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Manga the Week of 6/19

June 13, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, MJ and Anna N 4 Comments

SEAN: Sometimes the images we feature with this post work out perfectly. And sometimes we have weeks like this. Where the images I want to use are all in a row next to one another. Sigh. By the way, my shop’s getting in Yen early, so WE ARE AS WELL!

Kodansha has the final volume of their Kitchen Princess omnibus. If you hadn’t picked this up earlier, it’s now available in 4 handy volumes! And there are recipes!

MICHELLE: I regret to say that I still haven’t managed to read Kitchen Princess, despite owning the original edition in its entirety. I wonder how it compares to Arisa… is it less ridiculous?

MJ: This is one of those series I planned to catch up with in omnibus form, but have yet to pick up. Someone want to tell me how foolish I’ve been?

ANNA: Kitchen Princess is cute and sweet and a little bit weird. I need to finish the series too.

SEAN: And there’s the 28th volume of Air Gear. Which is a whole lot of Air Gear.

Vertical has a done-in-one series coming out. Utsubora: the Story of a Novelist is a psychological drama that comes from the pages of Manga Erotics F, a magazine that has given us more polarizing titles than any other, I believe. Will this one also divide readers who love it and hate it? Find out by reading it!

MICHELLE: Looks interesting!

MJ: I will usually try anything Vertical thinks I should–their track record is pretty good. So I will definitely check it out.

SEAN: Viz has the final volume of Children of the Sea, which was one of its first Ikki titles but ran up against the dreaded “the final volume isn’t out in Japan yet”. It’s been two and a half years, and honestly I think I may have to re-read. But I do recall being very fond of this series about love, loss and the sea.

MICHELLE: I have actually been hoarding Children of the Sea, so now I’m glad of a chance to read the series all in one go.

MJ: I have missed this series! Though, like Sean, I may have to start from the beginning again at this point.

ANNA: I’ve read a couple volumes of this and it is lovely.

SEAN: And the rest is all Yen. I am very fond of GA Art Design Class, which has a very entertaining cast of moe stereotypes, but more importantly, due to this series I have learned SO MUCH MORE about art. Vol. 5 is out. (And yes, it is still not Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro.)

At least, what we’ve been waiting for: the home stretch of the main Higurashi Storyline. Not to spoil or anything, but this is, finally, the one with the Good End. Festival Accompanying Arc starts with this omnibus, which gives us Miyo Takano’s backstory, and needs a giant TRIGGER WARNING: ABUSE applied to it. But still good stuff.

MICHELLE: I just can’t make myself read Higurashi. It’s like you said in your recent Umineko review, Sean. We’re not supposed to like these people or care what happens to them personally; we’re just supposed to care about the mystery. But I guess I can’t simply stick around for that if I don’t like the protagonists at least a little.

SEAN: I’d argue that the big difference between Higurashi and Umineko is, in fact, that the characters ARE more likeable in Higurashi. Sure, they can be horribly screwed up, particularly in the earlier arcs, but we get to see them learn from past iterations and grow as people. Umineko is more about trying to figure out what’s going on and solving the mystery, and the development of a bunch of gold-happy adults is quite secondary. (The kids fare a bit better.)

MICHELLE: That does sound more like something I’d enjoy.

SEAN: Kingdom Hearts has a new volume out, called Chain of Memories. I still don’t know much about this except it has Donald and Goofy in a fantasy game world setting.

Pandora Hearts 16! MJ? Tag!

MICHELLE: How have I gotten so far behind on this one?! I’ve only read through twelve!

MJ: I’m sure nobody will be surprised to hear that I CAN’T WAIT. Seriously, though, things have really gotten intense. Every volume at this point is a source of great anticipation. So. Y’know. GIMME.

SEAN: For those who enjoyed the mindscrew that was Madoka Magica and want more, here’s the first of two spinoff manga licensed by Yen. Kazumi Magica features a different lead, but no doubt will still have the same old Kyuubey lurking around.

MJ: I found the manga to be a little disappointing, but I’ll probably give this spinoff a shot.

SEAN: Soul Eater has a big artbook coming out. Considering that one of the top three reasons I read Soul Eater is the amazing art, this is a pretty big deal. Even casual fans should give this one a look.

Spice & Wolf! Did you know it had a manga as well, to go along with the light novels? It does! It’s also caught up to Japan, so be prepared to wait a bit.

And lastly, there’s volume 3 of Triage X. If you like BTOOOM! but wanted more motorcycles, try this series.

MICHELLE: Ugh. I am very tempted to christen BTOOOM! “the-manga-that-must-not-be-named,” that’s how little I’d like to think about it in the future.

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: What manga are you getting for your father? (Please don’t say Triage X.)

Atomcat

June 13, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

By Osamu Tezuka. Released in Japan by Sekai Bunkasha, serialized in the magazine Nico Nico Comic. Released in North America by Digital Manga Publishing.

I have been noticing, around the internet, a lot less enthusiasm for this particular title as opposed to other Tezuka titles. Usually the comment will start by saying “Well, any Tezuka is good Tezuka, BUT…” and then moving on to note its fluffiness and lack of deep, tragic history. This is a marked contrast to the other type of Tezuka fan, which is the “we must have every single Tezuka work ever created translated into English as soon as possible!” sort. I have sympathy for both camps. Tezuka wrote a TON of stuff, and not all of it is going to be on the scale of Apollo’s Song or Buddha. At the same time, I do want to see his lighter comics that are just moments of everyday life or dumb humor. And that’s why I’m quite pleased to see Atomcat, which is both.

The story of a young boy and his Astro Boy-themed superhero cat, this manga actually intersperses moments from the actual Astro Boy manga (redrawn by Tezuka) as contrast and compare. Usually Tsugio reads about another aspect of Atom’s fairly crappy life, and sympathizes, then has to deal with his own issues, such as an eccentric father, overbearing mother, and the ever-present school bullies. He tries to take home a stray cat as a pet, but the cat is an absolute disaster, destroying everything in the house in a great comedy sequence. Taking it away so he can abandon it, he and the cat and struck by a car… driven by Princess Diana. Only not really, she and Prince Charles are actually ALIENS. The boy is fine, but the cat is dead, so they fix him using the boy’s memories… with are filled with Astro Boy. So now the cat is intelligent and has superpowers. This doesn’t help quite as much as you think, although he’s a few levels above Doraemon.

This is a very 1980s manga – leaving aside Charles and Di the space aliens, we also have the school bully being named Gaddafi. It’s also very much for kids – Unico was too, but it had an undercurrent of melancholy at its core that Atomcat simply doesn’t possess. This is broad comedy with lots of funny faces. Our hero’s father is an absentminded freak, and his wife is the typical cartoon wife – all she needs is a rolling pin to beat her husband with. Atomcat and Tsugio fight mummies and gangsters, search for island treasure, and plunge through the sewers of Japan.

There’s no real character arc here – Tsugio starts the series as a bit of a wimp, and ends that way as well, and the series does not so much end as stop. But it’s fun! The dialogue is snappy, the Astro Boy inserts work well with the themes of the stories, and there’s lots and lots of comedic slapstick, which Tezuka was very good at indeed. I read this title and thought of Mitsuru Adachi’s Cross Game, or Rumiko Takahashi’s Ranma 1/2. Everyone says they’re influenced by Tezuka, but we tend to look for it in series like Ayako. In reality, these manga artists were more likely to grow up reading stories like these – and these are the stories that influenced a future generation. Fluff, but IMPORTANT fluff.

Twinkle Twinkle

June 12, 2013 by Ash Brown

Author: Kaori Ekuni
Translator: Emi Shimokawa
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781932234015
Released: May 2003
Original release: 1991
Awards: Murasaki Shikibu Literary Prize

Kaori Ekuni’s novel Twinkle Twinkle was the first of her works to be translated into English. Ekuni is both a bestseller and a literary award winner in Japan. Initially she wrote poetry and children’s stories before beginning to write for a more general audience. Twinkle Twinkle, originally published in Japan in 1991, was her debut novel and earned Ekuni the Murasaki Shikibu Literary Prize in 1992. Also in 1992, Twinkle Twinkle was adapted into a film directed by Joji Matsuoka. The novel was translated into English by Emi Shimokawa and published by Vertical in 2003. (Twinkle Twinkle was actually the first book ever to be released by Vertical.) Despite being a well-known and admired author in Japan, before reading Twinkle Twinkle I was unfamiliar with Ekuni and her work. After reading Twinkle Twinkle I sincerely hope that more of her writing is translated. Currently the only other novel by Ekuni available in English is God’s Boat.

Shoko and Mutsuki married four months after they first met, much to the delight of their respective parents who feared that their progeny would never find someone to spend the rest of their lives (and hopefully have children) with. Although Shoko and Mutsuki are pleased with their arrangement, each is hiding a secret from their new in-laws. Shoko is an alcoholic and emotionally unstable while Mutsuki is gay and continues to see his long-term boyfriend Kon. Shoko and Mutsuki care for each other, but their marriage is one of convenience more than anything else. They are each free to live their lives how they choose while at the same time are able to keep up appearances for their families. It seems like a perfect marriage as long as they can prevent their parents from discovering the farce. But during their first year together things begin to unravel. Neither Shoko or Mutsuki quite realize what all of the consequences of their marriage might actually be.

Each chapter of Twinkle Twinkle alternates between Shoko and Mutsuki’s individual perspectives. It’s a great technique that lets readers see both sides of their relationship and how they view each other. It also allows a glimpse into the newlyweds’ internal states of being. Throughout the novel it is clear that both Shoko and Mutsuki deeply care about the other. They’re not exactly romantically involved and they may not be having sex together, but they both want the other to be happy and work to make that happen. It’s not always easy, though. Both of them have habits that either baffle or annoy the other and they’re not always sure what to do about it. As Twinkle Twinkle and the first year of their marriage progresses Shoko becomes increasingly unstable—anxious that she isn’t able to adequately fulfill her role. As for Mutsuki, as wonderful as he can be, he’s unable to ease Shoko’s fears; his kindness often makes matters worse.

Twinkle Twinkle is a very peculiar love story between two incredibly imperfect people. But it’s Shoko and Mutsuki’s faults and flaws that make the novel as effective as it is. No marriage is perfect and even a fake one takes a tremendous amount of effort to maintain. To make matters even more complicated there’s Kon, who at times is on better terms with Shoko than he is with Mutsuki. Kon is extremely important to both of them as well as to the story itself. Together Kon, Shoko, and Mutsuki form an intense triangle with relationship dynamics crucial to their development as people and to the development of the novel. Twinkle Twinkle is fairly light in its tone and is immensely readable, but Ekuni still manages to pack several hard-hitting punches into the narrative. Personally, I loved Twinkle Twinkle. It’s one of the best novels that I’ve read recently and I can easily see myself reading it again.

Midweek manga roundup

June 12, 2013 by Brigid Alverson

Don’t know what to read? Check out the Manga Bookshelf bloggers’ Pick of the Week discussion.

At Heart of Manga, Laura looks at the new shoujo manga releases we can expect in June.

The Manga Out Loud podcast returns for a one-shot appearance, with hosts Ed Sizemore and Johanna Draper Carlson discussing the latest manga news and guest Tim Maughan talking about the Time of Eve anime.

Lori Henderson devotes her latest Manga Dome podcast to vol. 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam.

News from Japan: Good news for One Piece fans: It’s back in Shonen Jump this week, after creator Eiichiro Oda took a two-week hiatus for health reasons.

Reviews: Ash Brown checks in with the weekly report at Experiments in Manga. And the Manga Bookshelf team files their weekly set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Demon Love Spell (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 8 and 9 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Comics Worth Reading)
Justin on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood (Organization ASG)
Nick Smith on vols. 1 and 2 of Kingdom Hearts (ICv2)
Alex Hoffman on Monokuro Kinderbook (Manga Widget)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of No. 6 (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Pokemon Black and White (Blogcritics)
Mark Thomas on vol. 30 of Skip Beat! (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (The Comic Book Bin)

It Came from the Sinosphere: The Lady Hermit

June 11, 2013 by Sara K. 1 Comment

Wow. A Hong Kong martial arts movie which puts a female-female relationship at the heart of the story.

The Story

A servant called Leng Yushang observes talented young woman called Cui Ping comes to town. Cui Ping is embarking on a career of helping innocent people and kicking butt. She is searching for “Zhong Kui Niang” (who I will henceforth refer to as “the Lady Hermit”) so she can become her disciple and learn how to kick butt even harder. The catch is that nobody knows where ‘the Lady Hermit’ is. The ‘Lady Hermit’ had been badly injured by the ‘Black Demon’, and hasn’t been seen since. Little does Cui Ping know that Leng Yushang is, in fact, the ‘Lady Hermit’ living incognito.

Of course, while Cui Ping tries to uphold justice, she gets into a lot of trouble (criminals generally are not amused when their activities are discrupted), so Leng Yushang has to interfere, and eventually, break her cover.

Background

Zhong Kui is a figure from Chinese mythology who fights and surppresses demons. “Zhong Kui Niang” means “Lady Zhong Kui,” implying the Leng Yushang, like Zhong Kui, is a mysterious vanquisher of evil.

This film stars the legendary martial arts actress Cheng Peipei as the “Lady Hermit.” You know how I always like to compare martial arts to dancing? Before starring in martial arts movies, Cheng Peipei studied ballet for six years. This is also the first film which casts Shi Szu in a leading role as “Cui Ping,” and thus put her on the map. I’ve read that Shaw Brothers intentionally wanted to make Shi Szu “the next Cheng Peipei,” so the purpose of the film was probably to transfer the aura of Cheng Peipei onto Shi Szu. Not that I’m complaining.

The Fighting

Since this was made during the golden era of the Shaw Brothers, of course all of the fighting is good from a technical standpoint. However, it was a bit difficult for me to get really involved in the action because the Lady Hermit and Cui Ping mow down their opponents too quickly. Instead of making the Lady Hermit and Cui Ping seem awesome, it just makes their opponents look terribly incompetent. The heroes really should struggle a bit more when vanquishing their foes.

Of course, I do like the fight at the suspension bridge, simply because it integrates great scenery and action so beautifully.

Checkov’s Bridge: If there is a suspension bridge in an action scene, it will collapse while our protagonist is on it.

Which brings me to the topic of …

The Scenery

I love the scenery in this film!

First of all, it is beautiful scenery, but it’s not just that it’s beautiful – I love the way the characters really seem to live in the scenery.

Leng Yushang at sunset

In some movies, the scenery simply stuns the audience with its beauty. And I like that too. But in this movie, rather than stunning the audience, it naturally blends into the movie as a whole.

Even the bad guys are part of the scenery.

I think this might be partially because it is not isolated from the characters/actors. When filmmakers really want to emphasis the scenery, they place the scenery alone, without the characters.

This was the only scenic shot I found without any humans.

But this film does not do that often, and when it does, it chooses relatively soft scenery which blends smoothly with the preceeding and following shots. Often, the actors are incorporated into the overall visual image presented.

Cui Ping looks isolated and alone amid the trees and mountains.

And I like the trick where characters are often introduced by reflections in the water.

This is the first sign that the Lady Hermit is on the scene!

And it’s also nice that there is variety in the scenic shots: grassy mountains, bamboo forests, temples at night…

You know how I like to compare martial arts flicks to dance musicals…

Doesn’t this screenshot feel a bit Busby Berkeley?

Female-Female Relationship For the Win

Since almost every wuxia story has a variety of female characters, it is not hard to find stories which pass the letter of the Bechdel test. But wuxia stories which depict deep female-female relationships are rare. The only other wuxia story I know about which puts female-female relationships front and center (rather than as an aside to the Much More Important Male-Female Relationships) is The Celestial Zone.

By the way, when I say male-female relationships tend to get more weight than female-female realtionships, I’m not just talking about the romantic relationships. For some reason, more weight gets put on daughter-father and sister-brother relationships than daughter-mother and sister-sister relationships.

The development of the relationship is what sucked me into the movie, as Cui Ping and Leng Yushang slowly reveal themselves to each other. The moment when Leng Yushang finally accepts Cui Ping as her student is sweet indeed.

Of course, the relationship is so compelling because both Leng Yushang and Cui Ping are individually interesting characters. Leng Yushang is collected, experienced, calm, quiet, grounded … and slowly healing old wounds. However, while she’s very discreet, she is not the least bit cold – she’s quite warm, friendly, and open when she is not being the ‘Lady Hermit’ or trying to hide her identity.

Meanwhile Cui Ping is young, energetic, brash, bold, and naive. She has very strong feelings about almost everything, which is what drives her to try to uphold justice, constantly improve her martial arts, and try so hard to find the “Lady Hermit.”

You might notice that these two are a bit like opposites, and I find their relationship compelling in the same way that good ‘opposites attract’ romances are compelling.

I really have to applaud both Cheng Peipei and Shi Szu’s performances, as I feel that their acting is what made the teacher-student relationship between the Leng Yushang and Cui Ping feel so intense.

… But There’s Something Which Irritated Me

And that is Changchun.

Well, not Changchun himself. As a character, he is so empty that there’s not much about him personally which can irritate me. It’s his position in the story which irritates me.

First of all, I don’t understand why the female characters are so attracted to him. There is nothing in the script which explains this, so the only explanation I can think of is that he is physically handsome, in which case they should have cast a better-looking actor.

Now, I do actually like the scenes between Changchun and Leng Yushang, since they seem genuinely tender without being over-the-top. Okay, maybe I can understand why Leng Yushang likes him.

What really irritates me is that a) Cui Ping gets a crush on Changchun and b) when Cui Ping discovers how sweet and tender Changchun and Leng Yushang are, even though she is not in a committed exclusive relationship with Changchun, she decides to break off her relationship with Leng Yushang.

WHAT!

Cui Ping went to great lengths to become Leng Yushang’s disciple, and her actions indicate that Leng Yushang is the most important person in the world to her. It’s understandable that she would be upset to see Leng Yushang and Changchun touching each other lovingly … but to break up with Leng Yushang over a mere crush seems to indicate that the teacher-student bond was not as important to her as the audience was led to believe.

Disclosure Time.

I will admit that, as an aromantic, I am particularly sensistive to this sort of thing (if you do not know much about aromantic people, here’s a primer). I have nothing against romance – I even like well-written fictional romances – but to me, full-blown romance is like sisterhood – very common, frequently interesting, but something I will probably never personally experience. That’s okay, because sibling relationships and romantic relationships are not the only kinds of relationships which can be psychologically fulfilling.

I do not like being told that romantic relationships are so special that it’s only natural that any other relationships – no matter how deep – can be dumped for romance – regardless of how shallow the romance is. If individual people want to only value romantic relationships, that’s their business (though I think they should inform their friends, families, and colleagues that they do not value non-romantic relationships). But to see such a wonderful teacher-student relationship disrupted over such an empty romance is heartbreaking.

Then again, Chang Yushang herself is hurt by Cui Ping’s actions, and it seems that Cui Ping is so upset not because her feelings for Changchun are so deep, but because her feelings for Leng Yushang are do deep.

And this brings us back to culture.

One of the reasons I enjoy Chinese-language fiction as much as I do is that, compared to mainstream English-language fiction, the value of romantic relationships is more balanced with other kinds of relationships. And ultimately, the movie does vindicate me, and show that the relationship between Leng Yushang and Cui Ping is far more important than anything going on with Changchun. In an American movie … I think that vindication would have been less likely.

Even son … sigh … I wish they had chosen a different plot device to acheive the same effect.

Availability in English

This movie is available on Region 3 DVD with English subtitles.

Conclusion

A beautiful movie about a beautiful relationship between two vivid characters. What more can I say?

This column will go on hiatus for two weeks.

The Dragon Boat Festival is happening on June 12th! Time for Sara to go watch some dragon boat races and eat some rice dumplings. She also finally has an excuse to visit the town of Longtan.

Drama Diary: IRIS Episodes 1-5

June 11, 2013 by Anna N 1 Comment

I tend to watch mostly romantic comedies when I am viewing k-drama, but IRIS is a bit different. This is a decidedly action-oriented series, and while there is a little bit of romance and comedy, more than anything else this series resembles a k-drama take on the Bourne Identity. Iris is also notable because it stars Byung-hun Lee, who is currently making a crossover bid to Hollywood movies this summer with his roles in GI JOE: Retaliation and Red 2. This series also has some interesting shifts in timeline as the plot unfolds. While in my more cynical moments I might think that the circular nature of the first few episodes was designed to provide an excuse to reuse footage of an expensive location shoot, the opening of the series certainly caught my attention.

A young Korean agent in Hungary is given a solo mission, and told that it is very important. We see him scouting everything out and positioning himself to carry out an assassination. He carries out his mission, killing the North Korean Prime Minister. But he’s shot by a North Korean agent as he makes his getaway! He manages to get back to his safehouse and requests assistance, only to be told that he’s on his own. All of this happens in the first eight minutes of the episode!

Much like Superman, Kim Hyun Joon uses glasses to hide his true identity.

Much like Superman, Hyun Joon uses glasses to hide his true identity.

Our hero is injured again in a confrontation with North Korean agents, and he passes out. The episode flashes back to the past, where we meet a slightly younger and more idiotic version of Kim Hyun Joon, training as a member of Korean Special Forces and attending college classes, where an attractive woman, Choi Seung Hee, basically makes him look stupid over and over again. Our hero is the type to relentlessly pursue any woman who seems disinterested in him, but she’s able to fend off his advances and drink him under the table.

Not distracted by his handsomeness at all…

Hyun Joon trains with his best friend Jin Sa Woo aka “Second Lead Guy”. Sa Woo goes out for drinks with a man from his hometown, who brings along a beautiful female colleague, who just happens to be the student Kim Hyun Joon is crushing on. They talk, and Sa Woo also decides that he’s met his ideal woman.

Sa Woo, often confused about life.

Hyun Joon and Sa Woo are inducted into a secret branch of the Korean government, but not before they are subjected to some cloak and dagger shenanigans. Hyun Joon isn’t having any of that, and ends up proving his value as a secret agent due to his ability to resist the effects of mysterious injections, throw chairs against interrogation glass windows, and look like a seething badass in a wifebeater. It turns out that Seung Hee is actually an extremely gifted profiler and her interactions with the two men were part of a process to evaluate their suitability as secret agents. To make things even more complicated, Seung Hee is now their superior officer.

No one to take rules about fraternization between agents very seriously, Hyun Joon pursues Seung Hee relentlessly. They have a successful first mission and take off on a secret vacation together to Japan. The blissful lovers are called back to duty though, and Hyun Joon is given the solo mission that introduced the whole series at the start of the first episode. Hyun Joon is stranded, wounded, and accused of being an enemy agent by his country and a target of North Korean agents!

IRIS has much better production values than the typical k-drama, and the action scenes are well-directed. IRIS also inspired two related series, IRIS II, and Athena: Goddess of War. If you’re looking for an action-filled drama to enjoy over the summer, you can’t go wrong with IRIS.

IRIS is streaming on Dramafever

No. 6, Vol. 1

June 11, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

By Atsuko Asano and Hinoki Kino. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Aria. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

Dystopias are, as a general rule, not my cup of tea. Those who read this blog on a regular basis already know that I’ll forgive a lot of a story if it has a happy ending; likewise, if a series is just unrelentingly grim, all I really feel is exhausted. But that isn’t to say that a series can’t still win me over with enough interesting things going on. No. 6 is indeed one of those series. It takes place in a supposed elite utopia that turns out to have many deep, dark secrets, and our hero quickly finds out how fast events can turn against him. It’s also shoujo – it runs in Aria, Kodansha’s upscale magazine that’s competing with titles like Asuka and Wings to get the teen “not quite BL” market.

Our hero’s name is Shion, a stoic and reserved young man who is on the fast track for the elite school (and this is among a city of elites) until he lets a young fugitive, who seems to be called Rat, briefly stay at his place, and sews up his wounds. This causes him to lose that elite privilege, something which… really doesn’t bother him much. Several years later, he’s working part-time jobs and staring blankly at his female best friend, who blatantly says she wants to sex him up but is just not registering on his radar, when he comes across a hideous government conspiracy that is killing people by aging them to death. He’s rescued by Rat, and is forced to abandon his life and go on the run, where he’ll find out what the city is really like.

Passive characters like Shion have to be handled very carefully not to be boring. Luckily, these creators are doing a good job so far. Shion may be reserved, but he’s not unemotional, and I like his youthful enthusiasm (which sadly wears down as the volume goes on) and bluntness when he first meets Rat. The scenes with Safu, the aforementioned best friend, are also both quite funny and very telling. It’s not entirely clear if he’s uninterested because he’s not into girls (certainly he bonds better with Rat than he has with Safu) or if the concept of sexual love has simply never occurred to him, but it’s another thing that serves to make him watchable. (By the way, Safu will be dying at some point in this series, sacrificing her life for Shion. I don’t know any spoilers, but bank on this happening anyway, because DUR HEY.)

Rat is less successful, being more of a standard smug pretty boy who has learned not to trust anyone but can’t help but be drawn to our hero. Likewise, the government conspiracy itself, along with its Orwellian officers who administer it, are very much out of the school of Dystopias 101. The aging-to-death thing is pretty horrific, but we don’t know either of the victims long enough for it to really sink in. And the art is serviceable, but doesn’t really pull you in much.

That said, I’m interested to see what happens with Shion, who’s an intriguing enough character that I’ll try another volume of this. The genre isn’t my cup of tea, but the lead may be. And it’s a definite must-buy for anyone who likes conspiracy thrillers with overtones of possible BL romance.

Pick of the Week: Loveless & More

June 10, 2013 by MJ, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Sean Gaffney 2 Comments

MJ: It’s a bit of an odd week in the shipping department, and though I’m certainly tempted by volume four of SuBLime’s adorable His Favorite, and intrigued by Kodansha debut series No. 6, I going to do the predictable thing by choosing the latest volume of my beloved Loveless. Though I won’t be able to dig into my copy until next month, when Viz’s omnibus releases finally catch up with their single volumes, I’ll be treasuring it all the while. For an emotionally complicated, morally challenging, and thoroughly engaging read, you can’t do better than Loveless.

MICHELLE: While I’m also anticipating being able to get caught up on Loveless, I’ll award my pick this week to Kano Miyamoto’s Sleeping Moon. Some of her works were previously published by Deux Press (remember them?), and I found Lovers and Souls in particular to be touching and memorable. And I also like it when BL attempts to have a genuine plot, so this supernatural historical mystery seems to be right up my street.

ANNA: There’s not much on the print manga front that truly excites me. I’m going to pick Alice 19th #1, since it is newly released on Viz’ digital platform. This is one of my favorite non-Fushigi Yuugi Watase series, and as you might expect the art is gorgeous.

SEAN: Hrm. Yeah, it’s one of those weeks. I guess I’ll pick Atomcat. It’s one of Tezuka’s sillier ideas (as well as a horrible pun, something I’m sure he loved), but it sounds like a lighter, fluffier Tezuka title, which makes for a wonderful change of pace from his more serious stories we’ve seen Lately. Heck, even Unico was a bummer most of the time. Let’s hope Atomcat cheers me right up.

What looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 6/10/13

June 10, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ, Michelle Smith and Anna N 2 Comments

BTOOOM!, Vol. 2 | By Junya Inoue | Yen Press – No, sorry. You don’t get to have vivid shots of “cool violence”, showing lingering closeups of blown-up corpses and a young deviant raping dead women, culminating in a teaser for the new volume whose entire point is “will this hot girl get naked and raped? Tune in to find out!” … you don’t get to do that and then have the hero go on about how violence is wrong and that it’s self-evident that Kira is a psycho. The manga itself is not practicing what it preaches, and there’s basically no reason not to identify with Kira rather than Ryouta if you’re a typical fan of hentai doujinshi where things like this happen. This *isn’t* hentai doujinshi, but it’s aiming for a similar market – guys who like sexy danger, sexy corpses, and sexy assault – and it’s pretty much lost me. Sorry, BTOOOM!. I’m sure your backstory is interesting, but bye. – Sean Gaffney

Limit, Vol. 5 | By Keiko Suenobu | Vertical, Inc. – I admit I’m starting to hit my limit with Limit, and I’m a bit relieved that it’s wrapping up with Vol. 6. My main problem is that I don’t like Hinata that much – yes, he’s not supposed to be likeable here, but I don’t even sympathize with him in a “what a broken guy” way. I was bored to tears during his long monologue. Luckily, Konno is a far more interesting protagonist, and when she’s in control of the narrative things get quite good indeed – particularly the attempt on her life, which was probably the best scene in the book. I’m not entirely sure how this is going to end – it cold go either way, despite the occasional page or two we get devoted to the grieving families – but I’m hoping the final volume has put murder and long, tortured monologues behind it and gets back to a fight to survive. -Sean Gaffney

New Moon, Vol. 1 | By Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim | Yen Press – Now several volumes in to Yen Press’ adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s incredibly popular Twilight saga, I’m more convinced than ever that graphic novels are the ideal format for her storytelling. Though Bella’s obsession with her controlling undead boyfriend is no less disturbing than it ever was (and New Moon, in particular, suffers from one of the most trying cases of Guy #2 in YA fiction history), without Meyer’s cringe-worthy prose dragging them down, these books are vastly more palatable than I ever dreamed they could be. Young Kim’s TV-pretty artwork continues to suit the story’s tone, and though some of the italic text in this volume is questionably readable, it’s possible we’re better off missing some of Bella’s internal narrative. If you’re looking for great girls’ comics, there are far better series available. But if you’re determined to read Twilight, this is absolutely the way to go. – MJ

One Piece, Vol. 67 | By Eiichiro Oda | Viz Media – When I recently talked about the first arc of the “New World” segment of One Piece for Off the Shelf, I described it as fun, but not the series as its best. The problem was that the characters weren’t invested with what they were doing. Happily, that changes with volume 67, which manages to not only be genuinely funny and absurd in several places—not the least of which is the fact that four members of the crew wind up swapping bodies—but also involves injustices that fire our heroes up (particularly Chopper). This is the best volume in a while, and on top of that, there’s some juicy political intrigue at the end when a fellow pirate proposes an alliance with Luffy in his plan to depose one of the Four Emperors. I have no idea if Luffy will go for it, but that could really take the story in an exciting direction! – Michelle Smith

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 14 |By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – This is my favorite stress-relief manga. The ridiculous comedic set pieces in Oresama Teacher entertain me so much that I don’t even mind the lack of forward -moving plot. In this volume Mafuyu manages to restore Kanon’s faith in the male species by saving her while dressed up as Natsuo, a scrappy boy student. Takaomi gives Mafuyu a lift back home for a school break, resulting in a ridiculous scavenger hunt on her old stomping grounds as a juvenile delinquent. We get a brief and hilarious glimpse into Mafuyu and Takaomi’s past, as we see her hanging out with him when she was a young girl and he was the revolutionary gang leader who united rival high schools. Overall, this was a fun volume to read, and Takaomi has been absent from recent volumes, so it was nice to see him more present in the story again. – Anna N

Skip Beat!, Vol. 31 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – I wonder if this arc is coming out due to Nakamura missing all the awesome blood and violence she used to draw with Tokyo Crazy Paradise? In any case, they’re still filming as Cain Heel and his sister Setsu, and Ren is still having tremendous difficulty dealing with it. The timing of the chapters here is quite interesting, really – several scenes are flashbacks later on, which allows us to get the maximum drama when Setsu walks in on a murder attempt. (Again, I note I have genuine issues with how the cast handles method acting, but pretty much have to let that go.) I’m also pleased we’re still seeing Sho here – he’s an immature brat, but as a character I love how he interacts with Kyoko. Far more than Kijima, who I merely find a smarmy bastard. Ah well, Skip Beat! 31 is fantastic as always. – Sean Gaffney

Soul Eater, Vol. 14 | By Atsushi Ohkubo | Yen Press – Another chapter of fighting, but things are starting to get a bit desperate – indeed, our heroes suffer a major loss (not a death, I don’t think, and I have no doubt this will be the next major “arc” of the series. The cover is quite stark and memorable, and reminds me that it’s the weird art that drew me into this series in the first place – indeed, the scenes with Soul and Maka as puppets is some of the creepiest stuff I’ve seen in Soul Eater, and this is from a series that had a snake crawling down a little girl’s throat. But they’ve finally hit Arachnae’s base, and Black*Star seems to have emerged victorious, so I suspect we may be nearing an ending of sorts. Excellent shonen with lots of fights, great characters, and weird stuff going on all the time. No surprise this is running in the same magazine that Fullmetal Alchemist did. -Sean Gaffney

Thermae Romae, Vol. 2 | By Mari Yamazaki | Yen Press – Thermae Romae‘s debut volume was enjoyable, no doubt, but even as I reveled in Mari Yamazaki’s playful humor and detailed artwork, I’ll admit to having harbored grave doubts regarding its sustainability as a series. Gag manga in general tends to wear quickly with me, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much mileage a single gimmick could possibly provide, however beautifully drawn. I must now apologize for my lack of faith. With much study and obvious passion, Yamazaki-sensei has created much more than a gimmick with her time-traveling Roman bath engineer, and his story remains both genuinely funny and oddly moving—especially during this volume’s last few chapters in which Lucius has found himself trapped in modern Japan with no apparent means of return. And is romance on the horizon as well? Thermae Romae succeeds as both comedy and long-form storytelling—a rare combination indeed! Highly recommended. – MJ

Seven Seas gets a new license; MMF returns

June 10, 2013 by Brigid Alverson

Seven Seas has announced yet another new license: Zero’s Familiar Chevalier, a sequel to Zero’s Familiar.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest Yuri Network News at Okazu.

I looked at the past week’s new releases, plus the digital Astro Boy magazine, in my latest Manga Tipsheet column for MTV Geek.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks forward to this week’s new manga.

ICv2 has the May BookScan numbers and Naruto topped the chart; altogether there were eight manga in the top 20, which is not too shabby!

MJ and Michelle Smith take on two very different manga, Milk Morinaga’s yuri manga Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink and the Shonen Jump title Cross Manage, in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

The centerpiece of this month’s Manga Moveable Feast will be Skip Beat, and our hostess, Laura, posts the call for participants at Heart of Manga.

Jocelyne Allen writes about Twinkle, which was given to to her as a gift by Taiyo Matsumoto during TCAF, and which is by his wife.

Tony Yao has more Paradise Kiss quotes for us at Manga Therapy.

Reviews

Lissa Pattillo on vols. 1 and 2 of Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fantastic Rabbit (Kuriousity)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Are You Alice? (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Blue Morning (I Reads You)
Connie C. on Chicago, Japan, and Mars (Comics Should Be Good)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 10 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Marlan Moore on vol. 1 of Flowers of Evil (Inside AX)
Chris Beveridge on vols. 1, 3, and 4 of Heroman (The Fandom Post)
Katherine Hanson on Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink (Yuri no Boke)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 3 of Knights of Sidonia (Matt Talks About Manga)
Kate O’Neil on vols. 5 and 6 of Loveless (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
TSOTE on vol. 3 of Monju (Three Steps Over Japan)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
TSOTE on vol. 36 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 28 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 14 of Soul Eater (The Fandom Post)
Mark Thomas on vol. 12 of Sumomomo Momomo (The Fandom Post)
Marlan Moore on vol. 1 of Sunny (Inside AX)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Tsubasa (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Umineko When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Justin on The V Sign (Organization ASG)