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Weekly Astro Boy Magazine Vol. 1

June 19, 2013 by Anna N

I was intrigued when Emanga.com announced that they would be releasing an Astro Boy magazine. I’m feeling a bit nostalgic for manga magazines at this point, with the demise of print anthologies. I’ve read some Tezuka, but I’m definitely not familiar with all of his works. The magazine format for Tezuka works very well, because his art and storytelling style varies so much with the titles presented in the magazine, it is interesting to compare and contrast the differences between his different titles in this format.

I haven’t read much Astro Boy before, but the storyline for inclusion in the first issue of this manga magazine is a strong one, as it is “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” where the robot Pluto created to battle all the other great robots that exist, until he is hailed as the supreme robot. This storyline is what Naoki Urasawa used for his manga series Pluto. Astro Boy tangles with Pluto for a little bit, but his creator calls him off. Astro Boy responds to the existence of the new robot by requesting an upgrade of his own power. Astro Boy really displays the virtue of simplicity. The robot designs are so distinct, and the action in Astro Boy is so clear and easy to follow, it makes me think that some of the detail and opaque action in modern manga has really missed the mark.

Phoenix is the next title featured in this magazine, and this is a real treat because I believe some of the print volumes released by Viz are now out of print. The story comes from the fourth volume of Phoenix, called Karma. It is easy to see why Phoenix is often called Tezuka’s masterwork. This chapter featured the story of a boy who was injured just after being born, becoming a monster due to the harsh treatment from his fellow villagers. He encounters a sculptor in the woods and damages one of his arms. The sculptor finds refuge in a temple and begins to reach a different stage of consciousness as he attempts to take up art again. Reading Phoenix itself is a bit of a philosophical experience, as the characters encounter each other in this fable-like story, with stylized depictions of nature inter cut with both action and personal reflection.

The rest of the book is rounded out by shorter chapters for Dororo and Black Jack. It was a bit difficult for me to get a handle on Dororo just due to the small page count. Black Jack, I automatically read with feelings of affection, because the two-fisted surgeon is one of my favorite Tezuka characters. Overall, I really enjoyed the opportunity to read different Tezuka works back to back. It is a bit different than diving into a full volume of manga, but it really gives the reader an appreciation for the variations in art and theme that is expressed in Tezuka’s manga. This is definitely worth checking out if you don’t have an extensive Astro Boy collection and especially if you want an accessible way of reading Phoenix.

Electronic access provided by the publisher

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: June 3-17, 2013

June 19, 2013 by Derek Bown 13 Comments

Big news this week, Nisekoi will be getting an anime. Perhaps a bit early, but I think we’ve got enough stories to cover several episodes, and at the very least this means Nisekoi isn’t going anywhere. It’s a big milestone for the series, considering how many new manga can’t last in Weekly Shonen Jump. Fingers crossed that the anime is well made and Nisekoi keeps going strong for however long Komi Naoshi wants.

Because of schedule conflicts the past two weeks I wasn’t able to get around to reviewing the latest manga chapters. Rather than have three reviews go up in close proximity to each other I decided it might be better to go ahead and combine them into one. To keep things simple I’ll be writing about the last three weeks’ together.

Nisekoi Ch. 076–078
Taking three weeks before commenting on any of the most recent chapters has actually worked to my advantage as far as Nisekoi is concerned. When Haru, Onodera’s younger sister, was first introduced I thought that she was the kind of character who was typically annoying but in this case was handled well enough in order to not be annoying. Three chapters later, I found that she was fine for two chapters, but in the third chapter she became quite infuriating. I blame most of this on the fact that she’s been the sole focus of this series for three chapters in a row, and I have not been able to read much of anything about any of the characters I’ve grown attached to.

Chapter 78 was particularly egregious in this regard because none of the other characters besides Raku makes anything but a token appearance. Granted, it was interesting to see the situation from the point of view of an outsider, but three chapters focusing on one character alone is a bit much—especially when that character is brand new to the series. Ultimately I think the biggest problem is that Haru has been around for most of a month and we haven’t seen any change in her. She’s just as frustrating as she was in the beginning. She has a few small moments, but after three weeks of putting up with her it’s not nearly enough. And of course, character development takes time, but I would prefer to have that time be split between chapters featuring the characters I already like.

Bleach Ch. 539-541
Bleach is an interesting example of a retcon that in a strange way is actually working. I had a lot of questions about the retcon in chapter 541, but ultimately I found those questions answered by the chapter itself. And granted, I don’t buy for a second that Kubo planned the reveal regarding Zangetsu any earlier than maybe a year or two ago. But he is able to manipulate his story well enough that the new elements slide into place where we didn’t even realize a piece was missing. Could the story have worked without that missing piece? Absolutely. But what we’ve learned the past three chapters fits well enough that it doesn’t disturb the overall story too much. And considering how low Bleach has dropped at times, even mediocre heights achieved later on seem better by comparison.

Ultimately, Bleach hasn’t been amazing or even great by any stretch of the imagination these past few weeks. But it’s been a lot better than it was during the climactic battle against Aizen, or even the Fullbringer arc, and sometimes when you’ve been hurt enough even the absence of more pain feels like kindness.

What I’m trying to say is that I think Bleach gave me Stockholm Syndrome. And speaking of Stockholm Syndrome…

Naruto Ch. 632-634
I think the biggest problem with the last three weeks is how it feels like we’ve gotten payoff we never deserved. Or the story is trying to elicit a response it hasn’t done the groundwork for. I admit that I enjoyed the combination attack in this week’s chapter. But I can’t help but imagine how much better this would be if more time had been spent actually redeeming Sasuke, rather than making him worse and worse before finally having him flip flop back to the side of good.

That continues to be the biggest problem I have with Naruto. Sasuke’s turn feels more forced than ever. This should have been a good moment because it’s been a long time coming. But rather I feel that, like his powers, Sasuke has once again been given something he did not work for. His eyes give him all his power, his natural aptitude gives him his fighting prowess. And the author just hands him his redemption without making Sasuke suffer for it. If someone turns bad, really bad, to the point where they’ve not only attempted murder, but actually succeeded on more than one occasion, then they need to work in order to redeem themselves in the eyes of the other characters. But when such a character has spent an inordinate amount of time making sure the readers were well and pissed at him, then he needs to work doubly hard to make any kind of redemption actually be satisfying. I for one continue to be of the opinion that Sasuke is an awful character who is made worse by the fact that he hasn’t had to work for any of the good that’s happened to him, and he’s as bland as bland can be.

Sai’s reappearance reminded me how much better a character he was. I just wish Kishimoto could actually see when he makes good characters and when he doesn’t. Ultimately, though, most of these chapters are about action and the action is a lot of fun. Even Sakura gets to do something. Which hardly seems like a fair trade. I’d rather she have been doing things the entire series. But even then she reverts back to her pre-time skip personality the moment she starts ignoring Naruto in favor of Sasuke. It’s a real shame to see a character that had grown so much in the early chapters after the time skip revert back to the infuriating character she was before.

But, as I said, Stockholm Syndrome, these chapters weren’t the worst this series has thrown at me. And some of the action really was awesome.

One-Punch Man Ch. 018-020
These three chapters emphasize that One-Punch Man isn’t just about comedy. It’s about great comedy and a world that is actually really interesting. The latest chapter especially emphasizes that the people in this series act like real people. Monsters constantly attacking? Time to move away. It stands out as a subtle bit of satire of the superhero genre while posing as world building. Even just the simple act of turning what should be an exciting adventure into the equivalent of a day job is hilarious in its own way. Not the funniest chapters of One-Punch Man, but still worth a read.

World Trigger Ch. 016-018
World Trigger manages to introduce some interesting elements, but ultimately it fails to engage. Those interesting elements should have been introduced more than a dozen chapters ago, at this point I can’t see the series surviving much longer. Characters are confusing, motivations are confusing, the whole conflict is confusing, and ultimately Jin is the most interesting character but with this cast that’s not hard.

Toriko Ch. 235-237
The amusing thing about these past three chapters of Toriko is that while a good chunk of it was action as normal, the other chunk made me really think about gender roles in manga. Were Komatsu a woman, there would be an outcry over the way he is treated in the story. He’s there to be saved by Toriko, there to give him strength. Since he’s a guy that’s an odd, yet new and interesting approach. If he were a woman it would be the same tired old trope. And while I’m amazed at how obvious the “Not Gay”s are in this series, I get a chuckle at the homoerotic subtext that refuses to be the sub in this relationship.

The fighting is pretty standard, but I was amazed how an entire chapter was dedicated to a new fighting technique for Toriko. That concept did not need that much space. Ultimately I feel that the fight is par for the course, and might be buying for time in a few places. But, events unfold that promise some much better chapters later on.

Cross Manage Ch. 035-037
If anyone doesn’t think this series is amazing then I’m afraid we might have to take a look at your “Can Recognize Amazing Entertainment” gland——don’t wiki this, just trust me, it’s a real gland. Not only are we left in the dark as to the outcome of this match, but in the latest chapter we get what is possibly one of the best scenes in any manga I’ve read in months. At first it may be confusing, but once you read over it you slowly start to get it. The confusion you felt at the awkward transition mirrored the confusion the characters felt as they noticed more and more people were looking away from where the ball was in play. Then the moment of horrified realization, emphasized by the perfect rendering of the expressions on the characters’ faces. It’s been a long time since anything in a manga sparked such an emotional reaction from me.

And then, once you’ve had a moment to sit back and take in what happened, an event that came out of nowhere, you realize that since chapter one this eventuality has been foreshadowed.

Though it does feel a bit like a desperate gambit to get people interested in the series. Because after what happened this chapter, there is no way the series could end within the next few weeks and actually be satisfactory. Before now a win or a lose could have led to a satisfying early conclusion. Kato could have played it safe, written in a way to end the series safely. Instead he decided to go for broke, give us an event that needs far more than just a few chapters to be concluded satisfactorily. I pray that the risk he took resonates with readers and we are able to see this series go on for many more chapters.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 017-019
With these chapters the long training arc came and went. Ultimately I feel I can’t comment on them that well because they’ve been in my brain for so long I can’t really muster up any kind of initial reaction. Ultimately I’d have to say that these chapters are good, but not amazing. There’s a definite sense that were Dragon Ball Z being published today it probably wouldn’t last for very long. But, one can’t analyze it like that since this series has been around for so long that it’s unfair to comment on it as if it were a contemporary of current series. This was one of the series that a lot of shonen manga owes many elements to. And in a lot of cases they improve on those elements. But, in the end, I’m glad we finally get to the actual fight against the Saiyans—s lot faster than we would have gotten to it in the anime too.

One Piece Ch. 710-711
Chapter 710 of One Piece was okay. It wasn’t amazing, but it was at standard One Piece quality. After such a long break it was wonderful to finally get a new chapter. Chapter 711 (heh) on the other hand was a lot more fun. From the twist at the very end, to the scene with Zoro and the hint that maybe these toys aren’t quite what they seem. Or, Rebecca has a bit of an interesting kink. Either is possible really.

But the standout of this chapter was how little time it took for me to make a boob joke to myself after discovering that the name of the little people was “Tontattas”. Yes, I’m a terrible person, but I would like to point out that Oda decided to name them this after he had them climbing all over Robin, who I might add has been pinned to the ground with her…tontattas (sorry)…prominently displayed. I know there was no way for him to realize that both “ton” and “tattas” were a proper word and slang respectively, so let’s just call it an act of providence that provided us with the best unintentional pun in all of One Piece.

Also, is it just me, or does anyone else think that Oda might have macrophilia? First we have Aphelandra the amazon using her bossoms to block Luffy’s escape, then we have Luffy using Shirahoshi’s…great reefs…as a trampoline, and now we have Robin sewn to the ground in a scene reminiscent of a much sexier Gulliver’s Travels, while the Tontattas climb all around the inside of her dress. And that’s not even getting into all the other woman of larger size than normal. Or the fact that “normal size” is incredibly subjective in One Piece. Think I’m wrong? Discuss in the comments section. Let’s start the weirdest discussion this website has ever seen.

Rurouni Kenshin Final Chapter
What can I say? This project felt unnecessary, it messed with established material that was already good on its own. But in the end the worst crime is that apparently even a teenage girl can survive a sword through her chest as long as it misses her heart. Never mind the fact that she’d have bled to death by that point. AND she only managed to survive because the way her would-be assassin held his swords was stupid. I’m not sure if it’s some weirdly meta commentary about style over substance and practicality in manga, but Watsuki pointed out why his idea was stupid all on his own. At least this manga did one thing right, it made me realize that maybe I don’t want a sequel to Rurouni Kenshin like I thought I did. I dread how much more ridiculous an actual in canon sequel would get. Once you have a skinny business man lifting and firing a gattling gun you’ve got nowhere else to go but down.

I’d really only intended to put this off for two weeks, but it ended up being three. My schedule is a lot more hectic that I realized. I’ll be sure to keep these posts up to date, and hope that this momentary lapse in publication remains isolated to these past three weeks.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to the last three episodes, Episode 049 – May 27, 2013 – Why Hiramaru and Aoki’s Relationship Sucked | Toriko Vol. 5, Episode 050 – June 3, 2013 – When the Main Characters Sucks! | Toriko Vol. 6, and Episode 051 – June 10, 2013 – Why Doesn’t Oda Kill Characters? | Bakuman Vol. 1.

A Bouquet of Manga, Flowers Magazine

June 19, 2013 by Erica Friedman 2 Comments

Flowers, a Josei manga magazine from Shogakukan, is a veritable showcase of talent. Regardless of which series are running in the magazine at any given time, the list of authors is practically a checklist of manga history. Names that were publishing top-notch manga in the pages of Flowers magazine more than a decade ago are still publishing top-notch manga in the same magazine now.

In the current volume of Flowers, the award-winning, essential manga Heart of Thomas creator, Moto Hagio, contributes a brand new Sci-fi series Away. Saito Chiho, best known here for the manga version of Revolutionary Girl Utena, is working on a manga retelling of the classic Japanese tale of gender-switching, Torikaebaya. Tamura Yumi’s 7 Seeds was begun on the pages of Betsucomi in 2001, but continues in the pages of Flowers, since 2002. Also notable for western fans, Higa Aloha’s Shirokuma Cafe, which was given an anime adaption and streamed as Polar Bear Cafe, runs in this magazine.

Ancient Japan, the modern world and futurescapes live side by side in Flowers. Stories of alternate histories, such as Akaishi Michiyo’s Amakusa 1637 – which completely rewrote Japanese history – and Moto Hagio’s science fiction Barbara Ikai, will sit comfortably next to Yuu Watase’s Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden. Japan’s past, present and future, talking animals, alternate states of being…this Josei magazine, while showcasing grace and beauty, is not at all afraid to ask, “What if it all goes wrong?” The predominant art style is one I’d like to call “Timeless” without irony. These artists have been working for decades and, in some cases, have been genre-defining. One can see the influences of decades of manga and centuries of visual references from Fine Art in the pages of Flowers.

Flowers magazine comes in at just over 500 pages for 570 yen ($6.04 at time of writing). The magazine has a website, which contains interviews with, messages from and profiles of the creators, chapters of new stories for preview, and publishing schedules. (If you want to be sobered by the sheer mass of work by some of the women who publish in Flowers, click on a few bios and looks at the lists of books in print. Akaishi-sensei has something like 50+ books *in print* right now.) Flowers has a 2011 – 2012 monthly circulation of 33,000.

Looking at the cover above, it would be easy to dismiss Flowers as a repository of girlish fantasy but, if one did so, one would miss the crucible of talent that makes the Flowers stable some of the longest-running, most-popular and most-talented group of creators in manga today.

Flowers Monthly Magazine, from Shogakukan: http://flowers.shogakukan.co.jp/

New releases, MMF call for entries

June 18, 2013 by Brigid Alverson

Here’s my look at the latest manga releases at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo’s take in her last-ever On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. The Manga Bookshelf team takes a look at the new manga due out this week, and discusses their Pick of the Week.

MJ and Michelle Smith discuss some new releases from SuBLime and Digital in the latest installment of BL Bookrack.

Skip Beat will be the main dish at this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, and Laura puts out the call for entries at Heart of Manga.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team post their latest Bookshelf Briefs.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 14 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Adam Stephanides on vols. 1-11 of Billy Bat (Completely Futile)
Ash Brown on vol. 22 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 11 of Dengeki Daisy (ANN)
Helen on Full House (Narrative Investigations)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Girl Friends (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of His Favorite (I Reads You)
Carlo Santos on vol. 11 of Jormungand (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N. on vol. 2 of Knights of Sidonia (Manga Report)
Carlo Santos on vol. 4 of Limit (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Loveless (The Comic Book Bin)
Lissa Pattillo on The Misfortune of Kyon and Kazumi (Kuriousity)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Missions of Love (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 67 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Kazuma Magica: The Innocent Malice (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 2 and 3 of Strobe Edge (ANN)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Sunny (ANN)
Chris Kirby on vol. 15 of Toriko (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Warner on vol. 4 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (The Fandom Post)

Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink

June 18, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

By Milk Morinaga. Released in Japan by Futabasha, serialized in the magazine Comic High! (earlier stories serialized by Ichijinsha in the magazine Comic Yuri Hine). Released in North America by Seven Seas.

When I was growing up, the generally accepted “yes, you can now be nostalgic about this” period was about 20 years. Happy Days being the primary example, but the same thing applied as the 1980s wore on. Then, sometime around the early 90s, nostalgia started to speed up. Suddenly we can’t get enough of revisiting things that only happened 5-10 years ago. And this makes sense, given how fast culture has been moving lately thanks to the Information Superhighway and such. (See what I told you about nostalgia?) What this means in practice is that we can be startled that things we read only a few years back suddenly seem like products of a bygone age, and Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossom Pink is an excellent example.

When these stories first came out in 2003 or so, it was fantastic. They were in a magazine devoted exclusively to ‘yuri’ stories, and many of them sailed along based solely on that premise. Girls! In love with other girls! And even kissing and stuff! This particular story was actually a group of one-shots that ended up centering around the same school, which is attended by Nana and her friends (Hitomi’s school gets far less attention, possibly as it seems to be far less yuri-friendly). It’s not just Nana – there’s ghosts in love, and unrequited love, and a Takarazuka ‘prince’ who’s actually a bit of a weirdo. It’s a whole yuri subculture. And, in 2003, this was fantastic.

Why does it seem to old and cliched now? It’s partly because Morinaga Milk essentially rewrote and improved Nana and Hitomi’s story in Girl Friends a few years later for Futabasha (after first wrapping it up, as we see in the second volume of this collection.) But it seems to me to be primarily that this sort of story is now old hat. There’s so much more yuri out there, and not all of it has to be “Girl meets girl, girl likes girl, they like each other, the end.” Actually, at the time this collection went FURTHER than a lot of the stories in Yuri Hime. Nana and Hitomi are sexually active, and we see that – again, something that was a real wow in 2003.

But nostalgic doesn’t necessarily mean bad, it simply means “wow, I can’t believe this is only 10 years old”. These stories are cute and sweet, and even the story that doesn’t end with two girls getting together still manages to be adorable. There’s not a lot of “couples buying refrigerators” here – indeed, the manga ends literally right before Nana and Hitomi will have to do that – because in 2003, this was enough. Girls being gay and in love (well, as gay as they’re allowed to be – the word ‘lesbian’ isn’t used much here) at their local schools, and some of them even (gasp!) staying together after they leave school.

I really enjoyed this series, as it brought back a lot of happy memories, and the stories set up a lot of other series that I’ve also enjoyed that followed its example. Nana and Hitomi are sweet, everyone is happy (though the final Nanan and Hitomi story does have a deus ex machina so blatant you could drive a moving truck through it), and the series is quaint. Quaint and twee, you’re in 2003. Nostalgia is the new nostalgia. Recommended.

Pick of the Week: Subverting Expectations

June 17, 2013 by MJ, Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney and Anna N 2 Comments

MJ: My obvious pick this week would be volume 16 of Pandora Hearts, and I am sure that’s what everyone expects (you can read about how much I love this volume in today’s Bookshelf Briefs). But sometimes it’s the unknown that has the greatest allure, and I’ll admit that I’m most anxious to get a look at Asumiko Nakamura’s Utsubora: the Story of a Novelist, out this week from Vertical. I’ve had a shaky relationship with Vertical’s titles from Manga Erotics F—the magazine this title comes from—but Vertical’s track record with me overall is pretty stunning (and the magazine has housed some of my favorites as well), so I’m more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Familiar favorites are a wonderful thing, but nothing beats the mystery of the unknown. I can’t wait to see what this manga has in store!

MICHELLE: I was so sure that you were going to pick Pandora Hearts that I was all set to pick Utsubora myself. I’m definitely looking forward to checking it out, but I’ll go ahead and give Pandora Hearts my official love, as I’m really looking forward to getting caught up with that one.

SEAN: I’m deciding to go with the manga that’s down to a yearly release rather than the quarterly one, so despite my Higurashi obsession, my pick of the week is for GA Art Design Class. There’s an awful lot of 4-koma series about girls in high school out there, and this is one of the ones that makes me smile the most. The cast is amusing in just the right amount, it’s filled with cute, funny and heartwarming moments, and it’s taught me a hell of a lot about art. It’s likely not for you unless you enjoy moe 4-koma manga, but if you do it’s one of the best.

ANNA: I’m also going to have to throw in my vote for Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist simply because it is the only manga this week that I felt compelled to pre-order! The premise about an upcoming novelist who is suddenly found dead also sounds very intriguing. I think a bit of mystery will balance my usual shoujo and sci-fi manga reading habits.

What looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 6/17/13

June 17, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ and Anna N 2 Comments

This week, Sean, MJ, and Anna look at recent releases from Viz Media, Yen Press, Kodansha Comics, and Vertical, Inc.

Cross Game, Vol. 6 | By Mitsuru Adachi | Viz Media – I’m finally finishing out this series! Picking up the 6th volume after a gap in my Cross Game reading reminded me again what a master of manga Adachi is. For a series where on the surface not much happens other than a bunch of kids preparing to play baseball, there’s so much subtext and subtle psychological development being portrayed, that this manga is a delight to read. Ko continues to hone his skills, but the sudden appearance of Akane, a dead ringer for his childhood love Wakaba, causes a bit of consternation in the neighborhood. Romance is more of an undercurrent in this volume as Aoba slowly realizes that people may appreciate her for something other than her pitching skills. – Anna N.

A Devil And Her Love Song, Vol. 9 | By Miyoshi Tomori | Viz Media – Well, that went south in a hurry, didn’t it? The first half of this volume is actually quite heartwarming, despite the opening. It gives the message “forcing yourself on others is wrong”, but also allows the others to forgive Shintaro and allow him back into their inner circle. Moreover, Maria is bonding even more with her friends, and Shin is getting over his own hangups regarding the piano. He decides to do a big, extravagant performance for Maria, at the end of which he will tell her his real feelings. AND THEN IT ALL GOES SO WRONG. Leaving aside horrible assault guy, who ensures she never gets to the performance, it’s more of a classic “misunderstanding comfort as a confession” that leads to the depressing cliffhanger we get here. I really cannot wait for Vol. 10. – Sean Gaffney

Durarara!! Saika Arc, Vol. 2 | By Ryohgo Narita, Akiyo Satorigi, and Suzuhito Yasuda | Yen Press – We continue to have two different stories going on here, and they aren’t quite interweaving with each other until the very end… or so we think. First off, there’s the attempts by Celty to find out what’s going on with Saika, the demon blade that’s slashing people and has professed a deep, stalkerish love for Shizuo. Secondly, and probably more interesting to me, there’s Anri and her attempts to deal with her teacher’s sexual harassment. Anri’s natural emotionless facade doesn’t make the discomfort of this situation any less striking, and the occasional dream she’s having of a happy birthday with her parents turns into a nightmare rather rapidly. Plus, for all that the blade supposedly loves Shizuo, it does seem to be going after Anri an awful lot. A fun, complicated mess (yes, that’s a compliment). – Sean Gaffney

Fairy Tail, Vol. 26 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – Well, the villains are posing on the cover of this volume, so it is not a particular surprise that they come in and completely kick our heroes’ asses, as shonen villains often do at first. Even worse is the identity of the old man who seems to be behind the group of villains… and Makarov’s betrayed reaction. There are one or two jokes here, mostly revolving around Elfman and Evergreen, the couple that isn’t. But for the most part, this is simply pure serious fighting, with lots of people getting knocked unconscious and/or near death. And hovering over all of this is Zeref, who just wants to be left alone – supposedly – but Ultear isn’t having any of that. It looks like we’ve got a long way to go before any of this is wrapped up, to be honest. Oh and hey, was that a Laxus cameo I just saw? Foreshadowing! – Sean Gaffney

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 3 | By Tsutomu Nihei | Vertical, Inc. – I’ll admit, this volume really surprised me. No, not the deaths of even more pilots. And no, not the flashback which showed us the origins of Tanikaze’s birth (at least once I figured out it was a flashback – come on, use black borders like other mangaka do!). No, what really startled me was the middle of this volume, where all of a sudden it became a wacky romantic comedy with a love triangle. It’s actually even more amusing given the artist’s usual unexpressive style. That said, that’s just a moment, and for the most part this volume is serious business, as we try to figure out why Tanizake is piloting every single goddamn mission, learn more about the placenta they captured, which is a little TOO good at mimicking humans, and depressing the hell out of Izana. Still riveting. – Sean Gaffney

Pandora Hearts, Vol. 16 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – Recent volumes of Pandora Hearts have been so chock-full of twists and revelations, that every time I’ve thought that I discovered what was really going on, I’ve been proven wrong in the next volume. This continues with volume sixteen, and it is by no means a bad thing. Things start out lightly, as though to provide a healing balm for last volume’s tragedies. Yet, just when I thought I’d been shocked to the core, something much more shocking is revealed, and oh… GAH. I’m kind of dying at this point. It’s all extremely well-plotted (better than I thought Mochizuki had in her, to be frank) and cleverly painful. Meanwhile, Xerxes Break continues to be the most endearing character ever, and his relationship with Sharon is almost too charming to bear. Thanks, Pandora Hearts, you always come through. Increasingly recommended. – MJ

One Piece, Vol. 67

June 16, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

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

If you had not been following along with One Piece and were trying to come into this volume totally unspoiled, well, sorry. The cover totally spoils one of the funniest gags Oda’s come up with in some time, unashamedly. There’s a whole lot going on in Punk Hazard, and I’ll get to some of it later. But mostly what people remember from this volume is the bodyswapping. The reasoning behind it is somewhat flimsy – Law doesn’t want the Strawhats getting away, so does this to create chaos, I believe – but the consequences are pure gold, even if it means putting up with Sanji trying to feel himself up half the time. Even Smoker and Tashigi get in on the act, with a bodyswap that makes your head hurt even more. (Tashigi is still, I note, dealing with “we’ll obey our captain because she’s really hot!” from the crew, and is totally unable to do anything against Law. But then again, neither is Smoker.)

Oh yes, Law! One of the most popular of the Supernovas, we knew he’d show up again, but not quite so soon. He doesn’t seem to be entirely behind what’s going on here, but he’s involved in some way, and it’s interesting seeing him scheme and plan when compared with Luffy’s “well, whatever” style of piracy. As for who is behind things, well, it would appear to be ex-government scientist Caesar Clown, who is basically the Joker from Batman, only as a mad scientist. He is creepy as hell, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s the guy Luffy will have to fight a few volumes down the road. His plot involves kidnapping and experimenting on young children, which is pretty damn dark, but then I remember the other backstories that this series has given us.

I would be remiss in this review if I did not stop to talk about my favorite character. Robin gets a lot to do here, including, to my surprise and pleasure, a huge number of jokes. No, she’s not making goofy faces, but we do see her imagining Usopp and Zoro as Duck Ferry Rides, and joining with the others in stealing the villains’ clothes for warmth, and absolutely shutting Franky down when he tries to make his usual poses and faces in Chopper’s cute body. (Robin has always had a soft spot for Chopper. Also, I sense this may be Oda trying to sink the Franky/Robin ship a bit – she’s clearly REALLY IRRITATED here.) And of course she’s making her usual references to all her comrades possibly being dead on pools of blood. If it’s Robin humor you want, this is the volume for you.

And I haven’t even mentioned the goofy samurai who’s just a head, or Nami’s maternal instincts oddly popping up (I’ll buy it, but only just – I have to wonder if she’s thinking of her own childhood pre-Bellemere), or Brownbeard, of all people, making a comeback, or the really creepy chamber of corpses, or the bird woman and what role she’s playing. As ever, there’s just so much going on here. By the time you finish this volume of One Piece, you could have read 5 Bleaches! Absolutely recommended.

BL Bookrack: June 2013

June 15, 2013 by MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

Welcome to the June installment of BL Bookrack! This month, MJand Michelle take a look at two debut series from SuBLime Manga, Blue Morning and Sleeping Moon. In Brief: Help! God of Love and KINE IN! (DMG).

Blue Morning, Vol. 1 | By Shoko Hidaka | SuBLime | Rated M (Mature) – One word that I keep seeing used regarding Blue Morning is “psychological,” and much as I would like to say something new about the work, this label really is inescapable.

Akihito Kuze is the son of a viscount, but spent the early years of his childhood living away from Tokyo with his sickly mother. When his parents die six months apart, ten-year-old Akihito inherits the title and moves to the Kuze estate, where everything is capably managed by a cold young man named Tomoyuki Katsuragi. Akihito is instantly in awe of Katsuragi, but the latter shows the child neither warmth nor sympathy, but instead piles on the studies and repeatedly informs Akihito that he must be perfect in order to carry on the Kuze line. Akihito does his best to comply, and, as he grows, eventually develops an obsession to make Katsuragi notice and approve of him.

There’s a lot of really complicated and interesting character work going on here. Akihito’s early fascination with Katsuragi makes sense, given that he seemingly lived his early life mostly among women, as does the eventual evolution of his feelings. Katsuragi’s treatment of the boy makes sense, as well, once readers learn how the man came to be in the Kuze household in the first place, and the lengths to which he went to emulate his former master, while Akihito is going about, being his own person without a care. My one complaint is that a conversation about Katsuragi’s true parentage doesn’t make much sense, but perhaps it was meant to be cryptic and will be clarified in future volumes.

Complex, dark, and a bit twisted, Blue Morning is the best BL I’ve read so far this year. And, as if that weren’t reason enough to celebrate, this is a continuing series, with volume two due out in August!

– Review by Michelle Smith

Sleeping Moon, Vol. 1 | By Kano Miyamoto | Published by SuBLime | Rated Mature – Akihiko’s life has been long haunted by a curse said to kill his family’s male descendants at an early age. Though his own father unsuccessfully attempted to escape his fate by leaving home, the curse brings Akihiko, now nearing thirty, back to his roots to search for answers.

Using his research in comparative religion as an excuse to visit his family’s ancestral home, Akihiko is confronted both by the awakening of his inherited paranormal abilities and the awakening of his heart, as he finds himself drawn to two very different men. The first of these is Ren, Akihiko’s free-spirited but lonely cousin who shares his ability to see ghosts and other supernatural beings. The second is Eitaro, a young man living 100 years in the past, whom Akihiko visits in his dreams, and who bears a striking physical resemblance to Ren.

The premise I just described could so easily be the worst kind of supernatural romance, filled with overblown psychic powers and cross-generational mistaken identity. Fortunately, in Miyamoto-sensei’s capable hands, it is instead the best kind.

Akihiko’s reception in his family’s home is the kind one encounters only in stories of old, well-to-do families—an odd mix of unquestioned acceptance and extreme discomfort. That, together with his supernaturally-based connection to his cousin reminds me of nothing more than Mary Stewart’s Touch Not the Cat, a favorite novel from my teens.

This sort of strained (but undeniable) intimacy between people who’ve met only at distant family functions creates an immediate sense of history and makes relationships that spring up too quickly feel somehow perfectly natural—a decided advantage in this kind of romance. In particular, Ren’s desperate need to connect with someone, anyone, who shares his fate feels urgent and genuine, helping to ground the series despite its supernatural premise. Miyamoto’s artwork is a highlight as well, nicely capturing the sense of both past and present haunting Akihiko’s every move.

The second (and last) volume of this series is due out in September, and I admit I’m quite anxious for its arrival. Highly recommended.

– Review by MJ

In Brief:

Help! God of Love | By Tsukiko Kurebayashi | Digital Manga Guild | Rated Mature (18+) – One of the great things about the Digital Manga Guild is that it’s in a position to make available a lot of manga that would otherwise never see any kind of English release. This has resulted in the discovery of hidden gems like Climb On To My Shoulders, and expanded the English-language catalogues of talented authors like est em (KINE IN!) and Keiko Kinoshita (You & Tonight). Unfortunately, there are untranslated manga that would be better left alone. This is one of those manga. Between its ultra-contrived melodrama and underdeveloped relationships, Help! God of Love is one of the most poorly constructed BL manga I’ve read to date, a circumstance not at all helped by its occasionally awkward English adaptation. Not recommended. – MJ

KINE IN! | By est em | Digital Manga Guild | Rated Young adult (16+) – I’m always up for anything by est em, and even though the first thing I read by her—Seduce Me After the Show—remains my favorite, there is always something worthwhile to be found in her other works. I’ll admit that my faith was a little shaken by the opening chapters of KINE IN!, which revolve around a high school love triangle, but est em returns to form with the unrelated short stories that round out the volume. My particular favorites are “The Scenery of That Summer,” which is about a pair of step-brothers that meet for the first time for a funeral, and “The Salvia and the Barber,” in which a pair of sixty-year-olds decide to live together as family. Both stories are poignant and offer only a suggestion of romantic feeling. In fact, this entire volume is very chaste indeed, probably due to a recurring theme of love postponed. Definitely recommended. – Michelle Smith

Review copies provided by the publishers.

Disclosure: MJ is currently under contract with Digital Manga Publishing’s Digital Manga Guild, as necessitated for her ongoing report Inside the DMG. Any compensation earned by MJin her role as an editor with the DMG will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Other recent BL reviews from MJ & Michelle: Blue Morning (SuBLime)

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 2

June 13, 2013 by Anna N

Knights of Sidonia, Volume 2 by Tsutomu Nihei

As I was reading the second volume of Knights of Sidonia, it occurred to me that Nihei ably manages a narrative balancing act of giving the reader just a little bit more information in each volume, but not so much that everything feels completely filled in. My curiosity about the history of Sidonia was fulfilled with a bit of backstory about why the massive ship seems to be moving through space alone, isolated except for occasional attacks by the Guana. I’m still intrigued to learn more about Nagate Tanikaze and why he happens to be so good (in a somewhat bumbling way) at piloting the Tsugumori. He also seems to be continually singled out by those in command.

I enjoy the general sense of scale expressed with the illustrations of interior of the giant spaceship – it does really seem massive. The human cost that occurs when it has to maneuver itself suddenly makes it clear that even safely inside a spaceship death can come at any instant. Reading this manga, I get the sense that Nihei plans out all the details of his worlds very meticulously. One negative thing is that generally the characters in this manga suffer a bit from samefaceitius, making it sometimes difficult to sort out who is who absent any extreme differences in hairstyle. However, this is a minor quibble next to the general awesomeness of seeing the Guarde units fly through space in their ringed locked arm formation.

This is not a happy manga about giant space robots fighting aliens. The evolutionary capabilities of the Guana give some scenes a horror comic vibe, and bad things certainly happen to good people. But there’s enough humor in the strained interpersonal interactions of the people aboard the Sidonia that when finishing up a volume of this manga, I’m not feeling oppressed by tragedy but very interested to see what happens next.

Also, for those of you reading this manga solely for talking bear appearances, there is some talking bear in this volume!