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21 February 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: February 15-February 20, 2011

My News and Reviews

This past week was the February 2011 Manga Moveable Feast, hosted by Sam Kusek over at A Life in Panels. It was a great feast featuring Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen; even Last Gasp, the publishers for the series in English, participated. I had three related posts, including reviews of Nakazawa’s autobiography Hiroshima: The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen and my first in-depth manga review for February for Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima.

I really need to updated the Resources page—I’ve a bunch of new sites to add—so I’ll try to get around to that this week. Also coming up this week: Wednesday will start my monthly manga giveaway. I haven’t quite decided which manga it will be yet, so you’ll just have to drop by on Wednesday to find out. I’m also excited for Wednesday to roll around since Kodo will be in town for a performance, and I have tickets!

Quick Takes

Dog Style, Volumes 1-3 by Modoru Motoni. The first volume of Dog Style is a bit sporadic and difficult to follow at times, but by the end of the third volume Motoni had completely won me over. As the series progresses, both Motoni’s art (which was pretty good to begin with) and writing improves greatly. The story gets a bit angsty at times, and it’s not exactly romantic, but I enjoyed seeing Teru and Miki’s relationship develop. Teru and his friends are delinquents, so he tends to get involved in violent fights, and Miki has his own problems and past to deal with. The two start out as strangers but come to rely on each other; complete with some killer kisses and more. (Also, bonus points for use of condoms.)

Japan written by Buronson and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. The primary reason I picked up Japan was that Berserk‘s creator, Kentaro Miura, worked on it. Also, the setting interested me since post-apocalyptic fiction is one of my favorite sub-genres. There were some nice story elements in Japan that could have made a great short series. Unfortunately, in this one-shot they’re overshadowed by the constant and unnecessary, semi-political commentary on what it really means to be “Japanese.” I think Miura’s art works best in the post-apocalyptic setting; I wasn’t quite as convinced by his modern environments.

K-ON!, Volume 1 by Kakifly. This may just be the best yonkoma manga that I’ve read so far. I laughed so much. Granted, as a musician, I felt a particular fondness for the girls in the pop music club as they try to put together their own band. I found Yui, the accidental guitarist, particularly amusing since she doesn’t know a thing about music but she’s still very enthusiastic about the whole thing. Actually, I like all of the characters that have been introduced up to this point. K-ON! makes me very happy and I can easily see why this series is so popular. I’ll definitely be reading future volumes as they are released in English.

Chi’s Sweet Home: Chi’s New Address, Episodes 1-52 directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara. Chi’s New Address is the second Chi’s Sweet Home anime. I’ve never seen the first, but I have been reading and loving the original manga series. And I’m loving the anime, too. The season is 104 episodes long, but each episode is under three minutes long. At first, the baby noises that Chi makes annoyed me, but I soon got over it. The anime is every bit as cute and adorable as the manga. The animation is simply delightful and almost every episode made me laugh. And it didn’t matter how many times I watched the opening—I giggled every single time.

Monster, Episodes 40-60 directed by Masayuki Kojima. While I’m still enjoying the anime adaptation of Monster, I think I can safely say at this point that I prefer the manga. The slow, deliberate plot development that worked so well in the original comes across as tedious and ponderous in the anime. It’s a problem of the anime trying too faithfully to recreate the manga. It probably would make a better series if the story was trimmed and focused a bit more. However, it’s not all bad. Grimmer, probably my favorite character in the entire series, makes his first appearance in these episodes. And Nina and Johan’s backstory, the truth behind everything that is going on, begins to be revealed.

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3 January 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: December 27, 2010-January 2, 2011

My News and Reviews

My new glasses finally came in! I can see and read again! And since I was still on winter break this past week, I did just that, finishing off the second half of Berserk (which I’m still obsessed with) among other things.  This past week also saw the announcement of the Strawberry Panic Starter Pack Winner and I managed to post my second in-depth manga review for December on the last day of the year—Oishinbo, A la Carte: Japanese Cuisine. That means I have successfully met my goal for in-depth manga reviews for two months in a row. I think I can do this!

Oh, and a happy and healthy new year to you all!

Quick Takes

Apothecarius Argentum, Volumes 1-4 by Tomomi Yamashita. Even though I loved the characters and story of Apothecarius Argentum, for some reason the manga and I never really clicked. The emotional turmoil and romantic tension between Argent and the princess just didn’t seem to be there. But by the fourth volume the series seems to have found its stride, ramping up the court politics and intrigue; I’ll probably pick up the following volumes. What first attracted me to Apothecarius Argentum was the importance of poison in the plot and Argent’s backstory. Forced to eat poison from a young age he is now immune to most but his body has become toxic to the living things around him.

Berserk, Volumes 18-34 by Kentaro Miura. Guts is steadily becoming a more sympathetic character Berserk progresses. The action and fight sequences can be a bit difficult to follow from time to time, but the resulting carnage is readily apparent. This is not a manga series for the faint of heart with plenty of violence and gore. And when it gets dark, it gets very, very dark. Fortunately, with characters like Puck and Isidro around, things are prevented from being too overwhelmingly heavy. In fact, all of the characters are great, having complex personalities and complicated histories. Berserk is still ongoing and I’ll definitely be following it as future volumes are released.

Bunny Drop, Volumes 1-2 by Yumi Unita. I’ve heard so many good things about Bunny Drop that I figured I should give it a try. I was actually quite surprised by how much I liked the series, but it really is a great manga. Daikichi is simply a marvelous character and a great guy. Despite taking Rin in without really thinking it through, he genuinely cares for her and her well-being. It’s really a delight to see their relationship develop and unfold. I can’t help but think he’s lucky she’s so quiet and well behaved—he’s enough out of his depth as it is. In addition to struggling to make things work as an inexperienced, single parent, he also has the mystery of Rin’s past to look into and figure out.

La Esperança, Volumes 1-7 by Chigusa Kawai. Although La Esperança can read a bit like a soap opera at times, the emotional intensity as the characters deal with painful events in their lives is incredibly authentic. Unfortunately, the manga is hindered by its terribly inconsistent artwork. Occasionally the manga exhibits some stunning panels, but most of the art is fairly weak although the style does establish itself nicely by the end of the series. The first and last volumes were probably my favorite and I was impressed by how Kawai was able to pull everything together. And as a musician, I was particularly fond of the incorporation of music into the plot.

GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka, Episodes 10-34 directed by Noriyuki Abe and Naoyasu Hanyu. The animation can leave something to be desired, and the voice acting for the English dub takes a while to settle in, but I do really enjoy the Great Teacher Onizuka anime. The anime is very similar to the manga—the basic plot is the same although liberties are taken with chronology and some of the story details. As ridiculous, inappropriate, and amusing as GTO can be, it also has some brilliant things to say about what it takes and means to be a teacher and the state of the education system. But even when it has something important to say, it never takes itself too seriously.

One Piece, Season One: Second Voyage directed by Kōnosuke Uda. I still haven’t been able to figure out exactly what it is about the One Piece anime, but I can seriously and happily sit down and watch it without stop for hours on end. I enjoy the longer, more involved story arcs better than the one-shot episodes, but even those are highly entertaining. The second season one DVD set finishes up Usopp’s story and recruitment and introduces the incomparable Sanji—cook and fighter extraordinaire—who Luffy is determined to make part of his crew. One Piece is fun and rambunctious and Funimation’s English dub is just about perfect.

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27 December 2010 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: December 20-December 26, 2010

My News and Reviews

You would think that I would get a substantial amount of manga reading done since my winter break started last week, but I didn’t read quite as much as I expected I would (although, I have become obsessed with Berserk). Part of this is because my new glasses still haven’t come in. It’s also due to the fact that it’s the holidays and I had quite a bit of traveling to do. That, and I also received poi as a gift and have been spending many, many hours giving myself bruises and hitting myself in the head instead of reading. Anyway.

I’m currently running a manga and light novel giveaway for a Strawberry Panic Starter Pack. The winner will be picked on Wednesday, so you still have a couple of days to tell me about a yuri/girls’ love manga that you’ve read for a chance to win. I also posted the sixth part in my Library Love series which takes a quick look at manga that I’ve borrowed and read from my local library.

Quick Takes

Berserk, Volumes 1-17 by Kentaro Miura. It’s obvious from the very start that something terrible has happened to Guts, a brutal, one armed swordsman to make him the way he is. He isn’t really a very sympathetic character at the beginning. Most of the first half of the series explores his backstory and explains exactly how he got to be the way he is—savage, inhuman, and frequently more frightening than the demons he hunts. Berserk is incredibly violent and graphic, but I wouldn’t say it is gratuitous. It is however very intense, dark, and emotionally taxing to read. Occasionally the more comedic elements feel out of place, but I can confidently say that this has become one of my favorite series.

Gorgeous Carat, Volume 1 by You Higuri. I’ve read Higuri’s Cantarella before and so I already knew I enjoy her art style which features men with beautiful character designs and attention to details (especially with clothing and backgrounds). Gorgeous Carat is a historical fantasy adventure story that takes place in Paris during the turn of the century. I still like Higuri’s artwork, but the story of Gorgeous Carat really didn’t capture my attention except for the frequent use of whips. There’s a bit of jumping around in the plot that can be difficult to follow at times and some developments are hardly believable. So far, Gorgeous Carat mostly seems like an excuse to have pretty men in period clothing.

Happy Mania, Volumes 6-11 by Moyoco Anno. I wasn’t laughing as hysterically during the second half of Happy Mania as I did at the first half, but there were still plenty of moments that I found myself laughing out loud. Some of the story elements are frankly ridiculous, but they’re meant to be. It is this self aware humor, in addition to Shigeta’s general and constant insanity, that I like best about the series. This is probably also why I enjoyed the first half of the series more, since the second half is a bit more heavy and serious. But still, Happy Mania is a great series and I enjoyed it immensely. Anno frequently includes entertaining tributes to other mangaka and series (and I know I didn’t catch them all).

GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka, Episodes 1-9 directed by Noriyuki Abe and Naoyasu Hanyu. I’ve previously watched the GTO anime adaptation and more recently read the manga. One of my biggest complaints about the anime is that the consistency in character design is virtually nonexistent. You can always tell who someone is supposed to be, but they can look significantly different even in the same episode (and I’m not talking about the intentional art style changes used for dramatic effect). However, I do enjoy the anime and think it’s hilarious even though some of the situations can be a bit uncomfortable to watch, but this was also the case for the manga.

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27 October 2010 Leave a Comment

Manga Giveaway: Mushishi Madness Winner

And the winner of my second manga giveaway is…Brent P. Newhall of Otaku, No Video!

As the winner of Mushishi Madness, Brent will be receiving a copy of Yuki Urushibara’s Mushishi, Volume 6.

I was a little worried this time around because there wasn’t a single entry for the giveaway until two days ago. Thank you to everyone who helped get the word out and thank you to everyone who entered. It makes me happy to spread the manga love, so make sure to look out for next month’s contest!

For this giveaway, I had people tell me a bit about their favorite supernatural or creepy manga. Here’s brief summary of those mentioned, but make sure to check out the Mushishi Madness comments, too:

First up is Matsuri Akino’s Pet Shop of Horrors, a ten volume horror manga which features the androgynous and enigmatic Count D, proprietor of the pet shop in question. Like Mushishi, the series is primarily episodic. I haven’t read this manga myself yet, but I have been meaning to ever since reading Jason Thompson’s 365 Days of Manga post about it’s sequel, Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo.

Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo was released in English in three volumes and won Vertical an Eisner in 2009 for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan. The manga is a historical adventure fantasy with plenty of monsters, literal and figurative, and the protagonist has one of the most horrifying origin stories I know. This series also made Katherine Dacey’s My Favorite Spooky Manga list.

Berserk by Kentaro Miura is a dark fantasy manga of epic proportions that started publication in 1990. So far, it’s up to thirty-five volumes (thirty-four currently in English translation) and although it’s published somewhat irregularly, I’m not sure Miura has any intention of stopping any time soon. For some reason I seem to be hearing a lot about Berserk recently and I know of quite a few people who love this series. I guess it’s about time I pick it up myself.

Hideyuki Kikuchi, probably best known for Vampire Hunter D, is paired up with manhwa artist Shin Yong-Gwan to create the super-creepy supernatural horror manga Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist. This is another series I don’t know much about personally, but I’ve heard very good things—the art in particular is supposed to be fantastic. Yet another manga I’ll need to check out.

Finally, we have CLAMP’s Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. It’s another lengthy series at twenty-eight volumes that just finished up in Japan last October. I really enjoy most of CLAMP’s work, and Tsubasa is no exception—I particularly love the characters. Parts of the manga’s story can been seen from a different perspective in another of CLAMP’s series, xxxHolic, which is still ongoing.

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