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Reviews

Red Blinds the Foolish by est em: A-

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From the back cover:
Rafita is the young, rising star of the bullfighting world known as “The Red Matador.” He has never feared facing a bull since his first kill at the age of twelve. But when he falls in love with Mauro, a butcher who rends the bulls that Rafita kills, his confidence begins to waver. In the matador’s dreams, Mauro (who, like a bull, is colorblind) is, alternately, the bull he faces in the ring and the butcher who carves up his own skewered corpse. Beautifully observed and drawn by est em, the author of Seduce Me After the Show, with a depth of style and passion, Red Blinds the Foolish depicts a complex relationship, and a cultural form, in a place where the sublime and the savage meet.

Review:
Red Blinds the Foolish includes the title story, told in three chapters, and four additional stories, one of which deals with one of the characters from “Red Blinds the Foolish” as a younger man.

The title story is definitely my favorite of the volume. I like the languid mood, the unique setting of Madrid, and the incorporation of some Spanish bullfighting terms. There are some things that transpire between them that I don’t really get, like some things Mauro says to Rafita that apparently drive away his bad dreams and enable him to be a success in the ring again, but on the whole I really like this story. One of the things est em does best is show the guys having intelligent conversations that don’t in any way revolve around romance or their relationship. Like with Seduce Me After the Show, these are grown, professional men with ambitions and skills, and I enjoy when they talk about such things with their lovers.

Three of the remaining short stories are good, but not great. “Corpse of the Round Table” explains the origin of a scar Mauro has as well as how he ended up a butcher. “Baby, Stamp Your Foot” is about a shoemaker who gets aroused when his lovers wear shoes he has made for them. “Tiempos Extra” is about a rabid soccer fan and the stadium security guard who fancies him.

The last story, “Lumiere,” is another that I liked a lot. An old, bedridden man is dictating a story to a younger man. The story is about a choreographer who encounters a phenomenal male dancer, which resonates with the younger man because he, too, is in love with a dancer. Not a lot happens in this story, but it, too, has the languid mood that seems to be what all my favorite est em stories have in common.

Ultimately, I liked Seduce Me After the Show a little more, but this is a very close second.

NANA volume 14

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There is little that fills my heart with such joy as a new volume of NANA, though the story itself has gotten pretty troubling. From the back cover:

As Blast gears up for their major label debut, their fan club starts mobilizing. Led by the chic Shion, these ladies are serious fans who won’t let anyone mess with their band. But the fan club has it out for Misato, a maverick fan who has gotten too close to Nana. What will they say when they find out Misato is applying for a job with Blast?!

I find it hilarious that this is what they’ve chosen to talk about on the back cover of this volume, for though this certainly something that happens (sort of) in volume 14, it is so far from being the real drama, it’s almost funny. Real spoilers after the jump. …

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A few quick links

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First of all, I’m glad I stopped using LiveJournal as my main blog a while back, considering the news that is circulating today. I’m posting this mainly for those of you who are reading on the LJ-mirror of this blog, but also to whine about how I’m going to have to spend time making sure I backed up all the freakin’ fanfiction, most of which I was hoping never to look at again. Oh, *sigh*. On the heels of this news, Squeaky has posted over at InsaneJournal to reassure users of that site’s financial stability.

Secondly, Deb Aoki has added a poll about 2008’s new shonen manga to go along with yesterday’s shojo poll. Both polls are open for several weeks, so there’s even time to read up on what you’ve missed! Apparently there is a seinen poll coming up too! Keep your eyes on about.com!

Lastly we come to my main reason for this entry, which is to point you all toward my full-length review of the first six volumes of One Thousand and One Nights, a manhwa retelling of the 9th century classic, over at Manga Recon. I’m especially excited about this review, because I hadn’t heard much about the series before I was sent the review copies, and I completely fell in love with it, which was pretty damn exciting. I’m sure this will happen many more times as I continue at Manga Recon, but after such winners as Hanky Panky and Make Love & Peace it really was an intoxicating experience.

I actually have a lot more to say about it than I could fit in the review, so I may talk more here later on. For now, check out my review!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 3 by Drew Goddard: C

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From the back cover:
A team of Japanese vampires who can transform into wolves, panthers, and fog attack the Slayer compound in the highlands of Scotland, stealing Buffy’s mystical scythe—the weapon that transformed thousands of young women into Slayers. Unable to fight these mysterious new foes, Buffy sends Xander to see his old friend—the only vampire known to possess these incredible powers—Dracula.

Review:
I really disliked the “Wolves at the Gate” arc when it was coming out, but it works a little better when read all in one sitting, and with the stand-alone issue “A Beautiful Sunset” as an introduction. “A Beautiful Sunset” itself is quite good. In it, Buffy warns Satsu about the dangers of being in love with her, and has an encounter with the Big Bad, Twilight. I love that Twilight asks Buffy whether all of these additional Slayers have actually helped her in any way, and she can offer no response.

“Wolves at the Gate” spans issues twelve to fifteen, and it’s here where things start to get kind of annoying. How so? I’ll bust out the bullet points. Warning: full of spoilers.

* The Buffy/Satsu publicity buzz. Even though Joss insists that Buffy’s hook-up with a fellow Slayer was not a publicity stunt, you could’ve fooled me. There were reports of comic shops being told to stock up in advance on this one because it would be popular, and all kinds of interviews and stuff being given. I also don’t like that we never see how the two of them got to that point. Without that, I just can’t buy Buffy being attracted to a girl.

* Dracula. I am so tired of Season Eight bringing back random characters from the show. Please focus on the core group! Oh, and he supposedly lost his powers to this bunch of Japanese vampires by gambling.

* Andrew’s lecture on Dracula, during the course of which he says that Xander and Dracula have been letter-writing pals and that, after Anya died, Xander went to live with Dracula for a while. Um, what the hell?! This is stupid and retconny and entirely only there so that “Antique,” a short story Goddard contributed to the non-canon graphic novel Tales of the Vampires and which features Buffy coming to Dracula’s castle to retrieve Xander after this period of cohabitation, can become canon. I cry foul. (Note: Not that Andrew is at all a reliable source, but his comments are not contradicted.)

* Renee’s fate. Okay, yes, I never see these things coming, but jeez. Enough is enough. A happy ending for a couple would be more surprising these days.

* Mecha Dawn. Quite possibly the dumbest thing in this series yet. Why on earth would the Japanese vampires take the time to construct a Dawn mecha? What’s more, they have programmed it to say things like, “I cry a lot.” So they’ve, like, also taken the time to try to learn things about Dawn and her life? Probably this is supposed to be funny, but I think it’s incredibly stupid.

On the plus side, there is some good dialogue. When I first read these issues, I was peeved that Willow wasn’t mad at Buffy for taking advantage of Satsu’s feelings, but now their conversation on the subject works a bit better for me. There’s also lots of good Xander dialogue plus liberal use of the hand gestures Nicholas Brendon always employed. Too, I love Buffy’s reaction at the end of the fight upon hearing that the vampires are fleeing: “So chase them. No prisoners. Seal off the streets. Cut them down as they flee. Kill every single one of them.” Now that’s good continuity with Season Seven Buffy.

So, no, Wolves at the Gate is not a good arc. It has some good moments, but far too much of it is irksome. On its own, it earns a C-; the score for the volume is a bit higher because of “A Beautiful Sunset.”

Make Love & Peace

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By Takane Yonetani
Luv Luv Press, 224 pp.
Rating: Mature (18+)

College sophomore Ayame is dating Koichi, who is a cop. They have a loving relationship and a very active sex life, which would be even more active if only Kiochi’s work did not constantly interrupt them in bed. Kiochi worries about protecting Ayame, and Ayame worries about Koichi’s safety on the job. Various people come into their lives to keep the story going (criminals, family members, and so on), but the plot is not much more than a vehicle to move from one sex scene to the next. Still, the volume is readable and provides some sweet, if clichéd, moments.

Both of the main characters fulfill the roles set up for them by their gender stereotypes, but with a bit of slack that makes them more likable than they might be otherwise. Koichi is very protective and possessive of Ayame, though warmer and more nuanced than that would suggest. He also appears to be a generous lover, more often than not. Ayame is using college primarily as a time-killer until she is able to get married, but she displays more independence than might be expected. Both are good, kind people who always do the right thing and never stay angry, leaving the other characters who turn up with the job of providing any necessary conflict.

The art is pleasant, though not especially distinctive, and some of the explicit sex scenes become vague in places.

Despite its warm characters and serviceable storytelling, Make Love & Peace never rises above its genre to become anything more than mundane romance.

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

Life of me.

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I’ve always thought you can tell a lot about a person just by looking at his/her desk. I was looking at mine just now, and I thought it revealed quite a bit about me.

Details after the jump! …

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Happy New Year!

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I’ve never really enjoyed New Year’s Eve parties, I’m not sure why. So last night, I was very happy to enjoy a quiet celebration at home, with a delicious meal cooked by my husband (Menu: Bacon wrapped asparagus, sweet potato tempura, and sliced chicken thighs, celery, carrot, and green beans cooked in soy sauce and mirin served over somen noodles in a chicken stock broth with spinach, topped with sliced green onion) and a little anime. Here’s hoping we’ve started the new year off right!

2008 was an amazing year for me here at There It Is, Plain As Daylight. I met a lot of incredible people, read a lot of great manga, and got invited to join the reviewing staff over at Manga Recon! My bookshelves are overflowing, and my blogroll has exploded to the point where I’ve had to turn to Google Reader to keep up. I hope to spend 2009 enjoying all of your blogs, attending more cons, reading more manga than ever, improving my writing, and plugging slowly away at my own comic!

One announcement I’d like to make for the new year, is that I recently invited my good friend Deanna Gauthier to come on board as a regular guest blogger! Deanna shares with me a deep love and enthusiasm for manga, and I’m thrilled that she has agreed to talk about it here! Please join me in welcoming her to my little blog!

Thank you all for being a part of my life in 2008! Here’s to a great 2009 for all of us!

Fruits Basket, Vol. 21

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Fruits Basket, Vol. 21
By Natsuki Takaya
Published byTokyopop
Rated Teen (13+)

With only two volumes yet to go, the English language release of Fruits Basket is nearing its close, and as the story races forward, emotions run high all around. At the end of volume 20, Tohru attempted to confess her love to Kyo, but was cut off by Kyo’s stunning confession that he felt responsible for the death of her mother. She finally gets to voice her feelings in the opening chapter of this volume, but not before Kyo finishes his own painful story, ultimately leaving her in tears. Things continue to go horribly wrong, leading to an ugly confrontation between Akito and Tohru, and another later between Yuki and Kyo.

If you’re like me, you’ll need a box of tissues handy to make it through the first few chapters, in which even a raving, knife-wielding Akito manages to somehow evoke sympathy. The most touching scene, though, may be in the final chapter when after all the noisy drama of the rest of the volume, Yuki finds a cozy resting spot on his own personal journey with quiet student council secretary Machi.

Mangaka Natsuki Takaya’s practice of using only the most subtle visual cues (if any) to indicate who is speaking can be irritating, but in this case, forcing the reader to deliberate carefully over each fragment of text only encourages a deeper read, allowing for greater absorption of this volume’s intense emotional content. Each panel is rich with complex history and feeling between characters, presented in the deceptively simple manner that characterizes this series overall.

As always, much of Takaya’s ability to make palatable the selfishness and cruelty her characters often display can be credited to the refreshingly genuine quality of her protagonist. Few of us can claim to see the world through eyes as open, joyful, and compassionate as Tohru Honda’s, but the great appeal of Fruits Basket is in that it manages to make us believe we can, at least for an hour or so.

Review originally published at PopCultureShock.

Time Stranger Kyoko 3 by Arina Tanemura: C

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From the back cover:
Kyoko Suomi is the princess of Earth in the 30th century. She lives among the commoners, unwilling to reveal her true identity and ascend the throne. The king will allow Kyoko to live as she pleases if she can revive her twin sister Ui, who has been trapped in time since birth.

Kyoko has found all but one telepath and is near awakening her sister. However, Hizuki can no longer hide his feelings for Kyoko and kisses her—a crime punishable by death. Now the only way to save his life is for Kyoko to accept him as her betrothed!

Review:
I only read this final volume for the sake of completeness, since the second volume got a C-, a rating equivalent to “Blech!” on my grading scale. Volume three is a little bit better, owing to some plot twists, but not much.

So, as she tells it in her sidebar columns, Arina Tanemura couldn’t decide where this story was actually supposed to go, so she asked her editors to be allowed to end it. And so, whereas it took the first two volumes to gather four Strangers, all of a sudden six of the remaining ones (bringing the total to eleven, counting Kyoko) are introduced on a single page, and then promptly neglected. There are actually a few translation errors on this page, as the Bird, Wind, and Snow Stranger guys are all mixed up.

The plot with Hizuki and his feelings for Kyoko is pretty stupid. First, he tricks her into saving his life by agreeing to marry him. Then he confesses to Sakataki that he was responsible for the destruction of their village and tries to get Sakataki to kill him. And then a few pages later everything’s fine and he’s all, “By the way, I’m the last Stranger.” And nobody is pissed about any of it.

The gathered Strangers then proceed to awaken Ui and plot twists occur. The secret of Kyoko’s identity is revealed, and I was kind of interested in the possibility that this manga would have a sad ending. But no, of course not. Mushy love must triumph. A completely stupid and kind of gross side story featuring the King’s pet cat android follows. It has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

One problem I have with this series is that every time there’s a revelation, someone goes, “I always knew.” For example, Kyoko evidently knew all along that she wasn’t really Ui’s sister, Sakataki knew all along that Hizuki was responsible for the village’s destruction, and the King knew all along what the consequences of awakening Ui would be. It’s really annoying that no one’s ever, like, shocked by these developments!

Anyway, it’s over now. Hooray. Reading this series has made me kind of worried that I won’t like the manga of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, which I own but have yet to read. I liked the anime, but maybe I just didn’t know any better at the time.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Snow. Lots and lots of snow.

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Today started out in a bit of a whirlwind, as I got up early to get into work by 7:00 AM, so that I could finish up all my pre-vacation business before getting hit by the 6-12 inches of snow coming our way. I then raced home to beat the storm, and now here I am, hatches battened, watching the snow come down. *whew*

We have a new roundtable discussion posted over at Manga Recon, where we discuss the canceled/indefinitely postponed series we would most love to see rescued! My personal choices were Yotsuba&! and the Kino no Tabi light novels, but there are a lot of amazing titles mentioned.

Other than that, I expect I’ll be shoveling snow for the rest of my life, but my vacation has started, and I’m feeling quite giddy! Happy Holidays, everyone!

Hitohira, Vol. 1

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Hitohira, Vol. 1
By Idumi Kirihara
Aurora Publishing, 192 pp.
Rating: T (13+)

Hitohira is the story of a painfully shy high school freshman, Mugi Asai, who becomes invariably tongue-tied when faced with speaking in front of other people, though she otherwise possesses an unusually powerful voice. Having let out her true voice in her excitement over being accepted to the Kumataka Art Academy, Mugi is discovered and pursued by the director of the school’s theater club, who later coerces her to join. Mugi soon learns that the club she has joined is not, in fact, the school’s official theater club, but rather the tiny “Theater Research Group” which is struggling for survival. Though she quickly realizes her mistake in joining a club dedicated to public performance, without Mugi, the club does not have enough members to continue, so she ultimately gives in to peer pressure and remains in the club.

Though much of the first volume is spent introducing the characters and their relationships with each other, it is clear where the story is headed. Mugi’s involvement in the theater club will help her overcome her fears and become the confident young woman she has the potential to be. Nono, the club’s director, tells Mugi very earnestly that she believes that one day Mugi will look back and be glad that she joined the theater club. Mugi certainly has not reached that point by the end of the first volume, but she does enjoy the other members of the club (especially Nono), and it’s obvious that she’s taken a first step toward defeating her social anxiety. The other major plot point we’re introduced to in this volume is Nono’s struggle with vocal chord paralysis, which threatens her future as an actress. It is Nono’s decision to keep acting in the face of her ailment that was responsible for the split between the members of the Theater Research Group and the school’s official theater club, which is headed up by Nono’s former best friend, Mirei.

Despite the characters’ proclaimed devotion to theater, Hitohira does not delve into the subject with much passion, or even much apparent knowledge. One of the things that drives Mugi forward is her desire to understand why Nono and the others love theater as they do. She ponders often over the “magic” of theater, wishing that she could experience it herself. It will be interesting to see whether, over the course of the series, Idumi Kirihara can effectively portray that magic, both to Mugi and the reader, but for now, theater in Hitohira feels more like cold theory. It almost seems, at times, as if Kirihara is avoiding the subject. For instance, much is made of the Theater Research Group’s brutal rehearsal schedule, but though there are a few chapters in which the club members are seen practicing physical exercises or improvisation, very little is shown of the rehearsals for their first play of the year, which makes its performance midway through the volume seem very much out-of-the-blue.

That said, the story’s lack of onstage drama is more than made up for offstage. Relationships are key in this character-driven series, and there are plenty of them to explore. The dynamic within the Theater Research Group is quite interesting. Club members follow Nono’s direction without question, despite her often harsh demands. Their loyalty seems to be due, at least in part, to events surrounding their split from the main theater group, but only a few details of that are revealed in this volume. The most compelling relationships in the story, however, are between Mugi and Nono (who have an obvious rapport, including a bit of a girl crush on Mugi’s part), and Nono and former friend Mirei. Despite their falling-out, Mirei clearly still cares for Nono a great deal, and at one point, after realizing that Nono and Mugi are becoming close, asks Mugi to “please take good care of her.”

The relationships make Hitohira intriguing, but the first volume drags in places and feels fragmented in others, as though bits of chapters were torn out of the book. Mugi’s first appearance onstage comes up with little warning, and then is barely spoken of again afterward. In another chapter, the two rival theater clubs make a bet regarding the mid-term scores of the Theater Research Group members. Just as the scores are posted, one of the members takes off with the score sheet, leading to a half-hearted chase, after which the matter is dropped completely. That chapter is a misstep all around, as the series’ earnest tone doesn’t lend itself well to spirited tales of student hijinks, and Kirihara isn’t particularly strong with humor (further demonstrated by the flat omake pages at the end of the volume).

Aurora Publishing is marketing Hitohira as shojo, despite the fact that it runs in seinen magazine Comic High! in Japan, which is a somewhat confusing move. Though Mugi’s personal journey could certainly be relatable for many shy young girls, the moe fan service is pretty blatant, and definitely geared toward male readers. There’s nothing extremely offensive to girls in Hitohira (though it is a bit distressing that the protagonist’s vision of a “confident” female is a cheerleader) but this classification is definitely misleading. Fan service aside, Kirihara’s art is pleasant (if a bit plain), though some of the girls look so much alike, they can only really be distinguished by the style of their hair.

Hitohira has some nice moments and strong chemistry between characters, but the storytelling is too uneven to be truly compelling. Perhaps a stronger second volume (due out December 29th) will give the series more solid footing.

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

Cat Street 2 (Japanese) by Yoko Kamio: B+

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From the back cover:
Ever since she entered the school El Liston, Keito’s life has begun to change. Recovering from social withdrawal, she has made friends for the first time in seven years. There’s Rei, a formerly famous soccer player; Kouichi, a genius with an IQ of 200; and Momiji, a Gothic Lolita. As she slowly starts building new relationships with people, she begins to develop a little passion, and then… ?!

Review:
I’d praised Cat Street last time because the focus was not on romance, and just as I was thinking, “Well, maybe a little would be good,” Keito realized that she had feelings for her childhood friend, Taiyou. How it played out was quite different from other shoujo I’ve read.

Taiyou is an interesting character. Rather than allow Keito’s friend Rei, who used to be a phenomenal soccer player, to wallow in his past failures, he keeps engaging him on the topic and eventually helps him return to the sport he loves. Keito realizes he did the same with her while she was a shut-in, visiting her house frequently to try to get her to come back to school. So, essentially, she begins to like him because he is a good person, not because he is hot.

Even better, all of Keito’s new friends begin to support her in her efforts to get together with Taiyou. This isn’t limited to Momiji, the girl; the boys who would also be after Keito in most other series are also encouraging and helping her in her efforts. Alas, it turns out Taiyou has recently begun dating one of his classmates. In a completely awesome example of showing not telling, a weeping Keito encounters this girl, Hirano-san, who proves how like Taiyou she is by refusing to leave Keito alone, comforting her, and even crying on her behalf. I love that the romantic rival is not some evil wench, but also a thoroughly nice and good person.

Less successful is a subplot in which Keito’s old theatrical rival engages the help of a student studying cosmetology at El Liston to get a photograph of Keito, which he accomplishes by giving her a makeover and claiming he wants to save images of his work. Pretty smooth. It’s sad, though, that the nudging he gave Keito about returning to the acting world seems only to’ve been so the rival could face her in that realm once more and achieve a proper victory over her.

Cat Street is a very enjoyable series so far; I love that the heroine has a network of supportive friends. I guess it’s inevitable that Keito will return to the world of acting, but I hope the story won’t drift into silly confrontations with overly-devious foes.

Gaba Kawa by Rie Takada: B-

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Rara is a demon who has come to the mortal world for the first time. She’d told everyone back home that her goal was to drag human souls into darkness, but really she just wants to meet the celebrity demon du jour, Hiroshi Akusawa, and become his girlfriend. When a dashing boy called Aku saves her from falling off a building, she’s convinced she’s met Akusawa. That is, until she meets the real Akusawa, who is not at all dreamy, and realizes that the other boy is a mere human.

It’d be easy for Rara to claim Aku’s heart using magic, but she wants him to fall in love with her for real. Some of her female classmates (yes, the younger demons all attend high school) advise against pursuing him, claiming that he is weird (on account of having been abducted by aliens) and gay (on account of having been spotted hugging his best friend). Rara, undaunted and clueless, decides that donning a boy’s uniform is the way to win his love, leading to my favorite line of the volume:

I don’t care if he is a gay alien. Once he gets a look at me in this, his heart will be mine.

Rara is warned several times not to use her magic to benefit a human, but as she gets closer to Aku, she can’t help lending him a hand when he could use it, like when his ability to see spirits results in him being pestered by wayward souls. As a result, she begins to lose her demon powers, which include things like invisibility and flight, and faces punishment for her actions from her demon brethren.

The concept is fairly unique, but Rara is still more or less your traditional clumsy, not-too-bright shojo heroine who somehow manages to make the hottest guy in school fall for her. Add to that the clichés of the boy who can see spirits and the old “trip and smooch” maneuver, and it winds up being pretty well-trod territory after all.

Still, while Gaba Kawa may be fluffy and familiar, it’s also pretty fun. I’m inspired to check out more by its creator.

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