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Claymore, Vol. 13

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Claymore, Vol. 13
By Norihiro Yagi
Published by Viz
Rated T+ (Older Teen)

Volume twelve brought us into a new era in the Claymore universe by moving ahead seven years, solving the mystery of the warriors who vanished in the Battle of the North, and introducing us to a new generation of Claymores.

As volume thirteen opens, rebel warriors Clare, Miria, Helen, and Deneve rescue a young team of Claymores just as they are about to be destroyed by powerful Awakened One, Riful of the West. Before escaping, Clare persuades Riful to share some of what they’ve missed in the world during their years in hiding, including some new revelations regarding the long sought-after Priscilla.

We also catch up with new number 47, Clarice, who is being sent on a mission to eliminate former number 3 Galatea with her new partner, the terrifying and very young Miata, whose disturbing psychological issues and deadly abilities make Ophelia seem like a walk in the park.

The battles feel like background in this volume, which instead focuses heavily on plot and characterization, making it a particularly compelling read and moving the story along substantially. There is a fantastic chapter for those of us who are fans of Teresa, and some additional background on Miria as well.

I’m always impressed by how easily Norihiro Yago is able to create such distinct characters when most all of them are women with uniform physical features (not to mention actual uniforms), and my admiration only increases as the web of characters becomes more complex.

Plenty of mystery remains, especially in light of the recent jump forward in time, including the fate of Raki, who does not even make an appearance. Even so, the pacing feels just right, and the story never drags as it sometimes did earlier on.

This is an exceptionally strong volume in a series that has grown consistently more interesting over the course of its run.

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

Papillon 1 by Miwa Ueda: B+

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When I was in the sixth grade, a particular series of books was very popular. It focused on a pair of blonde twin sisters, the older of whom was kind and thoughtful while the younger was selfish and scheming. Most of the time, the good twin allowed her conniving sibling to have her way, but when it came to a certain boy, she drew the line. Their names were Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and the series was named after the school they attended, Sweet Valley High.

I mention this because the initial setup for Papillon is pretty similar. Ageha, a shy and bespectacled nobody, and her younger sister Hana, the most popular girl in school, are blonde twins who were raised by different relatives. The only person Ageha feels understands her is a boy named Ryûsei, and when Hana sees them growing closer she moves in to snag Ryûsei for herself. With some encouragement from a decidedly unorthodox guidance counselor, Ageha makes an effort to shed her meek persona and win Ryûsei back. (Her name means “butterfly.” Get it?)

While the concept may not be new, Hana and Ageha’s relationship is still fascinating. Somehow, the masterfully manipulative way in which Hana competes against her sister is more credible for occurring between siblings and hints at all kinds of intriguing psychological baggage. The relationship gives the character depth, as it seems she must have some deeper motivation for her actions than your garden variety Mean Girl. Similarly, Ageha’s powerlessness in the face of her sister’s devious ways also rings true. In the back of the book, Ueda-sensei thanks some relationship therapists for their input and advice; I’d say it definitely paid off.

Unfortunately, Ryûsei is not as well developed. He’s a typical adolescent boy: good-hearted in general but vulnerable when a pretty girl turns on the charm. Arguably, though, he was never meant to be more than a bone of contention between the girls and a catalyst for Ageha’s metamorphosis. The most vivid supporting character is actually Kanda, Ageha’s chubby pal, who betrays her friend when she sees an opportunity to gain attention from the more popular students, a classic maneuver among status-conscious high school girls.

While the term “soap opera” would certainly apply to Papillon, it also offers an insightful look at the relationships between girls. For that alone, this title is one that I will be following with interest.

Papillon is published by Del Rey. Five volumes have been released in Japan so far while the second English release is due in late January 2009.

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

Giving Thanks

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Thanks to the gift of leftovers, we’re on our third day of my mother-in-law’s turkey and stuffing, which is a wonderful thing but seems to have settled me into a permanent turkey coma. I must free myself somehow by Monday. But, hey, that’s far, far in the future! For now, I’ll enjoy perpetual sleepiness and let all of you who just met me find out how sappy I get around this time of year. It’s a thing.

I said earlier this week that I’d leave “major items” for thanking later in the week, and later in the week has more than arrived! Actually, most of my “major items” are personal (family, friends, etc.) and this isn’t really the place for that. What remains though is still pretty major, at least to me.

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Cat Street 1 (Japanese) by Yoko Kamio: B+

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Book description:
Keito Aoyama was a child star until the age of nine, when she froze up on stage in front of a live audience. The incident ended her career, and she’s spent the past seven years a recluse, spending most of the time in her room and socializing with no one. An encounter with an eccentric principal leads her to El Liston, a school for kids who haven’t fit in at other high schools. Could this be what Keito needs to begin truly living again?

Review:
This series is interesting, but since this volume was mostly set up, probably much of the good stuff is yet to come.

Keito is very socially awkward to start with, and ends up insulting a couple of people and running away from them, just like she’s essentially been running away from life for seven years. She’s a sympathetic character, kind of complex and difficult, but her search for direction is compelling. She encounters a former grade school classmate and the fact that he’s still striving for his childhood dream makes her question what it is that she really wants to do. Though she’s initially reluctant to attend such a “weird facility,” she eventually decides to give El Liston a try.

The El Liston setting is pretty neat. Most of the kids there are doing independent study of some kind, though there are teachers on hand to help when needed. The students are free to pursue their interests, be they computer programming or fashion design. The students that Keito meets are already shaping up to be unique and interesting characters and I look forward to seeing Keito flourish in that environment. Of particular note is Kouichi, a manga character who actually looks Asian!

Too, I like that the focus is on Keito’s search for a purpose in life and not on romance. To be sure, there are a few prospects in that regard, but her thoughts are running more toward self-improvement than smooching. Cat Street definitely has the potential to be something great, and I’ll be continuing with it.

Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 17

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I’d waited so eagerly for this volume, and here I am almost a month late with it. I suppose I can’t complain, though, as it’s the perfect reading for a stormy Saturday morning.

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of those series where every volume brings amazing new revelations, yet it is so well-plotted, none of this ever feels melodramatic or forced. I am constantly impressed with depth and detail of Hiromu Arakawa’s planning for this story, compounded by her deft execution of it. I know that FMA is a popular manga, but I often feel that in spite of (because of?) that, or perhaps because it is a shonen manga, Arakawa does not get the recognition she deserves for being a seriously fantastic storyteller. The release schedule for FMA in the US leaves long gaps between volumes, and I tend to get caught up in other things in-between. But every time a new volume comes out, I’m reminded immediately of why I’ve often said this is my favorite manga series.

(Spoilers beyond this point) …

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Seduce Me After the Show

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Brigid Alverson is giving away sets of Vertical’s new edition of Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack to a few lucky winners who will be randomly chosen from her blog. To enter, leave a comment in this entry, telling her about your favorite new manga in 2008. I left my own comment there yesterday, and as I was trying to figure out just what my favorite new manga from 2008 was, I realized that the answer is probably one I haven’t posted about here yet at all.

It was actually a pretty difficult answer for me to come up with, mainly because all the manga I’ve become really obsessed with in 2008 have been either older series, or current series that are still being released, but which began publication in English well before this year. In fact, I realized sadly that I have read almost nothing genuinely new this year. Still, as I poked through the books on my shelf, one new manga jumped right out at me. That would be Est Em’s Seduce Me After the Show, published in Japan in 2006, and released by Deux Press in English in May of this year.

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Apology

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I’ve spent most of the week pretty much frantic and exhausted, any thoughts of potential blog posts withering as soon as they were born. I have a lot I’d like to talk about. I finished the volumes of Fruits Basket that Deanna sent me, and have also been keeping up with other series as new chapters have been released. I’ve seen a few other blog posts that have inspired thoughts too, particularly Sarah Rees Brennan’s post on female characters in fiction, which I hope to write a bit about when I’m able. I’ve even watched some anime I may wish to discuss. Unfortunately, my schedule has not relaxed at all, and it’s likely I won’t have a chance to write anything substantial until Tuesday at the earliest.

See you then?

I’m still trying to stop your heart

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Um. Apparently this has temporarily become a music blog. Back to the usual manga-talk and self-important essays soon, but first:

Last night, one of my very favorite bands, Northampton’s own Winterpills had a cd release party for their third album, Central Chambers at the Iron Horse Music Hall. It’s always great to see Winterpills at the Iron Horse, because they are able to bring up all their musical pals and create a really rich and exciting show. Last night was no exception.

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Time Stranger Kyoko 2 by Arina Tanemura: C-

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This volume finds Princess Kyoko and her bodyguards on the search for more of the god stones required to awaken Princess Ui from her sixteen-year sleep. After the first two stones are found in the possession of the leaders of the dragon and flower tribes, the hunt is on for the rest of the tribe leaders in the hope that each of them will have one of the powerful jewels, too.

Each new psychic or “Stranger” that Kyoko encounters has some silly obstacle to overcome before they can join up with her, like nearly being sold at auction or being tricked into relinquishing their god stone to a member of the demon tribe. These stories are painfully boring and have absolutely zero depth, especially the one in which the leader of the fish tribe tells her sibling, “It doesn’t matter if we are brother and sister… I love you!” Arina Tanemura, you’re no Kaori Yuki. Just don’t even try.

Kyoko’s also preoccupied by the fact that someone kissed her while she slept in the last volume, so there’s much tedious speculation over who it could’ve been. This combined with everything else results in a muddle so mind-numbingly bad that I very nearly awarded this volume a D. A sudden twist in the final chapters provides the bare minimum of interest to avoid that fate, but I still can’t recommend slogging through the rest of it to get there.

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

Lunchtime check-in

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A cool side-effect of Saturday’s post, Why you should read NANA is that in checking out my site statistics, I noticed that it had been linked from this fantastic website, When Fangirls Attack (womenincomics.blogspot.com), which is a blog that simply posts links to “articles on gender in comics and comics fandom,” including specific manga editions. How I’ve missed out on this for so long, I have no idea, especially since, if my stats are anything to go by, everyone else is reading it. The upside, I suppose, is that I now have an endless archive of links to peruse at my leisure, most of which will probably be new to me. Hurray for women in comics!

Speaking of the NANA post, I’ve now added a blog category for persuasion posts (a term I started using when I realized I could no longer stomach the term “pimping”). I’ve posted three of these here so far, the one for NANA of course, along with Making the case for Banana Fish, and Why you should read xxxHolic. I have to say, I probably enjoyed writing these more than anything else I’ve ever posted here. If only people would pay me to push my favorite manga series on them, I could live a life of perfect bliss. Oh, cruel world!

Lunch is eaten. Now I must refill the wonderful water bottle our assistant production manager gave me last week for Boss’s Day (who even knew there was such a day?), and attempt to ignore my stuffy nose and aching head. Later!

Fairy Tail 4 by Hiro Mashima: C+

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From the back cover:
S-Class quests are so dangerous that one false move means certain death! Now loose cannon Natsu, rookie Lucy, and nearly powerless Happy have embarked on a stolen S-Class quest, setting out for the Demon Island. Can anyone stop them before they get themselves killed?

Review:
Sigh. Well, the resolution to the cliffhanger of Erza’s arrest was completely lame, as was the conclusion of her duel with Natsu. It felt like the mangaka suddenly lost interest in that plot line.

The S-Class quest wasn’t all that much better. I’m definitely not the ideal shounen audience, since I tend to get very annoyed with characters who do things they’re not supposed to and then get into perilous situations as a result. The lack of foresight also bothered me. It was bad enough Natsu hatched this hare-brained scheme, but Lucy continued to go along with it even after learning it would likely result in her expulsion from the guild she had been so desperate to join back in volume one. And evidently felt hardly a qualm about doing so!

Ultimately, their quest lead to various angsty revelations about Gray’s past which Mashima admitted including in an attempt to lure more female readers. About the only good thing in this volume was the introduction of a cool new guild member, Mystogan, whose power is to put everyone to sleep. Ironically, that was the one bit that didn’t have me yawning.

Blank Slate 1 by Aya Kanno: B-

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Zen has no memory of the last twenty years, and doesn’t much care. The back cover, with its line “he can’t remember if he’s a killer or a hero,” erroneously leads one to anticipate a story of an amnesiac’s quest for identity. In reality, Blank Slate is all about the action.

The story takes place in the country of Amata, which was invaded and conquered in a war two decades earlier. The occupying government honors justice and order and employs a fleet of bounty hunters to eradicate all manner of undesirables. Zen is a notorious criminal and has committed every kind of crime imaginable. His philosophy is, “I do whatever I want. If it gets in my way, I smash it.”

I had a really tough time getting into the first chapter. It’s the stand-alone tale of a bounty hunter sent to kill Zen who instead joins him on a murderous spree of destruction and ruin. It wasn’t the best introduction to the setting or characters, and I found it very dull. The real serialization of the story commences in chapter two, and the improvement is immediate. From this point, there is a continuous plot focusing on the tensions between the native Amatans and the occupying Galayans and featuring kidnappings, prison breaks, and lots of guns. It’s pretty interesting, and I was surprised by several twists in the story.

Aside from the abundant bishonen, there’s nothing stereotypically shojo about Blank Slate. Zen is as heartless as they come and kills casually. Most of his victims are aggressors or authority figures, but he’s not above threatening the life of a child who could expose his hiding place. His companions are more sympathetic, particularly Hakka, a righteous doctor who has fallen into evil to protect something important to him.

The art style is visually clean, a necessity in a title like this where the story is enough to be puzzling over. Most of the character designs aren’t anything special, but Zen is really quite spectacularly pretty. This isn’t achieved through any gimmick of flowing hair or sparkly eye but simply with a beautifully drawn facial structure that’s quite stunning. I’ve reviewed a lot of manga, and never before have I devoted three full sentences to how pretty some guy is. Trust me on this.

Blank Slate certainly isn’t the best thing I’ve ever read, but the story it’s spinning is entertaining enough that I will surely be returning for the second and final volume due out in December.

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

Quick question for RSS readers

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A quick question for those who read this blog via RSS feed. I currently have this set to show only a short preview of each entry on RSS feeds. I did this because originally the majority of those reading via RSS were on LiveJournal, and LJ users tend to prefer short entries with a cut on their friends pages, especially if the entry includes large images, which mine occasionally do. It was also a handy way to obscure spoilers from immediate public view. Now that this journal is mirrored on LiveJournal, however (allowing me to insert LJ cuts right into the entries), I think most LJ readers view it that way instead. So for the rest of you, which do you prefer on your RSS feeds, a preview or the full entry?

Sand Chronicles 3 by Hinako Ashihara: B+

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From the back cover:
Sweet 16-year-old Ann returns to rural Shimane from Tokyo for the summer, eager to reconnect with her boyfriend Daigo. But will the allure of their close friends—wealthy brother and sister Fuji and Shika—sunder the romantic ties that have bound Ann and Daigo since they were 12?

Review:
I didn’t like this volume quite as much as the first two because it was missing that special feeling of nostalgia. Instead, it focused mostly on relationship and family angst, which was entertaining in its way, but didn’t elicit the bittersweet vibe that usually elevates this title above its fellows.

There was more focus on the Tsukishima siblings in this volume, which was welcome, as both of them separately tried to break free of the stifling mold their family has imposed upon them. Ann and Daigo begin by being worried about the Tsukushima in their town, but it’s probably only a matter of time until things escalate. I’m not really looking forward to that happening, since it will cause so much pain all around, but it will undoubtedly be interesting.

I’m also looking forward to farther down the line chronologically; will the series depict Ann in her early twenties, and follow right up to where she is as the story begins? That would be really neat.

Although these chapters here were not the best, the cliffhanger ending was pretty cool and I’m definitely looking forward to volume 4.