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14 March 2011 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: March 7-March 13, 2011

My News and Reviews

Most everyone is probably aware by now of the terrible earthquake, tsunami, and resulting (and ongoing) disasters that struck Japan on March 11. Yokoso News, which normally focuses on Japanese culture and such, has been providing live English coverage of Japanese news sources for the last few days. They’ve been doing a great job and I’ve pretty much been listening to the broadcast whenever I get a chance.

My posts for this past week included two reviews. The first was for The Guin Saga, Book One: The Leopard Mask by Kaoru Kurimoto. I didn’t enjoy as much as I hoped I would, but I will still be reading the rest of The Guin Saga volumes available in English. The second review was for Tow Ubukata’s award-winning Mardock Scramble, which I mostly enjoyed. Just don’t talk to me about Blackjack. Animemiz’s Scribblings has made the announcement for this month’s Manga Moveable Feast which starts next week: Announcing March 2011’s Manga Movable Feast and a Call for Contribution. The feast will featuring Aria by Kozue Amano. My contribution will be an in-depth review of the first volume of the prequel, Aqua, Volume 1.

Since I read Offered this week, I thought I’d mention a few recent posts made about other manga created by Kazuo Koike and Ryoichi Ikegami: Kate Dacey at The Manga Critic takes a look at Wounded Man as part of her Manga Hall of Shame feature, and Jason Thompson’s House of 1000 Manga focused on Crying Freeman a few weeks ago.

Comics Should Be Good at Comic Books Resources is featuring LGBT comics this month. The entire archive of posts can be found here, but I specifically wanted to mention Brian Cronin’s brief review and preview of Shimura Takako’s Wandering Son. The first volume of this manga is to be released by Fantagraphics in June; I’ve really been looking forward to this series ever since it was announced.

And finally, a few more websites have been added to the Resources page: Anime Research, Manga Widget, Masters of Manga, and Same Hat!

Quick Takes

Immortal Rain, Volumes 3-8 by Kaori Ozaki. I am in love with this series. The characters are great, the artwork is wonderful, the plot is both heartfelt and exciting. The more melancholy aspects of the story (of which there are plenty) are balanced nicely with moments of humor and quickly paced action. Rain is one of my favorite manga characters that I’ve come across recently. He’s adorable. Even after more than six hundred years of life, he has somehow managed to retain his humanity. I believe the eleventh and final volume is currently scheduled for release in Japan in May. Tokyopop has published the first eight volumes; I’m not sure what the plans are for the last few volumes, but I really hope they will be released, too.

Love Mode, Volumes 1-2 by Yuki Shimizu. Love Mode is one of the longest boys’ love series currently available in English. The first two volumes rely a little too heavily on rape and the threat of rape to move the plot along, for me. Some people might also be bothered by the age differences between the couples. Fortunately, Takamiya is actually a really decent person. There is also a fair amount of humor, particularly in the first volume. In fact, there are moments that are absolutely hilarious and had me laughing out loud. I’m not particularly fond of Shimizu’s art style in this series; the first two volumes look a bit dated. Love Mode hasn’t really grabbed me yet, though I’ve been told it becomes quite addicting later on.

Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun, Volumes 1-2 by Shin Mashiba. Nightmare Inspector is surprisingly dark for as innocent looking as the artwork first appears. The character designs are appealing although it’s difficult to tell the relative ages of the different characters, they all look young. Hiruko is a baku, a creature that eats nightmares, the more bloody and painful the better. It’s mostly only been hinted up to this point, but there is something ominous about Hiruko’s existence and backstory. People come to him for help interpreting and dispelling their nightmares. The story is fairly episodic so far as each dream is explored, but it is genuinely creepy. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

Offered, Volumes 1-2 written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. I haven’t quite been able to decide whether Offered is so bad it’s good, or if it’s just simply bad. There’s a lot going on: Olympic athletes, drug cartels, Nazis, mummies, underground kingdoms, hypnotism, ancient sperm, nudist colonies, cults, animal sacrifices…did I mention ancient sperm? The manga is ridiculous and absurd and it’s played absolutely straight. The story is ludicrous, but the it presents itself completely seriously. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing. I am, however, a sucker for Ikegami’s artwork. His figure work is gorgeous and I can’t help but love it. I’m not sure I can recommend Offered, but it’s certainly an experience.

The Great Yokai War directed by Takashi Miike. The Great Yokai War is the first film that Miike directed for children; he’s probably better known in the United States for his more controversial and extreme works. However, The Great Yokai War is a family-friendly romp featuring a delightful cornucopia of colorful yokai, a summer adventure, and quirky humor and visuals. I recently read Yokai Attack! and was thrilled to be able to pick out and identify many of the creatures in the movie. If a particular yokai happens to catch your eye, make sure to check out the gallery on the DVD which includes their names and usual locals. It’s really the yokai that make this movie for me, but the lead kid is freaking cute, too.

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1 December 2010 2 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Feast of Firsts Winner

And the winner of the Feast of Firsts manga giveaway is…Katherine Dacey of The Manga Critic!

As the winner, Katherine will be receiving the first volume of Eerie Queerie!, Gravitation, Love Mode, and Shout Out Loud! Oh, and if you haven’t already visited Katherine’s site The Manga Critic, you should really check it out; it’s a great one.

For the Feast of Firsts giveaway, I had people tell me a little about the first manga they read and the first shōnen-ai/boys’ love/yaoi/whatever you want to call it manga that they read. I’ll briefly mention them here because I like making lists, but if you’ve got a moment and are interested you should read the Feast of Firsts comments, too. So, here we go!

First manga:
Emma by Kaoru Mori. I have heard a lot of good things about this manga, and know a lot of people who really enjoy it.

Hellsing by Kohta Hirano. The tenth and last volume of this manga was published by Dark Horse this past May.

Hot Gimmick by Miki Aihara. I haven’t read this one yet although I do have the first omnibus volume. It’s despised by many and a complete guilty pleasure for others.

Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi. I’ve seen a bit of the anime but haven’t had the chance to read the manga. I am a huge fan of Takahashi’s Ranma 1/2, though.

The Wallflower by Tomoko Hayakawa. I keep seeing this manga mentioned, so I guess it’s about time I pick it up. My library has it, so I have no excuse.

First boys’ love manga:
Fumi Yoshinaga is a creator of many excellent manga, several of which feature gay characters or are specifically boys’ love manga.

The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese by Setona Mizushiro. I would really like to see this one available in English and I’m not alone.

Crimson Spell by Ayano Yamane is getting a little hard to find, especially the second volume, but rumor has it Media Blasters plans on printing more.

Gorgeous Carat by You Higuri was actually mentioned by two different people. I haven’t read it (yet) but I have read Higuri’s Cantarella.

Room Share by Sakyou Yozakura isn’t currently licensed in English, but Tokyopop’s Blu Manga imprint recently published Yozakura’s Blood Honey.

Tokyo Babylon by Clamp is sitting on my shelf at home; I should probably get around to reading it at some point.

X-Kai- by Asami Tohjoh. I’ll admit, I hadn’t even heard of this manga before this giveaway; I’ll have to check it out.

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24 November 2010 6 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Feast of Firsts

Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving here in the United States, probably my absolute favorite holiday seeing as it centers around food. So, I’m feeling particularly giving this month and am giving away a set of four, count them, four boys’ love/yaoi first volumes to one lucky winner. The giveaway is open world-wide but you must be over the age of 18 to enter. (Also, please don’t be asking me to be doing something illegal by sending this to your country.) So, if you’re interested in a chance to win some free manga, read on!

First, a little about of the books. Love Mode is brand new, Shout Out Loud! is used but still in good condition, and both Eerie Queerie! and Gravitation are library discards that I rescued. All of the books are quite different and should give you an opportunity to sample some of the variety of boys’ love that’s out there.

Shuri Shiozu’s Eerie Queerie! was nominated for a Gaylactic Spectrum award in 2005 and then again in 2007 when it was shortlisted. Other than Sanami Matoh’s Until the Full Moon, Eerie Queerie! is the only manga that I know of that has been nominated for this award so far.

Maki Murakami’s Gravitation is a pretty substantial property with both light novels and an anime adaptation in addition to the manga. It’s a ridiculous series and makes me laugh and has quite a following. I believe the individual volumes of Gravitation are actually no longer being printed but the series is being republished in omnibuses as Gravitation Collection.

Of the four manga being offered in this sampler, Yuki Shimizu’s Love Mode is the most explicit, and I promise the art is better than what the cover might make you think. At eleven volumes, Love Mode is one of the longest yaoi series that I’m familiar with available in English.

Last month I posted my response to the NYAF/NYCC panel Gay for You? Yaoi and Yuri Manga for GBLTQ Readers. Satosumi Takaguchi’s Shout Out Loud! was included in the panelists’ list of recommended titles and is well worth checking out.

Since I’m giving away a bunch of first volumes, I thought I’d share a few of my manga firsts. (There’s some sort of logic there, I swear.) For the longest time, I thought that Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal was the first manga that I had read and it remains one of my favorites. However, in the process of setting up Experiments in Manga, I realized that the honor in fact goes to either Osamu Tezuka’s Adolf or Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell. As for yaoi, my introduction to the genre was Yaya Sakuragi’s Hey, Sensei? which I’m still fond of. Around the same time I randomly picked up Sanami Matoh’s Fake from the library without realizing it was a boys’ love title.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a sampler of boys’ love first volumes?

1) In the comments section below, tell me about one of the first manga that you read.
2) For a second entry, tell me about the first boys’ love/yaoi manga you read, OR if you’ve never read boys’ love before just mention that.
3) If you’re on Twitter you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

Pretty easy? One person can earn up to three entries for the giveaway. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on December 1, 2010 (hey, another first!)—so you’ve only got one week to get your entries in this time. Good luck!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Feast of Firsts Winner

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