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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!

By Sou Sagara and Okomeken. Released in Japan as “Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko” by Media Factory, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Alive. Released in North America by Digital Manga Publishing.

I must admit I was rather surprised to see a title from Comic Alive licensed by someone other than Seven Seas, and had to double check to make sure that this wasn’t BL-related in some way. (Not that Comic Alive would go anywhere near BL.) But no, DMP is dipping their toe in this market, and doing so with a title that seems a bit more low-key than what we’ve seen from other Comic Alive titles released in North America lately, even if it does have the same basic storyline and outlook.

The story stars Yoto, a typical teenage boy who spends most of his days trying to look at girls’ panties (OK, a typical Japanese teenage boy). He’s very good at denying he’s doing anything wrong, and fate seems to love him, as whenever he’s caught perving it gets mistaken for him doing something noble. He’s still bothered by this, however, being a decent pervert at heart, and wishes he could be more honest. Then he hears about a cat statue that grants wishes, and it seems to work nicely on his best friend. So he goes to visit it, and promptly runs into an embarrassed, panicky girl who also wants to wish on the cat statue – she wants to make it so her feelings aren’t so visible. Unfortunately, they both get their wishes – he now can’t tell a lie at all, even to save his getting beaten up, and she’s a perfect stoic on the outside, no matter what she may be feeling.

Wackiness, as they say, ensues. As you can see by my taking a paragraph to write out the plot, there’s not much to this. The two leads quickly realize how horrific this has become, but of course they can’t take their wishes back so easily. And things are livened up by your typical moe manga archetypes in the supporting cast. Yoto and Tsukiko are already cliched types (heck, Tsukiko manages to be two in one, as we see her both as the stressed out over-emotional girl *and* the stoic), and they’re joined by a busty track star who’s queen of the school and a blonde tsundere princess who finds her match in Yoto’s new blunt and straightforward persona. A light-hearted harem manga ensues.

I have not been all that fond of Comic Alive titles recently. I Don’t Like You At All, Big Brother! and Haganai both tended to irritate more than amuse me, mostly because I prefer my moe to be relaxed and soft rather than hyperactive and angry. But this wasn’t quite as bad as those two. The lead was just a shade more sympathetic, the tsundere had a bit more dimension to her, the plot invited antics while still being interesting. Yes, there’s still lots of talk of breasts and panties, and the plot is a simple ‘role reversal’ type thing we’ve seen before in, say, Your and My Secret, but this ended up being OK. I’d recommend it, but DMP hasn’t put Volume 2 on their upcoming list for 2013 (after they return from print hiatus), meaning we won’t see a new volume, if we do at all, for over a year. Thus, I can’t actually recommend it that much. But it’s not too bad.

Story by Ryukishi07; Art by Kei Natsumi. Released in Japan in two separate volumes as “Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Legend of the Golden Witch” by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Gangan Powered. Released in North America by Yen Press.

The story of Higurashi: When They Cry may not be finished here in North America, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen people clamoring for its sequel. And so Yen has decided to bring it out even as Higurashi reaches its climax, in the more economical but deluxe-looking omnibus format. Not to worry, though: it’s a spiritual sequel rather than an actual one. Only one minor character from Higurashi shows up in Umineko, and we don’t meet her in this particular volume. But Umineko certainly has a lot of what drew people to Higurashi. Cute moe-style girls (who later turn out to have terrifying sides), heroes who use over the top perverse antics to hide a darker side, and of course giant piles of corpses drawn in gruesome detail.

It can be a little hard for me not to try to compare the protagonists of Umineko with their predecessors, especially since some of them don’t quite live up to those heights. Maria in particular is meant to have a certain Rika-esque aspect to her, but comes across as more bipolar than anything else. I must also agree with her mother: the uuu-uuu thing is really annoying, I’ll take nipah any day. As for Battler, I am reminded that I really disliked Keiichi at first, then grew to like him quite a bit, and I hope the same thing happens here. I also hope that, like Higurashi, the boob jokes and fetishes get less important as the volumes continue. I realize they’re there to provide contrast and relief before the main events, but let’s face it: they’re there for an otaku audience which isn’t me.

As for the story itself, I’m intrigued. Ryukishi07 has already stated that the goal here is not Higurashi’s (figure out who was behind the killings), leading me to think that the chances of everyone eventually living happily ever after are far less likely. The goal seems to be ‘is this a fantasy world or not?’, with its discussion of witches and black magic being countered by Battler (and Eva’s) staunch common sense and realistic view. I admit I’m inclined to believe there’s a human element as well, but then we’ve barely started this series, and still haven’t properly met ‘Beatrice’, the witch whose message is behind the whole thing. In addition, this series is about an extended family rather than a group of friends. It’s easy to bond with a group of close friends, who you can choose. Family’s harder, as you’re born with them. Notably, the parents in Umineko seem to be playing a much larger role than they did in Higurashi, and I’m not entirely sure if the children are supposed to be the heroes here, Battler’s POV or no.

Higurashi was never particularly subtle and somber, but it seems to me that Umineko takes things even further into a theatricality that almost embraces the grand guignol. Battler’s expansive gestures, the parents’ florid arguments regarding the inheritance, and of course the over-the-top mutilation of the corpses, all seem to be something that would be more appropriate for an opera house than a manga volume. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, though. Once you get used to the fact that everything is over the top, it becomes a much more readable series – even Maria’s supposed terrifying faces cause a grin and a ‘here we go again’.

In the end, this is a series with the same positives and negatives as Higurashi. If you can get past the groping fanservice and the grotesque murders, at its heart this is a mystery that will play out over the course of many volumes, and this is most likely merely meant as a taster introduction. Hopefully next volume we’ll meet the witch and get a few more answers. Then again, the first 2 volumes of Higurashi gave us no answers whatsoever…