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Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 7

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By Yuu Watase
Viz, 210 pp.
Rating: T+ (Older Teen)

Set as a prequel to Yuu Watase’s classic shojo series, Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden follows the story of the first priestess of the Fushigi Yûgi universe, Takiko Okuda. When Takiko’s long-absent father returns home too late to save her dying mother, Takiko is determined to tear her father away from the work that alienated him from his family—the translation of a Chinese text, “The Universe of the Four Gods.” As she attempts to destroy the book, she is instead sucked into its story, where she becomes the Priestess of Genbu, who must bring together the seven celestial warriors to save the new world she has become a part of. Feeling rejected by those she left behind, Takiko quickly embraces her new destiny, discovering both her own strengths and a place for herself in a world where she feels truly needed for the first time in her life.

In volume six, the fearsome Hagus was revealed to be one-half of the final celestial warrior, Urumiya. Hoping to save Uruki from being murdered by Hagus’ hand, Takiko vowed to rescue his twin brother, Teg (Urumiya’s other half), who has been kept captive his whole life by Uruki’s father, King Temdan. In this volume, Takiko and Uruki’s vassal, Soren, must escape Hagus and King Temdan’s troops, while the warriors face down fire, bandits, and the Qu-Dong army. Everyone seems doomed to be apart from those most important to them, including poor little stone warrior Namame whose head is still separated from his body. Takiko and her warriors are eventually reunited, but only after one of their group makes a horrifying sacrifice.

This is an intensely emotional volume that shows off all the best elements of this series. The chapters are action-packed, but none of it is remotely superfluous. Every moment is meaningful, and there is not a single unnecessary word or gesture in the entire volume. Up until now, the story had been a well-written adventure and a satisfying romance, but this volume really demonstrates the maturity of Watase’s writing at this point in her career. The intensity of the relationships feels natural and well earned, and even the less-developed characters are rich enough at this point to carry off some deeply emotional moments.

Visually, this volume is especially strong as well. The battle scenes achieve a clarity that was lacking in some of the earlier volumes, and the faces and body language of Watase’s characters are more expressive than ever. It is a testament to Watase’s strengths as a visual storyteller that even the expression on the face of a character who is literally made of stone is enough to bring tears to the eyes.

With its strong, compassionate heroine and eclectic cast of supporting characters, Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden brings the best elements of the world of Fushigi Yûgi to a new generation of manga fans.

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

Oh, shojo, I love you so!

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Hello all! Just a quick update this morning. I have two longish reviews in today’s On The Shojo Beat column at Manga Recon, one for the first volume of a new series, Magic Touch, and also for volume seven of Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden, which I’ll talk briefly about here.

I’ve never read the original Fushigi Yugi, which I realize makes me a very poor shojo fan indeed, but the truth is, it’s never really caught my interest, and every time I mention it here, I find out something through your comments that makes me even less excited to read it. Now I’m actually a bit torn, because I really enjoyed Genbu Kaiden, though I suspect that may be because it avoids the problematic elements of the original series, particularly issues concerning friendship between women. Anyone here read both?

In any case, Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden is on a pretty slow release schedule, both here and in Japan, but the next volume comes out here in April, and I’ll definitely be looking forward to it!

I have a long review coming out later this week which has taken up most of my free time over the past few days (and probably for the next day or two as well), so I haven’t had time to read or think about much else. Oh, to be a faster writer! I cling to hope that my careful deliberation pays off in some way.

Ouran High School Host Club 11 by Bisco Hatori: B+

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Eleven volumes in, things are still pretty much where they started with this series. Haruhi is still concealing her gender and participating in the Host Club, Tamaki is still ignorant of his feelings for her, and characters like Mori and Hunny haven’t changed a bit. This volume finds the gang competing in a sports festival that Tamaki has orchestrated in an attempt to spur Kyoya to compete passionately over something that yields him no personal benefit.

Ouran High School Host Club walks a fine line between comedy and plot progression and, honestly, dwells on the humorous side of the divide most of the time. When it does visit the other side, however, the results can be surprisingly gratifying. While many of the characters have been stuck in the same places for a while, the same cannot be said of the Hitachin brothers. Originally a pair of practically interchangeable pranksters, they have matured significantly and are now distinct individuals. Kaoru has been aware for some time that both he and his brother have feelings for Haruhi, and when Hikaru finally catches on, it makes for some great scenes between them.

The comedy is sometimes funny and sometimes not, but the more serious elements are always a hit with me. It’s for moments like that that I continue to read this series.

Review originally published at Manga Recon.

The Palette of 12 Secret Colors 4 by Nari Kusakawa: B+

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This is the story of Cello, an aspiring Palette or “color magician,” who has had to repeat her first year of training school because her abilities are a bit different than those of her fellow students. The Palette of 12 Secret Colors is a very episodic series, and this volume is no exception. On the agenda are a separation from her avian partner that prompts Cello to strive to be her best, a rampaging drunken ostrich, and a swimming competition.

I’m not a fan of episodic tales in general, but Kusakawa manages to incorporate modest development for her lead characters and their relationship even while hijinks are ensuing. Over the course of the previous volumes, Dr. Guell (the school doctor) has helped Cello out on numerous occasions and now secretly harbors romantic feelings for her. The episodic nature of the story contrives to put the two of them together, occasionally in ridiculous situations, but also provides the opportunity for many warm and fuzzy moments. The final scene between them in volume four is anything but ridiculous or fuzzy, however, and may be just what Cello needs to finally begin to see the stoic doctor in a new light.

That said, this story is certainly progressing at a leisurely pace for one with only two volumes left. I can’t help but wish for a more dramatic storyline or more tangible evidence of Cello’s progressing skills. Aww-inspiring it may be, but it’s currently too mellow to generate anything akin to awe.

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

Whining about digital comics distribution

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On my RSS feed this morning (via Dirk Deppey), I found this link to Stephen Schleicher’s recent post on the (according to him) exciting future of digital comics distribution. To be perfectly honest, it filled me with dread.

I like reading books. A lot. I like the feel of them, the smell of the paper, the winning combination of portability and tangibility. I like being able to pass a book from one person to another–knowing that something that I’m reading has been read by someone else before me, or that it will be someday in the future. More than any of that, though, they are just plain easy to read.

…

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The Palette of 12 Secret Colors 3 by Nari Kusakawa: B

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From the back cover:
Cello meets Fenne, a fellow Palette-in-training who’s been having problems with his abilities ever since his bird-partner died. Despite his sarcastic attitude, Cello is determined to both help him find a suitable new bird and to become his friend. Then Olga—Dr. Guell’s jealous bird—decides that Cello is taking up way too much of Dr. Guell’s time. So now she’s determined to make sure that Cello quickly completes her Palette training.

Review:
Just as I was wishing to know more about Cello’s progress, she makes a remark in one chapter about how she has cleared “about half” of the first twelve colors. That’s a step in the right direction, I suppose.

Unfortunately, none of the stories in this volume really do much for me, though none is bad or anything. A new character, Fenne, is introduced and ropes Cello into helping him adapt one of the migratory birds that visit the island to be his new partner. At first he mocks her for having to repeat her first year, but comes to like her, which bothers Dr. Guell, who is coming to realize that Cello occupies his thoughts rather a lot.

The story with Olga serving as Cello’s tutor misses the mark for amusing and instead ventures into the territory of “too silly for me.” The same can be said for the chapter in which Cello’s father pursues an outrageously ridiculous plan of making up with his wife, with whom he’s had a fight. About the only one I really like is the one about Cello’s birthday, and how Dr. Guell sweetly buys her a present. Not only that, he’s clearly paid enough attention to her to know exactly what kind of present she would like best.

The relationship between Dr. Guell and Cello is the most interesting thing about the series at the moment, but I do rather wish for a more serialized story line. This is the halfway point of the series and though it’s very pleasant and guaranteed to foster some warm fuzzies, it feels like something more should be happening by now.

The Palette of 12 Secret Colors 2 by Nari Kusakawa: B+

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From the back cover:
It’s Christmas time on the island of Opal, and a visiting young Prince introduces holiday traditions to its residents. What could be more festive than the powers of the color wizards unleashed upon the season? But Dr. Guell is jealous of the relationship between the Prince and Cello and adds a sour note to the happy celebration. Then, find out more about Cello’s family and learn how she first bonded with Yoyo, her very special bird.

Review:
The episodic adventures continue in this volume, including a story about a visiting prince with a predictable secret, the tale of how Cello first met Yoyo, and a chapter about Cello’s family and her dad’s attempts to get some kind of facial expression out of terminally cool Dr. Gruell. Each of the episodes has something amusing about it, or some particular insight on character, but some are also a bit dull; I’m already kind of tired of seeing the triplet little girls turn up again and again.

The second story is my favorite, and not just because of Yoyo’s cuteness, though I suppose that is a factor. Mostly, though, I like it for the continuity. In an offhand remark in volume one, Cello mentions that she used to like climbing trees until she fell from one, and now she’s afraid of heights. This chapter includes that incident. It’s a minor thing, but I’m happy to see the seeds for it planted in advance.

While the current story structure is not short on charm, I still keep wanting this to be like a shounen manga somehow, with Cello acquiring mastery of new colors and her progression in skill clearly mapped. So far, she has improved enough to do well on a mid-term exam, but that’s sort of nebulous; the idea of knowing exactly how many of the twelve colors she can control and how many she has left has definite appeal.

My brain, let me show you it.

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Hello all! I’m still recovering from my trip (and madly trying to catch up with all the reviews on my plate) but I wanted to point you toward something over at Manga Recon that was a special bit of fun for me. A while back I had an idea for a roundtable discussion, and while I was on the trip, Michelle asked me to start it up! My question was…

Some mangaka are stronger artists than writers, or vice versa, and most have pretty distinctive styles. If you could combine one mangaka’s writing with another mangaka’s art for a one-time collaboration, who would you put together and why?

Behold! Manga Recon Roundtable: Dream Teams, in which we discuss our favorite made-up mangaka pairings. I had a lot of fun with this, and I also put together all the silly images for the post. Enjoy! :D

One last note, it’s Danielle Leigh’s one-year anniversary over at Comics Should Be Good! Go wish her well!

The Palette of 12 Secret Colors 1 by Nari Kusakawa: A-

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From the back cover:
On the island of Opal live the world’s most colorful birds. The birds have attracted a school for aspiring “Palettes”—wizards who have the ability to borrow color from one object and paint its qualities on to another. Young Cello has the potential to be a great Palette, but she just can’t seem to control her power. As the end of freshman year approaches she’s on the verge of failing, so she’s going to need all the help her bird Yoyo can provide.

Review:
This is the story of Cello, a sixteen-year-old studying to be a Palette, or artisan with the power to control colors. It seems like a silly skill to have, but the volume shows different ways in which it can be useful. Cello is smart and aces the written assignments, but her practical abilities need work: she has the unique ability to manipulate color from a distance, but not the fine control required to craft the fine goods that fetch high prices from outsiders. Her problems with control result in her being splattered with color pretty frequently, requiring multiple visits to the infirmary to see the young school doctor, Dr. Guell.

In the chapters that follow, she and Guell foil two separate attempts to steal the village’s precious birds and also supply some fun for some little girls’ birthday. It’s true that these adventures are episodic, but they really don’t feel that way because they’re not pointless. In the wrong hands, I’d dislike the chapter with the random little girls, but Kusakawa uses it to reveal details about Guell’s background as well as to illustrate what a kind person Cello is.

I also like that romance is not the focus of the story. Cello has definite goals that she’s working towards and acquiring a boyfriend is not among them. That said, there are a few subtle moments that hint that she and Guell are starting to at least admire and appreciate one another.

What I love most, however, is Yoyo, Cello’s bird. I love Koh from Silver Diamond because he talks and is amusing, but a lot of Yoyo’s cuteness is because he is silent. He’s clearly intelligent, but must get his point across mutely. One of the most endearing things he does is kick Cello (cutely, I swear) every time she thinks or says something self-pitying or overly self-critical. I heart him.

Kusakawa’s distinctive artistic style is the same here as in Two Flowers for the Dragon, and I find it quite appealing, though the evolution of Dr. Guell’s appearance between the beginning and end of the volume is pretty major. It’s interesting how different the settings are for the two stories—Two Flowers is set in an oasis in the middle of a desert, while Palette takes place on a semi-tropical island, complete with palm trees and lush vegetation. Also, I really, really love the covers to this series. So much, in fact, that I’m gonna have to link to them. There’s an online preview at that site as well, if your curiosity is at all piqued.

The Palette of 12 Secret Colors is published by CMX. Four volumes have been released so far, with the fifth due on February 18, 2009. The series recently ended serialization in Japan and is complete at six volumes.

Forever Princess by Meg Cabot: C+

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From the front flap:
It’s Mia’s senior year, and things seem great. She aced her senior project, got accepted to her dream college(s), and has her birthday gala coming up… not to mention prom, graduation, and Genovia’s first-ever elections.

What’s not to love about her life? Well…
* Her senior project? It’s a romance novel she secretly wrote, and no one wants to publish it.
* Prince Phillipe’s campaign in the Genovian elections isn’t going well, thanks to her totally loathsome cousin René, who decided to run against him.
* Her boyfriend, J.P., is so sweet and seemingly perfect. But is he the one?
* And her first love, Michael, is back from Japan… and back in her life.

With Genovia’s and her own future hanging in the balance, Mia’s got some decisions to make. Which college? Which guy? How can she choose? Especially when what she decides might determine not just the next four years, but… forever!

Review:
Nearly two years have passed since the events of Princess Mia, and now it’s just a week until graduation. Mia has spent the intervening time working on a steamy romance novel for her senior project, but has lied to her friends, telling them it’s about Genovian olive oil processing. She’s also lied about various other things, as well, including hiding the fact that she got accepted into quite a few prestigious colleges.

I found the first half of the book to be very annoying, as Mia’s constant justifications of why she can’t just come out and tell people things are quite frustrating. She says stuff like, “I course I couldn’t tell Tina the truth—that my senior project is not a history of Genovian olive oil processing but in reality a romance novel, because it has sex scenes, and she’ll wonder how I researched them.” Both K and I were confused as to why this was a problem, since Tina is a big romance novel fan. My theory was that Mia thought Tina would realize she had broken their “let’s lose our virginity on prom night” deal and had already had sex with J.P., thus providing insights for her novel. It turns out, though, that the big mystery of how she researched them is… by reading copious amounts of romance novels. She and J.P. have evidently not gotten beyond first base in two years of dating. (!)

The second half is a bit better, though. Michael returns and J.P. finally shows his true colors. Both Mia and Lilly have grown up, too, so are able to patch things up. Does Mia realize how much she is to blame for all that went wrong, like I’d hoped? Not really, but she does at least have a decent conversation with Michael about how she screwed everything up. Mostly, her failings are attributed to her immaturity at the time rather than to any lingering personality issues, like chronic indecision.

I also like that she’s very responsible about sex and subsequently firm in her convictions that she could say no if she wasn’t ready. I just wish she weren’t prone to declaring “I suck!” when being equally firm and reasonable about the nature of the publishing contract for her romance novel (the excerpts of which are laughably bad, by the way). She’s well within her rights to want the book to be considered on its own merits, but still feels bad for refusing a lucrative offer J.P. wrangles purely on the basis of her celebrity status.

Anyway, the ending is satisfying, with various important conversations finally transpiring and loose ends wrapped up. It even gets a little amusing: my favorite line is, “Hey, quit sniffing me a minute.” Ultimately, however, my primary emotion is relief that I can now go a very long time without reading anything by Meg Cabot.

Wild Adapter

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Before I get to Wild Adapter, there are three other things I am very happy about right now:

1) Sharing manga leads to wonderful suprises: My sister has pre-ordered Bleach Volume 26 and Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 18 for me “in support of the manga industry” and as a thank you “for supplying happy, happy reading.” I was completely touched and more than a bit watery-eyed. Of course she will get to borrow these volumes from me when they arrive ;) Heh. Do I have an awesome sister or what? She’s even way ahead of me on reading Nana!

2) Mangatude. I’m having lots of fun there but I think I may be operating outside one of the goals of mangatude, which is to trade manga you don’t want for manga you really do want. Instead of stabilizing or shrinking, my manga collection keeps growing. You see, I have a lengthy wish list, but I did not have a lot to offer in trade. So instead of being patient I’ve been stocking up on popular titles from my local Half-Price Books stores that I can use to trade for the titles I cannot find. I’m hopeless. I know. But its an approach that is working.

3) Volume 1 of Natsuki Takaya’s new series Phantom Dream. It is now in my possession! I did a happy dance when it arrived. Its not often that I buy manga brand new, relying on my public library’s fairly extensive collection and haunting the used bookstores in the area, but for an author or series I love, I have a really hard time waiting.

Which brings me to my hopefully spoiler free review of Wild Adapter Volume 1, by Kazuya Minekura. …

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Shugo Chara!, Vol. 5

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By Peach-Pit
Del Rey, 176 pp.
Rating: T (13+)

Volume four was a tough one for our heroine, Amu, whose self-confidence was shaken to the core by the departure of Nadeshiko, the arrival of new Guardians, and the appearance of an “X” on her new diamond egg. Here in volume five, she’s finding her way back on track as everyone else falls to pieces. Yaya is feeling pushed out of her baby role by the brand new baby at home, Rima accidentally reveals her true self to her entire class, Kairi is falling too far in with the Guardians (especially Amu), and Tadase nearly loses his guardian character, Kiseki, to Easter’s latest scheme and his own self-doubt.

What really makes this story work is that the plot is just a vehicle for playing out the often painful internal growth of these young characters, and in this volume it is Tadase’s weaknesses that are most on display. While shopping for Guardian supplies, Tadase chooses a gift for Amu—a heart-shaped barrette that makes her look more like her transformed self, Amulet Heart. Amu’s dilemma here is not much different than that of other superheroes who must helplessly stand by as the objects of their desire fall for their alter-egos, except in this case, Tadase can’t pretend to be ignorant of her identity. The fact that Tadase can stand before Amu and knowingly declare his devotion to her would-be self is both incredibly true to horrors of young love, and quite revealing of how far Tadase has to go before his internal beauty will come close to matching what’s on the outside. All of these children are works-in-progress, of course, but it’s interesting to note that it is only young Kairi who, while facing personal demons greater than most, is able to say to Amu, “I like you just the way you are.”

This series continues to be fun, compelling, and unexpectedly insightful into the human heart, both young and old.

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

Hi. Ow. Hi.

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Greetings from the Unified Professional Theater Auditions in Memphis, Tennessee! I spent the weekend eagerly following the news from NYCC in between auditions, and enjoying a flurry of excited text messages over Yen’s acquisition of Yotsuba&! So exciting! I also have a review in today’s Manga Minis for volume five of Shugo Chara! which is a series I have been enjoying very much. Be sure to check out Deanna’s latest post, too, where she talks about Wild Adapter!

On another small note, I’ve added a sidebar widget here that displays my Twitter updates for anyone who is interested. I’m not much of a, uh, tweeter, but frustration over my hotel’s painfully slow internet service drove me to find a way to make small updates with my phone, and this seemed like the easiest option. So there they are, near the bottom of my sidebar. You may choose to read or ignore as you please. :)

I am currently waiting on the little pot of watery hotel room coffee that is brewing in my bathroom, and attempting to find a way to soothe my aching back. For those of you who have never been to group auditions like this (which I’m assuming is most of you), the way it works is as follows: …

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Slam Dunk 2 by Takehiko Inoue: B+

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Volume two of Slam Dunk sure has been a long time coming! When we left off in volume one, hot-headed Sakuragi had grown frustrated with fundamentals training and quit the team. We pick up the story with Sakuragi regretting his decision, and he soon returns to practice after quickly polishing off a thug who’d been spoiling for a fight.

Although Sakuragi is still as clueless and boastful as before, he’s slightly less annoying than he used to be because he is starting to become interested in the sport more for its own sake than as a way to secure Haruko’s affections. Like a good shonen hero, his rate of improvement exceeds everyone’s expectations and he manages to impress the coach during an intra-team practice match despite needing to learn a special lesson about the value of teamwork.

The supporting cast gets a little more attention in this volume, most notably Assistant Captain Kogure and the team manager, Ayako, though they’re mostly relegated to reacting to the actions of others’ and/or calling out the names of moves like “Fly swatter!” The intra-team match is the highlight of the volume, giving readers an idea of how cool an actual game will be once the story advances that far. I’m personally looking forward to it!

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

The Year Without Michael by Susan Beth Pfeffer: C

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From the back cover:
Bad things aren’t supposed to happen to good people. But somewhere between home and the softball field, 16-year-old Jody Chapman’s younger brother disappeared, and now the family is falling apart. Her parents hardly speak to each other, her younger sister is angry and bitter, and Jody’s friends, always so important to her, are slowly slipping away. It seems that all anyone can do is wait. Wait—for Michael to walk in the door. Wait—to stop missing him. Wait—to stop waiting. When a private detective can’t uncover a single clue about Michael’s disappearance, Jody’s urgent need to find him drives her to make a last desperate attempt to hold her family together.

Review:
Having mostly enjoyed Life As We Knew It, I decided to check out something else by Pfeffer. The subject matter is different but the general idea of a family in crisis still remains. I don’t think Pfeffer handled it as well in this earlier book, however.

The major issue is the terrible dialogue. Though the back cover promises “honest dialogue,” in reality it is anything but. I think the problem is that there is seldom any indication of tone or delivery. It’s just ____ said, ____ replied, ____ declared. Even when a character is supposed to be having an outburst, the text doesn’t bring the idea across. Here’s an example:

“I hate all of you. You’re all crazy and I hate you all, and I wish you’d all just leave me alone and die.”

Not even one exclamation mark in all of that? I can’t help but read it in the blandest possible monotone.

The dialogue problems really undercut anything else that Pfeffer might’ve achieved. For all I know, this is an accurate portrayal of the kind of upheaval a family goes through after a child goes missing—oft-repeated hopeful speculation and empty promises giving way to tantrums and irrational blame games—but it just doesn’t seem genuine.