Reviews

Boys Over Flowers 25 by Yoko Kamio: B

July 7, 2009 by Michelle Smith

boysoverflowers25 From the back cover:
Tsukushi has an on-and-off romantic entanglement with a hothead named Tsukasa. Tsukasa has a sketchy relationship with his even more hotheaded mother, named Kaede. Kaede has hired a near sociopath to woo Tsukushi and destroy her son’s relationship with Tsukushi once and for all. Will Tsukushi fall for this?!

Review:
The fake “cousin” hired by Kaede, whose real name is Amon, is not my favorite character, but calling him a sociopath is pretty extreme. It turns out that, one his guise is dropped, he’s actually not a bad guy. Although he has a cynical outlook on love, and advises Tsukushi on several times not to go through suffering on Tsukasa’s account because their love can only last a maximum of a few years, he is still better able to understand her than most others and offers her a different kind of relationship, free from drama but also free from love.

While this whole idea of Tsukushi dating Amon seems mostly an attempt to postpone the inevitable moment when she and Tsukasa finally, irrevocably get together, it does still offer some worthwhile moments. Tsukasa has grown to see Shigeru as a friend, and has a couple of nice conversations with her, including one in which they finally seem to realize that their hyper-wealthy lives are not normal. Also, though he initially feels like there’s nothing he can do about Tsukushi dating Amon, he somehow (exactly how isn’t clear) resolves that he’s going to make Tsukushi his.

And, okay, yes, this is kind of an antiquated idea, but somehow I love Tsukasa for this unwavering devotion. If both of the lead characters were floundering and uncertain, this series would be a mess. With the looming threat to her friends’ families if she gets near Tsukasa, Tsukushi certainly isn’t going to make the first move, so it’s up to him to help this story go somewhere satisfying. Even though I’m well aware that he’s a fictional character, I still want to cheer him on.

Bamboo Blade, Vol. 1

July 6, 2009 by Katherine Dacey

Dangerous Minds, Dead Poets Society, Stand and Deliver, and To Sir, With Love all depict teachers who are heroic in their self-sacrifice, renouncing money, family ties, and even their reputations in order to inspire students. Kojiro Ishido, the anti-hero of Bamboo Blade, won’t be mistaken for any of these noble educators. He’s bankrupt, morally and financially, and so eager to dig himself out of debt that he’d exploit his students in a heartbeat.

Kojiro’s troubles begin when he enters a bet with his old friend and sparring partner Toryah, an accomplished martial artist. If Kojiro can lead his school’s kendo club to victory over Toryah’s, Toryah will provide him with a year’s worth of free sushi from a top-notch restaurant. If Kojiro fails, he must surrender a personal treasure: the trophy he won for defeating Toryah at the 26th annual Shoryuki High School Kendo Meet. Making Kojiro’s job more challenging is the fact that Toryah coaches an all-girls’ squad; Kojiro’s co-ed team has but one female member, so he must recruit at least four more girls in order to scrimmage with Toryah’s crew. The few students who aren’t scared off by Kojiro’s acute desperation include Kirino, the club’s captain; Eiga, a plump boy who’d rather play ping pong; Nakata, Eiga’s best friend; Miya-Miya, a beautiful ditz; and Tamaki, an experienced swordswoman who initially rebuffs Kojiro’s entreaties to join the club.

Whether or not they’ll come together to form a proper team remains to be seen, but readers will be forgiven for bailing out before that point in the story, as Bamboo Blade quickly sinks under the weight of stale jokes and one-note characters. Kojiro, in particular, is a repellent creation: he’s mean, loud, and dumb, utterly lacking in the self-awareness or humility that would make him a sympathetic figure. A skillful writer might have found a way to make Kojiro’s nastiness funny — say, by making him more sardonic, or by drawing a sharper contrast between his pessimism and Kirino’s relentless optimism. Instead, Kojiro comes across as a crashing bore, a bully who’s incapable of speaking at conversational decibel levels or thinking of anything but his growling stomach. (He subsists on instant noodles and student handouts.)

The swordplay isn’t much better. Artist Aguri Igarashi’s fight scenes are impressionistic at best, employing speedlines to such a degree that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s happening in many panels; if anything, these scenes look like a forgotten Giacomo Balla painting: Kendo Fighters No. 1. I wished Igarashi had been more meticulous in showing how, exactly, a fight unfolds, from where the opponents strike one another to how they move across the floor, as there’s very little information about kendo anywhere in the story or the translation notes.

Given how exciting it is to watch a real kendo match, I’m convinced there’s a great story lurking deep within Bamboo Blade; I’m just not sure that Masahiro Totsuka and Aguri Igarashi are the right folks for the job. Sports junkies and fans of the Bamboo Blade anime may find something to like here, but rookies should avoid this team of losers.

BAMBOO BLADE, VOL. 1 • STORY BY MASAHIRO TOTSUKA, ART BY AGURI IGARASHI • YEN PRESS • 228 pp. • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)

Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom, Vol. 6

July 6, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

By Kazunari Kakei
Viz, 195 pp
Rating: T + (Older Teens)

This volume takes a dramatic turn as Nora and Kazuma are given a window into the past where they learn the truth about themselves, their destined roles, and the history of Fall, leader of the Resistance. Not that either of them are given much time to process this new information as immediately upon their return to the present, Resistance forces invade headquarters, covering the entire area in a force field and trapping the Dark Liege inside to face Fall alone. As the Dark Liege’s army fights their way through the barrier in order to save her (and maintain balance in the demon and human worlds), Nora also learns an important lesson about the value of friendship, though it comes at a terrible cost.

With Nora’s discovery of his true purpose and the real nature of his bond with Kazuma, this series takes a much-needed foray into darkness, providing exactly the kind of compelling, painful drama it has lacked up to this point. Though the series’ art is still unremarkable, the characterization has grown immensely in just a single volume. Though the primary villain, Fall, remains flat and uninspiring, both Nora and Kazuma have benefited measurably thanks to their greatly heightened stakes. Whether this new depth can be maintained remains to be seen, but it is a big step in the right direction.

Packed with new revelations and emotional drama, this volume may finally earn Nora its place in Viz’s Shonen Jump Advanced line.

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

Otomen, Volume 3

July 6, 2009 by MJ 3 Comments

Otomen, Vol. 3
By Aya Kanno
Published by Viz Media

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As this volume begins, Ryo asks Asuka to help her out at a nursery where she often volunteers. At first, Asuka is concerned that he must maintain a manly image, but the loneliness of a young boy in the group ends up bringing out Asuka’s feminine side, and in the end he wins the boy over with both his “girlish” skill in crafts (together they make adorable dolls from broken eggshells) and his “manly” physical prowess (he saves the boy from falling out the window). Also in this volume, Asuka takes Ryo to an amusement park hoping to get up the nerve to tell her his feelings; Juta is hiding more than just his career as a shojo mangaka; and Asuka finds out that his greatest rival in kendo keeps a secret of his own.

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Hikaru no Go, Volume 16

July 5, 2009 by MJ 2 Comments

Hikaru no Go, Vol. 16
By Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata
Published by Viz Media

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After volume fifteen‘s intense drama, this volume begins with relative lightness as Isumi heads to China with a group of pros to play a few friendship games at the Chinese Go Association. After a couple of devastating losses, Isumi decides to stay a few extra days in order to get a rematch with the young pro who first defeated him, but at the urging of a friendly Chinese pro, a few days becomes two months. Meanwhile, the Japanese pro world is stunned by Hikaru’s growing string of forfeits as he remains determined not to play in hopes that Sai might one day return. Though Hikaru refuses anyone who asks him to play, the one request he is unable to turn down is from Isumi who, having returned to Japan, feels that he must play a clean game with Hikaru before he will be able to face the upcoming pro test.

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Legend, Volume 5

July 4, 2009 by MJ 1 Comment

Legend, Vol. 5
By Kara & Woo SooJung
Published by Yen Press

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As this volume begins, No-Ah is still recovering from his nearly lethal encounter at the end of the last volume, and as she watches over his sleeping form, Eun-Gyo wonders for the first time just how difficult No-Ah’s path has been. Though No-Ah’s poison-induced injury seems to heal with miraculous speed, Eun-Gyo has found a new determination to protect him instead of the other way around. Refusing to be protected, No-Ah stubbornly heads off on his own, unfortunately leaving the window open for a new enemy to sweep in and capture Eun-Gyo. The enemy takes the form of deceased customs officer Sook-Chung Park, but his true identity is far more disquieting.

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Sarasah, Volume 1

July 1, 2009 by MJ 10 Comments

Sarasah, Vol. 1
By Ryu Rang
Published by Yen Press

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High school student Ji-Hae has an obsessive, long-time crush on her classmate Seung-Hyu. She pursues him relentlessly–so much so that she’s pushed him to the point of utter disgust. When her elaborate birthday scheme (involving an enormous banner, a hall full of floating feathers, and a note reading, “You are mine. You can’t get away.”) finally pushes him to the brink, he accidentally pushes her down the school stairwell to her probable death. Ji-Hae finds herself waking in a new world, where she is told that it is not yet her time to die and that she must return to the living world. Horrified by the prospect of returning to a life of humiliation and unrequited love, Ji-Hae begs to be able to just stay dead, but instead is granted the opportunity to return to a former life–the original source of her discord with Seung-Hyu–to rewrite her soul’s own history in hopes of earning a second chance at love.

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Boys Over Flowers 24 by Yoko Kamio: B

June 30, 2009 by Michelle Smith

boysoverflowers24 From the back cover:
Tsukushi has been unconscious for two days and wakes up in Tsukasa’s cousin’s home! This terrifying man saved her life and now he’s courting her! What is the secret behind this mysterious cousin who so closely resembles Tsukasa, and what could be the reason for his intense hatred of Tsukasa? Why does Tsukasa not know anything about him?

Review:
I find I’m kind of running out of things to say about this series. Each volume is usually a combination of good scenes between Tsukushi and Tsukasa and silly plot happenings that often border on ludicrous. Volume 24 manages to be pretty decent without much direct interaction between the two leads, at least.

Tsukushi is pursued by a guy who claims to be Tsukasa’s cousin, though he pretty quickly reveals himself (to the reader) to be more than he’s letting on. Tsukushi’s rich friends are suspicious and take it upon themselves to investigate, and though this involves a bunch of mistaken notions about detecting, it’s all still kind of sweet.

The best part of the story at this point is kind of underplayed. Tsukasa has already asked Tsukushi if she’s never once regarded him as just a guy, and seeing a rival version of himself without all the rich boy baggage is bothering him. In an attempt to prove how normal he is, for example, he decides that he is going to travel by train. The experience is almost entirely played for comedy, but there is one moment with Akira where Tsukasa asks, “Akira, I’m not very different from these other guys on the train, am I?” Alas, he doesn’t get the answer he wants.

Once the truth about the cousin is revealed, Tsukushi gets good and fired up and demands to see Kaede. While she’s feeling rebellious, I’d like to see her finally confess her love to Tsukasa, but I have a feeling that’s still several volumes away, at least. Sigh.

Click 5 by Youngran Lee: B-

June 30, 2009 by Michelle Smith

Book description:
While Jinhoo doesn’t believe Heewon’s declaration that Joonha is actually a girl, his girlfriend, Hyejin, manages to catch a glimpse of Joonha in his school uniform. Will she share that information with Jinhoo, and risk him leaving her for his former best friend?

Review:
The status quo is upheld in this volume. Not much really happens aside from Hyejin becoming convinced that Joonha is a girl, but because of her own insecurities—we see in a side story about her that she has always felt Jinhoo valued Joonha more than he did her—her first thought is that Jinhoo is going to leave her. I can’t really like Hyejin much, or any of the characters for that matter, but I do have a little bit of sympathy for her, at least.

A diagram of the relationships in this series would be pretty amusing. Here’s how they stand at this point: Joonha is attracted to his/her best friend Jinhoo (who is going out with Hyejin, who hates Joonha), a new friend Taehyun, and a former love interest Heewon (who is now going out with Taehyun’s lackey, Jihan). With whom will Joonha end up?! Seeing as how I can’t stand Heewon at all, I’m really hoping it isn’t her. The pull towards Jinhoo is strong, but I think I actually prefer the idea of Joonha teaming up with Taehyun and getting away from the angst of the past.

In terms of redeeming qualities, Click doesn’t really have a lot aside from its sheer addictive potential. The premise is silly, the story’s kind of stagnating, and I don’t really like anybody, but I still want to know how it all ends.

KimiKiss, Vol. 1

June 29, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

By Taro Shinonome & Enterbrain, Inc.
Tokyopop, 224 pp.
Rating: 16+

Kouchi and Mao have been friends since childhood, but now that they are in high school, Kouchi is depressed that he hasn’t managed to attract a girlfriend. Mao offers to help him become a “real stud” by teaching him how to be attractive to girls, beginning with lessons in kissing. The lessons start to get a bit steamy, especially after Mao is invited to sleep over with Kouchi’s little sister, resulting in a late-night tryst in Kouchi’s bed. On a later trip to the local pool, Mao really turns up the heat, but when she notices Kouchi talking to another girl, she realizes that her time with him may be over. Fortunately, Kouchi realizes that the girl he really likes is, in fact, Mao, something he finds the courage to tell her just in time.

Based on a PS2 dating sim, it comes as no surprise that the story’s plot is unoriginal and generally predictable. Unfortunately, KimiKiss is even more disappointing than might be expected. The humor is embarrassing (“Heh, heh, your balls are huge!,” Mao says, referring to Kouchi’s riceballs as they picnic by the pool), the art is dull, and even the plentiful fanservice—the series’ one potential draw—is nothing that hasn’t already been thoroughly explored by a thousand 1980s teen films. Following its cardboard characters through pages of generic dialogue and lifeless plot is honestly excruciating, and even the hero’s sweet sincerity is unable to save the day. Overall, KimiKiss is a series best missed.

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

Papillon 3 by Miwa Ueda: B-

June 29, 2009 by Michelle Smith

papillon125 Ageha grew up in the shadow of her beautiful twin sister, Hana, but lately, with the help of her school counselor, Ichijiku-sensei, she’s been gaining confidence. As volume three begins, Ichijiku and Ageha have begun dating, but it doesn’t last long, as devious Hana dupes Ichijiku into believing she’s Ageha and behaves obnoxiously on a date, causing him to call off the relationship. He eventually figures things out, but getting dumped (even mistakenly) is fuel for Ageha’s insecurities, and more drama ensues. Hana, meanwhile, continues to impersonate her sister, using that guise to test her boyfriend’s fidelity.

Papillon has some pretty significant problems. In this volume, for example, it’s completely ridiculous that Ichijiku does not recognize Hana for who she is. She dresses differently, addresses him informally, doesn’t respond to the nickname he’s given Ageha, and behaves like a selfish wench. Ageha and Hana’s boyfriend also fall victim to her tricks without hesitation. With everyone being so incredibly easy to manipulate, I find myself actually rooting for Hana!

The main problem, though, is that I just can’t cheer on the budding relationship between Ageha and Ichijiku because he is a school counselor and she is a student. When Hana’s ruse prompts him to suddenly become a stickler for the rules and declare that a relationship between them is impossible, I think he’s actually making the right call.

Despite these complaints, though, Papillon still somehow manages to be an entertaining read. Part of it is the art, which is quite attractive, and part of it is Hana. I simply must see what deceitful plan she’ll come up with next.

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

Yuri Monogatari, Volume 6

June 28, 2009 by MJ 2 Comments

Yuri Monogatari, Vol. 6
Published by ALC Publishing

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Yuri Monogatari, now in its sixth volume, is an anthology of short comics featuring lesbian life and love, special in both its unity of theme and diversity of art. Written and drawn by artists from across the globe, the vast differences in style and storytelling could easily create a fractured feel over the length of the volume, but instead there is the sense that there is simply something for everyone. Though there were certainly stories that appealed to me less than others, no story was easily pigeonholed from the beginning and I found that I ended up really enjoying some stories much more than I would have expected based only on a first glance at the artwork.

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Children of the Sea, Volume 1

June 27, 2009 by MJ 12 Comments

Children of the Sea, Vol. 1
By Daisuke Igarashi
Published by Viz Media

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Though summer has just begun, Ruka’s temper has gotten her kicked off her handball team, leaving her with nothing to do. Taking the train to Tokyo on a whim, she encounters a young boy at the ocean who seems to intuitively understand her thoughts. When the boy turns up later at the aquarium where her father works, she discovers that he was one of two young boys found swimming with a herd of dugongs, by whom they had most likely been raised. Though she tells her mother she is still attending handball practice, Ruka continues to return to the aquarium to see the boy, Umi, and eventually her father gives her the job of entertaining Umi (and his less friendly brother, Sora) as “punishment” for her behavior. As she spends time with the boys, Ruka finds out that they have experienced the same strange sight she did as a young child–a fish that turned into light and disappeared before her eyes–something they call the “ghost of the sea.” Drawn to these boys and to the mysterious world of the sea, Ruka’s long, strange summer truly begins.

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One Thousand and One Nights, Volume 8

June 25, 2009 by MJ 1 Comment

One Thousand and One Nights, Vol. 8
By Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok
Published by Yen Press

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At the end of volume seven, Sehara sacrificed himself to save his sultan by offering to accompany the crusaders out of Baghdad as Lord McCloud’s bard in exchange for the safety of Shahryar and company. This volume begins as the events are being relayed to Sehara’s sister, Dunya, revealing further details of the exchange including an unexpectedly touching (and unusually erotic) good-bye from Sehara in which he kisses the end of Shahryar’s sword. …

Mushishi, Volume 7

June 24, 2009 by MJ 6 Comments

Mushishi, Vol. 7
By Yuki Urushibara
Published by Del Rey Manga

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The seventh volume Yuki Urushibara’s quiet, supernatural series strikes a particularly sinister tone as nearly all its stories expose the ugliest aspects of humanity. First, “Lost in Blossoms” involves a family who has been keeping one woman alive for hundreds of years by feeding her on a sap-like mushi and grafting her head onto younger bodies whenever hers is about to die. “At the Foot of Lightning” studies a mother who is utterly unable to love her own child or even care that he exists. “The Ragged Road,” told in two parts, delves into the darkest secrets of the Minai family–the most ancient line of mushishi–and what they are willing to do to themselves (and each other) in order to maintain their calling. Only the second story, “The Mirror in the Muck,” displays any kind of real hope for humanity, as its heartbroken heroine makes the choice to live on, even in pain, instead of allowing a mushi to steal her existence. Though these tales are almost uniformly bleak, the series remains no less beautiful or mysterious than it has from the beginning.

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