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Library Wars: Love and War, Vol. 9

March 19, 2013 by Anna N

Library Wars: Love and War, Vol 9 by Kiiro Yumi

This manga is one of my go-to comfort reads. As a librarian, I am always happy to read about Library Wars‘s slight goofy premise of librarians becoming a paramilitary force to fight censorship, and while the development of the inevitable romance between overly tall rookie recruit Iku Kasahara and her intense, slightly short, and ever capable instructor Dojo might not be filled with much suspense, there are plenty of adorable and amusing moments along the way.

Iku now knows that Dojo is her fabled “Prince”, the long lost officer from her past who inspired her to join the Library Force. Dojo doesn’t yet know that she knows, but it is growing more and more difficult for the would-be couple to hide their feelings for each other. This volume is fairly episodic, but the stories do serve to push Iku and Dojo closer together. Iku takes part in a sting operation to catch a pervert that is preying on disabled women in the library, and Dojo isn’t very happy that she was placed in harm’s way even though she does manage to finish off the mission capably. Most of the volume centers around the skill test that Iku, Tezuka, and Shibazaki must pass to move up a level. Tezuka and Shibazaki don’t need to worry about passing the written part of the test, but Dojo volunteers to subject Iku to some merciless tutoring to make sure that she’ll be able to advance in her chosen profession. The skills test is where Iku will shine, because it involves leading a storytime for little kids. Tezuka has a bit of a child phobia, and he isn’t sure how to handle it. Iku seems incredibly casual about the situation but as she wanders around going on extra walks, she’s actually designing an incredibly successful active learning activity that ensures she’s going to pass the skill test with high marks. There are some great moments of awkwardness as Dojo apologizes to Iku for not having more faith in her, and she tries to give him a present in thanks for his help on the test.

In many ways, Library Wars is a standard sort of shoujo title, but Yumi’s art easily shifts between showing details of blushes and cartoonish negative emotions as the characters experience the agony of unexpressed love. The paramilitary library plotlines are amusing if one doesn’t think too hard about them, and Iku and Dojo are such a cute couple that I’d happily read many more volumes of the manga.

I didn’t realize that a live action movie adaptation was going to be released in Japan next month! Check out the trailer, what do you think?

Bringing the Drama: Stars Falling from the Sky

March 19, 2013 by Anna N, Michelle Smith, Nancy Thistlethwaite and Emily Snodgrass 1 Comment

Anna: Stars Falling From the Sky is a drama with an unusual plot twist as the circumstances of the heroine change dramatically between the first and second episode. Jin Pal Kang is the worst insurance saleswoman in Korea. She’s superficial and spends most of her time shopping and spending her meager salary on items to attract the attention of her crush, an emotionless lawyer named Won Kang Ha. Pal Kang’s family life is extremely chaotic as her parents have adopted five younger siblings. Pal Kang’s life drastically changes when her parents get killed in a car accident. She manages to secure a job as a housekeeper for the handsome lawyer, but becoming the sole provider for five adopted siblings and actually maintaining her insurance job is going to be difficult! Won Kang Ha’s house is also occupied by his feckless nephew and his overly kind brother, providing a perfect set-up for a love rectangle. Stars Falling From the Sky is available on Dramafever.

Stars Falling From the Sky!

I found this series immensely addicting and I watched all 20 episodes in a couple weeks. What were your reactions to the first few episodes?

Michelle: I went from almost violently hating everyone—except Pal Kang’s long-suffering best friend—in episode one to feeling pretty addicted myself by the end of episode two! The heroine turns around overnight, practically, and even the kids grow more distinct. I think I might end up actually making it to the end of this series (which would be a kdrama first for me), which I didn’t think would be possible when it took me several sittings to get through just the first episode.

Anna: The first episode was rough going, just because really the only characters that I liked were Pal Kang’s parents. That being said, I had a certain amount of sympathy for how selfishly she was behaving just based on her hectic home life. If I was a young 20something and was still living at home with a gaggle of siblings causing chaos everywhere, I might become overly fixated on snobby lawyers and shopping myself. I thought the ending of the first episode was so shocking I immediately started watching the second, and then I was hooked. One of the things I like so much about this series is the more realistic way the characters develop. Pal Kang becomes a much better person but it doesn’t happen overnight.

Michelle: I suppose I never did hate her dad, but her mother frustrated me with her refusal to do anything about the younger siblings destroying Pal Kang’s things and, in fact, blaming it on Pal Kang. But you’re right, the end of the first episode suddenly gets riveting starting with the parents going to the site of the proposed hospital. When I wrote that Pal Kang turns around overnight, I didn’t mean that she completes a transformation, but that she suddenly sees how frivolous she has been. And even when times are tough in her housekeeping situation and her first instinct is to complain about unfairness, she quickly follows it up with gratitude that they’ve all got a roof over their heads. She’s no saint, but she has matured a great deal quite abruptly.

Pal Kang sports the latest in apron fashions.

Emily: Yeah, this is something I really enjoyed about this series – the unconventional heroine, Pal Kang. Yes, in episode 1 she starts off as very immature and flighty and irresponsible. It is almost painful to watch. But when times get rough, she makes a difficult decision and then STICKS to it. She changes herself, and then abides by her choice even when all the other characters around her try to drag her into the usual kdrama love triangle nonsense. While it does take her some time to ramp up her skills- it’s one thing to make a decision, and another to actually have the knowledge about exactly how to make things work, she keeps pushing forward and puts family first. Other characters put her into typical kdrama situations – especially the amazingly awful and delusional obligatory female rival – but Pal Kang doesn’t have time for her crap, and pretty much says so repeatedly. She has an iron resolve.

I also enjoyed the family bond between Pal Kang and the kids. They do all develop distinct personalities and each one supports the family in a unique way. And the child actors are great.

Pal Kang, the Cranky Lawyer, and a Gaggle of Children.

Our grumpy hero doesn’t have much to work with for a while, other than, ‘be grumpy and mean,’ but he does loosen up eventually and have more to do later. Pal Kang’s influence changes him a lot, and even he learns to respect and understand her choices.

Anna: The child actors were an aspect of the show that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much as I did. But they all had very distinct personalities, and I thought the oldest boy’s storyline portraying his anger at being suddenly orphaned was particularly good. Grumpy hero Won Kang Ha was grumpy, but I thought the writers at least gave him more history and motivation to explain his grumpiness, so I felt like his emotional remoteness was earned as opposed to being a bit of a stock character.

Michelle: I definitely came to like the kids more than I expected, especially since at the beginning their storylines revolve almost exclusively around having to go to the bathroom (complete with over-the-top squirming and facial expressions). Gradually, their distinct personalities do emerge and it’s fun seeing, for example, Cho-Rok and Pa-Rang have a discussion amongst themselves whilst the older kids are out of the room. I confess that clever Cho-Rok is my favorite.

Anna: The bathroom stuff was a bit excessive, but I will say as a parent to young children it is alarming how much you end up having to deal with bathroom stuff.

Nancy: I’ll touch on a few points already brought up. I hated this drama at first. Then it became engrossing, but I’m not sure it was worth all the hours in the end. I did dub this “Defecation Drama”–there should be a drinking game for every time a character has to go the bathroom, is constipated, is grabbing their ass (like that will help?!), or is grimacing while seated on the toilet. Oh, and the baby poop scene in the car… I thought they might actually slow-mo it or do a dramatic flashback because the makers of this show seem to be so enamored with poop!

Do NOT test a bottle that way!

Pal Kang was the high point of this drama. Her struggle to survive with her young siblings was very moving. There was enough drama without adding the scheming female relatives from the Jung family. Jae Young, the wannabe fiancée, was interesting before they made her jump off the deep end. The motivations of the Jung relatives made no sense after a while. Like in so many kdramas, the focus of the story was lost to its detriment.

The inevitable confrontation between lead guy and second lead guy!

I must bring up grandpa. He collapsed so many times in this drama after hearing startling news that I found it hilarious. If you watch this drama, see if you can predict each time grandpa will keel over.

Anna: It would be easy to come up with a drinking game for this drama based on bathroom issues, housekeeping problems, and grandpa’s collapses. There was something about the pacing and the cliffhangers at the end of each episode which were particularly compelling to me. I marathoned this series in a way I haven’t done with a kdrama in quite some time. Part of what interested me so much were the aspects of the series that were a bit unusual like Pal Kang’s unsympathetic character in the beginning. But I can see Nancy’s point about the standard kdrama plot points coming in and derailing the unique aspects of the show.

Emily: I could have done without most of the subplot involving grandpa’s family/corporate maneuvering and the obligatory Birth Secret, but I suppose it can’t be a kdrama without those things :) I liked watching the bond between Grumpy Hero and Sleepwalker ^^

Michelle: I reacted much the same to the cliffhangers, Anna. There was just something so compelling about them that made me forget all about bathroom ridiculousness. And I have actually not yet gotten to the bond between the Grumpy Hero and the Sleepwalker. Do you mean Pa-Rang? I anticipate some adorableness.

Nancy: Grumpy Hero and Sleepwalker were sweet. :3

Turn a lawyer into a marshmallow by making him deal with a child with an adorable sleep disorder!

Anna: So Stars Falling From the Sky features a heroine who is maddening at the start of the show but who redeems herself by the end, an over reliance on bathroom issues as a plot point, a grumpy lawyer lead guy, cute kids, a fainting grandpa, and some adorable sleepwalking. If you are going to embark on this show, I recommend watching at least the first two episodes before making a decision to continue or not, because it really does change drastically from the first to the second episode.

The family that scams grocery store samples together, stays together?

Watch now at DramaFever

It Came from the Sinosphere: The Nine Provinces

March 19, 2013 by Sara K. Leave a Comment

The Story

In ancient China, Asule is the son of the leader of a powerful northern tribe. As a child, he was sent to another tribe for rearing, then his father’s tribe came along a few years later and wiped out the tribe. Asule regarded a number of the people from that tribe as family, so to say that he is distressed is an understatement.

Asule has been designated as the heir of the tribe, even though he has older brothers, and his body is frail and weak. He’s afraid that his brothers will kill him one day, and he’s frustrated that, with his weak body, he can’t protect the people he loves.

He eventually learns that he has inherited the “green-copper blood.” If he rouses it, it grants him great physical strength, but at the cost of his ability to reason. His grandfather wants to rouse the “green-copper blood” in him to carry on the family legacy, whereas Asule’s father wants Asule to live a nice, happy life. It turns out that Asule’s father had imprisoned his grandfather because his grandfather had killed his own daughter, Asule’s aunt (it’s hinted that his grandfather killed his aunt because of the “green-copper blood”).

Though there’s a lot more about Asule’s family, but I think it’s enough to say that becoming merely dysfunctional would be an improvement.

Eventually, Asule is sent to Donglu, where he takes the name “Lü Guichen.” In Donglu, he makes two good friends, Jieye and Yuran, and interesting things are happening in Donglu…

Background

This is a novel by Jiangnan, one of China’s most popular active wuxia writers, published in traditional Chinese characters by Kadokawa.

Wait a minute … isn’t Kadokawa a Japanese publisher? Why are they publishing an wuxia novel from mainland China in Taiwan and Hong Kong?

I would like to know the answer to that. I’m sure they hope to make a profit, but I’d like to know more a bit more about their reasoning. Most of what Kadokawa publishes in Taiwan are Japanese manga and novels translated into Chinese—for example, they publish the Taiwanese edition of A Bride’s Story. Recently, I learned that they have branched into publishing original Taiwanese light novels, but as far as I know, this is the only wuxia novel as well as the only novel from China that they have published (if you know of others, please comment).

Actually, maybe I shouldn’t call this a wuxia novel. Though this novel tends to get labeled as ‘wuxia’ by bookstores, marketers, etc., and Jiangnan is considered a “wuxia” writer, Jiangnan himself says that this novel is a “betrayal”—not fantasy, not historical, not romance, and not wuxia (emphasis mine).

Jiangnan is from Anhui province, and earned a Ph.D. at Washington University. He started reading a lot about ancient Chinese history, in particular, he wanted to understand the motivations of various historical figures. It was he was trying to get into the heads of ancient Chinese strongmen that he got the inspiration which eventually led this this novel.

Speaking of history…

The History (or My Ignorance and Confusion)

As I’ve said before, I actually do not know that much about Chinese history, and that is especially true of ancient Chinese history. “The Nine Provinces” is a reference to China in the Xia and Shang dynasties. However, I couldn’t find any information about most of the geographical locations mentioned in the novel. Does that mean they are fictional, or am I so ignorant that I am looking at the wrong references? Also, I couldn’t find any information about the emperor mentioned, which makes me thing he almost certainly is fictional.

My guess is that Asule’s homeland is not in “China” since, well, “Asule” is not exactly a Chinese name. I reckon that “Donglu” is China since, after moving to Donglu, Asule takes the name “Lü Guichen,” which does sound like a Chinese name, and more significantly, he felt a need to take a “Chinese” name.

In case you don’t know, in Chinese-speaking societies, everybody who is somebody is expected to have a Chinese name, regardless of ethnicity. In Taiwan, there are some legal/business things which are impossible to carry out without a Chinese name. Though I do not have a formal Chinese name, I get asked fairly often what it is, and I eventually made one up for myself. In Chinese-speaking culture, people are supposed to change their name to fit whatever cultural context they are operating in, which includes ethnic Chinese operating outside of Chinese-speaking culture. That’s why many ethnic Chinese have “English” names like “Betty,” “Harold,” “Robin,” and so forth—to them, that is the way that different cultures should interact. That, more than the name “Lü Guichen” itself, makes “Donglu” feel like China to me.

In short, I think that Jiangnan is making up his own alternate ancient Chinese history, but I am so ignorant of Chinese history that I don’t know how much is based on actual history, and how much is based on his imagination. Maybe writing a historical novel based on his own re-imagined history is what he means when he says that this novel is a “betrayal.”

My Own Reaction

The first time I read the first volume, it didn’t engage me. I didn’t get what the big fuss was about Jiangnan. I think the problem is that it was so different from anything else I’ve read that I didn’t know where to sink in my teeth.

On the other hand, I kept it around, and eventually, I figured it was worth a second chance.

The second time, I got hooked.

It’s fascinating partially because Asule’s personal circumstances are amazingly messed up (basic rule of fiction = the more hurt the characters are, the more the audience cares), it’s fascinating partially because of the contrast of Asule’s sensitivity and perceptiveness with his “uselessness,” and it’s fascinating because Jiangnan creates a world which feels truly fresh and original (though it sure is not a world I would want to live in).

I think it makes a difference that Jiangnan’s starting point was nonfiction rather than fiction. Even though he apparently tossed out most of the facts to pursue his own ideas, his ideas come from his thoughts on ancient Chinese history, not the tropes of any particular fictional genre (though I have nothing against recycling tropes, particularly tropes I like). Reality, being stranger fiction, in some ways is more creative.

Availability in English

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

However, the mere fact that contemporary wuxia from mainland China is getting published outside of China at all is intriguing. I certainly do not expect this to get translated into English in the near future (or ever), but I wonder … would Kadokawa consider publishing this into Japanese?

Conclusion

If all wuxia novels were the same, even if they were all just like my favorites, I would be thoroughly bored of wuxia by now. However, just when I think I have a rough idea of the parameters of wuxia, surprise surprise, I find a story which falls outside of those parameters. The main reason I keep on trying different wuxia novels and writers is not because I want to relive the wonderful experiences I’ve had with certain books—re-reading those books would be much more efficient—but because discovering the range of the genre is exciting.

Granted, Jiangnan claims this is not actually an wuxia novel, but I think it’s fair to say it at least belongs to the wuxia tradition (hey, if you’re betraying tradition, you still have a relationship with it). And this novel is certainly quite different from any other wuxia novel I’ve read, or for that matter, any other novel I’ve read.

This novel is not complete, at least not in traditional Chinese characters, so I don’t know how it concludes. But I certainly intend to read future volumes.

Next Time: Ashes of Time (movie)

Sara K. actually ended up ordering volume two of The Nine Provinces online. She finds the Taiwanese system of buying books online a lot more convenient that the system in the United States (she can get the books the next day AND free shipping AND she can pay with cash, no credit card necessary). Though this is partially because Taiwan is a densely populated island, she still can’t help but feel a bit disappointed in the services offered by online booksellers in the United States.

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Omnibus 1

March 19, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

By Yukito Kishiro. Released originally in Japan as “Gunnm: Last Order” by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Ultra Jump; currently owned by Kodansha and serialized in the magazine Evening. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

In the beginning, there was Gunnm, which ran in Shueisha’s Business Jump from 1990-1995, and told the story of Gally, a cyborg creation who was revived and had lots of awesome Rollerball-type adventures, killed bad guys, and battled the evil Desty Nova. Then in 1995 the series was wrapped up fast as the author was ill. Like “get your affairs in order” ill. Luckily, he got better, and 5 years later revived the series for new magazine Ultra Jump, retconning most of the last volume and restarting with Gally’s adventures in the sky. Viz Media licensed both series, renamed Gally to Alita, and released the first series as Battle Angela Alita and the second with the Last Order tag.

Then a few years ago, Shueisha was going to re-release the original Alita manga, but decided to remove the word “crazy” from the manga as it might upset the mentally ill. Kishiro was quite upset, and after a long, protracted battle, pulled his manga and moved to Kodansha, where it is currently running in Evening. Over here, the manga likewise leaped from Viz to Kodansha, who have started to put it out from where Viz left off (Vol. 16), but are also going back and re-releasing Last Order as large omnibuses, based off Kodansha’s bunko releases. The fate of the original series remains up in the air, but I suspect a re-release is unlikely.

Which is a shame, as I think the omnibus would read much better if people could refresh their memories of the original. Kodansha Comics puts a 2-page “what has gone before” at the start, but despite trying to make Last Order as newbie-friendly as possible, every time Alita starts wondering about Figure Four, or obsessing over Lou, the reader is left thinking that they missed the first 20 minutes of this movie. Admittedly, if they did re-release the original people might be reminded that some characters who originally got happy endings now are suffering much more gruesome fates. Speaking of Lou.

With all that said, this is a really entertaining read once you get past starting in the middle. Alita’s a cute, sullen heroine who the author makes sure not to take seriously at times. Desty Nova reappears as a crazy awesome mad scientist, still amoral but no longer bwa-ha-ha evil, and now apparently mentoring her. We meet a few of her cyborg duplicates, like Sechs, who is obsessed with “defeating the original”, and Elf and Swolf, who I think are just there to be cute and snarky. And there are new characters, all of whom are dealing with a world that really, really seems to hate everyone. It’s a good thing that there’s elements of humor sprinkled throughout, as otherwise this would be the most depressing thing ever written.

There are also a lot of action sequences, which are equally excellent. James Cameron wants to turn this into a movie, and it’s not hard to see why. Not only does the artist draw a lot of fights, but you can actually tell how the characters are moving in those fights – a rarity with manga writers. Alita is amazing, of course, but still manages to get her ass kicked several times – which, given she’s a cyborg, usually involves her getting ripped in half. Indeed, she spends a good chunk of this book as only a top half. In amongst this action, there’s a whole lot of worldbuilding (I admit I skipped the textual diagrams, and don’t think I missed much), and hammering home the basic theme of the entire series, which is “what does it mean to be human” and “what makes humans different from others?” Having dreams, having goals, believing in yourself – there’s shiny shonen manga ideals buried under all this dystopia.

The omnibus is huge – 670 pages – and padded out even more by two early short stories Kishiro wrote about a year before starting Gunnm. The first is the better of the two, about a man trying to build his own plane meeting an Angel-like creature who has wings but hasn’t really had the gumption to use them. The other story, about a giant tank the size of a mountain that destroys towns and tends to mind control those who try to stop it, is less good. That said, both do continue the basic themes here – strive to survive, maintain your humanity, even if you’re a cyborg, an Angel, or a demon, and don’t let others dictate your goals.

There’s a lot going on in this volume. I didn’t even mention the Martian Queen (who appears to be Orihime Inoue’s descendant), or the obviously evil Venusian guy offering everyone roast babies just to be a dick; or my desire to see this cross over with A Certain Magical Index. But the basics of the series are laid out here, and there are a number of directions the series could go. Lots of politics, lots of action. Unless the author somehow gets distracted by writing 100+ chapters of a fighting tournament or something, I think he can’t possibly lose here.

Open Thread: Organizing Your Print Manga

March 18, 2013 by MJ 34 Comments

With the demise of JManga throwing our digital manga collections for a loop, many fans are feeling the need to cling more firmly to their old reliable print collections. And, let’s face it: if you’re a collector or completist at heart, there’s very little more satisfying than a collection of manga. It’s epic, content-rich, and looks great on the shelf—assuming you’ve got enough shelves to put it on! Like many collectors with small living quarters and a dearth of shelf space, I’ve found collecting manga to be more and more challenging over the years. But one thing that’s helped me keep things manageable (and also helped me decide what to cull when needed) is the way I’ve chosen to organize what I have.

When I first began collecting manga, I attempted to organize alphabetically by title, but that soon proved to be not only cumbersome (Oh, the logistical headache when trying to shelve We Were There next to, say, Wandering Son) but not particularly useful for my needs. After all, when looking for the right manga in any particular moment, I’m likely to choose something that fulfills the desire for a specific mood or genre rather than something that begins with the letter “B.” Furthermore, though there are notable exceptions, publishers tend to use similar trim sizes for similar types of manga, so organizing by genre (or some other theme-based system) tends to make practical sense as well.

My current system is this: I have a mid-sized shelf unit for shounen manga, which most publishers tend to offer in the same small, paperback format that TOKYOPOP popularized during their “100% Authentic Manga” campaign back in the day. Here I have titles like Black Cat, Bleach, Claymore (shelved alphabetically by title), and most of the rest of my Shonen Jump collection (with some specific exceptions to be discussed later), along with other shounen favorites like Nabari no Ou, Cross Game, and Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei. Though a few titles are smaller than the standard Jump trim, like GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, for example, the sizes are similar enough to make this the easiest category to shelve.

Next, I have a larger unit that begins with a shoujo section, largely arranged by publisher and imprint. VIZ’s classic “shojo” series (Banana Fish, Basara, Please Save My Earth, etc.) start at the top, moving then into titles from their Shojo Beat imprint, and on to other publishers like TOKYOPOP, CMX, and Go! Comi. VIZBIG editions of series like Fushigi Yuugi and Yen Press’ larger books like The Betrayal Knows My Name segue gracefully into the “adult” section, where josei and seinen titles are shelved together (also by publisher). Here, you’ll find titles from VIZ’s Signature collection, Del Rey series like Mushishi and Nodame Cantabile, Yen Press’ Bunny Drop and Yotsuba&!, and nearly everything I’ve got from Vertical’s catalogue, from Chi’s Sweet Home to Peepo Choo.

On my third and largest shelf unit, BL comics have their own section, which trickles into my large collection of manhwa, made up mostly of Yen Press titles like 13th Boy, Very! Very! Sweet, and Raiders, mixed in with a few odd titles from publishers like Dark Horse (Shaman Warrior) and NBM (Mijeong, Run, Bong-Gu, Run!). Titles from Japanese publishers by Korean artists (Black God, March Story) are also shelved near the manhwa section. There are also a few areas (spread out between the top of my desk and my three separate shelf units) that house less easily-classified items like OEL manga, Yen’s graphic novel adaptations of popular American novels, and books waiting for review.

My favorite section of this unit, however, and the one I tend to most diligently, is the “favorite mangaka” section, where I shelve books (regardless of genre/demographic) by favorite artists like Fumi Yoshinaga, Moyoco Anno, Yun Kouga, CLAMP, Natsume Ono, Osamu Tezuka, Hiromu Arakawa, Kazuya Minekura, Takeshi Obata, Ai Yazawa, and the list goes on. In general, the criteria for ending up in this section (besides being a particular favorite) is that I must own more than one title by the artist at hand (the single exception at this point being Takako Shimura, whose series Wandering Son just plain fits best there—and hey, I’m still holding out hope for Aoi Hana). These mangaka are not shelved in any order aside from what fits best in what space, though I’ll admit I’m a bit proud of how I’ve made it all work together with limited options.

So! Readers! Normally, I’d have considered this a great topic for our online forums, but since we were recently forced to shut them down due to (hopefully temporary!) site-killing memory issues (I’m working on it, I promise!), I’ll officially invite everyone reading this to share their organizational schemes in comments! How do you organize your print manga?

Pick of the Week: JManga Scramble

March 18, 2013 by MJ, Anna N, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith 5 Comments

With a distinct lack of new print manga available in stores this week, we thought we’d take the opportunity to recommend a few last-ditch titles from soon-to-expire digital publisher JManga. If you’ve got extra points to spend and are looking for a great, last-minute read, here are a few titles to consider!

ANNA: I’m always on the lookout for more josei manga, and while I was disappointed in the variety of genres Jmanga offered at its initial launch, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw more Harlequin romance, Ohzora, and josei titles popping up in the months to follow. The title I was most excited to see was the fourth volume of Walkin Butterfly 4. I collected the earlier print volumes and was so happy to be able to read the end of the series on Jmanga. While there are series left unfinished with Jmanga’s closure, I feel it is good to celebrate some of the series that Jmanga finished! Walkin’ Butterfly is the story of a tall misfit tomboy named Michiko who begins to find herself when she accidentally becomes part of the fashion world. Her relationship with the temperamental up and coming designer Mihara changes them both, and the series shows how she transforms herself in an atypical way for an ugly duckling becoming a swan type story. Tamaki’s illustrations convey the world of modeling and fashion in an edgy way – while there are occasional flashes of elegance, this is much grittier than the stylized fashion portrayed in a title like Paradise Kiss.

SEAN: I think I’ve banged the gong for Wonder! and High School Girls enough, so I’ll note that my favorite aspect of JManga was that they could pick up some of the weirdest titles. Not just normal seinen weird like Ninja Papa or Anesthesiologist Hana, but stuff that no one else would license in a million years. Things like Young-kun, a stick-figure 4-koma that I still don’t think I ever understood, or Edo Nekoe Jubei Otogizoshi, a mystery-solving cat manga from Shonen Gahosha’s magazine of cat manga. And of course there was a pile of yuri titles that fans have been wanting for years, from Love My Life to Poor Poor Lips to YuruYuri. The saddest thing is that there was simply too much content I wanted to read, and I may never get the time to now. But man, it was great content.

MICHELLE: If there was just one title that I’d recommend people read while they have the chance, it would be est em’s Working Kentauros. Here’s what I said about it in a Going Digital column from last year: “Like the best speculative fiction, est em uses her offbeat “centaurs in the workplace” concept to communicate universal truths. Everyone wants to be free to be themselves, and no one wants to watch someone they love get sick and pass away. Even if they happen to be a centaur. Highly, highly recommended.”

MJ: Many of my favorite series at JManga are hard to recommend at this juncture, simply because they’re unfinished. As much as I adore titles like Sweet Blue Flowers, Dousei Ai, or Pride, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend that anyone sign themselves up for that kind of heartbreak. One of my long-touted BL favorites, however, is Haruko Kumota My Darling Kitten Hair, which, though unfinished, is so committed to its low-key, slice-of-life format that it’s guaranteed to offer no lingering angst or nail-biting cliffhangers. From my review of the second volume: “It’s so rare to read a BL series (or any relationship-driven story) that is about staying in love rather than falling in love, and there’s a reason for that. It’s hard! As difficult as it can be to write authentic, well-developed romance, much like actual romance, it’s even harder to keep that fire burning after the initial rush of first love. Thankfully, My Darling Kitten Hair stands as a lovely example of how to do exactly that. And it’s a real pleasure to read.” Two volumes are available.

Readers, any last-ditch JManga titles you’d recommend?

JManga: The post-mortems begin

March 18, 2013 by Brigid Alverson

I weighed in on the demise of JManga at MTV Geek. Sean Gaffney works through several of the stages of grief, while Lori Henderson discusses JManga’s good and bad points and speculates on what may have gone wrong. At The Digital Reader, Nate Hoffelder argues that publishers who use DRM are punishing their paying customers (like the people who are about to lose the comics they thought they purchased). Lissa Pattillo compares JManga to other digital manga services and points out some of the flaws at Kuriousity.

I looked over the past week’s new manga at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo tackled the list as well at her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

Jason Thompson takes a look at Black Lagoon in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

The local paper interviews Chris Beveridge, the guy behind the anime/manga blog The Fandom Post.

Reviews

Connie on vols. 3 and 4 of Ai no Kusabi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Apartments of Calle Feliz and Yakuza Cafe (All About Manga)
Connie on vol. 15 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 19 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Blood-C (Organization ASG)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Caramel (All About Manga)
Erica Friedman on the March issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Justin on chapters 22, 23, and 24 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 6 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Slightly Biased Manga)
Drew McCabe on vol. 23 of D.Gray-Man (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 6 of Dogs (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of His Favorite (I Reads You)
Connie on I Love You, Chief Clerk! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Kamisama Kiss (Blogcritics)
Jocelyne Allen on vol. 8 of Kaze to Ki no Uta (Song of the Wind and Trees) (Brain Vs. Book)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on vol. 1 of Kizuna (All About Manga)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Knights of Sidonia (Manga Report)
Connie on Laugh Under the Sun (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Limit (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vol. 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on New Beginnings (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sweetpea on Oresama Teacher (Organization ASG)
Kristin on vol. 14 of Otomen (Comic Attack)
Matt Cycyk on Planetes (Matt Talks About Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Rosario + Vampire: Season II (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 6 of Sailor Moon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Daniela Orihuela-Gruber on Same Difference (All About Manga)
Connie on vol. 2 of Strobe Edge (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna N on vol. 3 of Strobe Edge (Manga Report)
Katherine Hanson on A Transparent Orange in the Lip (Yuri no Boke)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Tsubasa (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Vampire Knight (The Comic Book Bin)
Justin on chapters 3, 4, and 5 of World Trigger (Organization ASG)

Bookshelf Briefs 3/18/13

March 18, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N, MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

This week, Sean, Anna, MJ, and Michelle look at recent releases from Dark Horse Comics, VIZ Media, Kodansha Comics, and Vertical, Inc.

Blood-C, Vol. 1 | By Ranmaru Kotone, based on a concept by Production I.G. and CLAMP | Dark Horse Comics – I haven’t read any of the Blood the Last Vampire/Blood+ series that this one is supposedly part of, but I think I get the gist. A cute clumsy girl is revealed to be the last stand humanity has against demonfolk who are attacking innocents, which she then kills with her big sword. Most of this first volume focuses on her cute and sweet classmates (who will no doubt die horribly), except for one sullen guy who avoids her (who screams ‘love interest’) The battles are OK, and the character designs are sort of CLAMP-ish, but I won’t be trying any more of this for one big reason: I was bored to tears reading it. Every single page of this reeks of media tie-in, and not the good kind. Readers who like CLAMP are advised to get the Tokyo Babylon omnibus instead. – Sean Gaffney

Dawn of the Arcana, Vol 9 | By Rei Toma | VIZ Media – Nakaba’s powers of magical vision have revealed the depth of Loki’s feelings to her, and to her credit her reaction is to be very concerned about all that her faithful servant must have suffered, both due to his actions in shielding her from harm and Nakaba’s ignorance of his emotions. There isn’t much time to dwell on romance, as the political situation in Lithuanel grows even more tense, and Nakaba sees how scheming royalty use the life of an Ajin to bolster the succession. Nakaba and Caesar’s relationship is stronger than ever and I hope Loki is able eventually to find some sort of happiness. Dawn of the Arcana continues to be an entertaining fantasy manga, made more interesting by Nakaba’s use of her powers. – Anna N

A Devil and Her Love Song, Vol. 7 | by Miyoshi Tomori | VIZ Media – A Devil and Her Love Song is unique in the way that emotions that tend to be buried in more typical shojo series are drawn out and discussed in detail. Here Maria is dealing with the fallout of her friendship with Anna, relying more on Yusuke (at his insistence) but still being drawn towards Shin despite his attempts to distance himself from her. The manipulations of a voice coach who seems to take a marked interest in Maria makes it seem like he will play a larger role in upcoming volumes. This series continues to be a go-to read when I want a manga packed full of drama, with a few sweet moments along the way. – Anna N

Fairy Tail, Vol. 24 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – We’ve finally come to the end of the Edolas arc, with Natsu resolving things with his usual straight-ahead heroics… or in this case, villain posing. The next arc will show the characters competing in a battle to be the next S-class wizard, which promises to shed some light at last on Cana, who’s mostly just been “the pretty alcoholic” till now. But most folks remember this volume for the BIG SPOILER. I have no issues with the spoiler itself – god knows I’ll do anything for my happy endings. That said, the premise behind it coming about does require a large amount of disbelief suspension in a series that already has issues with that sort of thing. As for how it affects future volumes, who knows? After all, the extras already hint that Mashima has rewritten his future outline to be quite different from his original plan. – Sean Gaffney

Limit, Vol. 3 | By Keiko Suenobu | Vertical, Inc. – Out of the three currently-available volumes of Keiko Suenobu’s Limit, the third is perhaps the cruelest (and certainly the best). Things begin on an unexpected upswing, as most of the group begins to recover their humanity in the wake of unstable Morishige’s fall from power, which is solidified further by the appearance of another surprise survivor. But as Morishige’s mental condition deteriorates, things eventually become more frightening than ever which, by Limit‘s standards, means quite a bit. I left this volume experiencing a hopeless, sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach that felt far more real than it should have. And isn’t that a shining example of the power of good fiction? This series continues to become more compelling and addictive with each new volume. Wholeheartedly recommended. – MJ

Strobe Edge, Vol. 3 | By Io Sakisaka | Published by VIZ Media – I am officially beginning to love Strobe Edge, by which I mean I’ve developed an affection that goes beyond simply being happy to see that a new volume has come out. Slowly, and whilst tip-toeing around some stock shoujo scenarios, Strobe Edge has grown more compelling with each volume. The love… shape between Ninako, Ren, Mayuka, and Ando grows more complicated and painful, and is so well done that any accusations of this being “generic” shoujo should be firmly squashed by this volume. Not only do I love that Ren’s friends are becoming concerned that maybe he does like Ninako, but I love that Mayuka is intimidated, too, and now we have two thoroughly likeable girls both in love with the same boy and feeling awkward about the presence of the other in his life. This is so much better than malicious rivals or wacky hijinks! Highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 1

March 17, 2013 by Anna N

Knights of Sidonia, Vol 1 by Tsutomu Nihei

I was excited to see that Vertical was releasing Nihei’s Knights of Sidonia, because I greatly enjoyed Biomega. As I was reading this manga, I realized that there really is a dearth of giant mecha manga being published in English. One viewing of the Evangelion anime was enough for me, so I haven’t been following the various manga spinoffs. Most shonen seems to be more of the monster of the week/fantasy variety now, and it wasn’t until I was reading Knights of Sidonia that I realized how much I missed GIANT ROBOTS FIGHTING IN SPACE!

Nihei’s manga centers on Nagate Tanikaze, a human on the seed spaceship Sidonia which is carrying humanity away from the destruction of the solar system by aliens called Guana. Nagate lives in an underground area, sharing his cramped apartment with his grandfather’s corpse and spending his time training in an alien combat simulation fighter. The human race has been split to an extent, with most opting for a procedure that allows them to photosynthesize. Nagate still needs regular human food and he is captured by others on the spaceship when he ventures out for rice. Nagate begins to assimilate into current human society, and he gets signed up to pilot a Garde – the mecha who fight the Guana that attack the Sidonia. Nagate is socially awkward but seems to have an odd ability to tolerate pain and heals up very quickly. Being a regular human might give him a bit of an edge over his modified compatriots?

As Nagate trains to fight he meets Izana, a human who can be both genders. He also meets a variety of photosynthesizing clones. Nagate’s isolation causes him to be several years behind with recent developments, but he throws himself into piloting the Tsugumori, the Guarde unit he is assigned to. There isn’t anything else going on with his life. The space battles are where a horror element comes in as the semi-sentient Guana can shift their shapes, even taking on the outward appearance of a human that they’ve killed. They’re blobby and somewhat fetus-like, if a fetus was a giant shifting alien.

One of the things I like about Nihei’s work is that he tells a compelling story without over-explaining everything. I’m getting to the point where having an origin spelled out in the first couple chapters of a manga starts making my eyes glaze over, but Knights of Sidonia manages to be intriguing without being frustrating. I’m interested to find out more about the human society on the Sidonia, the reasons for Nagate’s previous exile, and to learn more about his progress as a Guarde pilot. Knights of Sidonia doesn’t yet have some of the great desolate scenes of beauty that I enjoyed so much in Biomega, but one of the things I enjoy about Nihei’s art is his ability to convey scale and space in his backgrounds. When Nagate falls through a hole into an enormous rice storage bin, it is easy to get a sense of just how massive the Sidonia is.

Most importantly for fans of Biomega, there is a talking bear in Knights of Sidonia. She doesn’t have a machine gun yet, but she does have an artificial arm. Seriously, a talking bear in outer space with an artificial arm is reason enough to buy this manga, and all the great mecha/alien battle scenes and Nagate’s journey are really just a bonus.

Adventures in the Key of Shoujo: Strobe Edge, Vol. 1

March 17, 2013 by Phillip Anthony Leave a Comment

Strobe Edge Vol.1 | By Io Sakisaka | Published by VIZ Media | Rated: Teen

Here is your basic relationship equation: Girl (Ninako Kinoshita) likes school friend (Daiki Korenaga) but develops feelings for other school boy (Ren Ichinose). After finding out she might love Ren, Ninako discovers Daiki has feelings for her. So, Boy + Boy / Girl = Story. Not the most original idea but Strobe Edge uses what it’s got and delivers a good slice of teenage angst with some aplomb. Some parts I liked in its execution, some I did not. Shall we begin?

Understanding love is one of the fundamental questions of humanity. What is it? Why is so good and bad at the same time for us? Why do we need it so much? What does it feel like? For teenager Ninako, the fact that she’s never been in love, never been loved (that she knows of) and doesn’t know how it feels is the smartest and dumbest thing about this manga. I would like to say that there’s more to it than that but I respect when authors can just explore a simple idea and run with it, warts and all.

On one hand you want to scream at the girl for being so naïve that she doesn’t know what love is, presumably because she must be loved at home. I mean, I haven’t seen her family yet but she gives no indication that things are bad. Plus she has her friends in school, so she must know what love is! Yes, I know, love for your friends is not the same as love for a significant other. But the basic feeling is the same. I don’t understand why Io Sakisaka tries to present Ninako as laughing with her friends in school and then have her go into automaton mode around Ren. It’s like “What is feeling I have? I … feel? What is feel?” (Sorry, I’m being really simplistic with that last sentence but you get the idea). It’s a set of mental tracks that doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere. I don’t know if I have the fortitude to root for a character who is that emotionally stunted.

Yet, in the same way, it is fun to watch her as she tries to make sense of these two guys and their attempts (or non-attempts) at getting her to like them. If I had to choose, I would say that Ren is a better character than Daiki. Daiki comes across as a nice guy but there’s something off about a guy who wants the girl but when he finds out that somebody who is dating his sister is interested in the girl, he warns them off from the girl but not his sister. I dunno, but Ren for all of his aloof slightly bad boy angle is a better idea in action as everybody, and I mean everybody, reacts against him. He doesn’t need to do anything and people take notice of him or are aware of him. Ninako is aware of him but as she gets into the mystery of who Ren is as a person we see her change as she realizes that by studying him, she fell in love with him. This is done in a slowly unfolding manner rather than BOOM! I LOVE HIM. Which would cheese me off as that isn’t what Sakisaka is possibly going for here.

The best way of describing the three kids; relationship is this: imagine if they were part of a solar system, OK? Ninako is in the middle of the system and Daiki is the sun. The sun in Ninako’s world is bright, happy to have her around and has always been in her view. But one day a gas giant, Ren, which had always been there but did nothing, suddenly exerts an influence over the planet in the middle. Not enough to completely dislodge it from the sun’s view but once the gas giant has started, a critical change occurs on the planet in the middle. Daiki isn’t going to give up Ninako to someone like Ren but I don’t think it’s as simple for them as “I must possess her!” because Ninako is trying to sort out her own head at the same time. Speaking of Ren, I don’t know why the author chose to insert that final revelation about Ren and his relationship with Ninako at the point she did. I can’t go into specifics without spoiling certain things, but it felt like it was an attempt to promote the idea that Ren really was too good to be true. I am not saying that it is unwelcome but it could have been left until volume two and that would have been a better jumping point for the cast to deal with in the rest of volume two. It’s kind of happily maddening, that’s how I would describe it.

Is there a point in saying that the artwork in this is gorgeous? It’s not master craftsmanship levels at work but the story that it tells, the work on display suits it perfectly and I don’t have a problem with the amount of daydreaming the cast seem to engage in as long as the art looks like this.

I am a bit of a soap drama watcher and while I don’t need to obsess over every episode of the shows I watch, I would say that Strobe Edge has some of that going on here. This first volume presents a few problems for me, that much is certain, but there’s just enough in the way Sakisaka presents the cast and the setup that doesn’t allow me to dismiss it out of hand without giving it a proper whirl. Much like those soaps I am not supposed to like.