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BL Bookrack: January 2012

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Welcome to 2012’s first installment of BL Bookrack! This month, MJand Michelle take a look at two offerings from the Digital Manga Guild, Love & Trap and My Sempai, as well as Men of Tattoos from Digital Manga Publishing’s Juné imprint.

Love & Trap| By Kotetsuko Yamamoto | Digital Manga Guild | Young Adult (16+) – High school student Mochida Masaki will do anything to keep himself safe from bullies, even if it means using his body to “trap” someone stronger or more powerful into becoming his protector. Having only ever used sex as a tool for persuasion, it’s a tremendous shock to Masaki when he finds himself experiencing real attraction to Aihara, the class loner whose family is rumored to be connected to the Yakuza. Are Masaki’s feelings real, or is he just gravitating towards his next target?

Building a romance manga around real societal or psychological issues is tricky business, especially when one of those issues is as serious as teen prostitution, which is essentially what Yamamoto attempts to tackle with Love & Trap. Regardless of the writer’s knowledge of the subject, it’s incredibly difficult to balance complex reality with the demands of the genre, without either trivializing the issue or doling it out with an insufferably heavy hand. This balance is even more challenging to achieve if one must do so over the course of a single volume (or less).

With all that in mind, it’s not surprising to note that Love & Trap leans towards the former. Despite the manga’s dramatic setup, Yamamoto quickly resolves issues that would take most therapists years to unravel, just in time to grant Masaki his genre-approved happy ending. She fares a little better with the book’s obligatory (unrelated) side-stories, “Love Blood,” a dreamy little tale of sexual awakening that reads like a light-BL letter to Penthouse Forum, and “We’re Blooming,” a breezy workplace love-triangle romance set in a florist’s shop.

Yamamato’s artwork is a highlight throughout, clean and expressive, with an almost-classic sensibility that reflects some impressive influences, including Moto Hagio, whose character “Jeremy” (from A Cruel God Reigns) was Yamamoto’s model for the lead in “Love Blood.” On the strength of this alone, I’d be interested in seeking out her other works. Fortunately, the DMG seems to have licensed quite a few, including Blooming Darling, a two-volume sequel to the charming “We’re Blooming.” Stay tuned!

– Review by MJ

Men of Tattoos | By Yuiji Aniya | Digital Manga Publishing | Mature (18+) – I have recognized in myself a fondness for yakuza-themed BL, so when Deb Aoki named Men of Tattoos her Best New Yaoi Manga of 2011 and described it as “strange, funny, heartbreaking and surreal,” I knew I had to read it for myself.

Deb was absolutely right in her description of the series. The first four stories feature yakuza and are interconnected in various unexpected ways. “My Katagi-kun” is the story of a pair of childhood friends who reconnect and become lovers, “Dog of the Ranunculus” is about a guy who’s relatively high up in the organization falling in love with the boss’s son, “Cinderella and the Mad Shark” is about getting revenge, and “Everyone’s Song” is about dreams that don’t come true. Probably the last one packs the biggest punch, but it needs the other three stories to put it into context.

Rounding out the collection are two stories about a pair of college students who keep having dreams about each other. It’s more interesting than it sounds—and fairly steamy besides—and functions like a mental palate cleanser, as it allows the book to actually end on a happy note.

Even if you’re not a particular fan of yakuza stories or of BL in general, I’d still recommend Men of Tattoos. Aniya does some clever things with storytelling that can be appreciated by any manga fan.

– Review by Michelle Smith

My Sempai | Hebiko Habuyama | Digital Manga Guild | Young Adult (16+) – In terms of premise, My Sempai doesn’t sound terribly unique. A fresh-faced teenager, Hajime Amemiya, is being hassled by some thugs when he is rescued by cool and intimidating Saburo Ninomiya, who turns out to be an upperclassman at Hajime’s school. Immediately, a comedic tone is set when Hajime proceeds to stalk Ninomiya, pouncing on him from time to time while absurdly declaring, “I am a love vulture!!” Saburo attempts to discourage his interest at first, but when faced when Hajime’s inextinguishable belief in his being a better person than rumors suggest, he relents.

The boys start spending time together on the weekends—seeing movies, playing video games—and gradually get closer. Saburo’s not a very communicative guy, so instead of volunteering information about himself, he tells Hajime that he can ask anything he likes. It’s tough for Hajime to do this, though, so he’s pretty uncertain about how Saburo feels about him, and also feels left out when one of Saburo’s obnoxious friends (my least favorite character by far) spills the beans about a post-graduation job offer in Okinawa. They do make a cute couple, though, so I enjoyed their interactions. In addition, the chaste, fade-to-black consummation of their relationship has to be one of the happiest-looking I’ve ever seen in BL.

Habuyama’s artwork takes a bit of getting used to, as screentone (and maybe everything else, who knows?) appears to be rendered by computer. Eventually, though, I discovered that her style is particularly suited for outdoor scenes, especially at night, and there were quite a few wide-shot panels with composition worth admiring. I’m always a sucker for drawings of buildings, and there’s a particular image of a dejected Hajime standing on Saburo’s shadowy front porch that I remember as especially striking.

While some elements of My Sempai are not exactly original, I still found it a pleasant and generally humorous read. Habuyama writes in her afterword, “All that matters is that you laughed and enjoyed yourself. I draw with that intention.” I did both, so I’d call that a success.

– Review by Michelle Smith

Review copies provided by the publisher.

Disclosure: MJ is currently under contract with Digital Manga Publishing’s Digital Manga Guild, as necessitated for her ongoing report Inside the DMG. Any compensation earned by MJin her role as an editor with the DMG will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Tidbits: A Trio of Kodansha Shoujo

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I’m catching up on three of Kodansha’s currently running shoujo series, so I thought I’d group them all together here for a Tidbits post! First up are volumes four and five of Natsumi Ando’s suspenseful Arisa, followed by the second and final volume of Naoko Takeuchi’s Codename: Sailor V, with the second volume of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon bringing up the rear. Tidbit power, make up!

Arisa, Vols. 4-5 by Natsume Ando
Tsubasa Uehara continues to attend school in the guise of her sister, Arisa, as she endeavors to find the identity of the King who is fulfilling wishes from chosen students in dangerous ways. Her spirits flag when it seems she’s been unsuccessful in protecting the latest target, but when it turns out her efforts actually prevented the girl from sustaining permanent injury, her spirits rise. Alas, a friend’s betrayal is followed by an explanation of divided loyalties and the introduction of a pivotal new character with kind feelings towards Tsubasa but a burning hatred for Arisa.

So, there are several characters at this point who could be the King, but the strongest possibility seems to be Kudo, a transfer student who I had forgotten about entirely after reading volume three, so that tells you how memorable of a guy he is. Manabe doesn’t seem like the culprit, and neither does Arisa’s boyfriend, Midori, but it’s not out of the question. Mostly we see the King as a shadowy figure, grinning in a dastardly fashion as he does things like arrange for Tsubasa to fall off a cliff. (Side note: any time the female lead of a shoujo manga goes out into the woods at night, she is going to fall off a cliff. It’s, like, the law.) New character Shizuka seems like a potential candidate, until it’s revealed that the King is manipulating her into making wishes that will harm Arisa/Tsubasa.

All of this makes for a fast-paced and suspenseful read, but it does cause me to wonder whether Ando’s just making up all of this as she goes along. Does she really have a plan for who the King is, or is she keeping readers suspicious of everyone until inspired to take the story in a specific direction? I’m not exactly complaining—because, again, it is a fun read—but the lack of any kind of permanent gain is a little bit frustrating. I just hope there’s a satisfying and dramatic payoff in the end!

Codename: Sailor V, Vol. 2 by Naoko Takeuchi
It’s rather hard to like Minako for the majority of this volume, as several of the stories play up her shallow side. First she gets fat by eating too much evil chocolate, then she must contend with a trio of animal-themed siblings who unleash energy-sucking cats, dogs, and mosquitoes upon the populace. Minako slacks off frequently and makes various unkind comments to her long-suffering feline companion, Artemis. She also meets the latest idol sensation, handsome and mysterious Phantom Ace, and becomes one of his biggest fans.

There’s not really a whole lot to recommend these chapters except more of Sailor V’s amusing speeches, like this one, which occurs as she’s foiling the enemy’s scheme to collect energy via blood donation:

You have used clever words to abscond with a precious tribute of blood from weakened hospital patients! That is your crime!

And to add to it, you have sullied a woman’s simple joy of collecting stamps!

Worse, you forgot to give me my reward for donating blood to the tune of 800cc! And that crime is grave!

Luckily, though the premise of the final two chapters is just as silly as what’s come before—Minako is ordered to win the part of Ace’s leading lady in his latest project, filming in China, so that she can observe his potentially evil production company—it doesn’t preclude genuine dramatic impact. Though Minako entertains fantasies of marrying Ace and retiring, when he professes his to love her, she realizes that it’s not what she wants. She loves being Sailor V and, furthermore, remembers making a promise to protect an important person. Eventually, her memories fully awaken and her Sailor V costume is replaced by one matching the design of the other senshi. It’s kind of goosebump-inducing.

Though I’ve read this series before (with translations), I had completely forgotten that Ace had any connection at all to Minako’s past life, so was pleasantly surprised by that revelation as well as by this awesomely grim quote:

Your love will never be granted, for all eternity… Your love or your duty… now you can live the rest of your life never having to worry about the tortures of deciding between them. Your fate is to battle on. Because your true battle starts now.

How could I have forgotten that?! Minako is a girl who is always falling (if superficially) in love, so she can’t welcome this news, but neither does she shirk from her destiny. Ever irrepressible, she ends the series on an upbeat note, poised to show (if I recall rightly) greater maturity and determination when she joins the others in the main series.

Ultimately, Codename: Sailor V is worthwhile despite its flaws. We never learn what the enemy was hoping to achieve, nor the identity of “Boss” (though the second volume of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon provides some insight on the matter), but we do meet a special, spunky girl as she comes to accept her unique destiny, and that can never be a bad thing.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 2 by Naoko Takeuchi
A lot happens in this volume, which I shall attempt to quickly summarize. When facing off against Zoisite, the girls are rescued by the timely arrival of Sailor Venus. Minako is now in her second year of middle school and comes across as very mature, competent, and serious about her duty. She’s been monitoring Usagi through the Sailor V game and has also been researching the enemy. She provides all sorts of information about the Dark Kingdom and also claims (well, Artemis claims) that she is Princess Serenity. Her proximity triggers some past-life memories in the others, as well.

However, Usagi starts having dreams that suggest that she was actually Serenity, and when Mamoru is injured protecting her from one of Kunzite’s attacks, one of her tears transforms into the Legendary Silver Crystal and her true identity is revealed. (The bit with Venus was evidently a ruse to direct enemy attacks onto a more experienced Guardian.) Mamoru is subsequently kidnapped by the Dark Kingdom and eventually used as Queen Beryl’s pawn, securing the crystal for her by volume’s end.

So, all of this is very dramatic and shoujo-tastic while it occurs and I honestly loved every minute of it. There are a couple of things that I found especially interesting, though. The first is how much information we get on the enemy compared to the dearth of intel provided in Codename: Sailor V. We see, for example, a flashback to the moment in which Beryl was “irresistibly drawn to” the North Pole, where she discovered the remains of the Dark Kingdom. This made me wonder… was Beryl reborn on Earth as a regular human, just like the Guardians? And did she waken to her past memories as the seal imprisoning Metalia faded?

We also learn a bit about the Four Kings of Heaven, who were generals to Endymion (Mamoru’s past identity) that were swayed into becoming Metalia’s devotees. I’m not exactly sure about this, but it seems as if their bodies had been converted into crystals and recently awakened into human form at Metalia’s whim, and that they can be revived as many times as necessary. Somehow this is sadder and more sympathetic than if they had just been some regular guys suddenly remembering their previous lives.

The second thing that struck me was how much certain elements of the story remind me of Please Save My Earth. Usagi and friends living on the moon in their past lives is the most obvious resemblance, but there’s also the fact that Usagi is troubled by questions of identity brought on by these recollections (“Am I becoming the princess? It’s like I’ve stopped being me…”) and that the residents of the Moon Kingdom were tasked with fondly watching over Earth and helping it to evolve in the best manner possible. They actually travel to the moon to listen to a computerized incarnation of Queen Serenity tell them about the tragic events of the past and how Metalia must be sealed away for good. (She was also responsible for waking Artemis and Luna from the stasis they entered after the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, which makes me suspect that she is “Boss.”)

I could probably go on for another five hundred words, which just goes to show how engaging this story is. It wouldn’t be a Kodansha review if I didn’t complain about the typos—seeing the word “it’s” used instead of “its” is even more painful when it’s part of genius Ami’s dialogue—but even their irksome presence does not detract from the enjoyment I derive from reading this series.

Manga Bestsellers: 2012, Week Ending 1 January

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

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Manga Bestsellers

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [460.5] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [443.5] ::
3. ↑4 (7) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [432.5] ::
4. ↑2 (6) : Fullmetal Alchemist 27 – Viz, Dec 2011 [424.5] ::
5. ↓-3 (2) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [419.3] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [413.5] ::
7. ↓-3 (4) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [412.8] ::
8. ↑5 (13) : Ouran High School Host Club 17 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2011 [366.5] ::
9. ↑33 (42) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [336.5] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Black Butler 7 – Yen Press, Oct 2011 [329.6] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 89
Yen Press 76
Viz Shojo Beat 66
Kodansha Comics 42
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 35
Vizkids 23
Seven Seas 21
DMP Juné 18
HC/Tokyopop 14
Dark Horse 11

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,089.0] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [944.6] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [791.5] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Black Butler – Yen Press [765.3] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [628.9] ::
6. ↑3 (9) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [580.7] ::
7. ↓-2 (5) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [543.1] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [491.5] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Pokemon – Vizkids [482.3] ::
10. ↑10 (20) : Black Bird – Viz Shojo Beat [470.7] ::

[more]

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

3. ↑4 (7) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [432.5] ::
4. ↑2 (6) : Fullmetal Alchemist 27 – Viz, Dec 2011 [424.5] ::
5. ↓-3 (2) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [419.3] ::
7. ↓-3 (4) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [412.8] ::
8. ↑5 (13) : Ouran High School Host Club 17 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2011 [366.5] ::
16. ↑10 (26) : xxxHolic 18 – Kodansha Comics, Dec 2011 [285.4] ::
18. ↓-1 (17) : Bleach 37 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [276.5] ::
21. ↑38 (59) : Black Bird 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2012 [263.9] ::
23. ↑8 (31) : Blue Exorcist 5 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Dec 2011 [254.8] ::
30. ↑9 (39) : K-On! 4 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [217.2] ::

[more]

Preorders

9. ↑33 (42) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [336.5] ::
15. ↑3 (18) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [285.7] ::
26. ↓-2 (24) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [243.0] ::
44. ↑7 (51) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [188.8] ::
101. ↓-4 (97) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [99.5] ::
103. ↑8 (111) : xxxHolic 19 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2012 [98.3] ::
128. ↓-6 (122) : Kannagi 4 – Bandai, Cancelled [84.8] ::
156. ↓-2 (154) : Toradora! 4 – Seven Seas, Apr 2012 [71.9] ::
172. ↓-8 (164) : Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 4 – Seven Seas, Mar 2012 [67.8] ::
181. ↓-10 (171) : Bamboo Blade 12 – Yen Press, Mar 2012 [63.0] ::

[more]

Manhwa

220. ↑344 (564) : JTF-3 Counter Ops (ebook) – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [53.2] ::
305. ↑883 (1188) : Angel Diary 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2009 [38.6] ::
330. ↑ (last ranked 18 Dec 11) : Totally Captivated 6 – Netcomics, Feb 2009 [34.0] ::
369. ↑474 (843) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [30.1] ::
425. ↑262 (687) : Angel Diary 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2006 [24.8] ::
534. ↑905 (1439) : Angel Diary 13 – Yen Press, Dec 2010 [18.0] ::
545. ↑310 (855) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [17.6] ::
573. ↓-254 (319) : Tarot Cafe 1 – Tokyopop, Mar 2005 [16.3] ::
578. ↑185 (763) : March Story 2 – Viz Signature, Apr 2011 [16.1] ::
668. ↓-73 (595) : March Story 1 – Viz Signature, Oct 2010 [12.3] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

54. ↑83 (137) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [156.1] ::
76. ↑2 (78) : Mr. Tiger & Mr. Wolf – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [123.7] ::
80. ↑23 (103) : A Fallen Saint’s Kiss – 801 Media, Jan 2012 [120.6] ::
126. ↑14 (140) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [85.3] ::
139. ↑37 (176) : Finder Series 4 Prisoner in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Aug 2011 [79.1] ::
143. ↑271 (414) : Yakuza Cafe – DMP Juné, Oct 2011 [76.9] ::
145. ↓-11 (134) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [75.9] ::
163. ↑35 (198) : Seven Days Friday-Sunday – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [70.1] ::
244. ↓-17 (227) : Only Serious About You 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [46.5] ::
262. ↑117 (379) : Private Teacher 1 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [44.5] ::

[more]

Ebooks

54. ↑83 (137) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [156.1] ::
61. ↑5 (66) : Manga Moods – Japanime’s Manga University, Mar 2006 [141.2] ::
73. ↑412 (485) : Amazing Agent Luna 6 – Seven Seas, Sep 2010 [126.6] ::
74. ↑194 (268) : Vampire Cheerleaders 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2011 [125.5] ::
78. ↑20 (98) : Manga Cookbook – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [121.8] ::
83. ↑273 (356) : Dragon Ball Z Legend: The Quest Continues – Cocoro Books, May 2004 [113.5] ::
89. ↑501 (590) : The Outcast 1 – Seven Seas, Sep 2007 [107.2] ::
93. ↑288 (381) : Fruits Basket Uncovered: The Secrets of the Sohmas – Cocoro Books, Mar 2007 [103.8] ::
97. ↑599 (696) : How to Draw Manga (ebook) Lesson 1 Eyes – Japanime’s Manga University, May 2011 [102.1] ::
112. ↑751 (863) : Amazing Agent Luna 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2005 [92.0] ::

[more]

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

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From the back cover:
You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret… is to press play.

Clay Jensen doesn’t want anything to do with the tapes Hannah Baker made. Hannah is dead, he reasons. Her secrets should be buried with her.

Then Hannah’s voice tells Clay that his name is on her tapes—and that he is, in some way, responsible for her death.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening. He follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his small town…

… and what he discovers changes his life forever.

Review:
I finished Thirteen Reasons Why yesterday and I’m still not sure what I think of it. Oh, I was certainly captivated by it, but was that because it’s well written or was it because it deals dramatically with hot-button issues? Maybe it’s a little bit of both.

Hannah Baker is a girl tormented by a reputation founded on rumor. And this reputation is the first block upon which many successively crappy incidents build until Hannah is seriously contemplating suicide. First, though, she records a series of tapes elucidating the thirteen reasons why she is planning to kill herself and sends it to the first person on the list. Each recipient is to forward the tapes on to the next person featured, with the threat that a second set of tapes will be made public if Hannah’s wishes aren’t followed. When nice guy Clay Jensen gets the tapes, he’s baffled: what did he ever do to Hannah?

As I listed to Hannah’s story, I was torn between finding the momentous quantity of suck in her life unbelievable (not to mention occasionally self-inflicted) and feeling sympathy for someone who just seemed cursed. But maybe this is the point. Maybe we are supposed to feel simultaneously irritated and sympathetic towards her. Circumstances that are overwhelming for one person won’t necessarily appear that way to someone else, and so maybe it’s natural to think “why didn’t she do this or that?” and forget that she’s just a traumatized kid.

One thing that bugged me about Hannah is actually a sign of decent characterization, and that’s her tendency to say one thing but expect others to know that she didn’t mean it and to push for more honesty from her. She wanted a sign that people cared enough not to just accept her assurances that she was fine. And, yes, that’s manipulative, but this is a suicidal teenager we’re talking about here. As for Clay… this isn’t really his story. He reacts to Hannah’s story throughout, and is motivated by it to no longer ignore signs that people may be hurting, but he’s sort of along for the ride with the reader.

In the end, I liked the book enough to seek out more by Jay Asher. I also want to commend the narrators of the unabridged audio edition—Joel Johnstone and Debra Wiseman—for a job well done. Wiseman as Hannah initially came across as a little too snarky, calm, and strong for the part, but I liked her quite a lot by the end. In fact, audio is a great way to “read” this book, given that most of it is Clay listening to the cassettes. I do have to wonder how much of the target audience even know what those are…

Adventures in the Key of Shoujo: Sailor Moon, Vol.1

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Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 | By Naoko Takeuchi | Published by Kodansha Comics USA | Rated: T, Ages 13+

“I’m… the pretty guardian in a sailor suit! Guardian of love and justice! Sailor Moon!”

Working on a simple premise… (Follow my logic, would you?) If you took a squad of girls, magical powers, tokusatsu-style fighting, and a viciously unassuming story arc and threw them into a blender, what would you get? My-Hime, that’s what. But before My-Hime—before all that—there was Sailor Moon, an archetypal series that influenced the entire genre of magical girls within manga and anime. To this day, Fred Patten states that it introduced the idea of the magical girl team into the medium’s subconscious. The brainchild of artist Naoko Takeuchi, the sheer weight of its importance leans heavily on everything that came after it.

Simply put, the Great Ruler of the Dark Kingdom wants energy leeched from humans and the Legendary Silver Crystal that goes with it. With that, they can rule the world. All that stands between them and success is a small, black cat called Luna (who can talk and has a mark on her head in the shape of a crescent moon) and a team of fourteen-year-old girls who wear exaggerated versions of Japanese school sailor outfits and have magical powers, and whose code names are taken from the names of the planets in the solar system. Leading the team is a complete klutz named Usagi Tsukino who takes on the persona of Sailor Moon. Also into the mix goes Tuxedo Mask, a young man who dresses in a gentleman’s evening attire and wears (you guessed it) a mask. He likes to help Sailor Moon, but he has his own reasons as well. The girls are soldiers (or senshi) in a war against the enemies of love, truth and justice. And so the board is set, the players are moving, and the game can begin.

So why has it taken this long to write the review, seeing as I received the manga over two weeks ago? I think it’s the awe in which the series is held. Sailor Moon has a fanbase that rivals even Dragonball or Evangelion. Dragonball is an interesting title to compare, in terms of its Western audience. For the most part, the perception is that Dragonball found a large male audience and Sailor Moon, a large female audience. I say “perception” because market analysis can only tell you so much. But it’s unfair to label Sailor Moon as Dragonball for girls, as I once did. The two series are worlds apart in their execution, tone and setting. Yet, I cannot discount the idea that each gender can find something in both stories that resonates with them.

My failing was that I decided that girls could like Dragonball but boys couldn’t like Sailor Moon, because there was nothing there for them to latch onto. I think what set me on that foolish path was the God-awful treatment that Sailor Moon received at the hands of DIC Entertainment when the animated version of the story came to European English-speaking shores. DIC made it sound like the most girly of enterprises (something no self-respecting angsty teenager would be caught dead liking), where the girls were all airheads and the villains were dead simple. The show was never going to attract a boy who had grown up with He-Man. It was not going to happen for me. And so, I ignored it.

But the fanbase, as I’ve said, is relentless. Every time you look at cosplayers, someone is dressed as Sailor Moon. So I would speak with people who talked about the story as if it was manna from Heaven. They ranged from cosplayers who said the series was their gateway into anime, to those who had been reading the manga since the 1990s TOKYOPOP editions. Interestingly, the anime breaking into North America is credited by many as the event that destroyed the grip the male, 15-25 demographic had on driving anime sales in America since the 1980s. Today, the market leans more heavily toward female fans than male fans of anime, manga, and J-Culture, so it’s a testament to the series that it had and still has that effect on the fans.

Still, I’m confused about Sailor Moon. Mostly because I cannot figure out where Takeuchi is going with it in this first volume, or indeed if she’s got some kind of plan going even here in the opening act. On the surface, Usagi is a airhead more concerned with being a girly girl, hanging out with her friends, and playing video games at the local arcade than entertaining the notion that she should be doing anything to save the world. Even when she accepts being Sailor Moon, she still doesn’t want to be put into scary situations by Luna. It makes for a nice intro to the character for whom we will ostensibly be rooting for the next however many volumes. The spoken-diary entries that Usagi has are something to behold. She tells us every single time a new chapter starts who she is, where she is from, what recently happened, and what is happening now. I know that this is because of the fact that Sailor Moon was serialized in Nakayoshi Magazine—to keep new readers in the loop, Takeuchi wrote those in—but the aftereffect is that Usagi comes across as even more bubbly, and this is a good thing.

The tone of the fight that the Sailors are in and the opposition that the author sets is one of innocence that can only be derived from a teenager’s perspective. When I was 14, the people who had it in for me in school wanted to beat me up and throw water over me, but they didn’t want me dead. For all the Dark Kingdom’s mwah-ha-ha-ha and general evilness, I cannot take them seriously. They are defeated by a dunderhead every single time. Then the dunderhead gets her own team of crack commandos and the bad guys get trounced, again and again, by a bunch of fourteen-year-olds who only got their powers recently. Even when they are vanquished, the villains treat it like “Bah! Another setback!”

Some people would argue that Sailor Moon has a lot of evidence of plot conveniences for the sake of convenience; I counter the argument because the same evidence is rather exculpatory in nature. To explain, while I want to say that the whole “You are destined to become a team of magical fighting girls!” thing is a little too convenient, the truth is that’s how all good quest stories start and since I don’t really have a problem with them, I don’t have a really big problem with Sailor Moon doing it, either. So the girls are destined to be a team of superheroes not because they were destined to be so, but because Luna had been keeping an eye on all of them. The same can be said for the items that the senshi use to defeat the forces of darkness. Usagi, we have established, plays video games at the arcade. She gets prizes every time she gets a high score. These items look very suspicious and don’t look like the usual tat, if you get my meaning. However, throughout this smoke-and-mirrors routine I can see a kind of epic gathering of heroes (the girls being recruited) and figures of cruelty and infamy (Dark Kingdom’s minions) moving around and cannot wait to see what happens next.

Artwork-wise, I cannot say enough good things about it. From Usagi’s transformation sequence to Luna’s little interstitial at the start of one of the chapters telling us who’s in the team, its biographical details and any allies and enemies, the art is really sweet and genuine to look at. Graceful and elegant, it still has its quick thumbnail drawings of our heroes and heroines to speed us through a page. There are real examples in the pages that Takeuchi is using mise-en-scène* to build a colorful and coherent stage that her actors are moving around. The whirling fog that surrounds our heroes when the enemy has the upper hand or when the senshi reveal to the villain (and, by extension, the audience) their power and become light-filled are but two such examples. The moments of tranquility when Tuxedo Mask dances with and around Sailor Moon are wonderful. Even as a battle-hardened, knowledgeable young man of 30, I can understand the feeling of falling for someone and feeling like the whole world stopped for that moment. Takeuchi gives her leads a distinctive look and you’d never confuse one Sailor Senshi for another, even in their uniforms. Plus, she never makes the fact that they dress in sailor outfits into something crass. With the supporting cast it’s a little more difficult to keep an eye on who’s who but I don’t mind that so much at this point, as they don’t contribute much.

It’s interesting, both in terms of storytelling and, of course, artwork, to see the different types of girls who get recruited into being Sailor Senshi become staples of magical girl stereotypes. There’s the ditzy girl, the smart girl, and the girl who works at the shrine. I don’t doubt that I’ll see even more types emerge as the series goes on. While Sailor Moon didn’t invent these types for the most part, it perfected them. The chief bad guys are also designed this way: they have been around before but never in this context and setting. The more I reread this volume, the more I wonder if I’ve been wrong about a great number of shows and manga that I’ve passed by simply by having a prejudiced opinion. As an aside, the translation by William Flanagan is spot-on and I’m, as always, grateful for the liner notes at the back to make sense of the nuances within Japanese culture.

Ultimately, Sailor Moon works because you get swept up by the story. The idea of battling evil-doers over rooftops or in exotic locations with brave allies and with nothing more than the power you have inside of you is something we know from when we were little and read fairy tales. Later we dismiss such stories as mere whimsy. Usagi and her friends are living in a fairy tale and I can and will wholeheartedly continue to embrace this whimsy for as long as it lasts.

* Mise-en-scène is a French term which literally means “placing on stage” and refers to the art of placing elements (actors, props, sets, lighting) in front of the viewer in order to immerse them in the story. Where the actors are placed within a scene and how they move in the scene are also elements within mise-en-scène.

Review copy bought by reviewer

Wrapping it up with Ribon Magazine

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If Nakayoshi is the Queen of Shoujo magazines, Ribon is the Grand Duchess. Begun in 1955, Shueisha’s Ribon magazine is one of the unquestionable leaders in shoujo manga, with Kodansha’s Nakayoshi and Shogakukan’s Ciao magazines. Each issue of Ribon is approximately 550 pages. At 480 yen ($6.24 at time of writing), you’re getting more than a page per yen, plus fabulous presents -called furoku – with each magazine. Furoku are commonly stationery and pens or pencils, hair or phone acessories or bags of many shapes and kinds. (We have piles of Ribon furoku in my house. Sometime we get the magazine just for the goo-gaws.)

Ribon was home to the first “magical girl” series, Mahoutsukai Sally and the arguably first Yuri manga series, Shiroi Heya no Futari.

If you’ve been involved in the manga scene for any length of time, Ribon series will be very familiar names. Some notable series from Ribon are Marmalade Boy, Hime-chan no Ribon (now resurrected with a news series, Hime-chan no Ribon Colorful), and those series made so popular in the early days of Tokyopop and Viz Shoujo; Kodomo no Omocha (published in English as Kodocha: Sana’s Stage,) Ultra Maniac, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and many of Arina Tanemura’s most popular series, like Full Moon o Sagashite. Currently running in the pages of Ribon is Tanemura’s “Sakura Hime Kaden,” published in English by Viz as Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura. I was reading Ribon myself for Eban Fumi’s Yuri series Blue Friend, which was popular enough to get a second “season” and has recently wrapped up.

Of course Ribon has a website: http://ribon.shueisha.co.jp/ The site includes pages for this month’s issue, next month’s issue – a separate page for the furoku included with this month’s issue (I’m not kidding when I say the furoku is a major player here) – manga currently available in collected volumes, Manga how-to tips, information for the in-house manga competition to find new artists, and extras of many kinds, including cover page wallpapers, games, previews of new manga, profiles of readers, aka “Ribon Girls” and more. All of it surrounded by heart-filled, polka-dotted backgrounds and spinning, moving scrolling ads. It’s fantastic, really. You should take a look.

When most westerners think of “shoujo” style art, they tend to think of the Ribon house style; oval faces with slightly pointed chins, eyes not as large as Nakayoshi‘s house style, held up by long necks. Where Nakayoshi tends toward stories that glitter and shine, Ribon stories are more grounded, with real-life situations and pressures playing a major part of the drama. Think Kodomo no Omocha‘s Sana, mixing stories of being one of the beautiful people with real-life family crises.

Ribon is, to my mind, the paragon of current shoujo sensibility. While monthly readership has dropped in 2010 , 243,334 readers a month is something that few American magazines can boast.

The Grand Duchess of shoujo manga, Ribon magazine: http://ribon.shueisha.co.jp/

Manga the Week of 1/25

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We’re back, and I hope many of you know the difference between fighting piracy and handing over absolute power to multinational corporations. Now it’s time to see what’s out the last week of January, as we have quite a few tasty treats.

Dark Horse releases the 3rd Cardcaptor Sakura omnibus, aka the first three ‘Master of the Clow’ books. Now that Sakura has captured all the cards, what’s left? Well, for one things, Eriol is still around. And for another, there’s that pesky romantic subplot. Any fan of manga should have this series in some form, and Dark Horse’s reissue is fantastic.

Digital Manga Publishing apparently have realized that Diamond didn’t ship any of their stuff for a couple of months now, and have an absolute pile of things coming out. About Love, which is actually about Wedding Planners, but I think love fits in there somewhere as well. Vol. 5 of Finder and Vol. 6 of Vampire Hunter D. New volumes of Kabuki (Green), Moon and Blood, Only Serious About You, Private Teacher, and The Tyrant Falls In Love. And one-shots Mr. Convenience (insert Open All Night joke here), Storm Flower, and the fantastically titled Secrecy of the Shivering Night. For the yaoi fan, it’s an absolute bonanza (provided they have enough cash to get this Viz blitz worth of manga.)

One week after hitting bookstores, Sailor Moon 3 arrives in Diamond right on time. This volume will wrap up the first ‘arc’ and begin the second, introducing new fans to the wonder that is Chibi-Usa. (I kid.) There’s also a new volume of shoujo suspense series Arisa.

Lastly, Viz has Vol. 5 of Afterschool Charisma, which I think some folks may have seen earlier, but seems to just be hitting Midtown now. Support your local Ikki title.

What’s ready to leap into your shopping basket?

Combat Commentary: Naruto Vol. 2, Ch. 12–15

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Fight scenes are practically synonymous with manga and anime. Few people can think of anime without thinking of two over-muscled men throwing energy beams and punches at each other while screaming for minutes on end.

These people are wrong, and most likely stopped paying attention to anime and manga back when Dragonball Z first came out in the west. Not only is there obviously much more to manga than fighting, but even shounen manga, the posterboys for fighting series, go beyond two muscled mastodons beating the crap out of each other.

Fight scenes in manga can range from straightforward, brutal beatings to calculated strategic encounters between two opponents. The purpose of this column is to explore the many flavors of fight scenes found in shounen manga, as well as some shoujo and seinen manga.

For many manga fans, Naruto was one of the first series they ever read. And while the series’ value is hotly debated among the various camps of manga fans, it cannot be denied that in its early run, Naruto was very different from the typical shounen battle manga. Fights were developed and executed in a much more cerebral way, making them far more interesting to read.

(click images to enlarge)

The most indicative of this style is in volume two, chapters twelve to fifteen—the first fight against Zabuza. The fight begins with Zabuza being set up as a serious threat, both through his actions and the words of others. He is shown as being on par with (and momentarily superior to) Kakashi, who until this point has been the strongest ninja in the series. With Kakashi (a ninja who has already bested Naruto and his team) incapacitated, the protagonists find themselves facing an opponent they cannot best physically.

So they do what they did not do when fighting Kakashi; they use teamwork and tactics. The climax of the fight involves Naruto using a complex strategy involving turning into a throwing star to get get behind Zabuza and free Kakashi.

Some might say that Naruto and Sasuke failed, as Zabuza was taken down by Kakashi in the end. And they would be correct, if not for the fact that the purpose of the fight was not to defeat Zabuza, but instead to free Kakashi so that he could defeat Zabuza. With this goal accomplished, the fight was a success for Naruto and Sasuke. And since two twelve year olds taking out an adult is ludicrous, this is essentially one of the only ways to have resolved the fight while remaining believable, or as believable as any shounen manga ever gets. Masaki Kishimoto understood his characters’ limitations, and set up a battle in which they could be victorious while still remaining true to those limitations.

The fight focuses on intelligence over brute force, and if one thinks of fight scenes as a mystery plot in which the mystery to be solved is how the opponent can be defeated, then it becomes easier to determine what makes a good fight scene. No one would ever consider a mystery story where the protagonist stumbles upon the answer rather than working it out for themselves to be a good example of the genre.

Likewise, sudden powerups only work to a fight’s detriment. What sets Naruto apart in the early chapters is that most of the fight scenes progress like the fight against Zabuza did, with focus being given to fighting tactics rather than power levels. The way opponents are defeated involves intelligent solutions more often than not, which makes the fights more intellectually stimulating than their cousins.

Derek Bown writes anime and manga reviews at Burning Lizard Studios. If you have any fight scenes from manga you want him to look at, mention them in the comments. 

Dorohedoro, Vol. 5

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By Q Hayashida. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Ikki. Released in North America by Viz.

For a volume with as much plot going on as this Dorohedoro has, it’s interesting how much I found myself drawn to the little things going on in the background. Not just the art itself, which continues to be absolutely amazing, but the things you don’t always notice first time around. Hayashida tends to have any long, detailed exposition in her work contrasted with someone else doing something stupid in the background while it’s going on. Ebisu’s search for her fake breasts (and subsequent use of Judas’ Ear as a replacement) in the midst of En telling the story of how Shin and Noi became partners is priceless, and shows a real love of craft – the conversation is static, so *something* else has to be going on.

Speaking of Noi, she gets the cover this time around, and we get a glimpse into some of her backstory with Shin. The fact that Noi was in training to become a demon is not nearly as surprising to me as seeing that Noi was originally a fairly normal-sized high school girl. Now yes, En said she was training with 150-kilo armor, but the fact of the matter is that she failed her training, and at the end of the flashback still seems to be fairly lithe. How on earth did she bulk up to the huge, muscular Noi we know and love? That being said, the story with her and Shin is short and sweet, and shows Noi’s protective instincts and healing powers off. Noi is probably my favorite character in the manga, so I loved seeing this.

Then there’s Caiman, who’s down in the sorcerer’s world trying to get more info on his head, this time without Nikaido there to back him up. Naturally he gets into trouble, but he manages to get rescued. Much of Dorohedoro seems to revel in showing us hideous creatures in terrifying masks, and then later revealing that they’re just typical people trying to earn a living and stay alive. Even if they *do* have magic powers and/or mutations. Fukuyama is the author’s second “surprise! really a female!” character, and her “magic ability” is both disgusting and hilarious, but Tanba’s the really impressive one here, and I hope we see more of him.

There is a plot here, believe it or not, mostly centering around the “Blue Night” festival, where partnerships are formed and current partnerships are kept and/or broken up. Frequently by force. It becomes apparent that a good way to form partnerships is apparently by knocking your intended unconscious. Hopefully Shin and Noi will be able to reunite and work things out in Vol. 6. (Noi’s outfit, by the way, is yet another example of the odd sense of fanservice that Hayashida has.) En, meanwhile, is still obsessed with finding the sorcerer who can control time… and has finally narrowed it down to our heroine. Indeed, the volume ends with Nikaido literally “dropping in” on En and company. Much to her displeasure.

Things seem to be picking up speed in this volume, and there’s less emphasis on world building and more on the plot. That’s good, because the plot is compelling. You find yourselves rooting for both “sides” to work things out, even if you know it’s unlikely. Heck, even En is fairly sympathetic, even as he tries to bring Nikaido under his control. This continues for me to be one of the most addictive series around, and I cannot wait for Vol. 6. Apparently Viz can’t either, as it’s out in April. Slightly sped up schedule? Win!

Manga Bestsellers: 2011, Week Ending 25 December

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↑1 (2) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [459.8] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [449.3] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [448.5] ::
4. ↓-3 (1) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [432.3] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [427.5] ::
6. ↑17 (23) : Fullmetal Alchemist 27 – Viz, Dec 2011 [371.0] ::
7. ↑7 (14) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [368.1] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [355.5] ::
9. ↑4 (13) : Black Butler 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2010 [345.1] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Black Butler 7 – Yen Press, Oct 2011 [318.5] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 102
Yen Press 75
Viz Shojo Beat 65
Kodansha Comics 40
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 32
Vizkids 32
Del Rey 17
HC/Tokyopop 15
Dark Horse 14
Tokyopop 14

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,087.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [936.3] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [887.6] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Black Butler – Yen Press [783.1] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [627.2] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [601.2] ::
7. ↑4 (11) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [591.2] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Pokemon – Vizkids [579.9] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [531.9] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Legend of Zelda – Vizkids [530.3] ::

[more]

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

1. ↑1 (2) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [459.8] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [449.3] ::
4. ↓-3 (1) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [432.3] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [427.5] ::
6. ↑17 (23) : Fullmetal Alchemist 27 – Viz, Dec 2011 [371.0] ::
13. ↓-6 (7) : Ouran High School Host Club 17 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2011 [309.3] ::
17. ↓-2 (15) : Bleach 37 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [282.0] ::
22. ↓-4 (18) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 2 – HarperCollins, Nov 2011 [266.3] ::
26. ↑17 (43) : xxxHolic 18 – Kodansha Comics, Dec 2011 [245.6] ::
27. ↑5 (32) : One Piece 59 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [243.6] ::

[more]

Preorders

7. ↑7 (14) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [368.1] ::
18. ↑22 (40) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [273.7] ::
24. ↑24 (48) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [256.6] ::
42. ↑72 (114) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [195.4] ::
51. ↑10 (61) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [169.2] ::
59. ↑188 (247) : Black Bird 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2012 [144.8] ::
71. ↑21 (92) : Negima! 33 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [127.2] ::
85. ↑10 (95) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 11 – Seven Seas, Jan 2012 [111.6] ::
97. ↑7 (104) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [102.9] ::
103. ↑24 (127) : A Fallen Saint’s Kiss – 801 Media, Jan 2012 [98.4] ::

[more]

Manhwa

319. ↑867 (1186) : Tarot Cafe 1 – Tokyopop, Mar 2005 [33.5] ::
404. ↓-82 (322) : Angel Diary 11 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [25.9] ::
512. ↑new (0) : Banya The Explosive Delivery Man 3 – Dark Horse, Mar 2007 [18.1] ::
564. ↑181 (745) : JTF-3 Counter Ops (ebook) – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [16.2] ::
595. ↑102 (697) : March Story 1 – Viz Signature, Oct 2010 [14.9] ::
687. ↑486 (1173) : Angel Diary 3 – Yen Press, Jul 2006 [11.3] ::
690. ↑424 (1114) : Angel Diary 4 – Yen Press, Oct 2006 [11.2] ::
728. ↑1101 (1829) : Angel Diary 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2006 [10.0] ::
737. ↑228 (965) : Bride of the Water God 1 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [9.8] ::
762. ↓-142 (620) : Bride of the Water God 8 – Dark Horse, May 2011 [8.9] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

78. ↑15 (93) : Mr. Tiger & Mr. Wolf – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [114.8] ::
103. ↑24 (127) : A Fallen Saint’s Kiss – 801 Media, Jan 2012 [98.4] ::
134. ↓-37 (97) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [83.9] ::
137. ↑103 (240) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [82.6] ::
140. ↓-1 (139) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [81.2] ::
176. ↓-45 (131) : Finder Series 4 Prisoner in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Aug 2011 [67.3] ::
198. ↓-46 (152) : Seven Days Friday-Sunday – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [60.8] ::
227. ↑3 (230) : Only Serious About You 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [51.5] ::
265. ↓-63 (202) : Black Sun 2 – 801 Media, Dec 2011 [44.7] ::
283. ↓-9 (274) : Secrecy of the Shivering Night – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [41.1] ::

[more]

Ebooks

66. ↑18 (84) : Manga Moods – Japanime’s Manga University, Mar 2006 [132.7] ::
98. ↑10 (108) : Manga Cookbook – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [102.7] ::
137. ↑103 (240) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [82.6] ::
159. ↑49 (208) : Amazing Agent Luna Prequel: Amazing Agent Jennifer 2 – Seven Seas, Jan 2012 [74.8] ::
247. ↑254 (501) : Kanji de Manga 1 – Japanime’s Manga University, Jan 2005 [47.5] ::
268. ↑224 (492) : Vampire Cheerleaders 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2011 [44.3] ::
272. ↓-155 (117) : Papa’s One Summer (ebook) – Stren Co. Ltd., Mar 2011 [43.5] ::
316. ↑367 (683) : I am an Alien. I have a Question. (ebook) 1 – [self-published, Yoshitaka Abe], Mar 2010 [34.1] ::
336. ↑677 (1013) : Vampire Hunter D (manga) 1 – DMP, Nov 2007 [31.6] ::
356. ↑404 (760) : Dragon Ball Z Legend: The Quest Continues – Cocoro Books, May 2004 [30.0] ::

[more]

Bookshelf Briefs 1/16/12

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This week, MJ, Michelle, Kate, and Sean take a look at recent releases from Yen Press, Viz Media, and Kodansha Comics.

13th Boy, Vol. 10 | By SangEun Lee | Yen Press – I swear, this series just keeps getting better and better. About the only thing keeping it from a perfect score in my book is the occasional obnoxious behavior from protagonist Hee-So, but the well-executed story and character growth more than make up for that. In this volume, Beatrice the erstwhile cactus strives to establish independence (and learns the price Whie-Young pays for using his power), Hee-So does her best to see Beatrice as an ordinary boy with legitimate feelings for her, Whie-Young is given the chance for a normal lifespan if he meets a specific condition, and one of the aspects of that condition falls in to place. This last is a great twist that leaves me honestly rather terrified about what’s in store for these characters in the final two volumes—which I need right now, please—but I wouldn’t have it any other way. – Michelle Smith

Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 5 | By Kumiko Suekane | Viz Media – For most of the series, Kai, St. Kleio’s only “ordinary” student, has remained an enigma. Volume five at last sheds light on Kai’s origins with a lengthy flashback in which he discovers that he, too, is a clone. These scenes bristle with tension; one can feel Kai’s frustration as he struggles to assert his unique identity, in spite of the fact his clone looks and acts just like him. Kai’s backstory serves another important purpose as well, offering several important clues about St. Kleio’s true purpose. Though volume five is one of the most information-dense installments of Afterschool Charisma to date, crack pacing, surprise twists, and a cliffhanger ending make it a swift and engaging read. – Katherine Dacey

Bamboo Blade, Vol. 11 | By Masahiro Totsuka and Aguri Igarashi | Yen Press – The start and end of this volume focuses on the self-doubts and backstory of Saya, the large tsukkomi of our little group of kendoists, and makes you think that this volume will be about the main cast. But just like Vol. 10 focused its attention on Ura and her backstory, here we get introduced to more participants in the television show that Kojiro’s team is going to be doing. There’s not much new here – the jealous actress who realizes that her co-star can outshine her in any athletic event has been seen in manga before this – but it’s still a good mine for humor, especially watching her flip moods and beat the hell out of her manager (and later yell at him for sexism, probably the manga’s best moment). Still, as enjoyable as this has been, and as much fun as Totsuka-san can make things, I’m really ready for the TV show to actually happen. I hope we see it in Vol. 12.-Sean Gaffney

Bleach, Vols. 36-37 | By Tite Kubo | Viz Media – Volume 36 is the best volume of Bleach since the conclusion of the Soul Society arc, as it takes us away from the interminable battle to rescue Orihime from Hueco Mundo and focuses instead on the history of enigmatic Kisuke Urahara and the first, secret betrayal by certain villainous Soul Reapers. Though it would’ve been cooler to have this information ten or fifteen volumes ago, it’s plenty engrossing as it is and even seems to reinvigorate the action when we return to present day. Volume 37 offers more awesome interaction between Orihime and her de-facto warden, and though I still don’t care much about Ichigo, I welcome the chance to see bishounen like Yumichika and Hisagi again, and actually find myself somewhat eager to continue the series. I haven’t felt that way about Bleach in a long time. – Michelle Smith

Dawn of the Arcana, Vol. 2 | By Rei Toma | Viz Media – The tension ramps up in this series’ second volume, as Princess Nakaba becomes more aware of her growing feelings for her new husband, as well as just how deeply those feelings conflict with her loyalty to long-time servant Loki. While this series is shaping up more and more to be another shoujo love triangle, it does have enough genuine intrigue to set it apart from the crowd. This volume also delves further into Nakaba’s preternatural abilities, which are perhaps more interesting than they first appeared. But what really makes this volume work is Nakaba’s inner conflict. Though there’s nothing really new going on there, it’s written from a place of real emotional truth, and that makes this series well worth reading. Toma’s expressive artwork is a highlight as well. Tentatively recommended. – MJ

Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 8 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – Well, if you thought things would be easily resolved after last volume’s cliffhanger, think again. Kurosaki is quite aware that the message sent to Daisy was a fake – he says so on Page 21. But it doesn’t take much to make a broken soul shatter again, and Kurosaki is determined to remove himself from Teru’s life forever. Teru, after a brief chapter of self-pity and moping, isn’t having any of this, and asks everybody else to explain exactly what happened with Kurosaki and her brother. The explanation is the rest of the volume, and it’s by turns uplifting and crushing, as with most tragic backstories in shoujo. The drawback, of course, is that if you read this manga for the fun romance and humor between its two leads, there is precisely nothing here for you. Read it anyway, it’ll make the eventual reunion, presumably in Vol. 9 or 10, that much sweeter.-Sean Gaffney

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Vol. 3 | By Kenji Kuroda and Kazuo Maekawa | Kodansha Comics – The main reason for Phoenix Wright fans to pick up this third volume is featured prominently on the front cover – Franziska Von Karma is the prosecutor this time around, and that means a lot of foolish fools and a lot of whip jokes – none better than at the start, where her side job is revealed. In fact, that seems to be a problem with most of these Ace Attorney mangas – the setup is invariably more interesting than the trial. Anyone reading this for the mystery will be disappointed – it’s obvious. Those who read it to see more Phoenix adventures should be pleased – there’s even a few shoutouts to the Apollo Justice game, as Phoenix gets an eerily accurate fortune given to him. There’s also some nice art here, showcasing the dramatic poses and plot revelations in ways the writing can’t quite match up to.-Sean Gaffney

Toriko, Vol. 8 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – The eighth volume of Toriko offers readers an entertaining respite from hand-to-hand combat, as Toriko and Komatsu visit Chef Setsuno, one of four “gourmet living legends” in the world. Setsuno is a hoot: she’s a demon in the kitchen, dispatching a chicken with ferocious precision, slicing vegetables mid-air, and preparing a broth of such purity that it’s invisible to the eye. Lest anyone confuse Toriko for Oishinbo, however, this pleasant interlude is swiftly followed by an action-packed trip to the Antarctic, where Toriko wrestles sharks, serpents, and evil gourmands for the chance to taste century soup, a dish that only materializes once every hundred years. Subtle it isn’t, but the characters’ goofy antics and goofy powers (“Flying fork!” and “Long-range bazooka breath!” were my personal favorites) mitigate against macho excess. – Katherine Dacey

Love Hina Omnibus, Vol. 2

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By Ken Akamatsu. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

At the end of the last Love Hina omnibus, we left our hero and heroine having just failed their entrance exams. We open this second volume with Keitaro depressed. This is his third straight failure, and the pressure is on him to find something else to do with his life besides apply to Todai. What’s more, a dashing (if eccentric) young man has arrived in town. This is Seta, Naru’s crush, and Keitaro completely fails to measure up to him. Seta also brings along a young girl, Sarah, who like many bratty young girls in manga proceeds to abuse and belittle our hero at every turn. Is it any wonder Keitaro decides to give up?

I’ll be honest, I still find Keitaro a weakness in this series. Searching for a purpose in life is all very well and good, and god knows we’ve all done it. The trouble is that we haven’t all had six different women all find they have feelings for us. Keitaro is still mostly defined by his failures and his bad luck, and occasionally being polite. He needs to have a better goal than ‘get into university so I can meet my mysterious promised girl’. We actually do start to see the first hint of that here, but I only know this because I’ve read the series before. For a new reader who is unaware that Keitaro’s gluing pots together is foreshadowing, it’s just 3 more volumes of him accidentally walking in on women naked.

Speaking of the women, aside from Naru and Mutsumi, they’re once again given short shrift here. It amazes me that Negima has a cast of 31 main girls, as Akamatsu has enough trouble handling the 6 he has here. Shinobu, Motoko and Su continue to get a focus about every 15 chapters, and Kitsune gets even less than that. That said, Kitsune’s focus chapter was actually a high point of the volume, as we see her love of alcohol and mischief is tempered by a genuine desire to see Naru and Keitaro get over themselves. We also see that one should not try to play mind games with her unless one is prepared to face the consequences – she’s quite cunning. As for the others, Shinobu continues to worry about immaturity (and first kisses), and Motoko about being a samurai yet having romantic feelings. Su gets a brief chapter where we see what she might be like as an adult, but this doesn’t really change her personality noticeably.

The exception is Mutsumi, who gets her largest role here (she sadly appears less often as the series goes on, the curse of not actually living at the Inn). Mutsumi is a lot of fun, and the revelation that she’s actually quite intelligent and only failed one entrance exam as she forgot to put her name down is unsurprising. There are bigger revelations, however, as it becomes increasingly apparent to Naru that Mutsumi is the girl Keitaro made him promise to. This leads to a situation where Naru has to make a decision to give up on Keitaro in order to let him find his destiny. His destiny, of course, has spent the entire manga showing that she already knows that Keitaro and Naru are destined to be together. And once again true feelings end up getting buried (at least on Naru’s side – Mutsumi honestly seems OK with letting Keitaro go).

Love Hina continues to show the strengths that Akamatsu had at this time. Lots of physical comedy, lots of fanservice, and the ability to develop a cliched yet likeable romantic plot. It also shows off many of his weaknesses, which he would improve on with Negima. In the end, though, the big drawback is that I’m not a 22-year-old guy anymore, and Love Hina is a title that’s very rewarding for 22-year-old guys but very frustrating for ones who are older and more mature. For pure nostalgia reasons, this is worth a buy, however. And I seem to recall the next volume should be more interesting.

A Devil and Her Love Song, Vol. 1

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Maria Kawai, heroine of A Devil and Her Love Song, is a cool customer. Not only is she beautiful, talented, and smart, she’s also tough — so tough, in fact, that she was expelled from a hoity-toity Catholic school for beating up a teacher. Her blunt demeanor further cements her bad-girl impression; within minutes of enrolling at a new high school, she antagonizes all the girls in her class with a few sharp observations about their behavior. Only two boys — Yusuke, a cheerful, popular student who avoids conflict at all costs, and Shin, a moody outsider — try defending Maria from her peers’ nasty comments and pranks.

So far, so good: Maria is spiky and complicated, a truth-teller who lacks the ability to censor herself, even though she’s aware of the potential consequences of speaking her mind. Throughout volume one, there are some wonderful comic moments as Maria struggles to put a “lovely spin” — Yusuke’s term — on her acid comments. Alas, Maria’s sideways head-tilt and doe-eyed gaze look more sinister than cute; not since Kazuo Umezu’s Scary Book has a manga-ka made a doll-like character look so thoroughly menacing, even when superimposed atop a backdrop of flowers and sparkles.

Having created such a vivid character, however, Miyoshi Tomori isn’t sure where to go with the story. In several scenes, Maria does things that contradict what we know about her: would someone as perceptive as Maria willingly attend a party hosted by the class mean girls, especially after they’d harassed her on a daily basis? And why would someone as outspoken as Maria refrain from pointing out her teacher’s judgmental behavior — especially when it’s plainly obvious to both the characters in the story and the reader? These kind of abrupt reversals might make sense if we knew more about Maria’s past, but at this stage in the story, they feel more like authorial floundering than a conscious revelation of character.

From time to time, however, Tomori convincingly hints at Maria’s softer side. Midway through volume one, for example, Maria makes tentative overtures towards Tomoya “Nippachi” Kohsaka, a fellow bullying victim. (“Nippachi” means “twenty-eight,” and is a mean-spirited reference to Tomoya’s poor academic performance.) That scene is both sad and real; anyone who’s ever seen two ostracized kids turn their classmates’ scorn on one another will immediately appreciate the dynamic between Maria and Nippachi. Maria’s exchanges with Shin, too, reveal a different side of her personality; though the pair frequently engage in the kind of rapid, antagonistic banter that’s de rigeur for romantic comedies, their quieter conversations suggest a grudging mutual respect.

Maria’s interactions with Nippachi and Shin fill me with hope that A Devil and Her Love Song will find its footing in later chapters. If Tomori can find a way to reveal Maria’s fundamental decency without compromising her heroine’s tart, outspoken personality, A Devil and Her Love Song will be a welcome addition to the Shojo Beat catalog, an all-too-rare example of a story in which the heroine isn’t the least bit concerned with being nice or popular. If Tomori can’t, Devil runs the risk of devolving into a YA Taming of the Shrew, with Shin (or, perhaps, Yosuke) playing Petruchio to Maria’s Katherina.

Review copy provided by VIZ Media, LLC. Volume one will be released February 7, 2011.

A DEVIL AND HER LOVE SONG, VOL. 1 • BY MIYOSHI TOMORI • VIZ MEDIA • 200 pp. • RATING: TEEN (13+)

Durarara!!, Vol. 1

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Story by Ryohgo Narita, Art by Akiyo Satorigi, Character Design by Suzuhito Yasuda | Published by Yen Press

Here is the sum total of my Durarara!! knowledge prior to reading volume one of the manga:

1. It is based on light novels.
2. There is an anime.
3. People were really excited about the license.

It turns out that those light novels are by the creator of Baccano!, another exclamatory property with an anime that I’ve never seen, but which has been praised by various reputable sources. So, even though I knew nothing about Durarara!! itself, I was definitely curious.

In the space of six pages, three concepts and one narrative conceit are efficiently introduced. Time for another list!

1. Inside a pharmaceutical laboratory, a speaker (presumably male) promises a girl in a tank that he will “get us out of here.”
2. A trio of anonymous hands chat about the Tokyo neighborhood of Ikebukuro and the twenty-year-old urban legend of the Black Rider.
3. Timid fifteen-year-old Mikado Ryuugamine moves to Ikebukuro to reconnect with a childhood friend and attend high school.

Each of these threads will be developed and expanded upon in the volume to come, with some slight overlap but so far not much. Because of that, I’ll address them separately.

1. We learn the least about this subplot in this volume, but it appears to have something to do with Seiji, a boy in Mikado’s class, who lives with his possibly evil sister. Seiji briefly has a stalker who sees something she shouldn’t, and I wonder if that doesn’t tie in with the next item on our list.

2. We see the anonymous chatters a few times throughout the volume and it soon becomes clear that Mikado is one of them and I’m pretty sure the Black Rider is another. Seriously, the Black Rider is the most awesome thing about the volume. A competent fighter with a body seemingly comprised of shadows, the Black Rider takes courier jobs around Ikebukuro, dispatches thugs efficently, and lives with a “shut-in doctor” who would not be averse to a romantic relationship even though the Black Rider has no head.

3. Mikado, alas, is not so interesting, though the fact that he came to town because he wanted something strange and exciting to happen to him is at least somewhat encouraging. He reconnects with his friend, Kida, meets some of Kida’s otaku friends, and is warned against associating with various unsavory people, including someone named Shizuo, who hasn’t really appeared yet but looks kind of awesome, and Izaya, an informant with bleak ideas about the afterlife who extorts money from those who intend to kill themselves.

There are some series that bombard one with so much information that one ends up frustrated. If I were more astute, I might be able to pinpoint how, exactly, the creators of Durarara!! manage to avoid this pitfall, but they do. Granted, there is a lot going on, but the exposition is sure-handed, leaving one with the expectation that all will eventually make sense. Perhaps it’s the light-novel foundation that inspires this confidence, though that is certainly no guarantee of quality.

“Weird but intriguing” is my ultimate verdict for this volume, and I look forward to the second volume very much. It’s a stylish title, one that’s more cool than profound at this stage, and I realize that won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it pushed the right buttons for me so I’ll definitely be back for more.

Durarara!! is published in English by Yen Press. The series is complete in Japan with four volumes.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Manga Bestsellers: 2011, Week Ending 18 December

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Comparative Rankings Based on Consolidated Online Sales

last week’s charts
about the charts

##

Manga Bestsellers

1. ↑1 (2) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [452.5] ::
2. ↓-1 (1) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [452.0] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [451.0] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Sailor Moon 1 – Kodansha Comics, Sep 2011 [445.8] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [440.3] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [367.0] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Ouran High School Host Club 17 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2011 [356.3] ::
8. ↑3 (11) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [341.4] ::
9. ↑11 (20) : Maximum Ride 4 – Yen Press, Apr 2011 [339.5] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Black Butler 7 – Yen Press, Oct 2011 [338.3] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of volumes ranking in the Top 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 97
Yen Press 76
Viz Shojo Beat 64
Kodansha Comics 42
Vizkids 35
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 34
Dark Horse 17
Tokyopop 17
HC/Tokyopop 15
Viz 15

[more]

Series/Property

1. ↔0 (1) : Sailor Moon – Kodansha Comics [1,058.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [969.3] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [916.5] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Black Butler – Yen Press [780.0] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [687.9] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [667.0] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Pokemon – Vizkids [653.5] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [600.6] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [581.9] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Legend of Zelda – Vizkids [548.3] ::

[more]

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

1. ↑1 (2) : Naruto 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [452.5] ::
2. ↓-1 (1) : Sailor Moon 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [452.0] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Maximum Ride 5 – Yen Press, Dec 2011 [451.0] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Sailor Moon Codename: Sailor V 2 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [440.3] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Ouran High School Host Club 17 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2011 [356.3] ::
15. ↓-2 (13) : Bleach 37 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2011 [308.9] ::
18. ↑3 (21) : Warriors SkyClan & The Stranger 2 – HarperCollins, Nov 2011 [292.8] ::
23. ↑8 (31) : Fullmetal Alchemist 27 – Viz, Dec 2011 [266.8] ::
24. ↓-5 (19) : Negima! 32 – Kodansha Comics, Nov 2011 [264.0] ::
26. ↓-2 (24) : Pokemon Black & White 4 – Vizkids, Nov 2011 [260.5] ::

[more]

Preorders

14. ↔0 (14) : Sailor Moon 3 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [313.0] ::
40. ↓-5 (35) : Sailor Moon 4 – Kodansha Comics, Mar 2012 [216.7] ::
48. ↓-6 (42) : Sailor Moon 5 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [198.0] ::
61. ↓-1 (60) : Sailor Moon 6 – Kodansha Comics, Jun 2012 [147.4] ::
92. ↑1 (93) : Negima! 33 – Kodansha Comics, Jan 2012 [106.4] ::
95. ↑9 (104) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 11 – Seven Seas, Jan 2012 [101.4] ::
104. ↑16 (120) : Negima! 34 – Kodansha Comics, Apr 2012 [93.1] ::
112. ↑35 (147) : xxxHolic 19 – Kodansha Comics, Feb 2012 [89.3] ::
114. ↑129 (243) : Naruto 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2012 [88.1] ::
115. ↓-2 (113) : Black Butler 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2012 [87.8] ::

[more]

Manhwa

322. ↑97 (419) : Angel Diary 11 – Yen Press, Mar 2010 [34.9] ::
360. ↓-89 (271) : Bride of the Water God 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2011 [31.2] ::
524. ↓-115 (409) : March Story 3 – Viz Signature, Oct 2011 [17.7] ::
528. ↓-224 (304) : Angel Diary 1 – Yen Press, Oct 2005 [17.5] ::
559. ↓-303 (256) : Angel Diary 2 – Yen Press, Jan 2006 [15.9] ::
619. ↓-212 (407) : Angel Diary 8 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [12.9] ::
620. ↓-28 (592) : Bride of the Water God 8 – Dark Horse, May 2011 [12.9] ::
697. ↑53 (750) : March Story 1 – Viz Signature, Oct 2010 [10.0] ::
731. ↓-215 (516) : Angel Diary 7 – Yen Press, Oct 2008 [9.1] ::
745. ↓-360 (385) : JTF-3 Counter Ops (ebook) – RealinterfaceStudios.com, Mar 2011 [8.7] ::

[more]

BL/Yaoi

93. ↑38 (131) : Mr. Tiger & Mr. Wolf – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [106.2] ::
97. ↓-24 (73) : Finder Series 5 Truth in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [100.4] ::
127. ↑46 (173) : A Fallen Saint’s Kiss – 801 Media, Jan 2012 [84.6] ::
131. ↑1 (132) : Finder Series 4 Prisoner in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Aug 2011 [82.4] ::
139. ↓-4 (135) : Private Teacher 2 – DMP Juné, Jan 2012 [79.8] ::
152. ↓-29 (123) : Seven Days Friday-Sunday – DMP Juné, Sep 2011 [72.1] ::
202. ↓-77 (125) : Black Sun 2 – 801 Media, Dec 2011 [58.1] ::
230. ↓-14 (216) : Only Serious About You 2 – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [51.1] ::
240. ↓-2 (238) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [49.9] ::
274. ↓-92 (182) : Secrecy of the Shivering Night – DMP Juné, Dec 2011 [41.8] ::

[more]

Ebooks

84. ↑10 (94) : Manga Moods – Japanime’s Manga University, Mar 2006 [112.8] ::
108. ↑30 (138) : Manga Cookbook – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [91.2] ::
117. ↑new (0) : Papa’s One Summer (ebook) – Stren Co. Ltd., Mar 2011 [87.0] ::
208. ↓-22 (186) : Amazing Agent Luna Prequel: Amazing Agent Jennifer 2 – Seven Seas, Jan 2012 [56.0] ::
240. ↓-2 (238) : Maelstrom (ebook) 1 – Yaoi Press, Jun 2011 [49.9] ::
492. ↓-187 (305) : Vampire Cheerleaders 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2011 [19.8] ::
501. ↓-304 (197) : Kanji de Manga 1 – Japanime’s Manga University, Jan 2005 [19.3] ::
538. ↑147 (685) : Attacked on a Tiger’s Whim (ebook) – DMP Digital Manga Guild, Oct 2011 [17.1] ::
624. ↑108 (732) : Amazing Agent Luna 1 – Seven Seas, Mar 2005 [12.8] ::
662. ↓-67 (595) : The Outcast 1 – Seven Seas, Sep 2007 [11.3] ::

[more]