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Where to Buy Manga: Comicopia (Boston, MA)

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IMG_0080Highbrow, lowbrow… and everything in between. That’s the slogan of Comicopia, a Mecca (mecha?) for Beantown manga lovers. For twenty years, this modest Kenmore Square storefront has been catering to discerning comic fans of all persuasions, stocking everything from Introducing Derrida to Mr. Arashi’s Amazing Freak Show, as well as crowd-pleasers like Peanuts, Bone, Y: The Last Man, Justice Society of America, and, of course, Bleach, Naruto and Fruits Basket. Comicopia’s low-key, friendly vibe is more bookstore than comic store, making it a great place for former Barnes & Noble junkies to ween themselves off the chain store habit.

Owner Matt Lehman claims to have “New England’s largest selection of manga,” a claim substantiated by both the quantity and variety of titles on Comicopia’s shelves. On my most recent visit, for example, I found all nineteen volumes of Full Metal Alchemist alongside full runs of Dragon Head, Eden: It’s An Endless World, and Swan, as well as a generous assortment of older and more obscure titles: Junko Mizuno’s Cinderalla, Shirow Masamune’s Black Magic, Junjo Ito’s Museum of Terror, numerous volumes of Basara, and the first volume of The Monkey King. “We’re committed to carrying every manga in print,” Lehman explains. “We make an effort to stock the first two or three volumes of each new series as it comes out, and continue carrying what sells.”

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Nodame Cantabile, Vol. 16

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By Tomoko Ninomiya
Del Rey, 184 pp.
Rating: OT (11+)

Auditions for open positions in the Roux-Marlet Orchestra continue in this volume, leading up to rehearsals for Chiaki’s first official concert as resident conductor. Under pressure to restore the orchestra to its former glory (and halt the alarming flood of subscribers leaving the Roux-Marlet for rival orchestra Deschamps), Chiaki drastically increases rehearsal hours and unleashes his unforgiving perfectionism on the ensemble, earning some heavy grumbling from its members. Meanwhile, pianist Rui returns to Paris seemingly at loose ends, oboist Kuroki struggles to balance school with his new professional position, piano student Tanya proudly displays the fruits of her post-illness diet, and Nodame tries hard to play the perfect conductor’s “wife” while keeping up with her own studies.

While this series’ classical music setting is always enjoyable and informative (this volume, for instance, contains discussion on the differences between the French bassoon and German fagott), its true charm is in its wonderfully quirky characters, particularly obsessively correct Chiaki and uniquely whimsical Nodame. It makes sense somehow that Nodame is addicted to natto (after eating which, Chiaki will not kiss her), believes that putting on a hairband successfully disguises her as a manga character (“I thought I was in disguise. I was trying to be Yawara-chan.”), and feels that free tissue boxes displaying Chiaki’s photo are the key to his orchestra’s marketing success. Some of the series’ supporting characters have great moments in this volume too, including bassoonist Paul who is determined to revive the bassoon in France’s orchestras and Rui, who unsuccessfully tries to get picked up in a lobby full of (according to her) gay men.

Now in its sixteenth volume, Nodame Cantabile manages to remain just as funny and touching as when it began. Readers craving a satisfying bite of rich, quirky josei simply can’t do better.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at PopCultureShock.

Nodame Cantabile, Volume 16

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nodame16Today I review volume sixteen of Nodame Cantabile for Manga Recon’s Manga Minis column. It is, you’ll notice, a very positive review. I must confess that I have a deep and abiding love for this series and I would be quite surprised if it ever let me down in any significant way. Even my early misgivings about lecherous conductor Stresemann and stereotypically presented Masumi have long been quelled. I could write many paragraphs describing the various charms of each character (just in this volume alone), my general adoration of Nodame, and my long-standing crush on Chiaki–and perhaps someday I will. Today you are spared this long-winded treatise.

Admittedly, much of my love for this series has to do with my own experience as a music (performance) major in college and how nostalgic I become whenever I sit down to read it. I said recently that I thought I was most like Mine–determined to rebel against my strict classical surroundings, but swept up with love for the music in spite of myself. Now that I’m entering a period of my life where I’ve begun singing classically again, I suppose the nostalgia is even closer to my heart.

Whatever the reason, Nodame Cantabile touches me in a very personal way, with its humor, its drama, its cast of wonderfully idiosyncratic characters, and its unusually insightful look into the lives of young performers as they struggle to find balance between insecurity, ambition, and simple love of their art. Though this kind of struggle is not limited to music students (and, in fact, probably describes any person attempting to make a career out of their true vocation), the raw vulnerability required of performers simply to do their work provides the ideal vehicle for expressing these feelings on paper. It is this, I believe, that is Nodame Cantabile‘s great success. Read my review here.

Phantom Dream 3 by Natsuki Takaya: B

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phantomdream3Once upon a time, a thousand years ago, there was a beautiful woman named Suigekka who used her magical abilities to help the people of Japan. The people feared and misunderstood her, however, and killed her after blaming her for the drought that had descended upon the land. A magician who loved her, Hira, went insane after Suigekka’s death and vowed revenge on humanity. He began to turn them into jaki, beings controlled by their negative feelings, while his younger brother, Saga, sought to protect people and undo their transformations. Fastforward into the present, where that inherited conflict is still going on. Tamaki Otoya, a descendant from Saga’s line, is the current shugoshi, or one tasked with exorcising jaki. Hira has reawakened, thanks to the reincarnation of Suigekka, and his quest for revenge continues. Tamaki must stop him, but personal feelings are making him hesitate.

While I originally found Phantom Dream to be confusing, it has really shaped up in the last couple of volumes, and now seems to’ve achieved a good balance between plot progression and character development. Events still tend to happen quickly, but motivations are clearer and moments of sacrifice carry more weight. Protagonist Tamaki has become a more sympathetic character, and I also quite like the story of Eiji, once his opposite number among Hira’s ranks, who defects to Tamaki’s side after learning Hira’s real reasons for creating jaki.

Also assisting to clear up the confusion is the desperately-needed glossary that makes its first appearance in this volume. Unfortunately, the “Story So Far” section includes a big spoiler that, while strongly inferred in volume two, is not confirmed until the early chapters of this volume. One might wish to steer clear.

All in all, Phantom Dream is not bad and is, in my estimation, superior to Takaya’s later work, Tsubasa: Those With Wings.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Phantom Dream 2 by Natsuki Takaya: B-

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phantomdream2From the back cover:
Tamaki Otoya is the last in a line of ancient summoners tasked to battle evil forces that threaten mankind. But when the rival Gekka family return to collect the demon sword Tamaki’s family stole centuries ago, a devastating secret is revealed! Tamaki is left in such a state of shock that he doesn’t even notice his beloved Asahi slipping away to the Gekka mansion…

Review:
I was pretty underwhelmed by the first volume in this series, finding it to be confusing and more interesting as a measure of Natsuki Takaya’s progression as a storyteller than for its own merits. Volume two is a big improvement, however; though the confusing elements persist, a potentially compelling story is beginning to take shape.

In this volume, more details about the feud between the members of the Gekka family, who use negative emotions to turn people into jaki, and the Otoya family, who are tasked with exorcising those people, are revealed. The current representatives of the families, Eiji and Tamaki, seem to bond a little over their shared burdens, but also engage in combat, as well. Some members of a branch family come to support Tamaki, leading to revelations about the reasons why more of the family is not rallying behind him. Asahi seems to feel a strange connection with a sword belonging to the Gekka family, which the Otoya family has sacrificed much to protect, but Eiji ends up in possession of the weapon after his cat demon minion manages to infiltrate the shields on the Otoya temple in an unexpected way.

That summary is distilled from a couple hundred pages of random and rapid plot developments, which brings up the biggest problem I have with Phantom Dream: major events happen too quickly, giving the progression of the story a rather slapdash feel. It’s possible that Takaya-sensei has meticulously planned out each new development, but they rush by without giving the reader enough time to appreciate what has happened. In the first volume, for example, I completely missed that a butterfly-loving boy whom Tamaki exorcised had volunteered to become a kind of reconnaissance spirit in Tamaki’s employ. This time, we’re barely given time to digest some news about Tamaki’s parentage before the sword is stolen, Tamaki’s mother dies, and Asahi goes missing, apparently on the verge of betraying Tamaki and awakening the Gekka king from his slumber.

Through the blur of these events, however, one is occasionally afforded a glimpse of what the story could’ve been if more time were devoted to allowing the main characters some reaction time. Tamaki and Eiji don’t seem to really hate each other; instead, they are bound by destiny and familial expectations to continue a pointless feud that’s been going on for a thousand years. Eiji, at times, doesn’t seem to want to do what he’s doing—and even seems to cherish some feelings of love for Tamaki—but does them nonetheless, causing Tamaki to have to fight him. I wish this element of the story had been played up a lot more, rather than the emphasis being on the secrets of Tamaki’s parentage.

Still, even with all of these problems, I find that I do like Phantom Dream, and substantially more than I like Tsubasa: Those With Wings. For all its speed, it’s still by far the more focused work, with a driving narrative that isn’t sidetracked by forays into “comedy.” It’s also more clearly the precursor to Fruits Basket, with a heroine whose sunny outlook proves of invaluable aid to the hero and even manages to get through to the ostensible villain of the piece.

Monkey High, Volume 7

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Monkey High, Volume 7
By Shouko Akira
Published by Viz Media

monkeyhigh7
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After her politician father is arrested for corruption, Haruna Aizawa transfers from her elite private school to a run-of-the-mill high school though, from her perspective, there is no great difference between them. She sees high school as being like living on Monkey Mountain–watching a gang of monkeys fighting each other over and over again, establishing and re-establishing their hierarchy. Her theory is quickly confirmed by the first student she meets at her new school–a grinning imp of a boy named Masaru Yamashita (“Macharu” to his friends)–who strongly reminds her of a baby monkey. The rest of the students are the usual crowd, including the class “prince,” Atsu, and a gang of unfriendly girls, and Haruna keeps herself at a distance as much as she possibly can.

Trouble is, there is one student she can’t seem to distance herself from no matter how she tries, and that is Macharu. When she’s around him, her heart pounds and her skin goes tingly, leaving her utterly confused. Fortunately, Macharu feels the same way and as the first volume winds down, the two begin to explore a relationship together, despite their strong personality differences and Haruna’s initial embarrassment over having fallen for a short, goofy guy like him. As the series continues, their relationship grows and Haruna even goes so far as to introduce Macharu to her estranged father (“…because I want to be with him for a long time.”), though her father only ends up hurting her in the attempt.

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Dining Bar Akira by Tomoko Yamashita: A

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diningbar12532-year-old Akira Koji doesn’t know how to handle it when Torihara Yasuyuki, a coworker six years his junior, says, “You know… I have feelings for you.” He has always considered himself to be straight and ultimately decides not to take the confession seriously. Still, he can’t help being a bit curious. As he and Torihara continue to interact at work, bickering a good bit yet dancing closer to each other, he becomes more and more intrigued. Eventually, the two begin dating but insecurities rear their heads when it’s time to think about taking their relationship to the next level.

The basic plot of Dining Bar Akira isn’t anything new, but what Tomoko Yamashita does with the characters is fascinating. Both Akira and Torihara are grown, experienced men and have learned over the years to erect defenses in order to keep from being hurt. Even after they begin dating, they must work to earn each other’s trust. Akira, for example, swears that he does have feelings for Torihara, but the idea of being physically intimate frightens him, like if he makes such a life change at age 32, there’ll be no turning back. Torihara, meanwhile, has a habitually negative outlook that makes it hard for him to believe Akira’s not merely with him out of sympathy; he needs tangible proof. To avoid responsibility, Akira unconsciously attempts to rile Torihara enough that he’ll take the decision out of his hands, but both know it would mean nothing unless it’s a step he chooses to take himself.

I love it when the obstacles a couple faces come from within and Dining Bar Akira pulls this off admirably. Like the best boys’ love manga, it focuses on the universality of its characters’ situation—the struggle of two people who like each other to achieve true intimacy. That they both happen to be sexy, professional men is completely beside the point. In this way, it reminds me of Future Lovers. (Other similarities include its sense of humor and the way the more cynical member of the pair has trouble shaking the worry that he’s robbed his optimistic partner of the security that comes with traditional married life.)

If Dining Bar Akira has a flaw, it’s that it seems to end too abruptly, but I’m not convinced that this truly is cause for complaint. In the final chapter, Torihara and Akira have developed a daily routine, but the days are slipping by so peacefully that Torihara worries the relationship will one day just naturally dissolve. There’s no real resolution to that situation, which is a little frustrating from a reader’s point of view—I, at least, tend to appreciate neat and tidy endings—but isn’t that more realistic? After such a complicated depiction of two people wrestling with feelings of fear and love, wouldn’t it cheapen the story to cap it off with a trite happy ever after? A similar tactic is employed with “Foggy Scene,” one of a pair of short bonus stories that round out the volume.

Yamashita’s art reminds me of est em, and those familiar with the latter’s work will recognize that for the compliment it is. There’s an elegant, expressive feel to her drawings that spills over into the story itself; Dining Bar Akira is positively bereft of any artistic clichés one might expect to encounter in boys’ love manga. Both leads look like adult men, and supporting characters (in the form of fellow coworkers) tend to be the same, with some approaching middle age.

I was unfamiliar with Tomoko Yamashita’s manga before this, and I’m sure many would say the same. With work of this quality, though, I hope that won’t remain the case for too much longer.

Dining Bar Akira is currently available only at NETCOMICS.com, but a print edition will be available soon. Another Tomoko Yamashita title, Black-Winged Love, is due later this year. I’ll definitely be checking it out.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom, Volume 7

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Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom, Vol. 7
By Kazunari Kakei
Published by Viz Media

nora7
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Read my review of volume six here.

As the dramatic battle that began in volume six continues, power-crazy villain Fall has the Dark Liege cornered, thanks to the revelation of a new and unexpected power. Meanwhile, Nora and Kazuma face their own foes along with other members of the Dark Liege’s army. Still reeling from the news of Nora’s intended fate as the current Cerberus (who is expected to one day pour all of his power into Kazuma–the next Dark Liege–sacrificing his own life in the process) they both fight fiercely and with more feeling than ever before, determined to see this battle through and find a way to bring balance to the demon and human worlds in their own way–one which does not conform to the tragic customs of the past.

Although several of its fight sequences come close to being too long, for the most part this volume manages to keep up the considerable tension and dramatic momentum set into motion in volume six which is, surprisingly, one of the series’ new strengths. Though it offers nothing significantly different from most standard shonen fare, Nora has finally found its groove, particularly in terms of characterization which has advanced substantially over the last two volumes. Nora, especially, has gained new depth since discovering the grim truth about his fate, learning to truly value not only his life but the lives of those who care for him. Though his refusal to let the current Dark Liege calmly accept her own defeat is pure shonen formula, his delivery (“Nobody could ever replace a pain in the ass like you!”) is so charmingly in-character, such judgements are easily dismissed.

Another pleasant bit of characterization that has begun to take shape over the last two volumes is the changing relationship between Nora and Kazuma. Its development has been slow and painful (if often humorous), evolving finally into an uneasy camaraderie that feels especially nuanced and fragile for this kind of story. As in any relationship with a significant power imbalance (Kazuma, after all, has the power to allow or forbid Nora’s use of his own magical abilities with no more than a word, effectively holding Nora’s life in his hands) mutual trust is incredibly difficult to achieve, but in response to the new revelations regarding their shared fate, the two have forged a bond between them, fashioned out of an unlikely combination of fury, indignation, and hope.

Though this series has a ways to go before it can hope to stand up to the best titles of its genre, Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom has finally landed on its feet, becoming a solid choice for fans of shonen manga.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Goong: The Royal Palace 6 by Park SoHee: A-

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goong6From the back cover:
Hoping to clear the air between Shin and Chae-Kyung, the ladies of the court pressure the young couple to get more intimate. But even a night together may not be enough to push the two close. Amid lingering suspicious of Shin’s involvement with Hyo-Rin, Yul takes the offensive in claiming not only his right to the throne, but to Chae-Kyung’s heart as well… Will her commitment to her husband and her duty as crown princess prevail?

Review:
In this volume, Shin and Chae-Kyung are forced to spend a night alone together by order of the queen mother, who buys into the theory that Chae-Kyung’s recent poor health is caused by problems in her relationship with Shin, and that by forcing them to consummate their marriage, those problems will immediately evaporate. Alas, things do not go as planned. Later developments include Yul admitting his feelings to Chae-Kyung, an attempt to gain more political power for the royal family, a subplot involving the girl Shin used to like, and the news that Chae-Kyung’s grandfather has cancer.

It’s really impossible to convey the awesomeness of Goong through a mere plot summary, because so much of the story is carried by the characters rather than the events. The night Shin and Chae-Kyung spend together is a fascinating example. When they’re first locked up together, Shin asks, “Are you scared? Do you think I’ll attack you?” Chae-Kyung, however, is more worried that she might attack him! Shin abruptly kills any mood that might’ve been brewing, though, when he says, “A man can sleep with a girl whom he doesn’t really like.” Readers can see that he’s developing feelings for her and just trying to protect himself by feigning detachment, but Chae-Kyung can’t. When he’s later moved by her eyes, which speak so honestly of her feelings for him, and tries to kiss her, she slaps him. Shin, of course, has no idea what he did wrong.

What a complicated and complex relationship! This is the sort of situation that two people, no matter how attracted they are to each other, would probably just give up on after failing time and again to truly connect. Shin and Chae-Kyung don’t have this option, however, and continue the pattern of hurting each other. Their struggle is both captivating and frustrating; it’s going to be so vastly rewarding once they finally work things out.

Shin’s insecurities and ignorance of a loving family come into play in the latter half of the volume, when he refuses to allow Chae-Kyung to visit her ailing grandfather. The excuse he gives is that she has duties to attend to, but he’s really worried that she’ll want to stay with her family rather than return to the miseries of palace life. Yul uses this situation to try to get on Chae-Kyung’s good side—suggesting that she get her marriage with Shin annulled and marry him instead since Shin’s dysfunctional upbringing makes him treat her badly—but only succeeds in strengthening her sympathies for Shin. The final scene suggests that Yul’s meddling might backfire on him even further, to which I say, in Nelson’s voice from The Simpsons, “Ha ha!”

An awful lot goes on in a single volume of Goong and all of it is wonderfully balanced and exciting to read. About the only flaw I could mention is that the unattractive artwork during comedic moments still persists. Because of this, I’ve never been able to award any volume a straight-out A, much as I have wanted to, because the random bits of ugly pull me out of the story. They don’t appear to be going anywhere, alas, so it looks like I’ll just have to resign myself to their presence.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Recommendations for NETCOMICS Sale!

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dweyw1Ongoing until August 27th, a whole slew of NETCOMICS titles are on sale at Right Stuf and I see a whole lot of titles there worth buying, so I thought I’d recommend a few!

First off, I’d recommend Yeri Na’s Do Whatever You Want, the story of two high school boys navigating school, love, and loyalty as they aim for their musical dreams. I’ve only read the first volume, but I’m dying to read the rest! From my review:

“What’s refreshing about this story is that though it is clearly relationship-driven, it is not obvious at this point that the story is headed toward any particular romantic pairing … Refreshing, too, is that each of the characters is distinctive, complicated, and realistically and sympathetically portrayed …

Don’t be fooled by this book’s cover. Despite its pretty boys, Do Whatever You Want is much, much more than a stylish boys’ love romp or a romance story of any kind, and in fact promises neither. What it does promise is a thoughtful story about friendship and ambition, with an appealing cast of complex young characters searching for their place in the world and with each other.”

*****

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