Manga Bookshelf

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Features & Reviews

Random, happy, confusing, exciting

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First of all, many thanks to those who have been leaving BL recommendations for me here! I’ve started looking a bit at some of the recs, and will report back in more detail soon. So far, the series I’ve looked at are Shout out Loud!, Let Dai, and Totally Captivated, and I’ve liked at least *something* about each of them, though I still have some reservations.

Random: This made me laugh for an entire day. Seriously.

Happy: I have at last acquired a scanner, which means that my next installment of the Fullmetal Alchemist Read-a-Long will include scanned pages from the Viz editions, rather than scanlations which I’d resorted to originally. I’ve also updated the previous entries (vol. 1 & 2 | vol. 3 & 4) with the proper pages. I’m also thinking of posting some version of my massive xxxHolic post in this blog (previously posted in fannish places), now that I have proper scanned pages, as I have a pretty much constant urge to try to draw people into that series.

A bit of navel-gazing to follow: …

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The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers: B+

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From the back cover:
The body was on the pointed rocks alongside the stream. The artist might have fallen from the cliff where he was painting, but there are too many suspicious elements—particularly the medical evidence that proves he’d been dead nearly half a day, though eyewitnesses had seen him alive a scant hour earlier. And then there are the six prime suspects—all of them artists, all of whom wished him dead. Five are red herrings, but one has created a masterpiece of murder that baffles everyone, including Lord Peter Wimsey.

Review:
At first, I was telling people that The Five Red Herrings ought to be marketed as a sleep aid, because I had dozed off while reading it no fewer than five times. By the end, though, I ended up liking it a good bit.

One thing in its favor was merciful lack of wills! Each of the suspects had their own motive based on something the victim had done to tick them off, which was a lovely change. Another thing I liked was that everyone had their own imperfect alibi, which enabled the local police force (far more involved in the case than is usual for a Wimsey mystery) to each put forth their own theory, using the established facts but implicating someone different each time.

Wimsey seemed to know who the culprit was all along, and early on instructed one of the locals to conduct a search of the crime scene for a particular item. I didn’t get what he was after at first, though later thought I had. I was incorrect, but somehow ended up suspecting the correct person for the wrong reasons. Still, I enjoyed that the guilt of each of the others seemed plausible, and that Sayers somehow made it easy to keep all the varying bits of evidence straight.

The overall feel of the novel was a little more precise and clinical than usual, relying largely on train schedules and hypothetical time tables of how the crime was perpetrated. There was no trace of the romantic angst Wimsey suffered in the last novel. Additionally, Bunter and Parker, usually fairly active in Wimsey’s cases, appeared only briefly, and even Lord Peter was absent for long stretches of time as the locals pursued their own investigation. Some of these fellows were pretty indistinguishable, I’m afraid.

Although this wasn’t a characteristic Wimsey novel, I still enjoyed it. I believe Harriet Vane is due to reappear in the next one, so I expect a return of the angst, but she and Lord Peter also seem to be detecting in tandem, which sounds very appealing. Could this finally be the start of the really great ones?

Hurray for plugins!

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I have nothing of real substance to share, but I did want to share my glee over a few functional updates. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I have finally got a few things working over here that I’ve admired on other blogs. First of all, this blog will now be cross-posted to Livejournal, for those over there who fear to stray from their friends pages.

What I’m more gleeful about, however, is that I can now offer something like LJ-style commenting over here. When commenting here, you will now be given the option to use your LJ, IJ, JF, whatever icon in your comment, simply by entering your name as “username@yourljclone” when you are filling out the comment field. This also supports gravatars. If you don’t have an avatar, the default (for the moment, at least) is Lucydog. :) Also, though I’ve had threaded comments working for a while, I’ve also now got reply notifications working, so when someone replies to a comment you’ve made, you’ll get an e-mail telling you so.

Let me know if you have any trouble! I’m off to check my daily blogs, now, so perhaps soon I’ll have something to say!

Links, links, & Wish volume 1

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First off, a few interesting links from the non-manga portion of my blogroll (yes, I do care about things other than manga):

Wil Wheaton says we should try to stop MTV from remaking The Rocky Horror Picture Show. W. T. F? I agree. Sign the petition here. AmyM has posted a list of writing contests of many kinds. Very cool, and also a strong reminder that none of us have an excuse to be sitting on our asses. Neil Gaiman is not blogging but links to the Coraline promo video-a-day. Coraline is one of my favorite books, and though I’ve been a little suspicious of the way it’s being put on the screen, I remain cautiously optimistic.

Okay, this is actually from my LJ friends-list (and *is* about manga), but ashura-sama has posted her translation of this week’s xxxHolic spoilers, and I admit I’m a bit giddy. Her cut tag jokes that “-This- should be chapter 104” and okay, yes, I ‘ship Doumeki/Watanuki, what can I say? Note: Link contains spoilers for xxxHolic chapter 163. Click at your own risk.

On other CLAMP-related subjects, I am still catching up on older series, and finally picked up volume 1 of Wish from the used shelf at my local comic shop (Modern Myths, by the way, a lovely store indeed*), and read it last evening. …

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Doctor Who, Bakuman ch. 1, xxxHolic vol. 12 (again)

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I had a busy weekend, spending some with an old family friend and her teenaged daughter (a toddler the last I’d seen her!) who arrived in town Friday, and then attending last night’s installment of “Hooked on Who” at the Brattle theater in Cambridge (quite a hike from here, but so much fun). We watched Douglas Adams’ Pirate Planet arc along with a theater full of like-minded fans, well worth the drive. Before the event began, there was a rousing introduction that included a rundown of some of the theater’s upcoming events (including a screening of “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” which is such a lovely film). The whole thing made us wish that our local independent theaters (in Northampton and Amherst) would host these kinds of things.

In manga news, the first chapter of the new manga, Bakuman, by Death Note‘s Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata is out, and it’s definitely got me interested. …

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My thoughts on yaoi (no, really)

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As I was toodling around in Lissa Pattillo’s post-birthday/station-identification post this morning, I found myself mulling (once I’d finished groaning about my own old age) over my many issues with boys’ love manga. I have a fairly long history in slash fanfiction, and while a lot of it is really not to my taste (I prefer thoughtful, characterization-rich stories that reveal something new about the characters, as opposed to gratuitous smut-fests or sugary wish-fulfillment romances, and I’ll admit that the last two of these make up at least 75% of all relationship-focused fanfiction), it is easy to find the stuff I do like, now that I know how. So when I started really getting into manga, I thought boys’ love was going to be a no-brainer for me. Delving into the genre, though, I’ve been disappointed again and again, to the point where I’ve pretty much given up on it. I’m hoping Lissa’s blog will help me discover some series I enjoy, but I’m not as optimistic as I’d like. After all, even Jason Thompson let me down here. But I’m hoping that, as with fanfiction, it might be easy for me to find what I’m looking for, once I know how.

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Slam Dunk 1 by Takehiko Inoue: B

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Sakuragi has never been a hit with girls. In fact, in three years of junior high he amassed an impressive fifty rejections! Now in his first year of high school, he once again believes he’s met the girl of his dreams. Haruko loves athletes, and basketball in particular, so to win her affections, Sakuragi becomes determined to join the school team.

This aim is complicated by Sakuragi’s overwhelming, almost painful stupidity and violent outbursts of temper. He mouths off within earshot of the captain (who also happens to be Haruko’s older brother) and publicly humiliates him in a basketball contest. Though he manages to control himself long enough to get onto the team, he is quickly frustrated by fundamentals training and ends up storming off the court in a huff.

I know Slam Dunk is a classic of sports manga, a genre I really like, but I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I thought I would. Most of that has to do with Sakuragi’s temperament, though, so I’m hopeful that as he’s forced to learn discipline and teamwork, the ignorant boasting and random karate chopping will gradually subside. The actual playing and practicing of basketball is great fun to read, another reason I assume my enjoyment will increase in future installments.

I was both impressed and a little confused by Inoue’s artwork. The style is by turns realistic and comedic, and though sometimes it borders on unattractive, there are definitely moments of greatness. A page and a half spread of the basketball court is a particular standout; the way the panel is framed does an excellent job in conveying the size and height of the room.

The confusion stems from several characters that appear to be of African descent. Their names are Japanese, though, and one of them is Haruko’s brother, so I am assuming they’re not supposed to be a different ethnicity than their peers. I was also struck by the resemblance of one of Sakuragi’s buddies to the late Robert Goulet. Consider the evidence:

A number of extras are included in this volume, all without deviating from the standard Shonen Jump price of $7.99. The first chapter is printed entirely in color, and a glossy color section in back includes a profile of a real-life NBA superstar and some tips on how to perform a slam dunk. And a sticker!

I liked this okay, and I’m confident I’ll like the rest more. It’ll be a long wait until volume two–due out in February–but Viz recently announced that a new series is due to replace Slam Dunk in the magazine come March, so the frequency of releases ought to increase in the near future.

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

Apologies, thanks, and a little bit of manga

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First of all, I should apologize to whoever was trying to leave a comment yesterday using Open ID. I have now discovered that the WordPress plugin for Open ID I installed is extremely broken. For now, I’ve just deactivated it, but I do hope to get it working eventually, so people can use that here. I am so sorry for the trouble. I know how irritating it can be to take the time to write up a comment, only to have it disappear into the ether.

To others who may be stopping by due to hits on their site meters: Um, hi. I’ve been adding some folks to my blogroll as I find things that interest me enough to be daily reads. Just trying to clear up the mystery, if there is any. :)

So, I’m know I’m late to the party (as always), but I finally started reading Tokyo Babylon recently, …

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Maud Hart Lovelace still owns my soul.

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It’s a sleepy Saturday morning here in western Massachusetts, at least at our house. I’ve had a slow start, and the most productive thing I’ve managed so far is updating my manga needs spreadsheet. Yes, that’s right, I keep a spreadsheet of the manga I want to buy online so I can access it anywhere (for instance, from my phone while standing in a comic shop). I truly am a dork. Anyway, included on the list are series I am currently buying, as well as series I would like to start buying, including a few I’ve already read but wish to own. The reason I’m mentioning that here, is that I’m always looking for recommendations, and I find it helps for people to know what I already read and enjoy. I do spend quite a bit of time poring over Jason Thompson’s Manga, The Complete Guide, but even with his wonderful write-ups to go on, I’m not always certain if I’ll like a series or not. If anyone has recommendations, particularly of shojo manga (which I always want to read more of, but find so little to my taste), I’d be very grateful!

Segue into a ramble about shojo manga: …

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Tears of a Lamb 3 by Banri Hidaka: B

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The greatest strength of this series is the relationship between its two lead characters. After getting off to a rough start—with Kei badgering Kanzaki to allow her access to his apartment so she can search for a lost ring—it has developed into a solid friendship, with each able to confide in the other about their problems. I particularly like how Kanzaki’s consideration of Kei is shown through his actions rather than told in mere words. The best scenes are when they are engaged in heartfelt conversation.

Unfortunately, such moments do not happen often in this third installment of the series. The standout chapter actually focuses on the school doctor and her own experiences in high school. A nice character piece, it also provides a glimpse of the mysterious Suwa, the older man upon whom Kei is fixated and the owner of the ring for which she is searching.

Hidaka’s art is cute (I love the fleecy lambs sprinkled throughout) but my enjoyment is marred by the continual reliance on violence as a source of humor. Poor Kanzaki takes a pounding on practically every page and it’s really beginning to disturb me. If you can get past that, however, Tears of a Lamb definitely has something unique to offer.

ETA: As I read the galley copy in preparation for the review above, I noticed quite a few instances of dialogue appearing in an incorrect bubble (and thusly being attributed to the wrong character). I didn’t mention it then in the hopes that it would be corrected in the official release. Having just obtained said release, however, I am sad to see that they have not been corrected. Does nobody read the galley with an eye for mistakes? Isn’t that what it’s for? Did it not strike anyone as strange that the character jumping in the air jubilantly is not the one whose dialogue reads, ‘Yay!!’?! Grumble grumble.

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

Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies by C. S. Forester: A-

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From the back cover:
In the chaotic aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the legendary Rear Admiral Lord Hornblower struggles to impose order. Serving as commander-in-chief of His Majesty’s ships and vessels in the West Indies, Hornblower confronts a formidable array of hostile forces, among them pirates, revolutionaries, and a blistering hurricane. The war is over, but peaceful it is not.

Review:
This was an enjoyable conclusion to the Hornblower saga—far better than the incomplete Hornblower During the Crisis would’ve been had I remained on publication order ’til the end.

Rather than one continuous narrative, the story was broken down into five self-contained novellas. My favorite was probably “St. Elizabeth of Hungary,” in which Hornblower thwarted an attempt to free Napoleon from St. Helena, though the rest all had their moments. Other challenges involved capturing a speedy ship trafficking in slaves, escaping from a band of desperate pirates, maintaining England’s neutrality in a Venezuelan conflict, and surviving a hurricane.

It wasn’t as dark as previous entries in the series, which makes sense given that it’s peacetime and all, but Hornblower was still personally as conflicted and brilliant as ever. Although I generally would prefer a novel over a series of novellas, these stories were so charming it’s hard to imagine this final outing as anything else; this approach was a nice way to craft a happy ending without diverging into sentimentality.

I never suspected that I would love the Hornblower novels as much as I did. It would make me happy if even one person decided to read them based on my endorsement.

SOS. Really.

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This post is strange for me to write. It’s about the comic I’m writing a script for, which I’ve talked about here before, even recently, but what’s scary about this for me is that I’m going to have to let my ignorance and inexperience show in a very obvious way. So here goes. I don’t know who is reading this blog these days, if anyone, but I’d very much appreciate any advice offered.

I’m writing the script for a comic, as I’ve said. An OEL manga, really, but that’s not the important bit right now. What’s important is that I need to find an artist who is the right fit for the comic and for me, which I’m pretty terrified about, much of that terror being related to fear of presenting myself as an idiot. A few important facts:

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The Summoned by Cameron Dokey: D

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From the back cover:
Doyle is in the supermarket when the latest vision hits. Fear. Fire. Death. And an ornately engraved ancient amulet. As usual, the Powers That Be are none too specific. When he comes to, he is being tended by an anxious young woman named Terri Miller.

A shy girl from a small town, Terri is new to L.A., and feeling like a wallflower in the bright lights of this big city. Soon after her encounter with Doyle, who heads off without more than a perfunctory thank-you, a charismatic young man invites her to a meeting for a club to which he belongs.

Meanwhile, Angel and his gang have been turned on to a killer who burns his victims beyond recognition. Several of the deceased have connections to Terri’s newfound circle of friends, and Cordelia suddenly finds herself in possession of an amulet that looks awfully familiar…

Review:
Lest you think I read that description and went, “Ooh, that sounds totally awesome!”, I hasten to explain that the first five words were sufficient to induce me to check this book out from the library. I’ve read a few Angel tie-ins before, but they were all set later in the series, and consequently did not feature Doyle. And the supermarket part sounded potentially amusing. I fully expected the rest to be pretty crappy.

Alas, the supermarket turned out to be a disappointment. I wanted to see Doyle amidst the bright lights and cheesy muzak, searching grumblingly for some hard-to-find but specific item that Cordelia had sent him to fetch. Or maybe rejoicing on having scored a good deal on something random, like squash. But no, he was just on a Guinness run. Boring.

I heartily disliked Terri, who was one of those whiny “I’m so worthless” people I can’t stand. Here’s an example: she’d promised to pick something up at the store for a homeless guy, but forgot. Instead of going back in like a normal person, she was overcome by “a sense of failure greater than any she’d ever known.” She promptly joined a cult, despite having received a warning from one of its current members. When she later regretted the decision, I could summon no sympathy for her.

As predicted, the rest of the story was not good. The plot was lame and the characterization of Angel and Doyle often felt wrong. I had a hard time believing they’d say or think the things they were saying and thinking, particularly during a manufactured argument over whether Doyle was capable of charming the insipid Terri—his character further sullied by the fact that he actually liked her—in order to obtain information on the cult.

The author also had a weird habit of trying to justify things, like spending an entire page on why Doyle was using a pay phone instead of his cell to call Angel. Sometimes this resulted in puzzling lines like “Terri dropped her face into her hands. The fact that, even to her, her reaction felt obvious didn’t render it any the less potent.” I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but it seemed like the intent was to defend the clichéd writing.

Angel novels aren’t usually this lousy. I certainly hope there aren’t any out there worse than this one. For anyone considering giving them a try, I’d recommend Sanctuary as a good place to start.

Fullmetal Alchemist Read-a-Long, Volumes 3 & 4

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This is a continuation of the Fullmetal Alchemist re-read I started last weekend. It’s been such a pleasure so far to re-read this series. Hiromu Arakawa’s storytelling, rich characterization, and humor make for an incredibly compelling reading experience. I have said before that if I could ever create something that made another reader feel the way I do when I’m reading Fullmetal Alchemist, I would consider that the greatest accomplishment of my life. That statement holds up on the second read.

Discussion of Volumes 1 & 2 here. Now on to volumes 3 & 4!

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Tears of a Lamb 2 by Banri Hidaka: B+

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From the back cover:
It’s “Sports Day” at school! Coincidentally, it’s also the last day Kanzaki has a chance to make it onto the basketball team. He faces an old rival who knows about his past failures, and when an accident puts his ability to play in jeopardy, it shakes up his confidence even more. It’s up to Kei to pump him up and help him get his game face back on.

Review:
Usually, I find school events like festivals or sports days to be a bit of a cop-out story-wise, but in this case, its approach was actually mentioned in the first volume, and there’d been enough build up that it actually had some narrative importance.

Kanzaki hadn’t played basketball since near-blindness in his left eye caused him to commit an error that cost his junior high team an important game. He’d been avoiding the game since. With the help of Kei and others, he finally realized that he’d forgotten the fun that could be had in simply playing, versus the attitude that winning is everything. This might sound kind of lame, but it was really handled pretty well over the course of several chapters. I swear I got kind of verklempt at one point.

The main goodness, however, was the growing friendship between Kei and Kanzaki. I especially liked how Kanzaki was sensitive to her eating disorder (she’s a recovering anorexic) and didn’t put her in situations where she’d feel compelled to accept food. He did this completely nonchalantly, and it was an excellent way to show (not tell) his caring side. In return, she bolstered him when his confidence flagged. I’m very pleased that this relationship is shown with such a firm foundation of regard and consideration and isn’t based on love-at-first-sight theatrics.

The not so good stuff:
* The over-the-top humor from the last volume was toned down slightly, though I was annoyed when Kanzaki’s overbearing sisters visited and one had fun smacking him around. I’ve encountered that from time to time (like in Boys Over Flowers) and I dislike it thoroughly.
* There were further errors in overlays, mostly with the original not being completely removed before the translation was applied atop it. I noticed a couple of typos and weird symbols, too.

Add some mystery about Kei’s past (and one panel that hints to something in Kanzaki’s, as well) and the second volume of Tears of a Lamb works out to be a satisfying read.