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Beasts of Abigaile Vol. 2

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Beasts of Abigaile Volume 2 by Spica Aoki

I enjoyed the first volume of this series more than I was expecting to, so I was hoping that the second volume would deliver more paranormal romance trashy fun, and I was not disappointed. Nina continues to attempt to survive her undercover existence at werewolf school, ending up with more power and influence than anyone would have predicted.

Towards the end of the first volume, Nina takes an interest in Poe, a somewhat non-verbal artist who as an Omega, gets picked on by the rest of the students and the instructors. Nina is unhappy about the unsanctioned fight clubs that put students up against real live wolfs. Meanwhile, Roy and mean girl Eva seem to be having some significant fractures in their relationship, as Roy continues to find Nina fascinating, and Eva lurks in the bushes like a lupine Maleficent, spying on her possible female rival. Nina wants to let Poe into her pack, the White Rose Maiden Association, but the art kids that she hangs out with don’t want their status to drop by taking him in. They’d also be put in a position of danger in needing to defend him against other students as well. Eventually the situation boils over and Nina impetuously volunteers to take Poe’s place in the fight club. She declares herself Poe’s Alpha and says that she’ll fight all his battles for him. While Nina’s karate skills come in handy, she’s eventually rescued by Giles, who always seems to be around when she needs him.

This volume filled in a little bit of the backstory, both with Nina’s past history with bullying that makes her a relentless advocate for the downtrodden, and also some of the history of the school and why Poe has been placed in such a lowly position. Roy continues to be a total jerk, and I’m hoping that Nina doesn’t end up with him in the end, but with the way shoujo manga tends to go I’m guessing Nina’s influence will change him from being a terrible person. The art in this series continues to be well-executed, even if it doesn’t have a very distinct style. I’m still enjoying this series, but I tend to be a bit of an easy mark for supernatural shoujo.

Infinite Dendrogram: Clash of the Superiors

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By Sakon Kaidou and Taiki. Released in Japan by Hobby Japan. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

It is very common, in both light novels and manga, for a volume to be augmented at times by various side stories and extra chapters. Particularly if content is running a bit short. For the most part, I’ve found that these extra stories are not as good as the main fare – either they’re totally unrelated, in which case they read as the author’s attempt to get their early work collected, or they’re a bit more fanservicey and subpar, because they’re meant to be taken as stand-alone and not have an impact on the main storyline. That said, there are exceptions, and I’m pleased to say that Infinite Dendrogram’s third volume is one of them. The main bulk of the book takes up the first 2/3 or so, and is perfectly serviceable, though the reader may be annoyed that it’s all setup, with the payoff being in the next volume. The stories afterwards range from very good to excellent.

In the main storyline, we see Ray dealing with the aftermath of his heroics in Book 2, and finding that even though most players didn’t give a rat’s ass about the piles of dead NPC children, the actual NPCs certainly did. As a result, he not only gets a huge reward, but also many tearful thanks for taking out such reprehensible killers. Ray handles this with his usual awkwardness, and then goes to see what Marie used their other reward money for, which turns out to be box seats for a fight between two Superior Players – something that’s unprecedented. As it turns out, Ray’s brother is also very involved in this, as Figaro, one of the fighters, is a good friend of his. (It’s becoming quite clear Ray’s brother is one of the top fighters in the game, but he’s hiding that from Ray for now.) The fight is quite well-written, and I liked the Chinese-styled opponent as well. But, as I noted, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger.

The two side stories do a great deal to expand on the others Ray met in the first book. The first deals with Rook trying to get a new monster for his party. We get some hints of a disturbing backstory for Rook’s real-life person, who seems to have been through a lot, and also shows off he is far more than the cute innocent boy who is the perfect underage ‘pimp’ – Rook will go far. Even better is Marie’s story, which dovetails up with some of the other events in Book 2, i.e. the missing princess who was thought to be kidnapped by the child murdering gang. I don’t actually want to spoil this one too much, but suffice it to say that Marie shows off immense depth in both her online player persona as well as her real life character. I don’t game, but honestly the way that she created a character and built up traits based on her past felt very real to me. Plus there are many stupid thugs getting handed their asses, which never grows old. I also liked the denoument, even though the mystery wasn’t really the point of the story.

I’d been waffling back and forth about this series, which seemed to excite other readers more than me. The third volume is a definite step forward, though, and I can honestly say I’m greatly looking forward to the next one.

Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro, Vol. 6

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By Satoko Kiyuduki. Released in Japan as “Hitsugi Katsugi no Kuro – Kaichu Tabi no Wa” by Houbunsha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Manga Time Kirara. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Sheldon Drzka.

It has to be said, each new volume of this series has been more ominous than the last. It began alternating somewhat unnerving stories with occasional sweet fare, and there’s still a bit of bittersweetness in here, but as the reader slowly progresses through the book they are likely wondering how the author is going to end this without making the audience cry. Kuro, who has been spending her last few years trying to find the witch so that she can return to what she was, has now realized an important truth: regaining that will mean losing Kuro, effectively killing herself. And she isn’t ready to do that, even when offered the chance midway through. Meanwhile, Nikuju and Sanju are still soaking up the world, but they’re also increasingly worried about Kuro, who may be literally coming apart. Are they the key to everything? And why do I have a bad feeling about that?

We do get the occasional ‘traditional’ Kuro tale here as well, with Kuro running into someone trying to solve problem ‘x’ and helping them out, only to turn out that the helper was part of the problem all along. The story with the ghost and the photographer brought a smile to my face, though I will admit it was a wistful smile. There is also an extended interlude in an all-girls’ school, which Kuro has infiltrated (this came out the same week as Murcielago 4, which has the same plotline, and the justaposition makes me shudder to imagine the crossover) in order to investigate something that sounds similar to her witch but is instead tied to the same sorts of things you’d expect at a Japanese school for young ladies: status, bullying, and fear. It’s a high point of the volume, and for once doesn’t seem to end in half tragedy.

That said, I suspect most people are going to have stronger feelings about the story in the middle and at the end, dealing with Kuro’s past and future. Seeing Sen and Kuro in the illusive city in the middle of nowhere is intentionally dream-like, and I had assumed the author was, as usual, not quite letting us see the ‘old’ Kuro’s face, which helped set up the impact of the panel where we do. It’s very well-drawn. And then there’s the last two sequences, which are almost pure horror, as Kuro’s confrontations with Hifumi grow more and more ominous, and Sanju decides to help her, even if it may mean sacrificing her own innocence.

The author has said that the next volume should be the last, though I’m uncertain when it will be out – this one took a year and a half, so it may be about the same. It’s probably for the best – Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro is something to savor at special occasions, like a 40-year-old scotch, rather than a manga where you drink fast and move on to the next one. I don’t think Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro is going to end with full-blown depressing misery, but I do think it will be sad, and I expect tears may gather in the eyes.

Manga the Week of 11/8/17

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SEAN: The frost is on the pumpkin and nothing’s stopping the manga.

From this week, solicited too late for last week’s list, Kodansha Digital have PTSD Radio, a horror anthology that looks creepy. There may also have been one or two ongoing series I missed – I’m starting to get jaded. Give me more lag time!

For next week, Cross Infinite World has another light novel debut, as they bring us Yusen Ruten: An Era of Red. I sadly know little about it.

Dark Horse has a 4th Blade of the Immortal omnibus.

ASH: Blade of the Immortal was one of my very first manga series; I’m glad that Dark Horse has found a way to keep it in print.

SEAN: Kodansha still has Del Rey rescues, with Pumpkin Scissors 15 and Yozakura Quartet 18.

In new digital titles, we get a sixth Ace of the Diamond, a 6th Real Girl, and most importantly, a 6th The Full-Time Wife Escapist.

ANNA: I need to get caught up on Full-Time Wife Escapist! Such a fun and quirky series.

MICHELLE: Yay! I was starting to get Full-Time Wife Escapist withdrawal.

SEAN: There’s also a 4th Descending Stories, which may finally end its flashback.

ASH: Planning on picking this one up!

SEAN: And Ghost in the Shell README: 1995-2017, a hardcover detailing the history of the franchise.

Seven Seas has a 4th Dreamin’ Sun, and a 7th Testament of Sister New Devil. Don’t get them mixed up.

MICHELLE: Dreamin’ Sun is enjoyable!

SEAN: Udon debuts Dragon’s Crown, based on a game and running in Kadokawa’s Comptiq magazine. If you’ve seen the fantasy RPG manga that have been commonplace lately, you’ve seen this.

Vertical has hit double digits for Cardfight!! Vanguard.

Viz has a lot, though 3 titles got delayed due to a warehouse fire. Look for them at the end of the month. So we start with Black Clover, which I enjoy despite its anti-originality.

ASH: Maybe I’ll finally give Black Clover a try while I wait a few weeks for my dose of Shojo Beat titles to arrive.

SEAN: Bleach 3-in-1 reaches Vol. 21. Will it catch up with the main series before it ends?

It’s gonna be close, here’s Bleach 71 as well.

Haikyu!! 17 will feature… volleyball!

ANNA: WHAT!?

MICHELLE: Who could imagine?

ASH: Incredible!

SEAN: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure continues its road movie with a 5th Stardust Crusaders.

ANNA: Another series I am criminally far behind on.

ASH: I’ve already read Stardust Crusaders, but the new hardcover release is so nice I can’t help but double-dip.

SEAN: My Hero Academia hits Vol. 10, and should begin speeding up in the spring due to increased demand.

We are ALMOST done with Nisekoi, as its 24th volume tries to play up the “which one will he choose” one last time, even though it’s obvious.

One Piece 84 may be a very tasty volume! If nothing else, it will make you want sweets.

Seraph of the End hits lucky 13!

ANNA: Vampires woo-hoo!!!!!!

SEAN: Toriko is nearly done, but not quite, even as it gets to the big 4-0.

And everyone loves Yu-Gi-Oh! omnibuses. Here’s the 12th.

Think we’re done? Think again! Yen has its run-off from last week, starting with the 7th Aoharu x Machinegun.

Erased is in omnibus format, meaning I’m further behind than I thought. Here’s the 3rd omnibus.

ASH: The last volume was gripping; I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

SEAN: And a 4th Murcielago should appeal to Maria-sama Ga Miteru fans, so I hear… provided they’re also into gore and twisted unlikeable people.

ASH: That sounds about right.

SEAN: Prison School has an 8th omnibus out. Ash, you still reading this?

ASH: … I am behind, but yes, yes I am.

SEAN: Puella Magica Oriko Magica has a 3rd Sadness Prayer, and… they must be running out of spinoffs soon, right?

Scum’s Wish 5 will make me feel filthy and awful, and I can’t wait.

MICHELLE: I have fallen a few volumes behind on this, but I worry a marathon might cause an overdose of sordid.

SEAN: Spice & Wolf gets a 14th manga volume.

And we’re up to the 8th Taboo Tattoo.

Lastly, there’s a 4th Twinkle Stars omnibus. I seem to recall the series had an odd number of volumes. Where will it end?

MICHELLE: Yay!

ASH: I need to catch up, but I really enjoyed the first two omnibuses.

SEAN: And so another huge week comes to a close. Do you know where your manga is?

My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World: Humanity’s Extinction Actually Happens This Time With the Evil God’s Revival?!

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By Tsuyoshi Fujitaka and An2A. Released in Japan as “Neechan wa Chuunibyou” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis.

This was one of the first series that J-Novel Club ever put out, and I recall being quite pleased with the ridiculousness of the first volume. Since then, however, J-Novel has released much better and much more ridiculous series, and Big Sis feels like it’s now running second to last in the marathon, just trying to finish the course so it doesn’t get extra laps from the teacher. The plot that’s been shoehorned in the last couple of volumes gets a lot more exposition, but sadly that doesn’t make it more interesting, and I cannot help empathizing with Yuichi when the Chinese waitress girl starts to introduce her own convoluted backstory and he says “nope, not dealing with this”, so we never find out what it is. Fortunately, when it comes to actual confrontations with bad guys, the series is still pretty fun.

I was going to start this review by saying that the narrative is divided into two halves, but that’s not really true. The narrative is divided into about 7 sections, but the divisions are poor and they all melt together after a while. Natsuki, who was absent from the last book, is fleeing the titular evil god, and unfortunately does nothing in this book other than be a damsel who needs to be rescued, because she’s handicapped by trying not to actually be a serial killer anymore. Yuichi is busy training behind sacred shrines (and destroying sacred forests as he is not a hero who thinks about things) and learning important backstory, and we finally see how he got the ‘soul reader’ ability in the first place. And then we have the search for the Evil God’s body parts, which brings together a variety of heroes and villains in various melee battles, including the Little Apocalypse wannabe from the last cliffhanger (who proves more boring than I expected), led by the Evil God himself, who may need to be revived but this does not prevent him creating a body to walk around and be smug in.

As I said, the final part is the best, as the villain is very punchable, and it’s always nice seeing smug people get what’s coming to them. That said, honestly, Yuichi and Mutsuko are starting to get a bit smug themselves. Mutsuko has been absent from these pages for far too long, and her running commentary on the fight was the funniest part of it. I also liked the setup for the next volume, which goes into Mutsuko’s own powers, and how they affect Yuichi easily beating universe-shaking horrors with one punch. The difficulty is that the plot of this series has become so convoluted and hard to follow that it’s almost become the series it was supposed to be making fun of. The next volume is the final one in the series (the author says there may be more, but so far there isn’t), and I am slightly looking forward to the conclusion, but the Big Sister has long since worn out her welcome.

Yokai Rental Shop, Vol. 1

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Yokai Rental Shop is a classic example of Monkey Paw Theater, in which a foolish person comes into possession of a magical object, uses said object to grant an ill-advised wish, then pays a terrible price for his rash decision. Author Shin Mashiba puts a Japanese spin on W.W. Jacob’s famous story, substituting a nekomata and an okuri-inu for a cursed paw, but otherwise conforms the tenets of the genre. The clientele of Pet Shop Crow seek quick or unwise solutions to everyday problems: one mourns the untimely demise of her favorite idol, another dreads his daily encounter with bullies, and a third worries that her younger sister is trying to steal her boyfriend. To help each client “solve” her problem, shop owner Karasu rents them an exotic pet with special abilities. That pet comes with specific instructions — defy them and the deal goes sideways, resulting in bodily harm or emotional trauma.

I liked this story better when it was called Pet Shop of Horrors.

Part of the problem is that Karasu’s clientele is an unsympathetic lot, especially when contrasted with the characters in “The Monkey’s Paw” or Pet Shop of Horrors. The bullying victim, for example, is so enraptured by his yokai companion’s powers that he explicitly ignores Karasu’s instructions, fantasizing about how he will utilize his new-found strength. Within two pages, however, he realizes the folly of his arrogance, as the okuri-inu metamorphoses into a canid Godzilla with a taste for human flesh. Only a quick intervention from Karasu prevents the chapter from devolving into a gruesome spectacle, though you may wish that Karasu had adopted a more laissez-faire attitude towards his foolish client.

The other major issue plaguing Yokai Rental Shop is that Mashiba doesn’t stick with the monster-of-the-week formula for long. A subplot involving Karasu and his half-brother Hiiragi, a fussy civil servant, takes a detour into InuYasha territory when Karasu makes an important discovery about their father. Mashiba tries milking the brothers’ temperamental differences for laughs, but the jokes don’t land with much force; if you’ve seen one episode of The Odd Couple or read a chapter of xxxHolic, you’ve seen this dynamic executed with more gusto and imagination, two qualities that Yokai Rental Shop sorely lacks.

Neither of these deficiencies would be so glaring if the artwork was less perfunctory, but Mashiba’s serviceable character designs and settings do little to imbue the story with its own identity. The shop’s clientele, in particular, are blandly interchangeable; they look like they belong in a government-issue manga about tax returns or recycling, lacking the kind of individuality that might highlight the poignancy of their dilemmas or underscore just how determined they are to get what they want. Even the “turn” in each story — in which the yokai reveal their true natures — is executed in get-the-job-done manner, relying too much on dialogue, smudgy screentone, and slashing lines to suggest what’s happening.

By skimping on these moments, Mashiba misses a crucial opportunity to make the reader feel pity, revulsion, satisfaction, or fear at the outcome of each story; the strongest reaction that any of these scenarios elicits is a shrug of the shoulders. The reader is left wondering why the author even bothered with the horror angle when her true objective seems to be writing a dramedy about a Mutt-and-Jeff pair of brothers—albeit eccentric ones.

YOKAI RENTAL SHOP, VOL. 1 • BY SHIN MASHIBA • TRANSLATED BY AMANDA HALEY, ADAPTED BY JULIA KINSMAN • SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT • RATED TEEN

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 8

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Honey So Sweet Volume 8 by Amu Meguro

I’m a little worried about Shojo Beat’s list of titles now, because with both My Love Story!! and Honey So Sweet ending, it seems to be like there is a slight lack of super adorable manga currently being published. I’m sure something else will come along soon to full fans’ need for low conflict shoujo where everyone is genuinely nice to each other, but in the meantime I might have to get that extra warm and fuzzy feeling by rereading older series instead of from new manga.

This final volume focused on the characters’ all getting their lives together as Nao and Taiga start to approach the end of high school. In particular, Nao’s uncle Sou finally has a chance at a life outside of being a parent, as a long-lost love from his past suddenly reappears in his life. Sou has put aside his own feelings to a degree, with all of his efforts focused on Nao’s happiness. Nao is determined to demonstrate that she’s capable of being more self-sufficient, with the goal of encouraging Sou to move on. She has some predictably funny mishaps in her first attempts at household management.

In the end, Taiga’s usual blunt nature and heartfelt feelings cut to the heart of the matter in a conversation with Sou. Sou might find a way to move on as the young couple enters adulthood together. There’s a predictably happy ending, and a bonus story in the back of the manga that shows the first, one-shot version of the story. Overall, while Honey So Sweet might not be the most challenging manga to read, the whimsical illustrations and gentle pacing of the plot in each volume made it a perfect stress relieving manga. It is difficult to feel cynical about the world when reading Honey So Sweet, and that’s the main reason why I enjoyed this series so much.

Log Horizon: Go East, Kanami!

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By Mamare Touno and Kazuhiro Hara. Released in Japan by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel.

We continue our tour of the Elder Tales universe, with this volume not even taking place on the Japanese server for the most part. Instead we take a look at a group in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, to be precise) and their attempt to move slowly east so that they can swim to Japan (which seems ludicrous, but remember, adventurers). The reason to swim to Japan is quite a clever one: the whole disaster that caused the players to get caught in this world happened before the expansion pack had actually dropped… except in Japan, where they got it by virtue of the time zone. The group is led – sort of – by Kanami, a name that has come up quite often in previous books. The former de facto leader of the Debauchery Tea Party, she’s more a force of will than a leader. That said, it makes sense that of the main cast of this book, she actually gets the least attention – she has no character arc, being basically perfect.

No, instead, the main character for this book is Leonardo, who dresses like his favorite American hero, silly as it may seem, and says “Cowabunga” during desperate attacks. And is named Leonardo. But it’s OK, because this is a frog, not a turtle. Which makes this OK! Seriously, the mind reels at how much Touno wanted to use Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles here, and the serial numbers aren’t so much filed off as covered over with see-through tape. Leonardo is actually a New Yorker, which is refreshing, and we get a passable idea of what his life was like in the real world before this (he seems to be a computer nerd). Here, he’s a very competent assassin, though he’s still not quite invested in their current situation, and has trouble seeing the People of the Earth as anything but NPCs. A lot of this book is showing him the error of his ways, including a subtle romance with Coppelia, a girl with a mysterious past.

The Log Horizon anime did a good job of steadfastly putting each book on the screen… with the exception of this book, which got short shrift, getting only one episode devoted to it. As such, if anime fans wanted to know which one they had to buy to get more details, this is definitely the one. There is the usual endless discussion of game mechanics, far more than almost any other LN in a game world bothers to do, but there are also some very cool battles. And we get more insight into what exactly is happening, and how the People of the Earth and its denizens are reacting to it. Lastly, I was very amused by the occasional mention of the series’ big bad, Indicus, the smug maid who’s using Nureha as a puppet ruler. Every time she’s mentioned, it’s in a “My friends… and Zoidberg” way, showing that almost nobody can stand her. I expect a confrontation between her and Shiroe soon.

This volume didn’t blow me away like the previous one did, but it’s a rock-solid volume of Log Horizon, and fans of the anime will absolutely have to get it. And remember, this Leonardo likes SUSHI, not pizza.

Bookshelf Briefs 10/30/17

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Alice & Zoroku, Vol. 2 | By Tetsuya Imai| Seven Seas – I’ll be honest, I have next to no interest in the science fiction part of this series, which involves mysterious powers, political intrigue trying to control those powers, a woman with a tragic backstory who is happy to use said backstory to kidnap children if it allows her to be close to her husband, etc. It’s told in a reasonable manner, but mostly left me cold. Where the series really takes off is when Zoroku is on the page—his righteous rage and straight-ahead manner no doubt frustrates his family endlessly, but they’re exactly what Sana needs, and his speeches to her were the highlight of the book. It’s an interesting balance between the two, but I’m still invested enough in the story to see where the author goes with it. – Sean Gaffney

Beasts of Abigaile, Vol. 2 | By Spica Aoki| Seven Seas – Most shoujo series live and die on the strength of the heroine, and that one big plus that Abigaile has going for it. Nina is spunky, righteous, and inspires others. She’ll sacrifice herself in order to save someone else, and also do her best to make friends AND try to figure out why she’s changed and how to escape this prison. We also get a little better look at why she left Japan, as it becomes clear it wasn’t just bullying but boomerang bullying. Naturally she’s about to get that here, as we have Eva clearly ready to take up the torch and become the Evil Girl who is there to make Nina’s life miserable. Not much in this series is surprising, but I enjoy its heart being on its sleeve, and fans of werewolves and shoujo will want to get it. – Sean Gaffney

Black Butler, Vol. 24 | By Yana Toboso | Yen Press – When a new volume of Black Butler comes out, I always think, “Ooh!” but then I read it and I’m like, “Oh yeah.” Because every time, I experience a mixture of mild interest and “I really don’t care about these characters.” In this installment, Ciel is up investigating a popular music hall that is extracting blood from its customers. Rather than raze it, he decides it’s wiser to set up an alternative to capture people’s hearts, and so he does, and we get another boy band performance from more students at the boys’ school. I suppose if one reads this series for fanservice reasons, this is plenty satisfying, but since I don’t, it’s rather ho-hum. I don’t know why I can’t just drop this series, but I guess I like it just enough to keep going with it. Faint praise, indeed. – Michelle Smith

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 3 | By Nagabe| Seven Seas – After the first two volumes were unsettling with occasional suggestion that things might get a bit scary, this volume jumps headfirst into terrifying, especially towards the end of the book. I will also give it credit for a major fake out—I was fairly certain that one of the characters reintroduced here was either a fake or dead, and the fact that they’re not really shook me. Of course, they’re not untouched by the events going on in the book. The whole infection thing appears to be very real, and we understand Teacher’s feelings and hands-off attitude with Shiva a lot better now. And, of course, the best reason to read this series: the art is amazing. Do yourself a favor and pick this up. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 9 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – I’m happy to report that there was no sign whatsoever of Hori cajoling Miyamura into being rough with her in this volume. Instead, we get a series of vignettes about the Hori family kotatsu and how it lulls the unsuspecting into lengthy naps, plus a recurring theme about Hori eating too many tangerines. I really liked the final scene between Hori and Miyamura, as it’s the kind of important romantic development we haven’t had in a few volumes now, but my attention was most captivated by Yuki and Tooru, who are still pretending to be dating. Yuki doesn’t want to drop the ruse, even when it breaks Sakura’s heart, yet also doesn’t want to suggest that it could be the real deal, lest she lose what closeness she does have with Tooru. I find I’m pretty invested in the outcome of their side drama. – Michelle Smith

Please Tell Me! Galko-chan, Vol. 4 | By Kenya Suzuki| Seven Seas – By now you know what you’re getting with a volume of Galko-chan. There’s not as much constant sex talk as the first volume, though it definitely crops up, and the art occasionally loves to emphasize the bodies of the girls. On the bright side, while the author clearly loves large breasts, the bodies are drawn relatively realistically for such characters. But honestly, the real reason to read this series is the friendship between Galko, Otoko and Ojou, and their daily conversations and obsessions. Galko’s obsession with Western films is getting more and more attention, and we even get a Snakes on a Plane mention. One of the better slice-of-life style series out there. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops, Vol. 4 | By Neko Nekobyou and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – I will admit, it’s possible that the outcome of this volume—which wraps up the storyline with Lux’s past in SAO—was a bit too overwhelmingly sweet and heartwarming. SAO doesn’t really lean on the whole “power of friendship” trope as much as some other shonen series, but Girls’ Ops is not afraid to take it and run, with our villain doing her best to break Lux and her new friends apart, and completely failing to do so. And the villain is saved too, and turns out to be another ojou like Lux (and Asuna—honestly, the game must have been expensive as it had a lot of rich kids playing it). And Silica got to be smart and cool! I like that. The series does continue, likely in another year or so. – Sean Gaffney

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 8 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics (digial only for the moment)- Just as Rinko has found easy-going happiness with Mr. Hayasaka and has moved in with him, her friends and Mami turn up on her doorstep with the revelation that Key might be in love with her. To Rinko’s credit, she protests a great deal while en route to see him, but the fact is… she got in the car of her own free will. And man, Higashimura-sensei is so wonderfully cruel about depicting what ensues. Once Rinko and Key meet again, their chemistry is undeniable, resulting in some great dramatic moments, but these developments are intercut with scenes in which sweet Mr. Hayasaka thinks how nice it is to have someone to come home to and plans the nice dinner he’s going to make for their private housewarming party. It’ll be brutal to see how much he is hurt by this, but I still desperately want that final volume ASAP! – Michelle Smith

My Week in Manga: October 23-October 29, 2017

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My News and Reviews

In addition to the usual My Week in Manga, two other features were posted at Experiments in Manga last week. First up was the most recent monthly giveaway. The winner won’t be announced until Wednesday, so there’s still a little time left to enter for a chance to win the first volume of Oresama Teacher by Izumi Tsubaki. (I finally got around to reading Oresama Teacher because I love Tusbaki’s other manga series Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun so much. I am delighted to report that Oresama Teacher is great, too.) I also posted my review of the first omnibus of Sweet Blue Flowers by Takako Shimura last week. The manga was one of the debuts that I was most excited for this year and I was not at all disappointed. Like Shimura’s earlier series Wandering Son (which is an extremely important manga to me personally), Sweet Blue Flowers is a beautiful work. I’m so glad that it’s finally getting the print release it deserves and look forward to reading the rest of the series. (Now if only the rest of Wandering Son could be published, too! My fantasy is that Sweet Blue Flowers will be so successful that more of Shimura’s work will be translated.) Once again, I wasn’t actually online much last week and I worked on Sunday so I’m sure there’s plenty of news that I’ve missed. However, I did catch that Thomas Baudinette posted a translation of “Painting the essence of gay erotic art”–an interview with Gengoroh Tagame from a 2014 issue of the art magazine Bijutsu Techo.

Quick Takes

Fairy Tail: RhodoniteFairy Tail: Rhodonite by Kyouta Shibano. At first I was a little confused by the “2” emblazoned upon the cover of Rhodonite since it’s not in fact the second volume of Rhodonite. Instead, it’s the second volume in Shibano’s Fairy Tail Gaiden manga, one of a multitude of series spinning off from Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail that have recently been translated into English. Despite retaining the volume designations, the Fairy Tail Gaiden manga are being released as independent works by Kodansha Comics. Shibano’s three spinoff volumes, while relying very heavily on the original series, largely stand alone from one another. Rhodonite collects two side stories featuring Gajeel Redfox, one of the Dragon Slayers associated with the Fairy Tail Guild. Since I’m not especially well-versed in the Fairy Tail franchise, I’m not exactly sure where the first story, from which the volume gains its name, fits in. However, it does reveal more of Gajeel’s past and backstory as the guild is investigating the magic drug trade. The second story takes place while Gajeel is a member of the Magic Council during Fairy Tail’s disbandment. In this story he temporarily teams up with Cobra to rescue a group of children who were kidnapped to be sold as slaves. Already intended for those already familiar with Fairy Tail, Rhodonite will even more specifically appeal to those who are fans of Gajeel.

Spirit Circle, Volume 1Spirit Circle, Volume 1 by Satoshi Mizukami. I rather enjoyed Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, currently the only other manga series by Mizukami to be licensed in English. I would have been interested in Spirit Circle for that reason alone, but I’ve also been hearing great (and well-deserved) things about the manga beyond that. Like it’s predecessor in English (which is actually briefly referenced in passing), Spirit Circle is a manga that’s a little strange and quirky but that also has a great deal of heart and soul. Fuuta Okeya has the ability to see ghosts. That by itself would generally be enough to form the basic premise of a series, but thanks to a new transfer student, Fuuta must now also confront his past lives. Though meeting Fuuta for the first time in this life, Kouko Ishigami is very familiar with his previous incarnations. Historically, their encounters haven’t always gone so well, though. In the first volume of Spirit Circle, Fuuta is made to relive two of his pasts to the point of his deaths and parts of a third life are revealed as well. So far, I’m loving Spirit Circle. Fuuta and Kouko’s past lives are filled with heartbreaks and joys, echoes of which are apparent in the teenagers’ current existences. Taken separately, the stories are interesting, but together they’re marvelous. I’m very curious to see where Mizukami takes the series next.

Sweet Bean PasteSweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. The 2015 film adaptation of Sukegawa’s novel An has been released internationally under several different titles–Sweet Red Bean Paste, An, and Sweet Bean–and now the original work has been translated into English with yet another title variation, Sweet Bean Paste. I’ve not seen Naomi Kawase’s film, but it seems to have been generally well-received. As for Sukegawa’s original novel, it makes for a fairly quick and light read despite some of the story’s more tragic undercurrents and philosophical musings. Sentaro is a man with a criminal past, out of prison but still working off his debt by making and selling dorayaki in a confectionery shop owned by the widow of his boss. He’s not particularly invested in the job, but that begins to change when an elderly woman named Tokue, her hands disfigured from a childhood illness, convinces him to let her join him at the shop. Bringing a unique perspective on life along with a recipe for sweet bean paste more delicious than any other Sentaro has tasted, Tokue has a huge influence upon the younger man as their unexpected friendship blossoms. Although much about Tokue’s past is unfortunate and she continues to deal with the stigma associated with leprosy, she has still found a way to live on in the face of prejudice and discontent. Sentaro has much to learn from Tokue, even if the lessons are bittersweet.

Hybrid x Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia, Vol. 1

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By Masamune Kuji, Riku Ayakawa, Hisasi, and Kurogin. Released in Japan as “Masou Gakuen HxH” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comp Ace. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Caleb Cook.

Every once in a while, despite knowing that it’s not really my thing, I take a look at one of these “excuse to draw large breasts” series. If I’m unlucky, I can’t even finish the thing. If I’m lucky, I find enough points of interest to catch my eye besides the boobs. Most of the time, though, I finish the volume and think “well, that certainly was that kind of series”, and such is the case with Hybrid x Heart, which also manages to work in the cliche of the magical academy of fighters. The thing that did surprise me, though, is how much the basic plot feels like Evangelion. Boy who was abandoned for being useless is brought back in a time of crisis to use his mecha powers to save the world, being led by his older sister, who is not a great Gendo figure, but we can’t have everything. The difference is that in order to save the world, he has to feel up the female cast until they gain power.

Yes, you read that right. Usually these series at least try to put a veneer of technology over the ecchi deeds, and we try to get that here with talk of “hybrid counts” and how it’s Kizuna’s power that basically refuels them. But it’s really about the breasts, which are groped quite a bit in this series, because there’s also a lot of mecha fighting and the girls who do the actual fighting need a bit of a recharge. I did notice that this is the sort of series where we not only credit the original character designer, but the original mecha designer, and the powered suits do look pretty cool if you’re into that sort of thing, though I imagine hardcore Gundam types might want to see more mecha battles and a bit less groping. As for the characters, they’re very generic, with the heroine Aine seemingly OK with Kizuna doing whatever he wants as long as she gets more power, and the standard blonde American Yurishia who will no doubt be the first main rival figure.

This was originally a light novel, and I think, as with the other series of this sort where the manga was licensed but the LN wasn’t (High School DxD, Testament of Sister New Devil) I should probably be grateful – the groping and constant boobfest is bad enough visually, but as prose I think it might be unbearable. As for the art, it’s passable, though I do note that Aine (blue hair) and Yurishia (blonde hair) have a tendency to look a lot alike in black and white, and it can be hard to tell them apart. Honestly, this reads sort of like the harem Evangelion fics you used to see back in the day on FFNet, with of course one big exception: no one is getting lucky here. The series doesn’t go beyond groping in this first volume. I’m not sure oif that will change, but in the meantime, I can recommend this series only to the most hardcore “must get everything with mecha” fans, or its likely audience, 13-year-old boys.

Kamisama Kiss Vol. 25 – limited edition

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Kamisama Kiss Volume 25 Limited Edition by Julietta Suzuki

I had a good time getting caught up on this series in order to enjoy the special edition concluding volume. After having to deal with the grand conclusion of the saga concerning Tomoe and Akura-ou, including visiting the land of the dead, tracking down Akura-oh’s immortal body, and dealing with Nanami’s decline after having her life force taken from her, the final volume gives all the characters in Kamisama Kiss some much needed breathing room, as Nanami and Tomoe prepare to enter the world of human adulthood together. Along the way Nanami helps out the Kotaro and Himemiko one last time, and it is nice to have this circular moment of returning to some of Nanami’s first friends after she became attached to the Ayakashi world.

Nanami and Tomoe’s wedding is a little bittersweet, because when they both become human, they’ll become cut off from the world where all their friends live. This is especially hard on Mizuki, who is worried about being left alone. Nanami and Tomoe decide to marry on the last possible day before becoming human, so everyone can be invited to the wedding. I do enjoy final volumes that allow the reader to say goodbye to an extended cast of characters, and this volume pulls off the reunion and celebration in a lively fashion, with detailed wedding costumes and panels that pause to show all the wedding guests. Someone as capable and arrogant as Tomoe isn’t going to have too much difficulty fitting into the human world, and the final chapter shows just how capable the newly human couple is at adapting to their new life.

The limited edition featured a slim hardcover book with the first few pages devoted to small reproductions of the color pages in the manga volumes. This was done in a collage, year-book style layout which was nice, but it also made me really long for an oversized volume of Julietta Suzuki illustrations because some of the detail was lost. The bulk of the volume is an extra bonus story that shows more of Nanami and Tomoe’s life after becoming human, with bonus pencil sketches of the final chapter of the manga. It was nice to get a window into Suzuki’s artistic process, I only wish the special bonus book had been two times the size and twice as long, but I shouldn’t be greedy! Kamisama Kiss was such a special series, I’m glad the final volume got a little extra bonus for the long-time fans who have enjoyed the series for so long.

In Another World with My Smartphone, Vol. 5

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By Patora Fuyuhara and Eiji Usatsuka. Released in Japan as “Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson.

First, off, here’s a surprise with this volume of Smartphone: there’s no new love interest. Touya’s list of wives is still stuck at five, and (for anime watchers who were rather startled to see her name on the flashforward) Leen here does nothing except dole out the occasional exposition and pine for the library to be discovered. That does not mean that there’s not a lot going on here: the story is jam-packed as always, though typically it does not appear to follow a specific path so much as meander. Touya sets up his new duchy, adding renovations to the castle (game room with bowling alley and whack-a-mole), gets the major rulers of the area obsessed with mahjong, creates roads, brings in new businesses, and creates a legion of soldiers (including a team of ninjas led by Tsubaki from the Eashen volume). Typical Smartphone stuff, and nothing that would raise an eyebrow. But let’s talk about the religious dictatorship.

This is the first volume to come out after the anime finished, so I expect may grab a few more readers who want to see what happens next. They may be surprised. Not so much by the evil and hypocritical dictatorship – such things are a dime a dozen in manga and light novels, and honestly the fact that the main Cardinal was described as looking exactly like Hitler barely raised an eyebrow. No, what startled me was Touya’s vehement reaction to the attempt to proselytize his nation, which in my opinion really went above and beyond natural “I’m not a fan of organized religion”. Touya’s past on our Earth pre-death has been completely ignored as we’ve gone along, but I do wonder if there was something in his past that led to this. I also suspect the author has an ax to grind. To be fair, Touya does say that he’s fine with people worshiping God in the way that they want – but he’ is very much against organized religion trying to flex its muscle, and says so vehemently. Where this becomes hilarious is that the God of this series – the one who resurrected Touya, which is why he can say “Sure I do” when people ask if he believes in God – comes down from on high to thank Touya for his speech decrying religion, and affirms to the somewhat terrified priestess watching that he really barely watches over the world at all – humans should seek to improve the world themselves, rather than rely on deities. The entire chapter is rather mind-boggling, and I wonder how it will read here in the West.

There is also a certain amount of backstory regarding the Phrase, which is not discovered through hard work and research, but instead given to us in an infodump by Ende, whose sole purpose in this series is to give exposition and look like Kaworu from Evangelion. The series’ faults are all still there – Touya is ridiculously overpowered, and finds out in this book he actually is a demigod; the BL author seems to have driven him into a complete “ew ew ew” rage whenever she’s remotely mentioned, which is irritating; and as I said before, despite the Phrase there seems to be no driving force behind this title beyond “watch what Touya does next”. That said, I’m content to do just that. The fiancees don’t get much to do here, but they all do kick ass in the final story, without Touya’s help, which pleased me. Oh yes, and Touya used his powers at Olga and Lyon’s nuptials for one of the sweetest wedding speeches you will ever see – it may be the highlight of the book. If you hated Smartphone, this won’t change your mind. If you loved Smartphone, unless you’re an Evangelical Christian, this will give you what you want.

Oh, and Touya also invents baseball. Because of course he does.

Gabriel Dropout, Vol. 1

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By Ukami. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks, serialization ongoing in the magazine Dengeki Daioh “g”. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Caleb Cook.

We’ve seen a lot of comedy manga lately from various publishers, but it’s been very hit and miss, which is not surprising given the nature of the beast. Comedy is hard, and comedy is also subjective. Sometimes something that’s enjoyable for a volume or two is going to be tiresome in the long haul (I’m looking at you, Aho Girl). Sometimes something that other readers find funny is going to rub you the wrong way, or you end up sympathizing too much with a group of characters who are clearly meant to be complete asses. That is, I suppose, theoretically possible with the cast of Gabriel Dropout, but I for one welcome a series that is not afraid to show us that both Heaven and Hell are combining to produce angels and devils that seem to specialize in being lazy, unproductive, pathetic, cruel, and completely unable to fulfill their original mission. If only as I find it very funny indeed.

Once again, the title is the premise. The girl on the cover is Gabriel, an Angel who graduated top of her class in Heaven, and is sent to Earth to learn how humans work so that she can help them in the best way possible. We do not, thankfully, see her arrival and fall – that would ruin the comedy. Instead, we simply cut to her, months later, down on Earth in a filthy apartment, playing RPGs, manga and rubbish stacked high, lazing around in her underwear. Her explanation for how this happened is as vague as it is self-serving, but I don’t care, as this sort of character is simply funny. She has a good snarky monologue in her head, can be the boke or tsukkomi as required, and clearly has the ability to be noble and upright but chooses not to. She’s assisted by Vignette, a demon who is essentially her mirror image – she needs to be doing bad things but has wound up being the student council president type.

These two alone would be a decent enough comedy, but we then add the ludicrously over the top Satanya, also a demon but far more egotistical, dramatic, and stupid. She’s the sort who brings her own downfall on herself, but it’s her reactions to everything that are wonderful. Then we see Gabriel’s fellow Angel Raphael, who is basically Mugi from K-On! if she were totally evil. Raphael lives to tease and troll, and therefore we see her most often with Satanya, who is the perfect victim. The premise of the series seems to be that the Angels and Devils would function much better of they were on each other’s team, though nobody is actually trying to do anything genuinely bad – Satanya regards throwing away a bottle without taking off the cap first as the height of villainy, after all.

Again, comedy is subjective, and I think some people might not enjoy this as much as I did. Certainly if you take Satanya’s suffering seriously the entire cast might simply be giant jerks. But I found Gabriel Dropout very funny, and am definitely adding it to my list of ongoing comedy manga. Whether it can survive the long haul… is a question the next volume will have to answer.

Sweet Blue Flowers, Vol. 1

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Sweet Blue Flowers, Omnibus 1Creator: Takako Shimura
Translator: John Werry
U.S. publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 9781421592985
Released: September 2017
Original release: 2005-2006

Takako Shimura is probably best known for two manga series. The first, and my introduction to her work, is Wandering Son, a series which sympathetically explores some of the challenges faced by transgender and gender non-conforming youth. (Wandering Son is an incredibly important manga to me personally and I will forever lament the fact that it will likely never be released in English in its entirety.) The second manga is Sweet Blue Flowers, another series with queer themes, this time focusing on bisexual young woman and lesbian teenagers. While the anime adaptation of Sweet Blue Flowers has been readily available in English for years, the publication history of Shimura’s original manga has been more fraught. Originally translated in 2012 as part of the failed JManga digital initiative, the first volume was subsequently released by Digital Manga in a less than stellar ebook version after which the series languished unfinished. Surprisingly, Sweet Blue Flowers would be rescued by Viz Media, making it one of the first yuri manga to ever be released by the publisher. The first print omnibus of the Viz Signature edition of Sweet Blue Flowers, collecting the first and second volumes of the series originally published in Japan in 2005 and 2006, was easily one of my most anticipated debuts of 2017.

Fumi Manjome and Akira Okudaira were very close as children but the two girls fell out of touch after Fumi’s family moved away. Many years later they meet again by chance while commuting by train on the way to their first day of high school. They don’t actually realize who the other one is at first, but soon Fumi and Akira’s friendship is rekindled and their relationship blossoms once more. Since they attend different all-girls schools they don’t get a chance to see each other as much as they might like, though. Even so, both Akira and Fumi are faced with some similar trials which bring them together–making friends at their new schools and finding an extracurricular club to join that interests them among other things–but not everything is the same for them. Although complimentary, the two young women have strikingly different personalities, resulting in drastically different experiences and interactions. And while Akira doesn’t seem to have put much thought into romance, Fumi has recently had her heart broken. But now Fumi has fallen for an older student at her school, Yasuko Sugimoto, a young woman who is interested in Fumi but who is also dealing with an unrequited love of her own.

Sweet Blue Flowers, Omnibus 1, page 92Shimura’s artwork in Sweet Blue Flowers is simple and refined, but is still able to carry the emotional weight and expressiveness of the story. The focus of the manga’s illustrations is almost entirely on the characters themselves. Except for when the actual setting is intended to make an impact, such as the hallowed halls of a prestigious school or the imposing home of a distinguished family, backgrounds are minimalistic and sometimes even non-existent. Just enough is implied to give readers an impression of place and location. This technique, along with Shimura’s use of light and shadow, is reminiscent of intentionally minimal set design used in some theatrical performances which in turn nicely echoes the high school stage production of Wuthering Heights featured prominently in the first omnibus of Sweet Blue Flowers. The characters’ involvement with the play is an important part of the series both aesthetically and thematically. The connections to theater and creative performance arts present in Sweet Blue Flowers can also be found in Shimura’s other work, including but not limited to Wandering Son.

Sweet Blue Flowers is a wonderful series. The manga is emotionally resonate, with a realistic portrayal of the experiences of young women who love other young women. The characterizations and character development in Sweet Blue Flowers in particular are marvelous. Shimura effectively captures the nuances of a multitude of personalities and how they interact with one another, showing both individuals and their relationships as believably layered and convincingly complex. Sweet Blue Flowers is a relatively quiet story, but the emotional drama is powerful and the manga conveys a compelling sense of authenticity and honesty. I am loving the series and find that I am completely invested in the lives and well-being of Fumi, Akira, and the other characters as they navigate their adolescence. Life and relationships can be challenging and messy, something that Shimura does not shy away from in the manga. The young women in Sweet Blue Flowers grow and change, gaining maturity through their mistakes and missteps as well as personal clarity as they slowly discover their own identities. Sweet Blue Flowers is a worthwhile and lovely work; I’m so glad that it’s finally receiving a proper release in English.