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28 January 2013 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: January 21-January 27, 2013

My News and Reviews

Last week was a very busy week here at Experiments in Manga—I was the host of the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast. For an overview of the Feast, you can check out the Roundup One, Roundup Two, Roundup Three, and A Final Farewell posts. In addition to my hosting duties, I also wrote a bunch of reviews: Happy Mania, Volume 1, Flowers & Bees, Volume 1, Sakuran: Blossoms Wild, Sugar Sugar Rune, Volume 1, and Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators. Not as many people turned out for this Feast as turned out for the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast last year, but there were still some fabulous contributions. Thank you everyone for helping to make the Feast a success! I had a good time and hope others enjoyed it as well.

Vertical has opened it’s Winter 2013 Survey, looking for licensing suggestions and asking about fans’ buying habits and what they would like to see from Vertical in the future. Vertical followed this up with a post about the Early Survey Results, ending with the comment “Oh and remember this isn’t a popularity contest. The higher a title ranks, the more likely we will not be able to license it (various reasons).” Otaku Champloo’s Khursten wrote a great response looking at what some of those reasons might be and Vertical later expounded on the subject as well.

In other manga news, PictureBox has revealed the first two books in its new Ten-Cent Manga series: Shigeru Sugiura’s The Last of the Mohicans (which I already have preordered) and Osamu Tezuka’s The Mysterious Underground Men. I’m very excited to see more classic manga being translated into English, though I’ll admit that I’m getting a little burned out on Tezuka as brilliant as he can be.

Over at The Hooded Utilitarian, Ng Suat Tong takes a look at the recent release of Moto Hagio’s The Heart of Thomas and isn’t impressed—Heart of Thomas, Heart of Tedium. Although some of the points Tong makes are good ones, I don’t personally agree with all of them. However, I do think it’s valuable to consider the opinions, criticisms, and perspectives of others. Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith also took a look at The Heart of Thomas for Manga Bookshelf’s BL Bookrack feature. Their response to the work is closer to mine, but I hope to post my own review of The Heart of Thomas sometime in the near future.

Quick Takes

Kaoru Mori: Anything and Something by Kaoru Mori. This is a rather odd collection celebrating the ten years of Mori’s work since the debut of her series Emma. The volume feels like one giant omake, and in part that’s exactly what it is. There are a few delightful stand-alone short manga included, but about half of the volume is devoted to bonus materials and illustrations. The volume will particularly appeal to fans of Emma. If there’s one thing that this collection does it gets my hopes up that Yen might consider rescuing the license for Emma—I’d love to see a that series get the same deluxe treatment that this and A Bride’s Story has received—but there’s been no official news on that front.

Please Save My Earth, Volumes 15-21 by Saki Hiwatari. At last, I have finished Hiwatari’s shoujo science fiction epic Please Save My Earth. It did feel a little long and directionless in places, but I was very satisfied with how Hiwatari pulls everything together in the end. Overall, I really loved the series. In part, these final volumes explore Mokuren’s backstory and show previously established events from her perspective. This is certainly important, but I find the storyline that takes place in the present—how the characters are now dealing with their past lives as they are interfering with their current ones—much more compelling. By the end of Please Save My Earth the past, present, and future all collide in an exciting, action-packed finale which is followed by a quieter epilogue.

A Strange and Mystifying Story, Volumes 2-3 by Tsuta Suzuki. The first volume of A Strange and Mystifying Story felt a lot like a one-shot, but it ended up growing into a seven volume series. Unfortunately, only the first three volumes have been licensed in English so far. Personally, I’d love to see more. I enjoy the manga’s supernatural elements and Suzuki’s artwork. The second volume fills in some of Setsu’s history and his relationship with Aki. Much of the third volume focuses on the developing relationship between Tetsu and Kei (who stole the show in the first volume despite being a side character) which made me very happy. It’s the sweetest, most awkward romance that I’ve read in a while and I loved it.

Twilight of the Dark Master by Saki Okuse. I honestly don’t remember why I picked up this one-shot horror manga, though I must have had some reason. Perhaps it was because I had previously read Okuse’s other manga in English: Ghost Talker’s Daydream and Blood Sucker: Legend of Zipangu. I can’t say that I enjoyed Twilight of the Dark Master much at all. Reading it feels like being thrown into the middle of a larger, more complex story without any explanation. There might have been a coherent plot in Twilight of the Dark Master somewhere—something to do with oni, drugs, and organized crime maybe?—but I couldn’t be bothered to figure it out. Reading the author’s notes, it doesn’t seem as though Okuse thought the manga was very good either.

Toriko, Episodes 1-13 directed by Akifumi Zako. I read and enjoyed the first few volumes of the Toriko manga, but I’m only now getting around to checking out the anime adaptation. It’s pretty great. Although some vegetarians and vegans may want to proceed with caution: at its heart, this is a show about battling, killing, and eating monstrous creatures and other extreme foods. Toriko is a highly skilled and sought after Gourmet Hunter who risks his life pursuing dangerous ingredients. He’s a marvelous character—a powerful, muscular fighter with a childlike delight in food and an immense respect for life. Toriko is outrageous and a lot of fun with great, ridiculous battles; I’m enjoying it immensely.

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11 January 2013 4 Comments

Library Love, Part 13

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Arisa, Volumes 2-4 by Natsumi Ando. I found the first volume of Arisa to be quite intriguing and darker than I expected, and so I was looking forward to continuing the series. As much as I enjoyed these volumes, they also frustrated me. They are very engaging and make for quick reading, but not much seems to have actually happened. As many twists and turns as Ando packs into each volume, and there are a lot, somehow the plot as a whole seems to be progressing very slowly. It’s an odd sort of dissonance. Tsubasa continues to investigate the mystery surrounding her sister Arisa’s attempted suicide and the strange ritual known as “King Time.” She has some help, but it’s becoming more and more difficult to tell who’s an ally.

Emma, Volumes 4-6 by Kaoru Mori. I’m a little heartbroken that I missed this series when it was first being published. Emma is absolutely wonderful and unfortunately very out of print. Mori’s attention to historical detail is fantastic and her artwork is gorgeous. She has really captured Victorian-era England and has created an immersive setting. By this point in Emma, the series has left its episodic roots behind in favor of an increasingly involved (but not overly complicated) romantic storyline. It seems that whatever happens as a result of their love, it won’t be easy for either Emma or William. Because of their class differences, pursuing their relationship will have consequences not only for themselves, but for their families and acquaintances as well.

Jiu Jiu, Volumes 1-2 by Touya Tobina. I ended up liking Jiu Jiu much more than I expected. Takamichi becomes the next heir in a family of Dark Hunters, responsible for killing demons, when her twin brother dies protecting her. Soon after, Snow and Night, part demon themselves, become her jiu jiu, aiding in her hunts. This is a fairly dark setup, but Jiu Jiu is unexpectedly fun and funny. The darker elements still show up, but don’t completely mesh yet. Snow and Night are delightfully endearing. They’re shape-shifting wolves, but maintain their dog-like personalities even when in human form: they’re loyal and excitable and love frisbees and walks. Left to their own devices, they also tend to wander around naked.

Monokuro Kinderbook by Kan Takahama. With a background in contemporary art and later becoming a part of the Nouvelle Manga artistic movement, Takahama made her manga debut in the alternative manga magazine Garo with the story “Women Who Survive.” That story and nine others (some if not all of which were also published in Garo) are collected in Monokuro Kinderbook. The stories, though unrelated, all tend towards the darker, messier side of life. This is emphasized by Takahama’s artwork, which I love. Her style is reminiscent of ink wash painting. What particularly stands out to me about her stories are their realism; Takahama doesn’t go for the easy endings. Some of the pieces in Monokuro Kinderbook also incorporate autobiographical elements.

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28 September 2012 Leave a Comment

Library Love, Part 11

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Emma, Volumes 1-3 by Kaoru Mori. Emma is a series that has sadly gone out of print and is becoming progressively more difficult to find. Fortunately for me, my library has the entire series. The artwork is simpler in Emma than in Mori’s later manga, but Mori still devotes attention to even the smallest details. Of particular note is the amount of historical research put into Emma; it portrays Victorian-era London in a very realistic way. There is an overarching story to the series, but these first few volumes of Emma felt fairly episodic to me. The series focuses on the eponymous Emma,  a maid, who falls in love with William Jones, the son of a wealthy merchant, and the difficulties that their class differences bring them. 

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Volumes 1-11 written by Eiji Otsuka and illustrated by Housui Yamazaki. Even though I had previously read much of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, I had forgotten how funny the series is. Granted, it’s very dark humor, which isn’t to terribly surprising from from a manga with so many supernatural horror elements. But all of the horror and gore is balanced by a cast of likeable, quirky characters. One of the things I like best about The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is that the creators take inspiration from real life events, mixing them with traditional Japanese ghost stories and urban legends. The series is mostly episodic, with stories generally ranging from one chapter to an entire volume in length.

Phoenix, Volumes 1-3 by Osamu Tezuka. Phoenix was considered by Tezuka to be his life’s work. Unfortunately, much of the series is now out of print in English. (Thank goodness for libraries.) Phoenix is a mixture of historical fiction and science fiction. Each volume alternates between the past and the future, slowly converging towards the present. The themes of death and rebirth and the cyclical nature of life echo throughout the manga. The stories in each volume stand alone, but they also reflect and mirror one another. I actually haven’t read much of Tezuka’s science fiction before, so I found that to be particularly fascinating. I can see the influence his work has had on later mangaka.

Yuri Monogatari, Volume 2 by Various. I wasn’t quite as taken with the second volume of Yuri Monogatari anthology as I was with the first, but I still found it to be an enjoyable collection. (And it’s much easier to find.) The series is a collection of yuri-themed stories published in English. The stories range from the realistic to the fantastic. Once again, Althea Keaton’s contribution was particularly strong. But my favorite work in this anthology was Beth Malone’s “Night Out.” Yuri Monogatari features many of the same creators who contributed to the first volume as well as a few newcomers, which was nice to see. For some reason, toasters (yes, the kitchen appliance) came up in multiple stories, which was a little odd but kind of fun.

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5 September 2012 Leave a Comment

Manga Giveaway: Read or Dream Giveaway Winner

And the winner of the Read or Dream Giveaway is…Dawn H!

As the winner, Dawn will be receiving the first volume of Hideyuki Kurata and Ran Ayanaga’s manga R.O.D: Read or Dream. I had previously read the related series, R.O.D: Read or Die, and was rather surprised when Read or Dream ended up being entirely different in tone. And so for this giveaway, I asked entrants to tell me about manga that surprised them or that wasn’t quite what they were expecting. Normally, I would simply suggest reading the giveaway comments, but since there were only five submissions this month, I’ve decided to simply share them here:

X by CLAMP (submitted by Dawn H):

I think one of the first manga series to really surprise me was x/1999. Back in the 90s, my first exposure to CLAMP was their series Magic Knight Rayearth, which was rather Sailor Moon-ish (though it did have giant robots & a twist ending). So when I saw that Animerica was running a comic in it by the same artists, I assumed (stupidly) that it would be similar to Rayearth (since I hadn’t seen or read Tokyo Babylon yet…this was pre-“everyone had the internet” days, so I didn’t know about it yet). Well…you can probably imagine my surprise when I first read it, heh. NOTHING like Rayearth, unless you count the art style. But I ended up liking it, anyway.

I recently started reading X myself. Even though I had been warned, I was still surprised by how graphically violent the series is.

Emma by Kaoru Mori (submitted by teaNrice):

When I first saw my Library’s copy of the first volume of Emma: A Victorian Romance I had a quick look at the blurb on the back and put it back down unimpressed by what I thought sounded like an immensely cliche plot. It wasn’t until years later that I would realize my mistake. Emma is surprising because it shows that even a seemingly cliche plot like a romance between the upper and lower classes can still shine when the execution is so superb.

Emma is another series that I’ve only started reading recently. The manga is tragically out of print in English, but my library fortunately has the entire series, too. And yes, it is very good.

Kokou no Hito written by Yoshiro Nabeda and Jiro Nitta, illustrated by Shinichi Sakamoto (submitted by Vito):

Kokou no Hito, it’s licensed in Italy under the name Climber and in France as Ascension, great stuff. The beginning is very misleading, young introverted protagonist transfers to a new school, classmates bullies by way of which he also introduces him to climbing and it all leads to a competition, by now it’s sort of leading you to believe it’s going to be a shounen sports competition manga, complete with a mystery progeny showing up. That quickly changes, the rest of the story explores the character, his growth, follows his various mountain expeditions etc. I do recommend reading it and the art is really really good.

I didn’t previously know about Kokou no Hito, but now I really want to read it! It sounds like a series I would really enjoy.

Death Note written by Tsugumi Ohba, illustrated by Takeshi Obata (submitted by KenshinGirl)

I completely overlooked Death Note when they ran a preview for it in Shonen Jump because the art didn’t appeal to me. I decided to go back and read it a while later when I had no other manga to read, and I was instantly hooked. After that, I couldn’t wait for the next volume and ended up recommending it to everyone I knew. My older brother had no interest in manga, but once I got him to read it, he couldn’t put it down either.

You know, I really need to finish the last couple of reviews for Death Note. Coincidentally, this is a series I managed to get my brother, who isn’t a big manga reader, interested in, too.

A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori (submitted by Literate.Ninja)

I’d say the most recent surprise I got from a manga was reading A Bride’s Story. I got it from my library after hearing about it online, and I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, since I am somewhat familiar with the culture and time period the book is set in. However, when it turned out to be a warm, touching story of a family coming together to embrace a new member, I was completely charmed, and have since recommended it to all my friends and co-workers.

Another Kaoru Mori manga! A Bride’s Story was actually the first work by Mori that I read. I was absolutely astonished by the gorgeously detailed artwork.

Thank you all for sharing your manga surprises with me!

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30 April 2012 4 Comments

My Week in Manga: April 23-April 29, 2012

My News and Reviews

Last week was the Viz Signature Manga Moveable Feast, hosted by Kate Dacey at The Manga Critic. In addition to last week’s quick takes, I took a closer look at Q Hayashida’s Dorohedoro, Volume 1 for the Feast. If you don’t mind graphic violence (which I don’t), the series is well worth checking out. It’s a little weird and has great art and memorable characters. The giveaway for April has also been posted. This time around I’m giving away the first volume of I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow by Shunju Aono (which happens to be a Viz Signature title). As usual, the giveaway is open worldwide. And there’s still a couple of days left to submit your entries! If you’re not sure about the series, The Manga Critic has a few reasons why I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow is the one of the best manga you’re not reading.

On to some cool things online! The second Aniblog Tourney is well underway. The voting for the first round finished up recently. Experiments in Manga has been matched up with Shameful Otaku Secret! for the second round of voting which will begin on May 1st. (Hello to all of you tourney folk who may be visiting Experiments in Manga for the first time, and welcome back to all of you who have wandered by this way before.) Only three manga-centric blogs (Heart of Manga, Kuriousity, and Shades of Grey) made it through the first round of voting. However, some manga blogs, including Experiments in Manga, were seeded into the second round and haven’t been voted on yet. I’m interested in seeing how Experiments in Manga, which isn’t particularly well known and hasn’t been around for long, will fare.

Elsewhere online, Vertical mentioned on Twitter that they expect to have at least five new licenses to announce this summer. I always enjoy Vertical’s manga and novel releases, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what they have in store. Manga creator Moto Hagio was recently awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal of Honor. Deb Aoki has a great article about the medal at About.com: Manga. I also came across an interview with Hagio from 2005 conducted by manga translator and shoujo aficionado Matt Thorn.

Quick Takes

20th Century Boys, Volumes 7-9 by Naoki Urasawa. I’ll admit it—Naoki Urasawa is one of the of the reasons I developed an obsession with manga. 20th Century Boys the most recent of Urasawa’s works to be released in English and I’m loving it. Granted, it can be a bit frustrating that every time the Friend is about to be revealed Urasawa cuts away, but otherwise he does a fantastic job of generating suspense. In fact, he can create some incredibly intense and exciting scenes. Urasawa also handles a large cast well; I like how he brings in new characters to interact with the players that have already been established. He’s dealing with a couple of different timelines, but they’re slowly coming together nicely.

A Bride’s Story, Volumes 2-3 by Kaoru Mori. If I had to describe A Bride’s Story in one word, it would be “gorgeous.” Mori’s artwork is marvelous to behold. The amount of detail she devotes to each panel is astounding but never overwhelming. The story, too, is lovely. Reading the manga I’m torn between lingering over the artwork and turning the pages to find out what happens next. The first volume was fairly quiet, but the second volume has significantly more conflict as Amir’s family comes to reclaim her, by force if necessary. In the third volume the story actually begins to follow Mr. Smith, the linguist staying with the Eihon family. I liked Smith as a secondary character but I wasn’t sure how well I would like him as a lead. It didn’t take long for Mori to convince me.

Fist of the North Star: Master Edition, Volumes 1-3 written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. Fist of the North Star is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which people are struggling to survive, fighting over the most meager of resources. Enter Kenshiro, a dark hero who wanders the land protecting the innocent. Even though Kenshiro’s martial art of Hokuto Shinken may seem to be nearly invincible, he still takes quite a beating from time to time as he faces more and more powerful foes. But he’s calm and collected and enough of a badass that he tends to come out on top in the end. I really enjoyed Fist of the North Star; I’ll definitely be tracking down the couple of volumes that I have missing from the series.

The Book of Bantorra, Episodes 1-13 directed by Toshiya Shinohara. It only took two words for me to pick up The Book of Bantorra: Armed Librarians. As a librarian myself, I can’t help but love kickass and fantastic portrayals of my profession. Unfortunately, beyond the basic premise of the series which I really liked, I found The Book of Bantorra to be rather disappointing. For one, the narrative is a mess. Perhaps it makes more sense to someone who’s had the opportunity to read the novels upon which the anime is based. Plot developments seem to come out of nowhere and often aren’t explained adequately. Neither are the characters’ motivations. Still, as much as The Book of Bantorra frustrates me, I will be following the series through to the end.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi directed by David Gelb. At the age of 85, Jiro Ono is considered to be one of the greatest sushi masters in the world. His skill and passion for his work is readily apparent in Gelb’s debut documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The film shows the absolute care and thoughtfulness that goes into every detail of making sushi: the cooking of the rice, the selection of the fish, the presentation of the meal, the development and honing of techniques, and more. Making sushi is frequently compared to making music and this is nicely reflected in the film’s soundtrack. Orchestral works and concertos are expertly paired with beautiful imagery of the sushi’s creation. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a wonderful film.

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