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Pick of the Week: Seven Seas Showing

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ppotw-2-3SEAN: As always with the start of the month, there’s a lot of titles I could pick. So I’ll go with the one that only comes out about once a year due to a slow release schedule in Japan, Toradora!. Of all the romantic comedies starring a small tsundere girl and her put-upon not-boyfriend, this is my favorite, because for once nothing overbalances. The humor is just right, the heartwarming is there when needed, there’s lots of drama and character development, and even the romantic triangle is well-paced. If most tsundere love comedies make you recoil in horror, you should give this one a try anyway.

MICHELLE: I’m going with the 3-in-1 edition of High School Debut. This is one of those series that I love with my whole heart, and I’m happy that those who missed it the first time will have another chance to check it out. One thing I particularly like about it is that you really get to know Yoh, the boyfriend, and that he talks about things with his friends. Sometimes you wonder what the cool-looking boy sees in the slightly daffy female lead, but here there’s no uncertainty about that.

ASH: Out of all the manga being released this week, the one that I am most curious about is the second volume of A Centaur’s Life. After a somewhat…awkward…first chapter, the series actually becomes rather charming and has already shown huge potential for some excellent world-building.

ANNA: I’m also going to have to go with High School Debut. This is a great shoujo series, and one of the rare cases where the daffy female lead is utterly endearing.

MJ: I’ve been just about convinced on A Centaur’s Life, thanks to Ash and a few influential comments from readers, but this week, I can’t help joining Michelle and Anna in their enthusiasm for High School Debut. I was initially pretty uninterested in this series, and then Michelle lured me in with her own copies of the series’ early volumes. It’s completely charming, and I think the 3-in-1 release may tempt me to pick up this series for my own library.

What looks good to you this week?

Harlequin Manga: The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress and Her Sheikh Boss

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The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress by Maya Banks and Nanao Hidaka

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The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress manages to hit some sort of Harlequin manga trifecta, because the pregnant mistress in question gets cast off, kidnapped, and develops amnesia in the first 30 pages! The woman with the eventful life is Marley, and her boss is a slightly dimwitted Greek tycoon named Chrysander. Marley finds out that she’s pregnant and attempts to have a meaningful talk about their relationship with Chrysander, only to be shut down and promptly kicked out when Chrysander discovers top secret business documents in Marley’s handbag only minutes after his extremely suspicious secretary pays him a visit at their home. While he might be successful in business, Chrysander has very little insight into human nature, as he kicks Marley out onto the street, where she is immediately scooped up by kidnappers, appearing four months later in an advanced stage of pregnancy!

Chrysander is very suspicious of his pregnant former mistress who has amnesia, but he is determined to Do the Right Thing and decides that he’s going to take care of her and her child. Marley attempts to get her memories back, all the while being slightly bewildered by the continued presence of Chrysander’s skanky secretary and his distant nature. The art for this title is about average for a Harlequin manga, it is attractive despite some slightly odd proportions, and while it doesn’t have the lush 80s retro vibe that I tend to love the most in these manga adaptations, everyone’s hair is glossy and there is a profusion of brooding greek tycoons.

Her Sheikh Boss by Carol Culver and Earithen

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The story for this manga is fairly predictable, but I really enjoyed the art for this title, which had a loose sophisticated style that reminded me a bit of Walkin’ Butterfly. Claudia is a highly efficient secretary working in the United States for Samir, the prince of a country in the Middle East. She’s indispensible for his business, and he decides to take her along when he goes home to his country. Samir tends to view Claudia as an efficient piece of furniture, and when Claudia goes on her trip she is profoundly dismayed to find out that her boss his traveling back to his family in order to get engaged!

Claudia has developed a secret crush on her boss, and she struggles with her feelings as his family regards her with suspicion. As Claudia visits Samir’s country he begins to see her as a woman for the first time, as she throws herself into new experiences with enthusiasm. His fiancee seems very unenthusiastic, perhaps due to the handsome male servant that follows her about wherever she goes. The art captures Claudia’s transformations and shifts in moods easily and there’s plenty of billowing hair and the occasional camel. While the illustrations aren’t necessarily very detailed, there’s more variation with the paneling and I found myself just as entertained by the art as the story. The complications that keep Samir and Claudia are resolved nicely, and overall I found myself pleasantly entertained.

Bookshelf Overload: January 2014

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Compared to past months, I actually consider January to be a fairly reasonable month for me when it comes to new acquisitions. Hopefully, this trend will continue for a bit—I know both my wallet and my bookcases (or lack thereof) would appreciate it. Anyway, as for manga that I was particularly excited to see in January—Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son is always at the top of my list. For some reason, my copy of the sixth volume arrived a few weeks later than those of a lot of people I know, but I was happy to finally get it. I was also very excited for the release of the second Vinland Saga omnibus. Actually, I think I enjoyed it even more than the first omnibus. (There’ll be a review coming soon!) I’m also really looking forward to reading the next volumes in Mitsuhisa Kuji’s Wolfsmund and Nico Tanigawa’s Watamote. Plus, there’s a new Kou Yoneda manga in English—NightS!

Manga!
Arisa, Volume 12 by Natsumi Ando
Attack on Titan, Volume 11 by Hajime Isayama
Dictatorial Grimoire, Volume 1: Cinderella by Ayumi Kanou
Fairy Tail, Volume 34 by Hiro Mashima
The Flowers of Evil, Volume 8 by Shuzo Oshimi
Missions of Love, Volume 6 by Ema Toyama
NightS by Kou Yoneda
No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Volume 2 by Nico Tanigawa
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Volume 9 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Sorako by Takayuki Fujimura
Vinland Saga, Omnibus 2 by Makoto Yukimura
Wandering Son, Volume 6 by Takako Shimura
Wolfsmund, Volume 3 by Mitsuhisa Kuji

Comics!
In These Words, Chapter 10 by Guilt | Pleasure
Wrapped Around Your Finger by Guilt | Pleasure

Novels!
Cold Sleep by Narise Konohara
Cruel to Be Kind by Guilt | Pleasure
Oh, Tama! by Mieko Kanai

Anime!
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings directed by Itsuro Kawasaki

Umineko: When They Cry, Vol. 5

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Story by Ryukishi07; Art by Kei Natsumi. Released in Japan in two and 1/2 separate volumes as “Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Banquet of the Golden Witch” by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Gangan Joker. Released in North America by Yen Press.

In Umineko fandom, there are two manga arcs that are considered to be the absolute best at adapting the source and adding actual expressions and action, and Banquet is the first of these (the other is End, if you’re curious). The artist from the first arc is back, but this one gives her far more to sink her teeth into, with Beatrice seemingly getting replaced as people actually bother to… solve the epitaph this time around! Meanwhile, given the first arc was Natsuhi-heavy and the 2nd focused on Rosa, the cover of the 3rd arc should not surprise you…

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Yes, that’s Eva biting her pinky on the cover… and yes, that’s also Eva behind her grinning insanely. Sort of. We get flashbacks at the start of the book to Eva as a teenager, dealing with being the smartest of the siblings but having a father who’s an abusive misogynist and a brother who realizes this is basically the only way he can ever have power over her. The flashbacks blend together with the present, as Eva arrives in 1986 for the Conference, and we see teenage-Eva stay behind, acting as sort of a ‘inner voice’ for Eva, driving her forward and giving her help/admonishment.

The First Twilight takes out all the servants (plus Kinzo), leaving us with the parents for a far more extended period than we’ve seen before. Which, if nothing else, reminds us once again how toxic this family is, even as they’re trying to hide from a killer. Speaking of that Twilight, we also meet a few new people, Ronove and Virgilia. Ronove seems like your typical ‘demon butler’ sort, there to give small hints, dole out tea, and be a bit too gay for battler’s liking. (It is worth noticing that Genji’s last name is Ronoue.) As for Virgilia, we see at the start that she was Beatrice back when the Beatrice we know was a young girl, and has been hiding inside Kumasawa until she emerges to chastise her former student. There’s a lot of double identities here, which is quite important as the series goes on.

Speaking of the Beatrice we know, there’s a lot of interesting things going on with her. She’s still really cruel and nasty, to the point where the omnibus ends with Battler slapping her after she laughs at the antics down on Rokkenjima. At the same time, she’s far less aloof and more likeable here, and I’d go so far as to say she’s even cute. This is also the first time I’ve really been able to buy the flirting that she and Battler do. We also get some backstory on her supposed history on the island; we see her as a young girl at the start, and later on a teenage Rosa runs into Beatrice imprisoned in Kuwadorian, Kinzo’s secret mansion on the other side of the island he created because he’s just like that. Sadly, Rosa leads her off the edge of a cliff (by accident, I note, she’s not an abusive mother just yet) and she dies. And Beatrice notes in read that she’s definitely dead down there. Curiouser and curiouser…

This arc has been described as “Umineko for Dummies”, as the fans apparently told Ryukishi07 that he made the first 2 arcs too hard to figure out what was really going on (except, well, “it was magic”, which they were reluctant to say). Ergo, this one really is a lot more anvilicious with its hints to Battler/the reader, describing the idea of Schrodinger’s Box as a way to avoid answering the “magic vs. human culprit” question in the first place, the use of ‘imaginary friends’ and identity theft, and Beatrice as a shared title. This culminates in Eva managing to solve the epitaph (though Rosa was close behind, give her credit), and finding the gold, which really does exist. As a result, she inherits the title of Beatrice… or rather, her teenage self does. And when her teenage self realizes she is unwilling to share the gold with anyone else, well, the murders take an even more grotesque turn. One might even go so far as to say that this game as been hijacked…

So again, if you’re looking for human culprits here, the obvious question is “Can I trust what I’m reading? And who can I not trust?” By the end of this first omnibus, you should have a pretty good idea. This is another good (and huge) adaptation of a fun and increasingly convoluted story. Will we get to sympathize with Beatrice even more next time? If so, which Beatrice will it be?

Also, Yen, you tried, and I appreciate the reluctance to use the fan version everyone knows already, but “Karub Kamy Crokatch” is no “Sucker Merry Barrels”. Love Natsuhi’s reaction, though.

Kafka on the Shore

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Kafka on the ShoreAuthor: Haruki Murakami
Translator: Philip Gabriel
U.S. publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 9781400079278
Released: January 2006
Original release: 2002
Awards: World Fantasy Award

Haruki Murakami is an international best-selling author and one of the most recognizable Japanese novelists currently writing worldwide. Therefore, I find it somewhat surprising that I actually haven’t read much of his work. Before picking up Kafka on the Shore I had only read two of his books–1Q84 and Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche–in addition to a small selection of essays and interviews. 1Q84 was my introduction to Murakami; it was both an incredibly frustrating and invigorating experience. I loved parts of the novel but strongly disliked others. 1Q84 probably wasn’t the best place to start reading Murakami, and so I’ve been meaning to give another one of his novels a try. I settled on Kafka on the Shore, originally published in Japan in 2002, for several reasons. It’s one of Murakami’s best-known works. Philip Gabriel’s 2005 English translation won the World Fantasy Award. The novel’s young protagonist basically runs away to a library. But mostly, I wanted to read Kafka on the Shore for the sake of one character, Oshima, with whom I happen to share quite a bit in common.

Fifteen-year-old Kafka Tamura, though that’s not his real name, has just run away from home. He leaves behind his father in Tokyo just as his mother and sister left the two of them behind more than a decade ago. Kafka’s plan is simple–travel to a faraway town and make a place for himself in a library. That’s how he finds himself in Takamatsu, over four hundred miles away from the home, father, and life that he wants to escape. There he seeks out the privately owned Komura Memorial Library where meets Oshima, an assistant at the library who takes Kafka under his wing. Meanwhile, strange events are unfolding around Kafka and the people in his life. Back in Tokyo, a man by the name of Nakata with the ability to talk to cats finds himself pulled into Kafka’s story. Though the two have never met they share a strange connection with each other that neither of them are entirely aware of or expected.

The chapters in Kafka on the Shore alternate between Kafka and Nakata’s individual journeys. Kafka’s chapters are written in first-person present, giving them a very intimate and immediate perspective, while Nakata’s are written in third-person past, creating more distance. At first the two stories seem to be completely unrelated, but as Kafka on the Shore develops the tales steadily draw towards one another and connect  in shocking ways. Kafka and Nakata’s paths never directly cross but they do influence each other and those of the people around them. Ideas, concepts, and turns of phrase, not to mention actions and their consequences, echo throughout the novel, tying seemingly disparate events together into a cohesive whole. There is a lot of loneliness in Kafka on the Shore. The characters are searching and reaching out for these sorts of connections and relationships, both consciously and subconsciously. They are individuals yearning to find what is missing from themselves and from their lives, often disregarding time and reality in the process.

Much as with 1Q84, there were parts of Kafka on the Shore that I adored and other parts that I found immensely frustrating. In general, I preferred the earlier novel over its later developments. For me, Kafka on the Shore worked best when it was more firmly grounded in reality with hints of the unexplainable, mysterious, and strange rather than the other way around. As the novel progresses it becomes more confusing and dreamlike. That in and of itself isn’t problematic, but towards the end of Kafka on the Shore Murakami begins introducing bizarre elements seemingly out of nowhere that do very little to develop the plot or the characters. Readers looking for closure from Kafka on the Shore may be disappointed as there are plenty of threads left unresolved by the time the novel reaches its conclusion. Despite my frustrations with Kafka on the Shore I am glad that I read the novel. I appreciated the importance giving to books and the influence of music; I found the characters intriguing; and although the story goes a little off the rails, I liked Kafka’s peculiar journey of discovery and coming of age.

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden, Vol 12

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Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden, Vol 12 by Yuu Watase

I’m sure it sounds odd, but I was actually a bit nervous about picking up the final volume of this series that I’ve been enjoying so much, simply because I’ve been a bit frightened of the ending. I knew that plenty of deaths would be occurring. This is no big secret, since the heroine Takiko has been dying of tuberculosis throughout the series, and the presence of a couple ghostly Genbu Celestial Warriors in the first Fushigi Yuugi series gave enough hints towards inevitable tragedy that a certain air of melancholy has hung over this manga, giving it an additional theme that has offset all the fantasy adventure I’d expect from a Yuu Watase series.

When I put this volume down, I realized I was wrong to be nervous, because the ending was the best one possible given the set of circumstances the characters found themselves in. The final confrontation with the Qu-Dong army has arrived, and even though Takiko has married the Uruki, now Emperor of Bei-Jia, all the efforts of her Celestial Warriors aren’t going to fend off the eternal winter that is going to threaten all the people of Bei-Jia. The Celestial Warriors fight gallantly, but Takiko is determined to see her destiny as a priestess fulfilled, even if she ends up being consumed by the god that she summons. There are plenty of quiet moments between the characters mixed in with the battles, and each Celestial Warrior gets a bit of a sendoff. Tomite teases Takiko one last time. Hatsui is courageous in battle. Inami deflects volleys of arrows with her hair, arranged in a giant web. Naname undergoes an unexpected and meaningful last transformation.

Throughout everything that happens in this final volume, the connection between Takiko and Uruki remains strong and supportive. As a heroine, Takiko’s quiet and unwavering determination really sets her apart, and I thought that this series exhibited more maturity in storytelling than the first Fushigi Yugi series. This is one of my favorite Yuu Watase series, and that’s saying a lot since I’ve read and enjoyed most of her manga. I’ve read all the volumes of this series as soon as I’ve been able to get my hands on them, and the only thing that has marred the reading experience is the long wait between volumes! I really want to set aside some time and read the whole series again in a shorter span of time, to see what I think about it without having to wait months and years between volumes. Overall though, I don’t hesitate to recommend Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden to anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure shoujo.

Manga the Week of 2/5

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SEAN: Hey, for a first week of the month, this isn’t too bad! It’s under 20 titles! That’s practically nothing!

Kodansha brings us the 30th volume of Air Gear, which I haven’t read in about 27 volumes, but I seem to recall this may be around the point that they introduced President Obama as a character. Sadly, I doubt this hits the highs of the unlicensable Legend of Koizumi, but it tries.

MICHELLE: Man, it seems like Air Gear has been coming out forever.

ASH: Oh, Legend of Koizumi! I would totally read that.

SEAN: Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game has been hands down my favorite of the innumerable Alice spinoffs we’ve seen over the past 3 years. Volume 4 is out from Seven Seas this week, and I can’t wait.

ANNA: I enjoyed the first two volumes of this series!

SEAN: A Centaur’s Life turned out to be a bit less creepy than I was expecting, and seems very interested in its world building. We’ll see how much in can build in Vol. 2.

ASH: So far, the world building has been great in this series.

MJ: I’m trying to figure out whether “less creepy than I was expecting” is an actionable recommendation.

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SEAN: New Seven Seas debuts always fill me with a combination of delight and dread, which resolves into one or the other once the title is read, like a Schrodinger’s Box. Light novel series, fantasy, loser protagonist, tsundere lead girl… we’ve seen these elements before – indeed, more than once – from Seven Seas licenses. We’ll see how Dragonar Academy goes.

On the other hand, a new volume of Toradora! cannot possibly make me happier. This is a great story with a top notch adaptation, funny characters and knows when to use humor and heart. An absolute must read.

Bleach. It’s Volume 59. It’s running through its final arc. Which may actually take 15 years. Recommended for Bleach fans.

A Devil and Her Love Song has only hit Volume 13, and yet this is its finale. I enjoyed this series with its blunt and broken lead couple and a good deal of humor with its darkness. An excellent Shojo Beat title.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely looking forward to reading the conclusion of this series.

ANNA: Me too. This was a great, slightly edgy Shojo Beat series.

SEAN: If you enjoyed Dragon Ball, and then enjoyed it again in the huge VIZBIG editions, well then why not buy it again in full color? Dragon Ball Full Color 1 actually appears to be Dragon Ball Z, meaning I’ve no interest in it. (I like my Goku goofy). But DBZ fans should greatly enjoy seeing it again with bright colors.

Happy Marriage?! 4 would appear to be the volume that reminds us this is a Petit Comic title, and earns its M rating. Good to see the couple finally getting close.

ANNA: Yay for shrinkwrapped josei!

MJ: Agreed!

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SEAN: I somehow missed High School Debut when it first appeared, so am delighted that there is a 3-in-1 release so I can appreciate it again. Its heroine is apparently dense enough to rival Special A and Voice Over. I like cute but dense in my fictional manga heroines.

MICHELLE: I love, love, love High School Debut. I’d definitely rank its heroine about the one in Voice Over!.

ANNA: This is a wonderful series. It deserves to be reissued!

MJ: I adored this series and its heroine!

SEAN: Kamisama Kiss 14 takes us back to the past, as a new crisis forces Nanami to go back and find out how Tomoe got to be the way he is.

MICHELLE: It is my goal to get caught up on this soon!

ANNA: Another series from Shojo Beat that I adore.

SEAN: Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan keeps chugging right along. Here’s Vol. 19.

One Piece’s 3-in-1 finally hits the end of Alabasta with Vol. 8.

Sakura Hime comes to an end with Volume 12. Does this mean we are in some strange world with no ongoing Tanemura manga? Well, next month should take care of that problem.

MICHELLE: What, is there a new one? I do not keep up with Tanemura.

ANNA: Is that the reissue of Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne!? My favorite Tanemura series EVER!!!!!!

MICHELLE: Oh! Right! I still have my CMX volumes, so the VIZ version wasn’t really on my radar. I have very fond memories of the anime, too.

SEAN: Toriko also keeps chugging right along. Here is Vol. 20.

And Voice Over: Seiyu Academy is at Vol. 3, and I have a sneaking suspicion will continue to have its heroine want to sound cute and adorable.

Anything here tickle your fancy?

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: January 20, 2014

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WSJ January 20 CoverI think this was one of those rare weeks where I enjoyed all the chapters. Well, almost all, there was one or two I didn’t care much for. But I can’t say there were any terrible chapters this week. I’d almost say I’d rather have a week where all the chapters are good rather than one or two chapters be amazing while all the others are terrible.

Unfortunately we start the week off with one of the less than great chapters, which during my first read through did not bode well for the week.

Seraph of the End Ch. 009
Pro Tip: If you want me to give a chapter a good review, perhaps consider not starting it with underage nudity. When I started reading this series I thought that we would be subjected to many things, but I never would have thought blatant underage fanservice would have been something I’d have to deal with. I guess my naiveté got the better of me this time around. Still, this makes me wonder how exactly Shokugeki no Soma is too risqué for the manga when they just published some pretty heavy nudity in this manga.

Besides getting off to a bad start, and the attempts at humor falling as short as always, the rest of this chapter wasn’t actually terrible. The fights were good, we had a decent enough twist halfway through the chapter. So overall it was the most tolerable Seraph has ever been. Though it does raise questions such as why the Imperial Demon Army would abandon people outside their walls. Sure maybe they don’t have space. But they aren’t exactly abandoning these people to death per say. They’re abandoning them to become the nourishment of the enemy. Last time I checked it was good strategy to deny your enemy resources whenever possible. Ancient armies would often slash and burn their own crops to deny sustenance to their invaders. I doubt vampires would be very hard to fight if they were denied food. So methinks the Demon Army is fairly incompetent. Not only are the abandoning their own people, but they’re doing it in a way that only makes the enemy stronger.

Seraph of the End

One Piece Ch. 734
I’ve been waiting for Cavendish to get that little extra something that would round him off as a character. He was already better than expected, but still missing that extra flair that Bartolomeo had gotten several chapters ago. And this week we finally got it. Cavendish having a split personality may not be the greatest twist, but I think that’s because I may be unfairly comparing him to Bartolomeo who is easily my favorite character of the arc.

This week is another chapter that mostly spends its time setting up the final climax of the arc. I can’t say how long it will last for, but we are moving into the phase of the story where characters start pairing off for battles. And considering we haven’t seen all of Doflamingo’s group I’m particularly looking forward to what happens next week.

One Piece

Naruto Ch. 661
This week, despite Madara going on about stuff we’ve already heard about, was actually pretty good. We’ve got plenty of dramatic tension with Naruto in the process of dying to make up for Madara’s verbosity. And to make things better Madara finally does what I’ve wanted to do this entire series! So all things considered this chapter is a win.

Bleach Ch. 564
I’m a bit worried that Kubo is going to go the route of “Everyone gets a power up because they didn’t actually know their bankai’s name”. It works once, and only once, but if it happens again it will only be because Kubo likes power ups, even when it makes absolutely no sense.

Bleach
Still, seeing Renji actually win a fight makes this chapter worth our time. Though I will miss his previous bankai, which I thought was really clever, if underpowered.

World Trigger Ch. 046
After seeing an incompetent army in Seraph, it’s nice to see some competency in Border. The majority of the chapter focuses on figuring out how to defeat their enemy. And since it’s done in an intelligent way with the setbacks caused not by the incompetency of the characters, but rather by the advantages of the enemy, gives me hope for the future of this manga. It’s just good writing to have setbacks in conflict be caused by the enemy and not because the enemy hasn’t done anything special, the main characters are just moronic. So yes please, more intelligent characters please.

World Trigger

Nisekoi Ch. 106
Sometimes seeing fictional characters suffer is hilarious. And considering that Nisekoi is all about the facial expressions for me I have to rate this chapter quite high. There was almost an overload of great faces Chitoge made throughout the chapter. And the resolution of her lost hairband was perfectly paced for a one chapter story. It seems a lost art among manga to write single chapter stories. Which is a bit of a shame, but probably happens because writing an ongoing narrative is an easier way to keep interest. One still needs to write it well, but I think the individual chapters need to be much better in single chapter stories to get readers back the next week. An ongoing story, while good, can have some chapters that are setup and don’t have proper payoff at the end, and readers will come back because they want to know how it all wraps up.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 047
One of my big peeves with Dragon Ball is how a lot of the problems are made worse because Goku refuses to end the threat in favor of getting a better fight. It makes him seem dumber than he actually is, but at least this time around Goku acknowledges that his desire to keep Vegeta alive is a bad idea. It doesn’t make it any smarter but there’s something to be said for someone that knows they aren’t very smart vs. someone who has no clue.

With the fight finally over we can get back to some more character moments before we move on to the next conflict. Personally I prefer those chapters so I look forward to next week.

Like I said, this was a good week. Even the series I normally love to hate were actually enjoyable on their own merits and not because of the joy I get from ripping them apart. Though in the case of Naruto, again, it’s because I’ve wanted to do what Madara does at the very end of the chapter for years now.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives.

Higurashi: When They Cry, Vol. 24

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Story by Ryukishi07; Art by Karin Suzuragi. Released in Japan as “Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Matsuribayashi-hen” by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Gangan Joker. Released in North America by Yen Press.

When we last saw Rika, she had just recovered her memories of previous lives… or so we thought. As it turns out, the cliffhanger wasn’t that she was missing a bunch of memories, but just missing one specific world: the last one, the Massacre arc. Realistically this makes absolutely no sense, but dramatically it’s necessary, so that “this” Rika can have Hanyuu explain things all over again to her (which also shows us the strength of Hanyuu’s resolve), and also so that Rika can have the appropriate surprised and amazed reactions when things actually start going her way.

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For once the adults get the cover image, as we see Akasaka, Tomitake, Irie and Ooishi walking in a determined fashion. And most of the first half of this volume revolves around their own concerns. Akasaka can finally release the guilt from past lives of forgetting about Rika by showing up in the nick of time (Rika even lampshades this, torn between sobbing in happiness and being angry), Tomitake is forced to realize that yes, he may be in love with a psychologically disturbed woman who will be killing him later on, Irie finds that just because Rika’s the Queen Carrier does not mean that everything can’t go wrong if she dies, and Ooishi deals with the very real and adult concern that if this turns out to be a lot of fuss over nothing, he’ll lose his entire retirement pension and be ruined. Oh yes, not to mention his reaction to finding the Sonozakis are not, in fact, behind everything.

Takano also gets some POV here, and it’s as horrifying as it is revelatory. What starts out as being honest anguish about her feelings for Tomitake (this is likely the first time she’s ever fallen in love, so she simply has no idea what to make of it) turns into a PTSD-laced loathing that ends with her flashing back to the orphanage – again – and realizing that if she’s screwed up her Grandfather’s Research because of this “kill everyone” plan, than it would be better for everyone if she’d died back there. Still, by the end of this volume, she’s back in the driver’s seat, and Tomitake is captured.

Ryukishi07 includes a lot of shonen GAR (look it up on Urban Dictionary) in this volume, which does not *quite* go over the top. Partly it’s because much of it is subverted by the bad guys ruining everyone’s amazing moments – only Akasaka succeeds in being too cool for the room. Tomitake’s daring and dramatic escape… ends with him captured. Shion’s noble self-sacrifice to let the others get away… ends with her being hostage bait. Just as with the Massacre Arc we kept almost getting a happy ending only to see it vanish, here we almost have things end in tragedy a lot. Luckily, Akasaka is the exception to this rule, as he gets to swoop in with the dramatic rescue, which is so filled with cliche that Rika decides to doodle on the ground rather than watch any of it.

(By the way, Yen translators, nice job with Akasaka as the speeding bullet and Tomitake being more powerful than a locomotive. Too bad Shion can’t jump all that high.)

Speaking of the Sonozaki twins, they get the cover art that wasn’t used here (it’s on the inside front), and a lot of the focus towards the end is on them. Shion arrives in the story late and upset that she was kept out of the loop, but that’s sort of been her role throughout almost all of these worlds, with only Massacre being the exception. I was surprised that she outright stated to Mion that she wanted to be the “big sister” again to protect her – I’ll assume this is sotto voce, though who knows, maybe Mion actually told them everything about the permanent switch at some point – and amused at her noting to Keiichi that she can’t teach him to use a Kalashnikov in time to stop the bad guys. (It’s not that hard – she’s likely bluffing.) For KeiMii fans, by the way, Shion outright tells Keiichi Mion is in love with him, and his reaction is less “wait, what?” and more “why are you bringing this up now?” Keiichi, Mion and Rena really need to have a long talk after this is all over.

And so at the end of this volume, Rika is rescued, and things are looking up for everyone except Tomitake, who’s been captured by the bad guys. Next volume is the final one (of the main series, that is… please license Dice-Killing, Yen) and so we will at last see what we’ve been waiting for so long: a happy ending. In any case, this penultimate volume is filled with humor and heart, and fans will love it.

Manga Giveaway: Vinland Saga Giveaway

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The end of the January is drawing near, which means it’s time for the first manga giveaway of the year! In my excitement for its release, I accidentally managed to end up with two copies of the second omnibus of Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga. But my mistake is your gain–this month, you all have the opportunity two win a brand new copy of the volume! Already it’s one of my favorite manga of the year. As always, the giveaway is open worldwide.

Vinland Saga, Omnibus 2

So, where I currently live in Michigan, it has been an extremely cold and snowy winter. It’s seems oddly appropriate then that Vinland Saga, Omnibus 2, with the snowstorm on its cover, was released this season. Perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising, seeing as the series is about Vikings and all, but there’s actually quite a bit of snow in Vinland Saga. It’s not just there to look pretty or save on inking, either. Snow, and winter, has a significant impact on the story itself as battles are waged in the cold and people going about their day-to-day lives simply try to survive the elements. This got me to thinking about other manga that I’ve read in which snow plays an important role. CLAMP’s Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales, series like Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi’s The Summit of the Gods, and some of the stories in Yuki Urushibara’s Mushishi immediately spring to mind, but there are definitely more snowy manga out there.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Vinland Saga, Omnibus 2?

1) In the comments below, tell me about your favorite scene in a manga that either involved or was set in snow.
2) 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).

It’s really that easy. For this giveaway, each person can earn up to two entries. There will be one week to submit comments. Entries may also be sent via e-mail to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I will post them in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on February 5, 2014. Best of luck to you all!

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: Vinland Saga Giveaway Winner