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9 November 2015 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: November 2-November 8, 2015

My News and Reviews

Keeping this short and sweet because boy do I have a lot of stuff going on right now! Last week at Experiments in manga the Barakamon manga giveaway winner was announced. The post also includes a list of manga with prominent countryside settings for anyone interested in exploring some of what has been published in English. As for the first in-depth manga review of the month, I took a look at Junji Ito’s Cat Dairy: Yon & Mu which I found to be highly entertaining. I expected that I would at least like the manga, but I absolutely loved its weird mix of not-exactly-horror and comedy.

A few things of interest that I came across online last week: The most recent Sparkler Podcast focuses on what it’s like Working in the Manga Industry. (The podcast is currently only free for Sparkler Monthly members. Non-members can either purchase it now, or simply wait a few weeks.) Over at Anime New Network, Deb Aoki has been talking to the folks at Kodansha about the upcoming Attack on Titan anthology and bridging the gap between American comics and manga. Finally, Seven Seas slipped in a new license announcement: Monster Musume: I ♥ Monster Girls, a yonkoma spinoff from Okayado’s main series.

Quick Takes

My Little Monster, Volume 10My Little Monster, Volume 10 by Robico. The last few volumes of My Little Monster have been getting progressively more serious to the point where, overall, the tenth seems to hardly have any humor at all. This is quite a change from the beginning of the series where the manga’s balance leaned more towards comedy and the more humorous aspects of the interactions between its oddball characters. I did really like this volume, though. Basically, Haru’s past and present are now colliding and the results are appropriately dramatic as everyone involved deals with the fallout. There are hurt and conflicted feelings, and many complications and frustrations. For one, Haru’s family circumstances are more fully explained, showing how the intense antagonism between him and his brother came about and just how awful a person their father is. A significant portion of My Little Monster, Volume 10 actually explores the story through the perspective of Haru’s brother Yuzan, which I was glad to see. He’s still not particularly pleasant, but being able to better understand his and Haru’s situation makes him less of an enigma and a much more sympathetic and interesting character.

Suikoden III: The Successor of Fate, Volume 6Suikoden III: The Successor of Fate, Volumes 6-11 by Aki Shimizu. I still haven’t played any of the Suikoden games, although based solely on the manga adaptation of the third, it’s likely a to be franchise that I would enjoy. I liked the first five volumes of Shimizu’s Suikoden III, but the final six cemented my appreciation for the manga–it’s a solid epic fantasy series with both magic and military might. Although it is a video game adaptation and in a few places the RPG mechanics can be seen if one is looking for them, the manga stands very well on its own and doesn’t really feel too game-like. The second half of the series more fully delves into the antagonist’s backstory which was needed as his motivations are much more complicated than would initially appear. One of the things I like the most about the Suikoden III manga is that nothing is strictly good or evil, the characters and their actions are more nuanced than that. Under the weight of war and inherited responsibilities they must all try to hold onto their ideals while at the same time making compromises in order to protect what and who they love. Enemies become allies and in some cases even friends, but it is a hard journey.

Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist, Volume 2Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist, Volume 2 written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Shin Yong-Gwan. Although all six volumes of Taimashin have been translated into English, only the first two were released in print; the other four volumes are only available digitally. It’s been a long while since I’ve read the first volume in the series, but I do distinctly recall liking it, or at being enthralled by Akamushi Fujiwara, the titular Red Spider Exorcist who may be a human, a demon, or something else entirely. Reading the second volume, Akamushi still fascinates me and is probably my favorite part of the manga. For the most part I would classify Taimashin as a horror manga although, as I’ve come to expect from Kikuchi’s works, it also has distinct elements of science fiction and fantasy. While it doesn’t always make a lot of sense, the manga can be both thrilling and creepy. This is actually something else that I associate with Kikuchi–he writes these bizarrely engaging stories with ominous atmospheres that end up being all over the place. Taimashin‘s artwork fits the story and characters particularly well, ranging from Akamushi’s otherworldly beauty to scenes that are frankly grotesque.

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5 October 2015 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: September 28-October 4, 2015

My News and Reviews

A few different things were posted at Experiments in Manga last week. First of all, it’s time for the most recent monthly giveaway. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so you all still have a chance to enter to win the first volume of Madoka Takadono and Utako Yukihiro’s Devils and Realist. The honor of the first in-depth review for October goes to Jim Zub and Steve Cummings’ Wayward, Volume 2: Ties That Bind, which continues to successfully meld the history and legends surrounding yokai with a brand new story. The series, which I’m thoroughly enjoying, would probably make a great entry point for manga fans who would be interested in exploring American-style comics. Finally, over the weekend I posted September’s Bookshelf Overload.

As for some of the interesting things that caught my attention elsewhere online last week: Foreign Policy has a nice piece about evolving LGBT rights in Japan and the role that manga like Wandering Son and boys’ love has played in it; Otaku USA has an interview with the (in)famous mangaka and tentacle master Toshio Maeda; it looks as though Masahiko Matsumoto’s long-awaited Cigarette Girl is currently scheduled for release in 2016 by Top Shelf; and Digital Manga, despite the trouble it seems to be having actually publishing anything in print these days, has launched its newest Tezuka Kickstarter aiming to release Wonder 3 and, as a stretch goal, The Film Lives On.

Quick Takes

The DivineThe Divine by written by Boaz Lavie and illustrated by Asaf Hanuka and Tomer Hanuka. The striking color artwork of The Divine is what first caught my attention. (It looked vaguely familiar, and indeed, it turns out that Tomer created the cover art for Haikasoru’s recent Battle Royale releases.) The graphic novel follows Mark, an explosives expert, who travels to a remote Southeast Asian country on a military contract. The mission seems relatively straightforward—blowing up a mountain, supposedly to help the locals gain better access to its rich mineral resources—but Mark ends up caught up in the local civil war when he’s captured by a group of young rebels. Mixing mythology and modern warfare and the supernatural with man-made terrors, the comic is graphic in its blood and violence. The artwork is consistently great, but I found the narrative to be a little uneven and none of the characters are particularly likeable. The Divine was in part inspired by a photograph of the twelve-year-old Htoo twins from Burma, the leaders of the God’s Army guerrilla group in the 1990s. Although I did enjoy The Divine, I think I’d actually be even more interested in seeing a direct retelling of their story.

Inuyashiki, Volume 1Inuyashiki, Volume 1 by Hiroya Oku. It’s been a long while since I’ve read any of Gantz, the series that Oku is most well-known for, but I was still curious about Inuyashiki, his most recent series to be released in English. Almost unheard of in manga available in translation, which largely tends to be targeted at a younger audiences, one of lead characters, the titular Ichiro Inuyashiki, is nearly sixty years old. In fact, he looks even older than that. The first volume of Inuyashiki seems to mostly be a prologue for the rest of the series, establishing the premise of the manga and introducing the characters who will become the major players. Oku makes a point to emphasize just how sad and miserable Inuyashiki’s life is before killing him and another innocent bystander off in a freak accident. Granted, they are then both resurrected as extraordinarily powerful, weaponized cyborgs. In the case of Inuyashiki, he’s using his new-found abilities for good, and in spectacular fashion, too. As for the other victim, I don’t expect that he’ll be quite as magnanimous. Inuyashiki, as ridiculous as its setup is, has a promising start. I’m rather curious to see the direction Oku will be taking the series.

Suikoden III: The Successor of Fate, Volume 1Suikoden III: The Successor of Fate, Volumes 1-5 by Aki Shimizu. Although I am aware of the RPG series, I haven’t actually played any of the Suikoden video games. I was specifically interested in the Suikoden III manga adaptation for two reasons: the entire Suikoden series is loosely based on the Chinese classic Water Margin, and I generally enjoy Shimizu’s work (which also tends to have a Chinese influence). An overview of the previous two Suikoden stories is provided before the manga gets underway; it’s a nice, but largely unnecessary addition. The Successor of Fate seems to stand well on it own, so far. The manga doesn’t really feel like a video game adaptation, either, which I was happy to discover. References are made to past events (and past games, technically), but for the characters that history is shrouded in myth and legend. At this point The Successor of Fate hasn’t really made itself stand out from most other epic fantasy series, but its a solid beginning and, despite a few infodumps, there are plenty of things to like: a large cast of characters (including quite a few women in prominent roles), prophecies and magic, politics and intrigue, battles that rely on strategy as much as strength, and so on.

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17 December 2012 4 Comments

My Week in Manga: December 10-December 16, 2012

My News and Reviews

The end of the month and the end of the year seem to be approaching very quickly. But even with the chaos which accompanies that, I posted two in-depth reviews last week. First up was my review for The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 2: Sea of Wind by Fuyumi Ono. I’m really enjoying the series; I’ll definitely be reading (and reviewing) the rest of the novels that were translated into English before Tokyopop’s implosion. I also reviewed Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal, Volume 16: Shortcut. My Blade of the Immortal review project is steadily progressing. At the rate the series is being published in English, I should be caught up in less than a year. Next week, beginning on December 26, is this month’s Manga Moveable Feast. This Feast will be focusing on Hikaru no Go and other game manga. I have a couple of things in mind that I’m working on, including a review of the first volume of Hikaru no Go. Elsewhere online, Comics Alliance has a fabulous introduction to the work of Shotaro Ishinomori—Shotaro Ishinomori Is A Big Deal: An Action-Packed Primer For New Readers.

Quick Takes

Blood Sucker: Legend of Zipangu, Volumes 5-7 written by Saki Okuse and illustrated by Aki Shimizu. I enjoyed the first four volumes of Blood Sucker and so was looking forward to reading more. The long, multi-volume flashback finally comes to an end with volume five. I’ll admit, I found the earlier volumes more compelling. It seems like important plot points and developments were either forgotten or lost along the way. But I still like Blood Sucker. It’s quickly paced and packed with gory action. The artwork is good, too, but occasionally difficult to follow during fights. Only seven of the twelve volumes of Blood Sucker were published in English, but it’s still probably worth tracking down for fans of vampires or action-horror.

Fist of the Blue Sky, Volumes 1-4 written by Nobuhiko Horie and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. Fist of the Blue Sky is a prequel to Fist of the North Star. The protagonist, Kenshiro Kasumi, is the uncle and namesake of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star. The two series are vaguely similar in tone with over-the-top scenarios, gang warfare, and fantastical martial arts, except that Fist of the Blue Sky largely takes place in Shanghai in the 1930s instead of in a post-apocalyptic world. Kenshiro has a sort of Indian Jones vibe going on at the beginning, but that seems to be quickly left behind as the series progresses. Fist of the Blue Sky ended in Japan with twenty-two volumes, four of which were released in English before Raijin folded.

Please Save My Earth, Volumes 1-7 by Saki Hiwatari. So far, I’m loving Please Save My Earth, the shoujo science fiction epic. Seven students in Japan discover that they are the reincarnations of seven alien researchers who died on the moon. This might seem like a silly premise for a story, but the manga is actually very engrossing. At first the students are fascinated and excited about their shared history, but slowly the guilt, memories, and emotions from their past lives begin to intrude upon their current lives, causing all sorts of difficulties for them. Sometime, the results are tragic. The artwork is a little rough at first, but steadily improves. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Seven Days: Friday-Sunday written by Venio Tachibana and illustrated by Rihito Takarai. Seven Days is an absolutely beautiful story; I enjoyed it immensely. Because I loved the manga so much, a part of me wishes that there was more—it’s only two volumes long—but another part of me is completely satisfied. Seven Days is a fairly quiet and somewhat melancholy manga. In the first volume, Shino asked Seryou out almost accidentally. It was a joke and he certainly didn’t expect him to say yes. They’re only guaranteed to date for one week, and now that that one week is drawing to a close, both of them are conflicted. They’ve gotten to know each other better and neither one of them wants their relationship to end, but it can’t continue on like it has been, either.

Black Lagoon, Episodes 1-12 directed by Sunao Katabuchi. I was late to the Black Lagoon anime party and so missed out on the series’ initial release, which is why I’m so glad that both seasons are now available on DVD again. At this point, I think that I still slightly prefer the manga, but the anime adaptation is great. I was particularly impressed by the quality of the animation and sound design. Black Lagoon is a lot of fun, with violent and foul-mouthed protagonists, plenty of explosions and gun battles, and a dark sense of humor. I don’t find it to be particularly compelling as a story, but it is highly entertaining. I’m really enjoying watching the series.

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22 October 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: October 15-October 21, 2012

My News and Reviews

Last week was apparently mountain survival week here at Experiments in Manga. I posted two reviews, both of which had something to do with life and death situations in the mountains. It wasn’t really intentional either; it just happened to work out that way. The first review was of Jirō Nitta’s historical novel Death March on Mount Hakkōda, which is about a disastrous military winter exercise known as the Hakkōda Mountains Incident that occurred in Japan in 1902. I first learned about the incident while reading Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt’s Yurei Attack!. Nitta has done his research; Death March on Mount Hakkōda is a chilling account. For my second review last week, I took a look Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi’s The Summit of the Gods, Volume 1. The series is my favorite Taniguchi collaboration currently available in English. The artwork is phenomenal and the characters are compelling. In time, I plan to review the entire series.

This week is the Vampire Manga Moveable Feast! Anne at Chic Pixel is hosting for the very first time, so let’s all show some support. As part of my contribution to the Feast, I have a bunch of vampire manga quick takes below. Later this week, I will be posting a review of the first volume of Saiko Takaki’s manga adaptation of Vampire Hunter D. I’ll also be posting a review of the third volume of the English-language release of Yashakiden: The Demon Princess by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Although it’s not manga, Yashakiden most certainly fits in with this week’s vampire theme.

Quick Takes

Blood Sucker: Legend of Zipangu, Volumes 1-4 written by Saki Okuse and illustrated by Aki Shimizu. With vampires, organized crime, religious cults, and assassins, Blood Sucker has plenty of violent, bloody action going on. There is a plot, too, but the almost non-stop combat is more prominent. The series jumps into the middle of the action before launching into an extended flashback exploring the characters’ histories. The relationship between Yusuke and Kikuri does develop rather quickly, but there’s destiny and reincarnation involved so there is an excuse for the hasty progression. I actually really enjoyed Blood Sucker, so I’ll be tracking down the rest of the volumes that made it into English before Tokyopop’s demise.

Devil by Torajiro Kishi. In addition to Kishi, Madhouse Studios was involved in Devil, a full color Western-style comic created exclusively for Dark Horse. (Depending on how you want to define the term, Devil may or may not be considered manga.) Written as a four-issue mini-series, Devil is not particularly long. It’s a quick, vaguely entertaining read and the art style Kishi uses fits nicely. Set in a near future where the human race is succumbing to a virus that causes vampirism, the story follows two cops who serve on a special unit that deals with those who have been infected. The ending seems to imply that the government may have somehow been involved in the creation of the disease, but Devil isn’t long enough to explore this, so it feels like a halfhearted addition to the plot.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Volumes 13-16 by Hirohiko Araki. I can’t help it, I love this series. It’s stylish. It’s weird. It has great characters. And it’s a lot of fun. I’m sad that this is the only arc licensed in English, because I want to read more. Jotaro and the others have finally made it to Dio’s mansion in Cairo. Not much has been seen of Dio up until now, but he is one scary dude. Extremely powerful, and a vampire to boot, he has very few weaknesses. The showdown between Jotaro and Dio is fantastic—one of the greatest fight scenes that I’ve had the pleasure of reading recently. I like that the battles in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure aren’t just about brute strength; outwitting and outmaneuvering opponents is important, too. 

Pathos, Volumes 1-2 by Mika Sadahiro. Not surprisingly, two vampires taking charge of raising a human child to adulthood is not a good idea. The relationships that develop between the characters are intense and twisted. Dark passion and jealousy consume them. Pathos isn’t creepy because vampires are involved; it’s disturbing because the characters’ relationships are so unhealthy and warped. Technically Pathos is boys’ love, but it’s not at all romantic. Desire, lust, and attraction all play an important role the series, but love, despite what the characters might claim, is not to be found. Although provocative, the more intimate scenes in Pathos aren’t nearly as explicit as those in Sadahiro’s other series. Unfortunately, Pathos is plagued by plot inconsistencies.

Until the Full Moon, Volumes 1-2 by Sanami Matoh. Originally published by Broccoli Books, Until the Full Moon‘s license was rescued by Kodansha Comics and published with additional material. It’s a quirky, fairly episodic series about David, a vampire, and his cousin Marlo, a half-vampire/half-werewolf who, instead of transforming into a wolf under the full moon, changes from a man into a woman. Their parents, who may actually be the most delightfully absurd characters in the series, decide that they should be married to each other. Until the Full Moon is a short, amusing series, and I did enjoy it’s silliness, but it’s nothing spectacular. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll be following up with the sequel, @Full Moon.

Vampire Hunter D, Volumes 2-5 by by Saiko Takaki. I still haven’t read any of the novels in Hideyuki Kikuchi’s series Vampire Hunter D, but I have been following the manga adaptation to some extent. So far, each volume of the manga adapts one of volume of the original series. Other than that, I can’t say how the two series compare. For the most part, the different volumes stand alone. Except for a few minor reference to previous volumes, the eponymous D is really the only thing that ties them all together. I quite like D. He’s a dark, handsome (well, beautiful may be the more accurate term), brooding anti-hero. I also like how the series blends all sorts of elements and genres together—Western, science fiction, horror, fantasy, and more.

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21 March 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: March 14-March 20, 2011

My News and Reviews

I mentioned this previously (Random Musings: Anime and Manga Bloggers for Japan), but if you haven’t checked out the Anime and Manga Boggers for Japan effort, please do. I’ll be keeping the banner at the top of this blog for a while and eventually will move it to the side bar. Our initial goal was to raise $1,000 ($2,000 total) for Shelter Box USA—Japan Disaster Relief and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders. At the time of this posting, we’ve reached $3,170, which is simply fantastic.

Other posts this week included the first in-depth manga review for March—Blade of the Immortal, Volume 5: On Silent Wings II. Blade of the Immortal is one of my favorite manga series, and there’s some really great character development for Rin going on in the On Silent Wings arc. I also posted a review of the first volume of the Book Girl light novel series Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime, which I really enjoyed. I’ll definitely be following the series.

A couple of interesting things that I’ve recently found online: The About.com Manga Readers Choice Awards have been announced as has the Graphic Novel Reporter’s Core List of Manga for Spring 2011. Also, since I read Qwan this week, I want to draw your attention to Kate Dacey’s much more coherent write up of the series at The Manga Critic—The Best Manga You’re Not Reading: Qwan.

Finally, the Aria Manga Moveable Feast has begun! I’ve included quick takes of both Aqua and Aria here, and later this week I’ll have an in-depth review of the first volume of Aqua.

Quick Takes

Aqua, Volumes 1-2 by Kozue Amano. There was no way I could pass up Amano’s manga Aqua—Mars has been turned into a water planet through terraforming. The art is probably my favorite part of the series. Pretty girls in a pretty setting. There are panels that I keep flipping back to look at again, happily absorbing myself staring at the illustrations. I love Aika’s frequent admonishments of Akari’s sappy lines. And the chapters focusing on the exploits of President Aria are always fun. I was happy to see a little more conflict introduced in the second volume, but overall the series is still has a very relaxed feeling about it. I like the characters, but they almost seem to be living separate from the society around them.

Aria, Volumes 1-6 by Kozue Amano. Aria is pretty much the same series as Aqua except for the magazine it was originally published in. It still has a calm, relaxing storyline and beautiful artwork (I would love to see some of Amano’s color prints). The manga continues to be fairly episodic but it’s nice to see the same characters showing up again and again. And there are quite a few more charming characters introduced as well. The first few volumes of Aria focus on the changing seasons. Autumn is featured in the first volume, a personal favorite of mine. It’s also interesting to see the preservation of various Manhome customs and traditions on Aqua. I still find it strange how little Akari actually knows about Aqua and Neo-Venezia.

Qwan, Volumes 1-4 by Aki Shimizu. Unfortunately, only the first four volumes of the seven volume series have been released in English. It’s unlikely that the remaining volumes will be published, but Qwan is still worth taking a look at. Shimizu’s artwork is marvelous and the characters fascinating. I’m particularly fond of the lowlife Chikei (and would really like to know what happened to him). The story is a great mix of Chinese court and political intrigue and supernatural battles. The actual action can be difficult to follow sometimes, but overall the fight sequences are great. The story, too, requires that the reader be paying attention, but I found effort needed to be satisfying.

Ze, Volumes 1-2 by Yuki Shimizu. I’ve frequently seen Ze referred to as a yaoi version of Fruits Basket, and there are certain similarities. Familial and romantic relationships and dynamics are certainly bizarre and intense. And Raizou, the primary character in the first two volumes, is extraordinarily kindhearted, self-sacrificing, and just a bit awkward. Adorably so. (I really like Raizou as a character.) I enjoyed watching him work out his relationship with Kon. The magic system used in Ze can be somewhat confusing at first if you try to think too hard about it. But, I’ve always liked the concept of words being inherently powerful, both literally and figuratively.

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor directed by Kōichi Mashimo. This series was recommended to me by a friend who was shocked that I had never even heard of it. It is so very terribly amusing. Justy Ueki Tylor joined the United Planets Space Force in search of an easy desk job, but unexpectedly finds himself promoted to a captain a destroyer after diffusing a hostage situation. The crew of the Soyokaze is made up of the worst troublemakers and misfits of the UPSF. Somehow, Tylor wins them over and they manage to survive repeat encounters against the enemy Raalgon Empire. No one can really tell if Tylor is simply a complete idiot or an absolute genius, but they can all agree that he is one lucky bastard.

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