Features & Reviews

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 20 May

July 5, 2012 by Matt Blind Leave a Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [470.0] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [452.3] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [442.8] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [414.8] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [403.3] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [395.3] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [373.0] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [367.6] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [315.7] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [296.4] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 84
Yen Press 80
Tokyopop 73
Viz Shojo Beat 50
Kodansha Comics 46
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 37
Vizkids 20
DMP Juné 16
Dark Horse 14
HC/Tokyopop 12

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,189.0] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [954.7] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Black Butler – Yen Press [790.1] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [624.0] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [567.5] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [490.1] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [477.0] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Pokemon – Vizkids [458.3] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [454.7] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [428.0] ::

[more]

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

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [470.0] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [452.3] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [367.6] ::
20. ↓-3 (17) : One Piece 62 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [235.1] ::
23. ↔0 (23) : Highschool of the Dead 6 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [227.1] ::
28. ↑9 (37) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 3 – HarperCollins, Apr 2012 [200.0] ::
31. ↓-1 (30) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [192.6] ::
33. ↓-12 (21) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [189.8] ::
35. ↑7 (42) : Pandora Hearts 10 – Yen Press, May 2012 [178.8] ::
37. ↓-2 (35) : Bleach 39 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2012 [176.0] ::

[more]

Preorders

7. ↓-1 (6) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [373.0] ::
12. ↑1 (13) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [281.3] ::
13. ↑1 (14) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [279.5] ::
17. ↓-1 (16) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [270.3] ::
48. ↑5 (53) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [160.3] ::
53. ↑10 (63) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [153.4] ::
55. ↑52 (107) : Sailor Moon 9 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2013 [151.8] ::
56. ↓-23 (33) : Ouran High School Host Club 18 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2012 [151.3] ::
65. ↓-1 (64) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [141.8] ::
72. ↑4 (76) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [124.7] ::

[more]

Manhwa

332. ↑137 (469) : INVU 5 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [36.0] ::
337. ↓-2 (335) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [35.3] ::
610. ↑59 (669) : Ragnarok 1 – Tokyopop, May 2002 [15.5] ::
679. ↑93 (772) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [12.4] ::
703. ↓-147 (556) : Black God 16 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [11.2] ::
722. ↑28 (750) : Toxic (anthology) 1 – Udon, Jul 2012 [10.3] ::
748. ↓-102 (646) : Priest Purgatory 1 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [9.6] ::
752. ↑177 (929) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [9.4] ::
868. ↓-235 (633) : Color Trilogy 1 The Color of Earth – Macmillan First Second, Apr 2009 [6.9] ::
1200. ↑139 (1339) : March Story 2 – Viz Signature, Apr 2011 [2.2] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

48. ↑5 (53) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [160.3] ::
72. ↑4 (76) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [124.7] ::
81. ↑7 (88) : Love Mode 1 – Tokyopop Blu, Nov 2005 [114.0] ::
86. ↓-1 (85) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [111.1] ::
106. ↓-23 (83) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [98.5] ::
145. ↑14 (159) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [81.7] ::
156. ↓-54 (102) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [75.8] ::
176. ↑6 (182) : Vassalord 4 – Tokyopop, Nov 2010 [69.8] ::
211. ↑1 (212) : Vassalord 3 – Tokyopop, Sep 2009 [59.3] ::
246. ↓-36 (210) : Good Morning – DMP Juné, May 2012 [49.4] ::

[more]

Ebooks

2. ↑1 (3) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [452.3] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [315.7] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [296.4] ::
14. ↑1 (15) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [274.4] ::
29. ↑2 (31) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [199.9] ::
38. ↓-2 (36) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [175.3] ::
42. ↑7 (49) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [172.6] ::
45. ↑2 (47) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [167.5] ::
47. ↑5 (52) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [161.3] ::
51. ↔0 (51) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [157.0] ::

[more]

Off the Shelf: Gods, Wine, & Time

July 5, 2012 by MJ and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

MJ: I’m late. I’m late. For a very important date.

MICHELLE: I wonder if I could take this as a hint that you’ve finally read something I’ve been wanting you to read?

MJ: Hmmmm, I suspect the answer to that is “no.” I’m pretty sure I first encountered this as a small child, in Alice in Wonderland. And then a little later on a Barbra Streisand album.

MICHELLE: Oh, darn. I was hoping you’d read some of Alice in the Country of Hearts! Oh well. What did you read?

MJ: Well, my first read this week was Aki’s Olympos, a new josei single-volume omnibus release from Yen Press.

Olympos tells the story of Ganymede of Troy, said to have been abducted by Zeus and brought to serve him at Mount Olympus. In Aki’s adaptation, it is actually Zeus’s son Apollo who abducts Ganymede and holds him in the “miniature garden,” a prison filled with white flower petals as immortal as the gods themselves. Rather than occupying a position of honor as cupbearer to the gods as in the original myths, Aki’s Ganymede is relentlessly tortured by Apollo, who presses upon him the bleakness of his new immortality and takes pleasure in his futile attempts to escape. This torture is later escalated by Hades, who informs Ganymede that his only chance for relief would be for him to go mad, which would release him from Zeus’ celestial realm and into the dark of the underworld. Meanwhile, an eerily monstrous specter of Zeus hovers menacingly around the garden, infatuated with its human prisoner.

I’ve painted a pretty grim picture, I know, so you may be surprised to hear that Olympos is actually a fairly quiet, philosophical manga, meandering through its 300+ pages with musings on the nature of truth and immortality, and the impossibility of understanding between humans and gods. Unfortunately, “meandering” is a key word here. Despite a strong beginning, featuring a newly captured human (Heinz), charged by Apollo with the daunting task of convincing Ganymede—after years of Apollo’s goading—that escape from the garden is possible after all, the series soon loses focus, devolving into a kind of distractedly philosophical pudding that never quite gels.

That said, there’s a lot worth fishing out of this mythological goo if one has the will to do so, and I admit to enjoying quite a bit of it. Apollo’s journey is interesting in particular, as he comes to the realization that speaking the truth and knowing the truth are not necessarily the same things. Ganymede’s character, too, has a lot to offer, as he slowly comes to terms with his fate. Ganymede is described by Homer as the most beautiful of mortals, and this aspect of his story is one that Aki truly takes to heart. All of the artwork in Olympos is beautiful, in fact, almost beautiful enough to make up for its structural flaws.

MICHELLE: I have to say, “distractedly philosophical pudding” is a wonderful phrase, and one that could be applied to quite a lot of storytelling, in my experience.

And yes, despite its flaws, Olympos still sounds like something I’m going to want to check out. Especially because it’s josei and we see too little of that here.

MJ: I do think you’ll want to check it out. And though I think you’re likely to become frustrated with its lack of coherency at some points, I think you’ll end up enjoying it. I certainly did.

So, what have you been reading this week?

MICHELLE: First up for me is volume four of The Drops of God, a seinen series about wine that’s published by Vertical in two-in-one omnibus editions.

This series… how to describe it. My first compulsion is to say “It’s like Oishinbo with wine.” The protagonist, Shizuku Kanzaki, was never a wine fan while his father, a famous wine critic, was alive, but after his death, Shizuku becomes obsessed with learning about the stuff, which is fortunate because the terms of his father’s will require him to compete with a prententious critic (Issei Tomine) to identify a dozen or so wines based on verbal descriptions alone. In between the match-ups with Issei (the second of which closes out this volume), Shizuku and his trusty sidekick Miyabi get up to various things, which usually involve tasting a whole bunch of wine and rhapsodizing about them, sometimes with unintentionally amusing visuals and dialogue.

For instance, in this volume, the wine division of Taiyo Beer has a new client who turns out to be Miyabi’s first love from middle school. He wants to open a grocery store that stocks only name-brand wines, and it’s up to Shizuku and Miyabi to convince him that there are many worthy wines without a prestige name, and so they must search out and find certain ones capable of besting famous wines in a testing. Of course, they succeed, culminating in an absolutely hilarious scene where the first love guy takes a sip and is suddenly riding a pegasus amongst the clouds, taking a little tour of his childhood memories. I admit I laughed out loud.

I don’t mean to suggest that I don’t like The Drops of God, because I do, but it frequently strikes me as ridiculous, even more than your average sports manga (but not more so than the latter volumes of The Prince of Tennis). Perhaps it would help if I had a genuine interest in wine.

I do want to note that this volume has a special message in the back, which I’ll quote here: “The unveiling of the Second Apostle concludes “season one” of the English release. By author request, our next installment jumps ahead in the storyline to a segment on “New World” wines including those in Napa Valley. Tell all your friends about the series so there will be second and third seasons to fill in the gap! We appreciate your support.”

So now I am doing my part by telling all the folks reading Off the Shelf!

MJ: Important news indeed, Michelle! I, too, like The Drops of God, probably more than most sports manga, though that may simply be due to the fact that I have much more interest (generally) in wine than sports. I’m behind on this series, but I’m anxious to catch up. It’s just, well, fun. Also, it makes me thirsty.

MICHELLE: Yeah, it does kind of have that effect.

So, the last book that we’re going to discuss is one that we’ve both read, but we’re coming at it from slightly different perspectives. That is, you’ve seen the movie that it’s based on and I haven’t.

MJ: Indeed! It’s one of my favorite movies, even.

MICHELLE: What we’re talking about is 5 Centimeters per Second, another two-in-one omnibus from Vertical, though this time collecting the entire series. Do you want to describe the story, or shall I?

MJ: I can at least start! Based on the animated feature from writer/director Makoto Shinkai, 5 Centimeters per Second tells the story of a young boy, Takaki Tohno, and Akari Shinohara, the first love he can’t put behind him. He first meets Akari as she transfers into his elementary school in Tokyo. The two bond quickly, partly due to their mutual experience as children whose families move a lot. Mostly, though, they just like each other, so much so that their classmates eventually tease them about being in love. With middle school quickly approaching, they work hard to get into the same junior high, but just like that, Akari’s family is moving again, to Iwafune, quite a distance away.

The two keep in touch by mail, but when Takaki finds out that his family is going to be moving even further away, he decides to visit Akari by train while he still can. Rushing from school to the train, he is delayed several hours by a snowstorm, finally arriving in Iwafune late into the night to find Akari waiting hopefully at the station. This is the last time he will ever meet with her. Time passes, and with only letters and text messages to connect them, Takaki and Akari eventually grow apart. But Takaki’s lingering attachment keeps him from really being able to connect with anyone else.

MICHELLE: (This is spoiler territory here, so be warned.)

I really love how this story plays out because, unfamiliar with the movie, I kept expecting Takaki and Akari to reunite, especially since the opening pages portray them passing each other in the street. But it’s actually much more complicated than that, as the realities of day-to-day adult life have whittled down Takaki’s idealism to the point where he feels he has lost his real self. He never really put forth the effort to contact Akari—another character, Kanae, later shows that one can find someone if one really tries—but yet to move on, to really love someone else would feel like a betrayal. And so he is stuck.

And then at the end, we revisit the moment they glimpse each other, which is portrayed fairly ambiguously from Akari’s point of view. Did she notice him? Did she recognize him? I tend to think she did not, and I love how Takaki smiles at that realization—always kind, he is relieved to see that she’s moved on (did he notice her engagement ring?) and is not encumbered by memories of him as he has been with her. It’s sad, but it’s nice, and I love that it doesn’t go for the expected happy ending.

MJ: This kind of inevitable separation—both the pain of it and the cruel ordinariness of it—is a recurring theme in Shinkai’s work (you may remember that the manga adaptation of one of his earliest films, The Voices of a Distant Star, was the first review I wrote for PopCultureShock), and though he’s always explored this theme beautifully, 5 Centimeters per Second is his most poignant attempt, I think, because the barrier between Takaki and Akari is relatively small. They aren’t separated by light years like the characters in Voices. They’re on the same planet—even in the same country. But the reality is, of course, that there is so much more to it than just the distance, and it’s this kind of simple, simple truth that makes Takaki’s plight so sad and so relatable.

MICHELLE: While the title technically refers to the speed at which a cherry blossom petal falls from a tree, it rather elegantly captures the main obstacles facing Takaki and Akari: distance and time. But it’s a fall, and a separation, that feels almost leisurely because it takes place over a long span of time.

MJ: Beautifully said, Michelle! One of the interesting things about this adaptation is just how much more leisurely the time does pass. The film is fairly neatly divided into three parts, with the first section (Takaki’s childhood with Akari, up through the point when he visits her in Iwafune) feeling the longest and the most fleshed-out. In this manga series, the second two sections are greatly expanded upon, giving us a much closer look at the stories of both Kanae and Takaki’s later girlfriend, Risa, (who is barely seen in the film), which ultimately teaches us even more about Takaki and the women he’s unintentionally hurt with his kindness over the years. While I do miss the strength of some of the film’s imagery and direction (Takaki’s lonely train ride, for instance, feels absolutely epic in the film, thanks to Shinkai’s brilliant pacing), these additional insights really do add something significant.

MICHELLE: I thought his train ride seemed pretty epic in print, too, especially given the fact that a lot of what happens prior to that is, like, two-page vignettes charting the progress of his growing closeness with Akari, but the train ride was the first time we got a long, tense, interrupted sequence of events.

I did want to ask you… was anything different in the movie? Like, the plot? I’m kind of sad to learn Kanae’s not in it much, since I liked her a great deal, and especially appreciated the little optimistic twist (but yet still ambiguous) thrown our way at the end concerning her future.

MJ: Ah, I think I perhaps wasn’t clear. Kanae is in the film quite a bit (the entire second section revolves around her). It’s Risa we barely see. But even so, there isn’t actually any difference in the plot, it’s just that we’re shown much, much more of it in the manga.

MICHELLE: Well, that makes me happy, then!

MJ: It makes me happy, too. Good adaptations can be difficult to come by, but this one is quite good indeed.

Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 1

July 4, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Shimoku Kio. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Afternoon. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

This review is based on an advance uncorrected proof provided by the publisher, and does not reflect a review of a finished product.

It’s not all that much of a surprise that the Genshiken series has returned for more adventures of everyone’s favorite otaku club. The original series also slowly evolved over its nine volumes, seeing the club shed members and switch club presidents, even though the basic cast stayed the same. But now almost all that cast has graduated, so this sequel also has the challenge of introducing a whole bunch of new people and hoping that the reader will appreciate them in the same way they did when Ogiue joined.

Speaking of Ogiue, as the series starts she’s the new club president, not that there’s much of a club. It only has three people, partly as it seemingly duplicates other club’s interests, but mostly as it still has Kukichi. I have to say that while I appreciate his value as a comic foil, Kukichi’s utter creeptasticness still rubs me the wrong way, even in this new series. Luckily, as in the original series, he is used sparingly. This is partly because Kio-san also has another comic relief character to balance things out, Suzanna. Who is also creeptastic, particularly in her inability to speak in anything but old anime phrases, but at least doesn’t make me want to wash afterwards.

As for the new folks, there are two characters who get the bulk of the screen time, and I suspect they will start to force out Ogiue and Ohno just as those two slowly took over from Sasahara and company. Yajima is a poor artist but wants to be better at it, and seems to be filling the ‘we need at least one normal person in the club’ function that used to be Kasukabe’s, though Yajima at least is also an otaku. More interesting is Kenjiro Hata (I thought this might be a Hayate the Combat Butler joke, but it seems to be a coincidence), a character who I can’t really discuss without spoiling the first volume. It’s Hata I expect most Japanese fans will be glomming onto, though I’m not sure about Western fans.

For those wondering if this will resolve anything from the prior series, such as Madarame’s unrequited love… well, Madarame does show up throughout, despite having graduated, and he still seems to be hung up on Kasukabe. Whether that goes anywhere I suspect depends on how fast the new group of characters catches on. I am reminded of the K-On! series, which tried to have its came and eat it too by introducing some new girls for Asuka’s high school band while also following the four others to college. In the end, neither one caught on with readers. Genshiken has been doing this from the start, but we now have a bit more of a tonal shift. As the cast has gotten more and more female, the otaku obsessions have grown more and more BL. The series still runs in Afternoon, a magazine for young men, but I do suspect that the sequel over here may find a larger crossover BL-audience than the original did. (Though the original also had its female fans, of course.)

In the end, I enjoyed getting back to this series. It’s like visiting an old hangout and seeing what’s changed. Thankfully, there’s little melancholic ‘good old days’ here: things are the same as ever, just with a new cast. I look forward to seeing their awkward fits and starts of growing up. Which is, of course, the real plot of Genshiken: Awkwardness Is Magic.

Pretty Little Secrets by Sara Shepard

July 4, 2012 by Michelle Smith

From the back cover:
Rewind to junior year in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, to a winter break no one has ever heard about.

Fat snowflakes fall onto manicured lawns, quilted stockings hang over marble fireplaces, and everyone is at peace, especially Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Spencer. Now that Alison’s murderer is in jail and A is dead, they can finally relax. Little do they know there’s a new A in town…

What happens on holiday break stays on holiday break—right? But guess what. I saw. And now I’m telling.

-A

Review:
This will probably be the last full-length review I write of a Pretty Little Liars novel. Mostly that’s because I’ve run out of ways to say “it isn’t very good, but I still enjoy it,” but also… egads, this one was pretty bad.

Although published earlier this year, Pretty Little Secrets is actually set between books four and five of the series, so I opted to go ahead and read it now. The premise is that this is the winter break between those books and the new A in town is observing the four girls before beginning to seriously harass them. It feels a lot like a media tie-in novel, to be honest, shoehorned in between more pivotal events with decidedly lame plots that are designed not to contradict anything that comes afterwards. (Although, I’ve actually heard there are some discrepancies.)

In “Hanna’s Little Secret,” Hanna is despondent when her boyfriend, Lucas, goes on vacation with a hot chick, so she binge eats a while, then joins a fitness boot camp, where she competes with another girl to win the affections of their instructor. In “Emily’s Little Secret,” Mrs. Fields is upset over the theft of her precious ceramic baby Jesus (yes, really) from a church nativity scene, and enlists Emily to infiltrate the clique of girls presumed to be responsible. In “Aria’s Little Secret,” Aria’s old Icelandic flame shows up randomly and they decide to get married (yes, really). And in “Spencer’s Little Secret,” Spencer and her sister compete for the affections of a tennis player while their parents are having some angst related to the DiLaurentis family. There are small things connecting the stories, mainly the references to a vile-tasting vitamin water called AminoSpa.

I thought the Hanna and Spencer stories were structurally pretty similar, as both involved bitchy sisters/step-sisters as well as the protagonist getting duped by another girl who was actually after the same guy who turned out to be a player who used the same lines on them both. Though it’s really just as dumb as the others, the Emily story is probably the best because it contains a few snickerworthy lines.

All in all, please feel free to skip this collection. You’re not missing much of anything.

Manga the Week of 7/11

July 4, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

As one would expect after this week’s huge stack of manga after manga, next week is slightly quieter. But there are still a few new manga out there to please everyone.

Digital Manga Publishing starts us off with a new volume of the ever popular Finder. It’s a big title with yaoi fans, despite reviews tending to use the word “sexplosion” when describing it. There is also Flutter, whose cover features two really depressed-looking guys. And they have Secretary’s Job as well, which does not seem to be a sexplosion, but at least the cover doesn’t feature leads who want to kill themselves. So it’s a nice balance.

Fanfare/Ponent Mon has Vol. 3 of mountain climbing epic Summit of the Gods. Even if it wasn’t illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi (which it is), you should get this anyway as one should always support any Business Jump manga that actually gets brought over here.

Kodansha has the 5th volume of Tarzan-ish shonen manga Animal Land, which should appeal to anyone who liked Zatch Bell, the author’s other imported series.

Despite the cover, which looks remarkably like Seven Seas’ other OEL titles, Angel Para Bellum is in fact Japanese. It’s from the artist who does Dance in the Vampire Bund, and runs in Softbank Creative’s Flex Comics! Remember them? That’s right, CMX’s old buddies. And now Seven Seas has them! They also have the start of a new Alice spinoff, this one featuring Boris. At 7+ volumes, it promises to be longer than the original series. There’s also some Korean titles: Jack the Ripper/Hell Blade, and an omnibus of Vol. 5-6 of My Boyfriend Is A Vampire, which I presume is one of those titles that is also the plot.

Lastly, Viz has Vol. 4 of the adorable Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamoroll, which I always misspell. But not this time! Ha!

Be patriotic, Americans! Buy Japanese manga! Which one are you getting?

It Came From the Sinosphere: Passionate Wastrel, Infatuated Hero (Part 1)

July 3, 2012 by Sara K. 9 Comments

There is not much information available about this novel in English, so I am giving it a more thorough treatment than usual, and making this a two-parter.

First, I think it’s better to show instead of describe the feel of the novel. So, before continuing, please read this short excerpt – click here to read it in English, click here to read it in Chinese.

Now that you’ve read that, you should have some idea what the novel is like, so you are ready to read this review.

Background Information

In China, this novel is titled Duōqíng Làngzǐ Chīqíng Xiá (多情浪子痴情侠), which roughly means Passionate Wastrel, Infatuated Hero. In Taiwan it is titled (天觀雙俠) Tiān Guān Shuāng Xiá. Even though I prefer the title Tiān Guān Shuāng Xiá, it’s difficult to translate into English, so I will stick with Passionate Wastrel, Infatuated Hero.

Wuxia has historically been dominated by male writers. To this day, if you ask somebody who is familiar with wuxia to name five writers, there is a good chance that that person will name five male writers. Fortunately, times are changing. Zheng Feng (the pen name of Chen Yu-hui) is, at least in Taiwan, the most popular contemporary wuxia novelist … and she’s not male. Passionate Wastrel, Infatuated Hero is the novel which put her on the map.

To learn more about Zheng Feng, read this interview (English translation available here).

Passionate Wastrel, Infatuated Hero is a sweeping wuxia novel set in China, Korea, and Mongolia. It includes naughty children and dying elders, Tibetan monks and Japanese pirates, princesses and prostitutes, Catholic missionaries and desert bandits, doctors and assassins, decadent cities and secluded mountains, desperate fugitives and frightened leaders. As the title implies, this tale revolves around two main characters.

The Passionate Wastrel

Zhao Guan loves drinking alcohol, and he loves having sex with pretty women even more … so he’s built up a reputation as a bad boy. Much of the plot of the novel follows this pattern: Zhao Guan meets a pretty woman, the pretty woman is in trouble, Zhao Guan gets her out of trouble, something happens between them (whether it’s sex, a kiss, or merely lustful fantasies on Zhao Guan’s part), and the plot moves on.

Even though he’s promiscuous, Zhao Guan does not come across as a creep because he cares a lot about what women think and how they feel. When he gets pretty women out of trouble, he does it because he does not like seeing people in trouble, not because he is trying to get sex—nor does he think they owe him sex if he does rescue them. Of course, if they do decide to have sex with him anyway, it certainly makes him happy. Furthermore, he really gets off making women happy. Of course, because he is such a good-looking young man, he makes many women happy (at least in the short term) by letting them into his bed. He often looks to the women in his life, whether or not he’s having sex with them, for advice when he has a problem of his own. And finally, he’s honest with all of his love interests—he tells them that he sleeps around, and that he is not going to stop.

However, while he seems carefree on the outside, he is haunted by the brutal murder of his mother. Years later he can still describe the scene in gruesome detail. He was lucky to survive himself. He wishes to find the killers and get revenge … but the killers left no clues, and he knows that even if he knew who the killers were, he is not match for them. Furthermore, he is almost certain that they are pursuing him in order to “finish the job”—in fact, he has numerous close calls. Thus, he often travels incognito and goes by false names lest he suffer his mother’s fate.

The Infatuated Hero

Ling Haotian is the son of Ling Xiao and Qin Yanlong (two of the most highly respected martial artists and doctors of the era) and is the younger brother of Ling Biyi and Ling Shuangfei (twin brothers who are the most promising and respected young martial artists of the generation). Ling Haotian feels it is impossible for him to live up to such high standards. He often withdraws himself, lest he disappoint somebody by not being as awesome as the rest of his family. He is very close emotionally to Zheng Baoan, his mother’s apprentice, and eventually gets a major crush on her. However he cannot bring himself to tell her how he feels.

Then the bombshell falls. Ling Haotian’s older brother Ling Biyi—who everybody claims is the most wonderful young man in the world—confesses his love for Zheng Baoan, and asks for her hand in marriage. Everybody says that Zheng Baoan is really lucky. For example, Zhao Guan says that if he were into men he would definitely fall in love with Ling Biyi. It is inconceivable to everybody—including Ling Haotian—that Zheng Baoan would not return Ling Biyi’s love. Ling Haotian cannot stand to see his brother and Zheng Baoan together … so he runs away from home.

This, of course, is the beginning of his adventures. He wanders Jianghu without any particular goal, other than trying to forget about Zheng Baoan and his brother (he fails, of course). During the course of his travels, he has to fight a lot, and also ends up learning a lot of martial arts. Gradually, he gets better and better. He is so preoccupied with his unrequited love that he does not notice it when his abilities surpass that of his celebrated brothers. A couple of women hand Ling Haotian their hearts, yet the only woman in his heart is Zheng Baoan.

Trouble, of course, has a way of finding him. In fact, really, really, really big trouble finds him. If you can read Chinese, I do not want to spoil it, but if you cannot read Chinese, then I might as well say that …

[BIG SPOILER WARNING]

Ling Haotian watches his brother, Ling Biyi, die in his arms, murdered. This makes it seem even more impossible to Ling Haotian that he could ever be with Zheng Baoan. He feels he cannot love her without wronging his deceased brother (in traditional Chinese culture, marrying your brother’s widow is considered a major taboo). When Ling Haotian brings his brother’s body back home, his parents treat him as a monster. It turns out that his other brother, Ling Shuangfei, had accused Ling Haotian of committing the murder out of jealousy over Zheng Baoan. Furthermore, Ling Haotian is framed for many other murders, meaning there are many, many martial artists seeking to get their revenge. Ling Haotian wants to avenge his brother’s death and clear his name—until he finds out that the man who murdered Ling Biyi is none other than his other brother, Ling Shuangfei!

Does he murder Ling Shuangfei (his own brother), or leave the death of Ling Biyi (who is also his brother) unavenged? Should he tell everybody the truth about the murder? Would anybody believe him?

Of course, with almost everybody in Jianghu trying to kill him, Ling Haotian will not live long without help. It just so happens that one of the only people who believes in Ling Haotian’s innocence is Zhao Guan … and Zhao Guan knows a thing or two about hiding from people trying to kill him.

It turns out that not only is Ling Xiao not Ling Biyi and Ling Shuangfei’s biological father, but that he killed their biological father. Ling Shuangfei murdered Ling Biyi because Ling Biyi refused to work with him to get revenge for their biological father. It turns out that Ling Shuangfei and Ling Biyi’s half-sister, trying to avenge their father’s death, is the one framing Ling Haotian for so many murders … and is also responsible for the murder of Zhao Guan’s mother!

[END SPOILER WARNING]

Yep, in Ling Haotian’s life, when it rains, it pours.

So that is a basic overview of the novel. In Part II, which will appear on Friday, I will express my opinion. Until then…

What is your impression of this novel based on this overview?

UPDATE: Part II is up!

There is no question about it now … Sara K. is now officially a wuxia fan. The more she learns about wuxia, the more novels she wants to read, and her reading list is growing faster than she can actually read them. And she still wants to read other things. Maybe she will one day grow tired of wuxia novels, but she thinks that will take a while.

Adventures in the Key of Shoujo: Sakura Hime, Vol. 2

July 2, 2012 by Phillip Anthony Leave a Comment

Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura Volume 2 | By Arina Tanemura | Published by VIZ Media | Rated: T, Ages 13+

“Faint hearts never won fair maidens.”

This statement works in the case of both lead characters in Arina Tanemura’s Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura. Aoba, a prince in the Japanese imperial court, is betrothed to Sakura, a princess of the moon (run with me here). But Sakura is now in danger of becoming a Youko (demon), and Aoba is charged with killing her. When last we left our leads, Sakura had to flee Aoba and his courtiers who were trying to kill her. After being betrayed by her retainer, Oumi, Sakura found sanctuary with Kohaku, a female ninja in the employ of Aoba’s family, and had finally confronted Aoba after being lured into a trap by him.

Well, things certainly have improved since last I wrote about this manga. A lot of the problems from the first volume have been addressed, if not corrected.

First up, the court intrigue hinted at now comes to the fore with not one or two but three groups with their own agendas working in the court. First is Aoba, who now is completely conflicted over his love for Sakura. She’s the enemy but she’s not at the same time. He has to kill her because of her exposure to the Youko. She is a demon so his course is clear. But when Lord Fujimarusaki (Aoba’s brother) offers a deal that allows Sakura to live in exchange for killing a local Youko that has been concerning the Togu (guy in charge) and his advisors, Aoba is stuck. Now that the reason for hating her has been put on hold, Aoba finds himself trying to fight his own brother for possession of her love.

Lord Fujimarusaki states his affection for Sakura both to her and to Aoba. But he also sees how important Sakura has become since Aoba rejected her. Suitors hoping for nothing more than political influence will try to gain her hand. So Fujimarusaki moves first. But is he doing this for noble reasons? Aoba doesn’t know, but doesn’t tip his hand.

Finally, an awesome new character has been introduced who has insiders in the Royal court working for them. This new character is definitively not human, has no trouble sacrificing others for the goal, and gets the cliffhanger moment at the end. Brilliant timing, and I hope this character will be staying around as more than just a villain of the week.

Poor Sakura’s position first gets better and then worse. After being betrayed by Oumi and then by Aoba, everything would be easier if she simply gave in and became a complete Youko. But her temperament (and I suspect her love for Aoba) is keeping her anchored, though I enjoy the fact that she, too, can’t get past either Aoba or his betrayal. They have a heated argument in this volume and you can see her wanting to tell him something—to tell him everything that she has in her heart and mind. But the fact is that he …I don’t know, has to be seen in a certain way with the court. Or perhaps she’s scared to tell him everything and risk losing him. Hmm, interesting bind to be in.

Also we finally learn why Oumi betrayed Sakura. On one hand, it’s predictable, and on the other it’s heartbreaking. Oumi isn’t strictly a bad person and she technically has good reasons for doing what she did. Still, no misguided person’s fall from grace stops at a single mistake, and sadly Oumi’s arc gets worse in tone. Sakura herself confronts the issue with Oumi at the same time, and Tanemura handles it well. If nothing else, the author seems to know where she’s going in this volume and sets up an excellent final act with tragedy, pathos, and heart.

My personal favourite moment in the volume comes when Sakura protects Aoba from a snake attack. Aoba thinks she did it for self-serving reasons but Sakura did it for the right reasons in her own mind. In doing so, it’s revealed that these near fatal wounds she receives are not as painless as people believe. When Aoba realises he’s hurt Sakura more than he imagined, he tries to console her as she sleeps. It’s a nice, poignant moment and it’s handled with care and no overload of emotion.

I think I’m still reading this story because of the setting in ancient Japan. This doesn’t allow for outward displays of affection, so everything is supposed to be low-key. Despite this, Tanemura lifts the constant downer material with great comedic spats between the characters. If they were in a modern setting, this story wouldn’t appeal all that much to me. It’s bubbly and effervescent but not overbearing. If I could single out anything, I’d say that there isn’t too much action going on for the most part. But not every apple has to be rosy red so I’m asking too much of the book. I’m still hanging in for a crack at volume three.

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 13 May

July 2, 2012 by Matt Blind Leave a Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [468.0] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [424.8] ::
3. ↑5 (8) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [422.8] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [410.0] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [409.3] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [389.5] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [382.5] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [366.5] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [346.2] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [289.0] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 79
Yen Press 79
Tokyopop 75
Viz Shojo Beat 51
Kodansha Comics 47
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 39
DMP Juné 17
Vizkids 17
Dark Horse 13
HC/Tokyopop 13

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,157.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [955.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Black Butler – Yen Press [819.3] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [609.7] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [563.3] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [512.9] ::
7. ↓-2 (5) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [492.0] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [491.0] ::
9. ↑3 (12) : Pokemon – Vizkids [451.9] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [397.4] ::

[more]

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

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [468.0] ::
3. ↑5 (8) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [422.8] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [366.5] ::
17. ↑7 (24) : One Piece 62 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [262.4] ::
21. ↓-9 (12) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [236.7] ::
23. ↔0 (23) : Highschool of the Dead 6 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [231.2] ::
30. ↓-15 (15) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [197.9] ::
35. ↔0 (35) : Bleach 39 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2012 [188.2] ::
37. ↓-24 (13) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 3 – HarperCollins, Apr 2012 [183.3] ::
38. ↓-10 (28) : Durarara!! 2 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [182.8] ::

[more]

Preorders

6. ↓-1 (5) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [389.5] ::
13. ↑1 (14) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [275.5] ::
14. ↑2 (16) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [275.5] ::
16. ↑3 (19) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [263.5] ::
33. ↓-6 (27) : Ouran High School Host Club 18 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2012 [189.6] ::
53. ↓-2 (51) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [155.6] ::
63. ↑30 (93) : Naruto 57 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2012 [138.5] ::
64. ↑7 (71) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [138.4] ::
76. ↓-4 (72) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [120.0] ::
80. ↑5 (85) : Negima! 36 – Kodansha Comics, Oct 2012 [114.4] ::

[more]

Manhwa

335. ↑13 (348) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [34.8] ::
469. ↑662 (1131) : INVU 5 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [24.0] ::
556. ↓-60 (496) : Black God 16 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [18.7] ::
633. ↓-127 (506) : Color Trilogy 1 The Color of Earth – Macmillan First Second, Apr 2009 [14.7] ::
646. ↓-339 (307) : Priest Purgatory 1 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [14.1] ::
669. ↓-51 (618) : Ragnarok 1 – Tokyopop, May 2002 [13.1] ::
750. ↑88 (838) : Toxic (anthology) 1 – Udon, Jul 2012 [10.1] ::
772. ↑57 (829) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [9.4] ::
929. ↑308 (1237) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [5.8] ::
1260. ↓-318 (942) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [1.9] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

53. ↓-2 (51) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [155.6] ::
76. ↓-4 (72) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [120.0] ::
83. ↓-15 (68) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [111.5] ::
85. ↑5 (90) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [108.6] ::
88. ↑34 (122) : Love Mode 1 – Tokyopop Blu, Nov 2005 [105.3] ::
102. ↓-6 (96) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [96.4] ::
159. ↑3 (162) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [73.6] ::
181. ↓-94 (87) : Gravitation vols 3-4 collection – Tokyopop, Aug 2009 [64.3] ::
182. ↑31 (213) : Vassalord 4 – Tokyopop, Nov 2010 [64.3] ::
210. ↓-52 (158) : Good Morning – DMP Juné, May 2012 [57.0] ::

[more]

Ebooks

3. ↑5 (8) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [422.8] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [346.2] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [289.0] ::
15. ↑5 (20) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [267.4] ::
31. ↑9 (40) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [193.8] ::
36. ↓-5 (31) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [185.0] ::
47. ↓-3 (44) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [168.2] ::
49. ↑5 (54) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [166.5] ::
51. ↓-1 (50) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [162.7] ::
52. ↑5 (57) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [156.5] ::

[more]

Vagabond, Vols. 1-3

July 1, 2012 by Michelle Smith

By Takehiko Inoue | Published by VIZ Media (first VIZBIG edition)

One of my goals for this Manga Moveable Feast was to finally read some of Vagabond. I’ve been collecting the VIZBIG editions since they started coming out, which means there were ten of these on my shelf (with their spines forming a group portrait) unread. Now that I finally have read some of Vagabond, I’ve found it so different from the Inoue I’m familiar with—and yet containing some of the same themes—that I’m rather at a loss for words.

Shinmen Takezo is the son of a legendary swordsman, though we don’t really find that out until volume three. Since the age of thirteen, when he killed a man who came to Miyamoto village looking to challenge its strongest occupant, he’s been ostracized by all save a couple of childhood friends and he’s recently been off to battle with one of them, Hon’iden Matahachi. They both survive a bloody battle, but Matahachi takes up with a thieving widow, leaving Takezo to return to Miyamoto with tidings of Matahachi’s survival.

To make a long story very short: Takezo meets with an unfriendly welcome and is manipulated by a clever monk named Takuan into reevaluating his life. Four years later, now going by the name Miyamoto Musashi, he shows up in Kyoto looking to challenge the head of the Yoshioka sword school, and though he defeats many of their members, he learns there are still those stronger than him. A drunken Matahachi accidentally sets the blaze that allows Musashi to escape, and the VIZBIG ends with him realizing that the old friend he left for dead might actually have survived.

Even though I knew this was about swordsmen, I somehow didn’t expect it to be as gory as it is. There are a lot of death blows being dealt here, as Musashi is obsessed with measuring/proving his strength against others and willing to sacrifice his life to this aim. That said, at times the art is absolutely gorgeous, and there are a few color pages that look like bona fide paintings. The scope, layout, and pacing of the story all lend it a cinematic feel that is genuinely impressive. There’s one scene early on, when Musashi turns around to face the one opponent left standing and it’s genuinely terrifying.

But yet, I mostly found it unaffecting. I expect there will be more insight into the main character as time progresses, but for now he’s so closed off, so proud of his strength and being hailed a demon that I can’t grow fond of him or endorse his goals. I have a feeling I’m not supposed to. I did identify with Matahachi a lot, though, especially his inferiority complex in regards to his friend and his inability to follow through with the heroic deeds he imagines himself performing. I like Otsu, the fiancée Matahachi left behind, and I’m intrigued by Takuan, the monk. I’ll keep reading for them, if nothing else.

One thing about Musashi reminds me a lot of Hisanobu Takahashi in Real. As a child, Hisanobu was attempting to master a particular basketball move that his father showed him. He worked very hard on it, but was never able to show his father because the latter abandoned the family. Musashi has also been abandoned by his mother and shunned by his father, and part of his drive to test himself seems due to the desire to show them his strength, show them that he doesn’t need to depend on anyone else. Musashi is a real historical figure, not a character Inoue created, but it seems like he’s drawn to these confident yet wounded types.

Ultimately, I can see why Vagabond is hailed as a masterpiece, and I will certainly keep reading it, but my heart will always belong to Inoue’s sports manga, Slam Dunk in particular. The heart wants what the heart wants!

Vagabond is published in English by VIZ Media. Single volumes up through 33 have been published, as well as ten “VIZBIG” editions comprised of three volumes each. An eleventh VIZBIG edition is scheduled to be released in December. Inoue has recently resumed the series in Japan, so the upcoming release of volume 34 (October) will be the first new Vagabond released in English in two years.

Let’s Get Visual: Takehiko Inoue

June 30, 2012 by Michelle Smith and Anna N

MICHELLE: It’s been a while, but Let’s Get Visual has awoken from its hibernation in time to celebrate the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast. Joining me for this occasion is special guest host Anna Neatrour, who is also co-hosting the MMF with me! Welcome, Anna!

ANNA: Thank you! I am excited to join in on a Let’s Get Visual post for Takehiko Inoue, because I think he is one of the top contemporary manga artists. He has an incredibly detailed and realistic style that really sets his manga apart from other series.

MICHELLE: I just started reading Vagabond the other day, and there was one close-up picture of Takezo drawn with extreme care and obvious skill, and I thought, “Y’know, this should be the image that all manga fans carry around to immediately dispel the misconceived notion that all manga looks alike and/or involves big, sparkly eyes.”

ANNA: I think that Inoue’s style (particularly in Real and Vagabond) is probably more reader-friendly to Western comics fans who haven’t read much manga before.

MICHELLE: Yeah, probably so. I’ve often thought that Western comic fans would probably like a bunch of seinen manga if they’d give it a chance.

Anyways, I suppose we should proceed to get visual! The images I’ve chosen are the very first pages in the very first volume of Real.

Real, Vol. 1 (VIZ Media)

I chose these images because they demonstrate how well Inoue is able to communicate Togawa’s character here without needing any words at all. Okay, sure, this guy is in a wheelchair, but he’s clearly driven. He’s pushing himself, possibly to the point of pain (if that’s what that one black panel represents). He has bulging muscles, so he’s clearly been at this a while. He’s moving fast. He may have a disability, but it doesn’t mean that he can’t take being an athlete seriously.

And then you turn the page and see that he is all alone. Inoue pulls back to show the entirety of the gym to emphasize Togawa’s solitude, and if that wasn’t enough, we get a glimpse of the empty school campus, as well. This sets the stage for what we later learn (which you mention in your review)—that Togawa’s attitude toward his wheelchair basketball team does not mesh well with his hobbyist teammates. Here’s a guy who is giving it his all, and he is the only one.

There’s just so much we can tell from this elegant introduction that it kind of blows me away.

ANNA: I agree that one of the things I like best about Inoue’s art is how much the images are able to contribute to the storytelling of his manga without overtly telling the audience anything. The themes touched on in the images you showed are addressed again later in the manga. Togawa’s ego and isolation contribute to his central struggle in the manga, and at the same time his willingness to practice all by himself shows just how dedicated he is to his sport.

MICHELLE: I will always, always be a big fan of nonverbal storytelling, so Inoue really wins my heart here by going above and beyond impressive art.

Want to tell us about the images you picked?

ANNA: The panels I chose were from Volume 26 of Vagabond, collected in the ninth VIZBIG edition of the series.

Vagabond, Vol. 26 (VIZ Media)

One of the reasons why I love Vagabond so much is that the fight scenes are never merely about two people fighting. There’s always a psychological or philosophical element involved. We see Miyamoto Musashi in a midst of battle against 70 members of the Yoshioka sword school, an ambush he willingly walked into. As he battles, he’s focused on centering himself and living in the moment. The close-up panels of his face show the process of self-reflection even as he is mowing down his opponents.

MICHELLE: That’s a really striking sequence. I like how he seems to be looking off into the horizon as he tells himself to have no aspirations for the future, as if to acknowledge the existence of other paths that he’s not allowing himself to take. Granted, I’ve not read the series that far—I’m barely on volume two—but it almost seems to me like he could walk away from this fight if he wanted to, but he’s not letting himself do it. Is that anywhere near the case?

ANNA: I don’t think Musashi is capable mentally of walking away from a fight like this. There are a lot of things that lead up to this sequence of many chapters where Musashi takes on the entire sword school, but one thing that struck me about the battle as a whole is that while you see Musashi getting beaten down and injured, towards the end Inoue almost has the reader concluding that it was really unfair to the 70 men who were planning on ambushing and attacking Musashi from behind that they had to go up against this one particular single opponent. Vagabond’s
fight scenes are always interesting, even when they stretch on for hundreds of pages, simply because the exquisitely rendered battles are contrasted with the internal struggles of the people who are fighting. Battle is as much of a mental exercise as it is a physical one.

MICHELLE: That’s an interesting point! So far I’ve only seen a few fights, and there hasn’t been much on Takezo’s (as Musashi is known at that point in the story) mental state yet. But I definitely admired the pacing and structure of Inoue’s artistic approach to battle—even watching Takezo just turn around and notice one opponent still standing becomes something frankly terrifying.

ANNA: One the things I enjoy about Vagabond is seeing the way Musashi changes over time. The man fighting the sword school in these panels has a measured sense of self and an inner stillness as he fights opponent after opponent. This is totally different from the way Takezo is portrayed in the earlier volumes, where he is more arrogant and animalistic.

MICHELLE: I definitely look forward to seeing how he gets from point A to point B. I admit, I still prefer Inoue’s sports-related series, but there’s just no denying that Vagabond is a masterpiece.

Thanks to everyone for reading, and we hope we’ve inspired you to check out some Inoue!

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 6 May

June 28, 2012 by Matt Blind Leave a Comment

Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [494.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [455.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [442.0] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [408.1] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [399.0] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [394.4] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [384.8] ::
8. ↑6 (14) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [361.9] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [335.0] ::
10. ↑6 (16) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [310.2] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Yen Press 80
Tokyopop 75
Viz Shonen Jump 74
Viz Shojo Beat 56
Kodansha Comics 43
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 38
DMP Juné 17
Dark Horse 16
Vizkids 15
HC/Tokyopop 12

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,205.4] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [875.2] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Black Butler – Yen Press [849.2] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [604.8] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [588.5] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Negima! – Del Rey/Kodansha Comics [580.6] ::
7. ↓-2 (5) : Highschool of the Dead – Yen Press [545.3] ::
8. ↑9 (17) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [478.5] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [442.4] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Blue Exorcist – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [423.5] ::

[more]

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

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [494.8] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [394.4] ::
8. ↑6 (14) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [361.9] ::
12. ↑5 (17) : The Betrayal Knows My Name 3 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [295.3] ::
13. ↑5 (18) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 3 – HarperCollins, Apr 2012 [294.6] ::
15. ↓-7 (8) : Rosario+Vampire Season II 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2012 [279.5] ::
23. ↓-1 (22) : Highschool of the Dead 6 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [239.9] ::
24. ↑96 (120) : One Piece 62 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [235.6] ::
28. ↓-7 (21) : Durarara!! 2 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [223.3] ::
29. ↓-4 (25) : Skip Beat! 27 – Viz Shojo Beat, Apr 2012 [212.6] ::

[more]

Preorders

5. ↑2 (7) : Black Butler 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2012 [399.0] ::
14. ↓-2 (12) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [288.9] ::
16. ↑3 (19) : Sailor Moon 7 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2012 [274.1] ::
19. ↑7 (26) : Sailor Moon 8 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2012 [256.2] ::
27. ↑84 (111) : Ouran High School Host Club 18 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2012 [223.5] ::
51. ↓-12 (39) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [163.0] ::
67. ↑102 (169) : Skip Beat! 28 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2012 [129.9] ::
71. ↑9 (80) : Negima! 35 – Kodansha Comics, Jul 2012 [126.9] ::
72. ↑3 (75) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [124.3] ::
83. ↓-11 (72) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Seven Seas, Jun 2012 [113.0] ::

[more]

Manhwa

307. ↓-62 (245) : Priest Purgatory 1 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [38.4] ::
348. ↓-39 (309) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [32.8] ::
496. ↑164 (660) : Black God 16 – Yen Press, Apr 2012 [20.9] ::
506. ↑124 (630) : Color Trilogy 1 The Color of Earth – Macmillan First Second, Apr 2009 [20.4] ::
618. ↓-99 (519) : Ragnarok 1 – Tokyopop, May 2002 [14.8] ::
829. ↓-80 (749) : Bride of the Water God 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2012 [8.0] ::
838. ↓-60 (778) : Toxic (anthology) 1 – Udon, Jul 2012 [7.9] ::
942. ↑29 (971) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [5.5] ::
1131. ↓-122 (1009) : INVU 5 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [2.8] ::
1237. ↑401 (1638) : Bride of the Water God 11 – Dark Horse, May 2012 [2.0] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

51. ↓-12 (39) : Finder Series 6 Passion within the View Finder – DMP Juné, Jul 2012 [163.0] ::
68. ↑10 (78) : Private Teacher 3 – DMP Juné, May 2012 [129.8] ::
72. ↑3 (75) : Only the Ring Finger Knows (novel) 5 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [124.3] ::
87. ↑64 (151) : Gravitation vols 3-4 collection – Tokyopop, Aug 2009 [112.0] ::
90. ↓-11 (79) : Ai no Kusabi (novel) 7 – DMP Juné, Sep 2012 [109.0] ::
96. ↑186 (282) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [100.7] ::
122. ↑83 (205) : Love Mode 1 – Tokyopop Blu, Nov 2005 [86.3] ::
142. ↓-28 (114) : Vassalord 3 – Tokyopop, Sep 2009 [76.8] ::
158. ↑69 (227) : Good Morning – DMP Juné, May 2012 [71.4] ::
162. ↓-12 (150) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [70.9] ::

[more]

Ebooks

8. ↑6 (14) : Naruto 56 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2012 [361.9] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Naruto 55 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [335.0] ::
11. ↔0 (11) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [297.1] ::
20. ↑4 (24) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [254.9] ::
31. ↓-4 (27) : Blue Exorcist 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Apr 2011 [212.3] ::
40. ↓-8 (32) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [182.5] ::
44. ↑10 (54) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [169.8] ::
50. ↑1 (51) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [166.1] ::
54. ↓-1 (53) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [154.3] ::
57. ↓-10 (47) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [149.6] ::

[more]

Alice In The Country Of Hearts Omnibus, Vol. 3

June 28, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

By Quin Rose and Soumei Hoshino, based on the game by Quin Rose. Released in Japan as “Heart no Kuni no Alice ~Wonderful Wonder World~” by Mag Garden, serialized in the magazine Comic Blade Avarus. Released in North America by Yen Press.

I have a sad confession to make. You see… I forgot to spoil myself for the end of this manga. I know, it sounds unusual. After all, you are my faithful readers, and know me well. You know that I traditionally spoil myself rotten. And indeed, later on in this review I will be discussing ‘the big spoiler’, be warned. But when Tokyopop released Vol. 5 of this series, they hadn’t yet gone under, and there wasn’t as big a need to find out what was going on. Afterwards, well, I just forgot to. What this means, though, is that for once I came at an ending with no idea what would happen, and thus managed to be both surprised and pleased. Which is especially surprising given the ending’s hardly happy…

In a previous review of this series, I had noted that what I enjoyed most about it was that all of Alice’s choices for her ‘reverse harem’ were so broken. And even though there was a good deal of ‘and she changes them with her pure heart and friendship’ to it – this is still an adaptation of an otome game, after all – many of them stayed pleasantly psychotic and bloodthirsty anyway. Indeed, Ace was probably my favorite character, as he recognizes and is actively fighting against what Alice represents. There’s also some good backstory given throughout, especially regarding Blood Dupre, Vivaldi, and Eliot March. You get the sense that life actually happened before Alice arrived, which is hard to achieve in a setting like this.

I understand, having spoiled myself NOW, that fans of the games were a little annoyed at the opaqueness of the manga, especially towards the end. There’s apparently a whole lot left out about the nature of Peter White, etc. (Which doesn’t seem to bother me as much, mostly as I loathe Peter White. The manga apparently turned up the ‘jerk’ level on several characters, and he was the worst of them.) This is the nature of such adaptation, though, and I recall Higurashi fans being similarly annoyed with the anime. The question is whether one can get a gleaning of what actually happened from what the manga writer givens us. And I think the answer is yes, though it’s only a gleaning. (Apparently the manga writer didn’t understand the game’s ending.)

Here’s where I talk spoilers, by the way.

We’ve had Alice in Wonderland for most of the manga series, but occasionally she gets these pangs of conscience that she really should “wake up” and return to the real world, as her big sister is waiting for her. And as she interacts with the others, the vial she was given at the start fills up with liquid. When it’s full, she can return. And so she does, despite some misgivings, and others telling her not to, and those strange headaches she gets sometimes. And when she returns, she finds… well, actually, she doesn’t. Blood Dupre goes screaming off grumpily into the ‘real world’ after her and forces her to return. Having gotten approval to do this by Nightmare, who can now ‘Seal Off’ Alice’s memories again. And then we see her older sister in a coffin.

And suddenly the entire premise is thrown on its ear. Suddenly instead of ‘a teenage girl lands in a magical fantasy land where she must decide which hot guy she likes best’, it would seem that the land itself is attempting to prevent Alice from sinking into what is presumably hopeless despair in the real world, and that her sitting with her sister having tea and talking books is actually the dream. And that the vial which fills up as Alice interacts with the others is likely to be filling with ALICE’S feelings, not the guys falling for her. And we see why she gets so upset when all the others in Wonderland keep trying to murder each other (well, besides the usual reason anyone would).

So what we have here is a bunch of sociopathic clockwork people attempting to rise above their station and change themselves, even though that is completely impossible, and also help to heal the heart of a broken and damaged young woman devastated at a death in the family by sealing off her memory and keeping her in a fantasy world filled with blood and chaos. And that’s fantastic. Discomfiting, but fantastic. In short, this manga is more for Higurashi fans than for, say, Ouran fans. Highly recommended, and re-reading all 3 omnibuses in one stroke definitely helps as well.

Off the Shelf: Real

June 27, 2012 by MJ and Michelle Smith 1 Comment

MICHELLE: Good evening and welcome to a special installment of Off the Shelf. You might be aware that I am co-hosting (with Anna from Manga Report, who’s also a contributor to the Bringing the Drama column here at Manga Bookshelf) the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast this week! And so, I have enlisted MJ’s participation so that we might devote this week’s column to Inoue’s seinen series, Real.

Inoue is most famous for Slam Dunk, a thoroughly shounen series about a delinquent who finds his way via basketball, and there are definitely some elements of that in Real. What’s different, however, is that two of the main protagonists are wheelchair-bound and the one able-bodied fellow draws his inspiration from seeing how hard disabled athletes work to achieve their goals.

MJ: I’m thrilled to be talking about this series, Michelle. It was my first exposure to Inoue, and my first experience with a manga series about sports that wasn’t created to fit the standard shounen formula.

Should we talk about the main characters a bit?

MICHELLE: Sure! Actually, I think Anna summed up their personalities very well in her review, so I am just going to quote her, if that’s okay!

Real centers on three main protagonists. Tomomi Nomiya is a wanna-be tough guy who is a bit of an outcast at school even though he is on the basketball team. He was involved in a motorcycle accident that paralyzed his passenger, a girl named Natsumi whom he had just picked up randomly. Hisanobu Takahashi is the arrogant new basketball captain who is about to experience something that will change his life forever. Kiyoharu Togawa is an elite athlete who had most of one leg taken off due to a childhood brush with cancer. His driven personality isn’t a good match with the hobbyists on his wheelchair basketball team.

That’s how we find them at the beginning of the series, and as the story progresses, they inspire each other (and others) in seemingly infinite ways while each struggling to find and pursue their own path. Ultimately, for each of them, basketball turns out to be that path, but this is definitely far from being your typical sports manga.

MJ: I think “far from being your typical sports manga” is really key here. Even, as you say, when these characters serve as inspiration, there’s no heroic glow carrying the story forward. Their pain and their disappointments are real, and not easily banished by fine speeches or awe-inspiring action scenes. Real is not afraid to get into the real darkness its protagonists fall into at various points in the story, nor does it gloss over their wrongs. Real is unforgiving, much like life.

MICHELLE: The plight of Hisanobu Takahashi, the aforementioned arrogant guy, best illustrates what you’re talking about, I think. Here’s a guy, obsessed with comparing himself to others, who becomes paralyzed as a result of being hit by a truck while fleeing on a stolen bicycle. Inoue relentlessly takes us through his ups and downs, hopes that bubble up and are quickly dashed, and doesn’t try to artificially improve Hisanobu’s attitude overnight. There are encounters that buoy him for a while, a rivalry with Nomiya that motivates him, but he’s in a fragile state and can still be sent spiraling down by the sight of a seeming weakling who is better at physical rehab than he is.

It’s as if Inoue is saying, “You can borrow some strength from others, but in the end, it’s all up to you to follow through.”

MJ: Takahashi’s is perhaps the most interesting journey to me, I think because Inoue doesn’t let him off the hook for anything, so when he does achieve small successes, they really feel earned. Though I also like the fact that Nomiya is traveling what could be considered an impossible path (to become a professional player). I admit I’m really anxious to see where that goes in the end.

MICHELLE: Me, too. I desperately hope he is able to make the pro team, and that’s what I’ve been groomed to expect from my years of loving sports manga, but I’m faced with the very real possibility that Inoue will depict him not making it and being shattered by the experience. I really love Nomiya very much, and one of my favorite scenes is where he’s just lost his job after trying so hard at it, and he really needs to see Togawa’s wheelchair basketball team, The Tigers, achieve their dream after putting in so much effort. They don’t, however, and I wonder what sort of blow it’ll be to him if he also fails. I feel as though I’m watching a friend put their everything into something that might not pan out, so I root for them but also I worry.

MJ: Of course, that’s part of what makes this series work so well. Both volumes nine and ten acquired some vaguely shounen tendencies, with a lot of (from my review of volume 10) “grand declarations, gritty determination, and talk of achieving one’s dreams,” but even then, there’s no sense that this will necessarily happen.

MICHELLE: But, you know, I still can’t loving those moments. If there is any one drawback to Real, it’s that I kept expecting them to, like, all join the same team and get awesome together and beat their rivals. But it takes until volume ten for Hisanobu to remember his one encounter with Togawa, the basketball badass in a wheelchair, and realize “I could do that.”

Not that I’m complaining, of course, because so much of his journey is learning how to really work for something again, which he hasn’t done since he was a kid, essentially on account of his father abandoning the family.

Y’know… we haven’t seen any of Nomiya’s childhood yet, have we? We’ve seen some of Togawa’s and quite a lot of Hisanobu’s, but none of Nomiya’s. We just hear about his mother bringing back sweets from her various trips.

MJ: You know, that’s a good point. It’s been a while since I looked at early volumes, but I don’t recall that we have. Perhaps that’s yet to come.

Actually, I realize now that with volumes 9 and 10 freshest in my mind, I’ve let Togawa go a little bit. With Takahashi’s and Nomiya’s stories really hitting their stride, Togawa’s hasn’t been quite as much front-and-center as of late.

MICHELLE: No, it hasn’t. But it was certainly getting lovely there for a bit, with the introduction of Ryo, a sullen disabled teen, who is inspired by Togawa just as a young Togawa was by Tora, the original founder of the Tigers. And the beauty of it all is that Togawa has no idea that he’s become such a figure for this kid. We’ve heard a lot about the history of the Tigers, how it went from Tora’s era, to Yama’s (a friend of Togawa whose physical condition is deteriorating rapidly), to Togawa’s. I’m sure it’ll be Ryo’s era after that. I delight in seeing this familiar character through fresh eyes, while we’ve become entirely accustomed to his various faults. Inoue sure is adept at introducing new/secondary characters who immediately become integral to the story.

MJ: That’s true! I’m currently quite enamored with Hara-sensei, Takahashi’s badass… uh, physical therapist? I guess that’s what she probably she, but without any of the touchy-feely Florence Nighiengale-y images that might normally spring forth.

MICHELLE: I also like his two friends in rehab, who are challenging his notions of ranks and worth. There’s Shiratori, the famous wrestler, who is actually behind where Takahashi is in his recovery, and then there’s Hanamaki, the scrawny otaku, who is farther along than both of them, but who yet is a major Shiratori fanboy. Supporting each of the three protagonists are people who can help them change and find their way, including a couple of intriguing female characters that I wish we got to learn more about.

MJ: It’s true, the series’ female characters seem to come and go rather quickly. I’m particularly interested in Azumi, Togawa’s childhood friend who also manages the Tigers. There’s a favorite scene of mine in volume 10, where she must indignantly remind Togawa that she has goals and dreams as well.

MICHELLE: The pair of them actually remind me a little of the main character and his sidekick in Drops of God, but Azumi seems to be more complicated than her counterpart, which I appreciate.

One thing we haven’t yet touched upon is Inoue’s art in Real, which is pretty damned awesome. He excels at both action and expression, but some of my favorite sequences are more fanciful, like when Hisanobu and Nomiya engage in a mutual daydream about what would’ve happened had they been present for their high school team’s final game.

MJ: I become impressed all over again by how expressive Inoue’s artwork is with every new volume. The series has a gritty, realistic look to it, but there’s such life on the page! In volume ten, page 148, there’s a tear running down Shiratori’s otherwise mostly covered face, and it’s the most oddly expressive, moving, not even remotely beautiful tear I’ve ever seen. It has none of that graceful mono no aware sensibility that tear-shedding moments so often have. In fact, it could just as easily be a trickle of sweat. But to see it on this huge man’s covered face is just… kind of stunning.

MICHELLE: It’s art that really serves the characters instead of merely being technically proficient. The first few pages of the first volume stunned me, because in that opening sequence you learn practically all you need to know about Togawa. In fact, I plan to discuss them in greater depth in a Let’s Get Visual column this weekend.

Another great thing about Real is that it feels far from over! We’ve talked about Nomiya’s impossible-seeming goal, but Togawa also wants to make it to the Paralympics, so perhaps the series, in sports manga fashion, will end there? I admit that would be very satisfying, but I don’t know that we should expect it.

MJ: It’s really impossible to guess! Like you, I’d love to see all three characters achieve their dreams (and in spectacular, shounen-style fashion) but I’m not making any bets!

MICHELLE: Well, volume eleven is due in November, so perhaps there’ll be a little closer to their goals at that point!

MJ: I can’t wait!

Reviews of Real at Manga Bookshelf: Real, Vol. 10 (MJ), Real, Vol. 9 (MJ), Real, Vols. 1-8 (MJ), Real, Vols. 1-4 (Kate), Real, Vol. 10 (Kate)

Manga the Week of 7/4

June 27, 2012 by Sean Gaffney

A few things before we begin:

1) There was no post last week as Midtown had no manga this week. not a scrap. Sorry. They’re making up for it next week.

2) Diamond is shipping on time, so comic shops open on 7/4 should have your manga right on time.

3) Diamond has been doing weird things with Viz deliveries the last two months. They’re staggering them, shipping a few at a time. I can’t say if this is deliberate or not. All I know is of the Viz I’m listing below, I’m not getting several of them till later. And I *still* don’t have Toriko 10 from last month. Diamond, why?

Now, onward.

Fantagraphics has the 3rd volume of outstanding seinen masterpiece Wandering Son, which will continue our story of its two leads and their ongoing exploration of gender, puberty, and life. This should be on everybody’s pull list.

Kodansha delivers to Midtown a bunch of stuff that’s been out in bookstores for a bit. Ongoing volumes of Air Gear, Bloody Monday, and Mardock Scramble. A new reissue of Gon. And an omnibus edition of one of their biggest shoujo sellers, Kitchen Princess. The big one for this week, though, is the debut of their new shonen series, Attack on Titan. Part apocalyptic horror, part military bonding, and part action thriller, Vol. 1 of this manga start fast out of the gate and doesn’t let up. Kudos to Kodansha for getting this award-winning series.

Penguin is releasing Gandhi: A Manga Biography. Note that it is only ‘A’ manga biography, which I can only assume is just in case they decide to add Gandhi to the cast of Legend of Koizumi.

Vertical is releasing the 4th volume of Drops of God, which wraps up the first ‘arc’ of this series, and reveals the 2nd Apostle! They’re also putting out a Five Centimeters Per Second, which is a poignant and thoughtful look at friendships, love, and the unrelenting passing of time. It’s worth checking out, and is complete over here in one collected volume.

Viz. Oi. Time for the bulleted list:
— Afterschool Charisma 6, an Ikki title hitting a week early. Clones!
— Bakuman 12. Manga writing!
— Bleach, Vols. 42 and 43. Speedup!
— Case Closed, Vol. 43. Not actually in Shonen Jump. Still called Jimmy!
— Claymore, Vol. 20. Youma!
— D.Gray-Man, Vol. 22. Gothic!
— Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 10. Go bald!
— Hana-Kimi, Vols. 7-8-9. Go buy the rest individually!
— Mameshiba: We Could Be Heroes. Adorable tie-in!
— Naruto, Vol. 57. Epic ninja battles!
— Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 12. Yokai! And no threesomes, sorry, fandom.
— One Piece, Vol. 63. Pirates! Fishmen! Together, they fight… well, each other.
— Ooku: The Inner Chambers Vol. 7. Shogun! (Not by James Clavell, honest.)
— Oresama Teacher, Vol. 9. Comedy! And banchos!
— Pokemon Black & White, Vol. 8. Um… Pokemon?!? (shrugs)
— Psyren, Vol. 5. Powerups!
— Rin-Ne, Vol. 9. Sakura not getting angry!
— Rosario + Vampire Season II, Vol. 9. Fairy Tale! but not Fairy Tail? … wait, now I’m confused.
— Skip Beat!, Vols. 7-8-9. Go buy the rest individually!
— Skip Beat!, Vol.. 28. Just kiss already!
— Vampire Knight, Vol. 14. Vampires! Angst! Prettiness! And you CAN’T STOP READING IT!
— WINX Club, Vols. 1 & 2. More tie-ins!

The debut from Viz this week is Jiu Jiu, which is a new Hakusensha title (woo hoo!) which began in Hama to Yume and now runs in spinoff The Hana. It’s from the author of Clean Freak: Fully Equipped, for those who recall that cut short Tokyopop series (hey, why not ask Stu about it at AX this weekend?), and is about a girl and her werewolf bodyguards. As with many Hana to Yume series, it’s better than it sounds. Looking forward to this one.

Lastly, Yen has Olympos, which I mentioned already a post or two ago, but which Midtown is getting in next week for some reason.

So, out of that nightmarish pile, what suits you?

It Came from the Sinosphere: My Queen

June 26, 2012 by Sara K. 5 Comments

My Queen is a 2009 idol drama. For an explanation of the meaning of the Mandarin title Bài Quǎn Nǚwáng check out Jade’s post at Wai-Taiwan.

Story Overview

So, Shan Wushuang is a hard-working journalist who, at the age of 33, is … single. Actually, “Shan” can also be read as “dan,” which means single, and “wushuang” means “not in a couple,” so her name pretty much means “SINGLE!!!!!!” in Mandarin. At work, she overhears her co-wokers make snide remarks about how men don’t want her because she is so career-oriented. Meanwhile, there is a handsome man, Lucas, who works odd jobs. Through a series of ridiculous events related to her job, Shan causes Lucas to lose the pay for one of his gigs, which means that Lucas can’t pay his rent. Understandably, Lucas is pissed off at Shan.

Shan feels bad about causing Lucas to lose the money he needs to pay rent, so she lets him stay at her place. She sees having a handsome man in her apartment as an opportunity, so she puts on her sexiest dress and tells him that she won’t let him refuse her. He does not, in fact, refuse her, but being a responsible person, he wants to fetch a condom before things go too far. While he’s searching for his condom, Shan sees the birthdate on his ID card … and realizes that he is 8 years younger than she is! That’s it for her—she does not want to get in bed with a man 8 years younger than she—which is pretty frustrating to Lucas.

Oh, and then Lucas get a new job … at Shan’s company.

This is of course just the beginning of the story (and I didn’t even talk about Shan’s big scoop), but it should be pretty clear that this is a romance between Shan and Lucas, and that the major obstacles are a) Shan’s reluctance to date a younger man and b) Lucas’ propensity to get irritated by Shan (often due to misunderstandings).

Location

My father enjoys watching re-runs of The Streets of San Francisco. It is not a show noted for great storytelling. However, unlike some TV shows “set in San Francisco,” The Streets of San Francisco actually was shot in San Francisco. The main reason he watches so much of it is that he enjoys trying to identify the various locations in the episode, and comparing 1970s San Francisco with present day San Francisco. Location-spotting is also one of the reasons I enjoy watching idol dramas (though the storytelling tends to be much better in idol dramas than in The Streets of San Francisco, thank goodness).

The idol drama and Taiwanese tourism industries are aware of their symbiotic relationship. Idol dramas are mostly shot in Taiwan*mdash;filming abroad is rather expensive—but since idol dramas are mostly escapist, they try to find locations which allow viewers to get their minds off of their everyday lives. Sometimes they even try to sell a drama based on the location. For example, there is an idol drama called Love in Alishan (Alishan is one of the most visited tourist spots in Taiwan). Likewise, tourism companies try to use idol dramas for their own benefit. A tour operator I talked to said that they try to get the places where they offer tours shown on TV so that “everybody knows how beautiful Taiwan is” (and of course to get more business). Taiwanese tourism bureaus offer brochures based on idol dramas, and I have seen one travel book dedicated entirely to locations shown in idol dramas.

To me, the most notable locations in My Queen are the ones close to home—quite literally. A few scenes in My Queen were shot in Taoyuan City, where I live. The first episode in My Queen has a scene shot in Hutoushan Park, which I can walk to from my apartment in under and hour. There is also a scene shot in the Taoyuan City Night Market, which I can also walk to in under an hour. For the record, I like the Taoyuan City Night Market more than most of the famous night markets (Shilin Night Market and Liouhe Night Market, this means you). The Taoyuan City Night Market has a chill, relaxed atmosphere, and has a nice, humble, neighborly feeling. While they don’t show it in My Queen, there is a nice comic book rental shop right next to the Taoyuan City Night Market. If somebody out there is wondering how I got ahold of some of the out-of-print manhua I reviewed in my The Condor Trilogy in Manhua posts, there’s your answer. I used to think that I would never see Taoyuan City shown in an idol drama, so it was nice of My Queen to prove me wrong.

There are also some scenes shot in what I think is Miyuewan (Honeymoon Bay) in Yilan County, though I have not confirmed this. Miyuewan is one of the most popular spots for surfing in Taiwan. One of my guidebooks claims that Miyuewan has a nickname among the locals, “Killer Bay.” This is supposedly because some fatal accidents happened there. In the story of My Queen, somebody does die there.

What I Liked and Disliked

These are the parts of the story I liked the most 1) whenever Shan used sneaky tricks for the sake of her job 2) whenever Shan and Lucas engaged in silly activities or witty banter with each other. In short, I liked My Queen when it acted like a romantic comedy.

As a romantic comedy, it works quite well—Shan and Lucas are very good foils for each other. Shan is overall a very serious person, but she lengths she goes to in order to fulfill her journalistic duties are quite funny. Her boss’ attitude—that she is the jewel of the company who must be protected so she can keep on getting the best scoops—is also amusing. Lucas, on the other hand, has a sense of humor, and while Shan’s attention is often very focused, Lucas is more broad-minded. This turns out to be pretty fertile ground for friction and sparks between the two. At the same time, it’s clear that they are good for each other. Lucas helps Shan chill out and make work just one part of her life instead of the overwhelming totality her life, whereas Shan helps Lucas focus on getting his own life together.

What did I dislike? Mainly, I disliked most of the parts where it did not act like a romantic comedy.

For example, one of my least favorite scenes is (trigger warning) the attempted rape scene. This was not because it was an attempted rape scene per se. For example, The Outsiders has a rape scene. But The Outsiders is a dark drama which, among other things, has women who are kidnapped, pushed into sexual slavery, and forced to take strong recreational drugs so they are dependent on their captors for their next fix. A rape scene fits thematically in The Outsiders. A rape scene—even just an attempted rape scene—does not fit thematically in My Queen. What’s worse, shortly after the scene happens, the victim recovers very quickly and it does not seem to affect her very much. The scene was so brutal that it should have had some tangible effect on her for the duration of the drama. But really, the scene just should not have been there in the first place.

I also generally disliked the subplot around Shan’s fiancé. I recognize that the drama needed to let Shan show some vulnerability, that the story needs some gravitas, and that, this being an idol drama, she needs to have a romantic alternative to Lucas. But for some reason, this subplot rubbed me the wrong way. I’m not sure why. Maybe I just did not like the fiancé.

That said, I did not always dislike it when My Queen played it straight. After all, the best comedies have some seriousness. However, I liked the serious parts best when they were well-connected to Shan and Lucas’ relationship and foibles. For example, I liked the arc where Lucas is accused of a committing murder and Shan has to use her journalistic prowess to clear his name.

Feminism?

One of the reasons I was interested in this drama is that it supposedly discusses feminism. In the first draft of this post, I talked about how the show failed to meet my expectations on this matter. But I was disappointed because I had forgotten this is an idol drama.

This is escapist entertainment shown late at night on TV when people are tired. This is not where cultural attitudes get challenged. This is where you see how the culture has already changed.

Even though the age gap felt more like a gimmick to me than a launching point for serious examination of Taiwanese notions of age, gender, and romance … the fact that an idol show would have the main couple be a woman and a man 8 years her junior shows that Taiwanese culture is changing. And Shan’s mother gets to pursue romance herself—it’s played for laughs, but it is still very unusual to see a woman her age to find new romance in an idol drama. And while Lucas does turn out to be the son of a man with a lot of power and influence, at least Shan is not economically dependent on his family and she does not play his Cinderella.

Of course, one could also look at this drama and see how far Taiwanese culture has to go when it comes to gender equity. Ultimately, it does not question the attitudes held by Taiwanese people 30 or younger, it just shows that that the attitudes of the young people are in fact different from the attitudes of their elders.

Availability in English

Dramafever offers My Queen with English subtitles for streaming in North and South America. If you don’t live in North or South America, if it’s any consolation to you, I don’t live in North or South America either.

Conclusion

My feelings about this drama are mixed. Some parts are very entertaining … and some parts fell flat for me. I think I would have had a better attitude about this drama if I had entered it with lower expectations. However, people in North and South America can try this drama for free. If that is you, I recommend trying this drama to see if it hits your spot.

Next week: Special Tuesday-Friday Double Feature about a Really Popular Wuxia Novel That Was Not Written by Jin Yong

Sara K. has a love-hate relationship with idol dramas. On the one hand, they have jaded her by recycling the same plot over and over again. On the other hand, they still make her laugh, and, when she’s caught off guard, make her cry. She keeps on telling herself that she’ll quit idol dramas after she has finished drama X, or at least take a long hiatus … and then she picks up another one at the DVD rental shop.