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Manga the Week of 2/22

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The fourth week (but really the 3rd) of February gives us quite a few titles to choose from. And for once, none of them are from viz – it’s the other publishers that get a look in.

Dark Horse gives us the 20th volume of Oh My Goddess, which means they have now caught up with the ‘unflipped’ editions. Honestly, it’s a sign of how popular this series is with their fans that they even went to all the trouble of this giant re-release, and I’m impressed. As ever, Carl Horn supplements the releases with letters and endnotes. Going forward, starting with Volume 41, it’s all heading forward into the future, rather than reliving the glorious past.

As always, DMP’s yaoi publications always end up with the best titles. This week we have ‘Gentlemen’s Agreements Between A Rabbit And A Wolf’, which sorely needs a tiger in there as well, but I won’t quibble as I know it would destroy the beautiful seme/uke balance the title provides. And in more sedate titles, we also have the 5th volume of the deluxe reissue of Kizuna.

Kodansha gives us the 4th volume of 24-style thriller Bloody Monday, and the 4th volume of fantastic dinosaur art series Gon. Two series that really are unlikely to ever cross over. (Gon doesn’t appear in Cage of Eden, does he? Cause that would just make my year.)

Seven Seas is giving Midtown the 3rd volume of A Certain Scientific Railgun, which many other Diamond customers – including me – got this week. There is still no sign of the parent series, A Certain Magical Index, but Railgun is entertaining enough.

That’s right, it’s my blog, and so Higurashi gets the image again. The Atonement Arc hits Volume 3, and no doubt will feature increasing paranoia and bloodshed. Can the ircle be broken, or are we in for another depressing reset? Well, we won’t find out yet, but certainly this will ramp up the tension. Also from Yen, we have new volumes of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (the normal manga version, not the SD one); ninja manga Nabari no Ou; ecchi harem fantasy catgirl samurai… thing Omamori Himari; the awesomely insane Soul Eater; and a new volume of Sumomomo Momomno, which is still going, to my surprise. it’s hit Volume 11 too! Sheesh, kids these days…

All this and the debut of Soulless: The Manga from artist REM! What interests you this week?

Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 19

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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.

Hayate has reached the point now here, popular and enjoyable as it is, its cast is simply too large to use in one complete plot. So while I said last time that the cast was all going to wind up on a holiday in Greece, there are exceptions. And so Wataru, Saki and Sakuya end up in Las Vegas, which coincidentally has its own subplot waiting in the wings for them! This would be highly unrealistic and a detriment to any manga that is not as silly as this one, but (even after the Athena arc) the reader still has a tendency to say “Yeah, OK, whatever.”

The Las Vegas chapter introduces Wataru’s mother, who is… not a nice woman. Oh sure, on a scale of one to Hayate’s parents she’s still small time, but it’s clear she loves gambling and is not above humiliating her son and his friends just to show off how lucky and powerful she is. (You get a sense of where the manga is going with her when we see a flashback where Wataru hands her a doll he has made. It appears to be Nezumi Otoko from the children’s series Gegege no Kitaro. Oh kid, little do you know your mother is more like that doll than you think… In any case, the cliffhanger for this volume involves Wataru’s mother gambling with Saki (who doesn’t know how to play cards) for Wataru’s fate. It also includes Sakuya as a fanservice magnet, something that I think started in Japanese fanart circles and that Hata might have picked up on. Unlike those circles, Sakuya stays (mostly) decent, though.

Meanwhile, earlier in the manga, we get a chapter devoted to one of the Idiot Trio, Miki. She’s arguably the most intelligent and perceptive of the three (given she got a 36 on her most recent exam, this is very arguable), but that’s not really why we get this chapter. For a manga where every single woman seems to be in love with the hero, it is refreshing to see someone who isn’t. And, Ayumu’s teasing of Hina aside, we haven’t really had any yuri in this manga to date either. Now we get both – Miki is not interested in Hayate, mostly as she has her heart set on someone else. It can be a bit disheartening to hear Miki say she knows she’ll be rejected so has no plans to confess… but, knowing Hinagiku like we do, Miki’s probably correct. Oh well. Maybe she’ll get lucky if Hayate ends up with someone else! (By the way, notice how Hayate immediately makes the connection between Miki’s vague allusions and Hina. He’s very perceptive in anything not involving himself.)

Other than that, well, there’s plenty of humor in this volume. Which is good, as folks read Hayate for the gags. For those who worried that we’d be returning to the mood of the previous 2 volumes, that’s not happening right away. Of course, not much else is happening right away either. By the end of the book, half the cast are either in Greece or Vegas, but our hero and heroine are still stuck at home. The main flaw of this book is that, for everyone except maybe Maria fans, very little happens in this volume. We left off with the cast getting ready to go to Greece (where Athena awaits, let’s remember), and we’re still waiting here. Ah well. At least we haven some ominous foreshadowing with Hayate’s ‘King’s Jewel’ given to him by Nagi’s jerkass grandfather. Foreshadowing of dark, terrible events is always welcome in comedy gag manga.

How to Draw Shojo Manga

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This slim how-to manual caters to the manga fan who wants to become an artist, but finds the technical aspects of comic creation daunting. “If you’ve ever flipped through a How to Draw Manga book in a bookstore, looked at the pages that explain character design and perspective and thought, ‘I have to learn all this hard stuff to be a manga artist?’ then you are exactly the person who we want to read this book,” the authors cheerfully assert.

The introduction is a little disingenuous, however, as the book assumes a level of artistic fluency on the part of the reader that isn’t reflected in that warmly inviting statement. No novice could use the passages on anatomy or perspective to learn either of these essential drafting skills; the authors don’t break down the process of sketching a body or a three-dimensional space into enough discrete steps for a newcomer to recreate the examples in the book. The same is true for their advice on tools; though the authors provide a detailed catalog of pens, nibs, erasers, templates, blades, and brushes favored by professional artists, the information about how to use these tools presumes that the reader has worked with similar implements.

What How to Draw Shojo Manga does well, however, is introduce novices to the concepts associated with creating sequential art. The authors review the basics, explaining the various types of camera angles and shots, and when they’re most effective; discussing the underlying philosophy behind character designs; and showing how an artist takes a script from words to storyboards to finished product. The book also includes an appendix with practical information about submitting work to contests — obviously less applicable to American readers — as well as strategies for handling criticism; in a thoughtful touch, the authors critique a short story (included in full in the book) so that readers can better appreciate the substance of the editorial comments. Whenever possible, the authors use examples from actual manga to underscore points about character design and layouts; sharp-eyed fans will recognize works from such Hakusensha magazines as Lala, Melody, and Hana to Yume.

The bottom line: How to Draw Shojo Manga won’t turn a greenhorn into Arina Tanemura, but it will help her identify areas of weakness (e.g. poor drafting skills) and provide her with the vocabulary to discuss — and learn more about — the creative process.

Editor’s note: This review was originally included in a Short Takes column from November 2010. When I reorganized my site in January 2012, I created a category for instruction manuals (How to Draw Manga) and decided that this review would be better suited as a stand-alone piece. Look for more how-to reviews in the coming months!

HOW TO DRAW SHOJO MANGA • WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF HANA TO YUME, BESSATSU HANE TO YUME, LALA, AND MELODY MAGAZINES • TOKYOPOP • 176 pp. • RATING: TEEN (13+)

How to Draw Shojo Manga

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This slim how-to manual caters to the manga fan who wants to become an artist, but finds the technical aspects of comic creation daunting. “If you’ve ever flipped through a How to Draw Manga book in a bookstore, looked at the pages that explain character design and perspective and thought, ‘I have to learn all this hard stuff to be a manga artist?’ then you are exactly the person who we want to read this book,” the authors cheerfully assert.

The introduction is a little disingenuous, however, as the book assumes a level of artistic fluency on the part of the reader that isn’t reflected in that warmly inviting statement. No novice could use the passages on anatomy or perspective to learn either of these essential drafting skills; the authors don’t break down the process of sketching a body or a three-dimensional space into enough discrete steps for a newcomer to recreate the examples in the book. The same is true for their advice on tools; though the authors provide a detailed catalog of pens, nibs, erasers, templates, blades, and brushes favored by professional artists, the information about how to use these tools presumes that the reader has worked with similar implements.

What How to Draw Shojo Manga does well, however, is introduce novices to the concepts associated with creating sequential art. The authors review the basics, explaining the various types of camera angles and shots, and when they’re most effective; discussing the underlying philosophy behind character designs; and showing how an artist takes a script from words to storyboards to finished product. The book also includes an appendix with practical information about submitting work to contests — obviously less applicable to American readers — as well as strategies for handling criticism; in a thoughtful touch, the authors critique a short story (included in full in the book) so that readers can better appreciate the substance of the editorial comments. Whenever possible, the authors use examples from actual manga to underscore points about character design and layouts; sharp-eyed fans will recognize works from such Hakusensha magazines as Lala, Melody, and Hana to Yume.

The bottom line: How to Draw Shojo Manga won’t turn a greenhorn into Arina Tanemura, but it will help her identify areas of weakness (e.g. poor drafting skills) and provide her with the vocabulary to discuss — and learn more about — the creative process.

Editor’s note: This review was originally included in a Short Takes column from November 2010. When I reorganized my site in January 2012, I created a category for instruction manuals (How to Draw Manga) and decided that this review would be better suited as a stand-alone piece. Look for more how-to reviews in the coming months!

HOW TO DRAW SHOJO MANGA • WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF HANA TO YUME, BESSATSU HANE TO YUME, LALA, AND MELODY MAGAZINES • TOKYOPOP • 176 pp. • RATING: TEEN (13+)

Manga Radar: 29 January 2012

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Database Additions for 29 January

Border Control: Fate (ebook) – DMP Digital Manga Guild, Jan 2012 ::
Career Gate (ebook) – DMP Digital Manga Guild, Jan 2012 ::
Gentlemen’s Agreement Between A Rabbit & A Wolf (ebook) – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 ::
I’m the Big Brother (ebook) – DMP Digital Manga Guild, Jan 2012 ::
Silly Gossip (ebook) – DMP Digital Manga Guild, Jan 2012 ::
Welcome to the SMC (ebook) – DMP Digital Manga Guild, Jan 2012 ::
You’re Mine (ebook) 1 – Publingual Inc., Jan 2012 ::

Dirty Pair A Plague of Angels – Dark Horse, Jul 1994 ::
Dirty Pair Biohazards – Dark Horse, Sep 1998 ::
Dirty Pair Dangerous Acquaintances – Dark Horse, Jun 1997 ::
Dirty Pair Fatal but not Serious – Dark Horse, Aug 1996 ::
Dirty Pair Run from the Future – Dark Horse, Mar 2002 ::
Dirty Pair Sim Hell – Dark Horse, Dec 1994 ::
Dirty Pair Sim Hell: Remastered – Dark Horse, Oct 2002 ::
Dirty Pair The Dirty Pair Strike Again (novel) – Dark Horse, Mar 2008 ::
Dirty Pair The Great Adventure of the Dirty Pair (novel) – Dark Horse, Sep 2007 ::
Lullabies from Hell – Dark Horse, May 2006 ::
Onegai Teacher 1 – ComicsOne, Apr 2005 ::
Onegai Teacher 2 – ComicsOne, Apr 2005 ::
Onegai Teacher (novel) – ComicsOne, Apr 2005 ::
Onegai Teacher Official Fanbook – ComicsOne, Apr 2005 ::
Secret Comics Japan – Viz, Jun 2000 ::
Sin (ebook) chapters 1-10 – MangaMagazine, Sep 2011 ::
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (novel) – Bandai, Jul 2009 ::

##

I’ll start with two reminders: First, the ‘radar’ picks up new titles as soon as they show up in sources – for physical books, that’s a few months out; for e- it’s often just the week of release. And that’s what we see above: a short slate of ebooks coming out for Kindle. The DMP Juné book, A Gentlemen’s Agreement Between A Rabbit & A Wolf should also be out in paperback soon, if not by the time you read this.

My second reminder is that the radar sweeps in both directions, and also scoops up titles from the dim and dusty past of licenced manga – you know, like 7 & 8 years ago. [ancient texts.]

Fixing an obvious oversight on my part: Dirty Pair! Oh wow. Now, some might object to the inclusion of these books in a ‘manga’ chart, as only the characters were licensed: Dirty Pair was an anime based on a novel, *not* originally a manga series, and the Dark Horse books are by western writers & artists. Whatevs. I like it. (Dark Horse helpfully published two of the original novels as well, in 2007-8)

Also on the based-on-an-anime track, ComicsOne published 4 books to tie-in to the Please Teacher series, but translated the title as Onegai Teacher, just to be sure at least some fans would never find them.

Finally, two worthy of note: Hideshi Hino’s Lullabies from Hell for you horror manga fans (Dark Horse also licensed Living Corpse from the same author) and Secret Comics Japan from Viz, which promises at least a few grotesqueries among its selections of ‘underground’ manga.

##

Top Preorders

6. ↓-1 (5) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [385.3] ::
12. ↑2 (14) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [353.5] ::
16. ↓-1 (15) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [298.7] ::
24. ↓-1 (23) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [245.1] ::
59. ↓-3 (56) : xxxHolic 19 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2012 [148.3] ::
65. ↑26 (91) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [135.5] ::
70. ↑26 (96) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [132.5] ::
84. ↑9 (93) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [114.5] ::
102. ↓-19 (83) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [95.8] ::
123. ↑13 (136) : Ambiguous Relationship – DMP Juné, Mar 2012 [86.3] ::

[more]

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 29 January

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [477.0] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [434.5] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [423.5] ::
4. ↑6 (10) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [409.3] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [392.3] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [385.3] ::
7. ↑5 (12) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [377.3] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [366.8] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Fullmetal Alchemist 27 – Viz, Dec 2011 [364.7] ::
10. ↓-4 (6) : Black Bird 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2012 [361.4] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 80
Yen Press 79
Viz Shojo Beat 68
Kodansha Comics 41
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 33
Seven Seas 23
Vizkids 18
DMP Juné 16
Dark Horse 14
HC/Tokyopop 13

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,124.3] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [957.4] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Black Butler – Yen Press [794.1] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [793.4] ::
5. ↑5 (10) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [582.3] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [571.7] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Black Bird – Viz Shojo Beat [562.9] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Pokemon – Vizkids [560.6] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [538.8] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [504.6] ::

[more]

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

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [477.0] ::
4. ↑6 (10) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [409.3] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [392.3] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [366.8] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Fullmetal Alchemist 27 – Viz, Dec 2011 [364.7] ::
10. ↓-4 (6) : Black Bird 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2012 [361.4] ::
11. ↓-4 (7) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 7 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jan 2012 [357.0] ::
13. ↑14 (27) : Pandora Hearts 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [351.5] ::
15. ↑17 (32) : Highschool of the Dead 5 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [305.6] ::
17. ↓-6 (11) : Skip Beat! 26 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2012 [298.6] ::

[more]

Preorders

6. ↓-1 (5) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [385.3] ::
12. ↑2 (14) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [353.5] ::
16. ↓-1 (15) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [298.7] ::
24. ↓-1 (23) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [245.1] ::
59. ↓-3 (56) : xxxHolic 19 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2012 [148.3] ::
65. ↑26 (91) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [135.5] ::
70. ↑26 (96) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [132.5] ::
84. ↑9 (93) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [114.5] ::
102. ↓-19 (83) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [95.8] ::
123. ↑13 (136) : Ambiguous Relationship – DMP Juné, Mar 2012 [86.3] ::

[more]

Manhwa

192. ↑ (last ranked 20 Nov 11) : Laon 6 – Yen Press, Jul 2011 [60.8] ::
257. ↑820 (1077) : Totally Captivated 3 – Netcomics, Jun 2008 [43.4] ::
263. ↑121 (384) : JTF-3 Counter Ops (ebook) – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [42.6] ::
302. ↑1024 (1326) : Totally Captivated 4 – Netcomics, Sep 2008 [37.3] ::
377. ↑454 (831) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [29.3] ::
486. ↑259 (745) : Angel Diary 11 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [20.1] ::
493. ↑192 (685) : Black God 15 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [19.8] ::
519. ↑1272 (1791) : Totally Captivated 6 – Netcomics, Feb 2009 [18.3] ::
614. ↑353 (967) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [14.4] ::
632. ↑9 (641) : March Story 2 – Viz Signature, Apr 2011 [13.5] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

62. ↑3 (65) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [140.3] ::
91. ↑7 (98) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [103.6] ::
101. ↓-30 (71) : Mr. Tiger & Mr. Wolf – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [95.9] ::
106. ↓-12 (94) : Seven Days Friday-Sunday – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [94.5] ::
112. ↓-30 (82) : A Fallen Saint’s Kiss – 801 Media, Jan 2012 [90.9] ::
113. ↑38 (151) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [90.3] ::
123. ↑13 (136) : Ambiguous Relationship – DMP Juné, Mar 2012 [86.3] ::
183. ↑37 (220) : Maelstrom (ebook) 6 – Yaoi Press, Aug 2011 [62.2] ::
188. ↑21 (209) : Finder Series 4 Prisoner in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Aug 2011 [61.1] ::
221. ↓-96 (125) : Storm Flower – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [52.3] ::

[more]

Ebooks

55. ↓-16 (39) : Amazing Agent Luna 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2005 [159.0] ::
62. ↑3 (65) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [140.3] ::
71. ↓-13 (58) : How to Draw Manga (ebook) Lesson 1 Eyes – Japanime’s Manga University, May 2011 [132.0] ::
74. ↓-20 (54) : Vampire Cheerleaders 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2011 [127.8] ::
95. ↓-21 (74) : Amazing Agent Luna 2 – Seven Seas, Jul 2005 [100.5] ::
96. ↓-30 (66) : The Outcast 1 – Seven Seas, Sep 2007 [100.0] ::
103. ↑53 (156) : Dragon Ball Z Legend: The Quest Continues – Cocoro Books, May 2004 [95.1] ::
111. ↑22 (133) : Manga Moods – Japanime’s Manga University, Mar 2006 [91.0] ::
126. ↑63 (189) : Kanji de Manga 1 – Japanime’s Manga University, Jan 2005 [81.5] ::
131. ↓-34 (97) : Manga Cookbook – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [79.2] ::

[more]

Drifters, Vol. 1

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Back in the 1980s — the heyday of Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone — Hollywood cranked out a stream of mediocre but massively entertaining B-movies in which a man with a freakishly muscular physique and a granite jaw battled the Forces of Evil, dispatching villains with a catch-phrase and a lethal weapon. I don’t know if Kohta Hirano ever watched Predator or Red Scorpion, but Drifters reads like the first draft of a truly awesome eighties movie, complete with a trademark phrase — “Say farewell to your head!” — and a simple but effective premise that promises lots of silly, over-the-top fight scenes.

The Dolph Lundgren character — if I might be allowed to call him that — is Shimazu Toyohisa, a Satsuma warrior facing long odds at the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). Just as Shimazu’s death seems imminent, he finds himself transported to an alternate dimension, one in which mankind’s greatest warriors — Hannibal, Nobunaga Oda, Joan of Arc — have been assembled for an elaborate game. The purpose and rules of the game remain elusive, but the primary objective seems to be mass destruction: the game’s organizer unleashes hordes of ghouls and dragons on Shimazu and his allies, in the process laying waste to cities, forts, and crops.

Like all good Schwarzenegger or Stallone vehicles, Drifters makes a few token gestures towards subplot and world-building. Shimazu helps a group of elves resist their oppressors, for example, teaching them the manly art of standing up for themselves. Hirano provides so little explanation for the elves’ marginalized status, however, that the entire episode registers as a stalling tactic for the climatic battle at volume one’s end, a half-hearted effort to show us that however unhinged or deadly Shimazu may be, he knows injustice when he sees it.

Drifters’ other shortcoming is the artwork. Hirano’s clumsy character designs make the entire cast look like Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, with huge, sunken eyes, large, triangular noses, and blocky torsos. Though one might reasonably argue that Picasso’s bodily distortions were a deliberate aesthetic choice, it’s harder to make the same case for Hirano’s work; his characters’ mitt-like hands and poorly executed profiles suggest a poor command of perspective, rather than an artistic challenge to it.

Hirano’s action scenes suffer from an entirely different problem: they’re riotously busy, bursting at the seams with too many figures, monsters, and weapons, overwhelming the eye with visual information. One could be forgiven for thinking that Hirano was trying to out-do Peter Jackson; not since Sauron flattened the forces of Middle Earth have so many warriors and monsters been assembled in one scene to less effect. Looking at the opening chapter, however, it’s clear than Hirano can stage a credible battle scene when he wants to: he depicts the Battle of Sekigahara as a churning mass of horses, samurai, and swords, effectively capturing the confusion and claustrophobia of medieval combat. Once dragons and orcs enter the picture, however, the action scenes begin to lose their urgency and coherence, substituting the terrible immediacy of hand-to-hand fighting for larger, noisier air battles where the stakes are less clearly defined.

It’s a pity that Drifters is so relentless, as the story certainly has the potential to be a guilty pleasure; what’s not to like about a manga in which Japan’s greatest feudal warriors fight alongside Hannibal, Joan of Arc, and elves? What Hirano needs is a little restraint: when the story is cranked up to eleven from the very beginning, the cumulative effective is deafening, making it difficult for the reader to hear the endearingly cheesy dialogue above the clank of swords and explosions. And if there’s anything I learned from watching old chestnuts like Commando, it’s that even the most testosterone-fueled script needs to pause long enough for the hero to utter his catch phrase.

DRIFTERS, VOL. 1 • BY KOHTA HIRANO • DARK HORSE • 208 pp.  RATING: OLDER TEEN

Drifters, Vol. 1

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Back in the 1980s — the heyday of Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone — Hollywood cranked out a stream of mediocre but massively entertaining B-movies in which a man with a freakishly muscular physique and a granite jaw battled the Forces of Evil, dispatching villains with a catch-phrase and a lethal weapon. I don’t know if Kohta Hirano ever watched Predator or Red Scorpion, but Drifters reads like the first draft of a truly awesome eighties movie, complete with a trademark phrase — “Say farewell to your head!” — and a simple but effective premise that promises lots of silly, over-the-top fight scenes.

The Dolph Lundgren character — if I might be allowed to call him that — is Shimazu Toyohisa, a Satsuma warrior facing long odds at the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). Just as Shimazu’s death seems imminent, he finds himself transported to an alternate dimension, one in which mankind’s greatest warriors — Hannibal, Nobunaga Oda, Joan of Arc — have been assembled for an elaborate game. The purpose and rules of the game remain elusive, but the primary objective seems to be mass destruction: the game’s organizer unleashes hordes of ghouls and dragons on Shimazu and his allies, in the process laying waste to cities, forts, and crops.

Like all good Schwarzenegger or Stallone vehicles, Drifters makes a few token gestures towards subplot and world-building. Shimazu helps a group of elves resist their oppressors, for example, teaching them the manly art of standing up for themselves. Hirano provides so little explanation for the elves’ marginalized status, however, that the entire episode registers as a stalling tactic for the climatic battle at volume one’s end, a half-hearted effort to show us that however unhinged or deadly Shimazu may be, he knows injustice when he sees it.

Drifters’ other shortcoming is the artwork. Hirano’s clumsy character designs make the entire cast look like Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, with huge, sunken eyes, large, triangular noses, and blocky torsos. Though one might reasonably argue that Picasso’s bodily distortions were a deliberate aesthetic choice, it’s harder to make the same case for Hirano’s work; his characters’ mitt-like hands and poorly executed profiles suggest a poor command of perspective, rather than an artistic challenge to it.

Hirano’s action scenes suffer from an entirely different problem: they’re riotously busy, bursting at the seams with too many figures, monsters, and weapons, overwhelming the eye with visual information. One could be forgiven for thinking that Hirano was trying to out-do Peter Jackson; not since Sauron flattened the forces of Middle Earth have so many warriors and monsters been assembled in one scene to less effect. Looking at the opening chapter, however, it’s clear than Hirano can stage a credible battle scene when he wants to: he depicts the Battle of Sekigahara as a churning mass of horses, samurai, and swords, effectively capturing the confusion and claustrophobia of medieval combat. Once dragons and orcs enter the picture, however, the action scenes begin to lose their urgency and coherence, substituting the terrible immediacy of hand-to-hand fighting for larger, noisier air battles where the stakes are less clearly defined.

It’s a pity that Drifters is so relentless, as the story certainly has the potential to be a guilty pleasure; what’s not to like about a manga in which Japan’s greatest feudal warriors fight alongside Hannibal, Joan of Arc, and elves? What Hirano needs is a little restraint: when the story is cranked up to eleven from the very beginning, the cumulative effective is deafening, making it difficult for the reader to hear the endearingly cheesy dialogue above the clank of swords and explosions. And if there’s anything I learned from watching old chestnuts like Commando, it’s that even the most testosterone-fueled script needs to pause long enough for the hero to utter his catch phrase.

DRIFTERS, VOL. 1 • BY KOHTA HIRANO • DARK HORSE • 208 pp.  RATING: OLDER TEEN

Last day to enter JManga’s translation contest!

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Whether you’re an expert or a beginner in Japanese, you should check out JManga’s translation contest. Translate the 4-koma manga at the link and you could win a copy of the (digital) book. Today is the last day, so if you’ve been planning to do it, don’t put it off! JManga is offering multiple prizes, so your chances may be better than you think.

And while you’re translating thought into action, drop in to Manga Bookshelf and enter their Valentines Day giveaway–you could be the lucky winner of vol. 1 of 13th Boy.

With Shonen Jump Alpha up and running, and most of the bugs shaken out, Viz is adding a stick to their carrots: Yesterday the scanlation group Mangastream announced it was dropping Viz titles under pressure from the publisher. AstroNerdBoy adds more commentary on the Mangastream affair, including his opinion on what they—and Viz—are doing wrong. Deb Aoki has a clear-eyed editorial at About.com, pointing out that as aggrieved as the Mangastream folks may be, in the end, they don’t own the content.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Reviews: It’s a new week and time for a new set of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown recounts a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Amy Grockl on An Arranged Marriage (Manga Village)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Bed of My Dear King (Comics Worth Reading)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of A Devil and Her Love Song (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Jia Li on Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll (Manga Bookshelf)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Anna on vol. 3 of Sailor Moon (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on Seasons (Okazu)