Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews
SEAN: So yeah, remember me bragging I got Yen releases a week early? Not this month.
What does that mean?
It means Vagabond 34, that’s what it means. And that’s it. Luckily, Vagabond is pretty damn awesome. So for Vagabond fans, new volume!
ANNA: Vagabond is pretty great.
SEAN: For everyone else, catching up on the stacks of manga to read next to you, like me?
MICHELLE: And how! Seriously, there are literally stacks.
MJ: What she said!
The one downside of Weekly Shonen Jump Online is that not everyone wants to play along. Tumblr has become a cesspool of spoilers for me. Even deviant art is dangerous ground to tread. But where in the past I didn’t care, because I was reading scanlations when they came out, now I find myself caring very much. Has anyone else been having trouble with spoilers, now that you’ve been waiting for the chapters to be officially released?
Also, would anyone like me to give each chapter a grade? I know people like grades when reading reviews, so I’ve been wondering if that’s something I should adopt for this column, or if it wouldn’t work well. Leave your answers in the comments if you please.
Nisekoi Ch. 065
All I have to say about this week’s chapter is, what did they do to Raku!? Someone please tell me, otherwise it’s going to be left up to my imagination, and my imagination is a dark, scary place!
Either way, this was a great chapter. As I’ve said, I love me some comedy, so the more comedic Nisekoi gets the happier I get. And a chapter focusing on all the girls in the series getting drunk off liquor candies? All the better. Reviewing comedy is a bit tricky, because my gut instinct is to tell you all about the jokes, but I can’t possibly do them any justice, so please, if you haven’t yet, go read this chapter.
One Piece Ch. 701
Once again, every week I think to myself, “I should really give the number one spot this week to a different series. I ALWAYS give it to One Piece, people are going to start thinking I have inflexible taste.” And every week I read the chapter, and my first reaction is, “Well sonnuva…” I really, really don’t want anyone thinking I rate One Piece as high as I do just because it’s my favorite series, not because of the merits of the individual chapter. But when the individual chapters are just so good, what else can I do?
This week’s chapter is so good partly because we get our first look at Dressrosa, and partly because we get introduced to a character who was most likely first mentioned last week. Creative world building, well written comedy, and great action—this week has all of that, as One Piece usually does. If you aren’t reading this series yet, then you need to take the plunge and invest the necessary time to get caught up. It really is that good.
Naruto Ch. 623
I’ll say this about this week’s Naruto, it was better than last week. There was much less misplaced comedy and the confrontation begun at the end of this chapter looks like it will be a lot of fun, and was well set up. I’m finding myself enjoying this flashback a bit more, now that I’m a few weeks removed from remembering that it is awkwardly placed in the story as a whole. And I have to admit that I’ve been interested in this time period in Naruto history. So for now I’m looking forward to more.
Dragon Ball Z Ch. 006
The big problem with Dragon Ball Z, for this column at least, is that because of how action-intense it is there will be weeks where I find myself with nothing to say but, “Well, there was punching.” Though I suppose that might be more than could be said for some episodes of the anime.
In this case I find that the action was of course well executed and, unlike the anime which more people are familiar with, the fights actually move at a good pace. Rather than ending the chapter at a stalemate, Goku and Picolo are both injured, with only one chance to take down Raditz. In my own opinion this version of the story is the superior version, and any fan of Dragon Ball Z who hasn’t read the manga yet should be using this chance to become familiar with where it all started.
Cross Manage Ch. 024
It’s strange how Cross Manage has been embedding itself in my heart. I can’t think of any clear, specific reason for why I like it so much, but with every new chapter I find myself thinking that I would hate to see it go. Perhaps it’s the absurd humor, it might even be the surprisingly frequent fanservice, but whatever it is, it’s an entertaining read even if it has little to do with the titular sport.
Really it’s all about the character humor. In this case, Namine Chihara, is such an odd duck that I can’t figure out what her personality is meant to be. Either way, it’s entertaining. Currently she’s the closest thing to an antagonist we have, but she doesn’t seem like she is actually evil. Which of course works much better for the real world setting Cross Manage is going for, where antagonism is generally less about all out evil and more about people with opposing goals coming into contact with each other. I really liked this chapter, and hope that we get many more in the future.
World Trigger Ch. 005
World Trigger, for its strong start, has been a bit lackluster these last four chapters. This week, however, we did get some answers about how the triggers work. But rather than have a character explain it, we pick up nuggets of information from Yuma behaving the way a proper character is supposed to. He doesn’t explain anything, but his dialogue still reveals important information. I can appreciate this level of writing, after reading many, many series where any and all exposition is imparted to the reader through clunky dialogue. I’m still wary about whether this series will go anywhere, but there is some real skill behind this writing. So we shall see.
One-Punch Man Ch. 008
If you want a quick explanation to share with people about what exactly One-Punch Man is, you’re welcome:
One-Punch Man is the story of a world where everyone is trying to have regular superhero fights, but one man refuses to play by the rules.
I had this revelation after seeing Saitama interact with more than just the villain of the week. And with the story eight chapters in, I think it’s safe to say that the one punch joke somehow just isn’t getting stale. I’ll let you find out for yourself why exactly, but the last page of this chapter was the funniest thing I read this entire issue.
Bleach Ch. 529
Ah, sweet, sweet answers. It’s been a while since I’ve been invested in Bleach. And while I refuse to ever get involved in the fandom again—once burned twice shy after all—I am slowly getting interested in the series again. After all, we’re finally getting Isshin’s story, something fans have been wanting forever. And so far it isn’t terribly written, so I think I can get properly invested. This chapter was nothing but answers. For one, we finally find out why Ichigo and Kaien were practically identical, and unlike the reveal of Ichigo’s mother, while there was a theory that Ichigo and Kaien were related, the reveal was handled properly this chapter, in that it didn’t act like the reveal was bigger than it was. So, kudos to Kubo.
Toriko Ch. 225
Ah, nothing like powerups out of nowhere. It takes a certain kind of clout to properly pull that off. And where before only One Piece was able to do that without annoying me, Toriko seems to be aiming for similar heights, because Sunny’s powerup may be out of nowhere, but it’s far too cool for me to care.
The majority of this chapter really was just Sunny and Tommyrod’s fight, but that was more than enough for me. I’m not sure exactly how using sensor attached to hair is meant to be culinarily themed, but I think I’ll give it a pass, just because it is unique from all the other methods of fighting this series provides. And the only way to keep multiple fights interesting is by having varied fighting styles. And Toriko never disappoints in that aspect.
If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 038 – March 4, 2013 – What is Josei Manga? | Nanatsu no Taizai.
By Kouhei Horikoshi. Released in Japan as “Sensei no Barrage” by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media.
It can be somewhat difficult when you advertise the popularity of your own series. Weekly Shonen Jump has made it a point to discuss the “popularity poll” table of contents they do every week, with the strong series in the front and the ones with fewer votes in the back. As well as their culling of the latter at a moment’s notice. That said, just because a series is unpopular doesn’t mean that it’s bad. When Shonen Jump Alpha started up, they grabbed a few new series to show off the web magazine, and North American readers quickly found that new series in Jump die far more often than they live. Barrage being the first casualty.
Barrage makes it a point to say it takes place somewhere out in space, on an alien world. And indeed we do see a few aliens here and there, mostly of the villainous lizard type. But for the most part this world is “fantasy-ish”, about as alien as Naruto or One Piece’s non-Japanese worlds are. Astro is this spunky teenager who takes odd jobs to take care of the heartwarming band of orphans he’s gathered… and seems to lose said jobs just as fast due to his loud mouth and sense of justice. Then he runs into a boy who looks his exact duplicate, says he’ll have to impersonate the prince for a while… and then promptly gets shot, leaving Astro to fend for himself. Luckily, this is Jump, so a strong sense of justice is pretty much all you need. Well, that and an evolving alien sword.
There’s an over-earnestness that grates on me a bit when reading this. The scrappy band of orphans in particular look straight out of the Our Gang playbook, and their farewell scenes with Astro as he goes off to fight enemies are meant to be overly sappy in a humorous way, but instead becomes mawkish. The art is OK but not great, and at one point there’s a roving band of female outlaws (sort of) who are mostly indistinguishable from each other. And the plot and feel of this book does not particularly feel original (if Astro doesn’t turn out to have been the real prince after all by the time this wraps up, I’ll eat my copy of Volume 2).
That said, there’s stuff to like here. Astro is a good hero, being straightforward and sticking to principles without coming off as stupid or moralistic. Tiamat, the grumpy knight who is forced to mentor Astro on his journey, is the perfect antidote to Astro, and gradually won over by the boy’s immense charm. It’s also nice to see a competent, benevolent king for a change. Still, at the end of the day, if this were a 30+-volume epic like Bleach or Gintama, this would be where I’d say “it starts off poorly, but gets better after the first few volumes.” Sadly, Vol. 2 of Barrage was the last, and I suspect that the ending will feel like a “you’re cancelled, wrap it up” ending. I hope I’m wrong.
Welcome back. You can find Part 1 here, and here is the opening song again (yes, I do like the song).
Background on the Actors
For an idol drama, this drama has remarkably few idols. It rose to popularity mainly on the strength of the story. The only actor who really qualifies as an idol is Jimmy Lin, who plays Zhong Tianqi. This role was pretty made for him, for in addition to being an actor, he is a real-life professional car racer. However, his most famous role as a actor was not in an idol drama, but in wuxia (specifically, he played Duan Yu in the 2003 version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils).
Jimmy Lin as Duan Yu, Prince of Dali.
Arguably, Leon Jay Williams (who plays Zhong Tianjun) is also a quasi-idol, since he is a professional model, and quite easy on the eyes, even compared to most idol drama stars.
Interestingly, they cast a Korean actress, Yoo Ha-na, to play Xia Zhixing, which occasionally happens in Taiwanese television. It seems that her lines were dubbed, and I’m not sure who the dub artist (which I think is a pity, since the dub artist deserves as much credit as Yoo Ha-na). While I think their acting is okay, I think there are a number of Taiwanese actresses who could have played the role even better (I would have cast Barbie Hsu). There is a scene where Zhong Tianqi overhears some very soap-opera-ish dialogue, and Xia Zhixing claims “Oh, it’s just a K-drama.” I found that line doubly funny because the very character claiming that it was just a K-drama was being played by a Korean actress.
Location Location Location!
This drama features Ruifang, Wulai, and Pingxi, three of the top tourist attractions in the Taipei region.
However, rather than setting the story in Ruifang/Wulai/Pingxi, the story combines all three of them into the fictional village of “Mingde,” which is Xia Zhixing’s hometown. As someone who is familiar with Ruifang, Wulai, and Pingxi, this is a bit confusing, since sometimes the characters are in Ruifang one moment, and then they are in Pingxi the next moment.
However, I don’t think the drama shows the *really* beautiful parts of Pingxi, such as this spot, which just happens to be one of my favorite spots in all of Taiwan
Actually, Ruifang, Wulai, and Pingxi are more than just tourist attractions: they are important symbols of Taiwanese culture. Pingxi is often held up as being an idyllic Taiwanese rural town, which is why is it often featured in commercials, movies, etc (part of You Are the Apple of My Eye is set in Jingtong, which is in the Pingxi district). Wulai is the location of northern Taiwan’s highest waterfall.
The town of Wulai (I am resisting the urge to share even more photos of Wulai).
However, Ruifang in particular has an important place in Taiwanese culture. The towns of Jiufen, Jinguashi, and Shuinandong are all in the Ruifang district. Jiufen was once so prominent as a cultural center that it was called “little Shanghai.” As I’ve mentioned before, Jiufen and Jinguashi are the location of Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s A City of Sadness, which not only a famous Taiwanese film, it’s often ranked as one of the best Chinese-language movies ever made. Furthermore, Jiufen inspired Hayao Miyazaki to make Spirited Away, which is why the town is almost always full of Japanese tourists.
My own photo of the Thirteen Levels
The “Thirteen Levels,” one of Taiwan’s most recognizable landmarks, is in Shuinandong, and it appears in this drama (it also appears in Fated to Love You). One of my favorite works of art in the Tapei Fine Arts Museum permanent collection depicts the Thirteen Levels, and it’s featured in many films, both professional and amateur. I have never been inside the Thirteen Levels since it’s technically forbidden to enter, but I know someone who has been inside, and he said that he saw other people inside too, so apparently a lot of people ignore the restrictions.
In other words, watching this drama is a bit like taking a tour of the most popular destinations in rural Taipei.
Okay, I can’t help it, here’s a picture I took in Shuinandong looking up at Chahushan, which is in Jinguashi (if you’re confused, just know that this is all in the Ruifang district).
Fashion
I mostly find the costuming choices in Taiwanese idol dramas uninteresting, but this drama is definitely the exception, which is what you would expect from a drama which deals a lot with jewelry. And the guys’ clothes are just as interesting as the girls’ clothes.
See Zhong Tianqi and Xia Zhixing together. They’re clothes are not boring. I think Zhong Tianqi’s checkered collar is a particularly nice touch.
See Xia Zhixing and Han Zhiyin together. Again, their clothes are not boring.
Xia Zhixing and Han Zhiyin together, again. You can’t tell from this picture, but this outfit makes Xia Zhixing look a little pregnant. I actually like that, since it emphasizes her motherly qualities.
The Silliness and the Sadness
Whereas Fated to Love You has tongue-in-cheek humor, this drama is straight-up silly. In fact, part of the appeal for me is seeing just how far the drama will go. Just as protagonists are fearlessly themselves, this drama is fearless in is silliness.
Zhong Tianqi and Xia Zhixing get into awkward positions.
(Tangent: in a world free of rape culture, I would think it is totally funny that certain things the characters happen to be doing seem to be sexual assault, even though that is not the character’s intent at all, just I would think it’s funny if the characters seemed to be murdering somebody when actually it’s just an innocent mistake. But victims of sexual assault are so often disbelieved and told that the assault was “just a misunderstanding,” in fact, I can tell you from personal experience that victims sometimes tell themselves that it’s just a misunderstanding so that they don’t have to face that they are victims of harassment/assault, that I’m not completely comfortable with laughing when it’s revealed what certain characters *reasonably* suspect is sexual assault really turns out to be a misunderstanding).
Some of it gets pretty corny, but that, weirdly, is part of the charm.
It’s also full of melodrama (this fan music video, featuring the theme song, offers a good taste of the melodrama). Many of the plot twists are awfully cliché, but, well, it’s boldly cliché. And considering that a five-year-old girl gets Xia Zhixing to spend 8 hours publicly handcuffed to the hot and handsome Han Zhiyin, I am willing to overlook a couple cliches.
And I think this drama just might have the saddest moment of any idol drama I’ve watched. Specifically, the scene where Ou Yaruo listens to the MP3 player.
Why is listening to the contents of an MP3 player sad? Part of me wants to explain the context, but I do hope that this drama will eventually get licensed in English, so I don’t want to spoil it.
Someone on Youtube claims that (spoiler warning, especially if you understand Mandarin) this is the most moving scene in My Lucky Star, but I found it too cliché. Okay, I’ll be honest, I got totally emotionally invested in that scene too, but at least I’m embarrassed that such cliché melodrama got to me.
However, the moment which really got my tears flowing was when Xia Zhixing falls down on the road between Jinguashi and Shuinandong (even though I know this is supposed to the fictional village Mingde, I still can’t help but think of these places as being Ruifang/Pingxi/Wulai). There is nothing original at all about this scene, but the story is so bold, and so sincere, in its melodrama, that I really could not help myself. Even if I forget everything else in this drama, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this particular moment.
Availability in English
Currently, there is no legal way to watch this drama in English. It would be really nice if someone changed this state of affairs.
Conclusion
When I first started watching idol dramas, I stuck with idol dramas adapted from Japanese manga, since the stories were familiar to me, and I didn’t have enough confidence in my Mandarin comprehension skills to delve into completely new territory (and how is it that I have yet to discuss a single idol drama adapted from manga?)
This is the first idol drama I watched which a) was not adapted from a manga and b) had a plot that was totally unknown to me. I was not just concerned about my language skills, I was also concerned about whether or not it would be a good story (if I had read the manga, at least I could reasonably predict whether or not I would like the drama). Not only was I totally capable of understanding this drama, I fell in love with it.
It definitely has its flaws, and overall, I have to say that Fated to Love You is a higher-quality production. Nonetheless, this is one of my top favorite idol dramas, and when I say that somebody should license this in English, I’m serious.
Next time: The Nine Provinces (novel)
An earthquake is happening right now as Sara K. is writing this. Many Taiwanese people expect Sara K. to be freaked out at every single earthquake. Sara K. then points out that she grew up in San Francisco. She does feel a lot less earthquakes in Taoyuan than in other parts of Taiwan (such as Taipei and Hualien), most likely because Taoyuan has more stable ground than Taipei, and the faults around Hualien are more active.
This week, Sean, MJ, Michelle, and Anna look at recent releases from Seven Seas, VIZ Media, Yen Press, and Vertical, Inc.
Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz, Vol. 4 | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – One thing I recall about Bloody Twins is that Alice and the Twins got physical almost immediately, and it felt rushed. With Boris, we’ve waited 4 volumes for him to finally get together with Alice, and the waiting has made it much sweeter. There’s likely trouble on the horizon, though. The spectre of Alice’s sister which haunts every single one of these books is still around, and it’s noted that Alice is the sort who’s likely to destroy herself with guilt – is her love with Boris helping, just a distraction, or actively making things worse? Things are not helped by an ongoing mob war between the Hatter and another family, and Peter White’s attempts at doing his best for Alice while still being jealous and clinging. This series is really hitting its stride.– Sean Gaffney
Demon Love Spell, Vol. 2 | By Mayu Shinjo | VIZ Media – OK, Mayu Shinjo, you win. I’ll just put Ai Ore! down to being a clunker in and of itself and settle in with Demon Love Spell, which is far more to my taste. I like that she’s thinking carefully about what it would really be like for an incubus to be living with Miko… and how doing so is actually changing Kagura, making him more receptive to her less lustful feelings. And it certainly helps that life seems to be conspiring against him getting anywhere with her except in dreams. There’s also some touching storytelling here, with the fox subplot resolved in a very bittersweet yet satisfying way (her author’s notes on this are hilarious, by the way.) The balance between seduction and consent, always difficult to keep in many other shoujo manga (hi, Hot Gimmick!) is just right here, and it makes for a sexy, fun read.– Sean Gaffney
Demon Love Spell, Vol. 2 | By Mayu Shinjo | VIZ Media – I’m not as charmed as MJ by the second volume of Demon Love Spell, but I will grant that it’s probably the best volume of any Mayu Shinjo manga that I have read. It begins with the story of a seriously adorable fox (who is significantly less adorable in his human form) who confuses Miko with the girl he loves. The conclusion to this is genuinely touching, and along the way Kagura realizes that Miko’s feelings of love for him are superior sustenance to mere physical intimacy. Not that he’s given up on getting into her pants, of course, though she’s able to deflect and distract him easily enough in subsequent chapters that it doesn’t feel like there’s a serious power imbalance in their relationship. This will probably never be my favorite series, but it doesn’t piss me off, which is more than I can say for Ai Ore!. – Michelle Smith
Oresama Teacher, Vol. 13 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – For all that they’re enemies, Saeki and Miyabi’s groups both have a basic goal, whether it’s intended or not. Saeki takes the delinquent loner types and brings them closer together, and Miyabi takes the eccentric weirdos and gives them a purpose. This means that it’s quite hard to root against the Student Council, something lampshaded in the series itself. (“Wait, are we the enemy?”) This volume we meet Kanon, who has a chip on her shoulder against men but who warms up to Natsuo fairly quickly. That none of this is the least bit surprising isn’t an issue – no one reads Oresama Teacher for the plot. But if it’s lots of laughs and occasional heartwarming scenes, this is for you. Not to mention the final cliffhanger, which features a fantastic dynamic entry by… well, that would spoil it.– Sean Gaffney
Paradise Kiss, Vol. 3 | By Ai Yazaka | Vertical, Inc. – Volume three wraps up Vertical’s edition of Paradise Kiss, and oh what a wrap-up it is! I’d forgotten just how wonderfully complex this story becomes before its close and how brilliant Yazawa’s artwork is throughout. Her panel designs and page layouts are extraordinarily expressive—she’s able to put more raw emotion in just a pair of eyes than many artists can manage over the course of an entire work. Though this story revolves around high school students, its realistic focus on adult concerns like recognizing personal limitations and making hard career choices (and its refusal to romanticize its primary romantic pairing) reminds us why Paradise Kiss is a josei manga. Vertical’s new edition makes the most of all of this by both declining to gloss over the characters’ less mainstream idiosyncrasies and showing off Yazawa’s artwork to its best advantage. It’s a must-buy for any fan. – MJ
Slam Dunk, Vol. 27 | By Takehiko Inoue | VIZ Media – The game against Sannoh enters the second half and our heroes start to fall apart. In particular the normally solid center and captain Akagi has trouble managing the opposition. Sannoh goes on an unanswered scoring streak, making the gap almost impossible to close. The only people who still seem to have faith are Coach Anzai and Sakuragi, who is either going to become an offensive rebound machine or do something incredibly stupid. Perhaps both! This is another stellar volume of Slam Dunk. I would be happy if this basketball game lasted forever, but instead I will wait impatiently for the next volume to see if Sakuragi gets to play out his basketball hero fantasies. – Anna N
Strobe Edge, Vol. 3 | By Io Sakisaka | VIZ Media – Given that I originally began this series thinking, “I’m so bored,” it’s important to note that it has become one that I now rush to consume the moment it arrives at my doorstep. Everyone’s relationships take on new complications in this volume as Ninako and Ren stumble over a few mutual misunderstandings, Ando finally confesses his growing feelings for Ninako, and Ren and Mayuka (unsuccessfully) try to pretend that nothing at all is going wrong. What’s especially refreshing about the way this series is handling its romantic complications is that everyone is genuinely likable (even playboy Ando is turning into a stand-up guy), everyone’s feelings are equally relatable, and there’s no sign of a typical, overblown shoujo villain in sight. While this certainly complicates things for readers, it’s immensely satisfying. I’m on the edge of my seat and ready for heartbreak, one way or another. Definitely recommended. – MJ
Umineko: When They Cry Episode 1: Legend of the Golden Witch, Vol. 2 | By Ryukishi07 and Kei Natsumi | Yen Press – The only thing longer than the title of this volume is the book itself, which is truly enormous. Unfortunately, the vast majority of it is tedious. Battler utters his “flip over the chessboard” catchphrase approximately 31 times as he goes back and forth on whether the ritualistic murders happening on an isolated family island are the work of a human or supernatural culprit. The moment when he realizes his theories are all useless is played as a tremendous shock, but it was obvious to readers from the start. Ultimately, despite the body count and the relentlessly creepy/irritating little girl serving as the witch’s mouthpiece, Umineko is boring. It’s impossible to care about these characters or feel anything when they’re killed off, and even though there is more to this story after this volume, I think I am well and truly done now. – Michelle Smith
Vampire Knight, Vol. 16 | By Matsuri Hino | VIZ Media – Maybe I’m remembering it a little easier, or it just wasn’t as convoluted, but I found it easier to get back into the swing of Vampire Knight this time around. Things seem to be drawing closer to a crisis point – Kaname and the Headmaster’s battle is fraught with tension, and Sara continues to make a very Carmilla-esque villain. But really, this series is at its best when it’s examining the relationships between Yuki, Zero and Kaname, and we get a lot of that here. They’re both pushing Yuki away as far as they can, and to her credit she’s not really having it from either of them (though with Zero she acquiesces a bit more). This leads up to the cliffhanger, showing the three of them together once more. It’s still high shoujo soap opera, and I’m not sure who’s going to survive to a happy ending, but I’ll be sticking around.– Sean Gaffney
By Ai Yazawa. Released in Japan by Shodensha, serialized in the magazine Zipper. Released in North America by Vertical, Inc.
The cover of this final volume of Paradise Kiss features Yukari, looking gorgeous in that vaguely ridiculous way that haute couture always does, with butterfly wings on her back and roses on her breasts, staring off towards the camera looking like she’s about to cry. It could almost be one of her model shoots, except that none of them really want that kind of emotion – they want happy, relaxed, “wow, I want to be like her so I will buy this product” Yukari – or, when she’s modeling with George, “Wow, I want George so I will be like her.” Yukari is best in modeling when she’s self-assured and casual, which is the exact opposite of her teenage years and her relationship with George.
There was a point about halfway through this volume when I’d really had it up to here with Yukari, as her self-loathing, jealousy, and highly wrought emotional state all come together at once with the arrival of Kaori, George’s old classmate and friend. Not only is she the one girl who seems to have resisted his advances – but she’s become successful, seems to have her act together, and also manages to be the one to advance the plot (and George’s career) when George himself is unable or unwilling to. And yet she’s not with George – and neither is Yukari, as after this scene I think George has realized that being with her as a couple is bad for both of them individually.
Yukari has realized this too, of course, but wants desperately to cling to what she has anyway. We’ve all been there – it’s our first love, so we’re determined to make it work even when there’s all sorts of evidence that it won’t. It’s hard to let go. In addition, it’s all too easy to let fear and self-hatred put things in a holding pattern as well. This is Arashi’s issue, who can’t understand why Miwako doesn’t hate him, especially as she knows she still loves Hiro. Of course, it’s because she loves Arashi, and is trying hard to make things work. They, unlike George and Yukari, have a relationship where they’re better people together than they are separately. Arashi’s still bad with words, but his inviting Hiro to the shrine visitation speaks volumes.
Of course, just because the two leads aren’t a good couple in the long run didn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of love and affection there. George’s final gesture to Yukari is typically grandiose, but also shows how much she really meant to him, even if he didn’t always communicate it properly. It could be argued that the epilogue is a bit overly happy – Yukari is successful as a model and actress, George is designing Broadway shows, Arashi and Miwako have a kid – but that’s pretty much exactly what we want from the series. This was about a group of overambitious, overemotional overachievers. They crashed and burned in their teenage years, both in love and in the ParaKiss brand, but it only gave them more strength. Yukari gets told at one point, worrying about embarrassing herself on a catwalk, “Well, yeah, you’re gonna do that, all models do at first.” By not giving up, and keeping that drive for success and happiness, Yukari and her friends earn the right to their shiny happy ending. Even if, like Yukari, you’ll tear up a bit as well.
SEAN: I have to admit I am impressed with the anonymous teams behind these series that are all coming out at a rapid rate, even if I don’t know who they are because they aren’t credited. The translation quality, while still not perfect, has risen considerably since the start back in August 2011, and the series are cranking out so that, presumably, we can focus on fresh new series in the future.
All of which is a nice way of saying I still don’t have much to say. The big manga for me this week and next is Joshi Kousei (aka High School Girls), which wraps up with the release of Vols. 8 & 9, and finally resolves the unanswered question about the Takarazuka pair. No, not whether they’re actually lesbians, that’s still unanswered. (Though obvious.)
MJ: I admit I don’t have much to say, either, which isn’t to say that I’m necessarily disappointed with what’s happening at JManga. Sure, I miss some of the weeks when they introduced scads of new series, and it’s been a while since some of my personal favorites have been updated. But I appreciate the fact that they’re carrying on, updating what they can, when they can.
MICHELLE: My sentiments exactly. I’m sure at some point, there’ll be something for us to squee over again.
SEAN: There’s also Vol. 5 of Biscuit Hammer, which puts us at the halfway point, and Vol. 6 of Crime and Punishment: A Falsified Romance, which is also 10 volumes, but otherwise quite different from Hoshi no Samidare.
And Vol. 12 of Tactics, which has blown past the old Tokyopop releases (which ended with 8, I believe) and is blazing its own trail. The series is still ongoing from Mag Garden, I believe, and I still can’t remember what it’s about aside from “fantasy”.
MJ: Though I lost interest in Tactics midway through the Tokyopop run, I’ll admit that seeing so many available volumes pop up has re-awakened my curiosity. Should I give the series another shot? I’m thinking I just might.
SEAN: Speaking of fantasy (indeed, they’re by the same author), there is also Vol. 5 of The Mythical Detective LOKI. Please note that this version is not played by Tom Hiddleston, despite what Tumblr may tell you.
Lastly, Tsumanuda Fight Town still has maids who fight. I should really actually read this rather than mocking it, as it does run in Young King OURS, home of many of my beloved titles.
Anything catch your eye here?
Welcome to the March installment of BL Bookrack! This month, Michelle takes a look at Where a Person Is Most Vulnerable at JManga, while MJchecks out the latest volumes of Awkward Silence and His Favorite from SuBLime. In Brief: Punch Up!, Vol. 3 (SuBLime).
Awkward Silence, Vols. 2-3 | By Hinako Takanaga | Published by SuBLime | Rated Mature – As a somewhat finicky BL fan, I have a complicated relationship with Hinako Takanaga. Though I have several favorites among her works (You Will Fall in Love springs immediately to mind), I often find her romances too rushed to be satisfying (Little Butterfly). Furthermore, even some of my favorites of her work (The Tyrant Falls in Love) include elements I dislike so thoroughly that they send me hurtling from hatred to love and back again. Though Awkward Silence is far too mild-mannered a title to incite anything like hatred, its first volume fell easily into the “too rushed” section of Takanaga’s catalogue, thus robbing itself of the emotional resonance required to elicit anything close to love.
Volume two opens with blank-faced Satoru (who carefully reminds us every chapter that his face is incapable of expressing emotion) sulking over his boyfriend Keigo’s upcoming sleep-away baseball camp. Having been unable to properly express his feelings to Keigo before he departed, Satoru is tormented over the fact that Keigo may have left believing that Satoru was angry with him for going in the first place. Naturally, the only option is for Satoru to sneak into the camp in the middle of the night in order to explain himself. He does, and the two have sex.
Okay, a little bit more than that happens. Satoru’s antics lead Keigo’s baseball team to believe that the west wing of the school is haunted and minimal wackiness ensues, but the series’ chapters are so carefully formulaic, it’s obvious that the point of it all is to create an opportunity for the obligatory sex scene. And this is really the crux of the issue. While I certainly have no objection to sex scenes in a BL manga—and such scenes can contribute significantly to both plot and characterization—as is all too common in contemporary romance, Takanaga’s scenes are largely just… in the way. With so few pages available per chapter in which to develop her characters’ relationship, every panel is precious, and panels spent on perfunctory sex scenes are, frankly, nothing more than a waste.
Volume three plays a bit stronger, as it shifts its focus from Satoru and Keigo to a couple of amusingly mismatched upperclassmen (whose relationship vibe is not unlike Morinaga and Souichi’s in Tyrant), and Satoru’s charming (also blank-faced) mom is an unexpected highlight. But this relationship, too, suffers from a whirlwind approach that doesn’t feel quite earned. Takanaga’s expressive artwork particularly shines in this volume, making its shortage of emotional substance even sadder, in my view. Not recommended.
– Review by MJ
His Favorite, Vols. 2-3 | By Suzuki Tanaka | Published by SuBLime | Rated Mature – If I’m a sucker for any particular romance trope, it’s “friends-turned-lovers”—a predilection largely responsible for my obsession with writers like Keiko Kinoshita and Yeri Na, among others. In volume one of His Favorite, author Suzuki Tanaka proved that she’s got my number as well, with her story of childhood friends, Sato and Yoshida, whose developing “hot guy”/”spazzy guy” pairing is the best thing since Doumeki and Watanuki (with fewer ghosts and bento lunches).
In volume one, class stud Sato revealed to unpopular goofball Yoshida that he was the (once overweight, bullied) boy whom (once popular, badass) Yoshida fiercely protected all through grade school. Having nurtured a crush on Yoshida for years, Sato’s new “hot guy” status gives him the confidence to finally pursue Yoshida romantically, though the entire thing is baffling to both Yoshida and the rest of their high school class.
Volume two opens with Yoshida beginning to acknowledge that he has reciprocal feelings for Sato, though he’s desperate to hide it—not only from Sato, but from his group of misfit friends who expect him to share their unrequited longing for female companionship. This escalates in volume three when Yoshida is coerced into attending a disastrous group date. Meanwhile, Sato’s dealing with his frustration by bullying their classmates, whom Yoshida (in true form) angrily defends, leaving Yoshida feeling even more conflicted over his growing attraction for Sato. Nothing comes easy for the two of them, but despite the fact that what I’ve described so far sounds rather like a serious teenage drama, it’s absolutely romantic comedy in every way. And, really, that contradiction is what makes the series work so well.
Though nearly everything in His Favorite is deliberately overblown and played for laughs, the entire thing is firmly anchored by real emotional truth, which renders the series not only genuinely funny, but also genuinely affecting on a number of levels. Amidst the laughs, we really feel Yoshida’s inner turmoil over his unpopularity and small size, his fierce sense of fairness, and his developing feelings for a guy who pushes all his buttons in not-always-positive ways. And like Yoshida, we both love and revile Sato’s messy mix of loyal devotion and outright sadism. Tanaka’s characterization is deceptively effortless—clearly established with just a few deft strokes—allowing her to tell a emotionally complex story with the light touch of a screwball comedy. Even the story’s secondary (firmly comedic) romance, about a steadfast guy who only falls for sleaze-balls, manages to operate on multiple levels. And Tanaka’s clean, energetic artwork is just icing on the cake.
Obviously I’ve become a fan, but the best news of all is that there’s more of this series to come! His Favorite stands at five volumes and counting in Japan, so now’s the time to jump on board! Heartily recommended.
– Review by MJ
Where a Person Is Most Vulnerable | By Fumiko Shusai | Libre Publishing/JManga | Rated Mature – “I put all my short pieces I forgot about in one book,” writes Fumiko Shusai in the Afterword to Where a Person Is Most Vulnerable, and man does it show.
The anthology starts off promisingly enough. The title story is about neurotic Yamashita, who hates ants, and his bug-loving neighbor, Shimabara, who helps him overcome his fears a bit. “Strays Will Leave, Over and Over Again” is also pretty good, featuring a gigolo who keeps returning to his friend’s place every time he gets dumped. Less successful is “The End Is in a Dream, Silent,” about a guy who’s repaying a debt to a clotheshorse by cleaning his messy “room.” It’s okay, but extremely rushed.
In the titular story, the “place” in question refers to the delicate nether-regions where ants dared to crawl when Yamashita was a boy—as well as to his heart—but after the third story I began to think that apartments were somehow a theme, too. That while we might feel safe in our own homes, this complacency would also cause us to let down our guard. And it may even be true that Shusai meant to make some point along those lines, but the rest of the stories in this collection are so thoroughly disappointing that I soon began to doubt that such an intent ever existed.
Brief and insubstantial “Sculptures of Us” is about friends who get into fisticuffs over whether they had a drunken hookup the night before. “Love That Reaches the Other Side of Earth!,” about a seemingly hopeless boy and the childhood friend who takes care of him, had the potential to be something good, but is rushed beyond redemption. The real villain of the piece, however, is the horrible “Daddy, My Love” strip, all about the way in which a guy accidentally mistreats/mishandles his ex-girlfriend’s abandoned toddler, culminating with a panel suggesting they’ll become lovers in the future. EW! Gallon of brain bleach, stat!
So, are the first two stories worth 499 JManga “points”? I must regretfully conclude that they are not.
– Review by Michelle Smith
In Brief:
Punch Up!, Vol. 3 | By Shiuko Kano | Published by SuBLime | Rated Mature – For its first two volumes, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Punch Up!. On the one hand were the well-defined protagonists, Kouta and Maki, who had plausible conflicts and insecurities, but on the other were the frequent and explicit sex scenes that left nothing whatsoever to the imagination. Was this a compelling drama or a smutty romp? Volume three caters to my personal preferences by establishing itself clearly as a drama (or melodrama, at least) when a workplace accident leaves Kouta with no memory of the last four years and effectively returns him to his mindset as a fifteen-year-old. This development could’ve easily taken the story in a cheesy direction, but it actually doesn’t, instead providing even more opportunity for conflicts and insecurities to flare. I had debated whether to continue with this series, but now I am truly glad I did! – Michelle Smith
Review copies provided by the publishers.
By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.
The cover to this volume of One Piece is very telling, given that this volume ends one arc and begins another. In the foreground, we have Luffy, Jimbei and Shirahoshi, but new events are creeping in in the background, with Big Mom’s pirates one the right and Smoker and Tashigi on the left. Things are in a state of flux, and we aren’t quite sure where the manga is headed next. (That is, if we’re reading the manga only by volumes, Most North American readers can now read Shonen Jump weekly on Viz’s site, where Punk Hazard has just finished. Viz seems content to have the volumes be about a year behind the weekly chapters.)
Hody Jones having been defeated at the end of the last volume (and his comeuppance is highly amusing, and makes for a good capper to the “drugs are bad” plotline he and his mates had), all that’s left is to stop the ark crashing into the island and sinking it. Which is done, with the help of some ancient and powerful sea monsters who are mostly there to be mysterious. Then there’s the standard “we’ve won, let’s have a party” finale, which always gives us a nice two-page spread.
Most of what’s interesting about this volume, though, is the backstory we don’t really see. Robin has discovered the true nature of Shirahoshi, and it’s quite surprising. (And makes me wonder about Alabasta, which told of the location of another one of those ancient weapons – man, if it turns out to be Vivi, I’ll be highly amused.) Jimbei tells us that Akainu and Aokiji fought to see who would be leader of the Marines. It’s not a big surprise that Akainu wins, but Aokiji then resigning might lead to more surprises down the road. Oda sometimes compresses manga stories for time, and I suspect this is a battle he wanted to show but just never got a chance to. And of course this means the Marines are still after them, with Smoker and Tashigi, both now promoted, hot on their trail.
Speaking of Tashigi, the Marines seem to be treating her as they did Hina, which is to say half-awesome Captain and half sexpot. Hina, like Nami and Robin, didn’t really give a rat’s ass what they said. But Tashigi is obviously bothered by the sexism, and calls it out. Of course, I doubt very much this will stop it. Oda’s less sexist than some other Jump authors, but it creeps in here and there (look at how he draws most of the women now vs. 10 years ago), and I think Tashigi drawing attention to it just makes it more obvious. But hey, I’m glad to see her back regardless.
The Straw-Hat crew, meanwhile, leave Fishman Island to travel to, naturally, the most dangerous place Luffy can find (this is after going through a deathtrap waterspout with the help of some whales who aren’t Laboon, but could be his parents). There’s some lovely art here, and I like that, while the spout itself terrifies the designated crew members who get scared (Nami, Usopp, and Chopper), the terrifying visage of the New World just makes everyone happy. Well, happy till they reach Punk Hazard, with its ravaged landscape, fire-breathing dragons, and bottom halves of samurai. Oh, and half the crew already captured. Never let it be said that Oda paces things slowly.
If you love One Piece, you’ll love this. If not, this is absolutely not the perfect place to start – go back and read the early volumes.
Nursery Rhyme Comics | Edited By Chris Duffy | Published by First Second
Most people gain some familiarity with nursery rhymes as children, reciting “Humpty Dumpty” in school or picking out favorites from a big collection. This introduction usually comes through a Mother Goose story book, but that fictional old lady (or goose in a bonnet, depending on what book you have) isn’t with whom these rhymes originated.
While a lot of rhymes can be traced back to a certain time and place, many came to be the same way as folklore and fairy tales—passed down over the centuries with no precise origin or even meaning. Because of that, not only has some of the wording of the rhymes changed over time, but any version can be treated with varying interpretations and imagery. Despite their age, these sing-songy, fun, sometimes weird rhymes continue to resonate with children, so it makes perfect sense for publisher First Second to reinterpret the stories through one of the more popular mediums today—comic books—in their collection Nursery Rhyme Comics.
Altogether there are 50 rhymes presented in this book, each one drawn by a different artist. In my experience, such a wide variety of creators almost inevitably leads to just as much variety in quality. Somehow, this is not the case. Instead, First Second has gathered 50 amazingly talented artists who, despite their differences in design and technique, make each page a treat.
Thanks to the brevity of the rhymes, the comics take up no more than three pages each, so very little time is spent with any single artist. These sudden shifts do create a little bit of abruptness as you move from short rhyme to short rhyme. Fortunately, editor Chris Duffy managed to arrange the comics in a sort of arc, beginning with “The Donkey” playing a saxophone “to wake the world this sleepy morn,” moving into more active comics, and then slowing down towards the conclusion of “Wee Willie Winkie” as the story’s children fall asleep with their own copy of Nursery Rhyme Comics.
With so many great artists on board, it would have been a shame to have them all adhere to a certain theme or mood, and it seems that First Second wisely allowed their artists to interpret the rhymes in any way they wanted. Style and mood range from things like the calm watercolors of Patrick McDonnell’s “The Donkey” to Reina Telgemeier’s bright cartoons. But the artists also give us their own takes on the rhymes themselves. Telgemeier’s “Georgie Porgie,” for instance, is a kid at his birthday party getting pie all over the girls he kisses. And in Andrew Arnold’s version of “Hot Cross Buns,” a pigeon steals cakes from a pair of bratty kids.
Artists interpreting some of the more nonsensical rhymes, like the weird non sequitor at the end of “I Had a Little Nut Tree,” have fun with stories that just don’t make much sense anymore. Then there’s “Hush Little Baby”—a song with pretty general action—transformed by its artist into an active conversation between a father and his daughter, making excellent use of word bubbles and creative panels.
Some of the artists did choose to take more traditional or literal views of the rhymes, like in Richard Sala’s version of “Three Blind Mice”, and while these are still well done, they aren’t quite as memorable as some of the other selections. But even some of the more literal takes do an excellent job evoking emotion, like the blow-by-blow account of the very short rhyme “The North Wind Doth Blow,” in which we see a robin tumble through the air before finally coming to a rest, or the pure romance of Edward Lear and Craig Thompson’s “The Owl and the Pussy-cat.”
One thing Nursery Rhyme Comics proves by the end is how effectively nursery rhymes can converted into comics. These sing-songy stories have no narration that the artist must carve out, and no descriptive prose that they must decide whether to write or visualize. Instead, these are stories so simple that the artists may come at them with all their creative talent.
This collection serves as a pretty great introduction to nursery rhymes for kids, covering all the bases, from weird and funny to calm and peaceful rhymes. This book can also be used as a sly way to introduce comics into the life of a kid you know—offering up so many styles and tones that any kid is sure to find a graphic novel niche to enjoy. Dialogue and narration are spaced out nicely, preventing the pages from becoming overly cluttered with words, which makes this an easy book to read out loud with a child, but also fun for an older kid (or an adult) to read by him/herself.
Thanks to the artists First Second gathered together, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book. And whether or not you’re already acquainted with the rhymes included, it’s so much fun to see how the artists chose to adapt them.
SEAN: I have a sneaky suspicion I know what the Pick of the Week is going to be next week… regardless of that, let’s see what publishers have to offer.
Blade of the Immortal may have come to a close recently in Japan, but Dark Horse still has a few more to go. The back cover to Vol. 26 hints that Tonight Someone Dies, so it is no doubt very important that everyone grab this.
MICHELLE: Someday I will continue with this series.
SEAN: And then there’s the first Tokyo Babylon omnibus. Which is filled with Hokuto, who is awesome and the only real reason to read this early CLAMP title! Oh yeah, there’s her brother as well. And some guy. I suppose a few people might read it for them instead.
MJ: TOKYO BABYLON TOKYO BABYLON TOKYO BABYLON. Okay, yes, I’m a fangirl on a massive level, here, but there are so many reasons why this is my favorite CLAMP series (and one of my favorite manga series of all time). I’ll save my loudest raving for Pick of the Week (and Off the Shelf), but out of all the CLAMP re-releases Dark Horse has undertaken over the past few years, this is the one I’ve anticipated most eagerly. I’m so looking forward to re-reading the series.
MICHELLE: I agree, but cannot possibly match MJfor sheer enthusiasm!
ANNA: Maybe I should give this series another try? I read the first few volume and found it so much less gripping than X\1999 that I don’t think I ever finished it. That being said I do have feelings of pleasant nostalgia whenever I think of early CLAMP series in general.
SEAN: SubLime has the third volume of His Favorite, whose cover makes it look like this is a manga about Luffy the uke and Robin the seme. I’m sure it’s not about that at all. Not that that would not be a highly entertaining title in its own right.
MJ: This is one of my favorite recent series from SuBLime, though your comment adds an element of hilarity I hadn’t considered!
MICHELLE: Wow, I had never noticed the similarity in scars before.
SEAN: Vertical has the 3rd and final re-release of Paradise Kiss, which most everyone else got this week. It’s a terrific series, and I particularly love the ending. If you didn’t get it yet, get it.
MJ: I’m a bit sad that the debut of Dark Horse’s Tokyo Babylon omnibus will probably overshadow the end of Paradise Kiss, so I’ll do my best to rave about both. I had some quibbles early on regarding Vertical’s adaptation of some beginning chapters, but these have long since been made up for by subsequent volumes. And if I had to choose the loveliest of Vertical’s work on this series, I’d have to go with volume three, which is stunning in every way. This is absolutely a must-buy this week. It’s on my personal top ten as well!
MICHELLE: There are things about the ending to Paradise Kiss that give me geekbumps to even *recall*, even though it’s been years since I last read it.
ANNA: I’ve been enjoying the Vertical editions of this series and plan on buying this!
SEAN: The rest is all Viz. 07-Ghost hits Vol. 3 and shows us that the best answer for ‘who is ready to lead the Church’ is ‘how much TRAINING have they had’? I bet the Papal Conclave doesn’t concentrate on that at all.
MJ: I never got any further than volume one of this series, but I’ll catch up eventually! And I’m looking forward to it, too.
MICHELLE: Ditto.
ANNA: I have been hoarding the 2nd and 3rd volumes and plan to read them together very soon. I enjoyed the world building and action in the first volume very much.
SEAN: Arata the Legend hits lucky Vol. 13, whose luck is to come out a week after a Fushigi Yuugi release and thus likely be ignored. Shame.
MICHELLE: Aw. Arata is quite good, too, though it’s true I don’t love it as well as Genbu Kaiden.
ANNA: I don’t think Genbu Kaiden can help it though because it is so intrinsically loveable.
SEAN: Fullmetal Alchemist has a 3-in-1 out, covering Vols. 10-12. This is, in my opinion, the only shonen manga to give One Piece a run for its money at perfection. It’s that good.
MJ: Since this series also made my all-time top ten list, I certainly agree with you. Wow, it’s a banner week for my favorites, isn’t it?
MICHELLE: It is. And it’s high time you read some One Piece, missy, so that could be your favorite, too!
ANNA: I agree that Fullmetal Alchemist is a magnificent series and it is unfortunately one that I stopped reading due to it having so many volumes. I intend to reread the whole thing and finally finish it one day though.
SEAN: Neon Genesis Evangelion also says it’s a 3-in-1, but the first volume was deluxe, more like their VizBIG line. Re-reading the start of the series re-kindled my interest in it again, so I’ll definitely be taking a look at it.
Lastly, RIN-NE Vol. 11 continues to have cute little one-shots, occasional dramatic mini-plots, and no forward progression. (sniffle) It makes me so nostalgic for Ranma and UY’s lack of any progress… it’s like Takahashi has come home!
MICHELLE: I really enjoy RIN-NE for what it is, and without any expectations for it to be anything else. I’ve described Takahashi’s comforting, homey works before as “manga meatloaf,” and I think RIN-NE epitomizes that ethos.
SEAN: What are you folks reading this week?
On Magazine no Mori we’ve discussed the issue of the demographic categories of manga several times. Today’s review is a perfect example of when those categories fail to be useful.
GFantasy, published by Square Enix, (along with what often seems like an endless number of magazines that have the word Gangan in the title) is listed by the publisher as a shounen magazine. And it is, quite likely, read by some number of young males. There is a lot of action in this magazine. But. The series best known from this magazine, has another audience entirely.
For GFantasy is the home of Black Butler by Yana Toboso. It is true that Jun Mochizuki’s Pandora Hearts and Ryhogo Narita’s Durarara! have as much to appeal to men as women, however there is an extraordinary amount of “pretty boys in ridiculous clothes” and a fair dollop of slashable male pairs for a typical “shounen” magazine. A series like Cuticle Detective Inaba makes more sense, really, when you assume that the audience is female. Pretty boys with animal ears, shotacon, a cross-dressing boy…these are not typical tropes meant for a male audience. GFantasy is really better understood as “shounen for women” with a fair bit of cross-over audience, as indicated by Peach Pit’s Zombie-Loan, and the Higurashi series.
As you can see from the many titles that have been translated, Yen Press has a pretty well-developed relationship with Square Enix and the Gangan imprint manga. (The anime for many of these series have been picked up by Funimation and Sentai Filmworks.)
GFantasy began life back in 1993 as Fantastic Comic, had a few special releases and in 1994 was renamed GFantasy. There are no circulation numbers for GFantasy on the JPMA website. At 580 yen ($6.43 at time of writing) for 650 pages, it’s a good bet you’ll get your money’s worth, as long as you like fantasy adventure, perhaps spiced with a little romance.
The GFantasy website is quite good, with excited focus on the enclosed giveaway that month, news of series that have been transformed to anime and other media and a sample comic in 2 parts. More sample chapters can be found listed under “G Stories” and they have a running prize for submissions to the magazine. (I really like manga magazines that do that. Recruitment for the next generation is an every-day job.) Unusually, the magazine has a blog on their website, as well as the usual news and fan mail form. In my experience, this indicates a slightly higher than usual understanding of fan community by the editors and, probably, a slightly higher than usual engagement by the audience.
GFantasy Magazine, from Square Enix: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/magazine/gfantasy/
Strobe Edge is the manga equivalent of comfort food and I find myself liking it more and more with each volume. The third volume explores the emerging love triangle between Ninako, reformed womanizer Ando, and unavailable but perfect Ren. Ninako is struggling a bit with wanting to be friends with Ren after being rejected previously, and things become even more emotionally traumatic when it seems like Ren is deliberately acting cold to her. Ren actually being a good guy, he is attempting to protect Ninako from the attentions of the Rejected by Ren Girl Squad, who have targeted Ninako with their bullying ways. This gets cleared up relatively quickly, but more complications are on the way as Ando’s feelings towards Ninako grow and deepen. The two guys in love with a slightly oblivious girl is a well-word shoujo plot device, but Ninako is oblivious and friendly that it is difficult to get annoyed with her. Sakisaka does a good job portraying the subtle ways that Ren and Ninako continue to be drawn towards each other. They have a random conversation about sweets and Ren reveals that he doesn’t think that his girlfriend even knows that fact about himself because he pretends to dislike them around her because she’s always watching her figure. Ren’s general protectiveness towards Ninako is unusual given is general indifference towards other girls. Ren’s actions like helping Ninako out at a school festival and providing extra math tutoring seem to go a bit beyond the limits of normal guy niceness.
Ando has plenty of feelings for Ninako but seems to be holding back both due to his awareness of her feelings for Ren and his realization that she probably couldn’t handle it. He hints around about his feelings and even confronts Ninako about her feelings for Ren, saying “You can’t love someone forever…without getting something back from them.” Ando’s brash personality is a big contrast to Ren’s more quiet thoughtfulness, but it is clear that he does actually care about Ninako and isn’t trifling with the idea of having a relationship with her.
I feel like Sakisaka’s art has grown a bit after three volumes. While the first volume focused a bit too much on Ninako’s blushing naivete, there are more comedic moments in this volume, mostly at Ando’s expense as he gets crushed in a subway car while Ren protects Ninako. When Ninako, Ren, and Ando all start a part-time job in a cafe, Ren and Ando are portrayed as the ultimate desirable waiters, smoothly taking care of everything, while Ninako’s enthusiasm almost makes up for her clumsiness. It is easy to see how well Strobe Edge fits into the Shojo Beat line and with so many series ending or about to end, I’m glad to have a newer series to follow.
The bad part about an excellent week of chapters is that the following week has to work that much harder just to seem passable. And while this week’s chapters were not quite as excellent as last week’s, we still got a good bunch of manga this week. We also got a lot of it, since Rurouni Kenshin and Blue Exorcist returned to the lineup for their monthly appearances.
Rurouni Kenshin Ch. 008
I will say this for this month’s Rurouni Kenshin: It did not frustrate me quite as much as last month’s. Sure, Kanryu is an absolute joke of a villain, and the fact that he would even be remotely considered a threat for Yahiko—even an untrained Yahiko—stretches my suspension of disbelief to the maximum. Still, I did get a chuckle (and then a groan) out of the end of Sanosuke’s fight. Sure it was amusing, but at the same time I wasn’t really looking for comedy out of this series. As with every month, this project feels more and more like a tired attempt to cash in on the movie’s publicity rather than a labour of love or anything.
I guess one way of expressing my disappointment is that I was really hoping for a sequel. Oh well, it is what it is, and critiquing it based on what I want it to be rather than what it is isn’t fair. Unfortunately what it is isn’t very impressive in the first place.
Naruto Ch. 622
Speaking of misplaced comedy, Naruto is a series about Ninja and the impact war has on children, though one could be forgiven for missing that point, considering that this chapter started with an unfunny comedy segment. Kishimoto’s humor is very hit or miss—most often miss it seems like. I’ve only really laughed at one of his jokes in months. And even that was probably misplaced comedy. In this case, starting off an attempt at establishing pathos in your story with a goofy scene isn’t the best way to go.
And while I lauded him for connecting Naruto and Obito thematically, if he’s trying to do the same thing with Hashirama and Madara I will go on strike. It’s clever if done once. Done twice, it becomes the damning evidence that it’s the only tool in your box.
Still, the point that war is bad and children dying in war is bad is always a good point to make. Too bad the execution left plenty to be desired.
One Piece Ch. 700
While I find it odd that Kinemon and Law seem to be getting along just fine, considering Law was responsible for holding up Kinemon’s search for Momonosuke, it’s a minor concern in an otherwise great chapter. There is so much material to go through that I feel more inclined to just say this was a great chapter and leave it at that. There are, however, a few points worth noting. For one, we get confirmation that Buggy is one of the seven warlords, and his inappropriate title amuses me to no end. Second, Luffy and Doflamingo interact for the first time, and it’s good to see that Luffy still can’t take anything seriously. Thirdly, Law is slowly, against his own will, becoming accustomed to the crew. And hilarity ensues. Fourthly, Nami finally put on a damn shirt. Far be it from me to complain if beautiful women want to wear skimpy. But it becomes very hard to sell the series to non-fans when one of the main characters wears nothing but bikini tops for two solid arcs.
World Trigger Ch. 004
World Trigger continues to ask questions, but the answers seem to still be off in the distance—for the moment at least—but not in the way that frustrates me, more in the way that I am interested to know more. In execution, World Trigger is playing it a bit more standard shounen than I would necessarily want. Even as a shounen fan, I need a bit more to really grab my attention. For now I am willing to come back to see my questions answered, but I hope at least a few of those questions will be answered soon. Though, to be fair, I am willing to wait if it means the story is paced properly. The jury is out on World Trigger for the moment.
Nisekoi Ch. 064
As I’ve said before, if you want a manga that gives you romantic comedy that doesn’t get too drenched in melodrama, then Nisekoi is the manga for you. This chapter somehow manages to give all the girls their time in the spotlight, and it does so at Rakku’s constant expense. It’s a necessary element for a harem manga that the main character be the butt end of a few jokes. Otherwise the readers (the male readers at least) would start hating them for being so unreasonably lucky with girls. Somehow Rakku is one of the few who can escape that scorn, and still be a fitting candidate for a bit of punishment here and there. Also, once again, Chitoge wins the chapter for her facial expressions.
Toriko Ch. 224
This chapter didn’t quite have as much material as in the past few weeks. We spent a lot more time focused on Coco, and a bit on Sunny, that we didn’t get to see much of the battle as a whole. Which works plenty fine, since now it is time to focus in on the individual battles now that the battle as a whole has been established. Still, the material provided seems a bit less bountiful than last week. At least we get an explanation for why cooks are so important. That and Sunny’s fight promises to be the absolute most entertaining part of this war.
Bleach Ch. 528
It’s cute how Kubo pulls out these big reveals, only to have his readers say, “Uh…yeah, we kinda figured it out when you dropped the first hint months ago.” That’s not to say the reveal of what exactly Ichigo’s mother was is bad, it’s just that literally everybody following this manga figured it out back when Ichigo first fought whatshisface the Quincy King.
The problem lies in the fact that Kubo drops hints, and those hints point at literally the only single explanation. And then when the only explanation is revealed, it comes across as underwhelming. This would be easily overcome if he broadened his strokes a little. Make the hints point at an obvious conclusion, and then have the reveal be something completely different but completely logical. But, considering that we are almost at the end of the series, I’ll take what I can get.
For a Bleach chapter, there was a surprising amount of content this week. Action scenes usually go by so fast that reading a completely plot centric chapter seems like suddenly reading War and Peace. And what I said last week is true, when Bleach is good, Naruto suffers. And this week Bleach was quite good.
One-Punch Man Ch. 007
As usual, One-Punch Man was excellent. The joke continues to be the same, but it continues to be funny. Rather than have the one punch be the punchline at the end of the chapter, the joke is carried through the whole chapter. The introduction of Genos, and an ongoing set of antagonists, helps give this series more body. Also, it’s just really funny every week.
Dragon Ball Z Ch. 005
The fight starts, and this is the first time we are really introduced to the idea that power levels are unreliable. I can’t really think of much to say, beyond how ridiculous it is to see Raditz winning, in hindsight at least. Still, it’s a shame that Toriyama introduced him as Goku’s brother, and then never decided to do anything with him after this arc. It seems almost pointless to introduce him as Goku’s brother and then never use him again. Sure it may be unique to have what should be a major character in the hero’s life be relegated to a oneshot villain. But in that case, why bother establishing the relationship in the first place.
Cross Manage Ch. 023
Cross Manage continues to stay an enjoyable series for me. Sure the focus isn’t on the sport, which is a bit odd for a sports series. But I enjoy it for the characters. With the development they’ve gotten in the past few chapters, I’m finally looking forward to these chapters, and would be severely disappointed if this series ends. It’s that right balance of quirky characters with high school and sports drama that I can enjoy reading.
Blue Exorcist Ch. 044
This series must be maddening for anyone invested in any kind of romantic relationship between the characters. First Shiemi appears to be a romantic interest for Rin, then chapters like this emphasize her feelings for Yuki, etc. Were I not an unfeeling Cyberman I would be frustrated by this series. Fortunately I was instead able to focus on the growing friendship between Rin and Godaiin, as well as the potential world building promised to us by Mephisto. This chapter focused more on the different characters, building up their relationships and inner turmoil with each other. It lacked a big climax, but I suppose that is not to the chapter’s detriment. I’m still waiting to see where this next arc will be headed exactly, so I hope next month’s chapter picks up the pace.
If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 037 – February 25, 2013 – What is Seinen Manga? | Hyrule Historia.
Jewel thieves! Car racing! Beautiful scenery! Melodrama! Silly sexual humor! This drama has a lot going for it. Let’s set the mood with a song:
Now, a scene from the first episode.
Example Scene
Ou Yaruo is getting married today. Or at least that’s what she thinks.
When the door opens, she assumes that it’s her fiance.
Actually, it’s her ex-boyfriend.
Clearly, this is not good news.
Ou Yaruo tells him to get out.
He does not get out.
In fact, he gets closer to her. She apparently broke his heart when she dumped him.
He’s very interested in her necklace.
The sneak tabloid photographer has arrived on the scene…
… and he’s just in time to take a picture of them kissing.
After the kiss, he leaves, leaving her wondering what the meaning of this encounter was. Does she still love him? Did he come to take back the jewel of her heart?
Then she realizes, no, he did not come to steal the jewel of her heart. He just wanted to steal the big jewel in her necklace, which he has slipped off her neck while kissing her.
The Heroine
From all of the Taiwanese idol dramas I’ve seen, I think Xia Zhixing is my favorite female protagonist. She’s one of the most honest and compassionate characters in the entire drama – which is ironic, considering she’s a con artist dating another con artist.
Well, Zhong Tianqi catches her in the act, and she gets sent to prison for two years. Not only does she spend two years in prison, but when she gets out, she discovers that she’s lost her con artist boyfriend.
But wait! She catches Zhong Tianqi stealing a jewel too! He got her sent to prison while he’s a thief himself. No fair!
So why did Xia Zhixing become a con artist in the first place? It’s revealed that she’s an orphan, and she grew up in poverty. Being a con artist was the only way she was able to find out of her poverty, and after leaving prison, she finds herself back in financial distress. The fact that she now has a criminal record makes it hard for her to make an honest living which, ironically, is the only thing pushing her back into a career of crime.
Because of her own difficult experiences, Xia Zhixing has a lot of empathy for other people in unfortunate circumstances, especially people who ended up in them through no fault of their own. At one point, she makes a HUGE sacrifice for the sake of an innocent child she barely knows.
When she’s not trying to pull off a con, she is not afraid to be herself, even when this might make people uncomfortable. For example, she does not try to hide her criminal past to anybody that she cares about.
Many of her cons revolved around selling fake jewels. During this “job,” she learned a lot about jewelry, and developed an interest in jewelry design. Is this the path to an honest living, or will her past hold her back? Or will she put others’ needs before her own?
The Guys
Much as I love Xia Zhixing, this drama is make even better by a good set of male protagonists.
Guy #1: Zhong Tianqi
He is the black sheep of his rich family. He’s handsome, he speaks French, and he races cars. Most of all, he’s fearless, whether that means defying his father, standing up for what he feels is right, or car racing while blindfolded.
I am not kidding about the blindfolded car race.
He also takes things very, very deeply to heart. That means that, when somebody is important to him, he will dedicate himself to that person 100%. On the other hand, when he feels betrayed, he gets very, VERY nasty (see the above scene where he ruins his ex-girlfriend’s wedding).
It’s a common trope in Taiwanese idol dramas for Guy #1 to turn into a jerk at some point, and in my opinion Zhong Tianqi does this better than any other Guy #1. First of all, it’s clear that he becomes a jerk because of intense personal suffering, but most of all, I like that he’s a colorful jerk. He is the standard to which I hold up all other Guy #1 jerks. If the male protagonist must turn into a jerk, he at least should be as much fun as Zhong Tianqi.
Oh, and he’s also a prince.
Guy #2: Zhong Tianjun
Zhong Tianjun is Zhong Tianqi’s older brother. He is one of the sweetest male characters I have encountered in a Taiwanese drama, He’s patient, forgiving, understanding. He protects people from sexual harassment. And he tries very very hard to be romantic. Oh, and he’s handsome and wealthy.
He’s the perfect romantic hero. In fact, he’s too perfect. That is why there is Guy 2.5.
Guy #2.5: Han Zhiyin
Han Zhiyin is hot celebrity from Thailand who is, ah, flirtatious and promiscuous. However, he finds himself having deeper feelings for her than he’s felt for anyone else. And while he’s a hotshot model, he grew up in the slums of Bangkok, so he can relate to Xia Zhixing’s background in a way that Zhong Tianqi and Zhong Tianjun cannot.
He also does things with as much, if not more, flair than Zhong Tianqi. Then again, as a celebrity, it’s his job to do things with flair.
The Bechdel test highlights the lack of deep female-female relationships in fiction, but in Taiwanese idol dramas, there is also a dearth of male-male relationships too. However, the relationship with the Zhong brothers is quite touching and interesting in its own right, and the relationship between Zhong Tianqi and Han Zhiyin is also quite fun.
Not that female-female relationships are completely neglected. Though Xia Zhixing and Ou Yaruo most certainly are not friends, I actually think their relationship is one of the most intriguing in the entire story.
Ou Yaruo
Ou Yaruo is a jewelry designer who works for the company owned by the Zhong family. She loves her job, she’s a rising designer, and she is Zhong Tianqi’s first love. Seems like she has exactly the kind of life Xia Zhixing wants, doesn’t it?
Well, on the surface that’s the case. But Ou Yaruo has a terrible secret.
Her past is possibly even sadder than Xia Zhixing. Xia Zhixing is an orphan who grew up in poverty, but at least she was cared for by a loving uncle. Instead, Ou Yaruo wishes that she had been an orphan, and least then she would not have been traumatized by her abusive father, who currently is in prison.
She is terrified by the thought that somebody will find out the truth about her family, and that if the truth comes out, she’ll lose career and that the people who love her will hate her. In fact, she is literally willing to kill to protect this secret.
The people close to Xia Zhixing, on the other hand, know that she was a con artist, and that she has a prison record, so she has no dark secret which may cost her livelihood and the love of the people around here.
Ou Yaruo has the career Xia Zhixing wants, and possibly the heart of the man Xia Zhixing is in love with. But Xia Zhixing has the integrity, bravery, and emotional security that Ou Yaruo wishes she had.
But Wait, There’s More…
You have probably figured out by now that this is one of my favorite idol dramas, which meant this post was getting a bit too long. I hope this post has piqued your interest enough to bring you back next week, when I will talk about this drama some more.
Sara K. saw swarms of purple butterflies in Maolin last week. Some of those butterflies flew all the way from Japan. Maolin itself is a gorgeous place. On a different note, she also has a guest post up at Yago.