Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews
First of all, I just wanted to let you all know that the Best Manga of 2008 vote over at Manga Before Flowers is now closed! Read the results here!
Also, I recently participated in my first roundtable discussion at Manga Recon! Check it out: Manga Recon Roundtable: Personality Quiz
That’s all! ‘Night!
I am officially addicted to Danielle Leigh’s Best Manga of 2008 thread over at Manga Before Flowers. I made my picks for best continuing series back when she first posted it, and now I just can’t help checking every day or so to see what other people are saying!
I’ve had a few small twinges of regret, most notably over Hikaru no Go, which Erin Finnegan voted in, and I did not. How could I not vote for Hikaru no Go? I wouldn’t have gotten into manga without it! My lack of support seems like a huge betrayal. Trouble is, I really dislike the excessive (in my opinion) Americanization of the Viz releases. Yet I voted for NANA which has that issue somewhat as well! Oh, the torment! Oh, the angst! Oh, the embarrassment of not having read enough new manga this year to even vote in that category! I do take heart in the fact that thanks to my commitment at Manga Recon, this will not be a problem next year. Still, I feel a sense of shame.
What I’m really getting around to here is, GO VOTE. Increase my torment. Feed my addiction. Please. :D
So after insisting over and over that I don’t really write reviews, I’m… writing reviews. :)
Just recently, senior manga editor Katherine Dacey invited me to join the staff of reviewers over at PopCultureShock’s Manga Recon. I accepted her invitation with much glee, and as a result, you can find my first review (of Claymore volume 13) in today’s Manga Minis !
Perhaps the greatest advantage to the fact that I really don’t write reviews here, is that very little at this blog can be expected to change. I’ll still be rambling on about manga as I have for the past year or so, and in addition, I’ll be linking to reviews of mine that are published over at Manga Recon.
A million thanks to Kate for this wonderful opportunity!
Claymore, Vol. 13
By Norihiro Yagi
Published by Viz
Rated T+ (Older Teen)
Volume twelve brought us into a new era in the Claymore universe by moving ahead seven years, solving the mystery of the warriors who vanished in the Battle of the North, and introducing us to a new generation of Claymores.
As volume thirteen opens, rebel warriors Clare, Miria, Helen, and Deneve rescue a young team of Claymores just as they are about to be destroyed by powerful Awakened One, Riful of the West. Before escaping, Clare persuades Riful to share some of what they’ve missed in the world during their years in hiding, including some new revelations regarding the long sought-after Priscilla.
We also catch up with new number 47, Clarice, who is being sent on a mission to eliminate former number 3 Galatea with her new partner, the terrifying and very young Miata, whose disturbing psychological issues and deadly abilities make Ophelia seem like a walk in the park.
The battles feel like background in this volume, which instead focuses heavily on plot and characterization, making it a particularly compelling read and moving the story along substantially. There is a fantastic chapter for those of us who are fans of Teresa, and some additional background on Miria as well.
I’m always impressed by how easily Norihiro Yago is able to create such distinct characters when most all of them are women with uniform physical features (not to mention actual uniforms), and my admiration only increases as the web of characters becomes more complex.
Plenty of mystery remains, especially in light of the recent jump forward in time, including the fate of Raki, who does not even make an appearance. Even so, the pacing feels just right, and the story never drags as it sometimes did earlier on.
This is an exceptionally strong volume in a series that has grown consistently more interesting over the course of its run.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at PopCultureShock.
When I was in the sixth grade, a particular series of books was very popular. It focused on a pair of blonde twin sisters, the older of whom was kind and thoughtful while the younger was selfish and scheming. Most of the time, the good twin allowed her conniving sibling to have her way, but when it came to a certain boy, she drew the line. Their names were Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and the series was named after the school they attended, Sweet Valley High.
I mention this because the initial setup for Papillon is pretty similar. Ageha, a shy and bespectacled nobody, and her younger sister Hana, the most popular girl in school, are blonde twins who were raised by different relatives. The only person Ageha feels understands her is a boy named Ryûsei, and when Hana sees them growing closer she moves in to snag Ryûsei for herself. With some encouragement from a decidedly unorthodox guidance counselor, Ageha makes an effort to shed her meek persona and win Ryûsei back. (Her name means “butterfly.” Get it?)
While the concept may not be new, Hana and Ageha’s relationship is still fascinating. Somehow, the masterfully manipulative way in which Hana competes against her sister is more credible for occurring between siblings and hints at all kinds of intriguing psychological baggage. The relationship gives the character depth, as it seems she must have some deeper motivation for her actions than your garden variety Mean Girl. Similarly, Ageha’s powerlessness in the face of her sister’s devious ways also rings true. In the back of the book, Ueda-sensei thanks some relationship therapists for their input and advice; I’d say it definitely paid off.
Unfortunately, Ryûsei is not as well developed. He’s a typical adolescent boy: good-hearted in general but vulnerable when a pretty girl turns on the charm. Arguably, though, he was never meant to be more than a bone of contention between the girls and a catalyst for Ageha’s metamorphosis. The most vivid supporting character is actually Kanda, Ageha’s chubby pal, who betrays her friend when she sees an opportunity to gain attention from the more popular students, a classic maneuver among status-conscious high school girls.
While the term “soap opera” would certainly apply to Papillon, it also offers an insightful look at the relationships between girls. For that alone, this title is one that I will be following with interest.
Papillon is published by Del Rey. Five volumes have been released in Japan so far while the second English release is due in late January 2009.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.
Since everything else here requires spoiler warnings, I’ll start with the one item I can place before the jump and go from there!
I just wanted to make brief mention of an anime series we’ve been enjoying, not just for its terrific story and animation, but also for its method of delivery! Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve) from writer/director Yasuhiro Yoshiura (whose Pale Cocoon we also enjoyed), is being provided with English subtitles as free streaming video at Crunchyroll, shortly after each episode’s release in Japan. Episodes can also be downloaded for a small fee.
Eve no Jikan‘s premise is nothing extremely new. We’ve seen plenty of fiction involving the ethics and complications of a world in which human-like androids are employed to serve humans, and what it really means to be human, etc. What I’m enjoying about this series especially, is that the story revolves around an underground cafe where discrimination between human and android is prohibited. The cafe setting, with its set of fixed characters, helps make the story feel more intimate than what I’m used to in fiction with these themes, assisted also by the youthful POV of its protagonist. I’m impressed, too, with its effectiveness, considering that it is being fed to us only in 15-minute increments.
This is probably old news to most people who read here, but just in case I’m not the last person to talk about this, I wanted to pass it along! :) Watch the first episode here!
Now on to the rest. SPOILERS for new chapters of Bakuman, xxxHolic, and NANA, as well as recent episodes of Ef: A Tale of Melodies after the jump! …
I have manga and even anime to talk about, but when? This I do not know. For a moment, a couple of quick links (after the jump).
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Thanks to the gift of leftovers, we’re on our third day of my mother-in-law’s turkey and stuffing, which is a wonderful thing but seems to have settled me into a permanent turkey coma. I must free myself somehow by Monday. But, hey, that’s far, far in the future! For now, I’ll enjoy perpetual sleepiness and let all of you who just met me find out how sappy I get around this time of year. It’s a thing.
I said earlier this week that I’d leave “major items” for thanking later in the week, and later in the week has more than arrived! Actually, most of my “major items” are personal (family, friends, etc.) and this isn’t really the place for that. What remains though is still pretty major, at least to me.
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From the back cover:
Jo Walton crosses genres without missing a beat with this stunningly powerful alternative history set in 1949, eight years after Britain agreed to peace with Nazi Germany, leaving Hitler in control of the European continent. A typical gathering at the country estate of Farthing of the power elite who brokered the deal is thrown into turmoil when the main negotiator, Sir James Thirkie, is murdered, with a yellow star pinned to his chest with a dagger.
The author deftly alternates perspective between Lucy Kahn, the host’s daughter, who has disgraced herself in her family’s eyes by marrying a Jew, and Scotland Yard Inspector Peter Carmichael, who quickly suspects that the killer was not a Bolshevik terrorist. But while the whodunit plot is compelling, it’s the convincing portrait of a country’s incremental slide into fascism that makes this novel a standout.
Review:
I’m a fan of England, mysteries, and gay-themed literature, so I expected that Farthing would be my cup of tea. As it turns out, I was quite disappointed. Though the majority of my complaint can be summed up as, “It was just kind of weirdly put together,” there are some specific areas that bothered me enough to merit their own place on a spiffy numbered list.
1. Punctuation.
I’m starting with the most minor quibble, though it did truly bug me. A couple of times there were lists of buildings or people that were improperly punctuated. Here is an example:
There was a church, larger than most, a pub, the Eversley Arms, a row of cottages, and a high wall containing a pair of wrought-iron gates…
The way that’s written, the pub and the Eversley Arms appear to be two different things. There should be a semicolon after “most,” as well as after “Arms” and “cottages.” Because of this, a later list of attendees at the gathering had me confused as to whether Lucy’s dad and the Earl of Hampshire were the same person.
2. Woefully undeveloped gay characters.
There are, if I counted correctly, eight nominally gay or bisexual characters in this book, nine if you count Lucy’s deceased brother. For some, that’s practically all that’s known about them. Frankly, it started to get ridiculous. I’m beyond cool with having gay characters, but just having a cardboard cut-out standing there with a nametag reading “Gay” on his chest does not really count.
3. A pretty boring mystery.
The investigation into this mystery was kind of meh, with Inspector Carmichael and his sergeant doing a lot of theorizing in advance of the facts. It also seemed to hinge on locating one particular girl from a photograph who, when found, blurted out the culprit pretty anticlimactically. Granted, it was obvious by that point, anyway. The impact of the increasingly fascist government upon the investigation was kind of interesting, as Carmichael had to keep in mind that whomever he arrested would be hanged (and so he had better be absolutely certain before arresting them), but also frustrating, since the innocent Jewish fellow everyone kept insisting was guilty (even when presented with evidence to the contrary) was one of the few likable characters in the book.
When I try to recall something I particularly liked, I come up empty. The conclusion was decent enough, I suppose, though the final chapter from Lucy’s point of view ended rather ominously. I will probably finish up the rest of the trilogy, because I am a completist and because I hope it gives more closure on the Lucy front. I think the other books might feature different characters, though, so I shan’t hold my breath. Neither shall I expect to enjoy them any more than I did Farthing.
Most of you know that I’m relatively new to the crazy world of manga. Now, when I get into something, I really get into it, so I’ve read a lot of manga in the short time I’ve been involved with it, but even at my pace, I’ve barely made a dent in the massive amount of material that’s out there and it will be a long time before I’ll feel like I can contribute anything truly meaningful to the discussion of the medium.
One of the things that’s weighed most heavily on me all this time is the fact that I hadn’t read any Osamu Tezuka. The truth is, I was actually kind of scared to do it. I felt really strongly that I needed to read some if I ever hoped to achieve any kind of deep understanding of manga, but I’d seen a few panels of it here and there and I was really concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get into it, which would leave me feeling forever like a hopeless newbie in the manga-reading world, deserving of whatever eye-rolling came my way.
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Book description:
Keito Aoyama was a child star until the age of nine, when she froze up on stage in front of a live audience. The incident ended her career, and she’s spent the past seven years a recluse, spending most of the time in her room and socializing with no one. An encounter with an eccentric principal leads her to El Liston, a school for kids who haven’t fit in at other high schools. Could this be what Keito needs to begin truly living again?
Review:
This series is interesting, but since this volume was mostly set up, probably much of the good stuff is yet to come.
Keito is very socially awkward to start with, and ends up insulting a couple of people and running away from them, just like she’s essentially been running away from life for seven years. She’s a sympathetic character, kind of complex and difficult, but her search for direction is compelling. She encounters a former grade school classmate and the fact that he’s still striving for his childhood dream makes her question what it is that she really wants to do. Though she’s initially reluctant to attend such a “weird facility,” she eventually decides to give El Liston a try.
The El Liston setting is pretty neat. Most of the kids there are doing independent study of some kind, though there are teachers on hand to help when needed. The students are free to pursue their interests, be they computer programming or fashion design. The students that Keito meets are already shaping up to be unique and interesting characters and I look forward to seeing Keito flourish in that environment. Of particular note is Kouichi, a manga character who actually looks Asian!
Too, I like that the focus is on Keito’s search for a purpose in life and not on romance. To be sure, there are a few prospects in that regard, but her thoughts are running more toward self-improvement than smooching. Cat Street definitely has the potential to be something great, and I’ll be continuing with it.
It’s a little early for Thanksgiving, but having finished my workweek after only two days, I can’t help but feel a bit thankful for some of the people and things around me. I’ll leave major items for later in the week, but for the moment, I’d like to link to a few things that have made me feel happy (and thankful) today: …
Arrived home late last night, and it’s very nice to be here. I’m still on Mountain time, so my body feels a bit off, but I had a nice, lazy day at home, which was the perfect thing.
Pop music geek moment: My husband started watching Azumanga Daioh while I was gone, so we watched the first six episodes together last night (I said I was still on Mountain time) and today. At one point while the opening theme was playing, I said, “This sounds like something Andy Partridge would write.” Later I looked it up, and found out the opening and closing themes are both written and performed by a Japanese duo who call themselves “Oranges & Lemons.” Geekiness for the win! :D For the non-pop music geeks, Oranges and Lemons is the name of an album by XTC, Andy Partridge’s band.
Speaking of Azumanga Daioh, I am completely hooked. Now I need to track down the comics. I think I mentioned that I’d picked up the first volume of Yotsuba&! in Utah, so it looks like I’m going to be on a little Kiyohiko Azuma kick for a while. Random Azumanga Daioh question: Does anyone else think that Sakaki looks a lot like Hanajima from Fruits Basket, or is it just me?
Speaking of random questions, is anyone else cursed with getting the opening theme of Lucky Star stuck in their head? *sigh* Anyone else doubly-cursed with the closing theme of Mahoromatic as well? Oh, Japan, you will do me in.
I did read some manga on the plane, including some new releases like NANA volume 13 and Fruits Basket volume 21. On the flight back, I also read the first volume of an older series that I picked up used at a bookstore in Salt Lake City.
Spoilers for ES (Eternal Sabbath) after the jump.…
Book description:
An English Gothic mansion, transported stone by stone to the isolated Pennsylvania hills, Grayhaven Manor calls to Anne and Kevin. Here is the ideal summer retreat—a perfect location from which to write the book they have long planned together. But there are distractions in the halls and shadows of the looming architectural wonder luring them from their work—for they are not alone. Something lives on here from Grayhaven’s shocking past—something beautiful, powerful, and eerily seductive—unlocking the doors of human desire, of fear… and unearthly passion.
Review:
Someone in the House was a recommendation of sorts from Margaret, not coming from her personally but from an archival index. It’s the first book I’ve read by Barbara Michaels, who also writes under the name Elizabeth Peters.
When Anne arrives at Grayhaven, her intention is to work on a literature textbook with her coworker, Kevin, but a feeling of complacency seems to settle in, and little work actually gets accomplished. This air of contentment lingers even after Kevin’s Aunt Bea notices strange noises coming from her nephew’s room which lead into an investigation into possible spiritual phenomena within the house. The ensuing investigation is pretty interesting, at least at first, with plenty of nifty cameras, crypts, and brittle old documents. It does drag a little in spots, though, and by the end, when Anne keeps talking about how she’s figured it out but yet doesn’t divulge the answer, the result is irritating rather than riveting.
Anne herself is an interesting character. Fiercely feminist, she bristles at the notion that she might wish to cancel her own career-minded summer plans in order to accompany her current boyfriend on a trip overseas. Her ardent independence and lack of concern for his opinion of her actions are refreshing. After occasionally enduring weak-willed female protagonists that make me want to scream, Anne is a welcome change. I also like that she’s a feminist without being portrayed as the extreme, man-hating variety.
The rest of the characters, though, are not very interesting. Anne’s coworker and eventual love interest, Kevin, hasn’t got much of a personality and I never bought the romance that develops between them, though the reasons for that are made evident by the end of the book. The conclusion itself could’ve been more climactic, but it does provide a new light with which to see the events of the book, so I suppose that technically qualifies as a twist.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. It was fun and not too long and I’d probably read more by Michaels in this vein.
Things are going well here in Salt Lake City. We’ve seen some terrific actors, and the weather has been perfect for exploring the town. Yesterday, as planned, I headed over to Night Flight Comics in Library Square. It’s an awesome little store in a great location, right next to the public library, along with a group of other stores and a cafe.
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