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A Devil and Her Love Song, Vol. 4

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A Devil and Her Love Song has been one of 2012’s best surprises. Though the series uneven — and sometimes a little silly — its heroine is one of the most memorable in the Shojo Beat canon. Maria Kawai looks like a mean girl on the surface: she’s pretty and unsparingly blunt, pointing out her classmates’ insecurities with all the delicacy of Dr. Phil. Yet Maria’s bull-in-a-china-shop demeanor reflects her own uncertainty about how to be the kind of person who’s liked for who she is, not the kind of person who’s admired for telling unpleasant truths. And that makes her interesting.

Early in volume four, for example, Maria confronts queen bee Ayu in the bathroom, where she finds Ayu primping for the television cameras. When Maria questions Ayu’s behavior — “But you look the same,” she tells Ayu — Ayu is furious. Maria, however, persists — not because she wants the embarrass a rival, but because she wants to share a hard-won piece of advice. “If someone likes you, or wants to get to know you, it’s not because of how you look,” she tells Ayu. “It’s because you show them how you feel.”

Ayu’s subsequent behavior, however, points to one of the series’ weaknesses: characters have epiphanies with whiplash-inducing frequency. (Saul would never have made it to Damascus if he fell off his donkey as many times as Maria’s classmates do.) Though some of these epiphanies feel genuine, many are contrived: would an alpha girl suddenly confess her feelings to a cute boy in front of all her friends, risking public rejection? Or the class darling admit that she’s actually a nasty manipulator, risking her popularity? Those are nice fantasies, but not very plausible ones; Tomori is working too hard to convince us that Maria’s classmates secretly wish they could be more like her, and not giving group-think and fear enough due.

The series also relies heavily on shopworn gimmicks to advance the plot. The arrival of a television crew in volume three, for example, serves no useful purpose; they disappear for long stretches at a home, only to materialize when the plot demands that someone bear witness to the class’ antics. Maria’s long-running feud with her teacher, too, feels more like an editor’s suggestion than an original idea. To be sure, a student as outspoken as Maria might infuriate a certain kind of adult, but her teacher’s cartoonish behavior renders him ineffective; his actions seem too obvious, too ripe for exposure, for him to pose a real threat to Maria.

Where A Devil and Her Love Song shines is in Maria’s one-on-one interactions with other students. These scenes remind us that everyone is wearing a mask in high school — even Maria, whose sharp comments are as much a pose as Hana’s forced cheerfulness. Though Tomori nails the mean-girl dynamic in all its exquisite awfulness, the best of these exchanges belong to Maria and Shin. Their will-they-won’t-they tension is certainly an effective narrative hook, but what makes these scenes compelling is their honesty. Tomori captures her characters’ body language and fitful conversations, which unfold in fragments, silences, and sudden bursts of feeling, rather than eloquent declarations.

I don’t know about you, but that’s how I remember high school, as a time when I had flashes of insight and bravery, but a lot more moments of cringe-inducing stupidity, cowardice, or tongue-tied helplessness. That Tomori captures adolescence in all its discomfort while still writing a romance that’s fun, readable, and sometimes endearingly silly, is proof of her skill. Now if she could just ditch the television crew and the evil teacher…

Review copy provided by VIZ Media.

A DEVIL AND HER LONG SONG • BY MIYOSHI TOMORI • VIZ MEDIA • 200 pp. • RATING: TEEN (13+)

Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 20

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By Kenjiro Hata. Released in Japan as “Hayate no Gotoku!” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz.

In general, you find two types of Hayate fans when you look at your average message board discussing the series. Those who appreciate that this is, at heart, a comedic gag manga, and those who do not. To be fair, Hata does not make this easy for us. Indeed, Volumes 23-24 will be almost entirely gagless, as was Vol. 18. Hata brought this on himself by creating, as part of his comedy manga, a classic harem manga where you genuinely *don’t* have a clue which way it will eventually resolve. And the interaction of the girls with Hayate can be adorable, heartwarming, and fluffy. Thus, when Hata decides after a particularly shippy chapter to suddenly do something incredibly silly with Fumi, or a fanservicey plot that goes nowhere with Izumi and company, fans who want harem resolution (i.e., more Hinagiku and Maria) tend to get irritated.

Fortunately for the romance fans, Volume 20 should keep them very happy indeed. There are no real pointless gag chapters (though there is much humor), and lots of character development – well, the closest one gets in a title where nothing can be resolved. We open with the resolution of the Las Vegas story, as Wataru and Saki manage to finally get one over on his mother and escape. Wataru’s ambivalent feelings towards her are nicely portrayed – he acknowledges that she’s a horrible, immature person who is not ready to raise her son even though he’s a teenager – but she is still his mother, and should she show up at his door one day, he’d likely take her in.

Parents in Hayate tend to get a raw deal – there are no less than three different characters whose parents have saddled them with a huge amount of debt and run off, Nagi’s grandfather seems to be the main villain of the series, and Mikoto is happy to use and abuse even her own son. Interestingly, we also see far more of Nagi’s late mother (in flashbacks) in this volume than in any of the previous ones. She is the one exception – she’s allowed to be, as she is dead – and seems to be a kind and loving, if flakey, mother. I sometimes wonder if all the parents of our current gang knew each other growing up (it’s clear some of them did), and are taking it out on the next generation. Luckily, Hayate and company seem to be a bit more with it.

On the love front, Ayumu has drawn Hina out to where she can admit her love for Hayate openly as long as there’s no one else around. Progress! Of course, actual conversation with Hayate is still awkward – they both tend to put their foot in their mouth a lot – and she’s annoyed when she realizes that, because she’s strong and Hayate trusts her to take care of herself, he may not see her as feminine. As for Ayumu, she’s still the most mature of the cast, and gets to think what most North American harem fans don’t want to hear – that Nagi is the most important person in his life right now. (If Hayate resolves with a Nagi ending, by the way, watch this fandom crash and burn even faster than School Rumble and Negima did. This is why so many harems are unresolved…)

So now everyone’s in Greece, having fun and accidentally ending up in underground tunnels. You know, the usual vacation antics. If I recall correctly, we still have a ways to go before we get back to the serious Athena scenes (and yes, there are also folks who primarily read Hayate, a gag manga, for the serious parts), so when Vol. 21 comes out the usual six months from now, expect hijinks! Meanwhile, this is a great volume for fans of the series – though obviously a bad place for newcomers to jump in.

A Preliminary NYCC 2012 Schedule

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No more NYAF, but there’s even more anime/manga content than before.

THURSDAY:
1:30pm – Brand Licensing
2:30pm – Graphic Novel Collecting
4:00pm – How to Edit a Graphic Novel
6:15pm – My Little Pony

Thursday is Pro day, so I may not be allowed to get into some of these. The post-3pm panels seem to allow press. I’m amused that the Hasbro/My Little Pony panel is on Pro Day – well the description does say it’s primarily about marketing. Also, a Yen Press staffer will be at the editing panel.

FRIDAY:
11:00am: Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
12:45pm: Editors on Editing
1:45pm – Yoshitaka Amano
2:45pm – Archie Comics
4:00pm – Vertical, Inc.
6:30pm – Masakazu Ishiguro
7:45pm – UDON Publishing

The busiest day of the con, as it is every year. Judging by the lineups from last year, getting into Archie may be impossible, but I’ll try. I expect all the other panels to have more normal lines. Masakazu Ishiguro is the author of SoreMachi, and will be here with Young King OURS’ editor as guests of JManga. Peter Davison is at 3pm, and it breaks my heart to miss him, but the line will also be unreal. ^^;;

SATURDAY:
11:00am – Moyoko Anno
12:15pm – Rose of Versailles
1:30pm – Kodansha Comics
4:00pm – JManga
7:00pm – Yen Press
7:45pm – Shonen Jump ALPHA/Masakazu Katsura (author of Video Girl Ai and I”s (oh, and the Tiger & Bunny designer)).

A slightly easier Day 2, though lunch will be late. There’s a You Can’t Do That On Television panel opposite SJA, but it seems to not be about the Nickelodeon kids’ series at all, much to my disappointment. I will resist the temptation to ask SJA about Medaka Box – again – and will also try to resist the temptation to ask Katsura why he is so obsessed with female asses. Yen Press is also a late addition to the panel schedule, and conflict a bit with SJA, so I may lose the chance to ask if they’ll put out Bunny Drop 9 or not. :)

SUNDAY:
12:15pm – VIZ Media
3:00pm – Strong Female Characters

As always, Sunday is quiet day. Whoever scheduled ‘The Right To Defend Manga’ opposite Viz’s panel needs a swat. And sadly no Warner Brothers panel this year.

As ever, I will endeavor to keep you all informed of stuff throughout the con, though if my reception is as bad as it always seems to be they will likely be posts in the evening after I get back to the con.

It Came From the Sinosphere: The City and the Drama (part one)

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The promotional post for Black & White, featuring all of the main characters

If you asked me what the most important idol dramas ever made are, I would answer Meteor Garden (adapted from Hana Yori Dango) and Black & White. Meteor Garden, of course, as the first idol drama ever made, defined the entire genre, and was extremely influential not only in Taiwan, but also Japan, South Korea, China, the Philipines, Thailand, and beyond. However, while Black & White has not had Meteor Garden‘s international reach, its effect on Taiwan itself, based on my subjective observation, has been deeper. Most of this post is about this effect, rather than reviewing the drama itself.

Quick Story Overview

Kaohsiung Police Department’s top two crime solvers are Chen Zaitian (nicknamed Pǐzi – “Ruffian”) and Wu Yingxiong (Yīngxióng means “Hero”). Pizi goes around wearing snazzy white suits, hanging out at trendy cafes, sleeping with women, and working the sleaze circuit in ordet to ferret out clues. On the other hand, Yingxiong, who usually is wearing black, is brave, has a very strong sense of justice, personally sets out to right wrongs and, well, he generally acts like a hero. Unfortunately, he’s not very patient or subtle.

The Kaohsiung Police Department assigns these two to work on a case together. Oh dear.

Actually, this description makes this story sound a bit like something else I’ve discussed in this column. I guess there are no new plots.

About the Main Actors

The main actors, of course, are Vic Chou as Chen Zaitian, and Mark Chao as Wu Yingxiong.

Vic Chou as Chen Zaitian (Pizi) and Mark Chao as Wu Yingxiong

Vic Chou is one of the top idol drama actors ever. He debuted in Meteor Garden as Huazelei (Hanazawa Rui). However, he didn’t really show his full potential until he was cast as Ling (Rei) in Mars. I think his popularity is justified, and I have a lot of respect for him as an actor. While he needs a good script to show his talent (most actors do), his performances in both Mars and Black & White are excellent.

Vic Chou as Ling in Mars

Mark Chao, on the other hand, is better known as a singer than as an actor. This is the only time he has ever appeared in a TV drama … yet he won the Golden Bell Award (the Taiwanese equivalent of the Emmy Award) for Best Leading Actor. His other notable acting performance is as Wenzi (the main character) in the blockbuster film Monga. When I say Monga was a blockbuster, I mean that it was the #1 film in the Taiwanese box office during its run in theaters … and it ran in theaters at the same time as James Cameron’s Avatar. Mark Chao also sings the opening song for Black & White.

Mark Chao as Wenzi in Monga

But, while Vic Chou and Mark Chao are both celebrities and play the main characters, neither is the true star of the drama. The true star, of course, is Kaohsiung.

The City

Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s second-largest city, Taiwan’s largest port, and the largest city in southern Taiwan. Over the last ten years, Kaohsiung has gone through a great transformation.

In older accounts, Kaohsiung is called an ugly, highly-polluted, boring hellhole where the tap water is laced with heavy metals (including lead and arsenic), and which should be avoided unless one must be there for economic reasons. However, nowadays people are always telling me about how nice Kaohsiung is.

What changed? Mostly, government policy.

For a long time, Kaohsiung, aside from some key business interests, had been neglected by the government, which is one reasons why the city had such severe problems.

Then a funny thing called democracy appeared in Taiwan. In fact, most historians say that the ‘Kaohsiung Incident’ was a turning point for the Taiwanese democracy movement. It is worth noting that Kaohsiung suffered more under authoritarian rule than Taipei did, so it was not a coincidence the human rights activists were organizing there.

Of course, governmental reform took decades – Taiwan didn’t have its first free and fair presidential election until 1996. And even then, it took time to shift policies. But shift they did (to what extent, of course, is a subject of heated debate).

The major changes to Kaohsiung happened under the leadership of Mayor Frank Hsieh, and continued under Kaohsiung’s current mayor, Chen Chu (Chen Chu was one of the “Kaohsiung Eight,” and is the only woman to have ever been mayor of a major Taiwanese city). The government reduced pollution, improved the sewage system, built an MRT system, created many parks and recreation areas, hired international designers to beautify the city, and otherwise turned Kaohsiung into a much more livable place.

Of course, it wasn’t only the government that was neglecting Kaohsiung. It was also the cultural media. The vast majority of Mandarin-language dramas are filmed in northern Taiwan – either in Taipei itself, or, if they want to have a more rustic feel and/or reduce filming costs, neighboring areas such as Taoyuan or Yilan county (I do not know enough about Taiwanese (Hokkien) language dramas to comment on them, but most younger people in Taiwan don’t watch them anyway). I think this type of cultural neglect has a psychological effect on people.

North vs. South

Like almost every inhabited place on Earth, Taiwan has regional divisions, and the big one is north vs. south. In Taiwan, the north is definitely richer, more powerful, more economically robust, better infrastructure, etc. It is telling that when many people think of Taiwan, they think of Taipei, Taiwan’s northernmost major city. And Taipei also happens to be the capital (political power).

Northern Taiwan is also the center of ‘Chinese’ culture in Taiwan. When I say “Chinese,” I mean the culture of the people who moved from China to Taiwan in the middle of the 20th century. For example, Mandarin is spoken more in northern Taiwan (ex-Yilan) than anywhere else in Taiwan. Likewise, Taiwanese/Hokkien is less spoken in northern Taiwan (again, ex-Yilan) than anywhere else in Taiwan.

However, southern Taiwan is the center of Taiwanese/Hoklo culture (note: some people prefer to refer to it as “Taiwanese” culture because they consider it to be the true heritage of Taiwanese society, whereas other people prefer to refer to it as “Hoklo” to emphasize that it is only one of Taiwan’s traditions, and that the other cultural traditions are just as ‘Taiwanese’ as the Hoklo one – I am trying to be neutral, so I will use both terms). In particular, Tainan, Taiwan’s oldest city and former capital, is considered the heart of traditional Taiwanese/Hoklo culture.

A further wrinkle is that many residents of nothern Taiwan are originally from southern Taiwan. Due to the better economic and educational opportunities, many people from other regions of Taiwan move to the north, but still have family and cultural connections to their native region. And many have moved from Kaohsiung to the north (especially Taipei). The reverse is a lot less common. Thus many people in northern Taiwan actually identify with the south on some level.

While Kaohsiung does not carry the historical and cultural weight of Tainan, it is also a symbol of the south, and for many Taiwanese people, arguably a majority of Taiwanese people, the south is their ‘native’ land.

Kaohsiung’s Own Idol Drama

Black & White is not the first idol drama set in Kaohsiung. For example, Prince Turns into Frog, another popular idol drama, is also set in Kaohsiung. However, in Prince Turns into Frog, the setting seemed incidentle – though they occasionally included shots of Kaohsiung’s landmarks, it could have just as easily been filmed in northern Taiwan.

That most certainly is not the case of Black & White. It has Kaohsiung all over it. The opening song features Kaohsiung prominently; the ending song also features the city prominently. The first episode features Formosa Boulevard Station, Kaohsiung’s most notable MRT station. There are some scenes in the Yuansu Yujhu fashion area, which is Kaohsiung’s equivalent of Taipei’s Ximending and Tokyo’s Harajuku. The climax of the story takes place in the middle of Kaohsiung’s most famous feature, it’s harbor. The city is clearly featured in every single episode. I have seen no other idol drama which puts as much emphasis on place as Black & White.

In fact, I wonder if the MRT system was featured so prominently in the drama to encourage people to ride it. I know that it has been a disappointment due to the low ridership. People (both Taiwanese and foreign) have told me that the Kaohsiung MRT ‘sucks’, but I found it very useful. If I had spent more time in Kaohsiung, I might have figured out why it ‘sucks’, but for now it seems to me that the problem lies in people’s attitudes rather than the MRT system itself (granted, there are also claims of corruption in the construction of the MRT system, which is a totally different issue).

This has very high production values for a idol drama. I don’t just mean the special effects and cinematography; the producers pulled in top acting talent (see above), got really good writers on the project, and had a very clear commitment to quality across the board.

It’s as if Black & White tried to compensate for decades of media neglect in one fell swoop.

So, What’s Next

This is one of those posts which ended up being a bit long, so I’ve broken it into two parts. Normally, I try to post two-parters in the same week … but this week I’m really busy, so part two will be posted next week. In part two, I discuss, among other things, how the drama depicts the city, how the city depicts the drama, how to get this drama in English (hint: it can be done legally), and some personal observations.

See you next week…

Sara K. spend a couple years living in Oakland, California. When she thinks of Oakland, she thinks of the majestic cranes at the port (when she was a kid, she thought they were dinosaurs). So when she sees the cranes of any port city, she always feels a tinge of childhood wonder, as will as a light, wispy, fleeting sense of home.

MMF: March to the Shojo Beat

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Sean Gaffney looks ahead to this week’s new releases.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast is hosted by Anna Neatrour at Manga Report and features Shojo Beat manga. To get us in the mood, Anna shows off her collection of Shojo Beat magazines.

At Heart of Manga, Laura posts the transcript of what sounds like a very lively panel featuring Arina Tanemura at Animefest 2012.

Erica Friedman has the latest Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Kate Dacey looks at an historical oddity, an unauthorized Astro Boy comic published by Gold Key that bears very little resemblance to Tezuka’s creation.

Speaking of Tezuka, Kate is giving away a copy of Message to Adolf at The Manga Critic; drop by and tell her your favorite Tezuka manga for a chance to win.

Reviews

John Rose on vol. 12 of 13th Boy (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 13 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vols. 46 and 47 of Bleach (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 47 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on the September issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 6 of Cross Game (Comics Worth Reading)
TSOTE on Disappearance Diary (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Dorohedoro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 7 of Dorohedoro (The Fandom Post)
Alexander Hoffman on vol. 4 of House of Five Leaves (Manga Village)
Ken Haley on Hush a Bye Baby (Sequential Ink)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Library Wars: Love and War (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 64 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Oresama Teacher (The Comic Book Bin)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 13 of Otomen (Kuriousity)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 6 of Sailor Moon (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Sailor Moon (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-5 of St. Dragon Girl (Manga Xanadu)
John Rose on vol. 1 of Soul Eater NOT! (The Fandom Post)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Young Miss Holmes (Manga Xanadu)

Pick of the Week: Magical Girls, Massacres, & More

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MJ: This week’s list at Midtown Comics may look a bit short, but it’s got some pretty compelling offerings, including new volumes of popular favorites like 20th Century Boys, Sailor Moon, and Yotsuba&!, and the second volume of the relatively intriguing Attack On Titan. But my heart belongs to the Dark Horse’s final omnibus edition of CLAMP’s Cardcaptor Sakura. Wanna know why? Well, I wrote a rather giddy essay about it for the CLAMP MMF. Dark Horse’s large-format editions are beautiful enough to make this a must-buy even for fans who already own the TOKYOPOP books, and it’s certainly a must-buy for me.

MICHELLE: I’m going to cast my vote for the second volume of Until Death Do Us Part, from Yen Press. I wasn’t at all sure what to expect from this story about a precognitive girl and the blind swordsman she enlists to protect her, but it turned out to be really interesting, especially the civilian vigilante network that funds the swordsman’s efforts. True, the premise is sustaining me more at this point than the characters, but I’m definitely eager to read more.

SEAN: If you’ve been following Higurashi‘s manga from arc to arc, you’ve begun to see how the lead characters are starting, almost unconsciously, to learn from their past mistakes, mistrust and paranoia and to rely on each other and the Power Of Friendship. We now start the penultimate arc, which is not going to solve everything (it is titled the Massacre Arc, after all), but is starting to have the heartwarming, feel-good moments outweigh the horror and despair. Plus, given it’s now in 2-volume omnibus volumes, it’s getting here faster!

KATE: And my vote goes to Berserk… not! Actually, I’m interested in another Dark Horse title: volume one of CLAMP’s Angelic Layer, a shonen tournament manga that was originally released by Tokyopop in 2002. I have vague memories of reading one or two volumes and judging them harshly against soap opera theatrics of X/1999 and Tokyo Babylon, so I’m curious to see how I feel about Angelic Layer now. Even if the story turns out to be a dud, I know the book itself will be handsomely produced and well translated, so I won’t feel quite so sore about spending the money on it.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 9/16/12

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This week, Sean, Kate, and Michelle look at recent releases from Viz Media, Kodansha Comics, and Seven Seas.

The Earl & The Fairy, Vol. 3 | By Ayuko & Mizue Tani | Viz Media – I’m afraid that Edgar and Lydia are not helping their causes when it comes to making me not want to strangle them. Edgar continues to be the sort of hero who hides everything that he does, no matter the reason, because it’s just his way. (To be fair, his upbringing likely invited this.) And Lydia keeps looking for reasons to mistrust him, and finding them, of course, as one does in a series like this. Also, despite the appearance of a bogey-beast partway through this volume, there was a lot less fantasy and a lot more romantic angst. The villain being a typical spoiled brat is also not helping its cause. I’m sure things will get more involved in the 4th (and final?) volume, but nothing in this one convinced me it shouldn’t have ended nicely with two. -Sean Gaffney

Itsuwaribito, Vol. 6 | By Yuuki Iinuma | Viz Media – Volume six of Itsuwaribito reads a lot like an early story line from InuYasha: there are killer dolls, a spider-like villain with eight arms, and a brother-sister pair who would give Kohaku and Sango a run for their money in the pathos department. Alas, that’s where the similarities between these two titles end. Though Rumiko Takahashi did a good job of allowing her story to unfold without too much authorial intervention, Yuuki Iinuma saddles his characters with info-dump dialogue and thought balloons filled with excruciatingly obvious observations. The result is a curiously unengaging story, devoid of suspense or shock; only the most inattentive reader will be surprised by the outcome of Utsusho, Yakuma, Neya, and Pochi’s battle with Naraku the deadly spider demon. -Katherine Dacey

Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, Vol. 1 | By Hey-jin Jeon and Ki-ha Lee | Seven Seas – A new manhwa series! And a mystery series, at that! As if that weren’t enough to entice me, we’ve also got an intelligent, clear-headed, marriage-averse young Victorian lady sleuth as a protagonist, and while that role might be rather cliché nowadays, it’s still a type that I enjoy reading about. Set in London in 1864, Lizzie Newton begins with the titular heroine attending a social function during which the hostess’ despondent brother turns up dead. Lizzie declares the feat a murder, though the obvious signs point to suicide, and then—with the help of her barrister suitor turned family steward, Edgar—conducts her own chemical experiments to confirm the evidence before calmly giving her testimony to an astounded Inspector who comes to call. Again, this kind of story isn’t exactly new, but it’s sort of… invigorating, all the same. I look forward to volume two! – Michelle Smith

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 7 | By Naoko Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – This volume comprises the meat of the “S” arc, the details of which are quite a bit different in the manga than they are in the anime. What’s not different, though, is the dramatic goodness supplied by two groups of Sailor Guardians with opposing missions. Usagi is determined that everyone ought to fight as one, but the older and more powerful “outer” Guardians are equally resolved to save the world at any cost, even if it means taking the life of an innocent girl with the potential to bring ruin and destruction. There are Guardian awakenings, Guardian revelations, and Guardian power-ups in this volume, plus a healthy dose of Haruka awesomeness. (I’m especially fond of her obvious affection for Usagi.) Chalk it up to fangirl enthusiasm if you will, but after the somewhat yawn-inducing “R” arc, it’s nice to be excited about the series again. – Michelle Smith

Psyren, Vol. 6 | By Toshiaki Iwashiro | Viz Media – Having killed off the extremely likeable Elmore Wood kids easily in the previous volume, this one (now back in the past before that happens) gets to show off how they’re all actually really talented, so that it looks more impressive. Also impressive was seeing Ageha, up[on finding out that someone is going to die, immediately trying to change the future by telling them. He gets beaten up for this and told, essentially, “You can’t break the rules”, but I liked his moxie. If there’s a drawback here, it’s that this volume, which serves to develop the ‘normal’ world and show how folks can abuse psi powers, doesn’t really tie into the main plotline, leaving everything hanging a bit, Also, Sakurako’s barely in it. Still, if the excuse is ‘broadening the scope of the manga’s worldview’, it’s a good one.-Sean Gaffney

Toradora!, Vol. 5 | By Yuyuko Tamemiya & Zekkyo | Seven Seas – I’d mentioned that I loved this manga for Minori’s goofy moments, so imagine my surprise when it’s Kitamura who proves to be the complete whackjob here, showing us far more of himself than anyone wanted to see. In fact, Minori actually gets some angst here, as we’re starting to see that her outward personality hides some self-doubt and melancholy. Ryuuji’s advice to her is pitch-perfect, and shows who he’s still a harem lead even though he and Taiga are the obvious end couple. Speaking of Taiga, she’s mostly herself here, but gets a lovely moment when Ami and company go out for a girl’s day out, and Taiga comes along. For once everyone manages to have fun, and Taiga’s thanks is heartfelt – even Ami realizes it. This is a cliched title, but works as the characters are simply so likeable. -Sean Gaffney

One Piece, Vol. 64

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

The Fishman Island arc, considering that we spent such a long time waiting for it to finally arrive, has been n unfortunate mixed bag so far. And that doesn’t really change with this volume, as while there are a lot of cool things going on, some good dialogue and humor, and some interesting bad guys, for once I wish that Oda would try pacing a little more like Bleach and let things slow down a bit.

The Straw Hat Pirates (plus Jimbei) are on the cover of this particular volume, and they do all get to show off their respective skills, in Oda’s standard shonen “see how I have grown stronger!” montage. Indeed, Zoro is captured and put into a cage (along with Usopp and Brook), but you get the sense that he barely treats it as something more than a minor inconvenience – he’s faced off against worse than this. Robin, meanwhile, can seemingly not only duplicate body parts but also herself now (let’s see Usopp try to imitate that!), and Nami gets to steal something for the first time in what seems like forever.

Speaking of Nami, given that we were at Fishman Island we were always going to touch on her past at some point. After the long flashback, Jimbei apologizes to her for not stopping Arlong, but this is an older, more mature Nami, and she can mourn the past while still looking forward to the future, and realizes that she’s met her crew and had grand adventures because of all this as well. It’s very heartwarming (as the rest of the cast seems to note, as several tear up in a “this is so heartwarming!!!” moment).

You would think Oda would have his hands full dealing with the prejudice moral that’s running through this arc, but apparently that wasn’t quite enough, so we also have some drug abuse going on, with the bad guys taking the Fishman equivalent of stimulants to keep going. As for the bad guys themselves, we meet Hody’s four lieutenants here, who are basically all variations on ‘goofy Fish guy Oda thought up to be funny’. There’s the one who adds sound effects to his sentences, the one whose camouflage is so good he gets run over, and the Drunken Master, just for a nice Hong Kong reference. Like Vander Decken, they are there to be bad guys you want to see beaten down but also enjoy reading about.

And so we finally start getting into the big fight about 2/3 through this book. It took longer than I thought – Luffy’s brief battle with Jimbei was particularly pointless filler but it’s here at last. So I’m hoping for some really good fights to take my mind off the fact that this arc is, for Oda, pretty mediocre. I mean, it’s still worth picking up – this is One Piece, and I don’t think Oda is capable of making anything not entertaining – but it’s not as fulfilling as what has come before it.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 7

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By Naoko Takeuchi. Released in Japan as “Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon” by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Nakayoshi. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

Sailor Moon continues to introduce us to the Outer Senshi and their way of dealing with things in this volume. It can be a bit hard to take, and the anime was never quite sure when to quit with the whole ‘no, we are right and you are wrong’ schtick. To be fair, one can argue that it’s all that the Outers know. We see, in their flashback (and note that their memories of past lives seem MUCH clearer than the Inner Senshi pasts have ever been) that they basically patrol their solitary planets looking for distant threats. They don’t even have cute animal companions to keep them company. And the one time they were able to do something, it was pushing the big red ‘PRESS THIS TO DESTROY UNIVERSE’ button of summoning Sailor Saturn. So it stands to reason they’d regard this as something that’s their job, and has to be done their way. Plus they’re two years older than Usagi and company. For a teenager, that’s, like, FOREVER.

That said, it’s Sailor Moon’s manga, and you know she’s going to be right in the end, so it can be a bit aggravating to see them try to do the whole ‘go away and let us handle this’ thing. Luckily, there are several moments that endear them to us. For one, I loved that, immediately after Setsuna’s memories awaken and she reclaims her powers as Pluto, she rushes to embrace Chibi-Moon. From a story perspective, Pluto’s death was devastating to Chibi-Moon the most, so it stands to reason that if you’re going to retcon it (and I don’t remotely understand how Pluto gets reincarnated in the past, but hey, timey-wimey ball and all that) you’d better reclaim that emotional moment. Pluto’s joy at seeing Chibi-Moon is equally fantastic. Of course, once that’s over she joins the Outers in their aloofness, but hey, can’t have everything.

I know that it’s a common theme throughout all 12 volumes of the manga, but it always seemed to me that S really ramped up the idea of possession as an attack to an insane degree. Here the Inners and Outers get pitted against each other by pumping up their negative emotions, we see Kaolinite (back when she was just Kaori, presumably) getting possessed by Pharaoh 90, and of course there’s Hotaru, whose success at fighting off the Evil Mistress Nine within her is even more admirable in this context, given that nobody else seems to have any luck fighting anything off at all. Speaking of Hotaru, her father in the manga is a really evil bastard, who it’s made clear seems to have been off the rails even BEFORE turning evil, so no redemption for him as you may have seen in the anime. That said, Hotaru’s reaction to all this is sweet and loving, even as a disembodied spirit.

Lastly, while bonds of friendship, love and respect are all very well and good, there’s a lovely reminder that being a senshi is a calling rather than a cute little fantasy. Most magical girl manga tend to have their heroines thinking of romance first and foremost – and indeed Usagi is fairly typical in that regard – but we’ve seen over and over again that this is a lifetime profession for Sailor Moon and the others – and that the lifetime is going to last MUCH LONGER than most. The Witches Five (brought back to life again, in one of the poorer plot choices in the entire series – don’t kill off minions if you need them again!) each taunt the Inners with the idea that there are other careers they could be doing – doctor, fortune-teller, florist, idol – that they’re sacrificing by choosing to be a senshi and help Sailor Moon instead. This is not a one-time theme, and will become even more important in the SuperS arc that follows this.

This isn’t a perfect volume of Sailor Moon – it’s a bit more messy and chaotic than it’s been in the past, and there’s more shouting at everyone else than I’d like (most of it designed to fill up pages while we wait for Mistress Nine to be powerful enough to break out). But, as noted above, it’s filled with food for thought, and now that we have all our ducks in a row we’re ready for a powerful climax. Will the Outers have to kill Hotaru to save the world? (Note: if you want this to remain secret, try not to look at the color pages for this volume.)