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Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 2

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Everyone’s Getting Married, Volume 2 by Izumi Miyazono

I’m always a happy camper when Viz is putting out a josei title, and with two volumes so far in the Everyone’s Getting Married series, I’m very much enjoying a periodic escape into adult romance trials and tribulations as a nice contrast from all the shoujo I usually read.

One of the things I liked very much about the first volume was that the main couple Asuka and Ryu are so clearly attracted to each other and yet their respective goals of becoming a housewife and never getting married are clearly going to come into conflict. Even when they might have attempted to avoid each other, they find themselves getting closer and closer and in a relationship that is going to have a sudden expiration date if neither of them are going to change.

While Asuka and Ryu are more emotionally connected than ever, they find that their hectic work schedules prevents them from seeing each other very often, causing a bit of tension. Ryu also finds himself enjoying some of the extra homemaker type things that Asuka does a little too much, as she’s able to whip up dinner at short notice and do some extra things to help him through an extra demanding time with his news anchor job.

They manage to navigate their first big fight and end up stronger than ever, but one of the things that I enjoy about this manga is that both characters are sympathetic, their points of view about life are intrinsically opposed, and I’m left rooting for a solution but I can’t picture how they’re going to pull it off. This ends up amping up my curiosity about what is going to happen in the story quite a bit, so I’m eager to see how everything progresses.

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Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 1 and 2

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Kuroko’s Basketball Volumes 1 and 2 by Tadatoshi Fujimaki

I enjoy a good sports manga, and this omnibus of the first couple volumes of Kuroko’s Basketball was entertaining, due to a unconventional protagonist.

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The manga opens with a bit of a prologue discussing an unbeatable team at Teiko Middle School that was split up and scattered as the team members, known as “The Miracle Generation”, all went to different high schools. While five players were the superstars, there were rumors of a shadowy sixth man who was actually the key to the team’s success. Flash forward to the present day at Seirin High School, all the clubs are out in force trying to recruit new members. Taiga Kagami is an intense first-year student with a superior attitude because he played basketball in the United States who signs up for the club. Tetsuya Kuroko, an unassuming student who formerly attended Teiko signs up for basketball as well.

Taiga is drawn to look a bit like Hanamichi from Slam Dunk, and while both characters share a brash personality and an abundance of natural talent, Taiga isn’t as idiotic as Slam Dunk’s protagonist. The fact that the manga is called Kuroko’s Basketball is a signal that the stereotypical idea of who the hero is in sports manga is going to be subverted a little bit. It turns out that Kuroko has a unique talent of appearing invisible when he’s playing basketball, which turns into an incredible advantage for the Seirin team, as he’s constantly overlooked and underestimated, only to make key passes and plays for all the other players on his team.

Kuroko’s unassuming nature is often played for laughs, as he frequently seems to pop out of nowhere when he’s just overlooked. His talent doesn’t come without a lot of hard work, as when he’s actually playing a game he is paying such close attention to everyone around him and adjusting in response to opposing players, that he can’t log a significant amount of minutes devoted to basketball invisibility without becoming exhausted. The first couple volumes shows the Seinen team coming together under their bossy girl coach Riko. She begins to get a sense that with Kuroko and Taiga on the team, she may be able to build the Seirin team into something special.

I feel like after reading Slam Dunk, the art for any other basketball manga is going to suffer in comparison, especially because as Slam Dunk wrapped up the art was so glorious. But comparing other manga artists to Inoue is like comparing people to Kirby, just fundamentally unfair. So I suffered a few involuntary pangs of wanting some mindblowing basketball action paneling in Kuroko’s Basketball, but on the whole, it was easy to follow all the action in the basketball games, and Kuroko’s deadpan expression is used effectively to provoke a variety of reactions in his teammates.

As this omnibus volume was wrapping up, a tournament style struggle is set up, with the Seiran team placed in a position where they are going to have to face off against other high school teams, each with a standout player from the Miracle Generation. Kuroko is now playing only for the love of the game, he comments that he didn’t want to play with anyone from his former team because they were so focused on winning at all costs, they weren’t truly appreciating basketball. The dynamic that will be explored in future volumes is if Kuroko’s abilities combined with his new team will actually mean that the sixth man will emerge triumphant. I have to say I’m very happy that with Kuroko’s Basketball, Haikyuu!!, and Yowamushi Pedal (which I haven’t read yet), there is a bumper crop of sports manga coming out in English right now.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 1

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Yona of the Dawn Volume 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi

It is no surprise that I was eagerly anticipating Yona of the Dawn. I feel like there’s been a little bit of a gap in currently translated shoujo fantasy, so I was very much looking forward to this manga. I have a feeling that Yona of the Dawn is one of those manga that will be easier to evaluate once the second volume comes out, because the first volume was mostly set-up. I did enjoy the worldbuilding and some of the plot twists that I wasn’t expecting.

Yona is a sheltered princess whose main issues involve fretting over her red hair. She’s watched over by her guard Hak, and she nurses an intense crush on her cousin Su-won. As she’s getting older the question of her marriage is starting to come up, and her father the king seems to be determined to get her married to anyone but Su-won. Yona is a bit headstrong and pampered, but she still comes across as a sympathetic heroine in the early pages of the manga.

One thing I was dreading a bit is the development of a fairly typical love triangle, because it seemed like that’s the way things might be headed for Yona, Hak, and Su-won at the start of the manga. I was extremely happy when my expectations were foiled within the first couple chapters, and the story took an abrupt turn as Yona has to flee the palace with only Hak by her side. I’ve heard that this series features awesome archery, which is nowhere in evidence yet. I’m much more intrigued by the potential storyline of Yona having to toughen up and learn how better to fend for herself, so I’m eagerly awaiting the next volume.

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Haikyu!!

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Haikyu!! Volume 1 by Haruichi Furudate

I’m always curious to check out new sports manga, mostly because we tend to get so few licensed over here. Haikyu!! is a shonen volleyball title. I still have fond memories of the shoujo series Crimson Hero, so I was curious to see the world of volleyball manga yet again.

Shoyo Hinata saw a volleyball tournament when he was younger, where a shorter than average player made up for his height with some wonderful athleticism. Shoyo is determined to become an elite volleyball player, and he’s not going to let the fact that he’s the only member of his volleyball club in middle school stop his dreams. Eventually by his third year, Shoyo manages to put together a small team and play in a tournament, where he faces down Tobio Kageyama. Tobio is a star player, and he knows it, yelling at his teammates constantly and trying to win on his own. Shoyo loses, but displays a ton of heart in the process and manages to score some great points.

Fast forward to the following year, and it is no surprise that Shoyo and Tobio are starting on the same volleyball team in high school. The captain Daichi Sawamura immediately sees a problem with the two new rookies and tells them that they can’t even practice until they can work as a team. While undisciplined enthusiasm and athletic snobbery might not be the best thing for the disgraced former champion team of Karasuno High, Daichi thinks that they could be an unstoppable team if they are able to work together. Shoyo and Tobio have to earn their way back to the team by facing off against the other first-years.

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The art in Haikyu!! uses plenty of action and unconventional angles to display the tension of the volleyball game. Shoyo leaps all over the place for the ball, and Tobio tends to lurk around in a gloomy manner, then suddenly strike like a snake. The character designs are well-executed, with a large supporting cast all given distinct looks and personalities, making it easy to navigate the mass introductions that come with reading the first book of every series. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of the upperclassmen on the team, who range from being able to give wise volleyball philosophical advice, to being knuckleheads. The dynamic between Shoyo and Tobio is interesting, because it is so antagonistic but it is clear that there’s a lot they can learn from each other. This first volume mainly served to set up the characters and their long road to a possible championship, but it was definitely entertaining.

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 1

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Everyone’s Getting Married Volume 1 by Izumi Miyazono

As far as I’m concerned, Shojo Beat’s recent practice of releasing the occasional josei title is one of the best things ever. Manga featuring non-highschoolers is still not so easy to find, so I was looking forward to Everyone’s Getting Married. At the same time, just based on the title I was a bit concerned that this would be a josei version of The Rules or something that would involve trapping a man into marriage. I was really happy to discover that I enjoyed the personalities and relationship dynamic between the main couple in this manga.

Asuka Takahashi is a successful real estate agent, but her main ambition in life is to get married and become a homemaker. Asuka takes the idea of being a housewife very seriously, mainly due to the fact that she has strong childhood memories of the type of home her mother provided for her as a child. She’s thwarted in her goal in the first chapter when her long term boyfriend breaks up with her. Asuka has a brief encounter with Ryu Nanami when she’s attending a wedding. He’s a newscaster who is determined to never settle down. Asuka and Ryu have an unusually frank exchange about their incompatible goals in life and then part, fully expecting to never see each other again. He tells her “You seem like a great woman, but it would never work out between us,” and she thinks “This man…is not at all what I am looking for.”

Of course, they get thrown together over and over again, because Ryu is the roommate of Asuka’s co-worker Ono. Ryu and Asuka start getting to know each other better, unconstrained by the possibility of a romantic relationship since they’ve mutually ruled each other out. Asuka sees that Ryu is much more of an ordinary person than he appears to be based on his TV persona. He sees that she’s genuinely kind, and he respects the work that goes into keeping a household running even though he has no desire for a wife. They both begin to fall a little in love with each other, but their goals in life for a family and future remain absolutely different. Miyazono’s art is pretty to look at and easy to follow, even though her style isn’t particularly unique.

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Asuka and Ryu end up both being sympathetic and quirky enough to make me wonder which way this story is going to go, even though I’m totally expecting a happy ending. They’re also balanced out a bit by secondary couple Ono and Rio, who have the opposite relationship dynamic where Ono wants to settle down and Rio is determined to keep dating. Overall, this first volume seems like a great addition to the under the radar josei titles coming out under the Shojo Beat line.

Kamisama Kiss, Vol 20

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Kamisama Kiss Volume 20 by Julietta Suzuki

This volume starts dealing more with the issues that inevitably arise when a human and an immortal start developing romantic feelings for each other. It starts out with a conclusion of the class trip storyline, as Tomoe is able to observe what Nanami is like when hanging out with other human girls. When he goes on an errand to an island where he met a human kami many years before, he gets a vivid reminder of how short Nanami’s lifespan is.

Tomoe decides that he has to become human, and he wants that transformation to happen immediately. Nanami thinks that it is good that Tomoe is trying to get closer to humanity through some excessive studying, but she thinks that it won’t happen for several more years. When Tomoe gets his hands on some medicine that might have the power to transform him, she’s worried that he’ll die in a normal human lifespan, but he doesn’t want to remain immortal and watch her age and die. They fight a bit about this, and Tomoe goes off with his usual impulsive nature and takes the medicine, only to turn into a fox instead of a human.

This funny and sad situation brought on by mystical forces is the type of plot that Kamisama Kiss excels at, because it is hilarious to see Tomoe’s body language and cranky attitude manifest while in the form of an adorable fox, but it is also quite distressing that Nanami and Tomoe are being kept apart again. The appearance of Kirihito towards the end of the volume points out that there are going to be even more struggles ahead for the couple.

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One of the things I like most about this series are the quiet moments of character interactions, when Tomoe contrasts his memories the human kami he met as a little girl with the old woman she’s become, she mentions that the day she spent with him was one of her fondest memories. Nanami can’t help herself from hugging Tomoe when he’s in fox form, but she’s struck by his body language showing that he’s incredibly unhappy with his unexpected transformation. These types of moments give Kamisama Kiss more depth than the typical shoujo series, and have me happily reading every volume.

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 4

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Requiem of the Rose King Volume 4 by Aya Kanno

This series continues to impress me, as with each volume Kanno capably delivers a larger cast of characters and more intricate plots centered around the succession to the English throne. While many of the earlier volumes served to establish the motivations of many of the characters, this volume moved into more political plotting, especially as the Earl of Warwick decides to play kingmaker.

I found myself struck by all the ways that Kanno’s art signals character in elegant ways. Richard has a vision of his father as an avenging angel with dark wings, and the swooping black feathers bordering the panels serve to show how isolated Richard is in his inner world. Warwick is often drawn with areas of his face shown in stark shadow, which suits his manipulative personality.

This volume focuses on the fall of Edward, his manipulative wife, and the possible rise of middle brother George. Richard is still an object of desire to Edward, who willingly travels to meet Anne to explore a possible engagement once he knows that Richard is also visiting. For a brief time Richard is able to deepen his friendship with Anne, and he finds some solace in a new friend who lets him be completely himself. This being a tragedy, Richard’s brief period of peace is quickly destroyed, and he has to head back into battle again where he thinks he’s going to find a different kind of escape.

As Warwick’s plots fall into place, Buckingham is determined to provide a different king for the nation and goes off in search of Richard. There are too many kings and would-be kings wandering around England! But it is clear that while they all may be trying to gain the throne, so much of the real power is in the hands of the nobles trying to manipulate all the political uncertainty.

Requiem of the Rose King continues to be a favorite series. The art is absolutely top notch, and the combination of Richard’s surreal visions and complicated inner life against the backdrop of the political struggles for the English crown makes it incredibly compelling.

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The Heiress and the Chauffeur, Vol 1

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The Heiress and the Chauffeur, Volume 1 by Keiko Ishihara

It is interesting that there are a couple new two volume series (Shuriken and Pleats being the first) coming out from Shojo Beat now. I feel like publishes backed off super-short shoujo for a little bit in favor of mid-range 5 or 6 volume series. Heiress and the Chauffeur is a conventional shoujo series with attractive art that is livened up by a historical setting.

The heiress in question is Sayaka Yoshimura, who is the daughter of a wealthy family. Her chauffeur is Shinobu Narataki, and they were raised closely together as children, resulting in a friendship that is entirely unconventional for a mistress and her servant. Sayaka has to deal with the behavioral rules and rumors swirling at her all-girls school, while running a gauntlet of all her admiring classmates who enjoy staring at Shinobu while he patiently waits to pick her up. Sayaka has a bright, spunky personality and she isn’t afraid to stick up for Shinobu when his habit of barging in to rescue her gets them both in trouble with the school authorities.

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I enjoyed the historical aspect of the manga, and seeing the life of an heiress in the Taisho era portrayed, because that’s a type of setting that I don’t usually see in shoujo manga. I was a bit worried that each chapter would be a replay of the dynamic where Sayaka gets in trouble, Shinobu rescues her, and they have to find their way out of the aftermath, but towards the end of the volume it is made clear that their odd friendship has given Sayaka the tools to stand up for herself independently. That being said, overall the manga was a little bit dull. The art is pretty, but not terribly distinctive, and while the premise and setting is interesting, there isn’t much to distinguish the main characters from any other shoujo series. This is Isihara’s first series though, and it certainly is well executed enough that I’m curious to see what she could do given a bit more space to develop a manga. I think younger teens would enjoy The Heiress and the Chauffeur in particular.

My Hero Academia Vol 1

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My Hero Academia Volume 1 by Hohei Horikoshi

So Viz has one hilarious send-up of the superhero genre in One-Punch Man. I was curious to see how the more mainstream and shonen take on the superhero genre would read. My Hero Academia seems to be gunning more for traditional western superhero genre, with the issue numbering rectangle on the top left of the cover just as you would expect from an American comic.

The set-up for My Hero Academia also reminded me of Tiger & Bunny a bit, in the way that super villains and superheroes are treated like an extension of celebrity culture. Over 80 percent of the world’s population has unusual abilities, or “quirks”. Like most shonen heroes, Izuku Midoriya is nothing special. He’s unusual in his ordinariness, as he is one of the few kids in his class at school who has no abilities. He’s picked on and bullied by the other kids in his class, but he’s determined to get into the hero training program somehow. Izuku has a fateful encounter with the superhero All Might, who looks like a slightly better proportioned Rob Liefeld character.

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It turns out that after All Might uses his power, his muscles deflate and he becomes a skeletal creature who suffers from a variety of physical problems. He can only sustain his power for three hours a day before he reverts into his normal form. All Might decides that it is time to pass along his power to a new person, and he picks Izuku, after witnessing Izuku take on a super villain with nothing but the determination to save someone else. Izuku is a pretty typical shonen hero in his determination to become a hero, but his immediate reaction when he sees someone in danger is to sacrifice himself. Although Izuku might have All Might’s power as a legacy, he has no idea how to control it.

Ikuzu winds up going to hero training school along with his school bully, and meets some other kids who are also determined to be heroes. Izuku’s lack of control of his new powers causes him to perform heroic acts with just his fingertip, because the power is too much for him. There’s a lot of set-up and story packed into this first volume, so I’m actually interested to see what happens next once all the characters and background are established. Horikoshi switches between different styles of characture with ease, and the contrast between All Might’s heroic and ordinary form is funny. Ikuzu spends most of this volume looking either incredibly hopeful and enthusiastic or absolutely terrified. The action scenes were for the most part easy to follow, but some of the paneling was a bit cluttered at times, and I think occasionally the art suffered a bit from being shrunk down from the original magazine format it was serialized in. My Hero Academia was quirky enough to appeal to me, and I’m generally picky about shonen series. I’ll see if the next few volumes continue to hold up well.

Midnight Stranger, Vol. 1

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Midnight Stranger, Volume 1Creator: Bohra Naono
U.S. publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 9781421579689
Released: April 2016
Original release: 2013

Midnight Stranger is the third boys’ love manga and the first series by Bohra Naono to be released in English. Naono’s first manga to be translated was Yokai’s Hunger which was initially released in print by Media Blasters but is now available digitally through Sublime Manga, the boys’ love line associated with Viz Media. Sublime also released Naono’s second manga in translation, Three Wolves Mountain, which along with Norikazu Akira’s Honey Darling was actually one of the publishers’ debut titles. Midnight Stranger is a short, two-volume series, the first of which was published in Japan in 2013. In English, Midnight Stranger, Volume 1 was released by Sublime in 2016. Like Naono’s other translated manga, Midnight Stranger has strong supernatural elements which can be fun but rather peculiar, a fair amount of comedy, and Naono’s penchant for older men. I’ve enjoyed Naono’s work in the past, so I was very glad to have the opportunity to receive a copy of the first volume of Midnight Stranger for review.

Midnight Stranger, Volume 1 contains two major storylines which aren’t directly related to each other but which could conceivably take place in the same setting. The volume opens with the titular “Midnight Stranger” and its followup chapter “Love-Hate” which are about Roitschaggata, a minor goat spirit, and Xiuhtecuhtli, an old and powerful god of fire. (The two are also the focus of the volume’s bonus chapter, “The Point of a Day Off.”) Centuries ago, due to the ugliness of his original form, Roi was mistaken for a monster rather than the benevolent spirit of healing that he is. He was nearly burned alive by a mob of humans, but was saved and granted more appealing looks by Xiu. The two of them now live together in modern-day Japan—Roi utterly devoted to his god, and Xiu oddly fond and possessive of his adoring servant. The second storyline collected in Midnight Stranger, and the basis for the four-panel comics included at the volume’s end, is “Hollow Romance,” a manga about a seemingly innocent young man named Takara Mori who is both more and less than he seems and the literal demons surrounding him.

Midnight Stranger, Volume 1, page 25Although I’ve somewhat come to expect it from Naono’s manga, the supernatural aspects of Midnight Stranger are all over the place and the worldbuilding isn’t necessarily cohesive. Xiu is based on an Aztec deity, Roi I believe is inspired by Swiss traditions, “Hollow Romance” incorporates Nordic legends, and there is a variety of other mythological beings present in the manga as well. It’s never really explicitly explained why all of these deities, demons, spirits, and legends from vastly different cultures and geographies are interacting with one another, but clearly in Midnight Stranger gods and beliefs aren’t restricted by countries or borders. The unexpected combinations, while seemingly haphazard, can be surprisingly entertaining, though. But while Naono has taken inspiration from multiples sources, which is something that I enjoy about her work, her interpretations are very much her own and frequently very little of the original tales remain. Xiu, for example, retains his name and has an appropriately fiery temper and flashy personality, but otherwise his connection to Mesoamerica is largely nonexistent.

Humor is also prominent in Midnight Stranger, though in tone the manga does shift between comedic and ominous. Granted, there is plenty to find amusing or ridiculous in Midnight Stranger, such as Xiu making his living in the mortal world as an idol or Roi gaining a young boy he cured as a best friend and confidant. Roi is actually the source of quite a bit of the humor in Midnight Stranger. He has a complex about his appearance, not realizing how adorable his new goat form is or how attractive he is as a human. He’s also apparently a little slow in recognizing that Xiu has feelings for him—readers aren’t privy to the hundreds of years of the extremely tedious evolution of their relationship, just the time period in which Roi finally figures it out and the heated sex that follows. Whereas Roi and Xiu’s story becomes more comedic as it progresses, Naono takes the opposite approach with “Hollow Romance” which becomes increasingly darker and grotesque, all while still maintaining a sense of humor. I particularly liked “Hollow Romance,” but I am curious to see what lies in store for Roi and Xiu in the next volume of Midnight Stranger.

Thank you to Viz Media for providing a copy of Midnight Stranger, Volume 1 for review.

Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol 4

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Demon Prince of Momochi House Volume 4 by Aya Shouoto

I’ve been enjoying this series, although I have to admit if I was forced to recommend only one manga about an ordinary girl who finds herself heir to a house inhabited by ayakashis, I’d go with Kamisama Kiss. That being said, this volume of Demon Prince of Momochi House represents a high point for the series so far, with a story that was surprisingly emotional.

Aoi’s symbiotic relationship with Momochi house means that he’s trapped, with the memories of his previous life wiped from the minds of anyone who knew him in the human world. When Yukari goes to school wearing a 4 leaf clover ring that Aoi made for her, one of her classmates suddenly demands to know where she got it. When she tells the boy that a family member made it and her name is Momochi, he wanders off. Yukari learns that the boy is named Hidaka, he’s a loner, and has a reputation of being cursed. There’s a legend that his family is descended from fox shape-shifters, so Yukari wonders if there’s a connection to Aoi. As she investigates she learns that Hidaka and Aoi were best friends when they were younger.

Aoi doesn’t directly share his feelings with Yukari, but she senses that he feels a bit of regret and doesn’t want to risk rejection. As she learns more about the curse of the fox spirits that is affecting Hidaka, she begins to realize that the curse itself is keeping Hidaka’s memories of his friendship with Aoi alive, making him feel constantly guilty and unsettled. Aoi as the Nue has to intervene, and while he is able to cause a resolution to the situation, one final link to the outside world for Aoi is severed. The story is very bittersweet and filled with a sense of nostalgia, as memories are shown to be insubstantial. The last part of the manga turns to a gathering of akashi and hints of a creepy storyline in the next volume. Shouoto continues to make the backgrounds of Momochi house interesting with gatherings of tiny ayakashi in strange shapes, and there’s are general hints of menace in some of the characters’ facial expressions and reactions. This is all blended with a few moments of humor here and there as Aoi’s random attempts to get closer to Yukari don’t get him very far. Overall I was very pleasantly surprised by this volume, and I hope this series which was already enjoyable continues to improve.

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Library Wars: Love & War, Vol 15

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Library Wars: Love & War Volume 15 by Kiiro Yumi and Hiro Arikawa

When I started reading this series, I admit I was drawn to it more due to the premise than the execution, because it is a rare thing for there to be a manga about librarians organized as a fighting force to combat censorship. But as the series continued to grow, the simple slowly developing romance between Kasahara and Dojo became more and more interesting, and the supporting characters began to be more multidimensional, causing Library Wars to be one of the most emotionally satisfying Shojo Beat series, even if it doesn’t have terribly flashy art.

There’s never really any question where this series will end up, and with the ending telegraphed from the start the focus is much more on how the characters all get a version of a happy ending. For a character that struggles with being competent, with her main advantage being on improvisation and action, Kasahara’s strategic thinking is the main focus of the final story as she ably plots a way for an author to defect and save himself from censorship. She’s all alone, and manages her mission capably, finally showing that she’s grown up and can take care of herself and others. It is fitting that the final romantic confession and resolution only happens after Kasahara has fully realized her true potential.

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The resolution is everything that fans of the series would have hoped for, and there are enough cameo appearances from the supporting cast that everything feels nicely wrapped up. Library Wars will always have a special place on my bookshelf not only for the awesome but slightly silly images of librarians fighting off censorship with automatic weapons, but also because the romance in the manga is genuinely heartwarming.

Shuriken and Pleats Vol. 1

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Shuriken and Pleats Volume 1 by Matsuri Hino

Matsuri Hino is one of those shoujo authors who I like, but I haven’t been pulled into the time of deep admiration that I feel towards an Arina Tanemura or a Chika Shiomi. One of the main reasons for this is that I never really connected with Hino’s major series Vampire Knight. I have some volumes stockpiled and I intend to give that series another chance one day. I do enjoy Hino’s delicate art. I was curious about a non-vampire series from Hino.

Shuriken and Pleats is a short two-volume series about a ninja girl in the modern age, with all of the angst one might expect from a Matsuri Hino title with the added bonus of some fish out of water humor. The tragedy is introduced in the first chapter, as Mikage Kirio is assigned to protect an idealistic man whose wife and daughter have passed away, possibly as the result of some of his research into a way to end world hunger. Mikage’s master James goes out of the way to exhibit a personal interest in the young ninja, wanting her to have a normal life. When James dies, his will sets Mikage up with an option for an independent life for the first time, and he requests that she take the time to go to school like a regular girl. Mikage moves back to Japan and makes an attempt to fit in as a schoolgirl, while being haunted by her past. She also finds a final person to protect along the way.

“Girl who doesn’t understand her feelings” is almost as much of a shoujo cliche as the inexplicably alluring klutzy heroine, but Mikage is a more interesting than usual example of this particular type of heroine. Being part of a secret ninja clan in the modern world is a legitimate reason to have a closed-off personality, and while she fails sometimes she does have some serious ninja skills. One thing that does make Shuriken and Pleats stand out are some fine points of character development that manage to be both humorous and tragic at the same time, like Mikage’s shrine of cute erasers that her former master gave her. Mikage’s reaction to having papers passed to her at school from behind her back is a dramatic flip and the stern command for her classmate to “State your intention.”

Mikage’s ninja nature is signaled by the flowing black scarf she wears at all times, even when in her school uniform. Hino’s art has her trademark extremely pretty character designs mixed with dynamic ninja action scenes. I found myself intrigued by Mikage’s journey as she gradually loosens up on her ninja training and starts dealing with her emotions for the first time. I was less interested in some of the aspects of the plot, like the conspiracy at work that Mikage has to unravel. There’s a great deal of plot development packed into just one volume, which perhaps speaks to the benefit of planned short manga series as opposed to short series that are the result of an abrupt cancellation. I enjoyed this manga, and I’ll look forward to the concluding volume. Shuriken and Pleats seems like it will be an entertaining diversion if someone is looking for a short series to enjoy.

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Skip Beat! Vol. 36

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Skip Beat Volume 36 by Yoshiki Nakamura

I feel like most reviews of Skip Beat could just be summed up as, “Skip Beat, long-running shoujo series, continues to be relentlessly excellent,” but as I was reading the latest volume there were several specific things that struck me about it. I absolutely loved the Heel siblings plot, and while the manga has to move on from Ren and Kyoko being forced to be in close proximity to each other as they pretend to be gothic semi-incestual siblings in order to further Ren’s acting career as he acts in a drama while pretending to be an entirely different actor than “Ren” which is itself a totally different persona from his genuine personality, I’m glad that this volume eases out of the story line gently, with Kyoko getting one last big scene as Setsu.

Early in this volume I was reminded at how good Nakamura is at drawing Kyoko in freak-out mode, as she suffers agony in telling Ren that she kissed her long-lost fairy prince Corn (who is also Ren). Ren is pushing Kyoko a bit to get an emotional reaction from her, but he also is genuinely grateful for her help as they part and she heads back to Japan to resume her own acting career. Kyoko has matured so much as an actress and a person, and while she’s handling a crisis on her new show, things get complicated fast when Sho visits her home.

A settled and stable shoujo heroine doesn’t make for much drama, and now in addition to Sho’s reappearance, Kyoko is confronted with the specter of her long-absent horrible mother. Just when she starts to get a bit of emotional equilibrium, something happens to throw things off!

Lettering Skip Beat! must be a fun and challenging job, as there are different fonts used for Kyoko when she’s beset by the angry demon side of her personality, when she’s yelling at Sho, and when she’s calmly giving advice to a fellow actress. All in all, this was a very entertaining volume helping Skip Beat! transition away from one story line into a new direction, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

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Idol Dreams, Vol. 2

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Idol Dreams Volume 2 by Arina Tanemura

I liked the first volume of Idol Dreams, with a few reservations so I was eager to check out the second volume to see how the story would develop. I was pretty convinced after seeing how the story was set up that the body-switching heroine Chikage is going to end up with the supplier of her youth idol pills, Tokita. The second volume starts out with a flashback of high school days told firmly from his point of view, showing how genuinely nice and popular Chikage was when she is a teenager. Her current repressed personality and the somewhat forced teen idol disguise really stand in contrast to Chikage’s natural charm back in the day. After reading the flashback, I’m more convinced than ever that Chikage is going to end up in an adult relationship, despite her newfound habit of hanging out with various teen boy band members.

We see some painful reminders of how socially awkward it is to be a repressed over 30 office lady, but Chikage’s idol adventures as Akari are not without peril as (say it with me!) A RIVAL APPEARS in the form of polished teen idol Yuko, who is nursing a mad crush on Hibiki. Akari learns some interesting facts about Hibiki’s home life that put his hustle, drive, and habit of appropriating boxed lunches into perspective. Truly, not since Tamahome have I seen a shoujo hero this dedicated to frugality. Akari and Yuko have to duke it out for the honor of singing Hibiki’s next single, and Akari needs plenty of extra training because she’s never performed for a studio audience before.

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There are quite a few funny moments along the way, but one of the things I liked is how much support Chikage is getting to change her life. Tokita comes along on an extended teen idol outfit shopping trip, and when the outfit accidentally gets ruined, Akari’s fellow teen idols leap at the opportunity to help her out, instantly offering up their own clothing to save the day. Idol Dreams is fun and frothy, but I’m much more invested in the few scenes between Chikage and Tokita than any of the other men in her life. Tanemura is always good at shifting between more introspective moments and comedic effect freakouts from the characters, and that was definitely on display in this volume.