Reviews

By Rumiko Takahashi. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz.

I’ve joked several times in the last few weeks about warning people that this volume features the debut of Happosai, but there’s a kernel of truth to that warning: Happosai is repugnant, and a polarizing figure both within Ranma fandom and within the series itself. Not because anyone really likes him – even his fans think he adds some fun comedy but don’t like him personally – but whether the comedy he adds to the series is really needed. Because Happi is defined by being a pervert – yes, an incredibly strong martial arts master pervert, but a pervert just the same. He feels up women, he steals their underwear, he literally gains strength through contact with females. He is a walking trigger warning. He’s meant to be the male version of Cologne, but Cologne’s actions all serve a greater purpose – at least so far – and Ranma learns a great deal from her. For all that Happi is supposed to be training Ranma as his successor, there’s no lessons, no training, and no point. He is a pox on Ranma 1/2, and will be here till the end of the series. He doesn’t even make horrible puns, like Cherry, his spiritual predecessor from UY, did.

(breaths out) I feel better. Now let’s talk about what was fun this volume. Ranma has settled into doing what it does best, which is ‘almost anything goes in the name of comedy’. (It’s not *quite* as over the top as UY, so I added the ‘almost’.) There’s lots of martial arts battles, as we see Ranma, Akane and Shampoo compete in martial arts takeout delivery, as well as Akane and Ranma fighting to defend the name of their supposed school when a Dojo Destroyer comes to town (the Destroyer himself looks like a ridiculous over the top stereotype, and barely speaks, but I’ll gloss over that for now. And there’s plenty of comedy, as Ranma’s class puts on a production of Romeo and Juliet, which means a lot to Akane (who was Romeo as a kid, but now finally gets to be Juliet), but little to any of the various competing Romeos, including Ranma. (I was highly amused to see her yelling at Ranma for not reading the play, as in the end all Takahashi takes from the original is ‘balcony scene’ and ‘kiss’.)

There’s quite a lot of time devoted to Ranma (and sometimes Genma) trying to find a cure for the curse, and there are a few temporary cures but nothing really permanent. While this will still play out across the series, as we get further in Ranma simply gets more accepting of his dual nature, and seeing the desperation shown here is interesting. As for Ranma and Akane themselves, they’re both quite attracted to each other and sympathetic to each other’s pain once they pause to think – but they hardly ever do that anymore, so when we do see such moments (Akane bringing Ranma warm food and drink in the backlot), it’s nice and heartwarming. (The box Happi hides under in that scene, by the way, has a reference to Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. Wrong company! Shogakukan should be turning in its grave! Don’t tell me they aren’t dead, I’ve seen what Sunday sales in Japan are like lately.)

Miscellaneous thoughts: At one point, when Genma is at his absolute sketchiest, Kasumi calls him annoying. For Kasumi, this is a devastating comment, particularly this late in the series. Both Genma and Soun come off particularly badly in this volume, both as former disciples of Happi who want to be free of him but can’t do anything about it, and as parents who try to trick their children into marrying each other. Nabiki still exists mostly as the “normal” character – we see her deny she’s related to her family more than once in this volume – and Takahashi’s habit of showing her constantly eating is in full force here. Kuno and Gosunkugi are also as loopy as ever – Gosunkugi in particular suffers so much and is loathed by so many you can’t help but laugh at his pathetic awfulness.

Another solid volume of Ranma, though those who found the series beginning to grate at this point and hoping for more plot resolution are only going to get more annoyed as it goes on. Next time around we’ll introduce our final main cast member, and one who’s even more polarizing in her own way. Not because of her own characteristics, but because of how she gave fans who hate Akane a real alternative, and the ship wars truly began in earnest. Next time, we’ll talk Ukyou Kuonji.

By Kenjiro Hata. Released in Japan as “Hayate no Gotoku!” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz.

This is probably my favorite volume of Hayate the Combat Butler to date. It manages to resolve the Athena storyline with a lot of fighting spirit, emotional turmoil, and one big “call my name” rescue by Hayate. But is also has a great deal of heart, as we see Hayate’s reunion with Athena, Hina’s heart-to-heart with Ayumu, and some strikingly normal and non-insane life advice from Yukiji. And don’t worry, there’s a good amount of humor here as well, mostly featuring the minor cast back at the hotel having to fight off a pack of mythological beasts. This volume packs a lot of stuff into it, and it’s no surprise that the emotional resolution of Athena’s storyline will carry over into Volume 25.

We also see Nagi at perhaps her most mature, even as she insists that Hayate can protect her from anything. Nagi has been a bit of a polarizing character, being both underage *and* tsundere, but even her detractors seemed to like this scene, where she crushes the stone that represents Hayate’s moral dilemma, and announces that she will deal with the consequences no matter what. Of course, I doubt she really realizes what it’s like for a girl like her to live without money, but it’s still great to see.

Likewise, it’s always nice to see Yukiji as the big sister that she usually tries to avoid being. She senses Hina’s abject depression even over the phone, and so flies over there to set things right. (Hina lampshades that this is possible, as she notes Yukiji would have to fly all the way from Italy… which isn’t that far away from Greece, in fact.) Yukiji’s advice is blunt but necessary, as Hina (and Ayumu) both need to be reminded that even in a manga, you sometimes can’t get the happy ending you want, and that this is what life is – a series of struggles. The friendship forged by Hina and Ayumu is important right now, as they can console each other – and also note that it’s nice to be in love with a man who’s loved the same woman for 10 years now, rather than an indecisive player (which Hayate is often accused of being.)

Hina also gets to be at the final battle, as Ayumu and Aika coerce her into dressing as Red, the super sentai hero. Then a magical sword drags her to the battle (literally) that Hayate is having with a possessed Athena and King Midas. There’s little to no humor here, as we see Athena’s struggles and Hayate’s anguish in raw, unfiltered scenes. Yet even here, Hata can’t resist making cultural references – the entire finale is an homage to the end of Shoujo Kakumei Utena, with Athena trapped in a dark place surrounded by swords, and Hayate breaking through in order to rescue her from her despair. It’s hard not to cry with happiness as they embrace, Midas vanquished at last – even as Hina, making a quick exit, is trying not to cry in emotional pain.

The last chapter is pure romantic shipping fluff, as Athena gives into to her grumpy tsundere side (that 3/4 of this cast seems to possess) and tries fishing for compliments while at the same time being upset by them – witness her attack on Hayate after he notes how he was surprised how large her breasts had gotten. As the volume ends, Athena starts to tell Hayate how she escaped from the castle ten years ago, but I have a feeling that we’re also due for a parting soon – after all, Hayate is up to Vol. 41+ in Japan, and did not end with Hayate and Athena ending up together. So expect the next volume to nudge back towards the comedic status quo. For now, however, this was an amazing volume of shonen manga, and well worth the temporary departure from comedy.

By Arina Tanemura. Released in Japan as “Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne” by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Ribon. Released in North America by Viz.

Before I get started, I want to note that I remain immensely pleased with this series. It has a lot of what magical girl series should have, a nice sense of humor even in its darkest moments, a good deal of cuteness, and the ongoing plot is fascinating. Everyone should be picking this up. With that said, let me spend this review dwelling a bit on things that felt problematic to me in this volume.

To be fair, one of these things is sort of unavoidable. In her massive villain rant at the start of the series, Finn Fish reveals that Maron has been manipulated, not just since she met Finn, but since birth, as it was the influence of Satan that led to her parents breaking up. I dislike the agency that this removes, and feel that it makes her parents less interesting people – their almost shallow horribleness was a large part of what made Maron so strong and interesting. But then that’s Finn’s point, and certainly if you’re in a series where God and Satan are real, you have to expect temptation to have more concrete forms.

Less excusable is Maron’s forgiveness of Noin’s actions once they go back in time to meet Jeanne D’Arc. She immediately rationalizes the attempted rape by noting that if he’d meant to go through with it, he would have done it while she slept, and also points out that it was due to both being possessed by a demon and his love for Jeanne. Which, yes, is true, but the whole “It’s OK, you were just overcome in the heat of the moment” forgiveness rankles in many shoujo titles. We also have several moments in the second half where Chiaki is attracted to Maron so much that he forces himself on her multiple times. This is meant to be half-amusing, and he beats himself up over it, but that doesn’t actually stop the attempts, even when he knows she’s in a fragile state.

And then there’s Miyako. She gets less of a role to play in this volume until the end, clearly upset that the “phantom thief” isn’t appearing anymore. The problem is that her plotline is mostly resolved – she’s realized that Chiaki loves Maron, and that she can’t really do anything to change that. So, as she herself notes, all that’s left to do is confess to him, get rejected and move on. She is, therefore, too nice to be an antagonist anymore. And that has to be fixed, so at the end of the volume we see her abducted by Finn, and she later pops up, I suspect, clearly possessed by evil. I wish there were a more natural way to do this.

That said, there’s still so much to love about this volume, don’t get me wrong. Everything about Finn’s past and her relationship with Access is beautifully tragic, and (typical for Japan) paints God as being not all that much better when it comes to forgiveness. Yamato’s confession to Maron, and subsequent rejection, plays out beautifully, and is likely why Tanemura wanted to avoid repeating it with Miyako. And the time travel arc is handled surprisingly well and logically, and among its questionable forgiveness does have Maron assuring Jeanne that being raped does not make you less good of a person.

To sum up, see the start of this review. Even with my issues, it’s still far and away by favorite Tanemura series.

Gangsta Volume 3 by Kohske

I continue to thoroughly enjoy this seinen title set in a world where two men with a brotherly bond make money doing odd jobs for the mafia, in a world where genetically enhanced humans are both fearsome soldiers and a disrespected underclass. I thought after reading volume 2 and getting a peak at the cover for this volume that the reader would be getting a bit more backstory on how Nic and Worick first met, and I wasn’t disappointed.

We get a glimpse of Worick’s life before he became a handyman at large and sometime gigolo. He was brought up by a wealthy family with an abusive father who never hesitated to remind him of his illegitimacy. He’s all alone until he gets assigned an unconventional bodyguard Nic, who is working through his own problems as a deaf Twilighter with few communication skills. The two young men gradually grow closer together, with Worick acting as a bit of a tutor. They pour over a sign language book together. This isn’t an idyll by any means, as Worick is beaten by his father, and Nic is abused by the mercenary troop that just wants to take advantage of his skills and dump him when he’s useless.

In the present day Alex finds herself more drawn in to the daily lives of the two handymen and their friends at the nearby medical clinic. There are some mafia conspiracies going on that I’m sure will be drawing in everybody into a violent confrontation. More Twilighters are popping up, and I think things are going to get even more bloody in the volumes ahead The violence in this manga contrasts with some of the slice of life pacing and the strong relationships that develop as the characters intersect. The art manages to be both stylish and dynamic, and the action scenes are effective in showing the enhances powers of the Twilights, and the aftereffects of their actions. Kohske is building an interesting world. If you enjoy seinen with an edge, you can’t go wrong with this manga.

By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

When I reviewed the last volume, I said that there was a bit too much going on for me to get a handle on all of it, and that goes double for this volume, which rarely stays on one character for longer than a few pages. As such, I think it’s time to bring out the bullet point review style, which I haven’t done in some time.

— So we get to see Sanji’s reputation as a loser who is easily manipulated by women, but this is undercut a great deal by having him actually be right about her needing help, of course. Sigh. One day I’d like to see a pretty girl who isn’t swayed by Sanji’s annoying chivalry. (Well, one can argue Nami and Robin perform this function…)
— I like the reveal that Donflamingo had the press send a retraction on this quitting the Warlords 12 hours later, right after all his enemies would have taken the bait. It’s quite clever. I also like that Law, given an easy chance, still respects Luffy enough to not take it, and proclaims that they are equal allies.
— Naturally, Usopp playing the hero is getting him into all sorts of trouble, as now he has to lead a Tontatta army to rescue their missing princess (who is apparently a horrible person, but is one of them, so must be rescued). Meanwhile, Robin is resting after using up her one big surprised face last volume, so she’s mostly stoic here.
— Nami, Chopper, and Brook get very little to do, but I have to admit that Oda still knows how to use fruit powers to his advantage. The Picasso fruit allows him to try styles for the characters that are both horrifying and hilarious.
— As I suspected last volume, the big reveal about the toys is that they were once people – and, tragically, they remember this, but the people who they were connected to (wives, children) do not. This is incredibly sad if you think about it, especially as it’s been going on for years. I wonder how this will fall out once the Straw Hat Pirates save the day?
— Much of Luffy’s fight in the ring is taken up by a bunch of seemingly awesome fighters who get taken out by a slew of other even more awesome fighters, as in most tournament arcs. I did like the Ideon ref. The one to note here is Chin Jao, who, as per One Piece tradition, has a backstory both extraordinarily sad and extraordinarily stupid at the same time. (Seriously, without his head being pointy, nothing can happen? He’s that much of a can opener?) That said, in the end it’s Luffy punching the grudge out of him.
–And then there’s Rebecca, who has an even more tragic backstory, which resembles Nami and Robin’s a bit too much for my liking. She’s going out their to kick ass, but I have a sinking feeling that she’s going to need saving. There was much discussion when she appeared that she might join the crew, but her tragic past flashback is only a few pages, so chances aren’t good. We shall see.

Oda is still doing what he does best, and tehre are some very clever twists in this volume. One Piece fans should be quite satisfied.

By Adachitoka. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Monthly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

It’s rare to see the word ‘Monthly’ next to Shonen Magazine in North American licenses. Between the licenses from the regular Weekly publication (Fairy Tail, UQ Holder, etc.) and the ‘cool’ alternative of Bessatsu (Attack on Titan, Sankarea, Flowers of Evil), Monthly doesn’t really get much of a look. It tends towards longer series, which may be a primary reason, and there’s also a lot of sports titles, including long-runner Dear Boys. Del Rey tried out Pumpkin Scissors, but it fell victim to The Great Del Rey Cull of 2010 (as seen in all good history books). But now we have Noragami: Stray God, a fantasy featuring a god who’s somewhat full of himself and a young girl who struggles to deal with her new-found brush with death.

As I read Noragami, I was struck by its similarity to another title I follow, Rin-Ne. Another spiritual odd jobs man who helps out people in need, even if they may turn out to not really deserve the help they get, and does so despite being on the edge of poverty. Takahashui’s series, though, has fairly mild characters in the lead roles. That’s not the cast with Noragami. I was struck after finishing the first chapter how hard it was to latch onto anything, which makes it a relief that it was a sort of prologue. A victim of class bullying, Mutsumi comes across as somewhat passive and shallow, and even though I am not fond of ‘it’s the victim’s fault for not standing up for herself’ plotlines, you can see Yato’s point.

As for Yato, he’s a very quirky sort of hero, coming across as a bit of a jerk, to the extent that his old Shinki, the only one in the first chapter who seemed like a decent person, abandons him. Of course, this is not the end. Yato is a decent person at heart, it’s just he keeps up a shell of over-the-top dramatics and uncaring dialogue. Things perk up when we meet Hiyori, who does end up taking the role of the audience identification character. She’s a little weird herself (her obsession with pro wrestling is her character introduction), but comes across as nice and sympathetic, and attempts to figure out what to do after an impulsive attempt to save Yato from a care crash leaves her in the realm between life and death (complete with tail for added service).

At the end of the series we meet Yato’s supposed new ShinkiYukine… who seems very ungrateful to be in this position, and whose discussion of Yato’s faults reminds me a lot of the original Shinki we met. Will he stick around long enough to see Volume 3? More to the point, will I? This is an intriguing new series, but it’s hard to really bond with anyone in it, and its plot is being done elsewhere as well. Those who enjoy fantasy comedies should like Noragami, but it can be as hard to take as its hero most of the time.

By Shimura Takako. Released in Japan by Enterbrain, serialized in the magazine Comic Beam. Released in North America by Fantagraphics.

Childhood and growing up is all about making big mistakes and then trying to deal with them, or make up for them, or (most often) realize that you can’t really make up for some things. This volume of Wandering Son definitely feels like that’s what’s happening with Takatsuki, who lets a secret blurt out in an impetuous moment and then has to deal with the fallout. Meanwhile, Nitori seems to have moved on from Takatsuki himself, as he’s started to date – and no big surprise who it is. This may be a heartwarming cutting edge coming of age manga, but if a girl says she hates a guy in Book 4, she’s going to be dating him in Book 7.

We’ve focused mainly on Nitori and his desires, but Takatsuki is the other half of this story, and her gender issues have not gone away. It’s harder for her to accomplish what she wants, though. There are little victories, such as leaving her ribbon off at school or binding her chest to hide her growing breasts. But there’s also Chiba, who proclaims her dislike of Takatsuki but can’t stop dealing with her. Takatsuki is not helping things either. Her revelation that Nitori is dating Anna is pure spite, and she knows how Chiba feels, so should not be surprised at the devastation that follows. It ends up forcing the two of them to deal with each other more directly, though. I wonder if Takatsuki will follow Chiba’s suggestion towards the end of the volume.

Meanwhile, as noted, Nitori and Anna have started going out. They’re very cute together, though Nitori’s gender issues have not yet really come between them, and it’s critical to note that he goes out with her and confesses to her as a male. He’s really come a long way, though, and I feel happy for him. All is not sunshine and rainbows, of course; puberty brings its own problems, in this case acne, and the fact that some cleansers simply work differently for different types of faces. And there’s Seya, forced together with Nitori on a skiing trip, who’s still having issues with how cute Nitori is and dealing with the reaction to that.

And I keep coming back to Chiba. She actually stays home for a considerable period after the Anna revelation, and is considering dropping out entirely. All of Nitori and Takatsuki’s friends seem to grate on her these days, and I am reminded what a difficult thing it is to get everyone in a young peer group to get along, or even communicate with each other properly. Things are looking up as she goes with the class on the ski trip, but even there she can’t really stop trying to influence people to change the way she wants them to change, something I think she has regretted before and will regret again. She’s a giant mess, and still my favorite character in the series.

Wandering Son is a nostalgic look back at what it was like to go through childhood, and if that sounds painful and discomfiting, it’s probably meant to be. But there’s a lot of warmth and affection here as well, and we long to see the cast struggle, make more mistakes, and continue to move forward. Highly recommended.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press.

The author of this novel admits in his afterword that the first book was an excellent stand alone, but did not really make for much of an ongoing series. So, in order to fix that, he’s going back and adding a few elements that might a) expand the cast and draw in a few more fans of those ‘types’, b) expand the world of Aincrad a bit more before everyone is free of it, and c) give a bit more depth to Kirito’s mental and emotional issues while continuing to show off how amazing he is (really, if Kirito bothers you as a super awesome guy, you should probably find some other series to read. I’ve no real issues with it.)

This novel consists of four short stories, and while they all achieve something, I’d have to see it’s the last two that hold more emotional weight and are better written. In the first story we meet Silica, a young girl who has a rare beast and has let it go to her head, with potentially tragic circumstances. Kirito straight up admits (though later he reveals that part of this was a ploy) that he’s helping her as she reminds him of his younger sister. Having read Fairy Dance’s manga, I don’t really see it, but again, ploy. We see a bit of how criminal activity works in the world of SAO, and also how a young girl on her own would have to deal with creepers – Silica is well-known, popular, and underage, a dangerous combination even in a MMORPG.

Next we meet Lisbeth, a blacksmith who is friends with Asuna and indeed shares many of her qualities. Kirito comes to her looking for a second sword, and so they have to go on a quest for the mystery metal that can make it. I found this the weakest story in a few ways, but it does manage to highlight what it must be like for an outsider on coming across the relationship between Kirito and Asuna. The author may be adding more cute girls to fall for Kirito (we get three in this book alone), but never lets us forget that Kirito and Asuna are THE couple, and Lisbeth, much as it hurts, can’t bring herself to try to come between them. (She also gets first person narration, the first we’ve seen that isn’t Kirito’s.)

The third story was my favorite, and not coincidentally focused on Kirito and Asuna right after they get married, when they come across a young girl in the forest. The manga adapted this, but I hadn’t realized how much it was compressed – here we meet several more cast, and it’s revealed that most of the young kids in the game are not leveling up like Silica, but just wanting to survive. Sasha corralling them is a definite good thing. It’s also nice seeing a romantic couple that isn’t the main one – Yuriel attempts to frame Thinker as her commanding officer, but it becomes clear early on she’s deeply in love with him. Mostly, though, this is the heartbreaking story of an AI who overcomes mental blocks to help her parents, and a coulpe that experience the exquisite pain of losing their child.

The last short story is the shortest, and is the only story in first-person Kirito narration. It expands on the story he’d told us in the first book about the guild he joined that was wiped out – in particular Sachi, the young woman he reassures but can’t quite save. This is Kirito at his darkest and most driven, and it’s stated several times that he’s in a suicidal state. It’s stark and emotional, though the actual guild and their fate is more of a catalyst than anything else – this is not about them, it’s about how Kirito can get over his grief and start to recover.

As you’d expect, this was a lot more uneven than the first book, but I enjoy its leads, and I like the expanded worldbuilding. Now that we’ve done that, hopefully Book 3 will show us Kirito and Asuna happily reuniting in the real world. Well, unless something goes horribly wrong…