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Love Hina Omnibus, Vol. 3

June 21, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Ken Akamatsu. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

Things are beginning to pick up a bit in this third volume of Love Hina. Yes, there is still a lot of Keitaro seeing people naked and Keitaro getting hit, but it’s far less than in the first few volumes. Akamatsu is finding he can indeed do things other than ecchi comedy, and is also starting to realize something important: he has no idea where to go with this once his heroes achieve their goal.

Yes, surprise, Keitaro, Naru and Mutsumi all make it into Todai in this collection. Admittedly, it takes 2/3 of the omnibus for this to happen, including a visit to another turtle-infested South Sea island. The reason for this being that Keitaro, convinced he failed, has run away. Except… he didn’t fail. He’s in… provided he submits his paperwork on time. This is what drives most of the comedy here, a fast-paced race against time chase with increasingly ludicrous situations. Something that should be very familiar to Negima readers. Yes, Ken can still bring the ecchi comedy, but the difference between this and the start of the series is the *pacing*. The first volume is glacial, and you only realize how much after seeing these volumes.

Speaking of realization, as I noted, Akamatsu has realized he does not really want Keitaro in college stories. This is what leads to the broken leg that keeps him sidelined most of the last third of the book. And kudos to Akamatsu for lampshading this heavily, given the amount of abuse he’s taken from Naru. Everyone jokes that they had thought he was immortal. Admittedly, making him physically vulnerable does undercut the ‘comedic sociopathy doesn’t hurt’ rules of this universe… I suppose I should be lucky he didn’t get the broken leg via a Naru punch. Anyway, getting back to my point, Keitaro as a hapless college student, worrying he and Naru are growing further apart is kinda boring. But Keitaro the competent archaeologist, using his bad luck for good rather than for evil? That works. Keitaro on the island is the most likeable we’ve ever seen him. (Akamatsu will go too far with this, but we aren’t quite there yet.)

On the romance front, Keitaro has at last confessed to Naru. Who takes her own sweet time in answering him, mostly as she’s just as bad as he is in most respects. This gets contrasted with Seta and Haruka, who not only turn out to have dated when they were students, but also have many similarities to the current Keitaro and Naru. In fact, Haruka’s enraged beating of Seta after embarrassing her one too many times could easily have been a typical Keitaro/Naru farce. It’s a really sweet chapter, though, and one hopes that they can resolve things soon… especially as our heroes seem to realize the parallels with their own situation.

Motoko and Shinobu also get some short arcs towards the end. Shinobu proves to be a fairly mediocre student, and most of her story is spent trying to teach her to study properly while showing off her crush on Keitaro. (Naru doesn’t help by still being in the ‘who likes that idiot?’ phase of her life.) And Motoko’s sister, Tsuruko shows up, supposedly to test Motoko’s allegiance to her sword art, but in reality to try to make her mature more and get over some of her worst hangups. Of course, this being Love Hina, Tsuruko goes about this via some tough love. This gives us an iconic image of Motoko dressed as a maid, determined to become the perfect feminine woman since she can’t please her sister by her sword mastery. The anime would take this and run with it, I seem to recall.

So things look almost ready to wrap up here. Keitaro and Naru aren’t together, but both know their feelings for each other. And they got into Todai. Looks as if this series is ready to wrap up. Of course, it’s not. There’s 2 more omnibuses to go. Join us next time when we introduce the second most controversial character in all of Love Hina (Naru being first, of course.)

New licenses, new releases

June 20, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

Deb Aoki takes a closer look at two recently announced manga: Knights of Sidonia, from Vertical, and Kitaro, from Drawn and Quarterly.

Digital Manga has confirmed some new yaoi and hentai licenses.

Lissa Pattillo looks at this week’s new manga releases in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Lissa also has the PR on Viz’s newest shoujo manga, Jiu Jiu.

At Blog of the North Star, Milo continues his look at wrestling manga with a peek at the historical series Cestvs.

News from Japan: Kotaku reports the results of a recent poll asking people what their favorite manga was. Ultimate Venus manga-ka Takako Shigematsu is launching a new series, Nekozuka-san’chi no Gokyōdai, in the July issue of Gekkan Princess. ANN has word of two new Shonen Jump series: Ansatsu Kyōshitsu (Assassination Classroom) by Yusei Matsui (Neuro – Supernatural Detective) and Takamagahara by Jūzō Kawai.

Reviews: Carlo Santos rounds up the best, the worst, and the meh in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Other reviews of note:

Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Drifting Net Cafe (The Manga Critic)
Ken Haley on vols. 8 and 9 of Erementar Gerade (Sequential Ink)
Ed Sizemore on NonNonBa (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna on vol. 28 of Skip Beat! (Manga Report)
Sesho on Tekkonkinkreet (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Lissa Pattillo on Three Wolves Mountain (Kuriousity)

Drifting Net Cafe, Vol. 1

June 19, 2012 by Katherine Dacey

It takes nerve — nay, stones — to update Kazuo Umezu’s bat-shit classic The Drifting Classroom. That’s exactly what Shuzo Oshimi (The Flowers of Evil) has done in Drifting Net Cafe, however, substituting a nebbishy salaryman for Sho, the original series’ twelve-year-old protagonist, and an Internet cafe for Sho’s school. The results are a decidedly mixed bag, suggesting that some texts lend themselves to revision, while others are too much the product of particular author’s imagination to warrant re-telling.

As in the original series, the story begins with a snapshot of the hero’s daily life: 29-year-old Toki has an argument with his pregnant wife, Yukie, then goes to an office job he dislikes. On impulse, he stops in an Internet cafe on his way home from work, where he bumps into Tohno, a girl he loved in middle school. The two begin comparing notes on their current lives when an earthquake plunges the building into darkness. When no one arrives to lead Toki, Tohno, and their fellow customers to safety, the group makes a terrifying discovery: the cafe has been transported from Tokyo to a wasteland from which all evidence of human civilization — roads, buildings, people — has been expunged.

To his credit, Oshimi takes enough time to establish Toki’s routine and personality for the reader to appreciate what’s at stake if Toki doesn’t find a way to return to his old life. None of the other characters, however, are fleshed out to the same degree. Yukie is portrayed as a howling grotesque, at the mercy of her hormones; Tohno is saintly and brave; and the other cafe customers are assigned one or two defining traits, depending on their gender and age. Thin characterizations are a common problem in disaster stories; authors are often reluctant to bestow too much humanity on characters who are destined to become monster food or cannon fodder, lest the audience find the story too dispiriting. Oshimi, however, takes that indifference to an extreme, creating a supporting cast of repellant, one-note characters whose comeuppance elicit cheers, not tears.

The other great drawback to Drifting Net Cafe is Oshimi’s lack of imagination. Though Oshimi is a competent draftsman, he shows little of Umezu’s flair for nightmarish imagery. Consider the way Oshimi renders the cafe’s final destination:

The wasteland, as imagined by Shuzo Oshimi in Drifting Net Cafe.

It’s not a badly composed image; Oshimi makes effective use of the tilted camera angle to convey the characters’ disorientation, and uses a few charred trees to suggest that something powerful scoured the landscape clean. When contrasted with the original version, however, it’s clear that Oshimi’s image elicits a much tidier, less emotional response than the repulsive, molten moonscape that Sho and his teachers discover just beyond the school gates:

Umezu’s vision of the wasteland, from The Drifting Classroom.

Oshimi’s monsters, too, betray his tendency to favor blandly polished imagery over inspired, if crudely rendered, boogeymen. Late in volume one of Drifting Net Cafe, for example, a creature resembling a typical Star Trek parasite attacks a female character, latching onto her thigh. It’s a memorable scene, tapping a similar vein of body-violation horror as Alien and Prometheus, but the monster’s quick defeat makes it seem more like a pretext for fanservice than a genuine menace. Umezu’s monsters, by contrast, take a variety of forms — giant insects and lizards, creepy aliens with bulbous foreheads, giant metallic serpents with grasping hands — all of which seem like the products of a feverish child’s imagination, rather than something copied from a TV show or straight-to-DVD movie.

The characters’ conflicts, too, seem smaller and less compelling than they did in Umezu’s original, which pitted Sho and his classmates against their teachers. The Drifting Classroom‘s adults quickly become deranged with grief and fear, leaving the children to fend for themselves in a hostile environment. Sho and his classmates spend several agonizing chapters struggling to accept the fact that none of the adults are in charge anymore; the students’ first attempts to defend themselves against crazed teachers and giant bugs end in catastrophe, a gruesome reminder of their misplaced trust in the adults.

In Oshimi’s version, however, all the characters are adults. They challenge one another’s leadership, squabble over resources, and indulge their worst impulses, sexual and otherwise. Though some of these scenes pack a visceral punch, most simply reinforce the idea that Toki and Tohno are the only decent folk among a group of unpleasant, self-interested urbanites — not exactly the stuff of high-stakes drama, even if one character finds himself on the business end of a pocket knife.

Where Drifting Net Cafe improves on the source material is pacing. The Drifting Classroom unfolds at a furious clip; characters are maimed or menaced in every chapter, and speak at decibel levels better suited for the Bonnaroo Music Festival than everyday conversation. Oshimi, on the other hand, varies the narrative tempo of Drifting Net Cafe: some chapters are packed with important revelations and dramatic confrontations, while others are more leisurely. These quieter chapters are among the most unnerving, however, as we watch the characters size up each others’ weaknesses, like sharks circling a wounded seal.

Though conceived as a tribute to The Drifting Classroom, Oshimi’s work is more likely to appeal to readers who haven’t read the original, or who find Umezu’s distinctive artwork dated and ugly. Long-time fans of Classroom are likely to find Oshimi’s update slick but soulless, as it relies more heavily on low-budget disaster movies than the original source material for its characters and conflicts.

DRIFTING NET CAFE, VOL. 1 • BY SHUZO OSHIMI • JMANGA • 251 pp. • RATING: MATURE (18+)

Drifting Net Cafe, Vol. 1

June 19, 2012 by Katherine Dacey 6 Comments

The wasteland, as imagined by Shuzo Oshimi in Drifting Net Cafe.

Umezu’s vision of the wasteland, from The Drifting Classroom.

DRIFTING NET CAFE, VOL. 1 • BY SHUZO OSHIMI • JMANGA • 251 pp. • RATING: MATURE (18+)

It Came from the Sinosphere: Divine Melody

June 19, 2012 by Sara K. 4 Comments

Overview

This is going to seem weird and complicated, but take my word for it, this all makes sense when you read the manhua itself.

The story starts with a tribe of húli jīng, which means “fox spirits.” These fox spirits were born as ordinary foxes, but by magic they had been transformed into yāoguài. If that seems similar to the word ‘yōkai’, it’s because the Japanese borrowed the word from Chinese. The fox spirits now have the shape of beautiful human maidens and a lifespan of 500 years. But after 500 years, they will disappear. For this reason, they want to have children so that their tribe will last forever. Yet … they are all female, which makes reproduction a little tricky. If they use human males as studs, their children will only have a human lifespan. However, they have a special child in their care—Qin Caisheng, a fox spirit with xiān blood (xiān, is usually translated into English as “fairy” or “celestial,” but since this manhua is based on Chinese, not European, mythology, I am going to stick with the word “xiān“). Qin Caisheng is currently a girl, but in 200 years will have the ability to change between female and male forms (from this point forward, I am going to refer to Qin Caisheng with the pronouns “ze” and “hir”). The fox spirits looks forward to having Caisheng’s babies so that their tribe can last into perpetuity.

Caisheng, however, at the beginning of the story is just a young child. Caisheng feels that the only fox spirit who actually loves hir and does not see hir as just a future stud is Huiniang, who practically raises Caisheng. Huiniang is one of the tribe leader’s favorites, along with Yuniang. Yuniang is determined to be the one to bear Caisheng’s babies. Caisheng sees and talks to some of the human boys Yuniang captured, and decides to leave the fox spirits’ mountain to see the places the boys talked about. While in the human village, Caisheng meets a human boy and girl and plays with them. When a wolf attacks, the boy and girl bravely defend Caisheng’s life. When Huiniang comes to rescue Caisheng, she recognizes their service and puts a mark on the boy and girl so that they can later repay the kindness. Yuniang, meanwhile, is expelled from the tribe.

Two hundred years later, Caisheng finally has the ability to turn into a male, yet ze is hiding the truth from all but Huiniang. Caisheng only wants to have children with hir one true love, and ze is not in love with the fox spirits. Huiniang, meanwhile, fell in love with a human, and left the tribe to marry him and have his children. Caisheng figures that Huiniang is the person ze loves the most, so Caisheng wants to have hir children with Huiniang once Huiniang’s husband has died. Huiniang, on the other hand, wants to become human so that she can grow old with her husband.

On a trip to visit Huiniang in the human village, Caisheng meets the reincarnations of the boy and girl who saved hir from the world two hundred years ago. One of them, Han Yunshi, is an apprentice to a Daoist priest who tracks down and kills yāoguài (hmmm, is there some potential conflict there?). The other, Su Pinger, is a girl from a noble family who is afflicted by some kind of yāoguài. Caisheng expels the yāoguài and discovers it is a cat spirit called Gu Mao.

A xiān called Wei Ziqiu comes looking for Caisheng. His task is to bring hir back to the place where the xiān live to make hir a full xiān. Wei Ziqiu was originally human, but transformed into an immortal after suffering great tragedy. If Caisheng has children with the fox spirits or with a human, ze would be unable to ever become a xiān.

It also turns out that Gu Mao is in the service of none other than Yuniang, the outcast fox spirit who has since turned into a yāomó (which is like a yāoguài but more evil).

This is only the beginning of the story, but it is actually not that hard to keep track of what it going on.

Background

This is a 9-volume work by Yi Huan, one of Taiwan’s most delightful manhua artists. It ran in Star Girls, Taiwan’s girls’ manhua anthology, from 2003 to 2009.

Star Girls is a manhua anthology which is heavily, heavily influenced by shoujo manga. Even though I generally have little trouble distinguishing from Korean sunjeong from Japanese shoujo, I cannot distinguish between Star Girls manhua and Japanese shoujo until I recognize a specific artist’s style (for example, Yi Huan’s style is very distinct). Taiwan’s local manhua tradition was pretty much killed by censorship (by “censorship,” I mean “people did not dare create/publish manhua because they were afraid of going to prison”). After the democratization of Taiwan, Taiwanese manhua experienced a revival, but the new generation’s role models are from Japan, not from the golden age of Taiwanese manhua. Some artists are trying to piece together a new distinctly Taiwanese tradition of manhua, but those artists are not the artists who get published in Star Girls.

Artwork

I’ll start with the obvious—THIS MANHUA IS PRETTY!!!

The style is defined by long, vertical, slightly curved, lithe lines. Long flowing dresses, long flowing hair, long flowing flourishes, and so forth. The artwork consists of fine lines without much screentone—which means it is really hard to take good pictures of it with my cheap camera, but on paper it looks really nice. I dig it. I can even forgive it for having jewel-eyes (note: I am not a fan of jewel-eyes).

The costumes are one of the most detailed parts of the artwork. Yi Huan clearly has fun with the clothing. Of course, just as clothing is a way humans express themselves, costumes done right ought to express the characters. Yi Huan does costumes right.

Look at the dresses of the fox spirits. Notice how the waistlines are so high. When a woman wears clothing with a high waistline, it makes her look a bit pregnant. Considering that the fox spirits are obsessed with making babies, it is appropriate that their attire would have such a high waistline (it’s also appropriate that Caisheng has such attire, since throughout much of the story ze is wondering who to make babies with). Of course there is more that could be said about this, but this is comic book criticism, not a discussion of costume theory.

I actually did not realize that the later volumes were so crowded with talking heads and reaction shots until I actually started thinking about the artwork from a critical point of view. But the later part of the story is pretty much an angstfest, and angstfests tend to look pretty busy, artwork-wise.

The manhua is punctuated with pages like this which show off the characters’ graceful figures.

These pages are meant to make the reader sigh. And it works. I am trying to come up with more insightful observations about the artwork, but as I’m flipping through the pages, all I am thinking is “pretty … pretty.”

More On the Story

The story sets up a world based on Chinese mythology. I bought into the alternative logic. Indeed, I got caught up in the love polygons and the drama and all that angst.

This story is ultimately about choosing between love and longevity. If Caisheng gets the fox spirits pregnant, the tribe will live on forever. But Caisheng does not love the fox spirits. Huiniang does not want to live without her beloved husband, so she seeks to become human so they will die together. Wei Ziqiu has become immortal, yet he is losing the passionate feelings he had as human, and trying to hold onto them might cost him his immortality. Caisheng wants both love and longevity, but having both is impossible—either the lovers will change so much that they will no longer be the people they fell in love with, or they will stay the same forever, and that would merely be death of a different kind.

When I put it that way, it makes the story seem really deep. So I am wondering why I didn’t have a deeper experience.

Hmmm.

I think it’s because the second half of the manhua is too rushed. I sometimes do not understand why characters make certain choices because their motivations have not been sufficiently illustrated for me. And I think that’s it—the second half of the story needs more supporting plots to illustrate its points. While the point of Huiniang’s subplot in the early part of the manhua is quite clear, the point of the subplot around Huiniang’s clone is not. So while I understood the plot … understanding the plot is not the same as being moved by the plot. The last part of the manhua is less moving than the first part.

That said, the story overall is still good. My main complaint is that, even though it could have been a masterpiece, it is not.

Availability in English

The first 5 volumes were published in English by Dr Master. While it is a pity they did not publish the full run, at least the volumes they did publish are the better volumes.

They can be obtained for low prices at many websites. At the Cubic Mall Manga Outlet, they can be obtained at 2 USD per volume. At that price, it’s worth buying just for the artwork alone. Buyers can also pick up some volumes of The Legendary Couple at the same time, which was previously reviewed here.

Conclusion

Good artwork and good story. What more can one ask for?

Okay, I ask for great stories and great artwork. On the other hand, I’ve read Divine Melody twice, and enjoyed it both times. It held up well on the second reading, something which cannot be said of many comics.

The most important thing is Yi Huan’s distinctive style, both the drawing and the storytelling. I have not read any other comics quite like hers. That is why you should read Divine Melody.

Next Time: My Queen (idol drama)

Sara K. is listening to birds right now. Yes, even in the heart of a industrialized Taiwanese city, there are songbirds, though it is remarkable that she can hear them more clearly than the scooters. Sara K. is impressed with how few pigeons there are in Taiwan – possibly because Taiwan has a zillion birds, so there is not much room for pigeons. Some people come to Taiwan just for bird-watching. Taiwan also has the world’s prettiest butterflies (well, at least the prettiest butterflies Sara K. has ever seen).

Barrage, wrestling, Cyborg 009

June 19, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

I reviewed the first two chapters of Barrage, the new Shonen Jump series, at MTV Geek, and Justin at OASG is way ahead of me with his look at chapter 3, which just came out yesterday in the newly weekly Shonen Jump Alpha.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers (myself included) discuss our Pick of the Week.

David Brothers talks about why he likes the classic Cyborg 009.

At Blog of the North Star, Milo discusses wrestling manga.

Matt Blind calculates the manga best-sellers for the week ending April 22. It’s always Sailor Moon, isn’t it?

News from Japan: It looks like the magazine to pick up is Asahi Shimbun’s Nemuki; the latest issue features new stories by Gekidan Inu Curry (one of the production designers on the Puella Magi Magica Madoka TV anime), Reraku and Kiriko Yumeji (Le Chevalier d’Eon), and Junji Ito (Uzumaki). Manga-ka Tohru Fujisawa is working on a new GTO spinoff that will focus on Onizuka’s pal Ryūji Danma. The series, titled GT-R, will run in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine. Hideki Ohwada, creator of The Legend of Koizumi, just started another new series, Fūhyō Hakai Tenshi Lovekyuri, in Akita Shoten’s Champion RED.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf bloggers post some short takes in their latest Manga Bookshelf column. Ash Brown looks at another week of manga at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Danica Davidson on vol. 1 of AX (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Black Gate (Manga Xanadu)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 4 and 5 of Cage of Eden (ANN)
Kristin on vol. 6 of Dorohedoro (Comic Attack)
AstroNerdBoy on vols. 21 and 22 of Hayate the Combat Butler (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Rebecca Silverman on Honey Darling (ANN)
Danica Davidson on vols. 1-4 of Library Wars: Love and War (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Magic Knight Rayearth (Okazu)
Manjiorin on vols. 1-4 of Please, Please Me (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 8 of Rin-Ne (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Starry Sky (ANN)

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 22 April

June 18, 2012 by Matt Blind 1 Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [463.0] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [433.3] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [424.5] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [390.5] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [380.8] ::
6. ↓-2 (4) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [379.8] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [346.0] ::
8. ↑6 (14) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [344.0] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [316.0] ::
10. ↑21 (31) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [305.3] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 72
Yen Press 67
Viz Shojo Beat 61
DMP Juné 60
Kodansha Comics 42
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 37
Viz 21
Vizkids 16
Dark Horse 15
DMP 14

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,128.7] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Black Butler – Yen Press [764.9] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [726.0] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [577.7] ::
5. ↑4 (9) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [577.2] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [528.5] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [521.4] ::
8. ↑2 (10) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [505.2] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [497.0] ::
10. ↓-3 (7) : Blue Exorcist – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [488.3] ::

[more]

New Releases
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [463.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [424.5] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [346.0] ::
8. ↑6 (14) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [344.0] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [316.0] ::
10. ↑21 (31) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [305.3] ::
11. ↔0 (11) : Bleach 39 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2012 [303.6] ::
15. ↔0 (15) : Skip Beat! 27 – Viz Shojo Beat, Apr 2012 [282.4] ::
17. ↔0 (17) : Highschool of the Dead 6 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [258.5] ::
21. ↓-5 (16) : Blue Exorcist 7 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [237.3] ::

[more]

Preorders

5. ↑2 (7) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [380.8] ::
20. ↔0 (20) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [239.4] ::
28. ↓-4 (24) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [212.3] ::
32. ↔0 (32) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [205.3] ::
35. ↑13 (48) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [191.9] ::
44. ↑10 (54) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [170.9] ::
81. ↑52 (133) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [115.8] ::
82. ↑6 (88) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [113.0] ::
83. ↑7 (90) : Negima! 36 – Kodansha Comics, Oct 2012 [109.8] ::
84. ↓-2 (82) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [109.7] ::

[more]

Manhwa

294. ↑64 (358) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [41.1] ::
727. ↑63 (790) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [11.4] ::
752. ↑182 (934) : Color Trilogy 1 The Color of Earth – Macmillan First Second, Apr 2009 [10.5] ::
755. ↑ (last ranked 5 Feb 12) : XS 1 – Dark Horse, Jun 2007 [10.4] ::
786. ↓-285 (501) : JTF-3 Counter Ops – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [9.7] ::
918. ↑118 (1036) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [6.8] ::
982. ↑223 (1205) : Toxic (anthology) 1 – Udon, Jul 2012 [5.6] ::
1049. ↑620 (1669) : Black God 16 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [4.5] ::
1283. ↓-172 (1111) : Color Trilogy 2 The Color of Water – Macmillan First Second, Jun 2009 [1.8] ::
1327. ↑177 (1504) : Bride of the Water God 1 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [1.5] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

35. ↑13 (48) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [191.9] ::
75. ↓-7 (68) : Candy – DMP Juné, Aug 2008 [120.0] ::
77. ↓-10 (67) : Happiness Recommended – DMP Juné, May 2008 [119.5] ::
81. ↑52 (133) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [115.8] ::
88. ↑84 (172) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [107.6] ::
90. ↑12 (102) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [106.7] ::
99. ↑28 (127) : Our Kingdom 1 – DMP Juné, Nov 2005 [101.5] ::
100. ↓-25 (75) : Necratoholic – DMP Juné, Apr 2008 [100.3] ::
124. ↑180 (304) : Wagamama Kitchen – DMP Juné, Mar 2007 [83.3] ::
127. ↑23 (150) : Don’t Worry Mama (novel) – DMP Juné, Jun 2006 [82.1] ::

[more]

Ebooks

7. ↓-1 (6) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [346.0] ::
13. ↓-3 (10) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [300.2] ::
23. ↔0 (23) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [226.7] ::
31. ↑9 (40) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [205.4] ::
32. ↔0 (32) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [205.3] ::
33. ↓-5 (28) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [203.7] ::
45. ↑1 (46) : Soulless 1 – Yen Press, Mar 2012 [170.1] ::
47. ↓-9 (38) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [167.3] ::
50. ↓-9 (41) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [162.7] ::
52. ↓-8 (44) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [156.3] ::

[more]

Bookshelf Briefs 6/18/12

June 18, 2012 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and MJ Leave a Comment

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

Fairy Tail, Vol. 19 | By Hiro Mashima | Kodansha Comics – I suspect that this arc will wrap up in the next volume, which is good. Of course, that means that this volume is all fighting, which is bad. Not that it makes for a bad volume, it’s just harder to know what to say about it. Our heroes get an assist from the Blue Pegasus Guild, who arrive to tell everyone how to defeat the bad guy. Jellal starts to remember some things – particularly Natsu hating him, which is sort of amusing. And Erza gets to kick ass, which is probably the main reason anyone reads Fairy Tail. There’s a cute little short story right near the end which shows Lucy putting Fairy Tail over love, to no one’s surprise. Overall, though, it’s a fighting volume, so sit back and watch the punches and magic as we crawl closer to a climax. –Sean Gaffney

A Devil and Her Love Song, Vol. 3 | By Miyoshi Tomori | VIZ Media – Certain situations in stories (no matter the medium) never fail to make me feel antsy, and right at the top is “misunderstandings that could be cleared up by communication,” followed closely by “no no no, don’t trust that girl, something terrible is going to happen!” The third volume of A Devil and Her Love Song had me on edge because both elements are in play, as a superficially sunny student returns to class and proceeds to make herself appear to be Maria’s victim. One really does feel for Maria throughout, as she is honestly confused, and there are some great scenes where she gets support from the three friends she has thus far managed to make. Maria may be prickly, but she’s always honest and never fake, and this volume really makes it clear how much potential she has to be a truly fabulous friend. Heartily recommended. – Michelle Smith

The Earl and the Fairy, Vol. 2 | By Mizue Tani and Ayuko | VIZ Media – This volume of EaF is a bit darker than the first one, and there seems to be an air of melancholy about the whole thing. When one of our protagonists betrays Edgar, he seems less surprised than simply resigned. Unfortunately, we still don’t have a lot of his backstory yet. Which, while it adds to the air of mystery around him, makes him hard to take seriously as an ‘antagonist’. He’s not really bad enough for Lydia to be doubting him as much as she is, so we just end up frustrated with her. That said, the volume’s climax, with Lydia displaying some amazing gumption *and* cleverly resolving the whole ‘title’ thing, is well-handled, and actually makes the rewards feel earned. The volume ends with a brief tease for the future two volumes, but it also marks a good stopping place for those who find this series OK, but not great. –Sean Gaffney

GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, Vol. 3 | By Toru Fujisawa | Vertical, Inc. – It’s no secret that the first two volumes of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan were an unexpected success with me, so it should be no surprise that I had a similar experience with the third. Onizuka continues to be my new favorite shounen anti-hero even when he’s creepy, which is certainly the case in this volume. Thankfully, Onizuka’s creepiness is easily trumped by his badass brand of insightful compassion, though it’s worth mentioning that this volume’s most poignant moments belong to the White Swan kids themselves, whose tragic histories are laid out for us with honesty and true pathos. Less successful is a middle chapter revolving around the White Swan’s perverted headmaster, rendered tolerable only by its brevity. Fortunately, no amount of questionably tasteful vagina metaphors can cancel out this series’ general awesomeness. Still recommended. – MJ

Pick of the Week: Abundance

June 18, 2012 by MJ, Katherine Dacey, Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney and Brigid Alverson 3 Comments

MJ: There’s quite a bit manga on its way to Midtown Comics this week, but despite the wide range of tasty-looking titles, making my pick is astonishingly easy. Natsume Ono’s House of Five Leaves is one of my very favorite titles currently running, and a new volume of that trumps nearly anything else the industry could put before me. I love this series’ idiosyncratic artwork, its passive protagonist, its ambiguous morality, and its meandering style. For me, this series is always a must-buy.

KATE: I second MJ’s recommendation; House of Five Leaves is my favorite Natsume Ono manga (it beats out Ristorante Paradiso by a whisker), and I never miss an opportunity to sing its praises. The other series on my mind this week is Alice in the Country of Hearts, which Yen Press rescued from licensing purgatory. I missed out on Alice when Tokyopop was publishing it, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to read it without bankrupting myself or resorting to scans. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this title’s shojolicious riff on Alice in Wonderland, so I go into the new two-in-one editions with high hopes.

MICHELLE: I’ll cast my vote for Yen Press’s license rescue of Alice in the Country of Hearts, which is hitting stores complete in three omnibus editions. Yes, I’ve read it already, but I had to rely on a somewhat dodgy translation for the final volume, so I’m looking forward to checking it out and seeing whether it makes any more sense (hopefully!) when handled by professionals!

SEAN: I know very little about Olympos other than that it’s a josei manga from Ichijinsha, and is apparently about Apollo and Ganymede. It’s always fascinating to see how Japan handles Western mythology, and the art for this series looks absolutely gorgeous. (The author also did Utahime, which DMP has.) It’s also nice to get a manga that’s complete in one, which this is, by virtue of it being an omnibus collecting both Japanese volumes. But I have to say, in a week which already features a lot of high-minded and worthy manga, Olympos simply looks *classy*. Looking forward to it.

BRIGID: Well, you guys grabbed the obvious choices, so let me chime in with a recommendation for a manga that is near the end of its run: Vol. 32 of Kekkaishi. I have only started reading this series, but what I have read I have liked a lot—it’s a shonen battle manga with a lot of personality. It has the usual ingredients—teenage boy with special powers, girl who is a childhood friend—but it also has some nice quirks (the main character longs to be a pastry chef) and the art is clear and easy to follow—even the fight scenes, which often lose me in shonen manga. It’s hard to jump in over 30 volumes into a series, but Viz has started issuing the earlier volumes as 3-in-1 omnibus editions, and the first 27 volumes are also available digitally. It’s a nice alternative if you’re just in the mood for some straight-up shonen manga.

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Attack on Titan creator speaks!

June 18, 2012 by Brigid Alverson

Over at MTV Geek, the Kodansha folks allowed us to post an interview with Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama that first appeared in Bessatsu Shonen magazine, along with a preview of the book, which is due out this week.

Shaenon Garrity introduces us to the goofy 1980s wrestling manga Ultimate Muscle (and its sequel, which was published by Viz) in the latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

MJ and Michelle Smith discuss Attack on Titan, Until Death Do Us Part, and other new releases in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Erica Friedman interviews Girl Friends manga-ka Milk Morinaga at Okazu, and she also has the latest Yuri Network News for us.

Lissa Pattillo looks at the best of the past week’s new releases in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA, and back at her own site, Kuriousity, she shows off the latest additions to her Swag Bag.

Three Steps Over Japan checks out the manga magazine Comic @Bunch.

News from Japan: Katsuya Takahashi, the last fugitive from the Aum Shinrikyo cult, surrendered to authorities after being spotted in a manga cafe in Tokyo. Apparently police were aware that Takahashi was a manga reader and had been keeping an eye on manga cafes.

Reviews:

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on vol. 10 Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
Danica Davidson on vols. 4-6 of The Drifting Classroom (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sweetpea616 on vols. 3-5 of Eternal Sabbath (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Kristin on Honey Darling (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on Honey Darling (I Reads You)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Kamen (Comic Attack)
Anna on vol. 14 of Kimi ni Todoke (Manga Report)
TSOTE on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (Three Steps Over Japan)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Milo on Tough (Blog of the North Star)