Features & Reviews

Bookshelf Briefs 1/18/16

January 18, 2016 by Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

Sean and Michelle are back with a bevy of briefs!

Attack on Titan Junior High, Vol. 4 | By Saki Nakagawa | Kodansha Comics – It continues to be difficult to tell the players without a scorecard in this spinoff that parodies every other spinoff as well. So we see Kuklo and Sharle having their own very silly adventures, and the canonically dead parents of Eren, as well as the “long-lost” sister of Krista/Historia, both show up and are as silly as the rest. That said, the series is not content to coast on running gags and repetition, and we see several types of humor I would not otherwise have expected—the most startling being a sequence where Sasha has to play the straight man to three people even more idiotic than she is. Attack on Titan is a giant goof, and the translation is as loose as ever, but it’s still fun. – Sean Gaffney

A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 2 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamachi| Seven Seas – We’re still in the ‘let’s set up a bunch of chaos’ point in this manga’s story, so there’s lots of things introduced to hang a plot on. Estelle manages to revive the corpse of one victim to serve as a familiar and bodyguard, which is probably just as well as Accelerator is learning that after getting shot by Amai Ao there’s a limit to his own endurance. And one of the Misaka clones gets involved as well, though sadly it looks as though she is there purely to be in peril (you can tell as she’s not 10032, whose peril is limited to the Index series). Oh yes, and there’s a secret organization of thugs whose secrets are now coming out… far too easily. It’s chaotic, but Kamachi fans will find much to enjoy. – Sean Gaffney

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 3 | By Aya Shouoto | VIZ Media – Even though I generally like bittersweet, episodic supernatural tales, something about this volume seems unfocussed. First, we get the conclusion to the story about a ghostly classmate visiting Momochi House, which leads into a couple of chapters about an entity named Kasha. No one will really tell Himari much about him, so I don’t know if we’re being set up with a series antagonist or what. And then there’s a banquet in which Aoi/Nue is required to seal away a powerful demon. I liked this last story the best, even though Himari was eyerollingly impetuous, probably because it evoked a Natsume’s Book of Friends sort of tone. In the end, though this series isn’t great and the characters are still too shallow for my liking, I still enjoy reading it and plan to continue. – Michelle Smith

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 1 | By Amu Meguro | VIZ Media – I can’t really put into words what quality in a shoujo series makes me suspect it ran in Margaret or one of its offshoots, but Honey So Sweet definitely has it. Nao Kogure only agrees to go out with seeming delinquent Taiga Onise to avoid making him angry, but soon discovers the many sweet and thoughtful sides to him. That rumor about him starting a fight with upperclassmen, for instance? It was because they were tormenting a turtle, whom Onise has now made his adorable pet. It’s not overly cutesy, though, and though Onise seems like a real catch, Nao first has to get over her belief that she’s actually in love with her uncle. (Yeah, long story.) In the end, I enjoyed this very much and look forward to volume two! – Michelle Smith

My Love Story!!, Vol. 7 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – I’ve often speculated during this series that Sunakawa might be asexual. Not that I expect a shoujo romantic comedy to actually make that choice, but his complete lack of romantic interest is featured here in this seventh volume, where we meet a girl who’s spent almost her entire life admiring him from afar. Notably this is extremely well handled—she’s not really called out for it, just shown how there are better ways, such as actually interacting with Sunakawa. In the end, though, he likes her but is not interested. Is it that he really likes Takeo? Or doesn’t like anyone right now? All this is interspersed with the usual adorableness of our lead couple, the main reason that folks read this series. – Sean Gaffney

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 19 | By Yuki Midorikawa | Viz Media – Natsume and his grandmother usually get contrasted in this series, and we see more of that here, as the interactions he has include not just close friendships like Tanuma and casual school friends he used to have like Shibata, but also reluctant working relationships with creepy yet effective Matoba. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Reiko is his polar opposite, but we do see in a flashback story how difficult she finds basic interaction, be it human or yokai. Even as she does good deeds, she insists that it’s for her own selfishness. You’d never catch our Natsume doing that. And of course, there are lots more wonderful and terrifying yokai sprinkled throughout. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 4 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | Viz Media – We continue to expand our superhero-filled world in this volume, and see it’s just as political and selfish as you’d expect—a lot of glory hounds. Saitama, of course, doesn’t care about any of that, which is a good thing, as even when he’s saving the city from being devastated by a meteor he still causes a huge ton of damage. Still, he’s getting noticed. Meanwhile, we see a few other minor heroes, and I realize that this is likely going to be one of those shonen series with a huge cast that I can’t possibly tell apart. The fact that it’s still only the fourth volume worries me. Still, as long as they keep the action scenes cool and Saitama funny enough, I’ll keep following along while scratching my head. – Sean Gaffney

Rose Guns Days Season One, Vol. 2 | By Ryukishi07 and Soichiro | Yen Press – I am again reminded that this is not at all a series that would have been picked up were it not for the name of Ryukishi07 attached to it. He’s not having to worry about mysteries here, or even all that much horror. Instead we get to see a bunch of scenes devoted to showing off the difference between an idealist and a cynic. The narrative, as well as the majority of the characters, is as cynical as they come in this Japan gone wrong. But the meta-narrative expects us to side with Rose and her desperate shiny hopefulness that everyone would be really swell if we all just helped each other. I am hoping that future volumes will give Rose depth to help us respect her position. – Sean Gaffney

Ranma 1/2, Vols. 23-24

January 17, 2016 by Sean Gaffney

By Rumiko Takahashi. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz.

Ranma fandom these days is a different beast from where it was in the halcyon days of 1996-1997. Then it was striding the anime world like a colossus, at least in North America, and not even Sailor Moon seemed to have quite as many people discussing or writing fanfics about it. Nowadays it’s a small fish in a big pond, somewhat forgotten but retaining a nostalgic glow. This has, however, allowed some newer aspects of fandom to infiltrate, notably the BL fandom. Back in the day there was BL, but it seemed to get drowned out by all the male fans arguing about which girl Ranma should end up with. The idea that the best man for Ranma might be Ryouga is something that is dealt with in this volume, albeit not in a serious way.

Ryouga comes across yet another magical item that will help him to win Akane, this time a fishing rod whose mark on a body leaves it with ever-increasing feelings of love. To be fair to Ryouga, he does seem to have moral qualms about using such a device to win Akane over. To be unfair to Ryouga, he tries it regardless. And when it hits Ranma, Ranma starts feeling very friendly indeed towards Ryouga. It starts off as washing his clothes and cooking for him, But as the mark expands, things get more serious, to the point where Takahashi feels obliges to urn Ranma female for the rest of the story. Akane, of course, becomes convinced that Ryouga is using the rod on Ranma because he can’t confess to him. Not exactly progressive, but honestly, this is exactly the sort of plot hook that many a BL story could work with. It’s also the best story of the first half of the book, which otherwise deals with annoyances such as Pantyhose Taro’s return (boring), Akane’s cooking (very boring), and Gosunkugi winning an enchanted suit of armor (really super boring and bad).

Luckily, the second half of the volume, is fantastic, and consists of one long story – indeed, there’s a cliffhanger, so it will carry over to the next volume. Herb is a villain who gives Ranma a challenge that he hasn’t really had to face in a long time, and his goofy yet deadly sidekicks Lime and Mint are just as dangerous – Ryouga is even brought to the point of death, though thankfully is able to triumph due to his super-depression. It allows Ranma to be clever and analytic again, one of my favorite sides of him, as he’s unable to see how Herb’s martial arts works – and how it’s actually LESS powerful than expected – without knowing the secret – like Ranma, Herb changes to female in cold water. This is the first time we’ve seen someone with the same exact curse as Ranma, and it helps to showcase their different styles – Herb has modesty, for one, something Ranma does not care about a bit. We also briefly see Ryouga and Mousse work together with Ranma, even if they have murderous motivation at the start. They make a good team.

Ranma sometimes seems a bit hoary and sexist (and homophobic as well) compared to some of the more popular works today, but Takahashi’s creativity usually shines through, and fans of the series will find most of this omnibus highly rewarding.

Mushishi, Vol. 7

January 15, 2016 by Ash Brown

Creator: Yuki Urushibara
U.S. publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 9780345505590
Released: May 2009
Original release: 2006
Awards: Japan Media Arts Award, Kodansha Manga Award

Mushishi, Volume 7 by Yuki Urushibara was originally published in Japan in 2006. It was the first volume of the award-winning manga series to be released after the first of several anime adaptations began airing. 2006 was also the year that Mushishi earned Urushibara a Kodansha Manga Award, having previously won a Japan Media Arts Award in 2003. In English, the seventh volume of Mushishi was initially published in print in 2009 by Del Rey Manga and then was later re-released in a digital edition by Kodansha Comics in 2014 along with the rest of the series. Mushishi is one of my favorite manga and one of the first series that I made a point to follow and collect as it was being released in translation. I love the manga’s atmosphere, subtle horror, and the obvious influence that traditional Japanese folklore and legends have had on Urushibara’s storytelling in the series.

The seventh volume of Mushishi collects four stories. Interestingly, the mushi in these particular chapters tend to be somewhat tangential to the real issues that the characters are struggling with. While the mushi have an impact on the way events unfold and develop, it is the interaction between people that forms the core of the individual stories. “Lost in the Blossoms” is about several generations in a family of skilled landscapers who obsessively care for the embodiment of a peculiarly beautiful and ancient cherry tree. In “The Mirror in the Muck,” a young woman falls ill after the man she loves leaves her behind, her love sickness putting her life in real danger. A young boy has become a host to a mushi that attracts lightning in “At the Foot of Lightning,” but the even greater problem is the nearly nonexistent relationship between him and his mother. The volume concludes with the series’ first multi-part story, “The Ragged Road,” about the head of the Minai, a clan of mushishi responsible for investigating forbidden mushi no matter what the personal cost.

While Mushishi generally tends to be episodic, “The Ragged Road” directly ties in with an early story, “The Sea of Brushstrokes,” collected in Mushishi, Volume 2. The Minai family serves under the Karibusa family which is responsible for recording and protecting information about mushi; the fate of both families is intertwined with that of the forbidden mushi. I especially like “The Ragged Road” because it further develops the world of Mushishi. The other three stories in Mushishi, Volume 7 technically do as well, but because they’re only loosely connected to previous chapters their contributions to the series’ lore generally add more breadth rather than depth. Still, bits of the characterization of Ginko, the manga’s protagonist, continue to be revealed with the telling of each story, showing just how much of an outsider he is even within the community of mushishi.

Although the plots of the individual stories collected in Mushishi, Volume 7 aren’t directly connect to one another, they do all share some similar themes. In some ways, the manga feels more horror-like than some of the previous installments of the series. Mushi in the case of this volume are creatures that can steal away a person’s senses, identity, life, or even soul. But as terrifying as that can be, the most chilling thing that Ginko encounters aren’t mushi but failed human relationships. I find these four stories to be some of the most heartbreaking in the series for that reason. Ginko is faced with situations where, while he can deal with the mushi, he is powerless to completely ease the distress of the people involved and their troubled families. However, as sad and tragic as some of the stories in Mushishi can be, there’s still an underlying sense of hope that in time people will be able to heal and move forward through their pain.

The Manga Revue: Idol Dreams and Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun

January 15, 2016 by Katherine Dacey

Happy New Year! (Is it too late to extend that greeting to readers?) For my first column of 2016, I dove into my pile of unread books and chose two that I’d meant to review last year. The first is Arina Tanemura’s Idol Dreams, a body-swap comedy about a thirty-something office lady; the second is Izumi Tsubaki’s Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun, a 4-koma series about a hunky high school manga artist who just happens to be the author of a popular girls’ comic.

Idol Dreams, Vol. 1
By Arina Tanemura
Rated T, for readers 13 and up
VIZ Media, $9.99

Chikage Deguchi is at a crossroads: once a pretty, popular high school student, she’s become a sexless, thirty-something office drone who’s mocked by her co-workers. After making a fool of herself at a high school reunion, Chikage’s childhood friend Tokita stages a unique intervention, offering Chikage a drug that transforms her into a 15-year-old girl for a few hours a day. Chikage then does what any self-respecting 31-year-old would do: she pursues a (part-time) career as a teen idol.

Setting aside the question of whether anyone would voluntarily relive their teenage years, Idol Dreams has a bigger problem: tone. Arina Tanemura can’t decide if her story will revel in its absurdity or play things straight, and veers wildly between wacky show-biz hijinks and clumsy office scenes that are meant to establish just how awful Chikage’s adult life is. In the afterword to the story, Tanemura cheerfully vents her frustrations at being asked to do “a magical girl series for adults” without recourse to “too much screentone,” “gags and comedic touches,” or “super-stylish atmosphere.” Oddly enough, I don’t think these restrictions are the true source of the problem; if anything, Tanemura’s artwork is more polished and appealing in Idol Dreams than in Phantom Thief Jeanne or I.O.N. The real issue is the lead character: Tanemura never really explains why temporarily impersonating a 15-year-old would solve any of Chikage’s issues, especially since Chikage’s teenage alter ego is a wet noodle, too. The underlying message seems to be that recapturing youthful beauty is a pathway to empowerment–not a particularly novel or uplifting idea, given the developed world’s obsession with Botox, face lifts, wrinkle cream, and 17-year-old models.

The bottom line: I never thought I’d say this, but Idol Dreams is the rare Tanemura manga that would benefit from more zaniness and sparkly backgrounds.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun, Vol. 1
By Izumi Tsubaki
Rated T, for teen readers
Yen Press, $13.00

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun is a textbook example of what happens when a great idea bumps up against the limitations of a restrictive format. The set-up is comedy gold: tenth-grader Chiyo Sakura confesses her romantic feelings to hunky classmate Umetarou Nozaki, only to have him casually respond, “Do you want to come to my place right now?” Flustered, Chiyo agrees but is surprised when Nozaki doesn’t put the moves on her; instead, he puts her to work on a chapter of his hit shojo manga Let’s Fall. Chiyo’s attempts to extricate herself from Nozaki’s employ or clarify her feelings for him only make things worse, as Nozaki is both romantically inexperienced and genuinely obtuse.

So far, so good: the concept provides plenty of fodder for jokes and pratfalls. The four-panel format, however, locks each character into a holding pattern in which he or she is doomed to repeat the same behavior over and over again. The supporting cast is big enough to prevent Monthly Girls from reading like a month’s worth of Cathy or Garfield strips, but the rhythm of every gag is virtually the same, whether author Izumi Tsubaki is introducing a new character, poking fun at shojo manga cliches, or demonstrating just how socially inept Nozaki really is; long stretches of Monthly Girls read like a Henny Youngman set, albeit with stranger–and funnier–material. Take my manga… please!

The bottom line: Some of the jokes are genuinely funny, but the series already feels like it’s chasing its tail by the end of chapter three.

Odds and Ends: Organization Anti-Social Geniuses has a new look, a new name, and a new URL. You’ll now find Justin Stroman and the gang at http://www.theoasg.com/. Manga vlogger Pluto Burns took a break from reviewing books and conducted a great interview with Carolina Manga Library founder Laura Mehaffey. If you’re not familiar with the good work that Mehaffey and her staff are doing, click here to learn more about this traveling book collection.

Reviews: Sean Gaffney, Anna N. and Michelle Smith post their first Bookshelf Briefs column of 2016. On the agenda: D-Frag!, My Love Story!!, Pandora Hearts, and Saki. Elsewhere on the web, Rebecca Silverman and Kory Cerjak review the first volume of Yowamushi Pedal, my pick for Best New Manga of 2015.

Chris Kirby on vol. 1 of 7 Billion Needles (The Fandom Post)
Karen Maeda on vol. 7 of Assassination Classroom (Sequential Tart)
Matthew Warner on Ayako (The Fandom Post)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 1 of Bloody Mary (Sequential Tart)
Megan R. on CLAMP School Detectives (The Manga Test Drive)
Justin on Confession (The OASG)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 5 of Demon from Afar (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Emma (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Honey So Sweet (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood (Experiments in Manga)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 19 of Kamisama Kiss (Sequential Tart)
Ken H on vol. 1 of LD♥K (Sequential Ink)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Livingstone (Anime News Network)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun (Manga Xanadu)
Dustin Cabeal on vol. 2 of My Hero Academia (Comic Bastards)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kane Bugeja on vol. 3 of One-Punch Man (Snap 30)
David Brooke on vol. 4 of One-Punch Man (AiPT!)
Dustin Cabeal on vol. 4 of One-Punch Man (Comic Bastards)
SKJAM! on vol. 18 of Rin-ne (SKJAM! Reviews)
Ken H. on vol. 9 of Say I Love You (Sequential Ink)
Helen on vol. 1 of Student Council’s Discretion (The OASG)
Patrick Moore on vol. 8 of Tiger & Bunny (Bento Byte)
Che Gilson on Tokyo Ghoul (Otaku USA)
Marion Olea on vol. 2 of Tokyo Ghoul (No Flying No Tights)
Frank Inglese on vols. 8-9 of Vagabond: VIZBIG Edition (Snap 30)
Ash Brown on vol. 7 of Vinland Saga (Experiments in Manga)
SKJAM! on vol. 7 of Vinland Saga (SKJAM! Reviews)
Megan Rupe on vols. 1-2 of Yo-Kai Watch (No Flying No Tights)

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 1

January 15, 2016 by Sean Gaffney

By Amu Meguro. Released in Japan as “Honey” by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Margaret. Released in North America by Viz.

In general I try to avoid reading back cover copy when I get a book, as it frequently tends to spoil the entire volume, particularly with manga titles. That said, I wouldn’t have to worry about that with Honey So Sweet, which wastes absolutely no time telling us what our premise is. Bad boy delinquent is secretly a big sweetie pie. We’ve seen this before, and not just in shoujo, and if that’s all there was to this title I’d likely be saving it fro a Brief review and moving on. But it also has the heroine, Nao, who is shy in all the worst ways – life has left her with an intense desire to avoid conflict, and so when Taiga confesses to her the initial reaction is “if I say no, he’ll kill me’.

I’ve talked before about how difficult it can be to keep readers from abandoning a series when you write someone with major character flaws. To be fair, it is easier to do so when your heroine is of the wallflower variety than if she’s a selfish ball of temper. But Nao is the early parts of this volume is someone that is seemingly making all the wrong choices in an effort to just slide by in life – and she knows it, as she keeps repeating it to herself. Her parents have passed away at an early age, and much of her narrative monologue is done as communication with their souls in heaven. Her She’s living with her mother’s younger sister, who she has a massive complex for since he took her in and has sacrificed quite a bit for her. And she (not surprisingly) always seems depressed.

So it’s great seeing Taiga slowly manage to get Nao to have fun, and show actual effort, and elicit feelings from her that aren’t “go along with him because SCARED!”. We learn less about him in this volume, except that he tries a bit too hard to help out everyone, particularly Nao, but that’s the point – he’s the nice guy at heart, and you have to look past his face. By the end of the volume, Nao’s uncle is remarking on the fact that she’s smiling a lot more these days, and it’s a great thing to see, as now we can see her moving forward in life and doing things she’s good at.

In many ways this is very typical shoujo romance – we’ve seen Taiga’s sort in hundreds of other titles. We have two others who form a core group with our hero and heroine, and one is the tsundere hothead guy who speaks before he thinks, which again we’ve seen before. The other is Kayo, who’s grumpy, stoic, and seemingly written as a gift to me – I really want to see more from her in future volumes. Together they don’t make this title unmissable, but they make it enjoyable, and by the end Nao has developed enough so that you’re rooting for her as well.

Manga the Week of 1/20

January 14, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Michelle Smith and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: Next week’s releases really run the gamut of styles and genres. Let’s see what we’ve got.

Kodansha gives us a 2nd volume of Devil Survivor, meaning I am now officially behind.

And a 5th A Silent Voice, which I am definitely caught up on.

ASH: A Silent Voice continues to be a very strong series.

SEAN: And there’s also a 6th Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. I am also caught up here. Will we see more witches?

ASH: Time will tell!

SEAN: On the Seven Seas end, we have a 2nd volume of Golden Time, from the Toradora! author.

And the debut of The Testament of New Sister Devil, which sounds like it might hit every single current popular fetish out there, and a few more besides. We’ll see if I’m wrong.

Vertical gives us A Girl on the Shore, a complete omnibus of an Inio Asano series from the cult and sadly cancelled Manga Erotics F magazine. It’s Inio Asano, so I expect good, if depressing, things.

MICHELLE: This should be interesting.

ASH: I’m very much looking forward to this release.

MJ: Okay, this. Yes, this.

SEAN: And there’s a 6th volume of My Neighbor Seki, which is possibly the antidote if you’re read too much Inio Asano at once.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Viz gives us a 5th Master Keaton volume, having pushed it back from its original December release date.

MICHELLE: I need to resume my catchup efforts!

ASH: As do I!

MJ: Always welcome!

SEAN: And a 7th Monster Perfect Edition.

MICHELLE: Yay, Monster!

ASH: Monster is one of my favorite Urasawa series. I’m so glad to see it back in print!

SEAN: And Terra Formars has reached double digits with Volume 10.

Most of Yen’s stuff is the week after next, but two novels seem to be coming out next week as of this writing. Pandora Hearts has finished its Caucus Race light novels with the third volume, so at least MJcan’t get any further behind.

MJ: Oops?

SEAN: And there’s a 2nd volume of Strike the Blood, which will hopefully feel more genuine and less calculated than the first volume did.

Does something from this list sing to you? Crying out, “read me and be sad yet enriched”? Or perhaps “Read me and get suggestive succubi who say oniichan a lot”?

Vinland Saga, Omnibus 7

January 13, 2016 by Ash Brown

Creator: Makoto Yukimura
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781612628035
Released: September 2015
Original release: 2013-2014
Awards: Japan Media Arts Award, Kodansha Manga Award

I honestly believe Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga to be one of the best manga series currently being released in English. An epic tale of revenge, idealism, and the tremendous cost of violence, Vinland Saga is an incredibly engaging work with impressively compelling characters. In addition to being a personal favorite of mine, over the course of its publication the series has also won a Japan Media Arts Award and a Kodansha Manga Award among other honors. Kodansha Comics has been releasing Vinland Saga in English as a series of hardcover omnibuses. The seventh omnibus, released in late 2015, collects the thirteenth and fourteenth volumes of the manga originally published in Japan in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The seventh omnibus of Vinland Saga also includes two exclusives: the continuation of “Ask Yukimura,” where Yukimura responds to questions about the series, and a four-panel tribute comic by Faith Erin Hicks, another creator whose work I greatly admire.

After years of hard labor, Thorfinn’s freedom was near at hand until he and his fellow slave Einar became involved in an escape attempt. They helped Arnheid, Ketil’s favorite slave and mistress, aid her enslaved husband as he tried to run away from another farm. The attempt failed, resulting in multiple deaths. Now the three of them—Thorfinn, Einar, and Arnheid—must face the terrible consequences of their actions. Meanwhile, Ketil and his sons are returning from Jelling with King Canute and his finest warriors following close behind. In addition to dealing with his slaves, Ketil must also prepare for Canute’s inevitable attack before the farm falls into chaos. Canute plans on taking Ketil’s farm and wealth for his own in order to expand his kingdom, determined to create a paradise on earth for all who suffer from war and violence. Although he would prefer a peaceful resolution, Canute is more than prepared to stake his claim through questionable political maneuvering and force.

Like so many of the other omnibuses of Vinland Saga, the seventh is brutal and at times even gruesome. The artistic detail and research that Yukimura has applied to the portrayal of the day-to-day lives of eleventh-century nobility, warriors, merchants, and slaves has also been applied to the battles and wars they wage. Men and women are beaten to the brink or point of death; limbs are severed; skulls are crushed; eyes are gouged out—Vinland Saga is an intense and violent series. But that violence isn’t idealized or glorified by Yukimura. Even while an individual’s martial skill and battle prowess are respected and admired, violence is shown to be the truly terrible and destructive force that it is, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Some of the most important themes in Vinland Saga revolve around violence, how it impacts people and society, and whether it can be avoided or whether humanity is trapped in a never-ending cycle of bloodshed.

In addition to the plot of Vinland Saga as a whole, violence and its effects are also crucial to the development of the individual characters. Many of them are trying to break free from the violence that pervades their lives, facing moral quandaries over how to enact their ideals. The characters of Vinland Saga aren’t safely philosophizing over what is ethical, they are literally risking their lives for what they believe in. But even when their ultimate goals are the same, they approach them differently. Canute is now in a position of power as king and will use any method necessary to ultimately achieve his earthly paradise. Thorfinn, on the other hand, is reluctant to use violent force in order to gain peace. And there are plenty of other characters in the series who fall somewhere between these two perspectives. Seeing the realistic interplay among all of these different worldviews in the series has been immensely engrossing. Vinland Saga is well-worth reading even in part, but I sincerely hope to see the rest of the series translated as well.

The Island of Misfit Manga, Monthly Comic Birz

January 13, 2016 by Erica Friedman Leave a Comment

My stated intention for writing the Magazine no Mori column is to introduce the western audience to the vast, complex mass of manga magazines that are published in Japan. Where we have Shonen Jump only, a visit to a major Japanese anime/manga store will paralyze a western fan with the sheer number of magazines to choose from. But once you get past the number of magazines, what really impresses is the variety. And that variety is what I hope you can see when you look at my column. Action, romance for guys and girls, comics for children, for adult men and women and some interesting, creepy, creative and weird stuff around the edges. Which brings us this month to Gentosha Publishing’s Monthly Comic Birz (月刊コミックバーズ) magazine.

Birz‘s major claim to fame here in the west is as the official home of Hidekaz Himaruya’s Hetalia – Axis Powers. And it totally fits the “island of misfit manga” feel that the magazine has always cultivated. I wasn’t at all surprised to learn that gothic horror Red Garden manga (illustrated magnificently by Kirihito Ayamura and written by Gonzo) has run in this magazine – it was worth reading for the clothes alone, as was Peach-Pit’s Rozen Maiden. Just about the time I came across the manga for Penguindrum (illustrated by Hoshino Lilly, written by Ikuhara Kunihiko as Ikunichowder) and Yurikuma Arashi (illustrated by Morishima Akiko and written by Ikuhara as Ikunigomakinako) which are running simultaneously right now, I suddenly realized that Birz series are probably better known in America as anime than as the manga that run in the magazine. Also interestingly, Comic Birz is the home to the most recent series by popular creator Kia Asamiya, Kanojo no Carrera, in which he is able to draw sexy adult women and sports cars to his heart’s content.

The website for Comic Birz has sample chapters for all the currently running stories, upcoming releases, an editor’s blog, and links to various other Gentosha magazines. The magazine costs 650 yen/issue ($5.47 at time of writing) for about 650 pages.

Comic Birz has, for at least the last decade, cultivated a sense of the weird, with one foot firmly in the Horror genre, as you can see by the cover illustrating this review. Birz comics are sometimes disturbing, often outrageous, occasionally violent and almost always unrepentant, which is what I especially like about it. They’ve also just invested themselves heavily in Yuri manga, which I know means we’ll get stuff that makes me cringe, but it’s also more likely to have murder and mayhem than blushing confessions. Phew.

Monthly Comic Birz from Gentosha Publishing: http://www.gentosha-comics.net/birz/

My Week in Manga: January 4-January 10, 2016

January 11, 2016 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

The new year is now well on its way, and I finally feel like I’m getting back into my writing groove; my regular posting schedule has mostly returned, though there might be a slight interruption in February. Anyway. In addition to the regular My Week in Manga feature, there were two other posts at Experiments in Manga last week. The first was the announcement of the Merman in My Tub Giveaway Winner which also includes a compiled list of some of the giveaway participants’ favorite manga that were released in 2015. The second post last week also happened to be the second in-depth manga review for the year—JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Volume 3 by Hirohiko Araki. It’s such a ridiculous, over-the-top series, but I’m sincerely enjoying it.

As for some of the interesting things I’ve discovered online recently: The news was previously leaked, but Dark Horse has now officially announced its two new manga licenses, Kenji Tsuruta’s Wandering Island and CLAMP’s RG Veda. I thought I had mentioned it a few weeks ago when it first launched (apparently I forgot), but Digital Manga’s boys’ love imprint Juné has a new Kickstarter project to publish four titles by Sakira in print. At least three of the four manga were Digital Manga Guild publications that were previously only available digitally. The project has already succeeded, but Digital Manga’s plan is to put a fair amount of the money pledged into restocking/reprinting some of its older, hard-to-find boys’ love titles. Finally, over at MangaBlog, Kate Dacey, Brigid Alverson, and Deb Aoki talk about some of their most anticipated manga of 2016, many of which happen to be some of my most anticipated releases as well.

Quick Takes

Itazura na Kiss, Volumes 4-6 by Kaoru Tada. For the most part, I’m continuing to enjoy Itazura na Kiss. At this point in the series, Naoki and Kotoko are in college, each trying to figure out what to do with their lives. Kotoko’s infatuation with Naoki is the most important impetus for her to do just about anything, whether it be joining the tennis club, becoming a waitress, or trying her hand at office work. Normally, this would probably annoy me, but I appreciate her gusto, individuality, and willingness to follow through with what she’s started. Even though Kotoko is so incredibly focused on Naoki, her world actually doesn’t completely revolve around him and she’s not defined by him either, which I think is what makes her character work for me. Were it otherwise, I don’t think that I would enjoy the series nearly as much. Naoki continues to be aloof and more often than not a jerk. One particular instance in which Kotoko is unnecessarily treated very poorly could have been avoided entirely if he would have just had the courtesy to tell her what was going on, and there was no good reason for him not to. Thankfully, this sort of behavior isn’t romanticized or idealized in the manga.

Love in All Forms: The Big Book of Growing Up Queer edited by Serafina Dwyer. I follow the work of Kori Michele Handwerker who contributed to Love in All Forms which is how I first learned about the collection. I was also thrilled to discover that Jennifer Doyle, another artist whose work I enjoy, was also a contributor. The anthology collects fourteen comics by queer creators about queer children. Most of the creators were actually new to me, so I’ve definitely found some new artists to follow. As for the comics themselves, some of the stories are based in reality, while others are fantasy or science fiction, but they all deal with love and personal identity in one way or another. Many of the characters skew towards the feminine side of the gender non-conforming spectrum, but there’s a nice range of representation in the anthology with an emphasis on acceptance. Generally the stories tend to be fairly optimistic, which is marvelously refreshing. The name of the anthology might be a little misleading, or at least overly broad or ambitious, but it’s a lovely collection of beautifully heartfelt and touching queer comics.

Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-2) by Wataru Watanabe. I’ve watched and enjoyed part of the Yowamushi Pedal anime adaptation, so I wasn’t especially surprised by any of the developments found in the original manga. Even so, the first omnibus was great fun and I enjoyed it a great deal. Onoda is a fan of anime and manga whose surprising natural talents and regular trips by bicycle to Akihabara using less than ideal equipment have granted him some impressive cycling skills. He doesn’t even recognize his own abilities, though, not at all identifying with the more athletically inclined students at his school. But after several curious turns of events, he finds himself joining the bicycle road racing club. Watanabe isn’t very subtle when working information about cycling and bicycles into the story, which can be a little jarring, but the manga is still entertaining and I really like the characters. I’m glad that Yen Press is taking a chance on a long-running sports manga (the series is already over forty volumes in Japan and is still ongoing) and I sincerely hope that Yowamushi Pedal is a success.

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 1

January 10, 2016 by Sean Gaffney

By nanao and HaccaWorks*. Released in Japan by Media Factory, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Gene. Released in North America by Yen Press.

I’ve spoken before about how it can sometimes be difficult to review a new volume of a shoujo romance whose basic premise is ‘girl in high school likes guy, feelings ensue’, as there’s just so many of those out in North America. I am very happy to say that I’m starting to feel that way about the influx of yokai manga over here as well. We have all different types of yokai titles over here, including those for kids, for young adults, for men, for women. After a year that saw the loss of Shigeru Mizuki, it’s heartwarming to see his legacy, and that of Japan’s folklore, carry on. And so we have this new series, which is actually based off of a visual novel, and brings together the yokai genre with mystery, horror, and a bit of not-quite-BL – exactly what a shoujo reader would enjoy.

Our hero is Yue, a name that longtime readers of manga will know always seems to be connected to the supernatural in some way. (I believe in Chinese it means moon.) He’s a yokai, and seems to be very important, but is unfamiliar with much of the world beyond the temple area in which he lives. So he and his friend/familiar descend the mountain to attend a festival, and run into two contrasting humans, one quiet and serious, the other angry and a bit over the top. As the series goes on, and he gets permission to visit his new wannabe friends, though, we discover the village where this is taking place is slightly off to begin with, and that there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

This series is an excellent example of what you want in a first volume. It gives you enough backstory and characterization to satisfy while making you want to read more to see what happens. Yue is sweet and naive without seeming foolish, and Tsubaki is reserved but shows a genuine love of family. As for Akiyoshi, he provides some of the series’ few laughs with his stalker-ish ways, but also gets to carry the bulk of the exposition, as he knows about the yokai without being part of them. Honestly, the three leads make a good team.

As for the horror and mystery, well, it would appear the danger is not just of having your life taken, as if a typical vampire manga, but having your very existence removed from the world. An old kindly elementary school principal vanishes one day, and those connected to the school deny he was ever there – or that they even had a principal. It gives an extra frisson of creepy to the whole deal. For more old-fashioned horror, there’s also the standard scary black ghosts that try to eat you, which also pop up a lot in these sorts of manga. Basically, AkaAka (its fan nickname) may not tread all that much original ground, but it hits all the right notes and really makes you want to read on. A definite good read, despite a double bad sign of both a name all in lowercase *and* a name with a special character in the authors.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Vol. 3

January 8, 2016 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hirohiko Araki
U.S. publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 9781421578804
Released: August 2015
Original release: 1988

Although I had been previously aware of the manga series for some time, my real introduction to Hirohiko Araki’s multi-generational shounen epic JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was in 2012 through the standalone spinoff Rohan at the Louvre. I then proceeded to read the third story arc Stardust Crusaders, at the time the only other part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to have been released English. It wasn’t until 2015 that Phantom Blood, the very beginning of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was translated, published in a beautiful hardcover edition under Viz Media’s Shonen Jump imprint. When Phantom Blood was originally collected in Japan it was released in five volumes between 1987 and 1988. However, in 2002 it was re-released in three volumes which is what Viz Media’s edition is based on. Phantom Blood, Volume 3, published in English in 2015, is largely equivalent to the fourth and fifth volumes of the original Japanese release.

Having arrived in Wind Knights Lot in pursuit of his adoptive brother Dio, Jonathan Joestar must first successfully defeat two of Dio’s strongest undead minions and then traverse a town with a population that is steadily being turned into a hoard of zombies before he even has the chance to confront his brother. The Dark Knight Blueford, who is filled with hatred for the world and loyalty to Dio, is determined to take JoJo’s life. The other knight, Tarukus, is also exceptionally skilled when it comes to dealing out death and takes great delight in it. Should JoJo and his allies manage to survive their encounter with these two undead foe, they face an even more formidable adversary in Dio. Having used an ancient stone mask to turn himself into a vampire, Dio has gained untold strength and powers. Fortunately, JoJo is a quick and talented study—under the tutelage of Baron Zeppeli he has been able to begin to master Hamon energy, the only thing other than the sun itself that can harm to Dio.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure truly is a bizarre series; Phantom Blood makes this very clear from the very start. From the characters’ weird anatomy and disproportionate musculature to the story’s strange mix of melodrama, horror, and fantastic martial arts, Phantom Blood doesn’t just strain readers’ suspension of disbelief, the manga completely shatters it. Entire backstories are revealed in the time it takes for characters to tumble down cliff sides; combatants continue to live on after suffering injures that even the undead couldn’t survive; fights quickly escalate to unbelievable extremes, opponents continuously outdoing and outmaneuvering one another. Although the “why” of what’s going on is sometimes questionable, even considering Araki’s pseudo-scientific explanations, most everything is blatantly narrated by the participants and observers, so it’s fairly easy to at least follow the “what” of all of the strangeness. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is admittedly ridiculous and absurd, but that’s part of what makes the series so entertaining.

Phantom Blood is a relatively short series, especially when compared to the later story arcs of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. While Phantom Blood is a complete story in its own right, if often feels even more like a prologue to the rest of the series, laying the groundwork for all of the weirdness and machismo to come. Phantom Blood introduces the noble Joestar family—Jonathan in particular being especially gallant and large-hearted, even towards his enemies—but even more important is the introduction of Dio, an extraordinary villain. As Araki points out in the volume’s author notes, what make Dio so terrifying isn’t his impressive powers or brute strength, it’s his stunning ability to control others. Dio is arrogant but extremely charismatic, gaining many willing followers and easily manipulating those who aren’t. Phantom Blood is frequently gruesome and grotesque, with over-the-top violence, outrageous story developments, and audacious, larger-than-life characters. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a peculiar work, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next arc, Battle Tendency.

Manga the Week of 1/13

January 7, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, Ash Brown, Anna N, Michelle Smith and MJ 1 Comment

SEAN: Traditionally, the first and fourth weeks of the month are the largest, as Week 1 is where Viz releases it’s Jump and Beat titles, and Week 4 is usually Yen Press. Weeks 2 and 3 therefore vie for the remaining attention, containing less spectacular stuff – Viz puts out Sunday imprints in Week 2, but otherwise it can be a hodgepodge. (Week 3, to complete the analysis, is Viz’s Signature stuff.) Is there anything vying for attention in next week’s small batch?

Dark Horse gives us an 11th volume of its Lone Wolf and Cub omnibus.

ASH: I’m finally making a point to get caught up with Lone Wolf and Cub; it’s a really great series.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a trio of releases. Arpeggio of Blue Steel is a cut above the usual ‘girls are ships/planes/whatever’ genre, and I look forward to Vol. 6 next week.

The words “monster girls” may cause the entire Manga Bookshelf team to groan, but the debut of My Monster Secret from Seven Seas is intriguing – people I trust have told me it’s very funny and well-written. It’s from Weekly Shonen Champion, also home to Yowamushi Pedal, which it resembles not at all.

And we have a third Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, which… yeah, I can’t, really. I do hear it has an anime soon.

SubLime has an 8th volume of His Favorite, whose covers always look great, and has some fans here, I think.

ASH: That it does!

SEAN: Viz gives us 57 varieties of Case Closed, one for each volume it has out to date.

There’s a lot of fun stuff in the first half of the 12th Ranma 1/2 omnibus – including the famous “fishing rod of love” story – but let’s be honest, old-school fans will mostly want to read this for Herb. He shows up in the 2nd half.

Lastly, and thankfully for Manga Bookshelf writers desperate for a Pick of the Week, there’s a 3rd volume of Requiem of the Rose King, which is still in the Henry VI plays but possibly not for much longer.

ASH: Definitely the one volume that I’m most looking forward to this week!

ANNA: This is the ONLY volume I’m looking forward to this week!

MICHELLE: Yup. Same here.

MJ: Okay, this is probably predictable since I actually chose this series as my Pick of the Year, but: ME, me, me me me. Me. Yes, me. Me, too.

SEAN: What whets your appetite for next week?

Emma, Vol. 3

January 7, 2016 by Sean Gaffney

By Kaoru Mori. Released in Japan in two separate volumes by Enterbrain, serialized in the magazine Comic Beam. Released in North America by Yen Press.

The entire first half of this omnibus gives the reader the opportunity to watch a giant other shoe dropping, and the back half then shows the shoe’s impact, with horrible consequences for many people, but mostly for Emma. Last time I talked about how well the repressed yet burgeoning love between William and Emma is, and it flowers here, with Emma visibly getting happier and less repressed. William too is different now that he accepts his feelings and is determined to do something about them. Sadly, that determination runs up against absolutely everyone – his own family, who are determined that he not make the same mistakes they made, and more importantly his fiancee’s family, who may cross over the line into actually being evil, or at least willing to commit slow murder.

The author is very fond of big, dramatic moments – you see it in her Bride’s Story series as well – and you can see why, as she’s fantastic at handling them. The arrival of William at the Molders estate, and Emma running out to embrace him (the the surprise and amusement of the ENTIRE household) is fantastic, and reminds you again that it’s nicely coincidental that Emma ended up in the one household in Britain that wouldn’t be appalled at this. That said, that’s why William came up to meet her – the rest of society is not going to be quite as forgiving. The volume starts off with a flashback showing us how William’s parents, Richard and Aurelia, met and married. Aurelia is not of a lower class like Emma is, but she’s still “eccentric”, and that’s deadly for the time. More to the point, she’s introverted, and the pressures of society exhaust her to a damaging degree. Which is why they now live apart. It’s very bittersweet.

As for Eleanor’s father, wooooow. It’s rare we meet someone in a manga like this who gets to be pure evil. He’s really well handled, too, being extremely polite to William’s father, then throwing away his gloves in disgust afterwards, as he had touched someone of a merchant class – horrors! When William breaks off his impetuous and foolish engagement to Eleanor, to her horror, the Viscount calmly sees what needs to be done – Emma needs to disappear. Luckily, he knows some thugs who can fairly easily trick and abduct her (though the cliffhanger seems to hint she may be rescued soon). This sequence may be the weakest in the book – it’s a bit overmelodramatic, to be honest – but it’s earned, at least, and the true high point of the last half of the book is Williams’ screaming match with his father in any case.

I expect things to be resolved soon, even though we have two full omnibuses to go – the last three volumes of Emma were side stories and sequels, so these two wacky kids should get their happy ending soon. Which is good, as this volume could get pretty depressing at times – as Mori herself notes in the afterword. No worries, the journey is still very much worth the effort.

Bookshelf Briefs 1/5/16

January 5, 2016 by Sean Gaffney, Anna N and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

Happy new briefs!

D-Frag!, Vol. 7 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – The setting may have changed to an island beach, but that doesn’t mean that the cast are taking it easy in this new D-Frag! And no, I don’t mean they’re amping up their harem qualities or having thrilling adventures. I mean they’re all being the best bokes ever, to the point where Kenji and his sister spend half the volume collapsed in exhaustion from the constant tsukkomis that are needed. Plot and characterization are mostly irrelevant here. We do get another girl added to the pile, this one from a different school. She seems to be able to eat people’s unhappiness. If you can put up with near-constant gags and comebacks, D-Frag! remains terrific. It can be a bit exhausting, though, and I recommend taking a break after each chapter. – Sean Gaffney

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan, Vol. 10 | By Puyo and Nagaru Tanigawa | Yen Press – This gag manga has always tried to handle the actual canon with care, particularly when it comes to the later books. As an example, we have Yasumi present and correct in the club, as in books 9-11, but she doesn’t speak or do much of anything that might reveal what she really is. Mostly as that would detract from what this series is, a bunch of comedic riffs using the Haruhi cast and its own built-up silliness as a springboard for anything. In fact, its world is getting increasingly flexible—Asakura is big-size again for the sake of one storyline, because Kuyou is playing the ‘SD mode’ foil. Anything goes when it comes to this series, and if you enjoy Haruhi and don’t care much about canon, it’s still great fun. – Sean Gaffney

My Love Story!! Vol 7 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | Viz Media – I was looking forward to a Sunakawa-focused volume, and this fulfilled my expectations, with a bit of a plot twist. Takeo discovers that a girl named Yukika Amani has been in love with Sunakawa for years, sending him chocolate every year for Valentine’s day and observing him from afar. Determined to help the course of true love, Takeo and Yamato join forces to help Amani. While things don’t turn out in a typical shoujo manga fashion, Sunakawa’s quiet kindness is highlighted throughout this volume. My Love Story!! continues to be one of the best currently running shoujo series. – Anna N

Pandora Hearts, Vol. 23 | By Jun Mochizuki | Yen Press – It had been a while since I’d read a volume of Pandora Hearts, and after enjoying a small binge to get caught up, I can say that the series certainly reads better in chunks. Unfortunately, after the significant losses sustained at the end of recent volumes, I just can’t feel as deeply about the character who breathes their last in this volume, no matter how much it affects Oz. Otherwise, most of this volume seems to be devoted to convincing Vincent to stick around while neither Glen nor Oz makes much progress. At least we have a few scenes of Reim being great, though. I’m pleasantly surprised by the important role he’s playing here at the end. In any case, given how not devastating this particular volume was, I have a feeling I should keep tissues handy for the big finale. Gilbert had better make it out alive! – Michelle Smith

The Secret Sakura Shares | By Akira Hagio | Yen Press – I will say one thing about this one-and-done omnibus shoujo series—for once we have a ‘you will become my pet’ relationship that doesn’t end up being physically abusive, as Kei really does spoil Aoi as you would a pet. That said, I’d still call it abusive, as it causes her a lot of emotional turmoil due to feeling ‘useless’ and unable to do anything productive. Rich-kids-school shoujo generally features either an imported poor heroine or a former rich girl down on her luck, and this is the latter. Sadly, there simply isn’t all that much to say about it—I normally like short LaLa DX series, but I was ready for this to end before it was even halfway done. There’s better manga about imbalanced power relationships out there. – Sean Gaffney

Saki, Vol. 1 | By Ritz Kobayashi | Yen Press (digital only) – Bookworm Saki Miyanaga has perfected the art of neither winning nor losing mahjong with no idea of how difficult that is. Once she gets dragged to a club meeting and encouraged to win, she becomes eager to improve and progress to nationals, where she might be able to (I am not making this up) get her feelings across to her estranged sister (also a talented player) through mahjong. The volume starts a bit slow, but eventually terms like “prefectural qualifier” and “training camp” ignited my sports manga squee and I was eager for more. Unfortunately, Yen doesn’t have release dates for any more volumes listed yet! Also, I was a bit worried about fanservice in this title, but there’s hardly any. There’s a keen attention to boob size, which is a bit creepy, but I’ve seen much worse. Heartily recommended! – Michelle Smith

Say I Love You., Vol. 11 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – Hazuki-sensei has a special knack for taking shoujo scenarios we’ve all seen before and turning them into something that feels fresh. Heck, she even repeats the “use new school year to introduce romantic rival” trick she employed to introduce Kai to bring in siblings Len and Rin Aoi. And with Mei and friends starting their third year of high school, they’re soon absorbed in career decision angst. It’s certainly very far from a bad volume, but it is mainly occupied with introducing new characters and worries, so doesn’t delve very much into Mei and Yamato’s relationship. I do love that Hazuki resisted ending the series right after her leads had sex for the first time, as if that were the culmination of Mei’s growth and development, and also appreciate that she seems to be drawing Mei’s kitty more often. I always look forward to new volumes most eagerly. – Michelle Smith

Saki, Vol. 1

January 5, 2016 by Sean Gaffney

By Ritz Kobayashi. Released in Japan by Square Enix, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young Gangan. Released in North America digitally by Yen Press.

Variations on a theme is one of the cornerstones of writing, and it’s just as true for manga. While it’s always nice to see something that no one’s ever done before, the true prizes for publishers are the series that are what’s been done before countless times, but with a variation or twist that makes it different enough so that people won’t get bored. This is especially true of sports manga, which tend to hit the same plot beats. There’s a ragtag bunch of misfits, an eccentric team leader, fighting to get to the national tournament… we’ve seen this before in soccer, baseball, and football manga here in North America. And now, with Saki, we get to see it happen with mahjong. Because trust me, mahjong is serious business in Japan, definitely worthy of a cute seinen sports series.

Saki is our reluctant heroine, a girl who’s not a fan of mahjong because she always played it with her family, and lost her allowance when she did badly. As a result, when she plays now she’s learned to end up not winning or losing, but getting precisely zero points, thus taking the heat off. Of course, this is much harder than it sounds, and the club quickly realizes they have a second prodigy on their hands. Second because they already have Nodoka, a mahjong prodigy whose skill is almost unparalleled… until she meets Saki, who has intuition in-game that’s almost supernatural. Can the two of them learn from each other’s weak points and become even better? And is Saki’s family really just a cutthroat family that happens to like mahjong?

As I said, this is a sports manga with mahjong, and family angst is part of that. You may also remember similar issues in Girls Und panzer, which was a spots manga with tanks, and shares quite a few qualities with Saki. This series is also not afraid to be ridiculous – Kobayashi knows from prior mahjong series that dramatic flourishes and poses are what make the genre, and so tiled will be flipped earnestly and with pure hearts. There is a lot of discussion of how mahjong works, but if you don’t know it doesn’t really detract from the story, any more than not knowing how football worked detracted from Eyeshield 21.

The main reason to read this is the characters. Saki clearly has issues, and is also somewhat introverted. Nodoka has different issues, but a similar personality, and finds Saki’s ambivalence towards the game intensely frustrating. And even when Saki decides to join the club, there’s no guarantees – the first thing that the president does is have the two of them get crushed by a professional mahjong player, so that they know how far they both have to go. Oh yes, and there’s plenty of eccentricity here as well, mostly from Yuuki, a young girl who enjoys starting off with huge wins (which she can’t hold), tacos, and teasing the supposed male lead, though more accurately he’s the male extra.

Saki can get a bit dry in its mahjong chat, and the fanservice reminds you this runs in a seinen magazine, but it’s a lot of fun, with two likeable heroines. I will definitely be getting more of it.