Random Musings: Notable in 2015

For the last couple of years, I have made a point to compile an end-of-year list of works that, for me, were particularly notable. In general I tend to like making lists, but I particularly enjoy working on this one because it specifically provides me the opportunity to reflect back on the year. The notable list isn’t exactly a “best of” list or even a list of favorites. To be included, a work must simply have been released in 2015, read in 2015, and stood out to me in one way or another. (That being said, I didn’t get to read as much this past year as I have in previous years. I’m sure that, had I had the chance to read them, there would be other works represented here, too.)

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 31: Final Curtain2015 was a year in which many series came to an end. Final Curtain, the last volume in the English-language edition of Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal, was especially meaningful to me since the series was one of the first manga that I ever read and continues to be a personal favorite. Dark Horse began releasing the series in individual issues back in 1996; nearly two decades later it is now available in its entirety. All in all, it was a great ending to a great series.

The Summit of the Gods, Volume 5Another series that concluded in English in 2015 was The Summit of the Gods, written by Baku Yumemakura and illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi. Fanfare/Ponent Mon is one of the smaller, more niche manga and comics publishers and has infrequent releases. Multiple years passed between the publication of some of the volumes in the series, so I was honestly afraid I’d never have the opportunity to read the conclusion of such an impressively drawn and written manga.

Wandering Son, Volume 8 2015 also saw what may be the premature end to a few manga in English. Tragically, for a variety of reasons, Fantagraphic’s release of Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son hasn’t been doing well and the publisher might have to cancel the series if sales don’t improve. Only a single volume, with one heck of a cliffhanger, was able to be released in 2015. The series is incredibly important to me on a very personal level—it was literally life-changing—so I’ll heartbroken if this is truly the end.

Vinland Saga, Omnibus 6Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga is another series that might come to a close before its time in English. After a temporary hiatus, the sixth and seventh omnibuses, the last that are guaranteed to be published, were released in 2015. Even if the rest of the series isn’t translated (and I hope that it is), the first two major story arcs are complete and the manga is well-worth seeking out. The character development in the series is fantastic, the artwork is excellent, and the story is marvelous.

A Silent Voice, Volume 1One of the manga to debut in 2015 that stood out to me the most was A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima. A realistic portrayal of bullying and the consequences of such cruelty, the series can be a difficult but ultimately worthwhile read. The subject matter is heartwrenching but handled extremely well, skillfully showing the nuanced complexity of human nature and relationships while exploring themes of forgiveness, empathy, and redemption.

Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 1Aya Kanno’s Requiem of the Rose King was one of my most anticipated manga series to be released in 2015. A combination of historical fact and historical fantasy inspired by the plays of William Shakespeare, Kanno’s research into the Wars of the Roses, and her own imagination, the manga hasn’t yet disappointed me and gets better with each volume. The storytelling can be somewhat cryptic and chaotic at times, but its dark, dreamlike nature can also be wonderfully effective.

HenshinKen Niimura is an award-winning Spanish comics creator of Japanese heritage who has worked in the European, North American, and Asian markets. Henshin is a delightfully quirky collection of thirteen short manga originally released online by Ikki, making it Niimura’s first major Japanese publication. While the stories range from semi-autobiographical to the absolute fantastic, they all tend to have surprising twists to them with great emotional impact.

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Volume 1Seven Seas has recently shown a remarkable increase in the number and variety of titles it has licensed. Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride is perhaps one of Seven Sea’s more atypical series, but it seems to be doing well for itself. I’m glad, because I enjoy the manga and its strangeness immensely. A peculiar romance incorporating horror and fantasy, magic and science, the series is heavily influenced by European legends, fairy tales, and folklore.

Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & MuJunji Ito had a pretty good showing in English in 2015 with several new releases and re-releases. Of those, it was Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu that made the strongest impression on me. (I admittedly find it difficult to resist cat comics.) The manga is drawn in Ito’s signature style but is undoubtedly a comedy, granted one about the horrors and anxieties of pet ownership. The disconnect between the artwork and the story makes it even funnier.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood, Volume 1I never expected to see the beginning of Hirohiko Araki’s exceptionally weird yet iconic manga series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure released in English. The third story arc was published years ago but only garnered a relatively small following. Thankfully, the manga’s recent anime adaptation revitalized interest in the series, leading Viz Media to release the first two arcs of the epic—Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency—and in a beautiful hardcover edition no less.

Prison School, Omnibus 1Probably one of the most divisive debuts of 2015 was Prison School by Akira Hiramoto, but Yen Press had the guts to license it. With its highly sexualized content, over-the-top fanservice verging on the grotesque, and preponderance despicable characters, it’s definitely not a series for everyone. The manga revels in its salaciousness to the point of parody, making it a strangely engrossing and humorous work for readers who aren’t immediately offended by it.

NimonaNimona had its beginnings as an award-winning webcomic, ultimately becoming Noelle Stevenson’s debut graphic novel; the print edition also includes additional material not found online. I absolutely loved this comic. It starts out rather lighthearted, but as the graphic novel progresses it becomes more serious. However, it never loses its sense of humor. Stevenson combines colorful characters, settings, and artwork to create a comic that is both entertaining and meaningful.

Fantasy Sports, Volume 1Sometimes all I want from a comic is something fun, and Fantasy Sports by Sam Bosma is certainly that and then some. The comic started as a short, self-published, black-and-white work but it has been expanded into an ongoing, full-color series being released by Nobrow Press. The marvelous first volume, featuring a life-and-death game of basketball between an ancient mummy and a young magic user interning at the United Order of Mages, is filled with silliness and adventure.

TowerkindAlso originally self-published, Towerkind by Kat Verhoeven was a comic that I came across by chance more than anything else; I picked up the book on an impulse after seeing it at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival and finding myself oddly drawn towards it. The comic is surreal, about a group of children with supernatural abilities who may or may not be facing the end of the world. It’s both a strangely compelling and darkly ominous work.

Red Girls: The Legend of the AkakuchibasOut of all of the novels released in 2015 that I read, Red Girls: The Legend of the Akakuchibas by Kazuki Sakuraba was perhaps the most curious, peculiar, and enthralling. A multi-generational family epic, the story follows the lives and legends of three women, each powerful in their own way. (One of them even becomes a successful mangaka after retiring from being the leader of a girl gang.) Part history, part mystery, and part fantasy, I enjoyed the novel a great deal.

The Grace of KingsKen Liu is probably best known for his short fiction, but in 2015 he made his debut as a novelist with The Grace of Kings, the first book in The Dandelion Dynasty which is a sort of retelling or reimagining of China’s historical legends and mythologies. The novel is a massive and expansive work with incredible worldbuilding. Though contemporary fantasy fiction, stylistically Liu also pays tribute to the narrative structure of the Chinese classics and not just their stories.

My Week in Manga: December 14-December 20, 2015

My News and Reviews

Only one in-depth review was posted at Experiments in Manga last week. I should be getting back to my regular blogging schedule very soon, though. As for the said review, I took a look at Setona Mizushiro’s After School Nightmare, Volume 7 as part of my monthly horror manga review project. After School Nightmare is an effectively unsettling work, but it’s also engrossing. The seventh volume has some particularly chilling developments and revelations. (And that’s it from me at the moment!)

Quick Takes

Black Rose Alice, Volume 4Black Rose Alice, Volumes 4-6 by Setona Mizushiro. From what I can tell, Black Rose Alice is currently on hiatus in Japan. Fortunately, the first six volumes appear to complete the first major story arc of the manga. While I certainly hope that the Black Rose Alice continues, and I look forward to seeing how it develops, at least readers are provided with some resolution and closure for what could be a long wait. This second half of the first arc deals with the aftermath of Leo’s demise. The relationship dynamics in Black Rose Alice have always been a little peculiar and unnerving, but as they begin to fracture under the strain of the loss of Leo it’s shown just how strong and just how tenuous they can be at the same time. These volumes also include the reappearance of Koya, which throws the situation into even more turmoil, and the revelation of the twins tragic backstory. Emotions run high and the drama is intense as everything seems to be falling apart. Black Rose Alice continues to be dark and creepy and Mizushiro’s vampires are still some of the most unusual ones that I’ve come across.

Itazura na Kiss, Volume 1Itazura na Kiss, Volumes 1-3 by Kaoru Tada. Considering the number of boys’ love titles that Digital Manga releases in print (as well as its recent efforts to translate all of Osamu Tezuka’s works and its foray into hentai) it can be easy to forget that the publisher has other interesting manga in its catalog, too. Itazura na Kiss is one such series, a classic shoujo manga from the nineties which was extremely successful in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. The story is about Kotoko, an academically-challenged young woman in high school who has fallen in love Naoki, another student who is a legitimate genius. He also turns out to be a huge jerk, but every once in a while he shows a warmer, kinder side of himself. So far, I have been enjoying Itazura na Kiss, perhaps more than I expected. Kotoko shows wonderful strength of character and even Naoki’s unpleasant personality has more depth to it than initially appears. Despite the best efforts of their parents who would love to see them married, the romance between the two of them is believably slow to develop. I also like that the story doesn’t get stuck in high school and follows Naoki and Kotoko as they enter college.

Merman in My Tub, Volume 1Merman in My Tub, Volume 1 by Itokichi. Seven Seas has made something of a name for itself as the publisher of monster girl manga, but with Merman in My Tub monster boys are now better represented as well. The basic and appropriately ridiculous premise of Merman in My Tub is that Wakasa, a merman, has become a permanent resident in the bathtub of Tatsumi, a young man who rescued him from a polluted river. His mere presence causes all sorts of problems and inconveniences for Tatsumi, especially when his other aquatic acquaintances begin showing up, too. The series is a largely episodic four-panel comedy manga although there are some small story arcs, recurring characters, and running jokes. There is also plenty of boys’ love tease and innuendo. (In part Itokichi seems to have created the series as an excuse to draw half-naked men.) At the same time, Merman in My Tub makes use of some of the vaguely incestuous little sister/big brother tropes that can be fairly prevalent these days. As a result, though it has its charm, the series sometimes seems a little confused about which audience it’s trying to appeal to.

My Week in Manga: December 7-December 13, 2015

My News and Reviews

Okay! Last week I submitted my promotion dossier at work, which means I’ll be able to start paying more attention to Experiments in Manga again. I still have a few other life things preoccupying me at the moment, but I’m hoping to get back to my normal posting schedule by the beginning of the new year if not before. That being said, I only posted one in-depth review last week. Soji Shimada’s classic mystery novel The Tokyo Zodiac Murders was recently re-released in English, which seemed as good an excuse as any to get around to reading it. According to this interview with Shimada, if The Tokyo Zodiac Murders does well, the next book in the series might be translated, too, which I would definitely like to read.

As for other interesting things found online: Seven Seas’ ten-day licensing spree has now wrapped up. (The new license tag on Seven Seas’ tumblr is probably still the easiest place to see them all at once.) Out of all the announced titles the one I’m most curious about is Ichiya Sazanami’s Magia the Ninth which features master composers as demon hunters with music-based magic. (Sazanami is the creator of Black Bard which I likewise couldn’t resist because of the combination of music and magic.) And in case you need to catch up on all of the anime, manga, and light novel licenses announced in 2015, Reverse Thieves has you covered. Also of note, Manga Brog has translated an excerpt of an interesting interview of Kentaro Miura, the creator of Berserk.

Quick Takes

Captain Ken, Volume 1Captain Ken, Volumes 1-2 by Osamu Tezuka. I think that I’ve mentioned here before that I happen to have a particular fascination with Mars, which was one of the primary reasons that I was interested in reading Captain Ken. Of course, it didn’t hurt that series was also created by Tezuka. (Though granted, I would love to see more classic manga that isn’t by Tezuka released in English.) Captain Ken is basically a western in space—Mars has been deliberately developed to be reminiscent of the American Southwest, the primary mode of transportation is by (robotic) horse, and the Martians have met with the same tragic fate as the Native Americans. The series is an odd mashup of science fiction and western genre tropes and American history, including references to World War II and the dropping of the atomic bomb. (The portrayal of Americans, perhaps justifiably, isn’t especially flattering.) Captain Ken explores the same themes of anti-war and anti-discrimination found in many of Tezuka’s other manga. Overall, it’s an entertaining adventure story with a rather bittersweet ending.

Cross Game, Omnibus 6Cross Game, Omnibuses 6-8 (equivalent to Volumes 12-17) by Mitsuru Adachi. I still don’t have much of an interest in baseball when it comes to real life, but I’m completely invested in the sport when it comes to Cross Game. I’ve come to care tremendously about the characters in the series and, because baseball is incredibly important to so many of them, by proxy the baseball is important to me as well. Cross Game‘s last three omnibuses focus on the final year of high school baseball for Ko and his classmates. In fact, the eighth omnibus is almost entirely devoted to a single game—the last opportunity for the Seishu team to make Wakaba’s dream of seeing them play at summer Koshien a reality. They’ve worked hard as a team and have several players who are individually impressive as well, but that never guarantees a win. I’ve watched the Cross Game anime series, which turns out to have been a very faithful adaptation, so I knew how things would end. Even so, the manga is incredibly engaging and has a ton of heart. I never expected to be so taken with a baseball manga, but Cross Game is excellent.

U Don't Know MeU Don’t Know Me by Rakun. After a somewhat dubious beginning, I ended up really enjoying U Don’t Know Me. Plot-wise there’s a lot packed into this one-volume boys’ love manhwa and the characterization is quite good as well. Seyun and Yoojin are childhood friends who have only recently come to realize that they share feelings for each other which are much more lustful in nature. While the manhwa is primarily about Seyun and Yoojin and the evolution of their friendship into a romance, their relationships with their friends and families are also extremely important to the story. Context is provided for their love for earch another and the implications of that love. My favorite part of U Don’t Know Me was actually the response of the boys’ parents upon discovering their sons’ intimate relationship. Initially they were shocked and upset, but they ultimately give their love and support and are very involved in ensuring the well-being of both young men. The realistic portrayal of this sort of positive acceptance seems to be something of a rarity in boys’ love, so it makes me particularly happy when I see it.

My Week in Manga: November 30-December 6, 2015

My News and Reviews

So, one of the many reasons that I’ve been incredibly busy lately (which led to me temporarily reducing the number of posts that I’ve been writing each week) is that I’m in the process of applying for a promotion at work. I’m currently putting the final touches on my dossier which is due later this week. At this point it’s already well over two hundred pages and has taken up a significant amount of my time; I’m really looking forward to being done and over with the whole thing so I can get back to reading and writing about things that I actually enjoy.

That being said, last week I announced the winner of the Kodansha Shoujo Smorgasbord manga giveaway. The post also includes a list of some of Kodansha Comics’ shoujo and josei manga, of which there’s a nice variety. The honor of the first in-depth review of the month went to Studio Kôsen’s Windrose, Volume 1 from Chromatic Press/Sparkler Monthly. Kôsen has had a few other releases in English, but I think that Windrose is probably my favorite so far. Finally, over the weekend I posted November’s Bookshelf Overload which will likely be the last list of its utterly ridiculous size for a while.

Elsewhere online in manga publishing announcements: Kodansha Comics manga are now available digitally on Overdrive, which is great news for libraries in Canada and the United States. Seven Seas is in the midst of celebrating ten days of licenses with some interesting as well as not-so-surprising choices. (At the moment, the new license tag on Seven Seas’ Tumblr may be the easiest place to see all of the new titles at once.) Yen Press probably made the biggest license announcement last week, though–Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket is being re-released in English! Yen plans to release Takaya’s Liselotte & Witch’s Forest and Twinkle Stars as well.

Quick Takes

Alley of First LoveAlley of First Love by Ellie Mamahara. I picked up Alley of First Love without knowing much about the manga except that it was a boys’ love one-shot. Sometimes that can a risky proposition ripe with potential for disappointment, but Alley of First Love ended up being a pleasant surprise. After graduating high school, Shusuke’s best friend (and crush) Atsushi left to study abroad in England with no intention of returning to Japan. But six years later he unexpectedly comes back and Shusuke must once more face the fact that his feelings for Atsushi go far beyond friendship. There were quite a few things that appealed to me about the Alley of First Love: the leads are adult men, the prominence of their tightly-knit families and community (and the realistic rumor mills that accompany those), the touches of humor and overall heartwarming nature of the story, and so on. Readers looking forward to steamy love scenes will be left wanting as they are mostly implied rather than shown (Mamahara jokes in her notes that she’s terrible at drawing them), but the emotional connection between Shusuke and Atsushi is definitely there.

Love at Fourteen, Volume 3Love at Fourteen, Volumes 3-4 by Fuka Mizutani. I didn’t anticipate that I would enjoy the first couple of volumes of Love at Fourteen nearly as much as I actually did. However, although I also enjoyed the third and fourth volumes, my compulsion to read more of the series has somewhat diminished. Tanaka and Yoshikawa may be the leads, but I think they may actually be some of the least interesting characters in the series. But even though their personalities aren’t particularly strong, I do like them. And I like their relationship and the portrayal of the slow development of young love. But in the end, I find that I’m more intrigued by the supporting characters and their stories. Perhaps I’m not the only one who felt this way—Mizutani adds even more of them to the series in these two volumes. My favorite character has turned out to be Nagai, a delinquent with a talent for singing. However, the way that the music teacher manipulates and leads him on is troubling. She’s supposedly fallen in love with her fourteen-year-old student. I’m not sure if Mizutani intends for it to be tragically romantic, humorous, or what, but the way it plays out and is shown in the manga comes across as creepy more than anything else.

My Love Story!!, Volume 3My Love Story!!, Volume 3-6 written by Kazune Kawahara and illustrated by Aruko. I absolutely loved the first two volumes of My Love Story!! and so have made a point to collect the manga even though I’ve fallen behind in actually reading it. At first, I wasn’t really sure how long the series would be able to last before the gimmick was completely played out and became tiresome. After all, the manga was initially intended to be a one shot. Happily, My Love Story!! has yet to lose its charm for me. It continues to be funny and sweet, earnest and endearing. The story is beginning to expand more, as well. While Takeo and Yamato’s incredibly adorable and wholesome romance is at the heart of it all, the manga is now exploring the lives and relationships of their friends and family members as well. At one point it seemed as though My Love Story!! was going to be somewhat episodic, but some longer, continuing storylines are being introduced as are new, recurring characters. My Love Story!! always manages to make me happier just by reading it, so I’ll definitely continue following it.

My Week in Manga: November 23-November 29, 2015

My News and Reviews

Last week was Thanksgiving in the United States, which means that I was fairly busy traveling and visiting family. I still posted a couple of things at Experiments in Manga, though. Because it’s the end of the month, it’s also time for a manga giveaway. And, because it’s November, the giveaway is for multiple volumes. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter for a chance to win four first volumes of manga in the Kodansha Shoujo Smorgasbord giveaway. I also posted a review last week of Attack on Titan: Kuklo Unbound, which is an omnibus edition of the last two volumes in Ryo Suzukaze’s trilogy of novels which form a prequel to Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan manga series. It’s a pretty quick read, and provides an interesting perspective and backstory that fans of the franchise will appreciate.

Because I was traveling and visiting family, I didn’t spend much time online last week, but there were a few things that managed to catch my attention. Comics Forum’s Manga Studies column continued with “What are you reading? Approaches and reasons for looking at language in manga” by Giancarla Unser Schutz. Gengoroh Tagame’s Otouto No Otto (My Brother’s Husband) won a Japan Media Arts Award, which is kind of a big deal. Viz Media posted its Fall 2015 survey about anime and manga buying habits and convention attendance. And, in much sadder news, mangaka and yokai enthusiast Shigeru Mizuki has passed away.

Quick Takes

Behind Story, Volume 1Behind Story, Volume 1 by Narae Ahn. I’ve been trying to make a point to sample some of Netcomics’ recent releases which is what first brought Ahn’s boys’ love manhwa Behind Story to my attention. I wasn’t previously aware of the series, and I actually haven’t been able to find much information about Ahn, either. The the story didn’t initially engage me, likely because of the school setting which didn’t do much to distinguish itself, but by the end of the first volume I was left wanting more. Johann is a transfer student who is rumored to be gay, which means that most of his classmates avoid him, but recently Taehee has developed an interest in him. One of their teachers has, too, and Johann finds himself the target of an unhealthy and abusive obsession. Behind Story has tumultuous emotions and drama, with the potential to go in some very dark and dangerous directions. While the cover art of Behind Story is particularly striking, the interior artwork is attractive, too, although some of the transitions between scenes and flashbacks were occasionally difficult to follow.

Cross Game, Omnibus 2Cross Game, Omnibuses 2-5 (equivalent to Volumes 4-11) by Mitsuru Adachi. It’s been a long while since I read the first Cross Game manga omnibus or watched the anime series; I’d forgotten just how good the story is. I’m not even especially interested in baseball, and yet I find myself completely absorbed by Cross Game. Probably because the manga really is about more than just baseball, although the way that Adachi paces the games does makes them very exciting. And after reading the manga, I am able to better appreciate and understand the strategy involved in the sport. But for me, the baseball in Cross Game takes a backseat to the series’ exploration of love and loss. In more than one way, the characters are dealing with the utter unfairness of life. Sometimes they are able to triumph over adversity and it’s magnificent, but sometimes there is nothing to be done but to live and learn and try to move on as best as they can. Cross Game is a series that manages to be very emotionally resonant; I find that I’ve come to care about the characters and their well-being a great deal.

A Silent Voice, Volume 3A Silent Voice, Volume 3 by Yoshitoki Oima. I continue to be impressed with A Silent Voice and Oima’s willingness to include characters who are simply awful people. It does make the series a little difficult or unpleasant to read at times, but the manga is still very well done. Fortunately, the series isn’t completely depressing. There’s hope for redemption and the promise that, while the mistakes of the past can’t be undone, people can indeed change for the better. It’s a lesson that Shoya is still learning as he is constantly reminded of and trying to make up for how horrible he once was. Though he has apologized and sincerely regrets the actions of his sixth-grade self, he’s uncertain whether or not he actually deserves to be forgiven and what his motivations in seeking forgiveness truly are. Shoya is still a little oblivious and self-centered when it comes to his relationships with other people, and he still makes plenty of mistakes, but he is slowly beginning to grow and mature and form honest friendships. His heart at least is in the right place, and he has become a much more sympathetic character over the last few volumes.