate!! Japan, Volumes 1-3 by Takashi Hashiguchi
You and Me, Etc. by Kyuugou

Manhwa!
9 Faces of Love by Wann
Stone Collector, Book 2 written by Kevin Han, illustrated by Zom-J

Comics!
47 Ronin written by Mike Richardson, illustrated by Stan Sakai
Greek Love written by Dale Lazarov, illustrated by Adam Graphite
Juku: A Comics Album by Various
Monsters & Titans: Battling Boy on Tour by Paul Pope
Sex Criminals, Volume 1 written by Matt Fraction, illustrated by Chip Zdarsky

Novels!
Battle Royale: Remastered by Koushun Takami

Collections!
Monkey Business, Volume 4 edited by Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen

Nonfiction!
The Battle Royale Slam Book: Essays on the Cult Classic by Koushun Takami edited by Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington
Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by Lucy Birmingham and David McNeill

Anime!
Berserk: The Golden Age, Arc III: The Advent directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka

Manga the Week of 5/7

May 1, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, MJ and Michelle Smith 2 Comments

SEAN: First weeks of the month, man. I don’t know… June will be even worse, by the way.

First off, Dark Horse has its third Trigun Maximum omnibus, for those who missed it the first time around. Or just can’t get enough of Meryl and Milly. (And Vash, I suppose.)

Another title I don’t know much about from Gen Manga, called Android Angels. The cat eared girl on the cover really doesn’t play to my demographic, to be honest.

ASH: It has androids, so it has my attention!

MJ: I’m always interested to see what Gen is up to, if nothing else!

SEAN: This one is actually coming out this week rather than next, Amazon surprised me by moving the date up at the last minute. It’s also a highly anticipated title. Whispered Words is an omnibus from One Peace Books, better known to the yuri manga crowd as Sasameki Koto. It runs in Comic Alive, but for once don’t let that put you off – this is great stuff.

MICHELLE: Ooooh. Something just got added to my Amazon cart!

ASH: My copy has already arrived, and yes, this is great stuff.

MJ: MUST BUY.

SEAN: I’m starting to weary of the endless Alice spinoffs, but this new one, Love Labyrinth of Thorns, at least features Julius, one of my favorites of Alice’s many suitors.

Mayo Chiki 6. Mm. Yes. It has certainly reached 6 volumes.

There’s also Monster Musume 3, which has been a huge runaway success, to the point where I’m wondering if I got some other manga by mistake when I tried to read it. Oh well, no one ever said I had to be right all the time.

There’s also the first volume of Zero’s Familiar Chevalier, a sequel to the manga about everyone’s favorite tsundere. I’m not sure how long this will run – the author sadly passed away a while back, so I suspect the ending may be sudden.

Want Viz? We’ve got Viz! How about another Bleach 3-in-1, the first of many of that type of omnibus coming out this week.

Claymore hits Volume 24, and shows no sign of letting up anytime soon.

MJ: I’m good with that!

SEAN: High School Debut has its second 3-in-1. I’m trying to catch up on this series after losing track of it first time around, so this pleases me.

MICHELLE: *flaily Kermit arms*

MJ: Heeeee.

SEAN: Midnight Secretary hits Vol. 5, and I believe gets even further into family politics. But no doubt will still have hot vampire sex as well.

Naruto has an 8th 3-in-1, much like the holy trinity of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke functions as a 3-in-1 with every chapter. Wait, isn’t this the academic conference?

Nisekoi 3 has been out digitally for ages, but now those who like print can catch up on the latest harem comedy.

MJ: I’m glad to have the opportunity to read this in print. Weirdly, I sort of like it.

SEAN: Otomen has reached its final volume, and it will be hard to top that cover. This is a title that’s gotten stronger as it’s gone along, even if the basic plot beat (new male character turns out to be secret otomen) was beaten into the ground. I’ll miss it.

ASH: I love that cover and I love this series. I’ll miss it, too.

SEAN: Phantom Thief Jeanne was a somewhat darker magical girl take in its first volume, and I expect things to continue in that vein with Vol. 2.

MICHELLE: I really enjoyed volume one, so I’m looking forward to this!

MJ: Me too!

SEAN: Psyren also ends with Vol. 16. This was one of those mid-range Jump series that never got quite as popular as I expected over here, but did well enough. Let’s hope it all wraps up nicely.

MICHELLE: One day I really will read Psyren.

SEAN: If you saw Nisekoi is out but prefer your harem comedy a little more old-school, there’s the 2nd Ranma 1/2 omnibus, which features the debut of Shampoo.

The last of our final volumes next week, Strobe Edge hits Vol. 10. Will our heroine finally be able to get what love is? And will it be happy?

MICHELLE: And here are two more I’m eager for! It’s nice to be excited about things. :)

MJ: I’m still hooked on Strobe Edge.

SEAN: Lastly, not a final volume but a penultimate one, as Vampire Knight is almost at its conclusion. What will we do in a world without any vampire manga in our lives? Well, except for those dozen others. Regardless, this volume should prove as addicting yet confusing as the others.

What manga will you be catching up on at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival?

Bunny Drop, Vol. 10

May 1, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

By Yumi Unita. Released in Japan as “Usagi Drop” by Shodensha, serialized in the magazine Feel Young. Released in North America by Yen Press.

Yen Press very helpfully published an interview with Yumi Unita at the end of this final volume of Bunny Drop. In it she states that she had planned what happened in Bunny Drop from the start, and that she wanted to contrast it with the manga she was writing for rival publisher Takeshobo, Yoningurashi. A quick Google search led me to learn that Yoningurashi, aka The Four of Us, was a series about a couple raising two young children. And suddenly a lot of what happened in Bunny Drop makes more sense. Or more accurately, what didn’t happen.

See, I had expectations when I started reading Bunny Drop, before *those* spoilers came out. I expected what we got for the first four volumes, aka Daikichi’s learning how to be a parent and raising Rin in adorably heartwarming ways. But I also expected that he’d end up hooking up with Kouki’s mother, and that they’d raise Rin and Kouski as a family. Sure, I expected Rin and Kouki to hook up later in life, but honestly, I’ve been reading about ‘but we’re not really siblings’ love since the days of Marmalade Boy, so it didn’t really bother me.

Of course, we did not get that. Instead, Unita contrasted Bunny Drop with her other series by subverting every expectation we had. And I’ve got to hand it to her, it certainly worked, though in the end I’m still left with a feeling of massive frustration. This is not helped by the stories in this last volume, which go back and fill in some blanks from earlier in Rin’s life. We see heartwarming and amusing parenting as Daikichi tries to explain ‘why we don’t always kill bugs’ to young Rin. We get a tortuous ship teasing scene between Daikichi and Kouki’s mother after Kouki gets in an accident and Daikichi has to take care of things, where by the end you are screaming at the two of them to just kiss already. (Spoilers: they don’t.) We get some backstory explaining how Rin’s mother ended up with her manga assistant/lover, and how Kouki fell into delinquency (and then out of it) in middle school. Honestly, they’re all well-written and pretty fun.

And then we get a final story showing Rin and Daikichi, who have now been a couple for several months. And really, seriously, nothing has changed. I approve of Unita not showing us their sex life, but honestly without that you’re left wondering why any of this happened at all. (Things are not helped by adding a girl who not only Kouki but also the reader had forgotten, and seeing about hooking him up with her at the VERY last minute.) Unita noted that she tried to avoid Rin’s inner monologue in the ‘pre-timeskip’ period, and avoid Daikichi’s afterwards, but honestly all this has done is made us wonder about how any of this came about, particularly with Daikichi, whose love for Rin and desire to let her do this seems to come down to ‘well, OK, I guess.’

So in the end I liked individual parts of this story, but am very dissatisfied with how it came together as a whole. Particularly as there was a story that was being made really obvious and heartwarming that wasn’t told here. Now, part of that may be me as a reader projecting out on what wasn’t really intended, but given the general negative reception Bunny Drop has had post-timeskip, I don’t really think it’s just me. I’d suggest someone write some fixfics, but I’m not sure the series has enough of a fandom. In the end, Bunny Drop was an interesting, fascinating, and uniquely annoying series that amazingly I still think is worth reading anyway, provided your dentist doesn’t mind the loss of enamel you’ll have from grinding your teeth.

Manga Giveaway: Fullmetal Alchemist Giveaway

April 30, 2014 by Ash Brown

It’s the last Wednesday of April (not to mention the last day of April) which means it’s time for the monthly manga giveaway here at Experiments in Manga to begin! This month you have the opportunity to win the first omnibus of Hiromu Arakawa’s wonderful manga series Fullmetal Alchemist as published by Viz Media. The omnibus collects the first three volumes of the series in one convenient package and makes a great introduction to Fullmetal Alchemist. (And for you collectors who like your manga to match, never fear! The final volume of the omnibus edition is currently scheduled for release this November.) As always, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Gender has been a fairly hot topic in comics over the last few years (if not longer). The discussion isn’t just about who is represented in comics, but who’s reading and creating comics as well. Amazing women creators are out there, and they have been for a long time. This is not only true for comics in general, but for manga specifically. Women are and have been creating for all demographics. I am aware of plenty of women mangaka working in seinen and shounen, which are primarily aimed at men and boys, not to mention those who are working in josei and shoujo, which are primarily aimed at women and girls. Of course there are all of those manga that don’t neatly fit into one of the four main demographics and women are creating those, too.

Now, when I’m looking for manga to read, I’m looking for great characters, great stories, and great art. Whether the creator is a woman or a man (or any other gender for that matter) can be important, but for me it usually isn’t a deciding factor when it comes to choosing what to read. Sadly, that’s not true for everyone. I know of readers who will intentionally avoid the work of women creators, authors, and artists simply because they’re women. And they’re missing out on some fantastic material because of it. Take Fullmetal Alchemist as an example.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of the first Fullmetal Alchemist omnibus?

1) In the comments below, simply name one of your favorite women mangaka and tell me what you enjoy about her work.
2) For a second entry, name a shounen or seinen manga series (which hasn’t been mentioned by me or by someone else) that is written and/or illustrated by a woman.
3) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

And there you have it! Each person participating in the giveaway can earn up to three entries and has one week to submit comments. If you have trouble leaving a comment, or if you would prefer, entries may also be submitted via e-mail to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. I will then post the comments in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on May 7, 2014. Good luck!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Fullmetal Alchemist Giveaway Winner