My News and Reviews
Not much news from me here this week. I posted Library Love, Part 8 in which I provide some quick takes of manga that I’ve been reading and borrowing from the library. I also posted my review of Ninja Attack!: True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws. It’s another really fantastic book from the authors of Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Definitely recommended.
And because I like lists, I thought I’d share a few that I’ve come across recently. Graphic Novel Reporter has posted their Holiday 2011 Gift Guide. Unfortunately, not a lot of manga on that one. However, No Flying No Tights revealed their Must Have Manga for Teens not too long ago. It’s a very nice list. You should check it out. And finally, Deb Aoki of About.com: Manga has posted the Top 25 Most Anticipated Manga of 2012. There’s some really great stuff coming out next year that I’m very excited about.
Oh! December’s Manga Moveable Feast, featuring Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon, is next week! Sean Gaffney over at A Case Suitable for Treatment will be hosting.
Quick Takes
Chi’s Sweet Home, Volume 7 by Konami Kanata. I really do love Chi’s Sweet Home. Sometimes you just need to read something cute and fluffy and Chi more than fits the bill. Kanata’s color illustrations are simply lovely to behold, too. The seventh volume of the series finds Chi mostly settled into her new home, although she still gets lost wandering around on adventures if she’s not paying attention. She’s determined to befriend Cocchi, regardless of what the other kitten wants. Kanata perfectly captures the lovingly antagonistic relationship that I’ve seen with my own cats. The seventh volume also features an adorable goldfish, which I’ll admit made me very happy.
Drifters, Volume 1 by Kohta Hirano. If there’s one thing that Hirano does well, it’s create highly entertaining manga. Granted, Drifters doesn’t have a lot of substance and there are a lot of things that don’t make sense yet, but I still had a tremendous amount of fun reading it. Hirano’s artwork is bold and bombastic, perfectly fitting his nearly insane characters and the over-the-top and constant action. However, some of the fight sequences can be a little difficult to follow. Drifters will probably work best for readers who are already familiar with the historical figures presented in the story (as well as some of their personal quirks) since not much background information is given. Their character designs are pretty great regardless, though.
From Eroica with Love, Volumes 1-4 by Yasuko Aoike. The first volume of From Eroica with Love is rough, with a quickly (and fortunately) abandoned plot dealing with a group of psychic teenagers. Get past that and the series turns into something really special. Earl Dorian Red Gloria is not only fabulously flamboyant, he is also the internationally infamous art thief Eroica. Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach is the ever rigid and reserved NATO officer who somehow always happens to be the one having to deal with Eroica. They are great on their own, but the series best when Klaus and Eroica are sharing the stage together. The constant harassing (on Klaus’ part) and flirting (on Eroica’s) are endlessly entertaining.
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Apocalypse Saga directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The third and final of the Revolutionary Girl Utena boxsets from Nozomi, The Apocalypse Saga consists of episodes twenty-five through thirty-nine of the anime series, the movie The Adolescence of Utena, and a disc full of extras. The series is surreal and difficult for me to adequately describe, but it is incredibly engaging and compelling. It really is a tremendous series. Frequently it makes my heart ache as I get caught up in the story. As for the movie, it is a very odd interpretation of an already strange tale which probably won’t make much sense at all unless you’ve seen the series. And even then, it’ll probably still make you wonder.
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