Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Features & Reviews

Claymore, Vol. 14

by Leave a Comment

By Norihiro Yagi
Viz, 191 pp.
Rating: T+ (Older Teen)

Volume thirteen sent Clarice and Miata on a mission to execute Galatea and as volume fourteen begins they finally find her hidden away in the holy city of Rabona. As it turns out, the Organization’s discovery of her was not an accident but actually planned by Galatea in hopes that she, along with the Claymores sent to kill her, would be powerful enough to destroy an Awakened One (former number 2, “Bloody Agatha”) who has been menacing the city. The rest of the volume centers on the battle with Agatha, which does not proceed quite as Galatea hoped, followed up by a couple of thick extra chapters which provide more backstory on Priscilla, Isley, and Clare.

The most interesting aspect of this volume is the relationship between Clarice and Miata, which becomes quite touching during the main battle and leads to an emotional breakdown for Clarice, who is intensely frustrated by her own weaknesses. It’s not clear yet just what role she plays in this story overall but her character is intriguing and certainly destined for something special. This volume’s greatest weakness is the drawn-out battle with Agatha which goes on just a bit too long, though by the end it is clear that there is much excitement ahead and the last few pages of the main story are seriously kick-ass.

In any long series, it is inevitable that some volumes will move the story along more substantially than others, and though volume fourteen falls into the latter category, it is obvious that everything playing out here is necessary setup for what’s to come. For fans who love a battle this volume delivers nicely, and there are enough fantastic gems of information in the extra stories (particularly concerning how trainees become warriors) to satisfy the rest.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at PopCultureShock.

Claymore 14, All Hail Crunchyroll

by 6 Comments

Morning! Just a quick update before I run out to an early morning meeting (ugh). First of all, I have a short review in this week’s Manga Minis, for volume fourteen of Claymore, a series I like a lot and one of the few shonen series I have reviewed at MR. If you missed my review of volume thirteen back in December, here it is! It was actually my very first review for Manga Recon. Oh, the nostalgia.

Secondly, I just want to take a moment and appreciate Crunchyroll. We originally bought a membership in order to watch new episodes of Shugo Chara!! Doki as they came out, but yesterday we started watching three new series (we’ll probably keep going with two of them) which were being simulcast here at pretty much the same time as in Japan. It was exciting, seriously. I mean, this is what we’ve all hoped for, right? That someone would start to provide legally what was previously only offered by fansubbers–subbed anime available here at the same time (or shortly after) its release in Japan. Hell, I’d have gone for episodes aired even a month or so afterward–that’s still a huge improvement over the years-long wait for dubs I’m not going to watch anyway–but I admit there was something kind of thrilling about knowing we were watching at approximately the same time these episodes were airing for the very first time. Thank you, Crunchyroll, thank you. You are awesome. It’ll be interesting to see how Funimation’s Fullmetal Alchemist streams stack up!

100% Perfect Girl & FMA Squee

by 8 Comments

First off, I have a review up this morning at Manga Recon, for volume nine of NETCOMICS’ manhwa soap opera 100% Perfect Girl. I’ve had a rough time with this series as its heroine is repeatedly dragged through hell by the men who supposedly love her, but if you love a soap opera this may be the series for you.

In other news, I was thrilled to see this morning (thanks to ANN) that Funimation is going to be streaming the new Fullmetal Alchemist anime series within days of its airing in Japan! Now that the manga is so far along, I have real hope that the new adaptation may be able to approach Arakawa’s genius. There are few stories I love as much as this one, and to be able to watch the new anime series legally as it airs is more than I’d expected.

I hope this means that all this new streaming going on is working out just as the studios hoped, and that this will become the new model (or at least a new model) for anime distribution. We’ve already got a membership at Crunchyroll so that we can stream Shugo Chara! in high quality each week (and we’re excited about trying some other series as well), and aside from a few technical glitches here and there, it’s been a fantastic deal.

Fruits Basket, Volume 22

by 13 Comments

Here is the last of my “quick” reviews for this week! Please enjoy it!

Fruits Basket, Vol. 22
By Natsuki Takaya
Published by Tokyopop

9781427806833
Buy This Book

With the level of drama that volume 21 of Fruits Basket provided, it was hard to imagine that the next volume could actually be stronger, but it is. Still barred from visiting Tohru in the hospital, Kyo decides to face down his own demons by visiting his father who rejected him so many years ago. It is a painful meeting and provides nothing even close to reconciliation, but Kyo is at least able to declare his determination to live regardless of carrying the cat’s curse. Meanwhile, Akito makes the decision to end the curse entirely, resulting in emotional scenes for everyone and Akito most of all.

This is an incredibly lovely volume with everyone’s hearts laid bare and by the end, when the true, heartbreaking story of the curse is being revealed (“…that the Cat’s wish was finally granted”), I had tears in my eyes. What’s especially skillful about Natsuki Takaya’s storytelling in this series is that she balances the romance and the supernatural story just right, ensuring that the reader is equally interested in the outcome of both, so that when the story really finds its conclusion it is satisfying on more than one level. Not only that, she manages to make each of the character’s personal arcs intensely compelling, even those of minor characters, so with all of these achieving their dramatic climax at once, the effect is really quite stunning. It’s impressive too that after all this time, the character whose story here is probably the most moving is Akito’s. “I don’t have to be ‘special’ anymore. I don’t have to be ‘God’ anymore,” she says just before her final goodbye, filled with both terror and relief. “I can just be… me. Right?” …

Read More

The Sharing Knife: Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold: B

by

From the front flap:
Young Fawn Bluefield has fled her family’s farm hoping to find work in the city of Glassforge. Uncertain about her future and the troubles she carries, Fawn stops for a drink of water at a roadside inn, where she counters a patrol of Lakewalkers, enigmatic soldier-sorcerers from the woodland culture to the north. Though Fawn has heard stories about the Lakewalkers, she is unaware that they are engaged in a perilous campaign against inhuman and immortal magical entities known as “malices,” creatures that suck the life out of all they encounter, and turn men and animals into their minions.

Dag is an older Lakewalker patroller who carries his past sorrows as heavily as his present responsibilities. When Fawn is kidnapped by the malice Dag’s patrol is tracking, Dag races to rescue her. But in the ensuing struggle, it is not Dag but Fawn who kills the creature—at dire cost—and an uncanny accident befalls Dag’s sharing knife, which unexpectedly binds their two fates together.

Review:
For all that this book took me something like six weeks to finish, I find that I don’t actually have all that much to say about it. The description quoted above admirably sums up the beginning of the novel, in which Dag rescues Fawn from some bandits, her pregnant status provokes a nasty creature to kidnap her back again, and they end up taking down a “malice” together. I can’t help but think that the reason the blurb doesn’t touch on any plot after this point is that there really isn’t much of one.

Beguilement is really more of a romance than a fantasy novel, though Bujold has still done a good job with the worldbuilding, working in details on the differences between Fawn’s and Dag’s cultures throughout the novel. But after the malice is defeated, there isn’t much going on except them riding on horses, staying in inns, developing fancies for one another, finally consummating their relationship, doing it many more times and often outdoors in the company of bugs, encountering Fawn’s not-so-supportive family, convincing them to support a marriage, and getting hitched. I guess if I lay it out like that it looks like a lot happened, but really, how much of that sounds like a fantasy novel?

The fact that the characters are both likable makes up for some of the plotlessness, at least. Fawn has had a very sheltered upbringing where her thirst for knowledge was not encouraged. Now, with support for her quick wits, she proves herself to be pretty clever and resourceful. Dag is a very experienced patroller who was widowed before Fawn’s birth (there’s quite a big age difference between them) and has been fiercely solitary ever since, so opening himself up to her is a pretty unique experience for him. Because there’s a lot that Fawn doesn’t know and is curious about, it sometimes seems like you’ve got the “wise man teaching ignorant girl” dynamic going on, but it’s not really pervasive. There’s one scene near the end where Dag praises Fawn for a brilliant leap of logic that comes across as completely admiring and not at all patronizing. It even made me a bit sniffly after seeing how little her family appreciates her.

Too, Bujold simply writes really well. Without being overly wordy, she can paint a scene so vividly that it’s incredibly easy to visualize. The best example is probably the part where Dag has found the malice’s lair and is taking in the layout of the area: I swear I could picture it perfectly after only a couple of sentences. And even if the parts with Fawn’s family were rather uncomfortable to read, considering their dismissive treatment of her, they were still entertaining. Probably, enduring all that strife was necessary so as to be as relieved as the main characters when they were finally able to leave it all behind.

While I like Fawn and Dag both together and separately, I do hope that there’s more of a plot to the next book. A typical fantasy series would have an epic quest to wipe out evil, but I sort of doubt Bujold is going to adhere to standard genre tropes. Because I do admire her writing, I’m willing to stick around and see how the story develops, but if this was the first installment of a story by anyone else, I’m not sure I’d be too keen to continue with it.

Additional reviews of The Sharing Knife:Beguilement can be found at Triple Take.

Future Lovers, Volume 1

by 6 Comments

Over the next few days, I’ll be offering three short (somewhat casual) reviews of manga I’ve picked up recently. They aren’t all new, but they’re new to me. Here’s the first!

Future Lovers, Vol. 1
By Saika Kunieda
Published by Deux Press

9781934496350
Buy This Book

Having been dumped by his girlfriend, schoolteacher Kento Kumagaya lets himself get picked up in a bar by an attractive guy, Akira Kazuki. After a fantastic night of drunken sex (and a fantastic, less drunk morning), Kento assumes he’ll never see Akira again. This assumption proves to be false, however, as Akira turns out to be the new art teacher at Kento’s school. After a few repeats of their initial encounter and a moment of true jealousy, Kento finally realizes that his interest in Akira runs much deeper than he ever expected, and he decides to pursue a serious relationship with him. Facing open hostility from his family and Akira’s distrust of his sexuality things don’t proceed easily, but help arrives in the unexpected form of a female student with a longtime crush.

…

Read More

Monkey High! 5 by Shouko Akira: B+

by

When reserved, intelligent Haruna transferred into a new high school, she never expected to fall for the most chipper and scrawny guy in her class. That’s exactly what happened, though, and she and Macharu have now been dating for a year.

In this volume, some difficulties arise in the lead characters’ relationship. It’s not as if they fight in dramatic fashion, but because they see the world differently, they sometimes have trouble understanding each other. Macharu is very open and optimistic while Haruna is neither of those things (she doesn’t even have any internal monologues). She seeks to protect herself and in, so doing, occasionally gives Macharu the impression that she doesn’t care about things that are important to him. Add in the complication that Macharu’s best friend, Atsu, actually sees and understands this side of Haruna better than Macharu does, and you’ve got an interesting romantic triangle forming.

On the negative side, in five volumes of the series, nearly every chapter has centered on the kind of event that veteran manga readers will have seen dozens of times before: a date to an amusement park, a trip to the beach, a summer festival, major holidays, et cetera. It grows quite tiresome. Too, while the art in general is good, some pages are so slathered with screen tone that they are positively grey.

Still, even though I can already predict that the next volume will prominently feature Valentine’s Day in some capacity, I’m looking forward to seeing how the drama plays out.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Monday. Oh, Monday.

by Leave a Comment

I am seriously sleepy today. I need to remember that two con weekends in a row might be more than I can really handle. I can’t imagine having missed either of them, though. Look for a full report of my weekend at Conbust later on this week.

Today I have one new review out there in the world, for volume four of the Yen Press’ Legend, included in today’s Manga Minis. I have mixed feelings about Legend at this point, but there’s some real promise there.

I have some things I’m pretty anxious to talk about, but I think they’ll have more context coming out of my ConBust report, so I’ll hold my tongue until then. Meanwhile, apologies for the short update. I’ll have much more to say when I’ve had some real rest.

Monkey High! 4 by Shouko Akira: B+

by

From the back cover:
Macharu’s best friend Atsu is really starting to fall for Haruna, especially since she’s been working at the same place he works and they’ve been spending more and more time together. With a jealous Macharu waiting and a persistent Atsu pursuing, who is Haruna going to choose in this bizarre love triangle?

Review:
I think I’m just gonna have to resign myself to semi-clichéd outings and a meddlesome bunch of friends with this series, because neither appears to be going anywhere any time soon.

Summer is approaching and, with it, opportunities for chapters about going to the beach, watching fireworks while wearing a yukata, et cetera. As before, Akira-sensei skillfully uses these familiar backdrops to develop her main characters. In the first chapter, we get some follow-up on the end of volume three, where Haruna admitted that she was uncertain of her own capabilities, seeing as how her father’s clout might’ve been responsible for her past successes. Now, when the opportunity comes to start a part-time job at a café, she goes for it, saying that she’s been inspired to try new things.

Macharu is supportive, but once he spots that Haruna and his best friend, Atsu, also an employee at the café, are becoming a bit more friendly, he begins to grow jealous. It’s something he can’t shake even by the end of the volume, despite Haruna saying that she wants to be closer with him and various occasions where she reinforces that he is the one that she likes. Playboy Atsu, too, seems to be growing more serious in his feelings about Haruna, and takes his mission to pester Macharu to the point that Yuko—one of those omnipresent supporting characters whose name I finally learned—comments, “Atsu, sometimes I just don’t know if you’re teasing Macharu or actually trying to sabotage him.”

I continue to like the relationship between the main characters, especially that Haruna continues to be quite unabashed in initiating smoochy time. In this volume, they talk about one day doing more than just kissing, and also admit that they’re scared. “It’s difficult to see where this love is headed.” It’s moments like these that enable scenes with overly familiar settings to seem like something new and unique. Too, it’s also difficult for a reader to see where this love is headed. While I highly doubt that Haruna will chose to be with Atsu in the end, I definitely think that interesting times lie ahead.

xxxHolic 13 + ConBust

by 14 Comments

Just a couple of quick notes! First of all, I have a new review up at Comics Should Be Good, for xxxHolic volume 13 which I loved very much (Reprinted here after the demise of CSBG). Oh Watanuki and Doumeki, I die. I die. Please check it out and let me know what you think!

Also, I’ll be spending some of the next few days at Smith College’s ConBust, a local sci fi, gaming, and anime convention with a special focus on female fans and creators. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they have to offer!

A question to fellow WordPress users: Have any of you noticed a lot more spam making its way past Akismet lately? Is it just me?

That’s all for the moment!

xxxHolic, Volume 13 by CLAMP Published by Del Rey Manga

In volume twelve, Watanuki’s world began to crumble, as he was pulled from dream to reality and back to dream, without ever being entirely sure which was which. This continues in volume thirteen, but having been reassured that he is at least still human, Watanuki is coming to terms with his new fractured reality, determined to do his best by those who inhabit it whether any of it is real or not. “This may all be just a dream,” he says to himself in the first chapter. “But to me this is my everyday life! It’s important!” His new outlook gives him a fresh appreciation for the time he is able to spend with those he cares about, and he even seems prepared to place Doumeki in that category.

Presented with the news that young Kohane is being harassed for supposedly giving false spiritual readings on television, Watanuki is determined to find her and show his support. Along with Doumeki, he sneaks into the television studio where she is taping just in time to save her from being struck by her mother, whose determination to maintain Kohane’s success as a medium has finally pushed her off the deep end. After a painful confrontation, they bring Kohane back to Yuuko’s shop, where Kohane will finally make a wish.

One of the most poignant things in this series so far has been the nurturing relationship that has developed between Watanuki and Kohane, and in this volume it becomes clear just how much this has affected both of them as people. Having someone to care for and protect has brought out the very best in Watanuki, and being cared for and protected has finally brought happiness within Kohane’s reach. There is a moment at the television studio where Watanuki allows himself to be struck by Kohane’s mother (much to Doumeki’s dismay), and though it has been typical of Watanuki to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, even when doing so actually hurts them more, in this case his choice to do so demonstrates a newfound maturity and thoughtfulness. Learning to care for someone and be cared for, of course, can bring as much pain as it does joy, and Watanuki is finally prepared to open himself up to both.

Though Kohane’s arc dominates the volume, the most compelling story here is Watanuki’s own personal growth. This has been building gradually throughout the series (especially since volume eight), but in this volume it is made very clear just how far he has come. What’s most interesting about this, is that it has come hand in hand with the loss of so much of his past. With Watanuki’s memories eroding rapidly, he seems to have become more conscious than ever of the present, as well as the value of the few people whose names and faces have not yet faded from his mind. At the beginning of the volume, he and Doumeki encounter Himawari on the way to school, and it occurs to Watanuki that being able to meet her is precious, which he takes care to tell her. It is Himawari, however, who notices the biggest difference–that for the first time ever he does not protest her usual observation that he and Doumeki are friends.

There are so many ways to look at Watanuki’s transformation and everything that is happening around him. How much of his identity is inextricably tied to his memories? Can he create the best version of himself and his world simply by wishing for it? Is it shedding his past that allows Watanuki to fully become the man these people have helped him to discover? This volume offers more questions than answers, but it hardly matters when the whole thing is filled with scenes like this:

Even in a manga as complex and layered as xxxHolic, it is nearly impossible not to be just simply charmed by Watanuki and Doumeki’s reluctant friendship, especially now as it becomes more lighthearted and obviously genuine. Though the true extent of their purpose in each other’s lives has not been fully revealed at this point in the story, it is clear that for better or worse they are stuck with each other, and it is delightful to see Watanuki finally relaxing with that truth.

As in volume twelve, Watanuki’s dream sequences provide CLAMP with the opportunity to play with fanciful imagery, particularly with Yuuko’s butterfly theme, and some of the images are strikingly beautiful. Near the end of the book, too, as the volume’s most dramatic plot points are revealed, the art is both ornate and simply lovely, with charming details (like Kohane’s dropped sandal in the panel below) that make this supernatural setting feel so real. As always, the life and range of expression of these characters is part of what makes the storytelling so powerful, while the curling smoke in Yuuko’s shop keeps the atmosphere thick with suspense.

Del Rey does its usual fine job with this volume. The color pages at the beginning of the book are particularly nice in that they serve as a reminder of Watanuki’s physical bond with Doumeki, which comes in handy part way through after Watanuki loses his glasses to a dream. William Flanagan’s English adaptation provides a wonderful read, and since this volume contains relatively few Japanese cultural references that require explanation, he is able to use some of his endnote section to instead clarify action in the television studio that might otherwise lose meaning.

Like the previous few volumes, more and more the story is made richer by concurrent reading of xxxHolic‘s crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and not just because it provides additional insight into the plot. Even characterization is enriched by reading both series, particularly as concerns Watanuki, Yuuko, and, interestingly, Mokona, whose personality is more fully (and delightfully) understood alongside his Tsubasa counterpart’s. Less openly affectionate and demonstrative than Tsubasa‘s Mokona (Soel), xxxHolic‘s Mokona (Larg) keeps his depths hidden under a blanket of teasing and dry wit, showing his true affection and concern only when it really counts. Soel and Larg are the inverse of each other in many ways, and watching their individual roles play out is a real treat.

On the surface, Kohane’s story seems like a digression from the series’ main plot line (though there is no way to know for sure), and since it makes up most of this volume, there is a sense that much of what happens here is tangential to the real drama that lies ahead. The real value of this volume, however, is in the character development, which is substantial. Though the volume will leave readers impatient for the next, what happens here is well worth savoring.

For an introduction to the world of xxxHolic, check out my post, Why You Should Read xxxHolic at There it is, Plain as Daylight.

Losing my mind

by 13 Comments

I really should send myself notes during the day. I swear I thought of four or five things over the course of the day that I wanted to blog about, but I can’t remember a single one of them.

Human relations have been strained for me the last couple of weeks, and if I believed in things like astrology, I’d be looking for some kind of celestial reasoning for it all. I’ve managed to offend people at nearly every turn, and I’m only grateful to those who have had the kindness to allow me to learn and grow from the experience instead of just walking away. I’ll be glad when this tension eases, however, and I’m once again able to interact easily and peacefully with my fellow humans. Maybe I just need a really good nap.

Volume thirteen of xxxHolic was released yesterday, and I shockingly forgot to pick up a copy then. I finally managed this on the way home from work today, and I’ve had a really enjoyable evening with it. Expect coherent thoughts sometime in the next few days, when I can work my way past undignified squee. I also picked up volume 22 of Fruits Basket while I was there, since I’d intended to purchase it last week, so I have that to look forward to as well.

Hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow with all those ideas that fled from me today. See you then!