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Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Vol. 4: Jaburo

February 21, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Original story: Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781935654988
Released: December 2013
Original release: 2008

Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s manga series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin was my first real introduction to the massively popular Gundam franchise. I was somewhat hesitant to enter into the fray; Gundam can appear rather daunting to a newcomer considering the sheer number of series and alternate timelines involved. However, I was already a fan of Yasuhiko’s other manga. If I was going to start anywhere with Gundam it made sense for me to start with The Origin. So far, in my admittedly limited experience with the Gundam franchise, The Origin has been my favorite rendition of the story. The manga is a retelling of the original 1979 anime series with which Yasuhiko was also involved. Jaburo is the fourth volume in the collector’s edition of The Origin, initially published in Japan in 2008 and released in English by Vertical in 2013. The guest contributor for Jaburo was Yokusaru Shibata, which I believe makes it his manga debut in English.

After a far too brief stalemate in which fighting had all but ceased, the war between the self-proclaimed Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation has quickly begun to escalate once more. Escaping from the destruction of the Federation’s Side 7 space colony, the ship White Base is carrying with it the Federation’s best hope to regain technological superiority over Zeon–the newly developed Gundam mobile suit. Crewed by a mix of civilians and inexperienced military personnel and doggedly pursued by some of Zeon’s finest commanders, White Base has surprisingly been able to persevere. The ship is drawing closer to Jaburo, the Federation’s headquarters on Earth, but the journey will still require passing through Zeon-occupied territory. The mission’s success and the crew’s survival will not only depend on their own inherent skills and talents but the support received from what remains of the Federation military and its dwindling resources.

While the war between Zeon and the Federation continues on a grand scale, Jaburo reveals some of the very personal reasons why the individual soldiers have chosen to fight that war and why some of the civilians have joined in the battle as well. Over the last couple of volumes in The Origin, Zeon has suffered several deaths of particular significance. Garma Zabi’s death has served as a rallying point for Zeon’s forces as a whole, but Ramba Ral’s death has triggered a much more aggressive vendetta from those who knew him best. They are less concerned with Zeon’s cause than they are with their own personal revenge. But neither side of the conflict is immune to the effects of war. In Jaburo, it’s the Federation and the crew of White Base who must face some severe losses of their own. Death and destruction has not been lacking in The Origin, but growing to know the characters, what they hold important, and what they are willing to die for make their demise even more potent.

In addition to the excellent character development found in Jaburo, I was also particularly impressed by Yasuhiko’s artwork in this volume. The color work is especially effective. In general, I have largely favored Yasuhiko’s black and white illustrations in The Origin, but the color artwork in Jaburo is simply gorgeous. The lush greens and blues of the Amazon and South America are beautiful, contrasting with the reds and oranges of fires and explosions as humankind continues to destroy itself. Yasuhiko’s black and white art in the series remains very strong as well and has a fantastic “old school” feel to it. The battles are fierce and dramatic, but Yasuhiko handles the chaos in a controlled manner that still retains a sense of pandemonium. The story has moved from space to Earth and so the technology, mobile suits, and strategies have to be adjusted for the new environment. Both the characters and Yasuhiko are aware of this, and it shows in Jaburo. I’m continuing to enjoy The Origin and look forward to reading more.

Manga the Week of 2/26

February 20, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 2 Comments

SEAN: This is a very small end of the month, which is good, as it gives me time to pick out two titles I forgot to mention last week, and one digital only title that made its big debut this Tuesday.

Dark Horse has Blood Blockade Battlefront 5 and Blood-C 3 coming out this week, so they should have been on last week’s list. Honestly, I find both titles so uninspiring that I often forget they exist, which may explain why I didn’t include them. But here they are.

Fairy Tail ended its last volume in a really nasty place, and I’m pretty sure that all the reader is thinking right now is REVENGE. We’ll see if they get it. Also, would Lucy lose quite so many fights if she were a male protagonist? (A reminder that she, and not Natsu, is the protagonist.)

I’m finding that reading The Wallflower is much like reading Ranma 1/2. The moment you take it seriously or hope it is heading into a final arc, you get extremely ANGRY with it. Best just to let Vol. 32 roll off of you and be amusing.

MICHELLE: Man, is that series still going?!

ASH: It is! Though it’s been a while since I’ve read any of it.

SEAN: The big release this week is Vertical’s manga autobiography of Moyoco Anno – or rather, of her relationship with Uber-Otaku and Evangelion overlord Hideaki Anno. Insufficient Direction simply looks like a giant pile of fun, and I have very high hopes for it.

MICHELLE: Oooooh.

ASH: I’m always happy to see more Moyoco Anno manga in English, so I’m very excited for this release.

ANNA: I am also very excited!

MJ: As am I!

SEAN: Lastly, Viz is finally releasing the first collected volume of One-Punch Man digitally. The rumor is that a print release may follow, but I’m not holding my breath. But that shouldn’t matter – you should buy this, as it’s an awesome title that mocks superheroes and shonen cliches in the best way.

MICHELLE: After having read Bakuman, I can’t help but envision this concept being pitched at the Shueisa serialization meeting! It’s good to hear it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

ASH: I’ll hold my breath as long as it takes to get a physical release! (In the meantime, I’ll be reading it digitally.)

ANNA: I’m looking forward to reading this too, it sounds great.

MJ: I’ve been keeping up with Derek’s weekly recaps, so my expectations are a bit tempered, but perhaps I’ll be pleasantly surprised!

SEAN: Any manga plans this week?

More new titles, Digital snags Tezuka backlist, plus a giant Attack on Titan omnibus!

February 20, 2014 by Brigid Alverson

Noragami

Kodansha announced on Wednesday that it will be publishing Noragami: Stray God, which has been running in Monthly Shonen Magazine since 2011. Here’s the blurb:

Yato is a stray god. He doesn’t even have a shrine, not to mention worshipers! Hoping he’ll eventually raise enough money to build himself the lavish temple of his dreams, Yato accepts all kinds of jobs. Of course, he can’t afford to be picky; from finding lost kittens to helping a student overcome bullies, no job is too small for Yato, the god-for-hire! An eccentric story with a charming cast of characters!

And another new title: Ema Toyama’s GDGD-Dogs, which they will retitle Manga Dogs. Here’s that blurb:

Kanna Tezuka is a serious 15-year-old manga artist, already being published as a pro. So when she finds out her high school is starting a manga drawing course, even she gets excited. But it’s a fiasco! The teacher is useless, and the only other students — three pretty-boy artist wannabes — quickly adopt Kanna as their (unwilling) sensei. But they all have ridiculous delusions about being an artist, and if Kanna can’t bring them back down to Earth, she’ll never get any work done!

And one more: Kodansha will publish an oversized omnibus edition of Attack on Titan.

Sean Gaffney has last week’s new license announcements—and those that were announced this week as well. Lissa Pattillo has some thoughts on the omnibus edition of Attack on Titan.

Digital Manga, Inc., announced last week that they will be digitally publishing all of Osamu Tezuka’s works that haven’t already been licensed in English, and I talked to DMI president Hikaru Sasahara about the details of the deal and how it will work going forward.

The digital manga distributor Amimaru announced a new title, which is already available on its iPad and Facebook apps: A Second Love is Full of Tears (Nidome no Koi wa Namida-iro), by Hazuki, which is complete in one volume.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date on all things yuri with the latest edition of Yuri News Network at Okazu.

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 12 of Arisa (The Fandom Post)
Chris Kirby on vol. 2 of Battle Angel Alita: The Last Order (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Sarah on vol. 16 of Black Butler (nagareboshi reviews)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Bloody Cross (The Fandom Post)
Anna N on vols. 11 and 12 of Dawn of the Arcana (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Gangsta (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on Himawari-san (Okazu)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Doubt (Girls Like Comics)
Lori Henderson on vols. 7-9 of Jack Frost (Manga Xanadu)
Sarah on vol. 1 of Kamisama Kiss (nagareboshi reviews)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Man of Tango (Comics Worth Reading)
Lori Henderson on vols. 5 and 6 of Missions of Love (Manga Xanadu)
Sarah on vol. 64 of Naruto (nagareboshi reviews)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular (Comics Worth Reading)
Sarah on The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame (nagareboshi reviews)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of Sherlock Bones (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Shuden Niwa Kaeshimasu (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 18 of Soul Eater (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 15 of Tsubasa (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Even More Licenses

February 19, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

I swear companies check my blog to make sure I’ve posted, then do announcements.

So yes, 2 new titles from Kodansha today (well, technically 3, they’re putting out Attack on Titan 1-5 in a giant 1000-page omnibus). Let’s investigate.

First, we have another Ema Toyama title. Despite hitting high above its supposed age bracket, Missions of Love has been doing pretty well for the company, and they already did an omnibus of I Am Here!. Now we get a series that cries out for a translated title, GDGD-DOGS (Kodansha will release it as Manga Dogs). Running for 3 volumes in Aria magazine, this series about a teenage manga artist and her pretty boy wannabe students seems to be light and fluffy, and I wonder if Kodansha will do it as one big omnibus or 3 separate volumes.

As for Noragami, that’s 10 volumes and counting, and may be the next big thing to come over here from Monthly Shonen Magazine. This one has an anime currently airing, which is likely a big reason they’re taking a chance on the series. The author is best known over here for Alive, the post-apocalyptic manga that Del Rey put out 8 volumes of before it became part of the Giant Del Rey Title Purge. The plot sounds oddly a bit like Kamisama Kiss. Looking forward to see where it goes.

Also, although I’m not sure Yen has officially announced this, but the 3rd Durarara!! arc, subtitled Yellow Flag Orchestra (that sound you hear is Baccano! light novel fans crying), will be beginning this fall. Like Umineko, Durarara!! seems to be a series that Yen enjoys, but is only licensing in chunks. Makes sense, given it’s pretty much caught up with Japan. This arc focuses more on Kida’s troubled past and wavering loyalties.

Writing the Love of Boys: Origins of Bishōnen Culture in Modernist Japanese Literature

February 19, 2014 by Ash Brown

Author: Jeffrey Angles
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 9780816669707
Released: February 2011

I’ve recently become rather enamoured with Edogawa Rampo and his writings which is how I happened to come across Jeffrey Angles’ Writing the Love of Boys: Origins of Bishōnen Culture in Modernist Japanese Literature. Published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2011, the volume is an extension of Angles’ 2004 PhD dissertation “Writing the Love of Boys: Representations of Male-Male Desire in the Literature of Murayama Kaita and Edogawa Rampo.” Angles is currently an associate professor of Japanese literature, language, and translation at Western Michigan University. His primary research interests include translation, modern Japanese poetry, and romance and sexuality in Japanese literature, and especially the portrayal of same-sex desire. All of these subjects are at least touched upon if not thoroughly explored in Writing the Love of Boys. They are all topics that I am particularly interested in as well, so I was rather pleased to discover Writing the Love of Boys while searching for more information on Rampo and his works.

In Writing the Love of Boys, Angles examines the expression of same-sex desire, and specifically male-male desire, in Japanese literature during the late Taishō era (1912-1926) and early Shōwa period (1926-1989). In doing so he focuses on the work of three authors in particular: Murayama Kaita (1896-1919), who was also a poet and a painter; Edogawa Rampo (1894-1965), an incredibly influential writer of detective and mystery fiction among other things; and Inagaki Taruho (1900-1977), whose avant-garde work is noted as being particularly innovative. All three of these authors produced work that either incorporated or directly addressed male-male desire of both homosocial and homoerotic nature. Writing during a time in which attitudes towards sexuality in Japan were changing due to the influence of new medical and psychological approaches, Kaita, Rampo, and Taruho portrayed male-male desire in a way that was different from their immediate predecessors. Placing them within this historical and literary context, Angles also shows how their work would influence creators who followed them as well.

Another subject that is particularly important in Writing the Love of Boys is the erotic grotesque nonsense movement and fad of the 1920s and 1930s. Ero guro literature allowed its authors to explore the bizarre and the strange, including sexual desire that was considered by society to be perverse. However, although Kaita, Rampo, and Taruho were all involved in the rise of ero guro literature, Angles argues that their portrayal of male-male desire was frequently sympathetic and even subversive within the context of the genre which generally used sexuality for the purpose of titillation. Of the three authors that Angles focuses on in Writing the Love of Boys, it is Rampo who is the most well-known in English and who has had more of his work translated. Reading Angles’ analyses and translated excerpts of these three authors’ work, I can’t help but lament the fact that more of their writing isn’t currently available in English. But even though most of the works discussed in Writing the Love of Boys have yet to be released in translation, it is still interesting and valuable to learn about their place and importance within the literary and queer history of Japan.

For me, one of the most intriguing parts of Writing the Love of Boys was the literary lineage that Angles outlines, beginning with Kaita, who influenced Rampo, who in turn collaborated with Taruho, who was a direct inspiration to Takemiya Keiko, one of the creators whose work in the 1970s would lay the foundation for the entire boys’ love genre. In fact, much of the conclusion of Writing the Love of Boys is devoted to the lasting influence and legacies of Kaita, Rampo, and Taruho that can be seen in boys’ love manga. Angles credits Taruho as one of the authors who began developing an aesthetic of male-male desire for a female audience; several of his stories, including his debut, were published in magazines for women. This is one of the links that Angles uses to tie these three authors to the more recently developed genre of stories featuring male-male love primarily written for women by women. To some extent it does feel a little tangential to the work as a whole, and it was somewhat jarring to jump from the 1930s to the 1970s and beyond, but there is a legitimate connection. I found Writing the Love of Boys to be incredibly fascinating; it ended up addressing more of my interests than I initially realized it would–queer theory, ero guro, and even manga, in addition to many other topics.

Soul Eater, Vol. 18

February 19, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

By Atsushi Ohkubo. Released in Japan by Square Enix, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Gangan. Released in North America by Yen Press.

Soul Eater is an ensemble cast, but as with most ensemble casts, some characters are more lead than others, and so Soul Eater really stars Maka and Soul. Throughout the series we’ve seen the growing closeness between the two, and the confidence that they now have. Which is why the chapters on Envy and Sloth that they both go through are so traumatic. It’s such a shame that Maka, deep down, really has these issues with her. Of course, Maka is all of us, and you can never quite get rid of that core of self-loathing, no matter how much confidence you have. Luckily, Maka has Soul to snap her out of it.

As for everyone else, the Lust chapter actually plays out a lot faster than everyone thought, once the basic ‘what if they all changed sexes’ gag is done. Naturally, the more repressed a person is, the longer it takes to change back, which gives us an excuse to watch Tsubaki and Liz be humiliated. Gluttony, Wrath and Pride are excuses for character-based humor, as Black*Star and Patti pig out and we have to deal with the return of the most annoying sword in the world, which even Liz can’t wield in order to save Kid. (There’s some amusing 4th wall breaking here, as it’s noted that Black*Star screaming at Excalibur is buried in the gutter of the book.)

Speaking of 4th wall breaking, the art itself undergoes a change in the Sloth chapter, fitting in with what Maka and Soul are going through. This is probably the most disturbing part of the book, as Giriko shows up and threatens to rape Maka using extremely crude language, which (being in an existential crisis) she just sits there and takes. Luckily, Soul is there to come to her rescue, and she’s able to supposedly kill Giriko, though this may prove trickier than they expected. “People don’t explode when you kill them!” Is this meant to be another commentary on shonen tropes?

And then there’s Kid. We’ve had his obsessive-compulsive disorder used for humor for so long that it’s a bit jarring to see it be so serious now. And, truth be told, it’s a great way to get Kid to turn to the side of evil – point out that the best way everything can truly be symmetrical forever is to make everything become nothing, the empty symmetry of nonexistence. It’s chilling. Luckily, we have the one man whose ego is so big that facing off against something like this is nothing, and the cliffhanger sets us up for the big fight between Kid and Black*Star. The first time they fought, Kid wiped the floor with him, but I suspect things will go differently this time.

Soul Eater is slowly makes its way towards a big confrontation, but the journey is also fun, and this continues to be one of the best shonen titles out there.

Dawn of the Arcana Vols 11 and 12

February 19, 2014 by Anna N

Dawn of the Arcana Vol 11 by Rei Toma

Dawn of the Arcana is a series that I think is best experienced in mini bursts of 2 or 3 volumes, simply due to the deliberate pace of the storytelling in the manga, as well as the fact that it sometimes takes a half volume or so for my brain to kick in with my memories about what happened in the previous volume due to all the relationships developing and the shifting nature of the geopolitical situations happening in Toma’s world. Usually I’m far too impatient to let the volumes pile up like this though!

After 10 volumes, the new status quo for red haired socially outcast with alarming powers of precognition Princess Nakaba and formerly arrogant but really a nice guy who has a social conscience inspired by the power of love Prince Caesar is to be separated. Nakaba has returned to Senan, determined to do some ruling in her own right, and Caesar is back in his home country of Belquat, dealing with his evil family. This volume shows the emotional impact of Nakaba’s power, the Arcana of Time, as she is determined to save the outcast child of a village that is in the direct path of an avalanche. This becomes a story that further explores the position of the humanoid animal hybrid race called ajin, as Lala the child with bunny ears is actually the product of a human/ajin encounter, leading to her abandonment. Lala has one human friend, and Nakaba’s ever present ajin protector Loki is there to save the day as always.

Loki always seems to have a new revelation every few volumes, either about his emotions or background, and a secret is revealed in this volume that shows that he and Nakaba have even more in common than I previously thought. While there’s the more conventional romantic storyline with Caesar and Nakaba, I actually find Nakaba’s relationship with Loki much more interesting, as they trade off protector duties in unexpected ways. Nakaba decides to take power in her home country, and her choices are largely driven by wanting to prevent Loki from going too far for her.

Dawn of the Arcana Vol 12 by Rei Toma

Everything keeps zipping along, as now that Nakaba and Caesar are in power in their respective countries, they have a chance to finally see each other again, when Caesar is ordered to invade Senan. Nakaba’s been looking in on Caesar and remarks that he’s going to start a revolution, so she’s “Here to lend a hand.” Nakaba’s power also provides Toma with a great way of providing more backstory about her characters. Nakaba looks back at Caesar’s father when he was young, even though Loki warns her that it might be difficult for her to see because she’s “too kind”. Nakaba sees King Guran’s first meeting with his unconventional first queen, the commoner Sara. The unhappy ending of this romance provides a reason for why King Guran might have ended up so twisted and bitter, but it doesn’t prevent a confrontation that is sure to cause even more fallout to happen in the volumes ahead.

One of the things that I really like about the art in this series is that it is so clear and easy to read. Toma might not have the most intricate backgrounds or innovative approach to paneling, but I’m never left puzzled about action scenes or finding that I have to go back and reread a page to make sure I understand the sequencing. The wordless exchanges between Nakaba and Caesar and the sidelong glances between Loki and Caesar do more to express the tensions between the characters than several pages of dialog. Overall, these were two very solid volumes in a fantasy series that is always surprising me with unexpected depths. I’m looking forward to the next few volumes to see what will become of Nakaba, Caesar, and Loki (well, really mostly Loki).

New license news

February 18, 2014 by Brigid Alverson

The Japanese cover of The Garden of Words

Let’s kick off the week with some new-license news: Vertical announced three new series at Katsucon this past weekend: Ajin, by Gamon Sakurai; Witch Craft Works, by Ryū Mizunagi; and The Garden of Words, the manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s anime.

Yen Press also announced three new titles on Friday: Accel World, based on the light novels by Reki Kawahara; Übel Blatt; and Barakamon.

The latest addition to the Shonen Jump lineup is Stealth Symphony, by Durarara!! writer Ryohgo Narita and Yoichi Amano, who was once an assistant to Gintama artist Hideaki Sorachi.

Lissa Pattillo has some info on Seven Seas’ new yuri title, Citrus.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases and their Pick of the Week.

Queenie Chan (The Dreaming, Odd Thomas) is writing a series of articles on her blog about being a professional manga artist. You can jump right in with today’s post on how she started drawing manga and first connected with Tokyopop, or you can go right back to the beginning, with her introduction and the first part of Part 1.

Here’s another insider view: Justin at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses talks to manga translator Amanda Haley, who got her start in the JManga Translation Battle and now translates Coppelion for Crunchyroll, as well as being part of the Digital Manga Guild.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has some thoughts on Hetalia and history.

Shisei

Jocelyne Allen gives us a peek at a lovely manga that hasn’t been translated (yet!), Shizuka Nakano’s Shisei, which has an interesting retro art style.

Lori Henderson looks at some new series and some complicated couples in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: Takehiko Inoue is putting Vagabond on hiatus until June. Boys Over Flowers creator Yoko Kamio has ended her Ibara no Kanmuri manga. Love Roma creator Minoru Toyoda is starting a new series, Obake no Sally (Sally the Ghost), a children’s manga that will launch in the May issue of Shogakukan’s Shōgaku Ichinensei magazine. Hisae Iwaoka, creator of Saturn Apartments, is starting the final arc of her latest manga, Hoshi ga Hara Ao Manjū no Mori.

Congratulations to Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa on the birth of her third child.

Reviews: Ash Brown brings us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Kate on Basara (Reverse Thieves)
Ash Brown on Blue (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Case Closed (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of A Centaur’s Life (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Deadman Wonderland (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of From the New World (ANN)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Gangsta (Comic Attack)
Maggie on Good-Bye Geist (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Happy Marriage?! (Comics Worth Reading)
Ben Leary on vol. 4 of Hetalia (The Fandom Post)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 38 of Negima! (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Drew McCabe on vol. 1 of Nisekoi (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Otomen (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 20 of Pokemon Adventures (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sarah on vol. 12 of Sakura Hime (nagareboshi)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of Sherlock Bones (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Sweet Rein (Comics Worth Reading)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Takasugi-san’s Obento (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 13 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Catching Up On Some Licenses

February 18, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

I’ve been away the last few days, as you can tell by the lack of content. Naturally, whenever I go away, tons of news and announcements happen. Yen and Vertical are our culprits this time, so let’s see what’s new with them.

Yen had already announced the Accel World light novels last August, so it’s no big surprise that the manga will be coming to our shores as well. It runs in ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko, and is 4+ volumes. In case you missed the novel license, think ‘protagonist falls into RPG world’ plot.

The biggest license of the week in terms of total volumes is Übel Blatt, a 14+ volume fantasy title from Square Enix’s Big Gangan. It seems to be a dark fantasy sword-and-sorcery type story, and has some fanservice judging from that cover. The author, Etorouji Shiono, is best known over here for Brocken Blood, a JManga license that got 3 volumes out.

And from SE’s Gangan Online site we have Barakamon, a slice-of-life comedy by Yoshino Satsuki. This seems to be a fish-out-of-water type plot, as a city boy has to move to an island and finds life is totally different around these parts. It’s 8+ volumes so far, and has an anime coming soon.

As for Vertical, I’ll start with Witch Craft Works, which Random House sort of spoiled by throwing it on their site a couple of weeks ago. This is a Kodansha title from good! Afternoon, a spinoff of the main Afternoon magazine, and is 7+ volumes. The description seems to indicate ‘average boy, exceptional girl’, and as you’d guess from the title, also has a fantasy aspect to it. The anime is currently running.

Also from good! Afternoon is Ajin, which seems to be a horror/thriller title, 3+ volumes. The co-author, Tsuina Miura, is currently writing High-Rise Invasion from Mangabox. Hopefully this series will have a bit less survival game to it.

Lastly, from regular old Afternoon comes The Garden of Words, an adaptation of the anime film which is complete in one volume. The author also wrote 5 Centimeters Per Second, which did better for Vertical than they expected, I believe, so this new license makes sense. I hope for a happy ending, but given the author’s prior works (he also did Voices of a Distant Star), suspect ‘deeply bittersweet’ will be what I get.

Which of these are you most looking forward to?

My Week in Manga: February 10-February 16, 2014

February 17, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Not one, but two in-depth manga reviews were posted last week at Experiments in Manga. It wasn’t intentional on my part, though it did make me happy, but both manga deal with queer themes. The first review was for Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son, Volume 6. Even though it can be a somewhat difficult read for me personally since the subject matter often hits very close to home, I’m still absolutely loving this series. The seventh volume of Wandering Son is currently scheduled for release in August, which feels like a long ways off right now. As part of my “Year of Yuri” review project, last week I also took a closer look at Kiriko Nananan’s Blue, the only example of her long-form manga available in English. It’s a sweet and melancholic story of first love which follows the relationship of two young women who are classmates at an all-girls high school. The artwork in particular is very striking.

I’ve come across plenty of interesting reading and news over the last week. Brigid Alverson attended the Angoulême International Comics Festival this year and has been writing several reports on the experience. One of those explores the current state of the French manga market. In other festival news, The Guys with Pencils podcast interviewed Christ Butcher to talk about the fantastic Toronto Comics Arts Festival which he co-founded in 2003. Justin Stroman recently wrote two articles that I found to be particularly interesting: The Great Tumblr Industry Experience for Organization Anti-Social Geniuses and The Legal Manga Reading Sites You Don’t Know About for Manga Bookshelf. Finally, there has been some more movement on the licensing front. Yen press announced three new manga titles (Übel Blatt by Etorouji Shiono, Barakamon by Satsuki Yoshino, and Hiroyuki Aigamo’s adaptation of Accel World), as did Vertical (Gamon Sakurai’s Demi-Human, Ryū Mizunagi’s Witchcraft Works, and Midori Motohashi’s adaptation of The Garden of Words).

Quick Takes

Mister Mistress, Volume 2 by Rize Shinba. It’s been quite a while since I read the first volume of Mister Mistress, but I did enjoy it enough that I made a point to track down the now out-of-print second volume. (Happily, both volumes are now available digitally from SuBLime, though I don’t believe there are currently any plans to continue the series.) Mister Mistress works best for me when it sticks to being a comedy. Shinba introduces a somewhat tragic backstory for Rei in this volume, but fortunately it doesn’t take too long for this to be turned around and played for laughs. The series’ strength really isn’t its plot, but its humor. Fujimaru is a bit of a goofball who can’t quite decide what to do about Rei. He halfheartedly attempts to exorcise the incubus several times, but on occasion he actually appreciates having him around. Though I’m not entirely convinced by their developing feelings for each other, it can be rather convenient for a horny teenager to have a personal incubus to aid in the realization of his sexual daydreams. As such, the sex scenes in Mister Mistress tend to be a little unusual.

Sherlock Bones, Volumes 2-3 written by Yuma Ando and illustrated by Yuki Sato. I wasn’t sure after reading the first volume of Sherlock Bones, but after reading the second and third volumes it appears as though the series will be mostly episodic. Which is just fine and works pretty well. After the basic premise of the series has been established–Sherlock Holmes reincarnated as a mix-breed puppy–the mysteries tend to be fairly self-contained. I was pleasantly surprised by the first volume of Sherlock Bones and, if anything, I think these two volumes are even better than the first. Sherdog seems to always be present when a murder is taking place, so Sherlock Bones isn’t really a “whodunit.” Instead, the series focuses on outwitting the criminals and finding ways to reveal their attempts to cover up what they have done. For the most part this means relying on circumstantial evidence and pressuring the killers into confessing. Although murder seems to be the crime du jour, Sherlock Bones features some more lighthearted and silly investigations as well which take advantage of the fact that Sherdog is adorable.

Stone, Volumes 1-2 by Sin-ichi Hiromoto. In 2004, the editor of the English edition of Hiromoto’s short manga series Stone called it a “tribute to all of the fantastic sci-fi/action/fantasy films of the past thrity-odd years.” That seems to be a fairly accurate description of Stone. Hiromoto borrows and remixes elements from many films and franchises along with his own creations to devise something entirely his own. I was frequently reminded of Waterworld and to some extent Dune, and I definitely caught nods to Hellraiser and Star Wars. I get the feeling that there were references that I completely missed, too. Stone is a quickly paced manga with plenty of action set in a post-apocalyptic world in which the planet has been covered in a literal sea of sand. My favorite parts of Stone are the nightmarish sand creatures that Hiromoto has designed. Zizi, a fiesty young woman and the series’ lead, is also pretty great. I did prefer the series’ beginning over its end. As the manga becomes increasingly chaotic as the story progresses. The artwork remains visually interesting and engaging, but the plot makes less and less sense as it goes along.

Two Flowers for the Dragon, Volumes 5-6 by Nari Kusakawa. I have now reached the point in this series where I must lament the fact that the final volume wasn’t able to be released in English before CMX folded. These two volumes form the climax of Two Flowers for the Dragon and include some extraordinarily significant plot developments and betrayals. The direction the story has taken was definitely foreshadowed, but that doesn’t make it any less heart-wrenching to see play out. I thought it was all very well done. One of the things that I like the best about Two Flowers for the Dragon is how well-developed and complicated the main characters are. They all have their strengths and their weaknesses, flaws as well as redeeming qualities. The supporting cast is likewise well-rounded, though at this point the series’ true villain unfortunately seems to be less so. The characters and their interactions are a highlight of Two Flowers for the Dragon, but I’m really enjoying the story as well. I like the mix of action, fantasy, romance, and intrigue. So much so, that I’m tracking down a copy of the last volume in Japanese. I want to know what happens!