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Millennium Snow 1-2 by Bisco Hatori: B-

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Millennium Snow is the first series by Bisco Hatori (of Ouran High School Host Club fame), one of those that began as a stand-alone but eventually achieved serialization. It’s been on hiatus for some time, but now that Ouran has wrapped up, some fans are hoping that Hatori will return to it. I’m not so sure that’s a worthy endeavor.

Chiyuki Matsuoka has had a weak heart since birth, and wasn’t expected to live past the age of fifteen. She’s managed to make it to seventeen, but spends most of her time in the hospital. One day, as she is gazing out the window, she spots a boy fall from a building and dashes out of the hospital to check on him. He is Toya, the very personification of the seemingly gruff hero who actually has a heart of gold. He’s also a vampire, weak from his refusal to drink blood.

Toya is exceedingly abrasive to begin with, but eventually demonstrates he’s not such a bad guy by doing things like accompanying Chiyuki on an afternoon outing (vampires have overcome their aversion to sunlight) and catching a little kid’s loose balloon. Chiyuki falls for him pretty quickly and offers to become his partner. Having a human to feed upon will cure the exhaustion he suffers from abstaining and the arrangement will also allow Chiyuki to share his 1000-year lifespan. Toya refuses, because if his partner should ever despair of their unending life, he would be the one to blame—he’s watched humans he cared for die, and wouldn’t want to wish the same on his partner.

It’s an interesting dynamic, and the first chapter—which I assume constituted the original one-shot—is quite good. Unfortunately, one the story gets serialized, Hatori seems hard-pressed to come up with plots. First, she introduces Satsuki, a werewolf boy whose transformation is limited to fangs and clawed hands and feet in order to best preserve his bishounen appearance. When the story focuses on his desperate attempts to be normal, he’s a fairly compelling character, but he quickly becomes dim-witted and entirely too glomp-happy, existing only to incite Toya’s perturbation. Their incessant squabbling means that on practically every page someone’s yelling or getting kicked in the back of the head.

To demonstrate the dearth of plot ideas, in volume two the trio is suddenly lost in the Alps in Switzerland, where they stumble upon a deserted mansion. It is incredibly random, and brings home the point that while you may have two likable leads—plus a completely adorable talking bat!—you may find yourself without sufficient material to sustain a longer story.

I’m not sure how it can be salvaged at this point, honestly. I think I’d rather see Hatori embark upon something new and leave this one unfinished. When the romantic tension between Toya and Chiyuki takes center stage, the story’s potential is obvious, but the directionless plotting and constant bickering makes for a frustrating reading experience.

Millennium Snow is published in English by VIZ. The series is currently on hiatus in Japan.

Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales

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Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales Volume 1 by Melissa Marr and Xian Nu Studio

There have been quite a few manga style adaptions of young adult books. I find the idea of reading original side stories set in an author’s universe more interesting than reading a manga adaptation of what I’ve already read. I’ve read the first three books in Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series and mostly enjoyed them, although the third book teetered on the edge of being a little too emo for my taste. I wrote about Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange over on the Bureau Chiefs site. Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales features characters from the main books, but the focus is on a new character named Rika.

The Wicked Lovely series is an urban paranormal fantasy series. Keenan, the Summer King of the fairies has been on the hunt for his Summer Queen for centuries. He chooses his queen candidates from mortal girls. There’s a test they have to pass – if they grasp the staff of the Winter Queen and survive the ice, they’re his destined mate. If not, they’re iced over and turn into the Winter Queen, the Summer King’s most hated enemy. Rika is a mortal girl turned fairie by her experience being forced to serve as Winter Queen. She’s taken refuge in the desert, far away from Keenan. Her main distraction is watching a mortal boy – an artist and rock climber named Jayce.

Rika is careful to observe the usual fairy rules about contact with mortals and keeps herself carefully invisible. But the wild desert fey threaten Jayce and she intervenes in order to keep him from being injured. Jayce is mystified at the sudden appearance of a beautiful girl, and they have an awkward first date which consists of them wandering around a nearby town while Rika tries to fight off invisible assailants. Her one local ally is a faerie named Sionnach who seems to be pushing Rika towards the mortal for reasons of his own.

Melissa Marr excels at writing about romance in the initial attraction stage. Jayce and Rika meet, she bandages him up, and as they start talking to each other they share their interests in art and the desert landscape. The character designs fit with the slightly punked out sensibility of the Wicked Lovely books. Rika has pale eyelashes and a choppy bob, providing a contrast to Jayce’s dark skin and dreadlocks. The mischievous desert fey that harass the budding couple are drawn with lines of sand scattered across their skin. I found the story a little more interesting than the art, and there were a couple places in the book where I wished for better transitions between panels or across pages.

I think that fans of the Wicked Lovely series will enjoy this book. I’m not entirely sure how accessible it would be to someone who isn’t already familiar with Melissa Marr’s world. I found reading this manga to be a bit of a relief after Ink Exchange. The love triangle in the main series with Seth, Aislinn, and Keenan has just gotten a little bleak and depressing so I enjoyed being able to visit the Wicked Lovely world with some fresh characters who aren’t bogged down with the continuity in the main series. There are two additional volumes in the Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales manga series, the concluding volume comes out in February.

3 Things Thursday: Ghost Hunters

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It’s no secret that manga (like all media) has its share of overused plots, premises, and characters. This is, of course, inevitable. There is nothing new under the sun, and after 35,000 years or so of human storytelling, it’s important to accept that execution, not conception, is the real key to originality in fiction. What makes a story special is the skill and passion behind its telling, not the story itself, nor the surprisingly finite number of character types available for an author to work with.

That said, I think each of us has our favorites–our “bulletproof” stories, if you will–those particular plots and character types we love indiscriminately, regardless of their objective success. I discussed one of mine in last night’s Off the Shelf, but it’s hardly the only one I have.

While pondering a Halloween-appropriate theme for this week’s 3 Things, it occurred to me that one of my very favorite overused manga premises involves the ghost hunter–someone who, whether for cash or moral duty, has the job of communicating with and expelling spirits from the world of the living. Now, this premise can be pretty broadly applied. Even a story like xxxHolic will sometimes delve into the world of exorcism and the like, but for the purposes of this column, I’m going to require that this be the primary occupation of the series’ protagonist(s).

So, for this week’s 3 Things, I give you three favorite comics about ghost hunters!

1. Tokyo Babylon | CLAMP | TOKYOPOP – Though the (unfinished) apocalyptic epic X/1999 gets more fan attention overall, my own preference is for its shorter, more quietly heartbreaking predecessor, Tokyo Babylon, which tells the story of pure-hearted onmyōji, Subaru, and the events that lead him towards his role in the darker, angrier X. Though the series is far from perfect, the plight of its gentle protagonist is one that continues to haunt my heart. From my review of the full series:

“The primary message CLAMP drives home in Tokyo Babylon is that no person can ever truly understand another person’s pain, and that the kindest thing people can do for themselves and each other is to recognize and embrace that fact … Subaru leads an oddly passive existence, dutifully fulfilling his calling as directed, though his personality is obviously ill-suited for the job … his naturally compassionate nature allowing humanity’s darkest corners to erode his seemingly incorruptible heart.”

2. Rasetsu | Chika Shiomi | Viz Media – Whether it be books, television, or film, sequels are rarely looked upon with much respect, so imagine my surprise when I discovered how much genuine emotion this manga sequel (to the popular shojo series Yurara) was prepared to bring to the table. From my recent review of volume six:

“What keeps this series compelling is that it is profoundly unsettled, and this applies to both the hearts of its characters and to their individual circumstances. There’s more to everyone than meets the eye. Furthermore, though each of the story’s characters is deeply conflicted, they still manage to band together into an unexpectedly warm, self-made family unit … Though this series gets off to a lukewarm start, over the course of six volumes it has become one of my favorite of Viz’s shojo series currently in release.”

3. Time and Again | JiUn Yun | Yen Press – As the newest ghost-hunting series on the list, this manhwa, with three volumes currently in English, has the potential to become my very favorite of its kind. Though its first volume displayed some significant narrative weakness, it continues to become stronger with each new release. Deeply damaged characters are often the most interesting, and boy does this series provide. I’m long overdue with a follow-up review, but for now, my take on volume one:

“Though this volume’s storytelling is somewhat uneven, especially in terms of character development, there is more than enough to chew on for readers interested in ghost stories, or even eighth-century Chinese culture … The stories are steeped in a solemn stew of religion and folklore, finding their inspiration in Chinese poems… and other sources of varying East Asian origin …Though the result of all this inspiration is not nearly as profound or thoughtful as one might expect, the book is intriguing and emotionally affecting all the same.

And now I leave it to you! Readers, what are your favorite ghost-hunting manga or other Halloween-flavored tropes? Respond in comments or in your own blog!

Halloween Rain by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder: C-

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From the back cover:
Around Sunnydale, they say a scarecrow saturated with Halloween rain will come alive and slaughter anyone in sight. (Lovely place, Sunnydale.) Buffy’s best friends, Xander and Willow, used to think the tale was nonsense—but after a few adventures with Buffy, they’re not so sure.

Even without a maniacal scarecrow, a Sunnydale Halloween is a truly horrific happening. There are enough zombies and vampires about, ready to party hearty and eat some brains, to keep the Slayer and her friends up all night.

And then the rain starts to fall…

Review:
It just wouldn’t be Halloween Week without a Buffy book, now would it? Unfortunately, this one is nothing to get excited about.

The story is set in the first season, after the episode “The Pack,” since former principal Mr. Flutie (eaten by some hyena-possessed students in that episode) is dead and buried. It’s also Halloween, which is a problem, as Buffy was not in Sunnydale for Halloween of her tenth-grade year (1996-1997). I mean, I didn’t conduct an exhaustive search for confirmation that she transferred in the spring, but I’m pretty sure that is the case. (Update: A sign in episode three, “The Witch,” confirms that it’s 1996, so I was wrong.)

Anyway, there’s apparently a legend in town that says to stay away from scarecrows on rainy Halloweens, because they come alive. After hearing about this from Willow and Xander, a memory niggles at Giles until he works out a connection between scarecrows and Samhain, who is referred to as “the dark lord,” the spirit of Halloween,” and “the pumpkin king.” While Buffy is off fighting a slew of zombies in the graveyard, Giles prepares a bunch of symbols and wards and stuff to fight Samhain. There’s a battle in a field, a barn burns down with Samhain trapped inside, and Buffy wins. The end. Yawn.

The humdrum nature of the plot is really nothing new for a Buffy media tie-in novel; usually the main draw of these is how well the writers capture the characters’ voices. Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder went on to write many more Buffy books, but I’m sure this was their first, as it’s only the second of the series, published in 1997 (before the season two episode “Halloween” established that demons are actually not very interested in the holiday). As a result, their success with the characters is hit or miss.

A lot of Buffy’s dialogue is cheesy and her thoughts rather vapid. Like this one, for example:

If she didn’t start hanging with her friends more, they might adopt a new Slayer as their bud. Or not, since there weren’t any others.

On the other hand, the Xander/Willow dynamic is conveyed pretty well, and there is one brief, simple exchange that would’ve been fully at home in the show.

“It gets worse,” Willow said, and tugged on Xander’s hand.

“I hate worse,” Xander grumbled.

The authors also seem to have a fondness for the phrase “clone that thought,” since it’s used at least three times.

I can forgive a lame plot if the characters are written well, but Halloween Rain is a success in neither category.

Off the Shelf: Boo!

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Welcome to the Halloween edition of Off the Shelf with MJ & Michelle! I’m joined, once again, by Soliloquy in Blue‘s Michelle Smith.

In keeping with the holiday, Michelle and I take a look at some creepy comics from Yen Press, Tokyopop, and Manga BlackBox.

MICHELLE: Hey, did you hear that skritching noise? I think some zombies are trying to get in!

MJ: I’m safe! The workday already ate my brains. But wait, is that the howl of a werewolf?

MICHELLE: A ravenous one, no doubt! To take our minds off our impending doom, why don’t you tell me about a manga you read this week?

MJ: Okay! Well, my first selection isn’t exactly manga, though it is an East Asian comic. With Halloween approaching, I thought it was time to dig into some horror, but nothing from my to-be-reviewed shelf quite fit the bill. Fortunately, my husband is addicted to his iPad where he found a new app, just released yesterday, featuring award-winning Malaysian artist Leong Wan Kok’s From a Twisted Mind, published for iOS by a company called Manga BlackBox.

The book’s cover is immediately striking, with a surreal, psychedelic creepiness one might expect if, say, the Yellow Submarine had carried mad scientists instead of musicians. I plunked down my $3.99 based on the cover alone, which turned out to be a pretty good deal, all told. What I got for my money was a collection of seventeen short comics by Leong (sometimes known as “Puyuh”), originally published in four volumes, mostly horror (with one short volume’s worth of black & white fantasy/sci-fi stories in the back), all visually stunning.

The quality of the storytelling is uneven, as is the case of most short comic collections. The series’ first story, “Fantasy Aquarium,” (click title for screenshot) about a carnival run by vengeful fish, is delightful, and though it makes for a splendid opening, it sets the bar perhaps a bit too high for many of the comics that follow. Highlights include “Metamorphosis,” a creepy tale with a twist; “Love Virus,” about a biology student who wreaks disgusting vengeance on a backstabbing friend; and “The God of Happiness,” who is definitely not what he seems….

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Say Hello to Black Jack

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Japanese publishers tend to shy away of digital distribution, so I’m finding the case of Shuto Sato‘s Say Hello to Black Jack really interesting. I was interested to see the notice at Anime News Network that he’s seeking English translators for his online comics site. Sato disclosed financial numbers for what he was making as a mangaka before switching to online distribution. I’ll be curious to read an authorized English translation of Say Hello to Black Jack when it becomes available.

Here’s some links for more information about Sato and Say Hello to Black Jack:

Manga Reality: The Case of Say Hello to Blackjack
Japanese Live Action Drama site
Mangaonweb (Sato’s digital comics site)

Kekkaishi Volumes 8 and 9

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One of this week’s spooky manga picks is the always excellent shonen monster hunting series Kekkaishi. It is daunting sometimes to try to catch up on a long running series like Kekkaishi, but Tanabe’s excellent pacing and character development make it possible to keep following the story even if you have skipped a few volumes. I’ve read the first five volumes of the series previously.

Kekkaishi Volume 8 by Yellow Tanabe

Things are growing more complicated for monster hunters Yoshimori and girl next door Tokine. Performing their duties as protectors of the mystical energy site located by their school used to be fairly straightforward, but now they’re dealing with an organized effort from a group of ayakashi (monsters) who even have the ability to take on human form. They’ve been sent an ally named Gen from the Shadow Organization, where Yoshimori’s brother has now risen to a position of power. Gen has been taken out of the fight and Yoshimori and Tokine have to fend off a large group of monsters by themselves. Yoshomori’s latent power briefly manifests when Tokine is frightened, and the leader of the monster pack inexplicably calls off the attack, perhaps content in finding out something about Yoshimori’s power levels that young kekkaishi doesn’t even know himself. The remainder of the volume shows some of Gen’s backstory as he struggles with the idea of continuing his assignment to help Yoshimori and Tokine. Gen is half ayakashi, and has the potential to turn entirely into a monster if he isn’t careful with restraining his power. Yoshimori’s older brother Masamori placed him with a special class within the shadow organization called the Night Troops, which is made up of other children similar to Gen. Masamori also seems to be playing politics within the Shadow Organization, so it is easy to see why Yoshimori might be suspicious of him.

It seemed to me like there was a tiny bit of character progression in the way Yoshimori was drawn. I thought he looked a little bit more angular in the face, perhaps showing him as becoming more mature as a person and in the use of his power since the series started. Tanabe’s monster designs are always a highlight of the book, with Yoshimori’s foes looking like demonic versions of a squid, Cousin It, a mutated bat, and an odd insect.

Kekkaishi Volume 9 by Yellow Tanabe

The ninth volume is devoted to some fun training sessions for Yoshimori, Gen, and Tokine when Gen’s monster trainer Atora shows up suddenly to put them through their paces. She challenges them to capture her, and they’re forced to work together as a team. Tokine and Yoshimori already have a rapport, but Gen just tends to rush off into battle and doesn’t coordinate his actions with others. Due to some traumatic events when his power manifested Gen tends to hold himself apart from others. Atora was a fun character, who was always drawn with a sunny grin on her face. She announces her presence by blasting the door in and seems absolutely delighted at the opportunity to stage a mock battle. More importantly, she wants to check up on her pupil to see if he’s finally making friends. She’s accompanied by a giant bear named Raizo who is extremely cute even as he starts emitting dangerous electricity.

While the new three person team of kekkaishi begins to work together, the organized group of akakashi start acting up in mysterious ways. One of them drinks up the mystic swamp where the spirit Lord Uru lives, and Yoshimori is concerned about the fate of the nature god. This volume contained some of Tanabe’s great arresting images. Yoshimori’s grandfather thinks one of his old friends might be in danger of an attack, and a representative of the Shadow Organization breaths a giant smoky scorpion into existence in order to provide transportation. Gen and Yoshimori bond over lunch as they float on a cube of energy far above their high school.

I think it says a lot about Tanabe’s skills as an author that a manga that juggles complex plots and a variety of characters is still easy to follow even if there are gaps in the volumes that you’ve read. One of these days I’ll be totally caught up! In a world filled with formulaic shonen, Kekkaishi really is something special.

Pick of the Week: xxxHolic

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Once again, there are a number of fine choices for a Pick this week, as reported by Midtown Comics, notably the second volume of Code: Breaker, a series that surprised me a lot, as well as the second volume of In the Walnut, which Michelle reviewed favorably in this week’s BL Bookrack.

But this week is a no-brainer for me, as it marks the release of the latest volume of xxxHolic, a series I’ve discussed, reviewed, and proselytized over pretty vigorously ever since I began talking about manga to begin with. It was one of the first series I read and loved, and certainly the series that got me interested in CLAMP’s work overall. Also, with Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle no longer in the picture, readers can continue on with ease, confident that CLAMP will be divulging all important information in one place.

From some of my discussion of volume 14:

“Though this volume proceeds more quietly than the last, it is filled with wry humor and thoughtful revelation, two of the series’ best qualities. Also notable in this volume is a strong sense of warmth, something that has increasingly become a part of the series. This is particularly evident in each character’s relationship with Watanuki—from Yuuko to the fortune-teller—including even dry-humored characters like Doumeki and Mokona (with whom Watanuki shares an especially sweet moment in this volume). It is the connection between people that makes this series feel so rich, a point made stronger in this volume when Watanuki reveals that it is these connections that have inspired him to continue his own existence. ”

“What read as cold philosophy at the beginning of this series has become intimate personal drama fourteen volumes in, and even Yuuko can’t pretend to be detached from the story’s outcome…”

If you have yet to enter the world of xxxHolic, there’s no time like the present. And if you’re already a fan, you’ll want to run out and buy this book!

Gyo 1-2 by Junji Ito: B+

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Walking fish aren’t the usual sort of monsters one associates with Halloween, but their invasion makes for creepy reading nonetheless!

Tadashi and his high-maintenance girlfriend, Kaori, are vacationing in Okinawa when Kaori begins complaining of putrid smells. Soon after, a chase ensues between Tadashi and a barely glimpsed, fast-moving creature, culminating with the discovery that said critter is actually a fish with four spindly mechanical legs. This is just the tip of the fishberg, though, as Okinawa is soon overrun by walking fish, which quickly spread to mainland Japan and eventually the rest of the world.

Despite the attempts of the back cover to induce me to regard the series as “horrifying,” the primary adjective I’d use to describe it is “weird.” The scenes of walking fish—and sharks, squids, and whales—swarming down city streets are alarming but fun in a disaster movie kind of way. For most of the first volume, I actually smiled as I read. Things get more serious in the second volume, with revelations about what the creepy legs will do once they run out of fish bodies to use as fuel, but the weird only gets weirder—there’s a critter circus, for example—and the series never loses its page-turning momentum.

While I’d primarily classify Gyo as something fun that’s not too deep, it does offer some commentary on scientific ethics, particularly in the person of Tadashi’s uncle, who immediately begins trying to create a walking machine of his own. Some will be put off by the lack of a finite ending, but I find it interesting. If this were a disaster movie, we’d probably be given the opportunity to cheer on our battered heroes as they figure out the creatures’ vulnerability and blow them all to smithereens, but Gyo stops short of that point. Will mankind prevail? Will the world be overrun? We’ll never know.

Two short stories are included in volume two. “The Sad Tale of the Principal Post” is short and random, but I liked “The Enigma of Amigara Fault” a lot. In it, an earthquake has revealed a rock formation riddled with human-shaped holes that go farther back into the rock than researchers are able to measure. People have flocked to the site after seeing it on TV, somehow drawn to holes that seem to have been tailor-made for them. A young man named Owaki tries to keep his new female friend, Yoshida, from entering her hole, and suffers some vivid (and way more horrifying than the fish-monsters!) nightmares about what could happen to a person who enters. The final page suggests he was right.

In the end, I wouldn’t classify Gyo as amazing, but it—and “The Enigma of Amigara Fault”—are certainly entertaining and memorable. I may have to check out more from Junji Ito, like the spooky spiral menace of Uzumaki!

Gyo is published in English by VIZ and is complete in two volumes.

Manhwa Monday: From the Twitter feed

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Welcome to another Manhwa Monday!

Much of our news this week comes from the Twitter account of NETCOMICS, who reported last week (among other things) on an upcoming project (not yet licensed nor in consideration for such, in case you’re about to ask) by E. Hae, author of Not So Bad and Roureville. See illustration on the right. Such a tease!

In other news from NETCOMICS, they’re just about to reopen the world of Dokebi Bride, a series languishing on indefinite hiatus in Korea that still has a volume’s worth of untranslated material available for western readers. Also, fan favorite Full House continues at long last.

It’s great timing for Full House, which I chose just two weeks ago as Manga Bookshelf’s pick of the week.

NETCOMICS also put in a plug for their parent company, ECOMIX who just joined Twitter. Korean language skills required for both of those links.

In other news, via Brigid Alverson at MangaBlog, Strategypage.com reports that South Korean manhwa has begun to seep into North Korea via bootleg CDs.

In the category of Things I Like To Rant About, the NY Times asks the question, “What is manga?” and manages to dismiss 100 years of Korean comics history by referring to manhwa as a “manga variant.” So what does Korea have to do to earn a little cultural identity around here, huh?

Somewhat related to this subject, I suppose, last week marked the release of March Story, a Japanese manga series written and drawn by Korean creators Hyung Min Kim and Kyung Il Yang, published in English by Viz Media on their Signature imprint. My own copy is on its way, but a few reviewers have already spoken, notably Manga Curmudgeon David Welsh, Comic Attack’s Kristin Bomba, and Comic Book Bin’s Leroy Douresseaux.

Elsewhere, Angela Eastman takes a look at volume two of Sugarholic (Yen Press) at Mania.com, and at Okazu, Erica Friedman takes a swipe at publishers’ clumsy translations of gay sex terms as she reviews volume six of Click (NETCOMICS).

That’s all for this week!

Is there something I’ve missed? Leave your manhwa-related links in comments!