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My Week in Manga: November 4-November 10, 2013

November 11, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week I announced the winner of the Sankarea manga giveaway. The post also includes a list of zombie manga that has been licensed in English, for those who might be interested. Considering the recent popularity of zombies, I was actually a little surprised to discover there weren’t more. I also posted two reviews last week. The first was for Makoto Kobayashi’s What’s Michael, Book Two, a fantastic cat manga sent to me by a Manga Bookshelf reader for review. My second review from last week was for Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician by Shinmon Aoki, which was the inspiration for Yōjirō Takita’s award-winning film Departures.

And now for a few things that I’ve come across online over the last couple of weeks. Crunchyroll Manga is now up and running. Deb Aoki wrote a good article about it for Publishers Weekly–Kodansha, Crunchyroll Talk Global ‘Simulpub’ Manga . At A Case Suitable for Treatment, Sean took a quick look at the manga series currently being offered through the platform–Kodansha and Crunchyroll Partnership: What Are We Getting?. Mostly unrelated, Kodansha posted on its Tumblr account a great summary of why some manga may never be licensed in North America, even if it’s really good. Rob Vollmar’s essay for World Literature Today “Dark Side of the Manga: Tezuka Osamu’s Dark Period” is actually from last year, but was recently brought to my attention again. And finally, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund focused on Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints (which I think is one of the best comics to be released this year) as part of its Using Graphic Novels in Education column.

Quick Takes

Animal Land, Volumes 5-8 by Makoto Raiku. It took a few volumes for Animal Land to really grow on me, but now that it has I find that I quite like the series. The occasional focus on scatological humor feels a bit out-of-place to me, though it seems to have become less common as the series progresses. The artwork in Animal Land is a little strange–a combination of realism and anthropomorphism–but generally engaging. The characters, particularly Taroza, are very likeable. I have enjoyed watching him grow up. A newborn at the beginning of the series, by the end of the eighth volume he has become a young man who has had to face the hard truths about his idealism. Taroza wants to put an end to the cycle of killing and eating, but to do so will require him to throw all of Animal Land into turmoil. He is not the only one who has an interest in shifting the power dynamics of the world–four other humans have made themselves known and have their own ideas about how things should be. I was a little surprised to see a bit of science fiction and time travel work its way into Animal Land, but I am very curious to see how things continue to develop.

Battle Vixens, Volume 1 by Yuji Shiozaki. Supposedly, Battle Vixens (aka Ikki Tousen) is somehow based on, or at least inspired by the classic Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Had I not known this going into the series, I’m not sure I really would have picked it up from reading the first volume. As far as I can tell, the references are barely there. (Which reminds me, I really do need to get around to finishing Romance of the Three Kingdoms.) What is readily apparent from the first page of the manga is that the English title, Battle Vixens was aptly chosen. The series is all about the fights and the fan service. There might be some sort of plot, too, but after only one volume I am still incredibly confused as to what is actually supposed to be going on. Basically there’s this girl, Hakufu Sonsaku, with a sizable chest and the penchant for getting into brawls. Towards what end? I am unsure. She simply seems predisposed to violence and having her clothes ripped off of her in the process. For a series based on fights the action unfortunately tends to be somewhat difficult to follow, but some of the panels have great composition.

No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Volume 1 by Nico Tanigawa. Okay, I’m just going to refer to this series by its Japanese abbreviation WataMote because I can never seem to remember the title in its entirety. (Plus, it’s really long.) WataMote is simultaneously one of the most funny and depressing manga that I’ve read recently. The story follows Tomoko Kuroki, an extraordinarily awkward and socially inept young woman who has just started high school. Most of her “life experience” has come from reading manga and playing video games, which may explain why she has difficulty interacting with her classmates. They mostly just ignore her or at least tolerate her existence. Occasionally she tries to be more than the weirdo in the corner, but it doesn’t often turn out well for her. I care about Tomoko and find her to be a sympathetic character which is why her trials and errors, though humorous, can also be a bit painful to watch. WataMote isn’t exactly mean-spirited, but it’s not particularly pleasant either. Her interactions with her younger brother are fantastically awkward (granted, all of Tomoko’s relationships are awkward), but there are some glimpses of familial love, too.

Flowers of Evil directed by Hiroshi Nagahama. Based on the manga series by Shuzo Oshimi, the Flowers of Evil anime series is a phenomenal adaptation. It’s one of the rare cases where I might actually prefer the anime over the original manga. That being said, the anime is definitely not a series that everyone will be able to enjoy. First of all, the pacing is excruciatingly slow. It worked for me and I think it creates marvelous tension, but someone who needs a bit more action and forward movement from their anime will be very frustrated. Not much actually happens from episode to episode; the focus is more on the inner turmoil and crises of the characters. The animation also relies heavily on rotoscoping techniques, resulting in a style that doesn’t personally bother me, but I know plenty of people who can’t stand it. I think it was suitable for Flowers of Evil, creating a slightly disconcerting and surreal mood that fits the unsettling atmosphere and darker nature of the series. The use of music and silence in the series is also quite remarkable. The twisted triangle of a relationship between Kasuga, Nakamura, and Saeki is intense. The Flowers of Evil anime captures it perfectly using art film-like sensibilities.

Manga the Week of 11/13

November 7, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, MJ, Anna N and Michelle Smith 2 Comments

SEAN: This week isn’t quite as bad as the previous two, but there’s still a chunky bit of stuff coming onto the shops.

Dark Horse has the 3rd of their Lone Wolf & Cub omnibuses. That’s a chunky item hitting the shops all by itself, and very good value for money it is too.

ASH: I’m happy to see Lone Wolf & Cub being re-released. The larger format means I have a better chance of actually being able to read the text, too.

MJ: I’ve been so happy to have a fresh opportunity to fall in love with this series. And fall in love, I have!

ANNA: Nice! I need to check this out again, I think I only read the first five or so volumes of the original series but I did enjoy it.

SEAN: We have a trio of releases from DMP. Lies Are A Gentleman’s Manners certainly wins the title of the week award, but I know nothing else about it. The description seems to involve LSD and blackmail.

ASH: I don’t know much about this one, either. But, megane alert!

MJ: Thanks to David Welsh, I’m thrilled to see anything from Opera, so count me in!

Moon and Blood 4 is still doing its mini-manga thing.

And Triton of the Sea finishes up with its 2nd omnibus. Are we getting near the end of print Tezuka releases, headed for a digital-only future?

ASH: I think we’re getting close. There are only two forthcoming Tezuka print releases that I’m currently aware of: The Mysterious Undergound Men and The Crater.

SEAN: Drawn & Quarterly has been putting out a lot of Shigueru Mizuki lately, and this is one of his big magnum opus projects. Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan seems to actually be half history book and half yokai (come on, can we really expect no yokai in a Mizuki book?), as we switch between his childhood and the events that shaped Japan. I can’t wait for this one. There’s a sequel, covering World War II, out in the spring.

MICHELLE: Oh, that *does* sound interesting.

ASH: I’m very much looking forward to this series. If the first two omnibuses do well, we should see two more.

MJ: Ditto!

ANNA: This looks cool.

SEAN: Kodansha has Cage of Eden 12, with more extinct animals, action sequences, and naked teenage girls bathing in rivers.

Another intriguing debut is Black Bard, which One Peace Books is putting out as a done-in-one omnibus. From Media Factory’s oddball shoujo magazine Comic Gene, and the plot sort of sounds like Shoulder-A-Coffin Kuro, only less depressing.

ASH: I’m definitely checking this one out. I just can’t pass up the music and magic combo.

MJ: Again, what Ash said!

ANNA: I am reserving judgement until the first reviews get posted, but it does sound interesting.

SEAN: One Peace also has the 4th of the reissue volumes of Crayon Shin-chan, which has been their main manga product to date, though with Black Bard they’re starting to expand. Shin-chan is pure kiddie fun, though be aware it’s a kid’s idea of fun, not a parent’s.

Picturebox has been known for having some old-school seinen, and this week is no different with the release of Gold Pollen and Other Stories. Actually, instead of seinen, it’s more pure alternative, and sounds quite interesting in an “indie comix” way.

ASH: I’ve already got my copy of this one! Picturebox has been doing some really interesting manga releases this year and the production quality has been top-notch. Gold Pollen is the first volume in its Masters of Alternative Manga series; I’m very curious to see what else will be picked up.

MJ: I’m pretty anxious to see this!

SEAN: SubLime has the 3rd volume of Blue Morning, which I understand has garnered some praise from other corners of the Manga Bookshelf. Anyone want to chime in?

MICHELLE: I described it as “more like a genuine period drama than BL romance with some token period frills.” The characters are well developed and complex, too, and I really couldn’t recommend it more highly.

MJ: I’m really enjoying this series, and Michelle’s recent review has made me anxious to dig into this volume!

SEAN: “I am hot.” “I am also hot.” “And naked.” “I too am naked.” “We fight crime.” “In an erotic way.” “We are… Spiritual Police.” “From SubLime Manga, November 6.” “Revel in our hot bods.” “And sultry gazes.”

MICHELLE: Bwa-ha-ha!

MJ: <3

SEAN: Vertical dips into the world of post-apocalyptic sci-fi with From the New World Vol. 1. I really didn’t like the first volume, but others may disagree with me.

ASH: I’ve been told the manga follows the novels more closely than the anime adaptation, but I’m really not sure what to think about this series yet.

SEAN: 07-Ghost Vol. 7 comes as close as it ever will to being symmetrical.

MICHELLE: Sigh. Somehow I am now really, really far behind on this.

MJ: I’m mesmerized by the near-symmetry.

ANNA: I need to get caught up! I enjoy this series.

SEAN: Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 Vol. 6 introduces Olivier Armstrong, which is the best possible reason to buy it, as she is amazing.

MJ: Yes. Yes she is.

Speaking of omnibuses, Inu Yasha’s VizBIG Edition is up to Vol. 17, which I’m sure is also an exciting and thrilling part of the story, probably.

MICHELLE: I have actually never finished InuYasha. I have the last ten volumes hanging around, ready for me to read them, but I have been delaying it for years now. Kind of like how I never watched that one episode of TNG and thus it is not actually finished for me.

SEAN: Lastly, Rin-Ne ambles slowly along with lucky Vol. 13. Perhaps Sakura will show an emotion this time around… nah, never gonna happen. Still, it’s enjoyable spirit comedy.

MICHELLE: I have a warm spot in my heart for RIN-NE despite its lack of forward momentum of any kind.

SEAN: Any favorites?

BL Bookrack: Simply SuBLime

November 5, 2013 by MJ and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

Welcome to the latest installment of BL Bookrack! This time, MJand Michelle take a look at two titles from SuBLime Manga, The Man of Tango and Sleeping Moon. In Brief: Blue Morning, Vol. 3, Off*Beat, Ch. 14, and Tableau Numéro 20.

The Man of Tango | By Tetuzoh Okadaya | SuBLime Manga | Rated M (Mature) – So distant are the days when I found SuBLime’s selection of titles mostly unimpressive, that it’s a bit of a struggle to recall them. And, in face of a book like The Man of Tango, it’s hard to believe that I ever distrusted this imprint.

Though tango dancer Angie is irresistible on the dance floor (and in the bedroom), he’s never experienced any love approaching his passion for the dance until he meets Hiro, a biracial salaryman who finds himself unexpectedly drawn into Angie’s tango-focused world. Hiro is initially reluctant to become sexually involved with a man, but his growing passion for both Angie and the tango eventually wins him over, introducing him to a kind of warmth and happiness he’s never known.

On the face of it, this sounds like any average BL premise, even down to the reluctant “straight” man, but The Man of Tango is anything but average. Even its looks defy the norm, as the manga features bulky, muscular characters who skew more bara than BL, but given that the artist was influenced by bara legend Gengoroh Tagame, that’s no surprise. More unusual, perhaps, is the story’s fantastic female costar, Bene, whose dream of returning to Buenos Aires is ultimately left for Angie and Hiro to pursue. The self-made family created by the three of them is really at the heart of the story—perhaps even more than its romance—and this isn’t a negative thing by any means. Bene’s presence somehow brings more meaning to everything, including Angie and Hiro’s relationship.

That said, friendship and romance are hardly the volume’s only draw, which is to say that it’s pretty much teeming with sex—passionate, graphic, manly sex—the likes of which are seldom seen in BL, at least on these shores. You’ll find no grimacing, helpless uke here, which dramatically affects my perception of the story’s initial sex scene, in which Hiro is clearly too intoxicated to give consent. It’s a rare BL manga that can overcome my distaste for rape fantasy, but this is one of the rare few. Furthermore, I often complain that sex scenes get in the way of stories rather than genuinely enhancing them, but this could not be less the case with The Man of Tango. Not only do Okadaya’s sex scenes advance the story and the characters’ relationship, but they’re genuinely sexy, which is also surprisingly rare for BL manga.

In short, The Man of Tango is well-crafted, emotionally compelling, and downright hot. Recommended.

– Review by MJ

Sleeping Moon, Vols. 1-2 | By Kano Miyamoto | SuBLime Manga | Rated M (Mature) – I’ve read my share of Barbara Michaels novels, quite a few of which feature the heroine returning to her ancestral home to unearth family secrets. Sleeping Moon evokes that same feeling by sending its protagonist, 27-year-old graduate student Akihiko Odagawa, into the countryside to the home in which his father grew up, searching for the origins of a family curse that dooms the male descendents to die young. There, he reconnects with his younger cousin, Ren, but also takes dream journeys into the past, where he meets a scholar named Eitarou, for whom he soon develops feelings.

Sleeping Moon is complete in two volumes, which is a little bit of a disappointment, because it definitely seemed at first that there was enough meat to the premise for it to go on a little longer. That’s not to say the resolution is unsatisfying, though I do admit to being more interested in the origins of the curse itself than in Akihito and Ren’s rather rushed romance. Miyamoto-sensei sustains a nicely creepy atmosphere, and I definitely could’ve read lots more about the fox spirit attempting to protect the family.

I also really liked how Miyamoto depicted the home’s resident kitty. He just kind of wanders through scenes, stepping on people who are in the midst of having a conversation, etc. I hate, though, that his whereabouts are not accounted for at the end, and that no one, in fact, seems to care at all about whether he’s okay, given what happens. (How’s that for vague?) Do not introduce us to a cute kitty then not show him all safe and happy on the last page!
Anyway, Sleeping Moon is a solidly enjoyable supernatural yarn. The romance aspect is somewhat lacking, and it’s not exactly the most original story ever, but it’s still definitely worth reading.

– Review by Michelle Smith

In Brief:

Blue Morning, Vol. 3 | By Shoko Hidaka | SuBLime Manga | Rated M (Mature) – When I reviewed volume one, I wrote “Complex, dark, and a bit twisted, Blue Morning is the best BL I’ve read so far this year.” Happily, subsequent volumes of the series have only further cemented this impression. By volume three, Akihito and Katsuragi’s relationship has evolved as Akihito himself has matured and Katsuragi has begun to change in ways Akihito has yet to notice. Complications abound, however, and because so many of these arise due to the status-conscious society of the day, Hidaka-sensei spends a lot of time on this aspect of the story, with the result that Blue Morning feels more like a genuine period drama than BL romance with some token period frills. With characters this compelling and storytelling this nuanced and sure, there’s potential for much more riveting story to come, and I couldn’t be happier about that. This one is a keeper, for sure. – Michelle Smith

Off*Beat, Ch. 14 | By Jen Lee Quick | Chromatic Press | Rated YA – Because this series is American, it gets out of having to label itself “BL” (or not), but if there’s ever been a more gorgeously written love story between two teenaged boys, I certainly don’t know what it is. Part of what makes it work so well, of course, is that it reads as both YA and supernatural (or fringe science) mystery more than it reads as genre romance, and somehow that’s the magic formula for actual romance, at least in the hands of Jen Lee Quick. Her ability to capture her teens’ smart dialogue and awkward body language is, frankly, astounding, and volume 14 is absolutely fraught with these things, along with considerable romantic tension. Then she follows it up with a scene between Tory and his mother that had me nearly in tears. If you’re still holding out on this series… well, stop it. Dive in now. Highly recommended. – MJ

Tableau Numéro 20 | By est em | SuBLime Manga | Rated M (Mature) – Let’s be honest, this title pretty much had me at “est em,” but even among her rather generous English-translated catalogue, it ranks among my favorites, and that’s saying quite a bit. Her style here favors short manga, as is generally expected. The book’s title story, a wistful love story between a long-dead painter and his subject, is more fanciful than the author’s norm, but no less moving. Even so, it may not actually be the strongest of the bunch. I was especially fond of “Rasgueado,” a story about a young zapateado dancer who is pulled out of a rut by an older guitarist, but each of the volume’s five short stories is a splendid work of art. Like most of est em’s work, I would consider this book appropriate for any adult manga fan, regardless of his or her preferred genres. Absolutely recommended. – MJ

Other recent BL reviews from MJ & Michelle: Sleeping Moon, Vol. 2 (SuBLime), Off*Beat, Ch. 13 (Chromatic Press)

My Week in Manga: October 28-November 3, 2013

November 4, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I have been so incredibly busy recently (which is why I don’t have any fun online discoveries to share with you all this week) but I was still somehow able to post a few things here at Experiments in Manga. The most recent manga giveaway is underway and there is still time to enter for a chance to win Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 1 by Mitsuru Hattori. For those of you interested in the absurd amount of manga that make its way onto my bookshelves, October’s Bookshelf Overload was also posted. And finally, I reviewed the second edition of Hedi Varian’s The Way of Taiko. I myself am a taiko player, and there are very few books in English devoted to taiko, so I am very happy to see the volume back in print in a new edition.

Quick Takes

His Arrogance by Takashi Kanzaki. Despite being part of Digital Manga’s 801 Media imprint, His Arrogance isn’t exceptionally explicit. It’s also not very interesting and I found myself bored with both the story and the characters. Even the artwork, while fairly solid, wasn’t particularly outstanding or noteworthy. Although, occasionally Kanzaki would capture a look of utter adoration that was delightful to see. Ryou’s father established a modeling agency specifically to aid Ryou’s older brother Tomohito in his career. In addition to helping out with the company, Ryou also lives in the dorms with the models. Kazuto is one of those models, one of Ryou’s classmates, and the self-proclaimed rival of Tomohito. I think I would have enjoyed His Arrogance more if Kanzaki would have kept the manga’s focus on Ryou and Kazuto’s relationship. Instead, Ryou’s rather bizarre and vaguely incestuous bond with his brother severely encroaches upon the story. Perhaps it was supposed to be played as comedy, but it just ends up being kind of weird and awkward.

Real, Volume 12 by Takehiko Inoue. Many people assume that Inoue’s masterpiece Vagabond would be my favorite of his manga, but that honor probably goes to his series Real. I absolutely love Real, and I’m not even a huge fan of basketball. Although the sport is certainly an incredibly important part of the series, to me Real is much more about the characters themselves, their internal and external struggles, and their development as people. While the previous volume had a particular focus on Nomiya and his tryout for the Tokyo Lightnings, the twelfth volume turns its attention to Togawa and his efforts to become a better team player–something that is extremely difficult for him. Despite of or maybe because of his natural skill as an athlete, Togawa has always been very critical, harsh, and demanding of his fellow players. If there is a theme to Real, Volume 12, I would say that it is change, and specifically the need, desire, and willingness for change. Several of the manga’s characters must make important decisions about who they are and who they want to be in this volume.

Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 3 by Mitsuru Hattori. The best thing about the third volume of Sankarea? Rea’s father isn’t in it. (That guy is an utter creep.) Hattori also introduces an important new character–Darin Arciento Kurumiya, who is very interested in zombies and therefore very interested in Rea. She also brings along with her a marvelously ridiculous zombie owl. In addition to Kurumiya’s introduction, this particular volume also focuses on Rea and her attempt to return to school after her zombification. There are some challenges, to say the least. Her body continues to decay and fall apart and since she doesn’t really feel pain anymore she has a tendency to overtax herself physically. I was a little surprised to see how toned-down the extraneous fanservice was in this volume. It’s still there, but it’s not nearly as prominent or distracting as it once was. I am honestly enjoying Sankarea much more than I ever expected that I would. It’s a very odd series with very odd characters and I can appreciate its quirkiness. Rea and Chihiro are both weirdos, but they make a cute not-quite-couple.

KajiUltimateSurvivor Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor directed by Yūzō Satō. After watching and enjoying Akagi, watching Kaji seemed to be a natural choice. It’s another anime series based on a manga Nobuyuki Fukumoto featuring some exceptionally intense and legitimately life-threatening gambles. But whereas Akagi is calm, cool, and collected, Kaiji is hot-blooded and frenetic. (The actor who voiced Akagi also voiced Kaiji; I was quite impressed by his range and how differently he was able to play the two characters.) Kaiji also has extremely bad luck. His troubles really begin when a friend defaults on a loan that Kaiji agreed to co-sign. A man comes to collect but Kaiji, himself in debt, has no way to repay the loan. But he is given an extraordinary opportunity to clear the debt by participating in a series of absurd and increasingly dangerous gambles. Kaiji is incredibly intense and occasionally disturbing with a huge focus on the psychological aspects of the story and the mental torment and despair of its characters. Even a seemingly simple game of rock-paper-scissors can be a traumatic experience.

Manga the Week of 11/6

October 31, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and MJ 4 Comments

SEAN: Let’s just roll out, far too much to deal with this first week of November.

801 Media’s dates change on Amazon so often that I’m never quite sure whether I’ll say something is due out and then it’s changed again. But they do list Vol. 7 of Ze for this week. For those who like a bit of epic with your smut.

MICHELLE: I didn’t realize Ze was still coming out. Huh.

ASH: It is indeed! Although it has been a long while since we’ve seen a new volume in English.

MJ: I gave up this series a while back, as it had stopped intriguing me and started just making me uncomfortable (and a little bored). Did I give up too soon?

SEAN: In Kodansha land, the 2nd Air Gear omnibus catches you up a little more with this roller skating, fanservice, and gang violence manga.

Seven Seas has been expanding their reach lately, and it shows in the number of titles they’re doing per month now. We start with another Alice in the Country of Etc. spinoff, The Mad Hatter’s Late Night Tea Party. This looks more romance-oriented than mystery-oriented, and should be filled with innuendo give it’s Dupre, but I’ll give it a shot.

ANNA: I need to get caught up on some of these spinoffs. I do still like this franchise.

SEAN: Usually with Seven Seas licenses, particularly in their new fanservice-heavy phase, I tend to bat 1 out of every 3 in terms of “things Sean likes”. I have good hopes for A Centaur’s Life, though, which I hear actually tries to imagine what the world would be like in such a situations (monster high school, basically), and tones down after an ecchi first couple chapters. We’ll see how it compares to Monster Musume.

ASH: I don’t read many manga from Seven Seas outside of its yuri titles, but I’m really looking forward to giving A Centaur’s Life a try.

MJ: I can’t exactly say I’m looking forward to it, but I might give it a try anyway.

SEAN: If you’re still catching up on Seven Seas’ breakout title, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Vol. 4 covers Vols. 10-12 of the original.

There’s also Vol. 4 of Mayo Chiki.

Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows is a manga based on a video game franchise, and apparently is about a Ninja High School, but with no input from Ben Dunn at all. It is apparently littered with fanservice. We shall see.

World War Blue continues to meld generic shonen fantasy with a history of 80s video game wars, which at least is not a commonly used plot device.

I’m not sure who Akiko Shimojima is, but she and Sean Michael Wilson are collaborating on a graphic novel about The 47 Ronin, which Shambhala Press is putting out next week. The cover makes it look like the style is Lone Wolf and Cub-by, which makes sense.

ASH: The Forty-seven Ronin are making quite a showing in the West this year with manga, comics, and film versions of the story all being released.

MJ: I could potentially get interested in this.

SEAN: Another omnibus catchup, Viz gives us the 2nd volume of D.Gray-Man, which collects Vols. 4-6.

Midnight Secretary was the more intriguing of Viz’s two new josei licenses, and I am highly looking forward to Vol. 2.

ANNA: Second volume was as good as the first, I am really enjoying this series.

MJ: What she said!

SEAN: I am about 58 volumes behind on Naruto, and given it’s at Vol. 63, unlikely to catch up anytime soon.

Speaking of catching up, if for some reason you haven’t read One Piece and want to buy 23 volumes at once, this box set takes you through to the end of the Alabasta arc.

Oresama Teacher 15 will make me very, very happy and I will laugh a whole lot. As should you all.

ANNA: Oresama Teacher is a hilarious gem of hilarity.

SEAN: Psyren 13. We should be getting near the endgame soon.

Skip Beat!’s 6th 3-in-1 is a great buy for this who missed this top-notch shoujo comedy first time.

MICHELLE: Buy eet!

ASH: Yes, do!

ANNA: Can’t go wrong with Skip Beat!

SEAN: Strobe Edge 7. Angst! Angst! We just can’t get enough! Get more here.

MICHELLE: I’ve fallen a couple of volumes behind with Strobe Edge and am really looking forward to getting caught up.

ANNA: This is one of those series that took a couple volumes to get solid, but is now consistently great.

MJ: Yeah, I’m wholeheartedly on board with this title. Bring it on!

I need some cute manga about reindeer. Sweet Rein seems like the perfect solution. Plus it’s from the author of Penguin Revolution and Land of the Blindfolded, the classic CMX titles (which need license rescuing digitally *cough*).

MICHELLE: It really is quite cute. And a good length (3 volumes) for its premise.

ANNA: It is mega adorable. Great manga for a feel-good pick me up.

MJ: Okay, I read an advance copy, like the rest of you, and I admit it lost me at “the power of Santa cures cancer” (roughly speaking). But maybe it’ll win me back over at some point?

SEAN: Tegami Bachi has reached Vol. 15, and is ‘Ant And Bee Deliver Letters’ gone horribly wrong. Or something.

Ultimo has hit Vol. 9, speaking of Jump Square titles. It’s by the creator of Shaman King, in case you’d forgotten. Oh, and Stan Lee.

Vampire Knight has now ended in Japan, so we’re ready for a big climax in the next couple of volumes. Here’s 17.

Lastly, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s 3. R U 3C 4 2 UGZ?

Are you going to buy any of this, or just stack it in a pile and die when it falls on you?

MICHELLE: I literally lol’d.

MJ: Same.

Manga Giveaway: Sankarea Giveaway

October 30, 2013 by Ash Brown

The end of October approaches as does Hallowe’en, so I thought it would be appropriate to feature a horror manga for this month’s giveaway. As such, this month you all will have a chance to win a copy of the first volume of Mitsuru Hattori’s Sankarea: Undying Love as published by Kodansha Comics in English, the third volume of which was just released this week. Granted, Sankarea is really more of a strange romantic comedy than straight up horror…but it has zombies, so I’m going to count it! As always, the giveaway is open worldwide.

Over the last few years, zombies have become incredibly popular in the United States. They’ve become so popular in fact, that I’ve actually become rather bored with them. (Planning for the zombie apocalypse with family and friends can still be an entertaining thought experiment, though.) With more and more zombie stories out there, it becomes more and more important that creators find a way to distinguish their work in some way. In the case of Sankarea, Hattori has not only created a rather odd sort of hydrangea zombie, but he has also made her the primary romantic interest of the series, too. It’s an unusual take on the zombie genre, and I can certainly appreciate him trying to doing something a little offbeat and different.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me about any run-ins you’ve had with zombies in manga. (Never encountered a manga zombie? Just mention that.)
2) For a second entry, answer the following question: Do you prefer slow-moving zombies or fast-moving zombies in your fiction?
3) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

That’s all there is to it! Each person can earn up to three entries for this giveaway and has one week to submit comments. Entries may also be sent via e-mail to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I will post them in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on November 6, 2013. Good luck to you all!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Sankarea Giveaway Winner

My Week in Manga: October 21-October 27, 2013

October 28, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week I reviewed Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son, Volume 5. The series is personally very important to me, so I’m always happy when a new volume is released. Sadly, we probably won’t see the next volume until next year. Last week I also posted Discovering Manga: Podcasts Redux. It’s a quick update on some of the podcasts that I’ve listened to and written about in the past. It also outlines my plan to write more podcast posts since my previous ones seem to have been fairly popular. If you have a manga podcast that you think I should check out, do let me know!

On to good stuff found online! A commenter on my recent post Random Musings: Queer Theory, Japanese Literature, and Translation linked to a fascinating article from earlier this year: Talking about (a)sexuality in Japanese. Over at Publishers Weekly, Deb Aoki has a great recap of Manga at New York Comic Con. Misaki C. Kido gives seven reasons Why Felipe Smith Is the Only Mangaka from America (So Far). And some of the most interesting news from last week: Crunchyroll will begin to digitally distribute Kodansha manga, providing access to new chapters the same day they are released in Japan. (Including some titles not previously available in English!) It should be interesting to see how this venture develops.

Quick Takes

Attack on Titan, Volume 8 by Hajime Isayama. The mystery of the Female Titan has been solved! Or, at least one of the mysteries–the identity of the person is who is controlling it. The reasons behind why and for what purpose are still unknown. For every question that is answered in Attack on Titan it seems as though there are even more to be asked. This particular volume includes a huge (dare I say titanic?) plot reveal which ends with a fantastic confrontation between Hanji and Minister Nick. (As an aside, I love that Hanji is a canonically gender ambiguous character.) One of the major secrets dealing with the walls is literally uncovered, but has yet to be fully explained. Attack on Titan continues to get stranger and stranger. For those who have been watching the Attack on Titan anime but who have thus far been avoiding the manga for one reason or another (I know plenty of people who can’t get past the terribly inconsistent artwork), the eighth volume is where you’ll want to pick the series up if you want to see any more of the story any time soon.

Knights of Sidonia, Volumes 4-5 by Tsutomu Nihei. I am still enjoying Knights of Sidonia, but it frequently strikes me as a peculiar mix of science fiction horror and romantic comedy. But whatever genre it falls into at any given time, I do think the manga is Nihei’s most accessible work to date. Occasionally I still miss his grittier style of illustration, but the cleaner and somewhat simpler artwork in Knights of Sidonia has really grown on me. One of the things that amuses me tremendously is that Nagate is frequently seen stuffing food into his face. This emphasizes how much of an oddity he is compared to the rest of society on the Sidonia. And he is rather odd. His social interactions can be very awkward and often he is completely oblivious to his faux pas until it’s too late. (Let’s just say that it’s fortunate that he heals quickly.) The Gauna continue to be daunting adversaries. While at first they were terrifying enigmas, over the course of the series they have adapted and evolved and have even adopted (or at least mimicked) human technology and tactics, making them even more frightening.

Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls, Volume 1 by Okayado. Monster Musume is a harem series that attempts to distinguish itself by featuring monster girls. There is absolutely no question that Monster Musume is an ecchi manga, so unsurprisingly there are a lot of boobs and other bits. (I’m still trying to figure out how a snake can have a camel toe.) Kurusu Kimihito is an average guy who was “volunteered” for an exchange program between human and part-human species. He has become the host family for Miia, a lamia who is overly fond of him (inter-species canoodling is forbidden). Overwhelmed, he is constantly in a state of near-panic. As the first volume of Monster Musume progresses, bad puns and groan-inducing wordplay become increasingly prominent. (I’m one of those odd people who actually appreciates this sort of intentionally and ridiculously terrible dialogue, though.) It’s not at all a deep story–and I do wonder where all the monster boys are–but Monster Musume can actually be rather entertaining on occasion.

Manga the Week of 10/30

October 24, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, MJ and Michelle Smith 3 Comments

SEAN: Oh. My. God. Sooooooooo much stuff. Let’s break it down.

Because the Manga Bookshelf Team demanded it, Dark Horse is bringing you Vol. 14 of Bride of the Water God. I should probably read it at some point – I wonder if there are digital plans.

ASH: I have yet to actually read this, but the artwork is lovely.

MJ: The artwork is certainly the highlight of this series, which can be a bit of a mess at times, otherwise, but I’m very happy to see that Dark Horse continues to put it out. It would, indeed, be a great candidate for digital release, especially as it’s gotten so long! I’ll be picking this up for sure.

SEAN: Also from Dark Horse is Vol. 29 of Gantz, which I’ve run out of things to say about, but apparently it sells really well to the direct market. (stares at cast in latex rubber-style combat suits) For some reason.

Speaking of things I’ve run out of words for – and indeed speaking of Volume 29s – we have Air Gear from Kodansha.

Attack on Titan 8 is where those who have only seen the anime should start off, as towards the end of the volume we start treading into unanimated waters. Also, the first spoiler that everyone knows gets revealed here. I’ve discussed it here.

ASH: I’m glad that Kodansha was able to speed up the release for this series.

MJ: After NYCC, I’m even more torn over having left this series behind after the first volume. I feel like I’ve missed hopping on the greatest bandwagon of all time.

SEAN: Fairy Tail 31 shows how much of a pain in the ass a time skip can be, and starts a tournament arc.

MICHELLE: All this stuff, and so far there’s a bunch of series I haven’t read and one that I am terribly, terribly far behind on.

SEAN: In case, for some bizarre reason, you did not buy Sailor Moon Vol. 7-12 the moment it hit bookstores and devoured every single page with your eyes, there is now a box set for you to crack open and engulf.

ASH: It also comes with stickers!

MJ: Ooooo… stickers…

SEAN: Sankarea Vol. 3 continues to walk a fine line between servicey romantic comedy and disturbing zombie manga, and to my surprise doesn’t do that bad a balancing job.

ASH: I’ve actually been pretty surprised by Sankarea as well.

I may not have really been tempted to get Wolfsmund from Vertical, but buzz from the not-mes has been excellent. They’ll appreciate that Vol. 2 is due out this week.

MICHELLE: I have volume one; I just need to find the time to actually read it.

ASH: I really enjoyed the first volume. I think it’s definitely worth checking out for people who enjoy historically inspired manga like Vinland Saga.

MJ: I never picked up the first volume, but I guess I should!

SEAN: Another of those giant done-in-one omnibuses that Yen has favored lately, here’s the complete Another manga, based on the light novels that Yen released digitally this summer. Creepy high school horror catch your eye? This is for you. Also, as a bonus, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have any survival games.

MJ: Heh. I suppose I’ll read it, then.

SEAN: Yen has licensed some interesting stuff lately, probably thanks to the success of Black Butler, which has Vol. 15 drop this week. Is the entire cast damned yet?

Higurashi is in its final arc, but it’s the longest one yet. Vol. 2 of Festival Accompanying Arc contains Vols. 3 and 4 of the Japanese release, and also has my vote for the most horrifying scene in the entire series (it involves Rika’s mother).

Inu x Boku SS is the first of two Yen debuts this week, and has yokai demons and bodyguards, thus allowing me to add another series to my ‘look how popular yokai are in North America now’ list.

ASH: Yokai are the best!

SEAN: Is This A Zombie? 6 is coming out. So there’s that.

K-On! finally wraps up with its High School manga, hoping that fans are as interested in Azusa trying to keep the light music club alive as they were in the original cast’s college adventures.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’s manga adaptation finally gets to one of the most interesting novels, as Sasaki and company debut here.

MICHELLE: Another whole mess of stuff I have nothing to say about. Bad manga reviewer! Bad!

MJ: Hmmm… perhaps this is the time for me to pick this adaptation back up again.

SEAN: Oh god, don’t read the mediocre adaptation, read the original novels! Books 9-11 are this arc. 10 and 11 come out here next month.

As featured on a giant banner at New York Comic Con, Yen’s other big release this week is No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Vol. 1. Just call it WataMote like everyone else. I discussed Vol. 1 here.

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving this series a try, even though I can never seem to remember the title.

SEAN: Pandora Hearts 18. MJ?

MICHELLE: Finally, something to go “woo” over!

MJ: Oh, Pandora Hearts, dear, heart-stomping Pandora Hearts. It just won’t be satisfied until I’ve been utterly destroyed. This, of course, is awesome.

SEAN: Puella Magi Oriko Magica wraps up, I believe, with this second volume. But don’t fear, I’m sure there are other Madoka Magica spinoffs out there to have cute girls suffering for your enjoyment.

Lastly, there is Vol. 4 of Triage X. I used up my lack of enthusiasm with Is This A Zombie?, so this can’t even get that much.

Surely with all this, there must be something you want. What is it? (And be warned, it gets no better the week after.)

My Week in Manga: October 14-October 20, 2013

October 21, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

It was another two-review week last week. My Blade of the Immortal review project continues with Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal, Volume 26: Blizzard. The volume includes the conclusion to the battle between Manji and Shira and it does not disappoint. The second review posted last week was for Tomoyuki Hoshino’s novel Lonely Hearts Killer. It’s not easy reading, and I didn’t like it quite as well as Hoshino’s collection of short fiction We, the Children of Cats, but I found it to be an intriguing work.

Last week I also had the opportunity to attend a fascinating lecture on queer theory, Japanese literature, and translation. I decided to share some of my random musings on the topics. So far the post seems to have been well received, which makes me pretty happy.

There were a couple of particularly interesting posts by Erica Friedman over at Yuricon last week. Her New York Comic Con report includes more information about One Peace Books’ licensing of Takashi Ikeda’s yuri manga Whispered Words. (I’m looking forward to the release of Whispered Words a great deal.) Also interesting was her post A Very Important Thing About Licensing Manga Fans Don’t Really Understand which explains a few of the complexities involved in licensing manga for English-reading audiences.

Quick Takes

Children of the Sea, Volume 5 by Daisuke Igarashi. In Japan, the fifth and final volume of Children of the Sea was released three years after the fourth volume was published. The English-language edition of the series likewise followed suit. But the end is finally here! I was actually surprised that the fifth volume was the conclusion of the series. To me it felt as though Igarashi had much more in store for Children of the Sea. I don’t know the circumstances surrounding the series’ end, but I am a little sad that he wasn’t able to develop it further. However, almost everything is tied up satisfactorily plot-wise and the series’ sense of mystery and awe remains intact. Children of the Sea is like modern myth. There is relatively little dialogue and narration in the fifth volume; Igarashi’s artwork really carries the manga at this point. And that artwork is absolutely beautiful. The attention given to the realistic details of the water and sea-life is stunning.

Devil’s Infirmary by Aco Oumi. Asakura is a physician at an all boys’ school who is not above accepting sexual advances from the students. Things get a little more complicated when Higurashi walks in on Asakura getting a blow job, but Asakura has a few compromising photographs with which to blackmail Higurashi into keeping quiet about it. Supposedly Asakura is in love with Higurashi, but I’m really not convinced. Their relationship is a very inappropriate one and Asakura, though he has a few redeeming qualities, is actually kind of creepy. (But Higurashi’s pretty cute.) At the same time, there are some legitimately funny and occasionally even hilarious moments in Devil’s Infirmary, too. One of Higurashi’s closest friends has a “sparkle problem” that unfortunately brings him unwanted attention from a few of the other students. It’s rather entertaining to see Higurashi try to pose as his boyfriend to deflect some of that interest. And then there’s Asakura’s mother who bribes her gay son into buying her yaoi manga.

Eyeshield 21, Volumes 24-27 written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. By this point I am no longer surprised that I enjoy Eyeshield 21. I still don’t have a particular interest in American football (and I doubt I ever will even considering the number of years I spent in marching band), but the characters, comedy, and art in the series are great. These four volumes are devoted to the Kanto Tournament game between the Deimon Devil Bats and the Ojo White Knights, both teams fighting to advance one step closer to the Christmas Bowl. The Devil Bats are considered to have one of the best offenses in the tournament but the White Knights are considered to have the best defense. The White Knights also have Seijuro Shin–as perfect a player as there can be. The game ends up being very close, and therefore very exciting; Inagaki keeps the readers guessing right up to the very last second. Murata’s dynamic artwork continues to be one of the highlights of the series. His creative imagery is a little more restrained in these volumes, focusing more on the action of the game and slightly less on its psychological impact, but it’s definitely still there.

Fairy Tail, Volume 30 by Hiro Mashima. With these volumes, Fairy Tail launches into a new story arc. The technique that Mashima uses–a time skip–isn’t all that unusual for a lengthy shounen manga series. What makes it different, and something that I personally haven’t encountered before, is that only part of the cast jumps ahead while most of the main characters are stuck in time. It makes it a little more interesting when returning after seven years that they have to come to terms with the fact that so many of their friends (and enemies) have changed and grown more powerful. The time skip also serves the purpose of “resetting” the story–Fairy Tail is once again one of the weakest guilds and has to fight its way back to the top. But instead of facing off with evil wizards and guilds, this time they’ll be competing in the Grand Magic Games. Honestly, I’m not quite as interested in this particular turn of events, but at least there should be some entertaining trials and competitions as a result.

The Spectral Engine by Ray Fawkes. I am not especially familiar with Ray Fawkes–an award-winning and frequently award-nominated Canadian creator–and so I was unaware of the upcoming release of The Spectral Engine. Happily, a review copy unexpectedly showed up in the mail. Otherwise, I would probably have completely missed it and that would have been a shame. The Spectral Engine is a great graphic novel and I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it. The artwork in particular is excellent, using dark, dripping lines and ink spatter reminiscent of the smoke and grime of the titular engine to effectively create an unnerving atmosphere appropriate for the ghost stories being told. The Spectral Engine weaves together thirteen tragic historic events from many different time periods and locations across Canada. These retellings are paired with their related modern-day hauntings and reports of unexplained phenomena. In many cases the names and lives of the dead have been forgotten, but their stories and legends live on.

Akagi Akagi, Episodes 14-26 directed by Yuzo Sato. While the first half of Akagi had several different mahjong matches, the second half focuses on one: Akagi Shigeru versus Washizu Iwao. It also features a very special and slightly terrifying version of mahjong in which three-quarters of the tiles are transparent (which are beautifully animated). This reveals more of the players’ hands and greatly changing the dynamics of the game. (Though initially a fictional game, Washizu Mahjong sets now really do exist.) The game with Washizu also provides Akagi with something that he’s been looking for–a literal death match. Instead of money, he’s gambling with his blood and therefore his life. Akagi is a fearless and fearsome player and the game is ridiculously intense as a result. There’s skill, and there’s luck, but even more important are the psychological attacks used to provoke and manipulate the other players. Even when most of the tiles can been seen there’s still plenty of room for bluffing . I love mahjong and unsurprisingly I loved Akagi, too.

Manga the Week of 10/23

October 17, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, MJ and Ash Brown 2 Comments

SEAN: Be thankful for the small amount of manga coming out this week. The three weeks after this are absolutely brutal, with over 15-20 titles each week from various companies. But this week — lull!

We welcome back Digital Manga Publishing with some new BL fare. Unfortunately, Juicy Cider’s synopsis sounds so mind-numbingly generic that I can barely stay away to get through its four lines. There’s childhood friends, unrequited crushes, and from the looks of the cover one quiet and serious boy in glasses and one happy go lucky boy. Which sounds nothing like any other BL title ever.

Priceless Honey is the other DMP offering, being a collection of short stories that are “steamy”, and where the happy go lucky boy has been replaced by a smirking, slightly older guy.

MICHELLE: I wish I had something to say about either of these two, but alas, I do not.

MJ: I admit they don’t look promising to me. Not promising at all.

ASH: Like Juicy Cider, it would appear that Priceless Honey has a megane danshi as well. Shiuko Kano has had a lot of her manga released in English by multiple publishers, so I assume that she has at least a small following.

SEAN: I probably should not mock DMP’s yaoi given that I’m still enjoying Kodansha’s Missions of Love. It’s such a guilty pleasure – Volume 5’s cover looks more like softcore porn than any of the previous ones, making me continue to boggle that this runs in Nakayoshi. But as long as the cast continues to be unlikeable, I’ll continue to be fascinated. It’s like the opposite of everything else I enjoy.

No. 6, Vol.3 continues to confuse numerologists and bookstore shelvers everywhere. It’s also Kodansha. Between this title and Disgaea 3, my ability to make World Cup jokes will live on forever.

MICHELLE: I didn’t hate the first volume, but I somehow never managed to buy/read volume two.

ASH: I’m actually rather fond of No. 6 and its leads. I found the second volume to be better than the first, so I hope the trend continues with the third!

SEAN: Lastly, Vertical debuts another manga based on a movie, with the first volume of Summer Wars, from the creators of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Vertical had a lot of success with 5 Centimeters Per Second, so it’s no surprise they’d get this. I personally hope it’s less melancholy.

MJ: I’m looking forward to this for sure. I loved The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and though I wasn’t necessarily crazy about the manga adaptations of the same story, the fact that I haven’t actually seen this movie may help me on that front. And y’know, I trust Vertical. I really enjoyed the manga adaptation of 5 Centimeters Per Second, so I’m counting on their good taste to bring us a winner.

SEAN: Taking a week off before the deluge? Or trying out something new?

My Week in Manga: October 7-October 13, 2013

October 14, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

I posted two in-depth reviews last week, one manga and one not. The first review was for Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga, Omnibus 1. I was trying coordinate my review with the manga’s release, but unfortunately there was a delay through some distributors so not all of the books have yet arrived where they should. I’ve been hoping that Vinland Saga would be licensed in English for years. I wasn’t disappointed by the first omnibus and am looking forward the next one a great deal. The second review posted last week was for Laura Joh Rowland’s The Shogun’s Daughter. The novel is the seventeenth volume in her series of Tokugawa-era mystery and crime novels but the first one that I’ve actually read. I was annoyed by parts of the novel but the use of actual Japanese history is quite clever in The Shogun’s Daughter.

As for fun things found online, the most recent column of The Mike Toole Show, “Tiles Against Humanity,” focuses on mahjong anime and manga, particularly Akagi and Kaiji. I’ve professed my love of mahjong here at Experiments in Manga, so I’m always happy to come across others writing about the subject. This past weekend was the New York Comic Con and there were quite a few announcements to come out of it. My Manga Bookshelf cohorts have write-ups of the panels they attended: MJ’s can be found under the NYCC tag and Sean’s are listed in the NYCC/NYAF category.

Some of the licenses at NYCC that particularly caught my attention include (but are certainly not limited to) Black Rose Alice by Setona Mizushiro, Terra Formars, and the Battle Royale side story Angels’ Border from Viz (which should go nicely with Haikasoru’s recently announced Battle Royale materials); Kodansha picked up two Attack on Titan spin-offs, Before the Fall and No Regrets (yup, the shoujo one) in addition to the Attack on Titan Junior High gag manga and the guidebooks; Vertical is also getting in on the Attack on Titan action, picking up the Before the Fall light novel series, and has also licensed Moyoco Anno’s manga In the Clothes Named Fat.

Quick Takes

Nana, Volumes 19-21 by Ai Yazawa. Wow, this is one heck of a place for Nana to leave off–the tragedy that has been alluded to for so long has finally occurred and it is absolutely devastating. More and more of the series has actually been devoted to the incident’s aftermath and how it continues to affect the characters even years later, but the twenty-first volume is all about its immediate consequences. Heartbreaking only begins to describe it. Nana is a phenomenal series with fantastic characterizations. After Shin’s arrest, both the Black Stones and Trapnest begin to fall apart and the band members’ individual problems start to spin out of control. It’s very dramatic but the progression of the story feels natural and the characters’ development, reactions, and behaviour are all believable. Even if the series is never finished, Nana is well worth reading. I continue to be extremely impressed by Yazawa’s work. I wish her all the best as she continues to recover her health.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Short Stories, Volume 1 by Naoko Takeuchi. Though it is not my favorite series, I enjoy Sailor Moon and am happy to see it doing so well. Kodansha released the main series in twelve volumes and is collecting the related short stories and bonus manga into two additional volumes. That being said, the short stories don’t really stand on their own very well. Fans of Sailor Moon will definitely be interested in them, but their appeal probably won’t extend very far beyond that. The stories in the first volume all tend towards the sillier, more lighthearted side of the series, focusing more on the characters’ everyday lives and less on their monumental confrontations with those who would destroy humanity. Although, there is a some of that, too. And the Sailor Guardian’s daily lives can be pretty hectic. I found the first volume of short stories to be mostly entertaining, but I would sigh a little bit to myself every time there was a dig at someone becoming “chunky.”

Sengoku Basara: Samurai Legends, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-2) by Yak Haibara. I tend to be fairly wary of video game manga and so I ended up enjoying the first omnibus of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Legends far more than I ever expected. Samurai Legends is based on Sengoku Basara 2, the second game in the Sengoku Basara series, but no prior knowledge of the franchise is needed to enjoy the manga. Inspired by prominent historical events and figures of the Warring States Period, the story begins with the death of Oda Nobunaga at the burning of Honnou Temple and then follows the resulting power struggle. With marvelously over-the-top and dynamic battles and duels, humorous anachronisms, larger-than-life characters, and attractive artwork and designs, Samurai Legends is a tremendous amount of fun. There’s even a tiny bit of legitimate history, too. Samurai Legends is pretty great; I’ll definitely be picking up the second and final omnibus.

Yuri Monogatari, Volumes 3-4 by Various. Although it was the third Yuri Monogatari collection that was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, out of these two volumes I actually much prefer the fourth. Yuri Monogatari is an anthology that collects short, lesbian-themed comics from Japan, America, and Europe. I am glad to have discovered Yuri Monogatari for no other reason than the series has introduced me to the work of Althea Keaton–whose contributions continue to be some of my favorites–but I enjoy the other comics included as well. I was particularly fond of Tomomi Nakasora’s “Kissing the Petal” which not only features an endearing lesbian couple but also their close friend Chii, a transman who’s looking for a girlfriend. Yuri Monogatari has a nice mix of speculative fiction as well as pieces that are based in reality. The artwork isn’t always the strongest, but the stories are consistently engaging. Some are sweet while others are more sorrowful, but they’re all generally positive in tone.

Attack on Titan directed by Tetsurō Araki. I’m not at all surprised that Hajime Isayama’s manga Attack on Titan was selected for an anime adaptation–it almost seems to be begging for it. For people who can’t get past the varying quality of Isayama’s artwork but who are still interested in the series’ story, the anime makes a good alternative and the animation is much more consistent. Some of the events are revealed in a slightly different order–the anime tends to be more chronological and employs fewer extended flashbacks than the manga–but otherwise the anime series is a very faithful adaptation of the original. Established fans of the manga will find things to like, too. It’s very cool to see the three-dimensional maneuvering gear in action, which something that the manga can’t convey to the same extent. The music in the Attack on Titan anime is also suitably epic with sweeping orchestral and choral pieces effectively increasing the drama of the humans’ confrontations with the titans.

Manga the Week of 10/16

October 10, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N 3 Comments

SEAN: Things are getting busy here with NYCC happening this week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t tell you about all the manga coming in once it’s over.

Kodansha has the 8th volume of Animal Land. I dropped this quickly due to its somewhat juvenile mood, but I’ve heard tell that I was wrong to do so as it matures later on. I should try to catch up.

ASH: Animal Land is such a quirky series. It took a volume or two for it to really grow on me, but I ended up quite liking it. Animal Land is cute, but it can also be very, very dark.

MJ: I tried getting into this and initially failed. Given Ash’s reaction, I wonder if I should give it another shot?

SEAN: By now Negima’s omnibuses have caught up with the translator changes, so the best reason to get this 8th volume is if you missed the series the first time around.

Seven Seas has its October titles coming out this week. First off, Alice in the Country of Joker has the 3rd volume of Circus and Liar’s Game, one of the more interesting spinoffs it puts out.

MICHELLE: I’ve reached my Alice saturation point, methinks.

ANNA: I still mean to get caught up on a couple of these series.

SEAN: Speaking of franchises, we have Dive in the Vampire Bund, a side story to Dance. Both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are out this week.

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends is the title I’ve called the best by default of last fall’s otaku-oriented licenses, and I still enjoy it despite it still pandering much of the time. The 4th volume is already out digitally, but print waits a week.

Speaking of which, it’s fall again, so it’s time for a new series of Seven Seas licenses that make me raise an eyebrow. First of all, gotta love that cover for Love In Hell, with a demon in scanty leathers looking like she’d rather be anywhere but on the cover of this book. The synopsis notes it stars a regular guy who meets a whole bunch of crazy girls. What can I possibly say to top such originality?

And there’s also the first volume of Monster Musume, which is about a hapless regular guy and all the crazy sexy supernatural women who make his life… wait, did I get this mixed up with Love in Hell? No? Right, moving on…

MICHELLE: *snerk*

ASH: With Love in Hell, Monster Musume, and A Centaur’s Life I think Seven Seas has a corner on cute monster girl manga.

SEAN: I have occasionally been taken to task for forgetting that manwha exists, so best to note that there’s a new Jack The Ripper: Hell Blade (Vol. 5) from Seven Seas, as well as a new Omnibus of the Witch Buster, containing Books 5 and 6.

MJ: I only wish we were seeing more manhwa releases! (Or perhaps I should say, more manhwa releases I like.)

SEAN: Flowers of Evil has reached Volume 7, which means the cover design is all new. Not so sure if the content is less dark and seedy. I doubt it.

ASH: I think we get a time skip to go along with the new covers this time, too!

MJ: I’m looking forward to it!

SEAN: Knights of Sidonia 5 is out as well. I keep waiting for this to be the volume where I drop it for being too depressing, but it’s keeping me hooked.

MICHELLE: Yay for Sidonia!

ASH: I’m hooked on Sidonia, too.

MJ: What they said!

ANNA: Indeed!

SEAN: I’ve long since lost track of Afterschool Charisma, but it’s quietly reached Vol. 8, and is an Ikki title, so I automatically respect it. Has it run out of celebrity clones yet?

MICHELLE: I sincerely mean to catch up on this, but haven’t done so yet.

ANNA: Me too. I enjoyed the first few volumes.

SEAN: It’s also time for Vol. 12 of Real, the basketball title for those who think Slam Dunk is too cute and girly.

MICHELLE: Super yay!

ASH: Real! One of my favorite series and I’m not even all that into basketball.

MJ: Mine, too! I’m so happy that it’s time for a new volume!

ANNA: You can never go wrong with Inoue.

SEAN: Lastly, the big re-release this week is an omnibus containing all three volumes of Uzumaki, by horror manga author Junji Ito. You’ll read it, you’ll love it, and the spiraling shape will make you go insane.

MICHELLE: Go on, give it a whirl!

ASH: Yes, do!

MJ: Indeed!

SEAN: That’s a lot of manga! Getting any of it?

My Week in Manga: September 30-October 6, 2013

October 7, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

It’s the beginning of one month and the end of another, which means it’s one of the slower weeks here at Experiments in Manga. I announced the winner of the Arisa manga giveaway. The post also includes a list of some of the manga available in English that feature twins. For those of you who are interested in the absurd amount of manga and other related materials that make their way into my home, September’s Bookshelf Overload was also posted. Finally, the honor of the first in-depth manga review for October goes to Satoshi Kon’s Tropic of the Sea. I thought it was fantastic. Hopefully it does well and more of Kon’s manga will be able to be released in English.

For anyone looking for more anime and manga blogs to follow, CryMore.Net (formerly known as Whiners.Pro) has put together the most comprehensive list of active sites that I’ve seen. (And yes, Experiments in Manga is included.) If you’re interested in yokai, Matthew Meyer recently launched a Kickstarter project for his most recent artbook/guide The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits. It’s already met its goal (and I was one of the people to support it), but it’s still worth checking out if you like yokai. I reviewed Meyer’s previous book (also funded through Kickstarter) The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to seeing more of his work in print.

Quick Takes

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Volume 18 by Yukito Kishiro. I could be wrong since I haven’t read the entire series, but I believe that the eighteenth volume of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order is the first volume to prominently feature Figure Four (the burly dude on the cover). A love interest in the original Battle Angel Alita manga, up until this point in Last Order he’s been mostly relegated brief references. The eighteenth volume concludes the fallout from the ZOTT combat tournament with the series’ titular chapter “Last Order” before jumping nearly a year back in time to follow Figure for the rest of the volume. He’s hard at work training in anti-cyber martial arts when he learns that Alita may be dead and so goes searching for both her and the truth. Sechs makes a brief, but important appearance in the volume, which made me happy since Sechs is one of my favorite characters in the series. And as a side note, Kishiro designs some really creepy cyborgs.

Dengeki Daisy, Volumes 9-12 by Kyousuke Motomi. It’s been a while since I’ve read any of Dengeki Daisy. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the series. Dengeki Daisy is kind of a strange manga, mixing rather mundane school life with hackers and cyber espionage, but I am consistently and highly entertained by it. I really like the quirkiness of characters in Dengeki Daisy. Motomi calls Dengeki Daisy a love comedy, which I suppose in the end it is, but in addition to being funny and occasionally romantic, the series also has a lot of action and drama. Kurosaki’s past and his guilt over it continues to be a major driving force behind the story. His disappearance is resolved fairly quickly, which surprised me, but that fact emphasizes how much he cares for Teru and how much Teru and the others care about him. Motomi has a tendency to use stereotypical shoujo plot devices but then completely turns them on their head. The fake-outs are both effective and refreshing.

Incubus, Volumes 1-3 by Yayoi Neko. The mythology in Incubus is fairly complex and the comic’s exposition can be somewhat long-winded, but I overall I’m liking this yaoi series. It has humor and drama, and I’m rather fond of the two leads–a college student named Judas and the surprisingly endearing half-demon Lennial. Judas’ dream sequences are great. In them, the different sides of his psyche try to make sense of what is going on around him as he is repeatedly confronted by demonic powers. The results are often amusing, but his emotional struggles can be heartbreaking. Judas has a very troubled past and what little good there was in it has been torn from him. Not everything has been revealed about his and Lenniel’s history together, but Neko seems to have a firm grasp on the series’ direction. Incubus is currently on hiatus due to the creator’s health–the first three volumes only cover the first half or so of the story–but I look forward to reading more of it if she is ever able to continue the series.

Sickness Unto Death, Volume 1 written by Hikari Asada and illustrated by Takahiro Seguchi. I didn’t know much about Sickness Unto Death before picking it up, but I’m willing to give anything released by Vertical a try. Emiru is a frail young woman suffering from despair–a sickness of the spirit that is causing her body to fail. Kazuma has recently enrolled in college to pursue a career in clinical psychology. When he meets Emiru he not only wants to do all that he can to help her, but he falls in love with her as well. I found the manga’s basic premise intriguing, but in the end I was largely disappointed with the first volume of Sickness Unto Death, though I can’t seem to quite pinpoint why. However, I am still interested in reading the second half. The big reveal as to the cause of Emiru’s despair has been set up and I am very curious about it. I’ll admit that don’t have a lot of confidence, but I am hoping that it will be worth it and that it won’t be something too absurd or overblown.

Free!: Iwatobi Swim Club directed by Hiroko Utsumi. I really enjoyed Free!, finding it to be both a fun and funny series. At times it even manages to be rather touching. The anime has a lot of self-aware goofiness in addition to a decent story and great animation. The swimming in particular is beautifully animated and, for the most part, realistically portrayed. (This also means that there are plenty of muscles to appreciate.) Although it is an important part of the series, Free! is actually less about swimming than it is about the relationships between its characters and their personal struggles and doubts. They all have their own reasons for swimming, but ultimately what brings them together is their desire to connect with one another–swimming just happens to be the way they go about doing it. A second season has been hinted at for the series; I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more of Free! I’d also love to see it licensed for a physical release.

Manga the Week of 10/9

October 3, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith, Anna N and MJ 2 Comments

SEAN: The 2nd week of the month still has mostly Viz (and Viz-owned imprints), but other companies get to make an appearance as well!

Dark Horse has the Trigun Omnibus, collecting the start of the series before it shifted from shonen to seinen and the author effectively rebooted it. To be honest, I think I prefer these early stories to the Maximum years.

The big release this week comes from Kodansha, with the long-awaited first omnibus of the epic history Vinland Saga. It’s an omnibus, with 2-in-1 hardcovers, and has some extras as well. People have been clamoring for this to be licensed for years, so they’d better buy it, or I’ll be very mad indeed.

ASH: I am one of those who have been clamoring for years. I’m thrilled that Vinland Saga is finally being released!

MICHELLE: While I haven’t exactly been clamoring, I am nonetheless grateful.

ANNA: Planetes was so wonderful, I am really looking forward to reading this. This is one of those titles that has been on my radar for a long time, and I’m happy Kodansha is bringing it out in English.

MJ: I’m extremely interested in this, and all your excitement here is amplifying that considerably!

SEAN: So much for non-Viz. Meanwhile, back with our manga overlords, there’s Vol. 2 of Sleeping Moon. Supernatural BL with a cover that not only doesn’t look like it was made using Photoshop but I would actually say is quite good? Sign me up! (Well, not me *personally*, but the rest of the MB team…)

ASH: I haven’t read the first volume yet, since I wanted to wait to read both volumes of Sleeping Moon at once, but I’ve enjoyed Miyamoto Kano’s work in the past.

MICHELLE: So have I.

ANNA: I have a feeling that I’d find supernatural BL more enjoyable to read than non-supernatural BL, I’m eager to hear what everybody thinks of this.

MJ: I absolutely loved the first volume of this little series, so this is a major draw for me this week.

SEAN: In addition, we have the 20th volume of Tableau Numero from SubLime… wait, no, scratch that, it’s the only volume of Tableau Numero 20, which is by Est Em, and is about painting and stuff, but admit it, you stopped to preorder it when I said ‘by Est Em’, didn’t you? Also, the cover is very nipple-ey.

ASH: I would totally buy twenty volumes of manga by Est Em! I was very happy when SuBLime picked Tableau numéro 20 up. I’m greedy and want even more of her work to be licensed in print, though.

MICHELLE: I actually had no idea there was more est em in the pipeline! Huzzah!

ANNA: I had NO IDEA this was coming out but I say Huzzah too! I’m assuming that this features deeply psychologically nuanced slice of life stories about bullfighting centaurs who are also fans of soccer and not wearing shirts.

MJ: I was completely surprised by this, too! Where have I been?? Also: YAY.

SEAN: Case Closed has hit Vol. 48. In Japan, it’s up to Vol. 80, and I’ve got a spoiler for you: Conan is still trapped in the body of a kid. (Or Jimmy, whatever, phooey to localized names.) Indeed, this volume came out 8 years ago in Japan. Which, to be fair, means they’re catching up – when it debuted, it was 10 years behind. In any case, expect some cool mysteries.

I hope I didn’t overhype Magi, which starts slow, as all Shonen Sunday series do. But I really love this type of Arabian Nights fantasy to bits, and it has some entertaining young kids as its leads. Vol. 2 is coming out. I hope it takes off here.

MICHELLE: I definitely enjoyed the first volume more than I expected to and am looking forward to seeing if that trend continues with volume two.

SEAN: Lastly, there’s not one, but *three* Tiger & Bunny books coming out. Tiger & Bunny 3 continues the manga adaptation of the hit anime, and Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning seems to be a 2-volume adaptation of the movie… I’m not even sure it’s a manga or some sort of anime screencap thing. I’m just about Tiger & Bunnied out, to be honest. Do they ever fight Panty & Stocking?

MICHELLE: I keep trying to really like the manga, but the most I can achieve so far is not hating it. Maybe the third volume will be the charm?

MJ: Let’s hope?

SEAN: What floats your Knarr this week? (Google it.)

Dropping Our Gaze Before the Glory of Nakayoshi

October 2, 2013 by Erica Friedman Leave a Comment

In a world of stories about and for Princesses, Nakayoshi is Queen.

Nakayoshi Magazine, published by Kodansha Publishing, is the oldest continuously-published manga magazine for girls. Begun in 1954, Nakayoshi sells 170,834 copies a month, according the the Japanese Magazine Publishers’ Association. Nakayoshi has disctictively colorful covers wrapped around 500 pages of stories that range from the most light-hearted magical girl to far more serious travails of love, life and even adventure.

In the 1990s, Nakyoshi branched out into anime. Sailor Moon, a popular series running in Nakayoshi at the time, is widely considered to be the catalyst that broke shoujo out of being a small, self-contained niche, into mainstream anime and manga awareness, both in Japan and the West. Now that Sailor Moon is on the verge of a revival for it’s 20th anniversary, the pages of Nakayoshi are once again filled with teasers, and themed goods for the series.

If you’ve been reading manga for more than a few years, I’d bet dollars to donuts that you’ve heard of, if not read, a Nakayoshi series. Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth and Saint Tail are all “gateway” series for folks who came to anime and manga in the 1990s. Recent popular series are Ghost Hunt by Inada Shiho, Shugo Chara! by Peach Pit and Jigoku Shoujo and Jigoku Shoujo R (Published in English as Hell Girll) illustrated by Etou Miyuki.

Nakayoshi, like its competition in the girls’ manga market, comes packaged with “furoku;” small gifts, jewelry, accessories, stickers, etc., branded with series from the magazine, or with the Nakayoshi brand itself. The current issue, for instance, contains a paper stationary set. Nakayoshi has a website on which each series is given a page with character introductions, links to published volumes, available downloads and other typical website features. Trial chapters of current manga is available on the website as are video trailers and promotions. Nakayoshi also has ongoing recruitment for new artists, a change from even a few years ago.

At 500 pages for 580￥ per volume, ($5.90 at time of writing,) Nakayoshi can surprise you with nearly every page. Following “DokiDoki Precure,” which as an extremely popular anime franchise in Japan, is a pretty straightforward magical girl story. “Watashi ni XXX Shinasai” is a comedy-romance, Andou Narumi returns with “Waltz no Jikan,” a love story built around that favorite of young girls everywhere…ballroom dancing. “Sabagebu~!” follows a transfer student who finds herself embroiled with the heavily armed Survival Game Club at her new school and has just been slated for 2014 anime. And even wildly popular music idols such as Vocaloids and AKB48 have a niche in Nakayoshi, as their manga runs in the pages. You really just never know what you’ll find in the pages of this Grand Old Dame of girls’ manga.

Nakayoshi Magazine from Kodansha Publishing: http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/magazine/index.php/01033