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Hatsune Miku drops in on Shonen Jump

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The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Viz will be releasing vol. 13 of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the U.S. on November 2, the same day it comes out in Japan.

Deb Aoki has a heads-up for aspiring creators: The deadline for the 6th International Manga Award competition, sponsored by the Japanese government, is June 15.

News from Japan: DN Angel manga-ka Yukiru Sugisaki and Boys Be… creator Hiroyuki Tamakoshi are both launching new series in Comic Birz in the near future. Hatsune Miku and her Vocaloid pals are making a guest appearance in the Weekly Shonen Jump series Kochikame.

Reviews: Carlo Santos checks out the latest releases in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. It’s time for a new set of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown reviews a week’s worth of manga at Experiments in Manga.

Anna on vols. 4 and 5 of Ai Ore (Manga Report)
Justin on chapter 1 of Barrage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Blue Friend (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vols. 61 and 62 of One Piece (Comic Attack)

There’s an app for that

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Pickings were slim last week in terms of new releases, but I made my picks at MTV Geek and Lissa Pattillo gave her take in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

And speaking of Otaku USA, it is now available digitally via the iTunes Store and the British site PocketMags. The iTunes app is free, and individual issues are available for $5.99 or a six-month subscription for $19.99.

Deb Aoki and Ed Sizemore are the guests on the Super Manga Pals edition of ANN’s ANNCast podcast.

Erica Friedman has a new Yuri Network News post for us at Okazu.

Chris Sims likes Gunsmith Cats, but the series is, as he puts it, “problematic.” He discusses the joys and problems at length at Comics Alliance.

Business Week profiles Mihoko Ishizawa, who created Field of Cole, a collection of short stories about the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Three Steps Over Japan peeks inside the covers of Comp Ace.

Organization Anti-Social Geniuses gets all self-referential with an accounting of anti-social geniuses in anime and manga, and contributor Manjiorin reminisces about getting involved with manga.

Tom Langston posts a con report on Fanime at Nigorimasen!

News from Japan: Good news for Claymore fans: That series will continue, according to the editors of Jump Square magazine, despite the author’s hints that it is coming to an end. The Cultural Affairs Agency is setting up a database of manga and anime as part of its “cool Japan” strategy. The 100th volume of Hajime no Ippo is due out in July. Tokyo’s Youth Healthy Development Council, which is tasked with leafing through sexy manga to determine if they are deleterious to the morals of the local youth, has given the green light to To Love-Ru Darkness despite some full frontal nudity. Kadokawa Shoten is launching a new magazine, Samurai Ace, with samurai stories by a number of creators, including Lone Wolf and Cub manga-ka Kazuo Koike. The yuri series Prism is on hiatus while editors investigate accusations that creator Show Higashiyama copied some images from photos. Yamato Yamamoto is wrapping up Kure-nai but is launching a new dark fantasy series, Owari no Seraph (The Final Seraph) with writer Takaya Kagami (A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives). And ANN has the top-selling series for the first half of the year, by volume and by series.

Reviews: Adam Stephanides posts short reviews of a number of untranslated manga, including Naoki Urasawa’s Billy Bat, at Completely Futile. Jocelyne Allen looks at Bokura no Manga, an anthology inspired by last year’s earthquake and nuclear disaster, at Brain vs. Book.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
Lori Henderson on vols. 5-8 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Manga Xanadu)
Bill Sherman on vol. 1 of InuYasha (VizBig edition) (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Kamisama Kiss (The Comic Book Bin)
TSOTE on vol. 1 of Konjaku Monogatari (Three Steps Over Japan)
Connie on vol. 2 of Love Pistols (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vols. 11-15 of Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on vol. 9 of Toriko (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Twin Spica (Blogcritics)
A Library Girl on Wild Rock (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)

Pick of the Week: Ouran, Devil, GTO

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MICHELLE: Ordinarily next week would be one of those impossible-to-choose weeks for me, featuring as it does series like Bakuman, Slam Dunk, Kimi ni Todoke, and Dawn of the Arcana, all of which are terrific. However, they’re all also still being released in English, which means I have plenty of time to recommend them in future. The same cannot be said for Ouran High School Host Club, which reaches its eighteenth and final volume at long last. I’ve followed this series for six years, throughout various ups and downs—I loved some of it, I liked some of it, and I grew frustrated by some of it—but I am really looking forward to its conclusion. I hope it’s as satisfying as it has the potential to be!

SEAN: What Michelle said. Ouran 18 for me as well. (Hey, sometimes even I have little to say.)

KATE: I’ve never been an Ouran gal, so my pick goes to another Shojo Beat title: volume three of A Devil and Her Love Song. I thought the first two volumes showed promise, but felt that the author sometimes didn’t quite know what to do with her prickly, truth-telling heroine. In the third volume, however, the story really clicks: the characters are fully realized, and the storyline begins moving more briskly. Though there are some melodramatic flourishes, A Devil and Her Love Song remains squarely focused on real teenage concerns: fitting in, staying true to one’s beliefs, and rejecting phoniness in all guises. Surely Holden Caulfield would approve.

MJ: While there are quite a few favorites of mine on the list this week, I’ll give my vote to volume three of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan. From my write-up at Off the Shelf: “What I found pretty spectacular about 14 Days in Shonan, is that it features a main character who spends a lot of time telling other people just how much of a badass he is, while actually being a badass … I enjoyed these volumes so much more than I expected, I find myself wishing I had some kind of award to give out for it, or something. It’s been a while since my expectations were so neatly trounced.” I realize that simply repeating myself is a lazy way to make my pick, but really, that gets to the crux of it. I (very unexpectedly) loved the first two volumes of this manga, and I can’t wait to read more!

Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Bookshelf Briefs 6/4/12

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This week, Michelle, Kate, and Sean look at recent releases from Viz Media, Yen Press, and Sweatdrop Studios.

Ai Ore!, Vol. 5 | By Mayu Shinjo | Viz Media – Ai Ore! in its fifth volume is pretty different than its first. Almost entirely gone is Akira’s manipulative/disturbing behavior (though he’s still fixated on making Mizuki “his”), which is definitely a good thing, and the series has settled into a fairly generic romantic comedy groove. Unfortunately, it seems like Mayu Shinjo may already be out of ideas, since we’re treated to yet another “Mizuki thinks Akira has secretly been gay all this time” bout of melodrama. I continued to be disappointed that Mizuki, who occasionally looks ravishingly boyish, is not a cooler and stronger character, but it’s pretty much a lost cause at this point. Still, even though I stop short of calling Ai Ore! good, it is compulsively readable, and I see myself finishing out the series, though I’m not looking forward to the beachy hijinks advertised for the next volume. – Michelle Smith

Bamboo Blade, Vol. 13 | By Masahiro Totsuka and Aguri Igarashi | Yen Press – There’s some big surprises here, though many of them were signposted earlier. TV Savant Erina is not who she appears to be, and it’s her backstory and growth that is the focus of this volume. The reason that it’s her, by the way, is that Tama loses – genuinely and honestly. This is exactly what her coach has wanted all along, and now we get to see what she will gain from it. Tama has always sort of done kendo as it’s expected of her. Now she sees true kendo passion – both from Erina and from Ura Sakaki, whose delusions of sentai are finally thrashed out of her in one of the most awesome sports battles I’ve seen in a long time. So we’ve one volume to go, and I’ve no doubt that volume will have Tamaki finally seeking the real reason she fights kendo matches. Highly recommended. –Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 8 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – I sense that Tsubaki-san was told be her editors at Hana to Yume around this point in the manga that the series was a success, and in no danger of ending soon, so it was time to break out the new characters and plot complications. There’s a sense of gearing up for the next big battle here. Unfortunately, as always, Tsubaki’s plotting always seems flaky and scattered. So we get a chapter giving a bit of depth to the main villain, then some background for Takaomi, then a whole passel of new minor villains (some even female – gasp!) are introduced, and then Mafuyu’s two suitors find out about her relationship with Takaomi. There’s some fun stuff here – I was, as always, laughing a lot throughout – but Tsubaki needs a stronger editor than the ones Hakusensha provides. –Sean Gaffney

Soul Eater, Vol. 9 | By Atsushi Ohkubo | Yen Press – Soul Eater is another title, like Oresama Teacher, that is finishing one plot and getting ready to gear up for another. It, however, handles this much better, with plot threads from Vol. 6 onwards just now starting to pay off. The focus here is on our three meisters, rather than their weapons, and I was impressed with how the manga handled Black*Star, everyone’s favorite insufferable talented jerk. We get a lesson seemingly set up for teaching him humility and learning to hold back for the sake of the others – then it turns out this is a fakeout, and that it’s Maka who has to learn not to hold her fellow student back. Finally, our team goes off on its next big battle, where they’re acting as backup for an increasingly unstable Doctor Stein – and they promptly disobey his orders and charge in to the rescue. Kids, sheesh. Good shonen fun. –Sean Gaffney

The Story of Saiunkoku, Vol. 7 | By Kaira Yura and Sai Yukino | Viz Media – The ongoing hazing and abuse of Shurei and Eigetsu sort of percolates along through this entire volume, driving many plots but not quite coming to a head – no doubt that will happen in the next volume. Instead, we get to see that ‘slow and steady wins the race’ seems to be the moral lesson for the entire cast – the villains always seem to overplay their hands by overdoing things and making fast, impetuous choices. Our heroes, meanwhile, are the picture of calm and serenity, even when they’re being arrested for favoritism or held captive so as not to testify at a trial. Of course, one can be *too* serene and unreadable – there’s a great story here about Koyu’s frustration with his lord, and being unable to tell the difference between not caring and not wanting to hold back. It’s all about the small, quiet moments here. –Sean Gaffney

Sun Fish Moon Fish | By Morag Lewis | Sweatdrop Studios – Set in the fictional kingdom of The Thousand Island Archipelago, Sun Fish Moon Fish tells the story of Anciarin, a court mage who’s falsely accused of murdering Archipelago’s royal family. The premise is certainly ripe with potential, but the execution is wanting; Morag Lewis’ character designs have a faintly unnatural quality to them, with enormous, wide-set eyes and perpetually surprised expressions. The dialogue, too, tacks between medieval formality and modern-day casualness, with one character demanding, “What’s your beef?” and another making reference to “teams,” as if he were a S.W.A.T. captain. If the art and dialogue are sometimes amateurish, Lewis shows considerable promise as a writer; Sun Fish Moon Fish is briskly paced and skillfully plotted, giving equal time to Anciarin and Iashar, the soldier tasked with bringing the mage to justice. An ambitious, though uneven, work. – Katherine Dacey

GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, Vol. 3

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By Toru Fujisawa. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Vertical.

After an action-packed 2nd volume of GTO, it’s time to take a breather and get back to some lighter stuff before we gear up for the next broken teen who Onizuka has to save. And hey, didn’t Shiratori-san say that there was someone else who worked at the White Swan? Who was even prettier than her? Could this possibly be the overture to… some romance?

Well, no. This is Eikichi Onizuka, so whenever romance rears its ugly head, he turns into the immature idiot that he is. (Yes, he’s also a heartwarming badass, but hey, facets.) First he tries his hand at seducing Shiratori-san via some red wine, which is a little creepy but it becomes clear that he’s not really going to follow through on it unless she’s awake and willing… okay, no, it’s creepy no matter what. Then when she falls asleep, he falls back on peeping on the other caretaker in the house, who we haven’t met before… or so we think. Much to his surprise and ours, the other caretaker turns out to be his old not-girlfriend Shinomi Fujisaki, who is, as you might imagine, displeased at Onizuka ogling her nude.

It’s great seeing Shinomi back in the storyline, as she makes a good love-interest contrast to Azusa Fuyutsuki from the GTO series proper. Whereas Azusa tends to be ‘he’s sort of a weirdo, but I can see the good heart inside of him’, Shinomi is very much in the ‘I’ve always seen the good heart, but WHY IS HE SUCH A FREAK’ school of lovers. As you might expect, Onizuka walking back into her life after disappearing years ago confuses the hell out of her, and she responds via violence in the best tsundere way. (Onizuka, who is very similar to her, responds by changing the subject and being over the top goofy, which we’ve already seen tends to be his way of avoiding serious issues.) I don’t expect much to be resolved here – this takes place during GTO proper, which didn’t resolve any romances – but it’s sweet to see them reunite.

As for the rest of the manga, we’ve resolved the parental problems that Miki had, and now that we know that she was merely the easiest ‘villain’ to take down, we know it’s only going to get worse. So we get a flashback to another resident of the White Swan, Ikuko, and her abusive mother, who was so bad social services had to step in. This is probably one of the best written parts of the entire volume, as it really gets into the ambiguous feelings kids have when their loved ones abuse them – and the stoic acceptance that it’s their fault for not being “good enough”. I’m not sure we’ll see more of Ikuko’s life later on, but I do hope that she manages to come to terms with her upbringing.

Then there’s Seiya, who would appear to be the next ‘project’ for Onizuka to fix. And once again, we see how Onizuka works – forcing the kids to ‘go too far’ in order to show them that deep down they really don’t want to take the final steps towards darkness. All of these manga – GTO, Shonan Jun’ai Gumi, and this spinoff – stem from the same genre of Japanese manga, which are about teenagers and family, and how much they feel abandoned and helpless. If Onizuka can help these kids reconnect emotionally, on any level, he’s going to do it. And it would appear that the fourth volume will be another action-filled one.

New manga, con reports, and Empowered!

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The Manga Bookshelf reviewers make their picks from an unusually slim week of new manga releases.

Meanwhile, Sean Gaffney looks forward to a more bountiful selection next week.

Deb Aoki talks to Adam Warren, creator of Empowered, on how anime and manga have shaped his sensibility.

Tom Langston posts the slides from his sports manga panel at Fanime.

At Manga Therapy, Tony Yao notes the birthday of Bleach sociopath Sosuke Aizen.

David Brothers files his con report on Fanime, including the Shonen Jump panel.

Matt Blind posts the big list of manga best-sellers (online sales) from the week ending March 18.

Ash Brown is giving away the first volume of R.O.D.: Read or Die. Hit the link to find out how to enter.

News from Japan: Neko Ramen creator Kenji Sonshi has started a new series, Neko Tantei, about a cat who is a detective. Aloha Higa has put Shirokuma Cafe on hiatus, apparently to protest the way the anime adaptation was handled; it seems to have worked. Toriko Chiya is launching Clover trèfle, a sequel to her Clover office romance manga, in Cocohana. Minoru Furuya, creator of Himuzu and Ping Pong Club, just debuted a new series, Saruchinesu, in Kodansha’s Young. The French site Manga News has a list of the manga that ended in May, including Negima; only series licensed in France are included. ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings. And CLAMP will illustrate the cover of the novelization of the movie Blood-C: The Last Dark. (Click image twice to enlarge.)

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf ace reviewer team greets the week with a new set of Bookshelf Briefs. A Day Without Me reviews 12 Days, a Tokyopop OEL title that isn’t quite what you’d think, at Gar Gar Stegosaurus.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Manjiorin on vols. 1 and 2 of Eternal Sabbath (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Free Collars Kingdom (Manga Xanadu)
Rob McMonigal on issue 3 of GEN (Panel Patter)
Zack Davisson on vol. 4 of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow (Japan Reviewed)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (The Manga Critic)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 22 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vol. 14 of We Were There (Manga Report)

Manga the Week of 6/6

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That’s a whole lotta Viz, that is.

Mind you, there is a Vertical title as well. In fact, it came out everywhere but Diamond this week. Vol. 3 of 14 Days in Shonan puts the series at 1/3 complete, but Onizuka’s work has barely begun! He has kids to inspire and adults to castigate! And old… friends?… to reunite with! Who knows, he may even get lucky! (OK, no, that will never happen.)

The big release from Viz, meanwhile, is the final volume of Ouran High School Host Club. And for those who are curious, unlike most harem manga, this one resolves its pairing. Fans have loved the story of Haruhi, Tamaki and the others – enough to bring the anime over here as well – and now we finally have closure. Thanks to Bisco Hatori for so much great romantic comedy.

There are other releases as well. More shoujo! Black Bird 14, which will no doubt continue to sell like hotcakes. Dawn of the Arcana 4, which I am horribly behind on. Devil and Her Love Song 3, which I am greatly looking forward to, as I love snark. Earl & The Fairy 2, which hopefully will improve a bit on its first volume. Kamisama Kiss 9 and Kimi ni Todoke 14, for you romantics out there. And Sakura Hime, for the Tanemura addicts.

This does not mean there is not a giant pile of shonen as well. Bakuman 11, now in its 2nd half! Not one, but two Bleach volumes, which I believe have some great stuff for IchiHime fans! A new Nura and Toriko, which don’t get to speed up as much as Bleach, but have less to catch up on. Slam Dunk 22, in case your daily basketball quotient needed filling. And Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, the nth sequel to the popular franchise.

That’s a whole lot. An exhausting amount, in fact. Anything for you?

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 18 March

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

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Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [467.0] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [451.7] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [445.5] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [426.0] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [385.5] ::
6. ↑7 (13) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [384.8] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [354.0] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [342.9] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Black Bird 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Mar 2012 [340.0] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [306.8] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 74
Yen Press 72
Tokyopop 59
Viz Shojo Beat 58
Kodansha Comics 39
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 36
DMP Juné 21
Seven Seas 20
Vizkids 17
Dark Horse 14

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,169.5] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [896.2] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Black Butler – Yen Press [644.0] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [615.9] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Black Bird – Viz Shojo Beat [522.6] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [472.0] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [446.9] ::
8. ↑4 (12) : Pokemon – Vizkids [426.7] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [381.8] ::
10. ↑12 (22) : Pandora Hearts – Yen Press [377.0] ::

[more]

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

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [467.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [445.5] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Black Bird 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Mar 2012 [340.0] ::
12. ↑4 (16) : One Piece 61 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [279.1] ::
13. ↑1 (14) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [272.1] ::
14. ↓-2 (12) : Dengeki Daisy 9 – Viz Shojo Beat, Mar 2012 [270.8] ::
16. ↑16 (32) : Bunny Drop 5 – Yen Press, Mar 2012 [255.8] ::
18. ↑15 (33) : Gate 7 vol 2 – Dark Horse, Mar 2012 [250.0] ::
21. ↑10 (31) : Fairy Tail 18 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [238.0] ::
23. ↓-8 (15) : xxxHolic 19 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2012 [221.7] ::

[more]

Preorders

6. ↑7 (13) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [384.8] ::
15. ↑10 (25) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [264.6] ::
17. ↑6 (23) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [255.0] ::
43. ↑33 (76) : Countdown 7 Days 2 – DMP, Apr 2012 [158.4] ::
47. ↑12 (59) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [154.7] ::
55. ↑20 (75) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [142.4] ::
62. ↑10 (72) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [136.7] ::
73. ↑78 (151) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 3 – HarperCollins, Apr 2012 [123.3] ::
83. ↑23 (106) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [110.7] ::
84. ↑88 (172) : Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2: Draw Modern Looks – F+W Media, Apr 2012 [110.7] ::

[more]

Manhwa

353. ↓-52 (301) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [33.2] ::
378. ↑ (last ranked 18 Dec 11) : Angel Diary 7 – Yen Press, Oct 2008 [31.0] ::
566. ↓-283 (283) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [18.0] ::
670. ↑772 (1442) : INVU 5 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [13.5] ::
840. ↓-150 (690) : Priest Purgatory 1 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [8.6] ::
915. ↓-145 (770) : Arcana 4 – Tokyopop, Mar 2006 [6.9] ::
1042. ↓-1 (1041) : Ragnarok 1 – Tokyopop, May 2002 [4.9] ::
1116. ↑484 (1600) : Arcana 1 – Tokyopop, Jan 2005 [4.0] ::
1183. ↓-228 (955) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [3.1] ::
1276. ↓-254 (1022) : March Story 1 – Viz Signature, Oct 2010 [2.3] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

53. ↑46 (99) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [148.6] ::
71. ↑23 (94) : Ice Cage (ebook) – Yaoi Press, Feb 2012 [128.3] ::
77. ↑6 (83) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [120.2] ::
95. ↓-9 (86) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [105.7] ::
100. (new) : Treasured Prince – Yaoi Press, Mar 2012 [99.5] ::
107. ↑187 (294) : An Even More Beautiful Lie – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [96.1] ::
109. ↓-17 (92) : Ambiguous Relationship – DMP Juné, Mar 2012 [94.2] ::
114. ↓-12 (102) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [91.5] ::
155. ↑ (last ranked 12 Feb 12) : Butterfly of the Distant Day – DMP Juné, Jun 2011 [72.0] ::
159. ↑28 (187) : Black Sun 2 – 801 Media, Dec 2011 [69.5] ::

[more]

Ebooks

3. ↔0 (3) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [445.5] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [354.0] ::
13. ↑1 (14) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [272.1] ::
20. ↓-9 (11) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [242.0] ::
25. ↓-7 (18) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [212.0] ::
30. ↔0 (30) : Soulless 1 – Yen Press, Mar 2012 [187.3] ::
32. ↓-3 (29) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [182.0] ::
34. ↑12 (46) : Blue Exorcist 2 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jun 2011 [176.2] ::
40. ↑4 (44) : Bleach 37 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [165.4] ::
53. ↑46 (99) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [148.6] ::

[more]

A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 4

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By Kazuma Kamachi and Motoi Fuyukawa. Released in Japan as “Toaru Kagaku no Railgun” by ASCII Media Works, serialization ongoing in the magazine Dengeki Daioh. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

This volume, as the back cover tells you, marks the start of the ‘Sisters’ story arc for Railgun. Which, if you’re only following the manga, means very little to you. But this is not a manga for those who merely read the manga (though it can be read on its own fairly easily, as I have shown). Franchise manga tend to lack the surprising plot twists that original titles may have, simply as they rely on an already existing base. So if you’re buying this 4th volume of the Railgun manga, it’s already expected that you’ll have bought the Index light novels, and the Index manga and anime, and indeed Railgun’s own anime, which is namechecked here. Higurashi does this too – I’ve been coyly pretending not to know who the villain is in my reviews, but of course I do – as did all the readers of the manga when it came out. Expectations are set differently.

That said, this volume has a lot to offer. It’s rather upfront about the way that it manipulates its cast – particularly its heroine, Misaki. We start right off with her being shown a boy with muscular dystrophy, and asked to donate some of her DNA to help fight such things. Which would be fine, if she had parents who were also giving consent, or if the scientist askin g didn’t have an evil leer on his face after she agrees. No, we know we’re going to be getting into evil clones right off the bat. (Well, the cover might have clued us in as well.)

Of course, the evil is debatable – the clone on the cover actually looks rather sad and vulnerable (and mysteriously missing genitalia, in the best time-honored tradition). And indeed, when we first meet Misaka 9982, she is immediately filled with likeable traits. She’s snarky, and intelligent, and deadpan, and talks in the third person (something I wasn’t sure Seven Seas would carry over – it sounds more awkward in English, but does help to set the clones apart from the original). This is contrasted with Misaka herself, who spends the entire volume frustrated and not sure how she should feel. She’s heard the rumors before, but being faced with the actual reality is a bit much.

As we see Misaka meet her clone, and have amusing arguments with her clone, and come to see her clone as a little sister sort of figure – complete with giving her a frog badge she got from a crane machine – we know, instinctively that we’re heading for tragedy, and that this clone is going to die. Of course, the number ‘9982’ after her name might also clue us in – these clones are being created as experimental subjects, and their purpose is to die for the greater good. I suspect Misaka is not going to see it that way, however, and the volume ends with her losing it and attacking the mysterious boy who is responsible.

All of this is handled quite well. The manga flies by, and we get just enough characterization from Misaka 9982 to feel horrible about what happens. And certainly we immediately loathe Accelerator, the young man who seems to be our heroine’s new villain. Ah well, I’m sure he will simply be a minor villain… you see? There I go again, pretending that this isn’t a franchise. :) Definitely recommended.

Pick of the Week: Genshiken, Wallflower, & more

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MJ: There’s not much to choose from at Midtown Comics this week, but making my pick is astonishingly easy, perhaps only because I came so late into the world of manga. The truth is, I’ve always wanted to read Genshiken, and this new omnibus release from Kodansha Comics has finally made it easy for me to actually conceive of doing so. I look forward to finally picking this series up!

SEAN: It’s a very slim week this week, so instead of highlighting something revolutionary or cutting-edge, I will go for one of my comfort manga again. The Wallflower will not win any points for originality—or indeed for resolving its plot—but it’s always so much fun, and I always enjoy seeing what wacky situations the cast will find themselves in this time. Everyone needs a manga that you just turn your brain off and read, and this is a good one. Plus Sunako kicks ass when she wants to.

KATE: Looking over the final shipping list of the month is like opening a half-empty refrigerator: there’s bound to be something worth trying, but it takes a little imagination to find it. This week, however, the manga offerings are just too meager, so I’m going to recommend the first Wonder Woman trade instead. For me, the big draw is the artwork: Cliff Chiang depicts WW not as a voluptuous pin-up, but as a tall, lean warrior who just happens to look a lot better in a strapless unitard than the rest of us mortals. I don’t have any difficulty imagining this WW kicking ass and taking names.

MICHELLE: It’s not on the Midtown list, but according to Amazon, volume three of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan is due out this Tuesday. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this tale of a former delinquent with a talent for getting through to troubled teens, but it turns out it’s a lot of fun. I enjoyed volume two more than the first, as a matter of fact, which certainly bodes well for this next installment!

Readers, what looks good to you this week?