Features

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

My Week in Manga: September 23-September 29, 2013

September 30, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

There were a few different things going on at Experiments in Manga last week. First off is the Arisa manga giveaway. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so you still have a little time to enter for a chance to win the first and eleventh volumes of Natsumi Ando’s Arisa. The most recent Library Love feature was posted last week, too, which is basically a collection of quick takes of manga that I’ve borrowed from my local library. My quest to read all of Edogawa Rampo’s material available in English also continued. This time I took a look at The Edogawa Rampo Reader, which is a nice introduction to his life and work. The volume collects eighteen of his short stories and essays from over a span of thirty years.

A few interesting things found online: Brigid Alverson interviewed Charles Brownstein of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund about its new manga guide which will be released later this year. (I reviewed Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices not too long ago and found it to be a great resource.) And speaking of the CBLDF, Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen was recently highlighted as part of the Using Graphic Novels in Education feature. Finally, Vertical made some licensing announcements at Anime Weekend Atlanta: Tetsuya Tsutui’s manga Prophecy (interestingly enough, Tsutui approached Vertical directly about the license) and Shinobu Hashimoto’s biographical novel Compound Cinematics: Akira Kurosawa and I.

Quick Takes

Arisa, Volumes 8-11 by Natsumi Ando. The true King has been revealed! As has that person’s motivations and back story, which are suitably dark and dramatic. Arisa and its characters are all pretty twisted–the King isn’t the only one with serious issues. The most stable character in Arisa is probably Tsubasa, but sometimes I wonder about her, too. It’s not just anyone who would pretend to be someone else, after all. At times Arisa can be extraordinarily over the top with its action and melodrama, but that’s probably one of the reasons I find the series so absorbing. Some of it comes across as unintentionally ridiculous, though. But for every development that’s laughable, there’s another that is effectively disturbing. Arisa is a series that’s really easy to tear through. Despite all of the twists and turns in its plot (or maybe because of them) the manga reads very quickly. With only one volume left to go in the series, I’m very curious to see how things will play out.

Black Jack, Volumes 7-9 by Osamu Tezuka. Every once in a while I get the urge to read a bunch of Black Jack. Since the series is fairly episodic, it’s easy to pick up even if it’s been a while since I’ve read any of the manga. There were a couple of things that particularly struck me about these volumes. First of all, Black Jack should really stay away from cliffs as he seems to have a habit of falling off of them. Secondly, since Black Jack is an unlicensed doctor, it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that he would have a tendency to become involved with criminals. Often this works out quite well for him–he is able to demand his high prices and the other parties want to keep things quiet, too. However, on occasion Black Jack’s association with organized crime comes back to bite him and he ends up a little worse for wear. As always, I adore Black Jack as a character. I enjoy how much of a bastard he can be while still maintaining a strong sense of integrity.

Cyborg 009 written by F. J. DeSanto and Bradley Cramp and illustrated by Marcus To and Ian Herring. Working closely with Ishimori Productions, Cyborg 009 is a single-volume, hardcover graphic novel adapting Shotaro Ishinomori’s Cyborg 009 manga with a Western audience in mind published by Archaia. The comic is in full-color with updated character designs closer to some of the more recent anime adaptations than the original manga. Actually, the artwork was one of my favorite things about the Cyborg 009 graphic novel. Story-wise it would have benefited from either being a little more focused or a little bit longer. As it is, the graphic novel is very compressed and not all of the plot lines introduced are adequately developed. But it is fun and quickly paced, not to mention beautifully presented; hopefully it will encourage readers to seek out the original material. Also of note: the back cover indicates that Cyborg 009 is “Ishimori Universe Book 1.” I know that I’d be very interested in seeing more collaborations between Archaia and Ishimori.

The Day I Become a Butterfly by Sumomo Yumeka. Although The Day I Become a Butterfly was released under Digital Manga’s Juné imprint, two of the six collected stories aren’t at all boys’ love and a few of the others could be argued not to be as well. Yumeka describes the short manga in The Day I Become a Butterfly as inexplicable (she also admits to not liking them), but I think I would call them poetic. Instead of being straightforward narratives, the stories are quiet and almost impressionistic. They tend to be fairly introspective and melancholy; the desire for acceptance from others is a recurring theme throughout the volume. Yumeka’s artwork is lovely, although some of the character designs seem to be reused from one story to the next. Normally this might not be much of a problem, but because some of the stories in The Day I Become a Butterfly are interrelated it was sometimes confusing when the characters from an unrelated story looked like some of the recurring characters.

Akagi Akagi, Episodes 1-13 directed by Yuzo Sato. I love mahjong and Akagi is one of the mahjong series. I was thrilled when Crunchyroll picked up the anime for streaming. (I hold no illusions–mahjong manga and anime is very niche and unlikely to ever receive a physical release in North America.) Watching Akagi has actually improved my game a bit. It has also taught me how to cheat…not that I would. People who are at least vaguely familiar with mahjong will probably get more out of Akagi than those who aren’t, but it’s not necessary to understand the minutia of mahjong to enjoy the anime. The series can be surprisingly brutal at times and the games are intense–high stakes, crooked cops, yakuza, violence, manipulation. A huge emphasis is put on the psychological elements of the game. Akagi is a brilliant player and absolutely ruthless, both at the table and away from it. He seems to be afraid of nothing and is extremely ballsy. I’m really looking forward to watching the series’ second half.

Library Love, Part 17

September 27, 2013 by Ash Brown

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Arisa5 Arisa, Volumes 5-7 by Natsumi Ando. As ridiculous and unbelievable as Arisa can be, I’ll have to admit that I actually am rather enjoying the series. The number of plot twists that Ando works into the manga is astounding. I know that they’re coming, but I have no idea where Arisa is going. I’ve learned not to stress out about it and just sit back and enjoy the absurdity as it develops. However, I can’t help but wonder where all the adults are in all of this. Occasionally a teacher, parent, or guardian is seen, but none of them seem very involved in the students’ lives at all. But then again, that might be part of the point of the series. The students in class 2-B have issues (they have a lot of issues) and King Time began in part because their needs and concerns weren’t being addressed elsewhere. More and more of their secrets are being revealed, but I’m not sure we’re any closer to actually learning who the King really is. Arisa continues along its dark and twisted path and I can’t help but be oddly mesmerized by the whole thing.

Cowa! by Akira Toriyama. Cowa! had completely slipped under my radar until just recently. It’s a shame that I didn’t read it sooner because it is a terrific and highly enjoyable manga appropriate for kids as well as adults. The first few chapters are fairly episodic and start out with Paifu, a young half-vampire/half-werekoala, and his best friend and ghost José Rodriguez getting into all sorts of trouble. But then the manga develops a continuing story–Paifu’s hometown of Batwing Ridge is suffering from an epidemic of the Monster Flu. It’s up to Paifu, José, their not exactly friend Apron, and Maruyama, a grumpy ex-sumo wrestler, to save the day. Together they travel in search of the cure and it ends up becoming quite an adventure. There’s action and danger, bad guys and monsters. The interactions between Maruyama and the youngsters are simply marvelous. The manga is a lot of fun and funny, too. It may be silly at times, but it’s also heartwarming and has a good message. Cowa! is an absolute delight and definitely worth a look.

Slam Dunk, Volumes 7-10 by Takehiko Inoue. I am a huge fan of Inoue’s manga. While Slam Dunk isn’t my favorite of his series, I still find it to be a great manga. Slam Dunk was Inoue’s breakthrough work and is immensely popular and influential. The basketball games in Slam Dunk are extremely well done, but so far what appeals most to me about the series is the characters. I particularly enjoy all of the delinquents that show up in the series and on Shohoku’s basketball team. The guys are just as capable in a fist fight as they are on the court. Granted, Sakuragi still has a lot to learn about basketball. He has some natural ability and potential, but I’m not sure anyone has actually taken the time to explain all the rules to him. Realistically, this is somewhat unbelievable, but it does provide a certain amount of humor. In general, Slam Dunk is much more comedic than Inoue’s other manga available in English. However, there’s still some seriousness and plenty of heartfelt passion in the series, too.

Time Lag written by Shinobu Gotoh and illustrated by Hotaru Odagiri. I didn’t realize it at first, but Odagiri is also the artist for Only the Ring Finger Knows, which I quite enjoyed. Time Lag is a slightly older work, and not quite as memorable, but still enjoyable and rather sweet. Satoru and Shirou used to be very close growing up, but after junior high they’ve grown apart despite Satoru repeatedly professing his love for the other young man. Satoru can’t seem to figure out what went wrong, but when a letter from Shirou arrives three years late he may have one last chance at setting things right. However, complicating matters even further is a love-triangle involving Seichii, another classmate. Plots that revolve around a giant misunderstanding often annoy me, but in the case of Time Lag I think it was handled very well. Some of the smaller misunderstandings were still frustrating, though. Granted, those deliberately created by Seichii and his jealousy make a fair amount of sense in the context of the story and the resulting drama is understandable.

Manga the Week of 10/2

September 26, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, MJ, Ash Brown, Anna N and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

SEAN: Hope you like Viz, that’s all I can say. They have this week all to themselves.

Now that Bakuman is all over, there’s a giant Bakuman box set for those who missed it. Discover the secrets to Jump manga, and look askance at that line about a man’s dreams all over again!

MJ: Perhaps in the new set, that line will have been magically rewritten. :D

ASH: I actually haven’t read any of Bakuman, yet. Sounds like this would be a good time to get around to doing that.

SEAN: It’s been a while since we’ve seen Black Bird, and it’s ending soon, so I’ll be nice. It’s a powerful manga with the ability to win the hearts of many readers. Excellent pickup for Viz.

ANNA: I’m glad this is so popular for Viz, and also glad I stopped reading it because I didn’t care for it. There’s other, better supernatural manga out there, most of it also published by Viz.

MICHELLE: Oh, is it really ending soon? I had no idea. I really used to keep better track of these things!

MJ: I want to say “good riddance,” but… what will I have left to hate now? I feel bereft.

SEAN: (Dr. Forrester voice) Who… Who Will I Kill?

Bleach is up to Vol. 58. Expect the usual Bleach shenanigans, but I will note this volume had one of the best reveals in the entire series about a character’s past.

MICHELLE: I periodically get caught up with Bleach, but I probably wouldn’t if my local library didn’t carry it.

MJ: Well, now I wanna read it. Hm.

SEAN: Claymore has hit Vol. 23, which means everyone has to buy it, or Robert Anton Wilson will be sad.

MJ: Heh. (Also, I will be sad, but not because of 23.)

SEAN: I lost track of Dawn of the Arcana, apparently right about when it got really good. But I’m sure the others will tell me what I’ve been missing.

ANNA: It is good! It has an interesting low key vibe for a fantasy series. It reminds me of some of the stuff CMX used to put out, in a very good way.

MICHELLE: I can see that comparison!

ASH: I’ve been meaning to give Dawn of the Arcana a try. Comparing it to CMX’s series just moved it up on my list.

SEAN: The 6th Hana-Kimi omnibus has Vols. 16-18, so we’re about 3/4 of the way there. Had enough reverse harem shenanigans yet?

ANNA: There can NEVER be enough reverse-harem shenanigans!!!!!

SEAN: I was pleasantly surprised at Vol. 1 of Happy Marriage?!, whose lead male was not as jerk-like as I expected, so am looking forward to seeing if Vol. 2 can develop the heroine some more as well.

ANNA: This was like volume 1 except with additional super handsome men. No real reverse-harem shenanigans though.

MICHELLE: I liked it more than expected, and it’s quite manhwa-like!

MJ: I’m looking forward to this as well, to my own surprise.

SEAN: My Neighbor Totoro is one of the best and most beloved children’s movies of all time. What better present for your young child than a translation of the Totoro novel, with original illustrations by Miyazaki?

ANNA: This sounds nice!

MJ: Agreed!

ASH: Oh! I had completely forgotten this was coming out.

SEAN: Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is in the middle of a smaller, quieter arc after the long, long, LONG Kyoto arc, so I’m expecting a calmer, gentler yokai with Vol. 17. I firmly believe my expectations will be ruthlessly shattered.

One Piece Omnibus 7 has some of the best volumes of the Alabasta arc, which is one of the best arcs, so you know that you have to get it if you haven’t already.

Rosario + Vampire II 12 is another of those very popular shonen series that I never really got past the first volume of so have nothing to say about.

And Sakura Hime 11 is the exact same thing, only on the shoujo side.

Slam Dunk 30, everyone! The penultimate volume! I’m going to guess there will be a basketball game of some sort.

ANNA: The most awesome basketball game ever! Seriously I love Slam Dunk.

MICHELLE: Me, too. I have been hoarding the recent volumes even though I’ve been so tempted by them. Is there any other sports manga now running? I can’t think of one…

ASH: I am so far behind with Slam Dunk, but it really is great. The only other sports manga I can think of that’s currently being published is Real, also about basketball and also by Takehiko Inoue (and one of my favorite series!)

MICHELLE: Oh, I had forgotten about Real! Possibly because it’s seinen, it doesn’t feel like traditional sports manga to me. I’d dearly love more Mitsuru Adachi, and I’d even buy the Prince of Tennis sequel, no matter how stupid it is.

SEAN: I’m not sure Adachi’s done basketball… he tends to stick with his one sport, although my own license dream, Rough, is a swimming manga.

MICHELLE: Oh, I definitely wasn’t thinking only basketball. Rough is the one I most want, too! :)

SEAN: Toriko 18 will no doubt make me hungry, have plausibly deniable homoerotic content, and feature some truly ridiculous animals.

ASH: I’m behind with Toriko, too, but I do get a kick out of the series.

SEAN: Lastly, and to the frustration of my trying to get the side images to look cool and not dangle off the edge of the article. we have the debut of the new series from Special A’s Maki Minami! Voice Over: Seiyuu Academy, is from Hana to Yume, so it already has a head start with me. Can’t wait.

ANNA: I liked this more than I thought I would, considering I did not care much for Special A.

MICHELLE: I enjoyed it, too. It’s pretty generic, but there was still something about it that compelled me to want to read volume two.

MJ: I’m with Michelle and Anna here, too.

SEAN: Is your favorite manga a voice actress?

Manga Giveaway: Arisa Giveaway

September 25, 2013 by Ash Brown

It’s just about the end of the month, which means it’s time for another manga giveaway here at Experiments in Manga! This month’s giveaway is for not one, but two volumes of Natsumi Ando’s manga series Arisa–both the first and the most recent volumes published in English. (I’ll explain my odd thought process for this below.) As always, the contest is open worldwide!

Okay, so why the first and eleventh volumes? Because Arisa has a set of twin sisters. Volume 1, because it’s the first volume. (In general, I like to give away first volumes.) And what do you get when you have two 1s? 11. And there you have it. (I told you I’m a bit odd.) Anyway.

People are fascinated by twins. It’s probably not too surprising that twins, both fraternal and identical, make frequent appearances in manga, often with an important role to play in the story. Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, Yumi Tamura’s Basara, and Rei Hiroe’s Black Lagoon are just a few examples off the top of my head. It wouldn’t take me long to come up with even more. (And I will next week.) In Arisa we have Tsubasa Uehara and Sonoda Arisa, identical twin sisters who have been separated by their parents’ divorce. Tsubasa takes Arisa’s place at school to try to discover why her sister would attempt to commit suicide, uncovering some very disturbing goings-on in Arisa’s class in the process.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Arisa, Volumes 1 and 11?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about a set of twins that you have encountered in manga and in which manga they appear. (If by chance you’ve never come across twins, simply mention that.)
2) 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).

It’s as easy as that. For this giveaway, each person can earn up to two entries. As usual, there is one week to submit comments. If you have trouble leaving comments, or if you would prefer, you can e-mail me your entries at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I will post them in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on October 2, 2013.

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address (which if you submit through the comment form won’t be publicly displayed), 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: Arisa Giveaway Winner

It Came From the Sinosphere: State of Divinity (Part 3)

September 24, 2013 by Sara K. 3 Comments

Yue Buqun

Yue Buqun in soliloquy mode.

When I first read the novel, Yue Buqun did not leave such a strong impression on me, and I did not understand why so many people consider him to be the character that the entire story turns on. As I’ve read/seen more adaptations, I have gotten a better understanding of his importance, but it is this adaptation which really drove home to me what a great character he is.

What really distinguishes State of Divinity’s Yue Buqun is that, unlike any other version of the story I’ve seen/read, we get to see his inner thoughts.

In the original novel, everything we know about Yue Buqun comes from Linghu Chong or Lin Pingzhi, and since Yue Buqun never reveals his private thoughts to these two characters, we can only understand him based on his actions. By contrast, State of Divinity offers Yue Buqun ample opportunities for soliloquy.

What really struck me is that Yue Buqun’s thoughts as depicted by State of Divinity are very different from what I expected – yet entirely consistent with canon. This, of course, is a reflection of just an enigma Yue Buqun is – though we know what he does, the reader never knows what he says to himself.

Yue Buqun … vulnerable?

And State of Divinity shows Yue Buqun being vulnerable. This is something I have never seen in any other version of the story. One of the principles of Yue Buqun’s personality is that he *never* shows vulnerability (at least not in Linghu Chong or Lin Pingzhi’s presence). To be honest, vulnerable!Yue Buqun shocked me.

I now think that Yue Buqun is one of Jin Yong’s finest characters.

Lin Pingzhi

I ended up really liking Lin Pingzhi in State of Divinity.

I’m not just saying that I thought he was well-written and well performed (though I do think that). I actually ended up liking the character himself.

Lin Pingzhi with his mother.

While most versions of the story note that Yue Buqun and Lin Pingzhi have similar personalities, State of Divinity really emphasizes that Lin Pingzhi = young!Yue Buqun. Thus they reinforce each other’s position in the story.

Laughing on the Wind introduces Lin Pingzhi as being privileged, coddled, and spoiled, which of course sets him up for being disliked by the audience. It’s almost satisfying to watch him suffer.

State of Divinity, by contrast, makes it really easy to love Lin Pingzhi. This was hard for me, because I knew what happens to Lin Pingzhi at the end. I wanted to hope that State of Divinity would show some mercy to Lin Pingzhi … but I already knew that hope was in vain.

Lin Pingzhi is experiencing a Horrible Revelation.

In this adaptation, it is Lin Pingzhi who breaks my heart the most.

About the Music

Well, a lot of the music used in the show is not original (for example, it borrows the soundtrack from Ashes of Time, among other sources). I still found it a bit jarring to hear music pulled from other contexts. Then again, borrowing really good music was probably wiser than composing original-yet-mediocre music – and what original music the show has is mostly uninteresting.

There is one original song which actually stands out is the tune of “The Laughing Proud Wanderer” itself. According to the story, it’s the more beautiful song the characters have ever heard, but I don’t think the audience actually expects that of the makers of the TV show.

The song works because it fits the atmosphere story. Bach it is not, but it does a pretty good job of condensing 43 episodes of story into a single tune. That is much more important than being a great music in its own right.

A Shift in the Ending

This scene wasn’t in the original novel, so where have I seen this before … oh that’s right, it’s just like that scene in Shēn Diāo Xiá Lǚ

Every adaptation (except Lee Chi-Ching’s manhua) alter the ending.

To be fair, the ending of State of Divinity is actually mostly the same as the ending of the novel. But there is one crucial change.

In the original novel, Linghu Chong is helpless at the end. There is practically nothing he can do to change the course of events. His must experience whatever fate sends his way.

Linghu Chong experiences utter despair.

And that is what State of Divinity tweaks. At the end, Linghu Chong does change the course of events.

That doesn’t make it a bad ending. But I find it interesting that most adaptations feel that have to change that part.

Comments on the Acting

Overall, I think both shows have very good acting. Even when they did not cast the most suitable actor, at least it is somebody competent enough to make the part work anyway.

That said, these are the highlights for me (from both shows)

Xu Qing as Ren Yingying and Wei Zi as Yue Buqun

Xu Qing as Ren Yingying (LitW) – I think it’s a bit unfair to compare Xu Qing and Fiona Leung’s performances as Ren Yingying, since the script of LitW gives Xu Qing a lot more to work with. Nonetheless, I think Xu Qing does a better job of exposing Ren Yingying in her most vulnerable moments.

Wei Zi as Yue Buqun (LitW) – It is really hard to decide whether Wei Zi (LitW) or Wong Wai (SoD) is a better Yue Buqun, but my gut says that Wei Zi’s acting is a little better (though as far as the script, Yue Buqun is definitely better written in SoD).

He Meitian as Yilin and Jackie Lui as LInghu Chong

Jackie Lui as Linghu Chong (SoD) – This is an example of great casting. To quote a review (which I can’t find right now) ‘Jackie Lui is Linghu Chong’. Li Yapeng’s performance in LitW is also good, but he fails to embody the character as fully as Jackie Lui.

He Meitian as Yilin (SoD) – If casting Jackie Lui as Linghu Chong is great, then casting He Meitian as Yilin is perfect. In a show which sets a very high bar for acting, it is Jackie Lui and He Meitian who really stand out. He Meitian also plays Qi Fang in another of my favorite wuxia dramas, A Deadly Secret, where she is once again a highlight.

Small Evil is Scarier than Great Evil

One of the messages of this story (and most of Jin Yong’s work) is that good cannot defeat evil.

Good can avoid evil. Evil can self-destruct. Good can even, rarely, persuade evil to change. But good cannot defeat evil.

Ren Woxing holds a puppy in his arms as Ren Yingying rushes up to him.

Evil can also rescue puppies.

Some adaptations (including Laughing in the Wind) try to turn one of the villains into the Big Bad, which the heroes can then take down and triumph over. That’s not how the original novel works. In the original novel, all of the villains are narrow-minded men (none of the villains are cis-female). Though they can fall individually, they can never be eliminated as a group. If you take down one petty tyrant, another will emerge.

This is scary.

Ren Yingying and Linghu Chong look really scared.

Yep, they’re scared.

If you think in terms of great evil, at least there is the hope that, after taking out the Big Bad, you will be free once and for all. But if evil is like a weed which will grow back from the soil of human nature as soon as you pull it out, then it will be with you forever.

The villains are horrible not because they are inhuman, but because they are human.

My Encounter with the TV Show

I had been in Taiwan for a short time, and I was just starting to feel out Chinese-language media. As a starting point, I would channel-surf. During my channel-surfing, the wuxia dramas caught my eye the most, since they were quite different from what I was familiar with.

However, even with my lack of listening comprehension skill, I could tell that wuxia TV dramas follow Sturgeon’s Law.

There was one wuxia drama which stood out. I could only understand 10-20% of the dialogue, so of course I couldn’t follow the story, but it still drew me in. Without understanding it, I still felt that what was happening mattered.

I remember one scene where a certain nun killed another character.

This nun has just killed somebody.

Now, I understood enough to know that the nun was horrified by the fact that she had just killed somebody. I also knew that Buddhist nuns are generally not supposed to killing living creatures. I did not know the broader context – for example, I did not know what the nun’s relationship to the victim was – but I *felt* it.

Scenes like this made an impression on me, even though I didn’t know what they mean.

Well, I had to find out what this TV show was – and I learned it was State of Divinity, adapted from a novel by Jin Yong.

Yep, this TV show was my gateway drug, both to Jin Yong specifically and the wuxia genre as a whole (I’ve even written about this before).

Now, even if I hadn’t caught reruns of this show, I would have almost certainly encountered Jin Yong and wuxia anyway. But if my first encounter had been, say The Book and the Sword, I might have concluded that it wasn’t for me, and left it at that.

And if I hadn’t gotten hooked on wuxia, this column would be really, really, really different.

Linghu Chong, Xiang Wentian, and Ren Woxing by a bonfire on the beach.

I remember watching this scene on Taiwanese TV.

It also made for a weird experience when I finally read the novel. As I read a scene, images from the TV show
would emerge in my head, and I would have lots deja-vu moments -‘This seems oddly familiar’, ‘So, this is what that was actually about’, ‘Oh shit, this is the scene where she dies!’

Availability in English

As far as I know, this show is currently not available in English.

It is listed on Dramafever as ‘coming soon’, but there are so many Hong Kong dramas which are listed as ‘coming soon’ that, unless Dramafever has a gigantic army of translators/subtitlers/etc. at its command, not all of those dramas can ‘come soon’. My guess is that ‘coming soon’ means ‘we have a license to stream this show, but we’ll only actually translate it if we think it will generate a lot of interest among our viewers’.

So if you would like to see this show with English/Spanish subtitles, tell Dramafever.

Conclusion

Okay, in some ways, Laughing in the Wind does kick State of Divinity‘s ass. Yet I think it should be obvious that I love State of Divinity much more.

I think most people agree with me. While both shows get onto many people’s ‘best wuxia TV show’ lists, everybody who has compared the two (including a Laughing in the Wind fansite!) says that State of Divinity is better.

I would take it a step further. There are many classic wuxia TV shows I have yet to see – as well as many classic Chinese-language TV shows in other genres. But of all of the Chinese-language dramas I have seen, State of Divinity is the best. That’s right, it is better than every other single TV show I have discussed here at Manga Bookshelf.

This show is so highly recommended that I think I have just wrecked the roof.

Sara K. made some comments about Shén Tōu Tiānxià by Zheng Feng (who also wrote Passionate Wastrel, Infatuated Hero and Spirit Sword) over at her personal blog.

My Week in Manga: September 16-September 22, 2013

September 23, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Well, I somehow managed to post three reviews last week. This is a little unusual for me as normally I only have one or two ready to go. The first review was for Hinoki Kino’s No. 6, Volume 2. The pacing, characterization, and world-building improves on the first volume, which I was very glad to see. (I’m really hoping that the manga will have a better ending than the anime.) The second review was for Yoshiyuki Tomino’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation, an omnibus of a trilogy of early Gundam novels–the first part of the Gundam franchise to be officially released in English. (To be honest, though, I much prefer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s manga series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin.) I also reviewed Sherlock Bones, Volume 1 by Yuma Ando and Yuki Sato. I was very skeptical going into the series, but found the first volume of the manga to be surprisingly entertaining.

As for a few interesting things found online: Comic Natalie has announced the winners of its first annual manga awards. If you don’t read Japanese and can’t identify manga by their covers, Vertical compiled a list of the winners currently avilable in English (in addition to posting a hint for an as of yet unannounced Vertical license.) As reported by the Business Standard, Viz Media is apparently entering the market in India–Top Manga publisher set to make India entry. And if the relationship between Kodansha Comics, Del Rey/Del Rey Manga, and Random House has you confused, Kodansha posted a brief explanation/clarification of the situation on its Tumblr account.

Quick Takes

Attack on Titan, Volume 7 by Hajime Isayama. The terror in Attack on Titan has started to shift. At the beginning of the series the fear was much more about the unknown–the titans were these terrifying creatures beyond comprehension. But now the fear is coming from the knowledge that other humans may very well have a hand in what is happening. There have been plenty of deaths in Attack on Titan, but when those deaths involve characters who you’ve gotten a chance to know instead of just being nameless faces, suddenly the casualties carry even more weight. It makes the terror, frustration, and utter despair experienced by the characters even more palpable. Attack on Titan is dark, and it has been from the start, but the developments in the seventh volume pack quite a punch. I’ve had my doubts about the series in the past, and the artwork is still terribly inconsistent and occasionally difficult to follow, but I am hooked on it.

Boxers & Saints written and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang, colors by Lark Pien. Boxers & Saints is easily one of the best comics that I’ve read this year. The two graphic novels that make up the duology can be read separately, but together they are even more powerful. The work is a retelling of the Boxer Rebellion–a violent uprising against foreign and Christian influence in northern China that took place at the turn of the 20th century. Boxers follows the life of a young man who becomes one of the leaders of the rebellion while Saints shows the conflict from the perspective of a young Chinese woman who converted to Christianity. Although very different in their details and narrative style, the two volumes follow a similar story arc as the characters come of age and find something to believe in, but are then challenged by those beliefs and conflicted over their decisions and actions. The Boxer Rebellion was a complicated and tragic event for both sides of the dispute. Boxers & Saints is a fictional account, but Yang put in a tremendous amount of research into the work. Highly, highly recommended.

Genshiken: Second Season, Volumes 1-3 by Shimoku Kio. The Genshiken has turned into a fujoshi club. This doesn’t really bother me (I also enjoy BL and yaoi), but to an extent I do miss the greater variety of otaku that were represented in the original series. Still, even the fujoshi have their quirks and differences–the Genshiken has always attracted weirdos. And then there’s the cross-dressing Hato-kun, who for me is really stealing the show in the second season of Genshiken. The only male first-year to join the club, he’s created a very complete and convincing female persona. I find him to be the most interesting new character in the new series and he seems to be the focal point for much of the drama. I’m also particularly enjoying Yajima’s character development. She is uncomfortable with Hato’s cross-dressing but becomes very protective of him. As for the older characters, I was very happy to see Madarame return as he remains one of my favorites. Put him and Hato together in a scene and it’s just perfect.

Library Wars: Love & War, Volumes 9-10 by Kiiro Yumi. Perhaps it’s because I’m a librarian, but I can’t help but be fond of Library Wars even when it’s not always the strongest series. Sometimes the characters and their interactions are fantastic, and sometimes it seems as if they’re all acting like a bunch of high school students when they’re supposed to be mature, capable adults. Granted, there are some delightfully awkward scenes now that Iku has come to the realization that Dojo is her “prince.” He’s known for quite a while, but he doesn’t know that she knows, yet. It’s all rather amusing. I am very glad that Iku seems to be more competent now than she was at the beginning of the series. I don’t care how enthusiastic a person is, if they don’t have the needed skills for the job there’s not much hope for them. Library Wars is a fantasy, but it actually does address some real issues encountered in the library world. Censorship is the biggest one and at the core of the series, but things like sexual harassment and dealing with inappropriate patron behavior come up, too.

Totally Peeking Under the Sheets, Volumes 1-2 by Hajin Yoo. Totally Peeking Under the Sheets is a collection of side stories relating to Yoo’s boys’ love manwha Totally Captivated. It’s definitely intended for those who have read and enjoyed the original series. The first volume contains quite a few short manhwa, some of them only a few pages long. Many of these stories emphasize the more humorous aspects of Totally Captivated and its characters. And as might be expected from the title Totally Peeking Under the Sheets, several stories are also rather racy–what little plot there is is used to get Ewon and Mookyul into bed with each other. (Not that that’s very difficult.) The focus of the second volume is a much longer sequel manhwa called “The Final Chapter.” Although there were some great character moments, the story felt forced to me. Ewon suddenly has to deal with his family, particularly the mother who abandoned him. I’m not sure the situation would have really played out in the way that Yoo presents it. Overall, I much preferred the first volume.

Fist of the North Star: The TV Series, Volume 2 (Episodes 37-72) directed by Toyoo Ashida. While the first collection of the Fist of the North Star anime series had quite a bit of filler, the second collection starts to really dig into the plot and characters. The series is much better for it. Plus, the anime has now reached a point in the story beyond the manga that was released in English. Some of the fights do still get to be a little repetitive, especially when the protagonists face off against large groups of unnamed bad guys and minions, but there’s always something about each battle that makes it stand out from the rest. The best fights, though, are those that occur between two martial arts masters. But Fist of the North Star isn’t just about power, skill, and strength (although that’s certainly an important part of it). The series is also about destiny, loyalty, friendship, and love. Kenshiro is a tragic hero who continues to lose those who are close to him. Fist of the North Star is a post-apocalyptic martial arts epic, and I’m loving it.