15 July 2013 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: July 8-July 14, 2013

My News and Reviews

Last week I posted two reviews. The first was for The Vast Spread of the Seas, the third novel in Fuyumi Ono’s fantasy series The Twelve Kingdoms. I’ve really been enjoying reading The Twelve Kingdoms and this volume was no exception. I also reviewed Jen Lee Quick’s Off*Beat, Volume 1. Originally published by Tokyopop, the recently established Chromatic Press has rescued the series and I couldn’t be happier. The new Chromatic editions also include some additional bonus content as well.

Elsewhere online: Xavier Guilbert has published his interview with Taiyo Matsumoto from the 2013 Toronto Comic Arts Festival. The most recent episode of the Comic Books Are Burning In Hell podcast focuses on Suehiro Maruo. Kodansha Comics is offering two digital samplers containing the complete first chapters of many of its series. The Real sampler collects chapters from Kodansha’s “real-life” manga: Arisa, Bloody Monday, Danza, Genshiken, Genshiken: Second Season, I Am Here, Kitchen Princess, Missions of Love, and Vinland Saga. The Unreal sampler includes chapters from Kodansha’s fantasy, science fiction, and supernatural series: @ Full Moon, Attack on Titan, Cage of Eden, Fairy Tail, Mardock Scramble, Ninja Girls, No. 6, Sankarea: Undying Love, and Until the Full Moon.

Finally, this week is the Yun Kouga Manga Moveable Feast! Melinda Beasi of Manga Bookshelf is hosting this round and has already posted a marvelous introduction. For my contribution to the Feast I’ll be reviewing the first Loveless omnibus later this week. Loveless was originally published in English by Tokyopop, but Viz Media rescued the license last year (which made me very happy.) Although I enjoy Loveless, I haven’t actually read any of Kouga’s other manga. I look forward to seeing what everyone else has to say about her work.

Quick Takes

Dog X Cat, Volume 1Dog X Cat, Volumes 1-3 by Yoshimi Amasaki. Junya and Atsu have been friends since they were young. They’re in college now and their friendship becomes a little more complicated when Junya lets it slip that he’s actually in love with Atsu. Dog X Cat might not have the most original plot—I’ve seen the friends becoming lovers storyline many a time—but the two young men have a charming relationship with each other and a lot of sex. (Dog X Cat is part of Digital Manga’s more explicit 801 imprint, after all.) Some chapters are told from Junya’s perspective while others are from Atsu’s. It’s nice to see both sides of their story. Dog X Cat is an ongoing series; the fourth volume is scheduled to be released in English in 2014.

Mardock Scramble, Volume 5Mardock Scramble, Volumes 5-7 by Yoshitoki Oima. I’ve read Tow Ubukata’s original Mardock Scramble, but somehow managed to forget how pivotal child and sexual abuse was to the plot. The manga handles it fairly well and hasn’t turned it into something titillating. One thing that I didn’t forget from the novels was the lengthy casino scene. In particular, nearly two hundred pages worth of Blackjack which sorely tried my patience. Although some of the finer details and plot complications are glossed over in Oima’s adaptation, I much preferred reading the two volumes of manga covering the same material. This left one volume for Oima to bring everything to a quickly paced, action-packed close. For the most part, Oima’s interpretation of Mardock Scramble largely succeeds.

No. 5, Volume 1No. 5, Volumes 1-2 by Taiyo Matsumoto. Only two volumes of No. 5 were ever released in English in print. However, the entire series is now available digitally (on a platform I can’t use). I’ve come to love Matsumoto’s work in general and I particularly enjoy No. 5. The story follows Number Five, a member of the Rainbow Council of the International Peackeeping Forces, a small group of people with superhuman abilities. He’s fallen in love and gone rogue and now his teammates must hunt him down. While Number One and the rest of the Rainbow Council try to maintain control of the situation, there are others who are making the argument that the group is obviously dangerous and should no longer exist.

Black Lagoon, Episodes 13-24 directed by Sunao Katabuchi. Although I still enjoyed the second half of Black Lagoon anime, for some reason that I can’t identify I didn’t like it quite as much as the first. The anime follows the manga fairly closely, but takes a few of its own liberties while keeping the same tone as the original. I do think that I still prefer the manga slightly more than the anime, but the anime is entertaining as well. Additionally, the action is a little clearer and easier to follow in the anime. And I continue to be impressed by the sound design. The Black Lagoon anime tends to be violent and bloody and even the protagonists aren’t really “good guys.” They can be just as vicious as the other people they come up against.

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12 July 2013 Leave a Comment

Off*Beat, Volume 1

Creator: Jen Lee Quick
Publisher: Chromatic Press
ISBN: 9780991946600
Released: May 2013
Original release: 2005

Off*Beat had its start as a script written by Jen Lee Quick in 2002. She would later begin developing the story into a three-volume graphic novel series for Tokyopop in 2004 as part of its line of original English-language manga. Unfortunately, only the first two volumes of the series were ever released (the first in 2005 and the second in 2006) and Off*Beat subsequently went out of print. I loved Off*Beat and was disappointed that I and other fans would never get the chance to read the series’ ending. But then along comes Chromatic Press in 2013, re-releasing the first two volumes of Off*Beat with additional bonus content and with plans to publish the long-awaited third volume. I was absolutely thrilled at the news. Along with Tokyo Demons, one of my more recent literary obsessions, Off*Beat is one of Chromatic Press’ flagship titles. I couldn’t be happier that it is now back in print.

Saturday, September 25, 2004. In the middle of the night, Colin Stephens moves into the duplex across the street from Tory Blake. Nearly a year later, Tory has somehow convinced his mother to allow him to enroll in St. Peter’s High School under the guise of needing more intellectual stimulation than his public school is able to provide. Which is true, but more importantly St. Peter’s is the same school that Colin attends. Tory is so curious and bored that his interest in his mysterious new neighbor has become an obsession. Up until now, he has only been able to observe Colin from a distance; attending St. Peter’s will allow him to get to know Colin better in person. At least that was the plan. It turns out Colin isn’t very easy to make friends with and he doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with anyone. Tory, however, is determined to satisfy his curiosity and isn’t about to give up.

It’s more by chance than anything else that Tory hasn’t yet managed to get into any serious trouble by spying on his neighbors. He doesn’t mean any harm, but his actions certainly aren’t something to be condoned. But even considering his dubious hobby, I do like Tory quite a bit. He’s clever and delightfully flippant. (Actually, in general the dialogue in Off*Beat is great; Quick has a marvelous sense of humor that comes through in the work.) Granted, Tory may be a little too smart for his own good, and prone to letting his imagination run away with him, and his common sense trails far behind his book learning, but I happen to find those characteristics to be particularly endearing in him. I can also empathize with Tory because of them, having been similarly awkward and socially inept in high school myself.

The first volume of Off*Beat proceeds at a leisurely pace. The mystery surrounding Colin slowly builds as Tory conducts his investigation. At first it seems that everything is in Tory’s head, but then he actually does come across evidence that Colin is involved in some sort of secret project. At this point in Off*Beat very little is known about Colin—readers’ knowledge is limited to whatever Tory has so far been able to discover. Tory’s intense curiosity is also contagious; it’s easy to be drawn to Colin and want to learn more about him. In the beginning Colin is very prickly and withdrawn, but by the end of Off*Beat, Volume 1 he has started to open up a little to Tory. It’s an intriguing and slightly awkward relationship and one of my favorite things about Off*Beat. I’m incredibly glad that the comic is back in print; I’m looking forward to reading its conclusion.

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10 July 2013 1 Comment

The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 3: The Vast Spread of the Seas

Author: Fuyumi Ono
Illustrator: Akihiro Yamada
Translator: Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander
U.S. Publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781427802590
Released: November 2009
Original release: 1994

The Vast Spread of the Seas is the third book in Fuyumi Ono’s series of fantasy light novels The Twelve Kingdoms. In Japan the first two novels of the series were each released in two parts, technically making The Vast Spread of the Seas, published in 1994, the fifth volume of The Twelve Kingdoms. However, in the English-language edition of the series The Vast Spread of the Seas is the third volume. Tokyopop first released Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander’s English translation of the novel early on in 2009 as a hardcover. Later that year it was released again in a paperback edition. Tokyopop’s release of The Vast Spread of the Seas retains the illustrations by Akihiro Yamada. I quite enjoyed the first two books in The Twelve Kingdoms, so I was looking forward to reading The Vast Spread of the Seas.

The kingdom of En has fallen upon difficult times. The previous king drove the country to ruin and many of its people either died or fled during his vicious reign. Much of En became a wasteland and demons prowled the wilds. At first Shoryu, En’s new king divinely appointed by the kingdom’s kirin Rokuta, gives En’s people hope for a better life. But much to the dismay of his ministers, it soon becomes clear that Shoryu would rather galavant about the country than focus on the kingdom’s administration. Many of those in the provincial governments are also frustrated by Shoryu’s seeming lack of motivation and the slow restoration of En. Atsuyu, the acting regent of the province of Gen, plans to take matters into his own hands if the king continues to refuse to address En’s problems. With civil war brewing, Shoryu will be forced to abandon his inscrutable style of rule if he is to put an end to the rebellion and maintain the peace. But even then his decisions continue to confound those that serve him.

Although The Vast Spread of the Seas is the third novel in The Twelve Kingdoms, chronologically it takes place before the first two and isn’t directly related plot-wise. However, the volume does focus on Shoryu and Rokuta who have played small but incredibly important roles in both Sea of Shadow and Sea of Wind. Reading the first two books does provide a little more insight into Shoryu and Rokuta’s characters and what people think of them, but for the most part The Vast Spread of the Seas stands on its own. It explores their pasts, both before and after their association with En, as well as a critical period early in Shoryu’s reign as the king. Because I have read the previous volumes in The Twelve Kingdoms I knew how some of the events in The Vast Spread of the Seas would ultimately end, but it was still very interesting to see how they played out and how Shoryu dealt with them.

A large part of The Vast Spread of the Seas delves into court politics and intrigue. Atsuyu’s viewpoints are considered to be heretical and even dangerous, but his challenging of a system of authority that has failed its people is understandable and he raises some very legitimate concerns. Unfortunately, his criticisms are never fully addressed in The Vast Spread of the Seas. What is established is that Shoryu is a much keener ruler than he lets on and that he cares about his people immensely. Actions that seem to make no sense actually have significant purpose. He doesn’t allow himself to be limited or constrained by what is expected of him as a king; Shoryu is incredibly creative and shrewed in his administration of the kingdom and very few people actually realize it. It’s no wonder that he later becomes so admired and respected as a ruler despite his quirks and unorthodoxy.

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8 July 2013 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: July 1-July 7, 2013

My News and Reviews

Well, I made it back from the American Library Association conference in Chicago and then promptly left to visit my family in Chicago for a few days. I was busy for most of June and the first part of July traveling from one place to another, so I’m looking forward to staying put for a little while. Even though I was all over the place last week, I did post a few things here at Experiments in Manga. First up was the announcement of the Dystopian Duo Winner. The post also includes a select list of dystopian manga that has been licensed in English. Next up was the Bookshelf Overload for June. And finally, I reviewed Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 1 by Mitsuru Hattori, which is a weird romantic comedy and a rather unusual take on zombies. Coming next week is July’s Manga Moveable Feast which will feature the works of Yun Kouga. Melinda has posted the call for participation with more information over at Manga Bookshelf. For my contribution to the Feast, I plan on reviewing the first omnibus volume in Viz Media’s new release of Loveless.

Because I’ve been traveling I’m sure that I’ve missed all sorts of news, but I did manage to catch a few things. Sparkler Monthly, the digital multimedia magazine from Chromatic Press, has launched its website. Tokyopop and Rightstuf will be releasing the fourth and fifth volumes of Hidekaz Himaruya’s Hetalia manga this year. Digital Manga is teaming up with Tezuka Pro to publish all of Osamu Tezuka’s manga in English, focusing on digital releases with the possibility of some print releases. Vertical announced its licensing of Moyoco Anno’s autobiographical manga Insufficient Direction, which focuses on the mangaka’s relationship with her husband Hideaki Anno (of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame.) Earlier this year I hosted the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast, so I’m particularly excited for this license. Also, Viz made quite a few announcements, including the fact that it will be bringing Rumiko Takahashi’s manga Ranma 1/2 back into print in an unflipped, omnibus edition. I already own the entire series and probably won’t be double-dipping, but it’s exciting nonetheless. If I’ve missed any other recent manga news that you think I shouldn’t overlook, please do let me know!

Quick Takes

Junjo Romantica, Volume 7-12 by Shungiku Nakamura. In Japan, Junjo Romantica is currently an ongoing series. However, only the first twelve volumes were released in English. My opinion of the series hasn’t really changed much since the first six volumes. My favorite couple/story by far is still Egoist. Unfortunately, they don’t make as many appearances as I would like in these volumes. I’ve grown weary of the Romantica pairing—despite the progression in the plot, the characters barely see any development and I frequently feel that I’m reading the same material over and over. I do find Junjo Romantica amusing from time to time, but I’m not nearly as enamored with the series as many other people seem to be.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Volumes 3-4 by Naoko Takeuchi. These two volumes of Sailor Moon close one story arc (The Dark Kingdom Arc) and begin another (The Black Moon Arc). Takeuchi tends to move things along pretty quickly. As a result, it can occasionally be a little difficult to follow the story. Often, things just happen because they need to happen and they aren’t always fully explained. Sometimes, the story elements don’t even make much sense. But even so, I do find Sailor Moon to be an enjoyable manga. I particularly like that it’s the young women in the series who are so powerful and that while they’re strong they’re not perfect. I’ve seen the story of the prince saving the princess so many times that it’s wonderfully refreshing to see their positions switched.

Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko Nakamura. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Utsubora, but the manga is marvelous. Both the artwork and the story are just a little disconcerting and unsettling. Utsubora is layered, dark, arresting, and sensual. I loved it. The manga begins with a young woman plummeting from a building to her death. Only two people are in her cell phone’s contact list: the famed author Shun Mizorogi and a woman claiming to be her twin sister. From there the story twists and turns, the apparent suicide somehow connected to Mizorogi’s most recent work. I sincerely hope that Utsubora does well; I would love to see more of Nakamura’s manga available in English.

Paradise Kiss directed by Osamu Kobayashi. The Paradise Kiss anime is a fairly straightforward and trimmed adaptation of Ai Yazawa’s original manga. Some of the story’s depth is missing and some of the details have been glossed over, but all of the most important aspects of the plot and character development are successfully included within twelve episodes. Although I do prefer the manga and found it to be more emotionally persuasive, overall the anime is really quite excellent. Unfortunately, the Region 1 DVDs are currently out of print and a little difficult to track down, but they’re definitely worth keeping an eye out for. The animation in Paradise Kiss is consistently great and the character designs are lovely—the eyes in particular are captivating.

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7 July 2013 Leave a Comment

Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 1

Creator: Mitsuru Hattori
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781612623511
Released: June 2013
Original release: 2010

Mitsuru Hattori’s Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 1 was originally published in Japan in 2000. The manga was licensed in English by Kodansha Comics and released in 2013. The English release caused a small amount of controversy among some fans of the series as Kodansha used a significantly different cover than was used for the original Japanese edition. Personally, I like the English cover which emphasizes the series’ horror and zombie elements, downplaying the romantic comedy aspects. Granted, this does mean that unsuspecting readers unfamiliar with Sankarea may be surprised by the series’ less serious nature and fanservice. To be honest, I wasn’t planning on reading Sankarea; lately, I’ve become a little burned out on zombie fiction, even if the manga promised to be an atypical take on the subgenre. But when a review copy of the first volume unexpectedly showed up on my doorstep, I figured I may as well give Sankarea a try.

Furuya Chihiro is obsessed with zombies. In fact, he loves them. When his beloved pet cat Bub is hit by a car, he decides to try to reanimate the corpse by following the instructions in an obscure tome he found. Unfortunately, the book is falling apart and difficult to read; Chihiro’s attempts at bringing Bub back to life have all ended in failure. He’s about to give up when he meets Sanka Rea, the daughter of a prominent local family who insists on helping him. She also makes him promise to bring her back as a zombie should she ever die. It’s an odd request, but Rea feels trapped in a life where she is expected to be the perfect daughter. Chihiro and Rea develop an odd sort of friendship as they try to revive Bub, but it becomes even stranger when it looks like Chihiro might actually need to make good on his promise to her. He might not have much interest in the living, but the undead are another matter entirely.

Sankarea leans more towards dark romantic comedy than it does towards horror. The creepiest part of the manga actually isn’t dead cats or Chihiro’s zombie fetish, it’s Rea’s over-controlling and abusive father. Fortunately, their relationship doesn’t seem to be played for laughs. It does, however, serve as the catalyst for Rea’s despair and her desired and ultimate transformation. Wanting to become a zombie is an absurd way to escape her circumstances, which is where some of the humor in Sankarea comes from even if Rea’s situation isnt’ all that funny in and of itself. Chihiro, too, is rather absurd and a bit of a space case. Although he admits what he’s doing is shady at best, it becomes very clear that he hasn’t thoroughly considered all of the implications of bringing someone or something back from the dead. Since he’s such a zombie aficionado, I would think he would be a bit more concerned, but it doesn’t seem that he has put much thought into what would happen should he actually succeed. But this, too, is a source of amusement.

It’s probably not too surprising, but Chihiro and Rea are easily the most interesting characters in Sankarea, mostly because they are a bit odd and just a little off from what would be considered normal. (The undead little Bub is pretty great, too, though.) Chihiro’s older cousin Ranko does at least share a passing interest in zombies with him, but after only one volume it seems that she’s included in the series to provide a little extra fanservice more than anything else. Yasutaka and Mogi, two of Chihiro’s friends and classmates, haven’t gotten to do much yet either except be astounded at how their weirdo buddy somehow manages to make friends with all these cute girls and amazed that it hasn’t occurred to him to care. Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 1 is an unusual take on zombies with a few nods to some of the classics. It has yet to be seen just how much trouble Chihiro’s abnormal but earnest proclivities will get him in. I’ll admit, I actually am a little curious to find out.

Thank you to Kodansha for providing a copy of Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 1 for review.

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