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Special Giveaway: Street Fighter x Sanrio Book set

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Hello everybody! Today I have a special giveaway of a set of Street Fighter x Sanrio books. Included in the giveaway are:

Street Fighter x Sanrio World View

This is a cute hardcover book that has stats from characters in Street Fighter interspersed with inspirational quotes and pictures of Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty and Badtz Maru dressed up in Street Fighter cosplay. You can also learn interesting factoids like Chun-Li’s blood type.

Street Fighter x Sanrio Sticker Book

This sticker book is a combination of stickers, tiny paper dolls, illustration pages, and general adorableness. I’m sure most Hello Kitty fans would go crazy for these stickers, and it is hard to deny the appeal of Hello Kitty dressed up as Chun-Li proclaiming “I am the strongest woman in the world!”

If you are trying to think of stocking stuffers for the manga fan who has everything, these books would be great candidates.

To win the set of books, just leave a comment here with the name of a franchise you would want to see in a Sanrio mashup next. Personally I would love to see Sanrio X-Men, just because I think a Hello Kitty Dark Phoenix would be hilarious. The giveaway will be open for one week, and is open to US residents.

Thanks to Viz for providing the books for the giveaway!

Real talk from Takehiko Inoue; plus, someone can’t get enough Higurashi!

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Your don’t-miss link of the day is CNN’s interview with Takehiko Inoue, creator of Real, Vagabond, and Slam Dunk.

Jason Thompson writes about five manga he found on JManga, and, more generally, about the JManga experience, in his latest House of 1,000 Manga column at ANN.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers look at next week’s new releases.

Connie C. kicks off her new manga column at Comics Should Be Good with a look at a couple of different genres.

Sean Gaffney has a license request: More Higurashi, please!

News from Japan: One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda talks about his long workday and admits he doesn’t get out much. The cooking manga Addicted to Curry is heading toward the final course and will end in three more chapters.

Reviews

L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Aron’s Absurd Armada (ICv2)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
Bateszi on The Flowers of Evil (Bateszi’s Anime Blog)
Kristin on vol. 8 of Library Wars (Comic Attack)
Shaun A. Noordin on Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (The Star)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 00 of Omamori Himori (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Start with a Happy Ending (Comics Worth Reading)
Helen on Yumekui Merry (Narrative Investigations)

License Request: Additional Higurashi Manga

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Higurashi When They Cry is, let’s face it, a franchise by now. And as such, it’s not the sort of series that was going to stop merely because the story ended. Heck, even the author of the original visual novels released an extra one with several stories after Matsuribayashi-hen was completed. The anime did two series of OAVs. Indeed, Yen Press has already released an extra side-story as an omnibus volume. So even though they still have over a year of Higurashi still to release, I thought I’d take a look at what’s out in Japan and see what, in my ideal Higurashi world, I would want licensed.

First, I’ll cull off things that can be skipped or are expendable. There are a giant PILE of Higurashi anthology books by various artists, with the vague tacit approval of 7th Expansion. Some are terrifying, some are hilarious, but all are basically one step removed from the ‘official product’. They’d be nice, but not necessary. The same goes for the Higurashi 4-koma volumes, which go under the title All You Need Is Love. There is a one-volume manga starring Shion, who is investigating a murder at the private school we see her attend at the very start of Eye-Opening; it got cancelled/cut short by the publisher, but is only one volume, so might be looked at. There’s also a one-volume manga that revolves around mahjong that was also cut short; due to the subject matter, it won’t be looked at.

So that basically leaves us with four books. All are done in one, though one may be continuing, I’m not sure. Publishers like single-volume books.

1) Dice-Killing Chapter. This is probably the closest the series will get to a genuine, actual post-series sequel. And, unlike most of the post-series stuff that’s come out, it’s mainly serious. The premise has Rika, overdosing on having escaped her unhappy fate and free of the endless June, not looking where she’s going and getting hit by a truck. Aheh. She wakes up in a different Hinamizawa, where no one was ever killed, the dam project is going through, and everyone’s happy and content. Well, everyone except Rika. This was taken from one of the post-series VNs, and I find a lot of its basic themes very disquieting. But then, that’s what makes a Higurashi series.

2) Daybreak Chapter. For all that I call Higurashi a game, it’s actually a series of Visual Novels. You don’t do anything but hit enter a lot. So naturally, one of the first things fans did was to make the series into a third-person shooter. This was a big success, and they even got Ryukishi07 to do the scenario, which involved a magatama that forced people into love confessions. This was then adapted into several manga. I prefer Mion with Keiichi, and there is a version of that which Kadokawa put out, but it’s not as good. This is the best of the lot, and is about as Keiichi/Rena shippy as you can get.

3) Heart-Healing Chapter. This was one of the titles that Kadokawa Shoten taunted us with by sticking the synopsis up on JManga’s site, before we realized they had no plans to actually release any of these. As such, it’s a good fit with Yen. Note it is the only non-Square Enix title on the list – it ran in Kadokawa’s Comp Ace. It’s the most heartwarming of these choices, dealing expressly with Rika’s feeling after the end of the series about having to finally move on and think about life. I like heartwarming fluff a lot.

4) Hinamizawa Bus Stop. Sorry for the tinier image, but this one only had its cover image released a few days ago -it’s not out in Japan yet! The latest of the Higurashi tie-ins, this one is supposedly based off the original scenario that Ryukishi07 had in mind before he moved away from it to make Higurashi proper. It stars a 17-year-old Rika, with her goofy friend Mion, so definitely falls into the ‘alternate universe’ category – and not in the usual Higurashi way. But the plot still revolves around that pesky dam, there’s still the threat of Oyashiro-sama, and there’s still scary faces galore. I’m not sure if this is complete as of this volume or still ongoing – guess we’ll have to wait and find out.

As you can see, it’s a Higurashi world out there. Any of these four volumes coming out over here would make me very happy indeed.

Manga the Week of 12/5

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SEAN: What we have feared for so long has finally come upon us. Viz’s first week has combined with Yen’s monthly shipments. But that’s OK. We can get through this if we just stay together. (I can’t actually confirm Yen’s stuff via Diamond just yet, but it’s definitely coming into Midtown.) So let’s get going.

First, a brief stop off with Dark Horse, where the Shinji Ikari Raising Project has reached Vol. 12. I don’t follow most of the Evangelion AUs, but this is supposed to be one of the fluffier ones. Given that, if you like Evangelion but hate that everyone keeps getting killed (sorry to spoil that 17-year-old anime for you), this may be a winner!

MICHELLE: I’m pretty surprised that series has gotten up to twelve volumes without me noticing! I guess that shows how far under my radar it is.

SEAN: And now (oh dear) for Viz. Let’s start off with Arata the Legend 12, Yuu Watase’s stab at shonen that hasn’t quite won as many readers as Fushigi Yuugi, but has quite a cult following.

ANNA: I’ve been following this, but slowly. I still haven’t quite forgiven Arata for not being Fushigi Yuugi, but Watase is such a pro I find myself enjoying this shonen fantasy series. I have a couple volumes of Arata on my “to read” stack.

MICHELLE: I really like Arata!

SEAN: Bakuman finished in Japan, so there’s no reason not to have the American release GO GO GO to catch up. Here’s Vol. 17.

Black Bird has reached 15 volumes, and its cover still has that same look, thankfully with less actual blood than the last time I read it. But hey, Shojo Beat readers adore it.

ANNA: I read the first couple volumes and then later volumes somewhat sporadically, but this is one of those shojo series that I just can’t seem to connect with.

MICHELLE: Yeah, I gave up long ago.

MJ: I’ve hated this series for so long, my relationship with it seems somehow… intimate. And isn’t that just sad?

SEAN: Two more Bleach volumes, still strangely Aizen-less. Poor Ichigo’s lost his powers! Who can help? Why Rukia can… unless she’s distracted by adorable plush toys. But hey, what are the chances of that happening?

D.Gray-Man 23 tells us about a group of demons called Noah. Right! What’s a Gray-man? And why is it D? Did they have three Gray-men before it? (Look, I’ve gotten into the bad habit of trying to be funny with these. Bear with it, it’ll be over soon.)

Dawn of the Arcana 7 is out, another in a series of shoujo manga from Viz I’ve gotten behind on, so I’ll let my colleagues try to be funny here.

ANNA: I didn’t realize I’d gotten so far behind on this series either! This fantasy series has a slow but rewarding pace, and a refreshing heroine. I see myself stocking up on Dawn of the Arcana for some quality vacation reading next month.

MICHELLE: I’m behind too, but somewhat on purpose so I can have a small stack to marathon next time I feel like catching up on it. (Sorry, can’t think of anything funny!)

SEAN: Oh boy, another Mayu Shinjo series! I am feeling equal parts eagerness and trepidation, given her past record. Demon Love Spell seems to be made up of shrine maiden, sexy demon, lots of seduction. I suspect I will both enjoy and be repelled by it.

ANNA: I am very much looking forward to this series. After not being quite sure what to make of Ai Ore, I have come to the conclusion that it is entirely satirical, and the second series settles down a bit into being a shojo comedy. Still, I enjoy Mayu Shinjo series when she brings the crack, as found in all the bondage, forced drug addiction, bondage, kidnapping and sex in unusual places that she treated readers to in Sensual Phrase. If this series is more like Sensual Phrase than Ai Ore, I can see myself enjoying this very much.

MICHELLE: I was actually reading the back cover blurb of Demon Love Spell to a friend on the phone last night, and snickering unkindly that the wholly original name for the shrine maiden is…. Miko. While I’d like to believe Ai Ore is satire, I still pretty much hated volume seven, so that doesn’t leave me too eager for this new series, though I will still probably check it out.

MJ: I don’t know what to think of this. I really dislike Ai Ore!, but I’ve never read Sensual Phrase, so I suppose there’s still hope?

SEAN: Devil and Her Love Song 6 is a Shojo Beat series that I am keeping up with, and it hasn’t lost its spark yet. Here’s hoping we get a bit less angst and a bit more bite this time, though.

ANNA: I enjoy this series every time I pick up a volume, but it isn’t the type of series that I see myself rereading very much in the future. I’m glad though that Shojo Beat is releasing such a good variety of manga under their imprint currently.

SEAN: The Earl and The Fairy light novel series is 29 volumes and counting, but its manga equivalent finishes here with Vol. 4. Given I think that Vol. 2 was a perfectly serviceable ending, I’m not sure what to think. But hey, I liked 2 better than 1, maybe I’ll like 4 better than 3.

Natsume’s Book of Friends has rapidly become one of my can’t miss titles, and seeing it’s hit Vol. 13 fills me with happiness. (And yes, there won’t be enough Taki in it. There’s never enough of my OT3. Ah well.)

MICHELLE: I too am rejoicing over volume 13 of Natsume.

MJ: Likewise!

SEAN: I can’t remember the last time Viz wasn’t putting out a Tanemura series, and this is definitely not one of those times. Vol. 9 of Sakura Hime is due out next week.

Slam Dunk has reached a quarter century of volumes! I think this means it only has a few more to go, in fact. Perhaps when it finishes we can see Kuroko no Basket?

ANNA: SLAM DUNK RULES! I have no other comment than that.

MICHELLE: I can get behind Anna’s sentiments 110%! But yes, after this one there are only six volumes left. And I’d love to see Kuroko no Basket released here. Now that Cross Game has finished, are there any other sports manga coming out here now? I can’t think of any off the top of my head…

SEAN: There’s Cross Manage, which runs in Shonen Jump Alpha.

Toriko 13 has our heroes realizing that it’s time to GET STRONGER! Oh dear, a training arc? Not quite. Getting stronger in Toriko means BETTER KNIVES. Food preparation is still serious business.

As for Vol. 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, when did this series start to sound like it was written in On Beyond Zebra? Did I miss Yu-Gi-Oh Yuzz?

Now then, Yen. I bet you thought “What would it be like if I had even more Alice in the Country of Hearts spinoffs? Can my heart even take another harem route?” Now’s your change to find out, as My Fanatic Rabbit is the March Hare route, sitting nicely next to your Cheshire Cat volumes.

ANNA: I’m taking a bit of a wait and see attitude towards the Alice In the Country of Hearts spinoffs. I did enjoy the original series very much, but I wasn’t a big fan of the first Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat volume. I’m going to rely on the opinions of other reviewers before I contemplate picking this up.

MICHELLE: Cheshire Cat was actually loads better than Bloody Twins, even though it wasn’t great. Still, I am kind of fond of the March Hare, so I might like Fanatic Rabbit. We shall see!

SEAN: I first saw Blood Lad a while ago and remarked that it would no doubt be licensed as it had Vampires in it. And here I am, proven right again. The burden of being me can be overwhelming sometimes.

MICHELLE: Hee hee.

SEAN: Given I now share this list with my fellow Manga Bookshelf peeps, I can’t just skip over manwha like I used to. So, Chocolat Vol. 8. Anyone?

MICHELLE: Chocolat is a manhwa series by the creators of Very! Very! Sweet, originally licensed here by Ice Kunion. Yen took over with the fourth volume and and released through volume seven by the end of 2008. Then the series languished for four years, even though it wrapped up in Korea. But now we’re finally getting the ending! Though it’s labelled as volume eight, Yen’s site notes that it’s actually a 512-page omnibus containing the final three volumes of the series. I’m sure this is making a lot of people happy! I hope the final volume of Comic is next!

MJ: YES! YES! YES! I’ve have been anxiously waiting for this series to continue! I’ve really missed all of those Ice Kunion licenses, and Yen has nearly reached the end of them, without much hope for more of the same as far as I can see. I’m grateful for one more taste.

SEAN: Another in the series that I seem to like a lot more than most everyone else online (though it sells, unlike my usual obsessions), Higurashi When They Cry. Vol. 20 is the middle of the Massacre arc, containing Vols. 3-4 from Japan, and features everyone in the entire world trying to make child services see reason. Also, I finally get to stop pretending I don’t know who the real villain is, as they’re revealed here.

Maximum Ride: The Manga is still by James Patterson, even after 6 volumes.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya continues to be the dullest of the 3 Haruhi manga currently running, but it’s trying its best! Currently documenting the events of the 7th novel.

Why are so many series hitting Vol. 13 these days? Here’s Pandora Hearts.

MJ: Always happy to see more of this series. Yes, indeed.

SEAN: Madoka Magica’s manga may not quite have the impact of the anime it’s based on, but it still manages to shock. Vol. 3 is the final volume of the main series (be prepared for spinoffs and AUs).

The Raiders have finally found the Blood of Christ, but are stopped by Jeanne D’Arc. This description of Raiders Vol. 9 is almost enough to make me try to go back and pick up the rest.

MICHELLE: I’ve read most of Raiders, and while it often doesn’t make complete sense, there’s something about it that keeps me returning to see what’s going to happen next.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s the Collector’s Edition GN of Twilight, which everyone except Midtown seems to have had for a month now.

So, any stocking stuffers?

Angouleme, MMF, and three giveaways

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The nominees for the awards given at the international comics festival in Angouleme have been announced, and they include Thermae Romae, SOIL, and I am a Hero, which were all nominated for the Best Comic prize; Chi’s Sweet Home for the Youth Award; and 2001 Nights and Anjin San for the Heritage Award.

I have been extremely remiss in my blogging duties—I blame it on a crazy Thanksgiving weekend—because I haven’t covered this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, which was hosted by Matt Blind at Rocket Bomber and took thankfulness as its theme. Here are the links:
Call for entries
Matt’s introduction
Wednesday roundup (appetizers)
Matt’s list of manga people he is thankful for
Thursday roundup
Friday roundup
Closing remarks and final roundup

Great job, Matt!

At Okazu, Erica Friedman reports in on her trip to Japan, which included shopping for yuri in Tokyo and a visit to the Maidens Garden 7 doujinshi event.

JManga is giving away a package of Aoi Hana (Sweet Blue Flowers) merch, Ash Brown is giving away the first four volumes of Beck, and Alex Hoffman is giving away a copy of Osamu Tezuka’s Barbara; hit the links to see how you can enter.

News from Japan: I Kill Giants, the winner of this year’s International Manga Award, will be published in Ikki magazine. Seven manga creators, including Go Nagai, have sued seven companies that digitize manga; this is done for private individuals for their own use, but there is concern it leads to piracy. The Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff Puella Magi Kazuma Magica – The Innocent Malice is ending; the final volume will be the fifth. LaLa magazine has announced that the next story arc of Vampire Knight will be the last. ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Anna on vol. 1 of 07-Ghost (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of A Bride’s Story (Blogcritics)
Justin on chapter 8 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Ken H on vol. 1 of The Flowers of Evil (Comics Should Be Good)
Connie on vol. 2 of Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Good Witch of the West (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends (ANN)
Erica Friedman on Hirara Special Girls’ School Life Anthology Houkago! (Okazu)
Joe on Interview with the Vampire: Claudia’s Story (Forbidden Planet)
Erica Friedman on Itazura Choucho (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of Loveless (omnibus edition)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (3-in-1 edition) (I Reads You)
Connie on No One Loves Me (Slightly Biased Manga)
Tony Yao on Onepunch-Man (Manga Therapy)
Erica Friedman on Renai Joshi File (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 8 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Umineko When They Cry (ANN)

07 Ghost, Vol. 1

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07 Ghost, Vol. 1 by Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara

I’m always a little curious about license rescues, and I hadn’t read 07 Ghost when it was released earlier by GoComi. I was even more interested when I saw that in Japan the series ran in Monthly Comic Zero Sum, the same magazine that features Saiyuki Reload and Loveless. In manga genre terms, I suppose that 07 Ghost is josei, although it would be a bit hard to tell from the trade dressing that Viz provided, as it isn’t released under any of the Viz sub-imprints and it is labeled as being for teen readers. 07 Ghost is one of those titles that I can see appealing to a wide variety of readers, as it features a nice combination of world-building, a solid protagonist, magical battle scenes, and perky nuns.

Teito Klein is an orphan going to school in an militarized area. Teito and his fellow students are trained in a form of magical combat called Zaiphon, which uses hand gestures to evoke energy. Teito’s acerbic nature and favored status by one of his instructors ensures that he’s just about the least popular student at the Barsburg Military Academy, but he does have a best friend named Mikage whose sunny disposition contrasts with Teito’s more brooding personality. Teito is An Orphan With A Forgotten Past, and when he starts getting flashbacks to memories from his previous life he begins to think that Barsburg isn’t the right place for him anymore. He confronts Aya, who he suddenly remembers as having killed his father. Aya says that Teito is a “slave from Raggs” and puts him in chains. Teito manages a daring escape and winds up in District 7, the City of God. District 7 is filled with handsome priests and pretty but interchangeable nuns. Teito starts to adjust to a different way of life.

There’s a ton of plot explored in this first volume, but overall I thought that the pacing and world building aspects of 07 Ghost were handled very well. Teito’s journey serves as a way to introduce the tricky geopolitical issues of his world, and the fantasy and action aspects of the manga are visually striking. In District 7, the religious order believes in seven ghosts that serve as guardians against evil. The guardians are depicted as hooded figures with dramatic scythes inscribed with runes. When the unconventional priests battle their spells are also depicted as sweeping scythes that cut across the panels of the manga. This results in some action scenes that are a bit more pretty than coherent, but it was still not to hard to follow what was going on. A large cast of characters are introduced but aside from Teito and Mikage the most prominent person from District 7 is Frau, the cynical priest who rescues Teito and sticks around to make sarcastic comments and protect him occasionally. There’s a bit of a Saiyuki vibe with Frau and Teito’s relationship, which makes sense given the source magazine for the manga.

When I finished 07 Ghost I wanted to see what would happen next with Teito’s story. While Teito’s amnesias-orphan status isn’t particularly novel, I enjoyed seeing the world he lives in and it was fun to read a fast-paced fantasy manga. I feel like many of the series I’ve been reading recently develop much more slowly, so 07 Ghost‘s storytelling pace was a nice contrast. The attractive art, fighting priests, and hints of a larger magic/spiritual system to explore all have me looking forward to the next volume. I can see why Viz chose to put out this series again. It has plenty of commercial appeal, but is still quirky enough to be genuinely intriguing.

Review copy provided by the publisher

Viz on digital comics & plans for next year

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I talked to Viz executive vice president Alvin Lu and the head of Viz Labs, Gagan Singh, at New York Comic Con, and a lot of what they said is particularly relevant this week, as the news came out that Shonen Jump Alpha will go to simultaneous releases with Japan.

Kevin Hamric, director of publishing sales and marketing for Viz, talks about what’s hot and what’s coming in 2013; the Nausicaa box set has sold out, the simultaneous release of vol. 13 of Neon Genesis Evangelion in Japan and the U.S. was a success, and more Pokemon manga are on the way. Overall, Hamric expects the distribution of manga across the different imprints to stay about the same, but they are looking at doing more omnibuses and collecting stories that are serialized in Shonen Jump Alpha, such as Barrage.

News from Japan: 2001 Nights manga-ka Yukinobu Hoshino has begun a manga adaptation of J.P. Hogan’s science fiction novel Thrice Upon a Time.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks at the past week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of 07-Ghost (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Blogcritics)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Clair Voyance (Manga Xanadu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel (The Fandom Post)
Manjiorin on vol. 3 of Itazura Na Kiss (Organization ASG)
Svetlana Fedotov on vol. 13 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Fangoria)
Laura on vol. 8 of Library Wars (Heart of Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Loveless (2 in 1 edition) (I Reads You)
Drew McCabe on vols. 64 and 65 of One Piece (Comic Attack)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Pokemon Black and White (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Thermae Romae (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Trigun Maximum (omnibus edition) (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Vampire Knight (Blogcritics)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of We Were There (The Fandom Post)
Chris Beveridge on With a Dictionary and No Skirt (The Fandom Post)

Thermae Romae, Vol. 1

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By Mari Yamazaki. Released in Japan in two separate volumes by Enterbrain, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Beam. Released in North America by Yen Press.

Sometimes, the companies putting out manga in the West surprise you. Let’s face it, most of what comes out these days is meant to be popular and sell well. That’s the way of business. And I like a lot of popular, bestselling manga as well. But in times like these, with companies struggling to stay afloat, it’s far more likely you’ll see the latest “My Little Sister Has A Light Novel Series With An Overly Long Title” series than something from Big Comic or Evening (or, yes, even IKKI, though Viz has made an excellent effort). That’s why it’s always fantastic to see exceptions like these, a series with a nice big deluxe hardcover (which, admittedly, is probably the best way to ensure it will break even), which is about a Roman architect who finds he can now time-travel between Ancient Rome and modern-day Japan to learn about baths.

Seriously, just read that description again. It’s hard to find something farther away from ninjas and vampires. And yet I found this entire volume fascinating. There’s a nice balance between the so-called hook of Lucius marveling at the wonders of modern architecture and design (and beating himself up about the inadequacies of his time, which at times seems to be the dominant aspect of his personality) and Lucius’ own soap-opera of a life that his new designs bring about. There’s no real danger of ‘will bringing modern innovations into the past change the future’ – this isn’t a science fiction story, and notably how he does this is never really explained – it could easily be hallucinatory dreams.

But it’s his life, and those of his fellow Romans, that makes this such a page=turner. Lucius is modest to the point of self-loathing, has quite a few marriage issues (which, to the author’s credit, are not magically solved once he becomes more successful) and a number of jealous comrades. He’s also becoming closer with Emperor Hadrian, who has him design a few new baths, which leads to several obvious rumors about his sexuality (Hadrian’s tastes were well-known, though there’s a long series of endnotes for those unaware of the finer aspects of Roman history).

The Roman plotline (which actually is fairly historically accurate, to the degree allowed by the plot’s designs) is fairly heavy throughout, even as Lucius’s career prospects skyrocket. It’s therefore a relief that there’s always a modern Japanese time travel story to break this up. Lucius tends to overreact much of the time, in the best comedic tradition, and his awe in the face of things like Strawberry Milk or washcloths is just plain funny. The Japanese people he meets seem to be almost preternaturally unsuspecting and accommodating of him (oh look, another crazy foreigner) and always willing to expound on how awesome their baths/hot springs/etc are. (There’s some nationalism here, I admit, but it’s woven well enough into the plot that it’s easy to accept).

Yen’s presentation, as I noted above, is deluxe. A hardcover with a plastic slipcase in order to cover the Japanese original, which features a Roman statue with naughty bits. (Fear not – take off the slipcase and the bits are all present and correct.) The paper is high-class, and there’s comments by the author after each chapter about her research, Roman times vs. today, and how much she likes to simply bathe. A love of the bathing ritual permeates this book – not just getting clean, but everything about it – and it’s to Yamazaki-san’s credit that it doesn’t overwhelm the actual plotline of Lucius’s rise to fame and growing intrigue. This volume is a bit pricey, but it’s definitely worth it. Ask for it for Christmas!

Bringing the Drama: Faith

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Anna: Welcome to Bringing the Drama’s discussion of Faith, the newish show starring Lee Min Ho. Faith centers around the misadventures of a modern day plastic surgeon named Yoo Eun Soo who is kidnapped by a handsome soldier Choi Young and taken back to the Goryeo era, where she is greeted as a doctor from heaven. There are superpowers! Ninjas! Cranky Kings and Queens! Bureaucratic machinations! Faith is streaming on Dramafever and Hulu.

New addition to the Bringing the Drama roundtable Michelle Smith joins us as we ponder the answers to the pressing questions raised by this drama such as:

Are grommets historically accurate? Can they also be sexy?
How hard would you clutch your handbag if you were stranded in the past?
Will you forever be suspicious of people wearing dangling earrings?

What were your reactions to Faith?

Michelle: I’ve not finished it yet, but I’ve certainly gotten farther with it than I have with any other k-dramas. I’d say episode four is around where I started to really enjoy the entirety of each episode, as opposed to just enduring the parts where Eun Soo was particularly loud and whiny. I admit to snickering unkindly about a few things—especially Eum Ja’s unfortunate wig—but on the whole I like it a lot. I’m a fan of political scheming in my fantasy, and Gi Cheol’s multifarious plots supply that nicely.

Lee Min Ho as Choi Young, with his historically accurate grommets.

Anna: Eun Soo is fairly whiny, but I found myself liking her anyway for a few reasons. One is that suddenly being transported into the past would be traumatic for anyone. The other reason is that I was amused by how much she was constantly clutching her handbag. I was actually alarmed and concerned when the handbag disappears later on in the series with no explanation. I also found her weird get rich quick schemes amusing. Her attempts to collect antiques and launch a business in homemade cosmetics were pretty funny.

Eva: Ha! I didn’t notice the handbag clutching until about episode six (I now wonder how I missed it). What made me giggle in the beginning was how every symptom presented by just about everyone Eun Soo treated was likely to cause pneumonia.

Like Michelle, I’m only about half way through the series. As usual, for me anyway, it took a good three to four episodes before I was sure I was going to like the show. And I’ve got to tell you, I’m loving it. I’m not nearly as attracted to crack-for-crack’s-sake shows as Emily is (don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of crack here, just lots of other stuff, too), so the added history, political intrigue, and smattering of romance made all the difference for me. In fact, this show reminds me a lot of Diana Gabaldon’s book Outlander, only less Scottish.

Eun Soo and her Very Important Handbag

Emily: I really enjoyed Faith. While it didn’t “wow” me as much as I had hoped when I read the original premise and news articles about the series, I still found it to be, for the most part, engaging and fun. I think it could have been even better with a more stylish historical look like in another historical fantasy airing at the same time, Arang and the Magistrate. Faith seemed to be reaching for an epic feel, and didn’t quite get there. It was really the main relationship that carried this show for me. Things got bogged down a little in the middle when all the factions seemed to be going in circles repeating the same plot points a few times, but I was interested enough in the development of Choi Young and Eun-Soo’s relationship enough to stick it out. When Lee Min Ho as Choi Young gets serious, he’s very… appealing :) I also greatly enjoyed the supporting characters, in particular, the relationship between the tiny King and Queen. I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t seen all of it yet, so I’ll just add that I also liked the development of the main villains.

Time travel has been one of the most popular plot trends this year. Of the 4 series featuring it (Faith, Doctor Jin, Rooftop Prince, and Queen in-Hyun’s Man) I still have to call Queen In-Hyun’s Man my favorite, followed by Faith, then Rooftop Prince and lastly Doctor Jin.

Michelle: Oh yes, there’s much striving to be epic and it sometimes backfires. I actually think they use musical cues for this a lot. The opening theme is fairly grandiose, but there’s a lot of music within the episode, too. Sometimes it’s awesome, like when it bolsters a triumph for the good guys—I’m thinking of the scene where King Gong Min, having cast aside his Yuan garb, welcomes Wu Dai Chi into the throne room—but it sometimes tries to manipulate the audience into thinking something is, say, romantic, like when Choi Young indulges in a flashback montage that includes Eun Soo stealing vases or whatever.

Anna: I think that for Eun Soo, stealing vases IS romantic! Another reason for the almost but not quite epicness of the show is the tendency of Korean Dramas to frontload most of their budget onto the first couple shows and then back off a little bit. If every episode included special effects of Choi Young using his lightning powers and a random ninja-infused animated flashback, the show might have seemed a bit broader in scale. Overall though I didn’t mind the focus on relationships and I enjoyed the supporting cast in addition to the two leads. I do agree that at certain points the plot did get a bit repetitive. How often can someone get poisoned, kidnapped, or run away only to come back to the palace?

Michelle: Yeah, I was kind of frustrated by that, especially after the king had engaged in all sorts of cleverness to wrest Eun Soo from Gi Cheol’s clutches—though he largely did this to save face with the queen—she ends up spending time with Gi Cheol again because he’s got that notebook of hers. But all the same, I’d see why she’d want to know more about it!

Gi Cheol and his Evil Earring

Really, I find the mystery of how that notebook came to be (I’m not quite done with the series, so I don’t yet know the answer) sometimes more compelling than the relationship between Eun Soo and Choi Young. I love her when she’s serious, and love the conversations they have when she is in that mode, but sometimes I think the actress just isn’t up to playing angry or desperate and it just comes across as whiny. Either that, or those moments are poorly written. I can’t decide.

I agree about the supporting cast. I actually like nearly all the female characters—the queen, Court Lady Choi, Hwa Soo In, —more than Eun Soo with the exception of the mute herbalist, whose seems to’ve only received the direction to “sneer a lot.”

Anna: If someone had asked me my opinion of Lee Min Ho’s career after watching him in Boys Over Flowers and Personal Taste, I would not have predicted that he would suddenly become a believable action star, but with City Hunter followed by Faith, that’s exactly what happened. Faith won’t disappoint his fans and I’m curious to see what type of series he decides to do next.

Watch Faith at Dramafever!

Shonen Jump Alpha goes same day as Japan

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The big news of the week is something we all knew would happen—Alvin Lu foreshadowed it at NYCC—but now it has come to pass: Shonen Jump Alpha will be eliminating the two-week lag and going to simultaneous release with Japan for all their weekly series, including Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. And there’s a new series, Nisekoi, debuting this week; you can read chapter 1 for free on the Vizmanga.com site or on their apps.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time for some serious shopping; check out my manga lover’s gift guide at MTV Geek and our group gift guide at Good Comics for Kids.

Jason Thompson takes a long, loving look at Moto Hagio’s Heart of Thomas in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Also at ANN, Brian Hanson takes on a couple of manga-related questions in his Hey Answerman column: The debate over honorifics and what software real manga creators use (with some help from Deb Aoki).

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Picks of the Week, and they check out some digital offerings, including the new JManga7 website, in their latest Going Digital column. And there’s more: They look at this week’s JManga releases, MJ and Michelle Smith converse about some recent releases in Off the Shelf, Travis Anderson has a license request, and Matt Blind calculates the manga best-sellers for the week ending November 25 and looks at some rising stars in his Manga Radar feature. And hey, if you want to join in the action, check out the Manga Bookshelf Forum!

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team kicks off the week with a quick set of Bookshelf Briefs. Anna checks out some romance manga from JManga at Manga Report.

John Rose on vol. 11 of Black Butler (The Fandom Post)
John Rose on vol. 3 of Blood Blockade Battlefront (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Bunny Drop (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Warner on vol. 5 of Dawn of the Arcana (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 4 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Fandom Post)
John Rose on vol. 2 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 23 of Excel Saga (The Fandom Post)
Carlo Santos on vol. 3 of The Flowers of Evil (ANN)
Anna on vols. 1-4 of Give My Regards to Black Jack (Manga Report)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 1 of Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Heart of Thomas (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on The Innocent (Kuriousity)
Jocelyne Allen on Kuslar, by est em (Brain Vs. Book)
Matthew Warner on vol. 8 of Library Wars (The Fandom Post)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Paros no Ken (Yuri no Boke)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 8 of Sailor Moon (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
John Rose on vol. 9 of Tenjho Tenge (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Thermae Romae (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Umineko When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)