Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Blog

Pick of the Week: Pandora Hearts & More

by , , , and 1 Comment

potw-12-16MJ: I know there’s a lot of manga on tap this week, but I can’t help it… my heart belongs to Pandora Hearts, and I fear it always will. Volume 18 hurt me as cruelly as it could, and as it turns out, that’s just the way I like it. More, more, more, please. I gotta have my fix.

MICHELLE: Ooh, how do you like your love? o/~ (I hope I’m not the only one who instantly got that song in my head!) Anyway, I’m definitely with MJ on this. The cliffhanger ending of volume 18 was too cruel to pass up on the 19th, though, now that I think about it, it’s all too likely that only more sorrow awaits.

SEAN: My pick this week is the 2nd and final volume of Summer Wars, which was a big surprise hit for me this fall. Combining rural love comedy with technopocalypse is not something you see every day, and it has some likeable, fallible lead characters. It’s also not afraid to go into dark places when it has to. If Vol. 2 is as good as Vol. 1, we’re in for a real treat.

ANNA: I’m going to have to go with Gundam: The Origin Vol. 4. I love this series, and I love Vertical for bringing it out in a deluxe hardcover edition.

ASH: Gundam: The Origin has consistently been one of my favorite releases this year, but my pick of the week goes to the eleventh volume Q Hayashida’s delightfully weird and strange manga series Dorohedoro. With its dark humor and quirky characters, Dorohedoro somehow manages to be incredibly violent and incredibly charming all at the same time.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: December 9-December 15, 2013

by

My News and Reviews

Last week I posted the first review in my new monthly review project, A Year of Yuri. This project will focus on comics and manga with yuri and lesbian themes. For this month’s review, I took a closer look at June Kim’s debut graphic novel 12 Days which was even better than I remembered it being. It’s a beautiful work that addresses the complexities of grief, family, love, and loss.

Also last week, I wrote a post that focused on how to find manga in libraries–Finding Manga: Library Love. The post is sort of a combination of two of my semi-regular features–Finding Manga and Library Love. (I’ve actually decided to retire Library Love, so the post was also a way for me to give the feature a nice send-off.) It’s a pretty long post; if you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, you can always just skip to the quick tips at the end.

As for interesting things found online: The Pew Research Center coincidentally posted its report on How Americans Value Public Libraries in Their Communities the same day I was expressing my own love of libraries; over at Geekscape, Kari Lane discussed yaoi with Jennifer LeBlanc, SuBLime’s editor; and Erica Friedman talked about some of the differences between the U.S. and Japanese comic book industries on Quora.

Quick Takes

Fake FurFake Fur by Satomi Yamagata. For a boys’ love manga, Fake Fur is surprisingly realistic in its portrayal of Yamashita–a young man who in high school is just starting to come to terms with his sexuality and homosexuality. The manga follows him as he becomes aware that he is in love with his close friend Kubo and how he handles the aftermath of that realization and his changing relationships. Fake Fur deals with both physical and romantic desire and how those two aspects of love can often be in conflict with each other. In some cases, sex and physical pleasure is used as a replacement for true affection. For Yamashita and several of the other characters in Fake Fur, this is something that is both comforting and heartbreaking. On the other hand, for better or for worse, physical intimacy can naturally lead to emotional intimacy. After all, a sexual relationship is still a relationship. In Fake Fur Yamashita and the others grapple with this, hoping to find love but also recognizing that there is more than one way to be close to another person.

Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 4Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 4 by Mitsuru Hattori. The covers for the English-language edition of the Sankarea manga tend to focus on the horror elements of the series. While that horror is certainly a part of Sankarea, I still see it as more of a romantic comedy than anything else. Granted, it is a very strange romantic comedy with even stranger characters. I like the series best when it’s focusing on the relationship between Chihiro and the recently zombified Rea, which has some interesting developments in this volume. For one, Rea continues to become more zombie-like, her cravings for flesh barely being held in check by her natural inhibitions. However, I was less impressed with the mostly unnecessary scene between Chihiro and Rea’s mother in which she drunkenly and nakedly propositions him. Apparently the volume’s fanservice quota needed to be met somehow. My favorite part of this volume was actually the side-comic “I Am Also…A Zombie…” which is told from the perspective of Chihiro’s pet cat (and zombie) Bub. Bub is the greatest.

Showa1Showa: A History of Japan, 1926-1939 by Shigeru Mizuki. Originally published in Japan as an eight-volume series, Drawn & Quarterly’s edition of Showa: A History of Japan is being released in four, two-volume omnibuses. Japan’s Showa era, corresponding to Emperor Hirohito’s reign, lasted from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989. In the introduction to the first volume of Showa, Frederik L Schodt describes the Showa era as one of “the most tumultuous, violent, and tragic” periods in Japan’s history. There are actually two intertwining stories contained in Mizuki’s Showa: the factual history of the country as a whole at that time and Mizuki’s personal history as someone who lived through it. Mizuki’s artwork also reflects these two different portrayals of the Showa era. The illustrations range from the highly detailed and realistic, based on news and photographs from that period, to the more free-form and cartoonish. Showa is an informative read. I’m personally more familiar with the late Showa era, so I appreciated being able to learn more about early Showa in such an engaging format.

The World Exists for Me, Volume 1The World Exists for Me, Volumes 1-2 written by Be-Papas and illustrated by Chiho Saito. The literal translation of the Japanese title for The World Exists for Me would actually be The World of S and M. Though I’m sure it was intentionally chosen, it’s a rather peculiar title for a rather peculiar manga. Only two volumes were ever published, but I get the feeling that The World Exists for Me was originally conceived of as a much longer work. The ending comes very suddenly and very little, if anything, is actually resolved. The series definitely had some potential–I found its use of time travel, destiny, and historical figures and events to be interesting–but the story never quite pulls together as something particularly coherent. It’s a bit of a mess, really. While it can be enjoyable, it doesn’t really make much sense at all. The World Exists for Me was developed by the same creators involved with the Revolutionary Girl Utena manga. Some similarities can be seen between the two series, but I much prefer Utena.

Hetalia Axis Powers, Vols. 4-5

by

By Hidekaz Himaruya. Released in Japan by Gentosha, originally serialized as an online webcomic, then in Comic Birz. Released in North America by Tokyopop in association with Right Stuf, Inc.

After a long wait, Tokyopop and Right Stuf bring us not one but two volumes of Hetalia just in time for the holidays. As you’d expect, there’s lots of historical in-jokes, wacky 4-koma humor, and stereotypes galore. You’d think that this would get tired eventually, but I’ve found myself enjoying the series even more, especially as the cast has widened from the main eight. Indeed, the back cover of Vol. 4 shows that Himaruya has done his best to add more female countries in order to balance things out – Hungary is a major player, of course, and Ukraine, Belarus, Belgium and Liechtenstein have had substantial roles. But in these two volumes we see Seychelles, Monaco, Vietnam, Taiwan, and even the Principality of Wy, though that last one may drive you to Wikipedia.

hetalia4

There seems to be a return to World War II after the previous volume, with many strips detailing the battles in Africa. These are all done with a light touch, of course, but there are historical facts sprinkled throughout – Italy’s poorly-designed tanks, Germany not realizing how hot Africa would be, and America barreling in ready to win at everything and getting his ass handed to him. There’s also examinations of prior military skirmishes, as Austria is forced to make a very dangerous decision when he’s on the verge of losing the Seven Years war and ask Russia and France to ally with him. And in the “Battle of the Ice”, a young Russia encounters Prussia and realizes that he is far too stupid to be allowed to live.

As you’d expect, there’s a lot of modern-day stuff as well. In fact, we get an alternate universe high school section in both volumes, based on the Hetalia otome game that came out in Japan a while back. Don’t worry, BL fans, Seychelles isn’t the star here. It has our three Axis Powers as the newspaper club, trying to do an article about the various school clubs and finding that almost all of them are eccentric and weird. In the 5th volume, we also get an examination of horror movies in many of the major countries, which vary greatly in mood and scare tactics.

hetalia5

There are two serious chapters in here, and strangely they both involve France, who is normally one of the most flamboyant of the Hetalia cast. In Volume 4 he runs into a young tourist visiting Paris, who is hinted to be a reincarnation of Jeanne D’Arc, France’s lost love. In the 5th, a construction worker meets France, and is somewhat taken aback by the fact that his grandfather had also met him, but France hasn’t aged a day. France has come to terms with it, but the man’s wife points out how sad it would be to never age while you watch your loved ones dying, and for a moment we understand the inner tragedy of what it must be like to be the personification of a country. (Himaruya has stated that Prussia lives on, by the way, first as ‘East Germany’ and now basically just as Prussia in modern times, living in Germany’s basement. I wonder how the nations face the death of a country.)

As long as there is history to be mined, there will still be Hetalia coming out, most likely. We get some development of Netherlands here as well, an amusing look at Southern Italy’s relationship with Spain, China dealing with a rebellious Hong Kong asking for more freedom, and Taiwan attempting to give Vietnam a makeover. There are character profiles which detail each nation’s flag, as well as the reasoning behind the design and colors of that flag. There are cute sidebars explaining weird laws in various countries, and a look at various foods. And we see Hungary forcing Austria to wear cat ears for Belgium’s festival, which satisfies the shipper in me. Those who find the premise rubs them the wrong way won’t want to pick this up, but fans of the series will find lots to love here. Definitely recommended.

12 Days

by

12 DaysCreator: June Kim
Publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781598166910
Released: November 2006

June Kim is a Korean-born comics artist and illustrator who currently lives and works in the United States. Although some of her short comics had previously been collected in various anthologies, 12 Days was her first and, as far as I know, only graphic novel to have been published. What I can say for certain is that 12 Days was my introduction to Kim and her work. 12 Days was released by Tokyopop in 2006. The book’s cover design is really quite lovely with silver foil line work and striking red accents. Tokyopop didn’t always take such care with the presentation of its releases, so this was nice to see. 12 Days is at least partially based on a true story–a sad tale that a stranger told to Kim about her ex-girlfriend. Kim herself originally developed the story of 12 Days while getting over a breakup in her sophomore year of college. However, it wasn’t until 12 Days was picked up by Tokyopop that she completed the graphic novel.

On the way back from her honeymoon, Noah was in a lethal car accident. That was a month ago. Noah’s death hits her ex-girlfriend Jackie hard. Already a wreck from their breakup, Jackie is faced with the reality that she has now completely lost the love of her life. And so she devises a way to forget and finally let go. Over the course of twelve days she will drink Noah’s ashes as part of a personal ritual. Somehow Jackie convinces Nick, Noah’s half-brother, to steal some of his sister’s ashes for her from the urn on his parents’ mantle. It’s under these strange circumstances that the two most important people in Noah’s life meet. Nick and Jackie are each struggling to accept and cope with Noah’s death in their own ways. Their shared experience becomes a source of comfort as much as it is a source of pain. They both loved Noah dearly and it will take far more than twelve days to ever change that.

Kim’s style in 12 Days is influenced by both manga and manhwa as well as by independent comics. A prominent theme in both the artwork and narrative of 12 Days is reflection. This can be seen in Kim’s use of mirrors in the graphic novel, but also in the page layouts and panel composition. Jackie and Nick’s actions and how they are captured in the artwork often parallel or echo each other, providing yet another tenuous connection between the two of them. The narrative itself isn’t linear. Much of the story is told through the flashbacks, dreams, and memories that intrude upon Nick and Jackie’s lives. It’s as if a mirror containing all of their thoughts of Noah has been shattered and they are left picking up the pieces–a fitting metaphor for the grieving process. Some of the transitions can be a little difficult to follow at first, but overall it as a remarkably effective approach.

As a whole 12 Days is a very reflective and introspective work. There is intensity and drama but it’s not overblown; the graphic novel tends to be rather intimate and quiet. Despite the realistic portrayal of the complexities of grief, family, love, and loss, 12 Days is not overwhelmingly bleak or depressing. The graphic novel can certainly be heartbreaking considering Noah’s death, the circumstances surrounding her and Jackie’s breakups, and some of society’s prevailing attitudes towards same-sex love, but there is also a fair amount of humor in 12 Days that keeps things from getting too heavy or dark. Even while dealing with the tragedies in their lives, Jackie and Nick, who are both endearingly eccentric, are still able to joke around and tease each other. Sometimes that humor can be a bittersweet reminder of what they have lost, though. 12 Days is a work that holds extraordinarily up well to multiple readings. In fact, I think I enjoyed and appreciated its subtleties even more after reading it several times.

The phenomenon of One Piece

by

Roland Kelts looks at the international popularity of One Piece in an article that includes an interview with manga-ka Eiichiro Oda and the Viz editors who localize his work for American readers.

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

Justin presents parts 2 and 3 of his interview with Seven Seas social media maven Conner Crooks at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.

Sean Gaffney checks out the new digital manga service Manga Box.

Motion comics haven’t been as much of a thing in the manga world as elsewhere, but Manga 2.5 is offering five titles in Japanese and English; Jason Thompson checks it out in this week’s House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Ash Brown writes about finding manga in the library.

News from Japan: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries announced its first round of Japan Food Culture Contents Awards this week, and Hiromu Arakawa’s Silver Spoon took top honors. Moyashimon got the Gold Award in the manga category, and Oishinbo received a Special Jury Award. Demand was so strong for the January 2014 issue of Aria magazine, which contained the first chapter of the Attack on Titan spinoff Attack on Titan: No Regrets, that Kodansha had to go back to press for a second printing. Three new manga series will launch in the February issue of Dragon Age magazine, which ships January 9. Young Ace also has some new series in various stages of development, including one by The World of Narue artist Tomohiro Marukawa.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team keeps it short and sweet in this week’s edition of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Lissa Pattillo on Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Clockmaker’s Story (Kuriousity)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of A Bride’s Story (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 12 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 31 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Jocelyne Allen on Helter Skelter (Brain Vs. Book)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Magi (Girls Like Comics)
Erica Friedman on Marriage Battle! (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1-3 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (ANN)
Anna N on Ordinary Girl in a Tiara and The Greek Tycoon’s Defiant Bride (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Shugo Chara! (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Zombie-Loan (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)

Manga the Week of 12/18

by , , , and 2 Comments

SEAN: Just before Christmas, we have a fairly big week with lots of stuff to give folks for the holidays (or request for your own present.)

First off, another “Sean missed this” entry. Since I go by Amazon now, I forgot that Right Stuf shipped Hetalia Axis Powers Vols. 4 and 5 and left them off last week’s list. I’ve already devoured my own copies, and can safely assure Hetalia fans these are well worth picking up. Non-Hetalia fans likely find the whole phenomenon baffling.

ASH: I’m hoping that Hetalia continues to do well (at least I think it’s doing well) so that Right Stuf will be able to expand it’s print-on-demand program.

MJ: I’ve never been able to muster interest in Hetalia, but hearing that you’re so hooked on it, Sean, makes me feel foolish. So. Hm.

SEAN: It’s definitely not for everyone… Hetalia requires a love of World War II-era history and at the same time an ability to completely disassociate the atrocities of that period from the characters that represent each country. It’s pure fluff, and just the idea that it’s pure fluff really bothers folks – and rightly so. That said, if you can bend your brain that way, there are a lot of fun stereotypes here that are all done with a kind, loving heart.

Dark Horse’s Evangelion spinoff, The Shinji Ikari Raising Project, is getting close to actually surpassing the main manga series in terms of volume count. Vol. 13 hits next week, and promises an actual plot!

The fourth volume of No. 6 comes out from Kodansha. Is the BL tease in this series the same as the yuri tease in series like Sunshine Sketch?

ASH: I haven’t read Sunshine Sketch to be able to compare, but I am enjoying the development of Rat and Shion’s relationship in No. 6.

smuggler

SEAN: One Peace has an omnibus collection of Smuggler, a seinen series that ran in Kodansha’s Afternoon back in 2000. Tokyopop apparently released this before, but I have no recollection of it at all. More seinen is always good, especially from a new-ish publisher.

ASH: One Peace tends to license some interesting manga. I’m particularly curious about this rescue since I missed Smuggler the first time around.

MJ: Ditto!

SEAN: Vertical has a new hardcover edition of Gundam The Origin, the 4th. It’s subtitled Jaburo, and I presume it will keep the stellar quality of the previous releases. Must buy.

ANNA: The world is a better place due to the existence of this glorious manga. And Char Aznable.

ASH: The Origin is definitely one of the highest quality releases of manga in English right now.

SEAN: There’s also the 2nd and final volume of Summer Wars. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the first one of this series – far more than I expected – and look forward to the 2nd with bated breath.

MJ: I’m looking forward to this as well!

SEAN: Viz has the 11th volume of one of my pet favorites, Dorohedoro. It can be hard to dip in and out of, but it’s a series that rewards close reading and re-reading. Plus it’s filled with awesome characters.

ASH: I’m always excited to see a new volume of Dorohedoro! It also makes me want to eat mushroom gyoza.

SEAN: And then there’s a giant pile of Yen. The 3rd volume of Are You Alice? continues the Alice trend we’ve seen all year, which looks to pile up even more titles in 2014.

bloodycross

Bloody Cross is one of those series that cried out to be licensed. Vampires, demons, hot guys, hot girls… all this and it runs in Shonen Gangan, a magazine with a very good reputation to exciting series. This should be fun.

MJ: I’m cautiously optimistic.

SEAN: High School of the Dead is still popular enough to get those giant full-color omnibuses, and here is the 2nd.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya manga is wrapping up soon, mostly as the novel author hasn’t written new material. The final arc continues in this 17th manga volume.

Pandora Hearts 19. I think that says it all.

MICHELLE: Pandora (Will Break Your) Hearts!

MJ: Yes, it really will. In the best way possible. *heart*

SEAN: Puella Magi Kazumi Magica has its 3rd volume coming out. The movies have made this franchise even more popular, though I am also hearing talk of a backlash against the darkness. Will this manga make things even bigger?

The 10th Spice & Wolf novel continues to combine fantasy, moe, economics and confusing people who buy it thinking it’s the manga. This is the novel.

Sunshine Sketch not only has its 7th volume ship to stores, but it also has all 7 volumes available in ebook format next week! Great news. As for whether Sae and Hiro finally graduate and the title is forced to continue without them… I suspect that may get dragged out a bit longer.

Finally, Until Death Do Us Part has its 5th omnibus arrive. Mamoru has been having a rough time of it lately, and this volume is not likely to help him in any way.

MICHELLE: I really need to catch up on this one; I definitely liked the first omnibus more than I’d expected to.

SEAN: Deck the halls with volumes of manga! What’cha getting?

Harlequin Manga: Ordinary Girl in a Tiara and The Greek Tycoon’s Defiant Bride

by

I was excited when emanga.com announced that they were releasing a bunch of new Harlequin manga on their platform! I’m going to pretend that emanga wanted to give me an awesome holiday present, because I am always up for reading some Harlequin manga.

tiara

Ordinary Girl in a Tiara by Jessica Hart and Yuki Shiomiya

available on emanga.com

Harlequin stories are plenty formulaic, so much so that pulling off a Harlequin romance that is both familiar and enjoyable can be somewhat tricky. Part of the fun for me when reading Harlequin manga is encountering plot elements that I’ve seen before, but executed in an interesting way. This is one of my favorite recent Harlequin manga reads. Ordinary Girl in a Tiara is, as one would surmise, about an ordinary girl who ends up accidentally taking up with royalty. Caro has an intense love of vintage fashion and an interesting past where she went to school with the elite of Europe on scholarship. Caro’s best friend Charlotte is a princess of a tiny European country who calls upon Caro to provide a diversion by dating her distant cousin and rumored fiance Prince Phillipe.

Phillipe shows up at Caro’s door to ask her to be his fake girlfriend, and he is suitably horrified by Caro’s devotion to horrible crochet vests from the 1970s. Clearly he is a man of great taste and refinement. Caro agrees to go along with the charade of dating him, and goes back to his tiny European country only to get caught up in court politics. Phillipe is struggling to establish himself as the future ruler, and the fake couple gradually become a real couple as they begin to spend more and more time together. All too often in Harlequin stories, the hero acts like a big jerk, but while Phillipe does have is standoffish moments he and Caro are a very sympathetic couple. There are elements of humor in Caro’s unending parade of vintage fashion choices, and while the art isn’t terribly detailed, it doesn’t suffer from the lack of fluidity and expression that sometimes plagues Harlequin adaptations. Highly recommended!

greektycoon

The Greek Tycoon’s Defiant Bride by Lynne Graham and Natsu Momose

available on emanga.com

Whenever I read Harlequin manga, I tend to go for the volumes that have the longest and most ridiculous titles involving Defiant Brides, Virgin Stable Girls, or Secret Agent Secretaries (I just found out that there is a romance with the title Secret Agent Secretary, I think I’m going to have to read it). This manga was exactly what you would expect from the title, as it does indeed feature a Defiant Bride of a Greek Tycoon!

Maribel is an ordinary girl (aren’t they always!) who is desperately in love with her deceased cousin Imogen’s ex-boyfriend Leonidas. Maribel sees Leonidas at a memorial service after running away from him years before, but she returns to her life as a single mother, confident that romance will not find her again (OR WILL IT!?). Leonidas shows up at Maribel’s house and is immediately suspicious when he discovers that she has a toddler with the name of his grandfather. The narrative structure of this manga was interesting, because it kept switching between the flashbacks where Maribel and Leonidas are just getting to know each other, and the present day where Maribel is desperately trying to get away from him in order to live an ordinary life. The relationship unfolds in both the present and the past, leading to a time when Maribel will perhaps not be quite so defiant about being in a relationship with Leonidas. I enjoyed the art in this volume. The paneling was a bit more varied and interesting than I tend to expect from a Harlequin manga, and Momose frequently cuts in detailed close-ups of the characters when they are in the grips of a dramatic emotion.

Finding Manga: Library Love

by

Support manga, support your library!

National Library SymbolI recently came to the decision to retire my bimonthly Library Love feature. With the slogan “Support manga, support your library!,” Library Love was a way for me to highlight manga that I was borrowing and reading from my local libraries. It’s time for me to finally say goodbye to Library Love in order to make room at Experiments in Manga for other features and reviews. In the future, I will be including my thoughts on my library manga finds in the “Quick Takes” section of the My Week in Manga feature. As I say my final farewell to Library Love (the feature, not my actual love for libraries which is eternal), I wanted to make one last special Library Love post that focused on actually finding manga in libraries. What I’ll have to say specifically applies to libraries in the United States and Canada since those are what I am most familiar with, but hopefully my comments will apply to library systems in other countries as well.

I adore libraries and I have since I was very young. I don’t think anyone was really very surprised when I fell into librarianship as a career. There are many, many reasons that I’m thankful for libraries which I won’t get into here, but I would like to say this: If it wasn’t for libraries, I would not have become the manga fanatic that I am now. When I first started reading manga, it was all borrowed from libraries. For one thing, collecting manga requires both money and space. Making use of libraries that are already doing some of that collecting is a good thing. It benefits you and it benefits libraries, too. Manga and comics tend to circulate well, and good circulations statistics help libraries in a variety of ways. Plus, by supporting manga at your library, you are also supporting the creators and publishers of that manga.

Manga can be found in all types of libraries: public, academic, school, special. Archives and museums get in on the manga action, too. It’s somewhat difficult to make generalizations regarding how to find manga in libraries because each library is different and serves a different population. Broadly speaking, libraries are organized in the way that best serves its patrons, which means that the same manga found in one library may be shelved in another area entirely at a different library. Some libraries will shelve manga and other comics by subject, mixed in with the rest of the collection. Other libraries will have an entire section devoted specifically to manga and graphic novels. In some cases, a library may divide materials by age group. There any number of ways to organize a collection, and each library is different. Familiarize yourself with your library’s system and be aware that you may need to look in multiple places to find all of the manga.

One of the benefits of a library is that it is a physical location that you can visit.  After you figure out where the manga is shelved, take time to browse! It’s a quick and easy way of determining what sorts of manga your library collects and sampling what it has. There’s also this wonderful phenomena called serendipity–you might discover manga that you didn’t even know you wanted to read. But don’t limit yourself to what you can see on the shelf, because the library will always have more manga available. Be sure to make use of the library’s catalog, too. Most libraries have an online catalog that supports searches by title, creator, subject, ISBN, general keyword, and more. Some libraries are even beginning to explore digital options for manga and comics, too.

Finding manga through a library doesn’t stop there, either. Many libraries participate in interlibrary loan programs which allow one library to borrow materials that another library owns. This is a fantastic way to track down copies of hard-to-find or out-of-print manga to read. Many libraries also accept and pursue purchase suggestions from their patrons. If there’s a manga you’d like to read or that you think would be a good fit for your library, let someone know! Generally, libraries want to provide access to the materials that people want or are excited about; they want to spend money on materials that will actually be used. Which brings me to my final point about manga in libraries: Don’t be afraid to talk with the librarians and other library workers! Make suggestions, ask questions, and give feedback. We really are here to help.

Quick Tips for Finding Manga in Libraries
1) Manga might be kept in multiple areas, you may need to look around
2) Browse the shelves, but search the catalog, too
3) Check to see if your library participates in an interlibrary loan program
4) Many libraries accept purchase suggestions. Don’t see what you want? Ask for it!
5) Don’t be afraid of the librarians and other library workers (We’re here to help!)

Mangabox: A Closer Look

by

We have another entry into the ‘release manga on an online platform’ sweepstakes this week with Mangabox, a project put together by Dena, with assistance from a few manga publishers in Japan, primarily Kodansha. The goal is to release daily manga chapters of various series, some of which may be familiar to English-speaking readers, either because they know the anime, they know the series it’s spun off from, or they’re familiar with the author. It launched last week with about 22 titles available in English, and it’s also available on the Japanese side as well (with a few more titles – more on that below).

All the titles have now had at least one chapter, so we’ve gotten a basic look at the fare we’ll be seeing. It reads very much like a young men’s magazine, with some dumb comedy, some romance, some horror, and some adventure. The daily feed of 2-3 new chapters means that no one series overwhelms the other (again, with one irritating exception), and the app itself is easy to use and very readable (it was initially incredibly bright, but they seem to have toned that down a bit in an update).

So, what are we seeing over here? Let’s do a bullet point list:

The Knight In The Area is actually a spinoff of the ACTUAL Knight in the Area, a popular soccer manga that runs in Weekly Shonen Magazine and is almost 40 volumes and still going (i.e. unlicensable). This is actually a prequel, though, examining the life of one of the coaches from the main series when he was in middle school. It’s quite well done if you like sports manga.

Can’t Ride A Bicycle! is a comedic school life manga about a club composed of young men who all love the idea of riding bikes but have very poor bike riding skillsets. If you like K-On! or Free, this should interest you, though it’s even fluffier than both of those so far.

High-Rise Invasion is a survival game manga starring a young girl who finds herself in a deserted school being pursued by a chainsaw killer. it turns out her brother is around there as well, and she is in a world of high-rises with bridges between them. It hasn’t grabbed me so far, but I am weary of survival game manga.

High School Ninja Girl, Otonashi-san is a 4-koma school comedy about a ninja trying to fit in at high school. It’s slight, but cute. I smiled.

The Great Phrases Women Fall For. Sigh. Every Japanese magazine seems to have an out-of-left-field short gag manga that runs at the end of their magazines, and this is Mangaboxes. It’s composed of definitions of words given by smug men. Not particularly funny, its biggest fault is that it is the only serial here that runs daily. There’s only 2 definitions per day, but that’s 4 pages of my life I will never get back.

Kindaichi Case Files: Takato’s Side is a spinoff of the very popular everywhere but here (where it tanked) mystery series. This side story features Kindaichi’s adversary in school, dealing with his own grisly murder. I suspect it may get rather dark. Well done so far, though.

mangabox1

Billion Dogs shows why I hate judging series with only one chapter. The first chapter of this series made itsound a bit Medaka Box-ish, with the adventures of a proud student council president looking to improve things. The second chapter shows us a darker side, though, and I suspect this may get even more twisted before we’re done. Who are the good guys here? I’m really enjoying this.

Spoof on Titan is what you’d expect, a 4-koma gag manga based on the breakout hit series Attack on Titan. It’s cute and fun, playing on the character’s broad stereotypes. Note that this is not the same as the high-school AU comedy that’s coming out over here in March.

District Hakkenshi (code:T-8] seems to be a retelling of The Hakkendan in a modern setting, starring a lazy yet intelligent high school student. It’s by the creators of Getbackers, so is definitely worth checking out, though I want to read more before committing.

NadeNade ShikoShiko is a comedy about a guy who dreamed of a magical caveman girlfriend, only to find that she’s actually there at his house one day. Could get funnier, but I’m not optimistic.

Schoolgirl Landlord Honoka, from the author of Pastel, is about fanservice. And also a young girl who arrives at her late grandfather’s boarding house and meets the eccentric tenants, yes, but mostly fanservice. Get ready to see a lot of underwear.

Peephole is possibly the most explicit title we’ve seen on here (it really needs a warning), and is equal parts creepy and horrific. Featuring a suicidal young man who finds new life by peeping on his next-door neighbor pleasuring herself, it takes a much darker turn near the end. Needs another chapter for me to get a handle on it. Again, slightly wary.

Girl and Car on the Beat is a police comedy about a new officer and her relationship with the old, beat up police car the station has. The car narrates, and is not all that happy to be saddled with a young woman. No, it’s not a magical car – only the readers hear the narration. Needs more chapters to get a feel for it.

The Chronicles of Akoya is an action-adventure series set in Ancient Times, and starring a young sword-wielding woman who I suspect may be orphaned soon. Some very jarring fanservice at the start, but otherwise a decent opening.

mangabox4

My Grandpa’s Stories Can’t Be This Weird! is a gag comedy that pretty much is what it sounds like, and is in no way related to any Little Sister series, despite the title. If you recall the old Jump gag comedy Bobobobo-Bobobo, this is along the same lines.

GREEN WORLDZ is another action-adventure horror story about a world where plants seem to be killing everyone. And I mean suddenly – it just starts to happen. It’s just gotten started, so we’ll see what happens, but there’s some striking imagery in the first chapter.

Araidoki is another school comedy with supernatural elements, that suffers from mediocre art more than anything else. Some of the gags were vaguely funny, but overall I wasn’t impressed.

Man’s Bestest Friend features a leading man you want to beat to death with a bat, and a heroine who is a dog turned into a human. She’s even called Wanko. I have no desire to read any more of this.

Horizon was the best to date of the action-adventure manga, detailing the life of Genghis Khan as a young man. A lot of gore, as you might expect given the hero, but it’s well handled and I’d like to see more. Fans of Berserk or Vinland Saga will like this.

First Love Suicide Pact is another “this has barely gotten started, needs more chapters” story, but its view of what mindset leads a person to the point of suicide is interesting, and I want to see how it resolves everything. It looks like a teacher-student romance here, though, be warned.

Stra the Warlock is a fantasy series taking place in a world where humans re enslaved by demons. The story so far is meh, but the art is sort of interesting – it has a Masamune Shirow feel to it.

In a Heartbeat is about a young man who has come to the realization that he’s gay, but is generally too shy and nervous to do anything about it. Then he runs into his old childhood friend and first love. Again, only one chapter is far too early to judge this, but BL fans should take a look.

Mangabox is also available in Japan, and has a few extra series there. The untranslated series all seem to have one thing in common: they’re out in Japan in other formats, such as in Young Magazine or Futabasha’s Manga Action. Whereas all the titles we’re seeing translated here are web-only so far. Helps to avoid scanlations. For the curious, Japan also has two Ghost in the Shell: SAC titles (one of which is out over here already); Slave District, which seems to combine gambling and rape, and I would think is VERY unlikely to come out over here; Gainax’s Sudden Death, from the artist who gave us the borderline H harem series Love Junkies, which is all about tea ceremonies; Shoot!, a very old soccer manga, though I’m uncertain if this is reprinting the 1990 series or a spinoff of that; and King’s Game, a survival game manga that seems to trend a bit darker than High-Rise Invasion.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with Mangabox so far. The daily dribbling out of chapters is a good way to keep people coming to the site, and also helps you to not get bored with a specific title. Well, except the Great Phrases Women Fall For manga. That’s boring. But skippable. Definitely recommended so far, and I’ll be interested to see if they bring in new content in a month or two.

Bookshelf Briefs 12/9/13

by , and Leave a Comment

This week, Sean, Anna, & Michelle look at recent releases from Seven Seas and Viz Media.

alicelovefablesAlice Love Fables: Toy Box | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – This is pretty much what it sounded like, a series of short stories, all romance-themed, on QuinRose’s 3 properties. Arabians Lost is the first (and dullest), Alice in the Country of (blank) gets the majority, and Crimson Empire rounds it out. I’m most familiar with Alice, so those were the most enjoyable, even if they lack the twisted core I like in my Wonderland. She gets stories with Peter and Grey as love interest, something we haven’t gotten books for yet. And the Blood story is really adorable and sweet. As for Sheila, she’s the most interesting of the three heroines, but is rarely served as well by her male leads, so her stories don’t really gel as much. Still, nothing here truly bothered me, and it’s a good stocking stuffer for Alice fans. – Sean Gaffney

dengekidaisy13Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 13 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – By now everyone knows that this is one of the best shoujo manga coming out today, with laughs, thrills, excitement, and frustratingly unconsummated romance that gets even more tantalizing here. Heck, even Akira, who’s been a horrible thorn in the side of our heroes, looks like he may get a bit of redemption after all, once we hear of his tragic past. (You know, the one every character in this series has.) What I really noticed in this volume was the way the art has matured. There’s a scene with Riko receiving something belatedly from Soichiro, and it’s made even more intimate by our never seeing what it is (even though we know). It shows a lovely subtlety that contrasts with the wacky “what color are Teru’s favorite panties” schtick that’s going on next door. I will be so sad when this ends. – Sean Gaffney

kiminitodoke18Kimi Ni Todoke, Vol. 18 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – This volume, set during Christmas, is the perfect manga to read while curled up by a fire and enjoying some hot chocolate. Lack of communication has caused some issues with Sawako and Kazehaya’s budding relationship. They have a breakthrough around Christmastime, and finally acknowledge how much they care about each other. Sawako and her friends Ayane and Chizu get together for some post-date gossip, as each girl has new romantic developments to report. The whole gang gets together at Sawako’s house for a party, and even Sakako’s overprotective father begins to acknowledge how good Kazehaya is for his sheltered daughter. This slice of life manga works through plenty of emotional developments in a warm and cozy manner, making it the perfect volume for some winter relaxation. – Anna N

midnight3Midnight Secretary, Vol. 3 | By Tohmu Ohmi | Viz Media – Things continue to be hot and heavy in the 3rd volume of this josei paranormal romance series. Kaya’s extreme competence as a secretary allows her to work for a subsidiary office by day and then return to her lover/ex-boss and vampire Kyohei at night to serve his secretarial, carnal, and blood bank needs, but her double life begins to take a toll on her. Kaya collapses, and it results in Kyohei trying to rearrange his life to accommodate their new unusual lifestyle. Along the way he begins to realize that he might actually care for Kaya, even though she is a human woman. This series is top notch paranormal romance for those who enjoy that kind of thing, which I certainly do! – Anna N

skipbeat32Skip Beat!, Vol. 32 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – For those who love the love triangle between Ren, Kyoko and Sho, you will revel in this volume and all its glorious horribleness. Sho in particular is in fine form, showing off both his consummate skill at reading Kyoko and his complete and total immaturity when it comes to what she wants or needs. (I could do without Shoko starting to fall for him, though.) He tries the same mental manipulation on Ren, and while it may not work while Sho is there in person, Ren’s distrust of himself is enough to make it niggle regardless. This all comes to a head in the hotel room, where a phone call from Sho causes Ren and Kyoko to both fall out of character… or maybe, given the incestuous subtext between Cain and Setsu, the character and the self may be bleeding together. I warn you, the cliffhanger will drive you nuts. Can’t put this down. -Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 32 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – What a dramatic volume! It definitely feels like the beginning of the end here, with Kyoko getting an inkling of what might’ve happened in Ren’s past, Sho pushing her buttons expertly and getting her to declare that she’ll never fall for Ren (lest she lose herself even more than she did with Sho), and then Sho promptly informing Ren of this fact. Poor Ren’s barely hanging on by a thread (a thread named Kyoko) and with two guys out to possibly snag her affections, he snaps and breaks character when they’re supposed to be on assignment as the Heel siblings, scaring her with the darkness he’s desperately trying to hide. It’s not that I want this series to end, but these developments definitely have me excited for a grand finale to come! – Michelle Smith