Features & Reviews

Bookshelf Briefs 12/10/12

December 10, 2012 by Sean Gaffney, MJ, Anna N and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

This week, Sean, MJ, Anna, & Michelle look at recent releases from VIZ Media, Seven Seas, Yen Press, Kodansha Comics, and Vertical, Inc.!

Ai Ore!, Vol. 7 | By Mayu Shinjo | VIZ Media – I’m starting to get the feeling that Shinjo is beginning to lose interest in her own series, and am somewhat relieved that the next volume will be the last. Once again we see how well-adjusted Mizuki is when not thinking about Akira, and how thinking about him makes her a nervous wreck. The same applies, of course, to Akira in reverse – and it’s lampshaded by the other characters that this has been going on a bit too long. The main plot here involves Akira starting a solo career, seemingly in a bid to gain Mizuki’s attention. Of course, he has to sing as a girl, which leads to his photographer/manager (who doesn’t seem to care about his true gender) hitting on him and forcing him to question why he does all this cross-dressing. It’s sad that this series has gone from appalling to funny to sweet and now to boring. – Sean Gaffney

Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz, Vol. 3 | By QuinRose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru | Seven Seas – I’m going to have to come out and say it—I found Peter White the most interesting part of this volume. And given that I don’t like Peter at all, that’s saying something. But of course, that’s the point. Peter’s constant war between “I want Alice to be mine” and “I want Alice to be happy” seems to have finally swung in the “happy” direction, and so he has to stay away from her for the sake of her memories. It’s nice to see the main plotline of AitCoH get brought up again, reminding us that despite all the fluffy romance with Boris, everyone here is working with one goal in mind, which is to prevent Alice from recalling some psychological trauma involving her sister. And yes, Boris is doing that too. Will this threaten their relationship? Read on! – Sean Gaffney

Cage of Eden, Vol. 8 | By Yoshinobu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – It’s a shame the fanservice is so blatant and sexist, because this really is quite a fun adventure/thriller manga. There’s young men fighting twenty-foot-tall horse/bear hybrids by kicking them in the face, there’s intriguing plot revelations that force you to rethink everything about the premise (the view from the mountain), and there’s mystery elements that unfortunately seem to reinforce one of the manga’s main themes, “almost all adults are evil,” But really, Cage of Eden 8 can be defined by its cover, featuring Yarai looking grim and cool while carrying his teacher in a way that displays her ass to the reader in the most blatant way possible. Jump may try to quietly cater to both male and female readers – Magazine never bothers. But, getting past the boobs, butts and more boobs, it’s genuinely intriguing. – Sean Gaffney

Limit, Vol. 2 | By Keiko Suenobu | Vertical, Inc. – After the first volume’s wild drama, things remain tense and messy in volume two, as the girls figure out their own strategies for survival in a scenario where they are forced to depend on those they most certainly can’t trust. Though some of the character development may seem obvious, there are a few genuine surprises in the mix, and all the girls’ stories are well-told in Keiko Suenobu’s deft hands. Though capable Kamiya, with her well-honed survival skills and calm focus, is the most objectively impressive character in this volume, it’s popular girl Konno who experiences the greatest (and most surprising) personal growth. This series continues to maintain a delicate balance between its scathing commentary on teen social politics and its expressive shoujo artwork, cementing it as one of my favorite debut series of the year. Highly recommended. – MJ

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 12 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media -Oresama Teacher is a bit predictable, and I am growing a little tired of the parade of cute young men with severe psychological issues that end up causing chaos in ex-delinquent Mafuyu’s new life. But it also consistently makes me laugh every time I pick up a volume due to the lunacy of the situations and visual gags. In this volume, Mafuyu deals with Aya’s past and gets some unwelcome attention from a new transfer student at her school. I was also happy to see the return of the school’s former Bancho, and his reaction to seeing Mafuyu and Aya talking together was priceless. I hope that the series swings back to the larger plotline about Takaomi and the redemption of the school, but as long as Oresama Teacher continues to reliably deliver funny moments I’m going to keep reading. – Anna N

Paradise Kiss, Vol. 2 | By Ai Yazawa | Vertical, Inc. – Each time I re-read this series, I am surprised all over again by how complex Yukari’s feelings for George are and how seriously cruel he can be, but this time, there’s more. Vertical’s gorgeous reprint of this series also brings into focus just how damned alluring George is, and how genuinely sexy and romantic Yukari’s relationship is with him at times, which really only complicates things more. Emotional complication is nearly always a very good thing, and that’s certainly the case here, especially in this volume, where Yukari is struggling so desperately with first love along with understanding the power (and terror) of exercising her own free will. My earlier reservations about this version’s English adaptations were smoothed over by this volume, which neatly swept me away without distraction. Highly recommended. – MJ

Real, Vol. 11 | By Takehiko Inoue | VIZ Media – Nomiya takes center stage in this volume, as the time has finally come for him to try out for the Tokyo Lightnings, a pro team. As a devotee of sports manga, I found the whole process undeniably riveting, and even somewhat verklempt-inducing since Nomiya, though lacking in various skills and experience, is nonetheless able to display his best qualities on the court and as a person. (Spoiler: we’re going to have to wait another year for volume twelve to learn whether he’s made the team or not.) Meanwhile, Togawa’s wheelchair basketball team, the Tigers, acquires a feisty new coach and Takahashi, still doing rehabilitation in the hospital, takes a competition wheelchair for a spin. Real is full of struggle and effort, and we’ve seen these protagonists dispirited before. But now, when they’re on the cusp of achieving something so meaningful, the payoff is immensely sweet. Very strongly recommended. – Michelle Smith

Slam Dunk, Vol. 25 | By Takehiko Inoue | VIZ Media – I always put down a volume of an Inoue manga feeling like I’ve witnessed a very entertaining masterclass in storytelling. Slam Dunk always balances the psychological aspects of playing sports with incredibly well-executed action scenes. The Shohoku team is about to play the tournament favorites Sannoh, and the early part of the volume deals with team strategy on both sides. We see the cipher-like coach of Shohoku knowing just what to say to each of his players to ensure that they won’t be intimidated by their opposing team, and the formation of a new cohesive team identity. There are always a few moments from Slam Dunk that stand out in my mind after I close each volume, and in this case it is the identical looks of disbelief on Sakuragi and Miyagi’s faces when Sakuragi actually manages to do something cool in a competitive game after Miyagi feeds him the ball. – Anna N

Vampire Knight, Vol. 15 | By Matsuri Hino | VIZ Media – For all that it features really hot and sexy vampires being hot, this volume of Vampire Knight excels because it focuses on what Matsuri Hino writes best—politics. Kaname is physically absent from this volume except in a couple of flashbacks, but the aftermath of his actions at the end of the last volume reverberate throughout. Yuki is trying to hold everything together, and in fact given the lack of faith many have in her what she achieves is surprising, but I can’t help but feel, like Zero, that it’s not going to hold up for very long. It’s especially not helped by the presence of Sara, who is such an obvious villain that she gets to simply walk around being villainous and wait for anyone to bother to prove it. And yes, if you do like vampires, there’s even some interesting vampire stuff here. Still addicting soap opera. – Sean Gaffney

Danza

December 10, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Natsume Ono. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Morning Two. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

After seeing how popular (well, popular with manga bloggers) Natsume Ono’s other works were when Viz Media was putting her stuff out, Kodansha decided they wanted to get in on the game as well. After all, Ono didn’t only write for Ikki and Manga Erotics F, she also did stuff for Morning Two, Kodansha’s alternative manga magazine best known for Saint Young Men (which will never be licensed here ever). And Danza seems to be a good test market – it’s a collection of one-shot short stories, so little investment is required, and it deals with the same thing most of Ono’s best manga deal with – awkward conversations between people who have trouble communicating.

As with a lot of short story collections, it’s a mixed bag. Viz also did some of her collected short stories, and I think it shows that she works better at a slightly longer form with characters we can invest in (such as Ristorante Paradiso/Gente). Of course, this doesn’t mean that this collection doesn’t have some excellent stuff. But these are stories that are meant to provoke a wistful mood, with only one of them (involving Italian ices and police officers) even getting close to giving me a wry grin. When you draw mild, somewhat sad low-key manga, you need to anticipate that the reaction will be somewhat low-key as well. There’s also one short-story here that didn’t work for me, involving time-travel and father-son relationships. I felt this one added one too many plot complications, which is ironic given that almost 40 of its 60 pages are taken up with sitting at a table talking.

But as I said above, when Ono is on her game there’s no one I enjoy reading better. The best stories here involve things, again, I’ve seen from her before – grumpy fathers (or father figures) who gruffly disguise any feelings or emotions they may have under a veneer of indifference, doubly helped by the fact that they’re taciturn and uncommunicative naturally. Long pauses, saying things slightly poorly, shutting up for hours because you don’t want to risk spoiling the mood further… these are all things any reader is familiar with no matter what the country. And these stories (which take place in not only Italy, Ono’s default country, but also the United States and Japan)make you yearn for that connection, make you want to see everyone work it out. You want to see people talk, but it’s not drawn out enough that you’re yelling at the page.

As for Ono’s art, it is what it is, and I don’t think too many people read the story for her expressions. Which is a shame, as they fit her mood so well. If you have skill at drawing men who sort of frown and glance downwards furtively, well then write stories that use that! Ono’s heroes tend to look shifty even if they aren’t, which can sometimes help to pace a story as well, particularly the final one about a police officer and his new recruit, who’s listening to far too many rumors.

This isn’t going to be a knock-out up there with the best of Ono’s works, but nor is it just a collection of throwaways. It’s a Natsume Ono book, and if you don’t know what you’re getting by now it may not be for you. For those who do, it’s more of the same. (furtive glance to the side, frowns) And that’s enough.

(This review was based on a copy provided by the publisher.)

Off the Shelf: Sweet Blue Flowers, Bunny Drop, Thermae Romae

December 9, 2012 by MJ and Michelle Smith 4 Comments

MICHELLE: Hey, MJ! What game would you play with a wombat?

MJ: Well, wow, I don’t know! What game would you play with a wombat?

MICHELLE: Wom!

MJ: Heh. Okay, it actually took a moment for me to get that. I must need more coffee!

MICHELLE: Maybe so! While you’re getting caffeinated, wanna tell us about some manga you read this week?

MJ: Sure! Those who took in my new video feature this week, My Week in Manga, may be anticipating this as my first topic for today—I’m talking about Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana) by Takako Shimura. The first volume is now available at JManga, and I could not be more thrilled. I’ve been waiting to read this series for a long time, and I’m so happy that it’s finally available in English.

Sweet Blue Flowers has two protagonists—Akira Okudaira, a young woman just beginning her first year at an elite all-girls high school, and Fumi Manjoume, Akira’s childhood friend who has just moved back into the area after ten years (though she’s attending a different all-girls school). Fumi is a lesbian, and shortly after we meet her, she discovers that her older cousin, Chizu, with whom she’s been having a sexual relationship for some time, has become engaged to be married. Heartbroken, Fumi turns to Akira for comfort, cementing their renewed friendship. Akira is relatively innocent about matters of the heart, but when Fumi begins dating an upperclassman, Yasuko, she finds Akira to be a supportive confidante—the first she’s ever really had. Meanwhile, Akira’s classmate, Kyouko, who has a long-time crush on Yasuko, tries to pawn off her arranged fiance on Akira.

Like Shimura’s earlier series, Wandering Son, Sweet Blue Flowers is a quiet, emotionally complex story that addresses its characters’ sexuality, burgeoning sense of self, and considerable teen angst with thoughtfulness and real gravity, while also carefully providing them with a support system that keeps their sense of fear and isolation from overtaking the narrative. Manga fans who long for teen-oriented series’ depicting fantastic female friendships will find everything they’re looking for in this series, along with so much more.

Though the initial onslaught of new characters inhabiting two different girls’ schools can be a bit overwhelming, the story soon settles in on its primary relationships and how these schools’ social circles intertwine. This aspect of the story mainly revolves around Yasuko, who transferred from Akira’s school to Fumi’s, and whose romantic history looks to be far more complicated than she lets on. The series’ exploration of these girls’ romantic fantasies and inner lives should ring true to any adult woman still in touch with her teenaged self, and this is really its greatest strength. Sweet Blue Flowers doesn’t romanticize first love, but it does let us in to its characters‘ romantic hearts, with a level of authenticity that’s less common than one might expect, especially in stories about young girls.

I admit, I’d love to see a high-end print version of this series similar to Wandering Son‘s, especially as the visual quality of JManga’s edition makes text sometimes difficult to read, but overall I’m just grateful to be able to read it at all. This is really a treasure.

MICHELLE: I’ve really wanted to read this series for a long time, so I too am really grateful that it’s available in English at last! JManga has released a fair amount of yuri in the past year, but this does seem to be the most “emotionally complex” one yet. And probably utterly devoid of fanservice.

MJ: Yes, it’s completely fanservice-free, which is a bigger relief than I even expected it to be. I’m so accustomed to just wading through fanservice, I sometimes forget how relaxing it is to read without it.

So what have you been reading this week?

MICHELLE: I’ve spent the interval since our last column getting caught up on Yumi Unita’s josei series Bunny Drop.

Let me state right up front that I was spoiled on the ending of this series before I even began reading it, and have found that this advanced knowledge has colored my reading to the extent that I really can’t avoid talking about it. So, if you don’t want to be spoiled on the ending of Bunny Drop, you should probably skip down to where we start talking about Thermae Romae.

After four volumes depicting single guy Daikichi Kawachi’s experience raising his six-year-old aunt, Rin, Bunny Drop skipped ahead ten years for its fifth volume. Since then, it’s focused more on Rin as a teenager, her disappointment with childhood friend/love interest Kouki, and her uncertainty over her future. Before I get into my complaints, I want to note that Rin’s truly an interesting character. Serious, studious, responsible, domestic, and reserved, it’s refreshing to read about someone who’s simultaneously classy and occasionally prickly. In this volume, her observations of the bonds shared by friends and their mothers causes her to contemplate the nature of motherhood and to ultimately seek out her own. She does eventually meet Masako—another unique character who’s prickly, defensive, and yet somehow sympathetic—but the volume ends with her concluding that living with Daikichi is best.

All of this sounds perfectly innocent without the foreknowledge that Rin and Daikichi are going to end up as a couple. But because I know that, I have seen Unita urging the story in that direction ever since the fifth volume. I might’ve found Rin’s reaction to Kouki’s astoundingly poor decision-making more poignant, had I not been cynically observing, “Had to cross him off the list.” I had the same reaction when Daikichi and Kouki’s mother eventually decide not to get together. Because this seventh volume is mostly concerned with Rin and Masako meeting, there’s less of that, but it’s still present in the form of an awkward sniff-test that I guess is supposed to confirm that Daikichi is not too close a relation to be genetically viable and Rin’s realization that she doesn’t want anyone else to take care of Daikichi in his old age. This, coupled with scenes in which Daikichi confirms that she’ll always be his kid, just makes everything kind of… confusing and icky.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Bunny Drop is still a good read, and I am trying to keep an open mind that Unita will somehow manage to bring these two together romantically in a way that won’t make my skin crawl. (I pray that we get another ten-year time jump first!) But I can’t deny that I wish it had remained in its quasi-Yotsuba?! state indefinitely.

MJ: I admit I’m not feeling the “icky” as much as you are, and perhaps that’s because I was spoiled much later, after I already had the chance to fall in love with the characters and the story in general. Also, I just may not be as squicked by the concept in general. But I agree that the story has been nudging Rin in this direction since the time-jump, and knowing the ending in advance has certainly affected the way I view both Rin and Daikichi’s romantic lives. More and more, though, I’m feeling confident that Unita will be able to pull this off in a way that’s moving and sweet instead of gross. I hope I’m right?

MICHELLE: I really hope so, too.

Anyway, you want to do the honors and introduce Thermae Romae?

MJ: Sure! So, as we’ve mentioned, our mutual read this week is the first volume of Mari Yamazaki’s Thermae Romae, published in true hardcover glory by Yen Press. It’s an award-winning manga in Japan that’s spawned both an anime series and a popular live-action film, and it’s been ongoing in Enterbrain’s seinen magazine Comic Beam since 2008.

Lucius Modestus is an architect in ancient Rome, whose old-style bathhouse designs are falling out of favor. A true devotee of the public bath, Lucius goes for a soak to clear his thoughts after losing an important contract. As he sinks deeper into the bath, he is suddenly sucked into a drainage pipe, only to find himself finally emerging in modern-day Japan! Thrilled by the “flat-faces”‘ (as he calls them) advances in public bathing, he returns to his own time full of new ideas, which become all the rage in Rome, establishing him as an architectural genius.

Each new chapter roughly repeats this formula (Lucius hits a snag in his own design, time-travels to Japan, and returns with the plan for Rome’s next great bath), which I admit I found a bit wearying over time, though I certainly learned a lot about baths!

MICHELLE: More than anything, Thermae Romae actually reminds me of Ekiben Hitoritabi (available from JManga), which is the likewise repetitious story of a train/bento enthusiast who travels around Japan, marveling at both trains and bento and finding nothing in his travels to dislike. Similarly, each time Lucius comes to Japan he finds it wondrous and deserving of enthusiastic mental praise. At one point, during the chapter in which he discovers onsen, the hard-boiled eggs cooked in the hot water, and the sake served along with them, he utters a line of dialogue that could’ve been completely lifted from Ekiben: “Fantastic! It goes perfectly with the egg!”

So, basically, Thermae Romae is to baths what Ekiben Hitoritabi is to trains and bento lunches. It’s a celebration of a unique aspect of Japanese culture that is a little bemusing perhaps for Westerners to read, but still entertaining.

This makes me wonder… why did Thermae Romae get a deluxe hardcover release while Ekiben is only available digitally? Certainly the time-travel aspect offers a modicum of intrigue, but I think the main difference might rest in Yamazaki’s art style. The volume’s large size and glossy pages, coupled with Yamazaki’s realistic renderings (of Lucius in particular), contribute to the impression that this is actually a Western graphic novel of distinguished literary merit! Yen must be hoping to attract a wider audience with this release than simply manga fans.

MJ: I think you may have a very good point. For what’s essentially an episodic gag manga, the artwork is really quite gorgeous, particularly in its depictions of ancient Rome. It’s a strange and awesome combination, really, when you consider that there’s an entire section regarding toilets (down to the details of Roman wiping), depicted with this really lovely, rather sensitive artwork instead of crude, gross-out drawings or clinical, non-fiction diagrams—either of which would be more likely to accompany the subject matter. Yen’s high-end treatment emphasizes the erudite nature of the series, which isn’t at all inappropriate, but I’ll be interested to see who its audience really is.

MICHELLE: Speaking of the gag aspect… until I got to the part about the toilets, I was feeling kind of dubious about the front flap’s claim that Thermae Romae is a “historical comedy.” However, Lucius accusing the bidet of being an “insolent knave!!” changed my mind.

MJ: Heh, yes, the toilet section did provide some of the best humor, I have to admit!

A Devil And Her Love Song, Vol. 6

December 9, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Miyoshi Tomori. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Margaret. Released in North America by Viz.

This manga has been on my Bookshelf Briefs stack for the past few volumes, but it completely steps up its game here, so I feel I should do the same. We were in danger of hitting a rut and resolving things too early, with Maria’s latest antagonist, Anna, proving to be another in a series of foes that Maria and her harem… um, friends can win over with honest feelings and stubborn refusal to give up. But in this volume, we see that Anna is made of far sterner antagonist stuff, and steps up her game in a way that tries to both destroy Maria’s life *and* win the affection of Shin.

I’m quite impressed with the author, who has made Anna a villain who ruins the heroine’s life, through the usual shoujo tricks (oh dear, I threw your cellphone into the river by accident) and by things that only Anna could really utilize (telling Shin about Maria’s past). Both work quite well, but the latter really takes hold more than the former. And yet with all that said, it’s somewhat startling that I still really hope that she and Maria can work things out in the end. Maria, as we’ve noted before, *is* genuinely very hard to be around sometimes, and this would have been especially true given what happened between her and Anna. And clearly Anna is not doing this entirely out of pure hatred, given her reaction in that last scene.

Speaking of that last scene, it’s one of the best in the series to date, with Maria once again attempting to sacrifice herself in order to ‘protect’ someone else. Admittedly, this being Maria, it comes from a series of harsh truths and insults, but the heart behind it is there. And Anna can see that heart, which just makes it worse. Her final comment ‘You’re terrible at playing the devil’ is true – Maria is at her worst when she’s wallowing in her own self-hatred and trying to make everyone else see the same things she does.

And then there’s the revelation about Maria’s past that Anna shows Shin. While I’m not sure I buy the whole ‘it’s all Maria’s fault’ that was tossed in, I’m inclined to think the basic facts are true. I like that it took a lot for Shin to buy into this – actual newspaper clippings. Shin is not your typical guy who will believe anything a pretty face tells him. That said, this does affect Shin, but not in the way Anna expects – he’s now hell bent on helping Maria get over the trauma that this has left on her, and his discomfort around her stems from this. And I can see why he’s reacting this way – I mean seriously, how much more tragic can we possibly make Maria’s life?

All this plus we see Yusuke finally making his own move, even if he has to continue to couch it in ‘just kidding’ terms (which is going to come back to kick him in the ass one of these days). I think the audience now knows which pairing we’ll end up with by the end, but there’s 7 volumes still to go, so I’m fine with Yusuke showing he wants to be more than just a romantic runner-up – especially since he doesn’t have the knowledge Shin or Anna do. And by the way, the teacher from hell? Still there, still horrible. HE MUST GO. But the rest of the volume? Awesome.

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 9 December

December 9, 2012 by Matt Blind 1 Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

Correction: The series Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus & Liar’s Game, tracked in the charts since 17 June, was incorrectly listed as a Yen Press title. Alice in the Country of Joker is actually from Seven Seas. The charts affected have been edited, but I wanted to apologize again for the error.

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [419.3] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Death Note vols 1-13 box set – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2008 [408.0] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Naruto 59 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2012 [393.2] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Vampire Knight 15 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2012 [363.8] ::
5. ↑4 (9) : Maximum Ride 6 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [352.4] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Sailor Moon vols 1-6 box set – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [341.1] ::
7. ↑4 (11) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [318.0] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [316.1] ::
9. ↓-3 (6) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [315.8] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Alice in the Country of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz 3 – Seven Seas, Nov 2012 [315.8] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Yen Press 102
Viz Shonen Jump 83
Viz Shojo Beat 54
Kodansha Comics 52
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 36
Seven Seas 27
Dark Horse 17
Viz 17
Del Rey 12
Vizkids 11

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,040.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [787.5] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [653.7] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [624.6] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Black Butler – Yen Press [621.0] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Alice in the Country of Clover – Seven Seas [557.6] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [515.7] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [508.3] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Soul Eater – Yen Press [430.5] ::
10. ↑3 (13) : Pokemon – Vizkids [400.5] ::

[more]

New Releases
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [419.3] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Naruto 59 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2012 [393.2] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Vampire Knight 15 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2012 [363.8] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Sailor Moon vols 1-6 box set – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [341.1] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Alice in the Country of Clover Cheshire Cat Waltz 3 – Seven Seas, Nov 2012 [315.8] ::
12. ↑62 (74) : Black Bird 15 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2012 [273.6] ::
15. ↑2 (17) : Blue Exorcist 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Nov 2012 [250.9] ::
19. ↓-11 (8) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 10 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Nov 2012 [246.3] ::
24. ↑33 (57) : Bleach 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2012 [231.9] ::
29. ↑154 (183) : D. Gray-Man 23 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Dec 2012 [210.6] ::

[more]

Preorders

20. ↓-6 (14) : Sailor Moon 9 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [245.1] ::
34. ↓-10 (24) : Sailor Moon 10 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2013 [189.0] ::
58. ↓-20 (38) : Sailor Moon 12 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2013 [148.8] ::
59. ↓-16 (43) : Sailor Moon 11 – Kodansha Comics, May 2013 [146.9] ::
89. ↓-19 (70) : Negima! 37 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [114.3] ::
101. ↑7 (108) : Alice in the Country of Joker Circus & Liar’s Game 1 – Seven Seas, Feb 2013 [98.7] ::
107. ↑4 (111) : Battle Angel Alita Last Order 17 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2013 [96.5] ::
111. ↓-11 (100) : Alice in the Country of Joker Circus & Liar’s Game 2 – Seven Seas, May 2013 [93.8] ::
117. ↓-5 (112) : Naruto 60 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2013 [89.6] ::
121. ↓-11 (110) : Negima! 38 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2013 [87.9] ::

[more]

Manhwa

240. (new) : Let Dai 15 – Netcomics, Dec 2008 [46.5] ::
364. ↓-144 (220) : Bride of the Water God 12 – Dark Horse, Nov 2012 [27.6] ::
467. ↑25 (492) : March Story 4 – Viz Signature, Oct 2012 [20.5] ::
642. (new) : Chocolat 8 – Yen Press, Dec 2012 [11.7] ::
819. ↓-181 (638) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [6.9] ::
927. ↓-308 (619) : Black God 8 – Yen Press, Feb 2010 [5.0] ::
950. ↑316 (1266) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [4.7] ::
999. ↑ (last ranked 18 Nov 12) : Zero The Beginning of the Coffin 1 – Infinity Studios, Mar 2006 [4.0] ::
1071. ↓-203 (868) : Jack Frost 1 – Yen Press, May 2009 [3.1] ::
1098. ↑86 (1184) : Jack Frost 6 – Yen Press, Sep 2012 [2.9] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

110. ↑6 (116) : Awkward Silence 2 – SuBLime, Oct 2012 [93.9] ::
135. ↑18 (153) : Alice the 101st 3 – DMP DokiDoki, Jan 2013 [77.1] ::
149. ↓-18 (131) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [70.6] ::
167. ↑59 (226) : Ze 7 – 801 Media, Jan 2013 [64.8] ::
210. ↑2249 (2459) : A Century of Temptation – DMP Juné, Apr 2013 [51.8] ::
240. (new) : Let Dai 15 – Netcomics, Dec 2008 [46.5] ::
254. ↓-32 (222) : Loveless 9 – Viz, Sep 2012 [43.8] ::
266. (new) : Otodama: Voice from the Dead 2 – DMP DokiDoki, Oct 2013 [41.0] ::
277. ↓-10 (267) : I’ve Seen It All 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2012 [39.5] ::
335. ↑ (last ranked 4 Sep 11) : Reversible 1 – DMP Juné, Sep 2009 [30.0] ::

[more]

Ebooks

21. ↑2 (23) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [240.9] ::
38. ↑4 (42) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [185.1] ::
47. ↑4 (51) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [164.0] ::
50. ↑13 (63) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [159.3] ::
71. ↑19 (90) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [136.9] ::
79. ↑5 (84) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [123.0] ::
92. ↑4 (96) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [112.1] ::
104. ↑21 (125) : Naruto 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2003 [97.4] ::
108. ↑32 (140) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [95.8] ::
154. ↑11 (165) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [68.3] ::

[more]

Combat Commentary: Fullmetal Alchemist Ch. 91-92 Alphonse & Heinkel vs. Pride & Kimbley

December 8, 2012 by Derek Bown 2 Comments

What Happened?
With the rest of the cast joining in on the attack on Central, Alphonse and Heinkel, the Lion Chimera, stay behind to detain the Homunculus Pride. Unknown to them, Pride calls for help, and is answered by the Crimson Alchemist, Kimbley, who easily takes out Heinkel and frees Pride.

What Happens?
Alphonse, badly injured by Pride, manages to create a dust cloud and tries to escape with Heinkel. When he refuses to leave Heinkel behind and save himself, despite the Chimera’s insistence, Heinkel gives Alphonse the philosopher’s stone he picked up back in the North.

(click images to enlarge)

Armed with the power of the stone, Alphonse fights Pride and Kimbley, even going so far as succeeding in trapping Pride again. He and Kimbley share philosophies for a moment when Kimbley reveals that he has another philosopher’s stone hidden away. With it, he frees Pride and the battle seems to turn against Alphonse as he is restrained.

Alphonse reveals that he no longer has the stone, having given it to Marco who was using the dust to read the direction the wind was blowing. Just as he is about to warn Kimbley, the transformed Heinkel pounces from the dust and sinks his teeth into Kimbley’s neck.

What Does it Mean?
It means that Hiromu Arakawa is a master of cliff hangers. Consider this, those of you that read these chapters when they were first published in the States. Imagine that you were reading chapter 92 as it was being released monthly. Really let that image sink in—consider that Kimbley was one of the biggest bastards in the entire Fullmetal Alchemist series. Imagine the sense of elation at seeing his doom. Imagine the nagging sense that maybe he would still survive. Was this the end for him? Characters in manga had survived worse. But then again, Fullmetal Alchemist was always more realistic about what kind of injuries could be survived. Imagine, if you will, all these thoughts racing through your head, all heading towards the realization that you had to wait another month before you get your answers.

That’s what it must have been like, reading this fight as the series was being published. Reading it from the volumes all one must do is turn the page for the next chapter. Reading it chapter by chapter as each new one came out, would have made that moment all the more sweet and frustrating.

But what about the fight itself? Well, for one it was Alphonse’s big character moment. He’d had his moments in the past, but this was the first time he really got to dish out some punishment, and he did it beautifully. In my last column about Fullmetal Alchemist I talked about the Armstrongs’ fight against Sloth. While I very much like that fight—as I do most fights from this series, of which there are many that will be covered in this column—anytime Edward or Alphonse fights it’s always a much more interesting fight.

Rather than focus on just one type of alchemy, the Elric brothers can form almost anything they want, which makes for some very interesting fights that rarely get dull. This one especially used a lot of interesting trickery, which was necessitated by the fact that they were fighting a far superior opponent. Even at the end they are unable to defeat Pride and have to escape with their lives.

There are a lot of reasons to like Fullmetal Alchemist. One of my main reasons is perfectly illustrated in this fight. The deep imagination that went into the creation of this world, story, and magic system. It’s one of my all-time favorite manga, and I can’t wait to spend more of your time ranting about how awesome the fights are.

Toriko, Vol. 13

December 8, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

Again, it’s been a long time since I reviewed Toriko on the main blog as opposed to a Bookshelf Brief. Jump series in general tend to lend themselves well to a paragraph rather than four or five paragraphs, especially when the volume in question is ‘they fight for 10 chapters’. Luckily, there’s a lot less fighting and a lot more character development here, although we do get the daily required amount of huge fictional animals, death-inducing climates, and large muscled men beating things up, all things Toriko requires for its daily nutritional value.

It seems appropriate that the Ozone Grass, the astonishing vegetable Toriko and Komatsu had spent most of last volume climbing to, turns out to be a pointer to both of the major themes of this episode. First off, it’s something that requires two people to work together to eat it properly, showing off the friendship part of Shonen Jump’s traditional motto. Toriko and Komatsu have been close since Volume 1, but there’s always been a bit of a tagalong ‘normal guy’ aspect to Komatsu, with Toriko going off on some dangerous quests on his own when he didn’t think Komatsu up to the challenge. These scenes really show off how important Komatsu has become in Toriko’s life, and that he really is perfect as Toriko’s partner. (I’d talk about the BL subtext, but I’ve mentioned that in prior reviews.)

And then, amazingly, after one of the more heartwarming scenes in the entire series, Toriko promptly misses the entire point and goes off to Gourmet World on his own, something so amazingly stupid you want to smack your head. In general, we haven’t really seen Toriko’s youth and inexperience all that often in the series to date, and indeed I sometimes forget that he’s only about 25 years old or so. But then, Toriko is always after the big experience, and notably when Sunny finds out what he’s about to do he doesn’t say anything, knowing that Toriko is the sort who is only likely to learn through bitter experience.

And bitter experience is exactly what he gets, as Gourmet World turns out to be a hellish environment straight out of nightmares. The sheer scale of all these dangers when compared with Toriko (who, as has been noted, is pretty huge) boggles the mind, and you have to wonder how he’ll get out of there. The answer is ‘saved by a stronger character’, of course, but only in order to drive home the two important morals of this volume. 1) Toriko is not ready for Gourmet World yet, and 2) Toriko, needs a partner, REPEATED FOR ADDED EMPHASIS. Luckily, this time around he seems to get the point, even if this means we are treated to a sobbing Komatsu spicing up Toriko’s food with something he really doesn’t want.

Unfortunately, Komatsu’s cooking knife is broken, and they head off to get a new one from the amazing knife master Melk. Who looks… suspiciously bishie for a character described as scar-covered and a loner. I sense a surprise coming next volume. In the meantime, this volume gave Toriko some much-needed humility, and saw him finally form what will hopefully be an equal partnership with Komatsu. All this, plus lots of weird animals getting beaten up. What’s not to love?

It Came from the Sinosphere: A Deadly Secret (Part 2)

December 7, 2012 by Sara K. 1 Comment

You may read Part 1 here.

The Fighting

It would probably be unfair to say that the fights in this series are just indiscriminate sword-clanging. But I think most of the fights are no more than one notch above that level.

The thing is, to get good on-screen fighting, you need the following:

1. A good fight choreographer
2. Skilled performers (actors and/or stunt people)
3. Tons and tons of rehearsal time

Now, a great fight choreographer can compensate for less skilled performers, and very talented performers can compensate for a mediocre fight choreographer … but nothing can compensate for a lack of rehearsal time.

All of the above costs quite a bit of money. Particularly the rehearsal time.

I suspect this was outside this TV series’ budget.

Given that they couldn’t afford good fighting, I think they handled the fights pretty well. Though the choreography itself was not exciting, at least the fights moved the story forward. And Jin Yong writes his fight scenes so well that they would be engaging even if the performers were wet noodles.

There were a few fight scenes which did stand out … surprisingly, they were mostly fight scenes which weren’t in the original novel (or maybe that shouldn’t be surprising … when you make up your own fight scene, you can choose to do something which will look good without breaking your budget).

The standout for me is definitely the big fight at the end of episode 25 / beginning of episode 26. I never expected I would say this, but this fight works so well because of the set.

Look at that fantastic ribbon leading up to the stand.

It’s a very scenic way for the fighters to run up…

… and get kicked down.

And that stand is a great place for the fighter to stand above the crowd.

But wait!

The stand gets destroyed in the midst of the fighting!

And we have the two fighters standing on drums, while the stand collapses. Now the space has completely changed. Notice that the fighters are still elevated above the crowd. And notice all of those nice tall yellow-and-red streamers, adding nice vertical lines to the scene. With a set like that, it’s okay if the fighting itself is mostly indiscriminate sword-clanging.

I also need to give points to the costume designer who gave Di Yun such a swishy white outfit. It makes his ~~dancing~~ sword-fighting look more graceful.

Even if you don’t understand Mandarin, I highly recommend watching this fight scene yourself, because I don’t think I can adequately describe it with words and screenshots alone. You can see it in this youtube video (it starts around the 17 minute mark).

Life in an Unjust World

In a way, this is the harshest, bleakest, and most relenting of Jin Yong’s stories. The world is full of greedy people who really aren’t concerned with ethics … and they ruin the lives of the people who actually do follow some ethical principles. Again. And again. And again.

The characters could have easily been portrayed as being just black and white, and I think the TV series does go in that direction for some of the characters. However, rather than showing people as being innately good or evil, it shows that some people choose to prioritize money and power over other people, and let their greed corrupt them …. and other people choose to prioritize other people over money and power. Alas, the people who prioritize money and power tend to actually get more money and power.

Yet when money and power are not involved, the ‘bad’ guys can actually do good things and be very nice people. They don’t want to do evil. They merely don’t mind doing evil.

There is something called the ‘just world fallacy’ (TRIGGER WARNING for the link) – in other words, people want to believe that life is fair. It’s called a ‘fallacy’ because there is lots of evidence that the world is not, in fact, fair.

To pick one example (I could pick many other examples) a bunch of financial firms in the United States bribed politicians to loosen regulations, then violated even the watered-down regulations, committed fraud on a wide scale, blew up a giant housing bubble which made shelter less affordable for tens of millions of people, and which destroyed over 40% of the net wealth of middle-class Americans when it burst. Were the CEOs fired, the financial firms broken down, and serious criminal investigations launched? No! The financial firms got large government bailouts, the CEOs saw their pay increase, tens of millions of people lost their jobs and homes, fraudulent foreclosures are poisoning the centuries-old chain-of-title system which are essential to property rights, etc etc. Oh, and the statue of limitations on their crimes is coming up, which will make them immune to prosecution. This is not what a fair and just world looks like.

A variant of Sartre’s hell: being stuck in the mountains with somebody you don’t like (fortunately, for them, they stop disliking each other, which improves their quality of live).

Justice does sometimes happen in the world, but only by random luck, or when people insist on justice happening. And when people already think that the world is just, they aren’t motivated to do the hard work required to insist on justice.

Most fiction (okay, most fiction that I’m familiar with) supports the just-world fallacy – the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Like most people, I also want to believe the just-world fallacy, so in a way it’s very comforting. Such fiction serves as an escape, which probably is necessary for one’s mental well-being. But I don’t want all of my fiction to be like that.

The TV series does make the story a little more just than the original novel. For example, in the TV series (but, IIRC, not the novel), the bad guys are often plagued with nightmares filled with the ghosts of the people they have wronged. It’s a nice idea that everybody who commits evil is tortured by their consciences, but I don’t think reality always works out that way.

There’s also a new subplot in the TV series where the good guys defeat one of the bad guys very neatly. On one level, I loved watching that, because it’s nice to see the characters I like delivering a character I hate what he deserves. On another level, it makes the world of the story a little more fair, which I think goes a little against the point of the story.

This detestable character finally gets impaled on the spear of justice (the character in the background means ‘justice’). This does not happen in the original novel.

The power of this story, for me, is that it shows that, in spite of the fact that the world is unfair, it is still a wonderful to be alive.

First, integrity is its own reward. Even if you lose, lose, and lose, integrity is still worth something.

Second, there are wonderful people in the world. It is only by staying alive that one will ever have the opportunity to connect with them. And a good relationship is worth the hardship of living in an unjust world.

Of course [SPOILTER] the bad guys blow themselves up with their own greed at the end, and the good guys who are not dead get an ending that is, if not joyful, at least has some contentment. There is a limit to how much unjustness even I can stand in a story, and I’m not sure I could have taken it if the bad guys were all allowed to live happily into old age in luxury. But this story certainly takes the unjustness of the world a bit farther than a lot of other fiction I’m familiar with.[END SPOILER]

I actually find a story which acknowledges that the world is unjust and how to live on in spite of that more comforting than an escapist tale about a just world.

Availability in English

This TV series is, sadly, not available in English. It would be really nice if somebody fixed that. The novel isn’t available in English either. The only version of this story available in English is the movie, which is available on Region 3 DVD with English subtitles.

Conclusion

This … is actually a good TV series. I had my reservations at the beginning, and it took a number of episodes to win me over … but I totally got sucked into the story all over again. If you understand Chinese, I highly recommend trying this.

The movie is also worth watching.

However, my love ultimately belongs to the original novel. Whenever I go back to a story which I had loved before, I’m always afraid that it won’t be as good as I had remembered it. Sometimes my fears prove correct … but not this time. I noticed some flaws in the story which weren’t apparent to me before, but overall it served as a reminder of why I have come to love this story.

Sara K. actually did take a class on set design (as well as a class on costume design and a class on lighting design). She is not a good designer, but she got a lot of practice describing how various designs help or do not help tell a story. The posts she writes about comics would be really, really different if she hadn’t taken those classes … in fact, when she’s writing about comic book artwork, she often feels like she’s talking to one of her design teachers. Of course, it also bleeds into some of her other posts, like this one.

JManga the Week of 12/13

December 7, 2012 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and MJ 2 Comments

SEAN: I will admit that next week’s crop of JManga offerings don’t give me as much to chatter about. No new series, but a lot of new volumes of series that I am either not reading or woefully behind on. Not to mention Pride and Crazy for You 4 got bumped back a week in a Diamond-esque fashion.

MJ: *snif*

MICHELLE: I also despondent.

SEAN: Recorder and Randsell is a series that I’ve no doubt is cute and heartwarming, but I find almost impossible to get past its incredibly twee premise, with a high school girl who has the body of a small child and her brother, a child with the body of a high schooler. It’s a 4-koma, so no doubt moe gags abound. It’s from Takeshobo.

Also from Takeshobo, we have Vol. 5 of PoyoPoyo’s Observation Diary, the awkwardly titled series about a spherical cat and his family. It has cornered the spherical cat market, I tell you!

MICHELLE: I read the first volume of this and had a mixed reaction. There was enough about it that I liked to compel me to continue, but I must admit that I haven’t yet done so.

SEAN: My Darling Kitten Hair is a BL manga from Libre Shuppan, and I see it described as ‘quirky’. Points off for the popsicle-sucking cover, though they do at least keep it cute and tasteful.

MJ: Okay, I have almost nothing else to say this week except that My Darling Kitten Hair was one of my favorite BL manga of the year AND I AM SO HAPPY. So happy.

Okay, I’m done now.

MICHELLE: The very first thing I thought when I saw this on the list was, “Ooh, MJwill be happy.”

SEAN: Peacemaker Kurogane 4 is out far too soon after Vol. 3 for me to have anything to say.

I admit I haven’t had time to read Madame Joker, but given I’ve liked all the other series that Futabasha has released on JManga from the josei magazine Jour, I’m sure I’ll enjoy this as well. Vol. 3 hits the site.

Lastly, Tactics heads further into double digits with Vol. 11. Did anyone read the Tokyopop version of this?

MICHELLE: Not me.

MJ: Oh, actually I did. I only got a few volumes in, though, before I simply lost interest. Perhaps I should give it another chance? It has lots of pretty costuming.

Comic Conversion: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel

December 6, 2012 by Angela Eastman 3 Comments

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel | Novel: Cassandra Clare / Margaret K. McElderry Books | Manga: Hyekyung Baek / Yen Press

Tessa Gray arrives in England to live with her brother, but instead of Nathaniel she finds herself kidnapped. A pair of warlocks keep her locked in a house, forcing her to utilize a power she didn’t know she had—the ability to change into anyone, living or dead, and access their memories simply by holding an object they possessed. Suddenly Tessa is rescued by Will Herondale, a beautiful and dangerous boy who claims to be a Shadowhunter—warriors blessed with angelic power who exist to rid the world of demons. The rest of the Shadowhunters, like the diminutive Charlotte and the kind but sickly Jem, agree to protect Tessa from the mysterious Magister who had her kidnapped, and to help her find her lost brother. But as Tessa, Will, and Jem strive to figure out what is happening, Tessa may uncover some terrible truths.

Cassandra Clare’s first series, The Mortal Instruments, tells the story of Clary and Jace, a pair of superbly star-crossed lovers, which takes place in the present day. When the first three of this soon-to-be six book series was completed, Clare began work on a prequel that takes place over a hundred years before Clary and Jace’s adventures, The Infernal Devices. It’s not necessary to read both series together, but The Infernal Devices does provide some background for the other The Mortal Instruments, giving us a look not only at the ancestors of some of our favorite characters from the first set of books, but also a peek into the earlier lives of some of the immortals that make an appearance in both books. Since I often find myself more delighted with the side characters (in this case, a couple of immortals) than the main pair in The Mortal Instruments, this is a series I couldn’t help but pick up. Yen Press’s release of the manga adaptation was the perfect excuse to give this series a go.

While this novel, and presumably the rest of the trilogy, can stand on its own, there are some times when Clare seems to take for granted that her readers are already familiar with The Mortal Instruments series, as she doesn’t go quite so deeply into the details about Shadowhunters and their history, or spend so much time explaining the problems with Downworlders. The big things are easy to pick up on, though, like the harshness of their lives (most don’t grow very old, as they die in battle, and if they decide to leave they lose all contact with the ones they loved) and the Accords, a deal set with creatures like vampires and werewolves to help keep the peace.

A problem I’ve had with Clare’s writing in the past is the abundance of dead details—in particular, descriptions that have absolutely no bearing on the story. Most things such as dresses and rooms I can let slide, as Clare uses these descriptions to fix her readers in the time period. Other things, however, are entirely useless, like her constant referral to Will’s blue eyes. Bits like this waste time, slowing down the pace of the novel while also leaving little for the reader to imagine herself. Another thing that tends to clunk up the story is the tendency for conversations to veer off course, like when Tessa begins to ask Will to leave her brother alone, then suddenly rants (for pages) about Will’s personality and how he should be looking for Jem’s cure. These conversations just turn into characters saying things the readers already know or that are inconsequential to the story, unnecessarily dragging out the time between plot points.

Even with my gripes, Clockwork Angel is an entertaining young adult book, particularly if you’re already a fan of Clare’s other series. Her story is engaging, with sudden twists and betrayals, which are still exciting even if you can see them coming for ages. The cast is diverse (if predictable), with both the “good” and “bad” boy romantic interests, but even the most seemingly flat characters, like Jessamine, have hidden depths that, even if they don’t reveal themselves completely in this novel, leave the readers to believe that we’ll come to understand these characters as the series progresses.

Now, for the manga. Hyekyung Baek’s adaptation does a good job of keeping us close to Tessa, convincingly converting the narration to her inner thoughts and giving us a shot of her dynamic expressions even in the middle of the excitement. Compared to the novel, the comic’s plot really clips along, with Baek skipping some unneeded scenes and cutting down the rambling conversations. But unfortunately, more often than not this swift pace works against the manga. Characters are moved like props from one place to the next so it’s hard to keep track of their movements, such as in one scene in which Tessa and company shift from the library to an upstairs room seemingly instantaneously. And while I feel readers get a clear understanding of Tessa and her character arc, the too-quick pace is damaging to the development of the other characters: we never get a clear picture of Charlotte’s trouble and insecurities with running the institute, and even snotty, selfish Jessamine comes across more sympathetic in the novel.

I enjoyed Baek’s art in the Gossip Girl adaptation, but while her style worked wonders in that glamorous, sexy world, it doesn’t quite click for me in Infernal Devices. Don’t get me wrong, Baek’s character designs are gorgeous, but I feel her style often makes the teenage characters look too old, and backgrounds are bland and boring, even when she includes detail. Baek also seems to go for prettiness over what was actually described in the novel, most notably when it comes to the maid Sophie’s face. When we first meet Sophie, Clare describes her scar: “a thick, silvery ridged scar slashed from the left corner of her mouth to her temple, pulling her face sideways and distorting her features into a twisted mask.” Baek draws the scar merely as a long scratch on the cheek, which could be taken as a stray strand of hair if Tessa didn’t mention it. One thing Baek’s art definitely improved upon were the goofy asides. Bits that came across as a bit awkward in the novel worked more easily in the comic, as exaggerated expressions and super-deformed characters gave the jokes more punch.

Many of my issues with Clare’s prose are stylistic, and while I wasn’t as invested in this novel as I have been in her other series, the problems I had still did not get in the way of my overall enjoyment of the book. The manga adaptation has its good points, but overall it left me feeling frustrated. While Clare’s novel may meander, the manga’s swift pace just barrels through the plot and skims over characterization. Baek’s adaptation is something fans will likely enjoy, but those looking to get a proper introduction to Clare’s universe are better off going with the novel.

Manga the Week of 12/12

December 6, 2012 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith and MJ 3 Comments

SEAN: After the hugeness of this week’s list, next week is looking a lot milder. Though as always, Midtown, Diamond, and bookstores don’t seem to match at all. (My shop got most of the Viz stuff, but none of the Yen releases, which they say are coming out 12/12.) This list is mostly Midtown, with two Viz titles most stores will get 12/12, and one Yen title with the same circumstances. (Midtown gets Yen’s hardcovers later than most?)

Yes, yes, I will stop being a nerd and get on with the list. Kodansha brings us a few new titles. Attack on Titan 3 looks to answer what’s going on with that Ally Titan and why Eren is back, but I suspect I still won’t be able to tell half the soldiers apart from the other half. Come on, at least give them a distinctive scar or something!

MJ: Ack! I’m a whole volume behind in Attack on Titan, and that’s about to grow into two volumes. I need to catch up!

SEAN: Battle Angel Alita: Last Order returns after a very long hiatus and with a new publisher. Kodansha Comics picks up the reins after the author switched Japanese publishers in what was, for Japan, a very loud parting of the ways. Vol. 16 picks up where Viz left off, but for those who need to start from the beginning, omnibuses are coming soon. (Of Last Order, that is. The original is still out of print and likely to remain so.)

The Wallflower is up to Volume 29, and at times I feel I’m the only one still reading it, mainly as I don’t give a rat’s ass when Sunako and Kyohei admit their feelings, I just want to see them kicking people who annoy them in the face. I should get more of that here.

MICHELLE: Three series so far that I haven’t read! I did own the first half dozen volumes of The Wallflower for a time, but I must’ve gotten wind of its terminal lack of resolution, because I quit buying it and eventually gave away the ones I did have.

SEAN: I have no earthly idea what Captain Commando is. It’s by Japanese artists, apparently, but I can’t find out who originally published it. Given Udon is putting it out, is it a Capcom thing, maybe? Anyway, this is Volume 2.

MJ: I suspect this isn’t even remotely for me, yet I feel compelled to read something called “Captain Commando.” I mean. Yeah.

SEAN: Viz somehow missed sending Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan 12 to shops this week, but it’ll be there next week. I like Nura, which always entertains me without wowing me. It’s a meat-and-potatoes Jump series, much like Psyren.

MICHELLE: I am way, way behind on Nura, but I don’t dislike it or anything. I guess it’s easy to put on the backburner.

MJ: I have a difficult time getting interested in titles like this (I guess I never did like meat and potatoes). Should I try anyway?

SEAN: Depends, do you enjoy generic Jump? Lots of multi-volume fights, a few love triangles, people getting stronger through training and the power of friendship…

Everyone except Midtown will also be getting the 7th volume of Itsuwaribito. I admit I never really followed this series, about a boy trying to redeem the world with his lies. But it’s one of Viz’s few remaining Shonen Sunday series, and I cherish each of those like my own kin. So go get it.

MJ: “I cherish each of those like my own kin.” I have nothing profound to say about Itsuwaribito, I just liked that sentiment. Actually makes me want to read every Shonen Sunday series I can find.

SEAN: Speaking of which, it’s the final volume of Kekkaishi! This is definitely on my list of series to catch up with, and it makes me sad that it’s ending here. But I hear the ending is quite satisfying, so definitely grab grab grab this.

MICHELLE: I have been carefully hoarding Kekkaishi for years and am looking forward to indulging in a marathon. Possibly over Christmas break!

MJ: I have never delved into this series, but I really do want to. Maybe I’ll catch up digitally!

SEAN: Lastly, for some reason not featured with the giant pile of Yen last week, Kaoru Mori’s collection of short stories Anything and Something is due out as well. There’s apparently some commentary and designs for Emma and A Bride’s Story interspersed throughout. I’m not as wild about Mori as some other bloggers I know, but this is still definitely a book to have.

MICHELLE: I haven’t read as much Mori as I should have, but this one looks pretty quirky and fun.

MJ: I’d really, really like to see this, so I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

SEAN: Sticking your thumb into any of these hoping for a plum?

MICHELLE: *groan*

My Week in Manga, Episode 1

December 5, 2012 by MJ 7 Comments

Welcome this evening to a new video feature here at Manga Bookshelf! It’s called “My Week in Manga,” and in it, I’ll talk briefly about what I’ve read this week and what I plan to read before the week is out, including a short review of Mayu Shinjo’s Demon Love Spell, volume one.

This is my first experiment with any kind of video feature. I hope to improve with experience. Feel free to let me know what you’d like to see in a video feature!

It Came From the Sinosphere: A Deadly Secret (Part 1)

December 4, 2012 by Sara K. 3 Comments

It’s high time that I discuss something from China again. It’s high time that I actually review a TV series that is not an idol drama. And it’s high time for me to discuss Jin Yong again. Now, I’m going to do all three at once.

A Scene

Why, it’s a wedding!

It’s a wedding in front of a tomb.

See, both the bride and the groom are dead, so the wedding has to take place at the bride’s tomb.

In wuxia stories, if you promise to marry somebody, you marry them. Death is no excuse.

He’s drinking because he is so happy that his best friend is finally marrying the love of his life (who apparently is also the love of his afterlife).

And he’s swinging his sword around with joy.

Anyway, since the groom and bride are dead, he needs to help them get together. This is the problem with getting married when you’re dead – there’s no privacy when the newly married couple finally gets intimate physical contact.

Wait a minute … why are the bride’s arms stretched up like that?

And there’s writing on the inside of her coffin. That’s only possible if she was put in the coffin while she was still alive.

The writing says that, as a reward to whoever reunites her with the love of her life (afterlife), she is revealing The Deadly Secret (which is not exactly a favor, since people who learn The Deadly Secret have a tendency to die young).

The groom’s cremated ashes are poured onto the bride’s body. What a romantic wedding!

Background

I don’t think it’s possible for a Jin Yong novel to be underrated, but if any of his novels are underrated, it’s this one. It’s my personal favorite of his novels under 1000 pages.

If you don’t know or forgot who Jin Yong is, you can refer to my post about the Condor Trilogy or The Book and The Sword.

There are only three adaptations of this novel: the 1980 movie, the 1989 TV series, and the 2004 TV series. This is (mostly) about the 2004 TV series.

The Story

Di Yun is a country bumpkin who is studying martial arts and is in love with his master’s daughter, Qi Fang. It’s a real bummer when his master disappears, he gets framed for heinous crimes, Qi Fang marries the man who framed him, the prison guards break his body, and he’s put with a cell mate who beats him up for apparently no reason whatsoever.

This is what Di Yun looks like after hearing that Qi Fang is going to marry the guy who framed him and put him in prison.

Why does his life suck so much? Well, you see, there is this ultra-powerful martial arts technique and fabulous fortune that everybody is trying to get … and Di Yun is unwittingly close to this deadly secret.

The Songs and the Production Values

At first I didn’t like either the opening or the ending songs. But the opening song eventually grew on me and, by the end of the series, I even liked the ending song.

If you watch the opening and ending songs, you might notice that the production values are a bit lower than the norm for, say, Hollywood TV shows.

Welcome to China.

Personally, I’d rather watch something with consistently low production values than something with mostly high production values which spectacularly drops the ball, and really, the production values of this TV series really aren’t that bad at all. And ultimately, the quality of the story and acting is much more important to me than the quality of the special effects.

Adaptation

This TV series is 33 40-minute episodes long. The original novel is less than 500 pages long. Before watching this series, I wondered how they could make it so long without lots and lots of padding.

Well, it turns out that there is not that much padding per se. There is quite a bit of added material, but a lot of it is just spelling out things which are merely implied in the novel. Most of the added material is relevant to the story. At worst the new stuff is offensive (because of sexism or ableism) but thankfully most of it is not. Quite a bit is powerfully mediocre. Some of the new stuff, however, is quite good.

The biggest change is not that new stuff is added (since much of it was implied by the novel), but the pacing itself. This novel is quite concise by Jin Yong standards, so things move fairly quickly. In the TV series, things progress in a much slower and more thorough way. In some ways, this increases the emotional impact – for example, we see a lot more of Di Yun and Qi Fang’s relationship, which makes their separation even more heart-breaking. However, in some ways it makes the story harder to watch – it’s much easier to read about Di Yun getting framed in the novel, where events move pretty quickly, than to watch the TV series, where it takes several episodes to watch Di Yun getting framed and tortured in prison.

I also think there is some power in leaving some things left unsaid. That’s one of the things I like about the novel. Sometimes, when the TV series fleshed out the unsaid stuff, it did pretty cool things with it … but I still think leaving things to the reader’s imagination is more powerful.

It’s hilarious to compare the 33-episode TV series to the 90-minute movie. Things which take two episodes in the TV series happen in two minutes in the movie. Of course, the movie cuts out about 60% of the original story (the TV series covers about 130% of the original story).

Ding Dian

Even though Ding Dian only appears in two chapters of the original novel (specifically chapters 2 and 3 of the novel), he is definitely the most memorable character in the story. Apparently, other people agree, because both the movie and this TV series give him plenty of screentime.

On the one hand, he is a bad-ass martial artist, one of the toughest fighters in this story, and he spends a great deal of time cultivating his kung-fu skills. In fact, he can even (under certain specific circumstances) bring dead people back to life. But it turns out martial arts is not his greatest passion in life.

His great passion, it turns out, is flowers.

Ding Dian at the flower fair

He is a flower encyclopedia (this is most apparent in the novel, but also indicated in the TV series). He goes to a flower fair. His greatest joy in life is watching flowers. It turns out that one of the villains is also a flower-arranging geek, so he gets to communicate with Ding Dian via flowers.

Of course, there are other reasons to love Ding Dian. He is a person of great integrity, and intensely loves his friend and his sweetheart. But being a badass martial artist who loves flowers above all else (except maybe his friend and his sweetheart) clinches the deal.

The Female Characters

In some stories, I would be annoyed if the female characters were constantly relying on the male characters to rescue them. Not in this story. It is clear that they are just as innately competent as the male characters. However, patriarchy has so badly stacked the deck against the female characters that they can’t rescue themselves. They do still manage to rescue the male characters when it is in their power to do so.

A picture of Qi Fang

All of the main female characters – Qi Fang, Ling Shuanghua, and Shui Sheng – have the same problem; they were born into a society that is so patriarchal that even their own families, who ‘cherish’ them, ultimately consider them to be merely disposable possessions. Sure, their families claim to love their daughters and other female relatives dearly, but when push comes to shove, in this TV adaptation [SPOILER WARNING] one female character is murdered by her father, another female character, after having almost been murdered by her fiancee, is driven to suicide by her uncle, and the last one is murdered by her husband [END SPOILER WARNING].

And the fact that Baroque China was an extremely patriarchal society makes it that much easier for their families to oppress them, in fact, without the patriarchy helping their families bully them, these female characters would have definitely had much happier outcomes.

A Picture of Ling Shuanghua

An interesting thing I noticed is that the female characters don’t want to believe that their families regard them as (potential disposable) possessions. They want to believe that they are being loved as full human beings. I can understand this, since the truth is very cruel. In a way, it’s easier to keep on believing one is being valued and loved properly. But reality catches up with all of them.

I appreciate that this TV series gave a lot more attention to the female characters than the novel. On the one hand, some of the new material is powerfully mediocre (at worst, offensive). On the other hand, some of it is good, and definitely fleshes out the females characters more than the novel does. In particular, the TV series is a bit more sympathetic to Qi Fang, and treats us to the Extended Adventures of Shui Sheng (granted, it’s a mixed bag).

A Picture of Shui Sheng

Yes, the adult female characters even talk to each other in the TV series, which is not true of the novel (they mostly talk to each other about men though). That said, I actually think it’s okay that this story fails the Bechdel test, because the female characters’ isolation is one of the worst ways the patriarchy has stacked the deck against them. Two of the female characters’ families hardly ever let them leave home, and only with supervision, and the third one gets kidnapped, which drastically limits her opportunities to bond with other women.

What is really interesting is that, even though all of the main female characters have the same problem, they react to the problem in different ways.

You Think I’m done Talking? Bwa ha ha ha ha…

I definitely have more to say about this TV series, but this post is getting long, so I guess I’ll have to wait until Friday to say more.

Next Time (not Friday): The Bride with White Hair (novel)

Sara K. plans to discuss every single Jin Yong novel at Manga Bookshelf. She is now halfway there, having discussed six novels and having six novels left to cover. Her plan is to discuss Tales of the Young Fox, Sword Stained with Royal Blood, and The Laughing Proud Wanderer next, in that order, but that’s only a tentative plan.

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Vol. 13

December 4, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Eiji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki. Released in Japan as “Kurosagi Shitai Takuhaibin” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young Ace. Released in North America by Dark Horse.

I am pleased to report that this volume of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service has exactly what its readers look for each time around. There’s lots of grotesque set pieces which allow the artist to display a flair for horrible imagery. There’s wry and witty commentary between smart people. There’s genuine mystery, with our heroes being clever, and a nice use of synaesthesia as a plot point. And there’s copious endnotes from editor Carl Horn, explaining things like Karatsu’s Space Battleship Yamato reference and who Terry and Dory Funk are.

That said, there is one other development that not only surprised me but irritated me a bit. Not because of what the revelation was – yes, it sinks one of my ships, but given that this isn’t a harem manga I can deal – but because of its offhand nature. I am reminded of an earlier volume, when we saw a storyline end with Karatsu set on fire and an intense cliffhanger. Come the next chapter… and we’ve moved on, with nothing ever getting resolved. Here we see Sasaki and Karatsu get back from the Okinawa trip mentioned in the last volume, and for the most part it’s the same thing, except for that revelation. Which is laid out more to explain the deus ex machina of the story rather than for any dramatic tension. I do hope we eventually come back to it.

With all that said, it is an intriguing revelation, and also leads to some misdirection and amusement when we see Sasaki being sick and think it may be due to other reasons. Sadly, nothing quite so pleasant – it’s just the joys of being a woman. (KCDS is as blunt and matter-of-fact when dealing with periods as it is when dealing with corpses.) Sasaki also gets more to do than usual here, as she’s the focus of the 2nd case in the book, involving a jury trail where a man has already admitted his guilt. The jury system is still fairly new in Japan, and Carl’s notes help to lay out how it’s different from the U.S. The use of auras and synaesthesia manage to give it both a fantasy and realistic feeling, and the murder victims are both quite sympathetic.

Lastly, there were clearly not enough shots of nude women in peril in the series recently, so the final story more than makes up for that, combining a look at land redevelopment and harvest rituals with a good old fashioned psycho who likes to chop up young women. Luckily, the ‘karmic justice’ aspect of this series also makes a reappearance to give the reader someone to root for. Overall, this is a good but not great volume of our favorite cynical horror manga, offering some solid imagery and a few interesting revelations, even if the authors may not have figured out what to do with these revelations as yet. The series is still ongoing in Japan, so we may have a ways to go. Especially as I’m not sure when Vol. 14 is scheduled here. Fight on, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service!

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Box Set

December 3, 2012 by Anna N

I’m just going to talk about the packaging and quality of this box set, because I think most people are familiar with the story and wonderful art found in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Nausicaä is a manga classic, and it totally deserves the deluxe treatment it gets in this collected edition. This is a two volume set that comes in cardboard box with a glossy cover. The set comes with a folded two-sided Nausicaä poster as well. The hardcover volumes are a mega-sized 10+ inches tall, ensuring the reader can appreciate the full details of Hayao Miyazaki’s art. The covers for each volume are matte, with an image of Nausicaä on the front and some grey and blue tinted abstract designs featuring the flora and fauna from Nausicaä’s world, giving the covers the look of an antique book. I pulled out my Viz Select Comics editions from way back in 1988 when Viz was releasing monthly comics with flipped art, and the reproduction size of the art was the same. I have always regretted not having a complete run of Nausicaä in the larger size. I filled in my collection of the later half of the series with a couple of the Perfect Collection volumes and I thought that the art suffered a little bit from being printed smaller.

The paper used for the box set is a good matte quality, and the ink used is a softer black which I think makes the backgrounds of the story seem even more dreamy and fairy-tale like. The translation here is the same Studio Proteus translation for the series that has been used in the past, but the lettering has been redone and looks much more smooth, compact, and easy to read. There are glossy color plates in front of each volume, which include character portraits as well as maps rendered in the lovely muted color palette I expect to see used for Nausicaä. I think that out of all the deluxe editions of manga that I’ve seen, this is by far the nicest.

I originally had this box set on my wishlist for the holidays, and then got wind of a coupon at Barnes and Noble and picked it up for $22.00, which I consider to be basically free. At slightly below $40 on Amazon currently, this is still an extremely good deal. If you have the money to spare to treat yourself to this set or can make some pointed hints to people who might be buying you presents, I think this is truly a great addition to any manga fan’s library.