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3 December 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: November 26-December 2, 2012

My News and Reviews

Although it wasn’t a particularly busy week at Experiments in Manga, I did have three posts in addition to the usual My Week in Manga. November’s Bookshelf Overload was posted over the weekend. There were some really lovely deluxe manga and box sets released in November. The most recent Library Love feature was also posted. I took a quick look at some of the manga that I borrowed from my local library: Black Blizzard, Here Is Greenwood, Nana, and Peace Maker Kurogane. Also, November’s manga giveaway is currently in progress. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter for a chance to win the first four volumes of Harold Sakuishi’s Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. Simply tell me about your favorite music-themed manga. I also want to mention a marvelous feature on Takehiko Inoue that CNN released as part of its “Human to Hero” feature—How ‘Slam Dunk’ Manga Artist Brings Characters to Life.

Quick Takes

13th Boy, Volume 1 by SangEun Lee. I’m not entirely sure what to make of 13th Boy, and I have no idea where Lee is taking the story, but I did enjoy the first volume—it was delightfully quirky. The manhwa could have been a fairly straightforward romantic comedy, except for the fact that it incorporates a bit of magic, destiny, and a sentient cactus. (Yes, you read that correctly, a sentient cactus.) Hee-So Eun dated Won-Jun Kang, the boy she fell in love with at first sight, for less than a month before he broke up with her. What she can’t seem to understand is why, and so she’s more determined than ever to prove to him that they should be together. But a mysterious boy in her class, Whie-Young Jang, keeps getting in the way.

Finder, Volumes 4-6 by Ayano Yamane. If I understand correctly (and I very well may be wrong), Finder was originally intended to end with the fifth volume, but its popularity was such that Yamane was able to publish more. The sixth volume mostly focuses on Akihito’s everyday life as he tries to get his feet back under him after his traumatic experiences in Japan and Hong Kong’s underworld. It was still a great volume with quite a bit of action, but I did miss the intense, dark drama and complicated character interactions that Fei Long’s presence brought to the previous volumes. The fairly extensive crossover between the Finder series and Yamane’s “In Love” short manga did make me very happy, though.

Real, Volumes 10-11 by Takehiko Inoue. I honestly believe that Real is one of the best manga series currently being published in English. I first read Real after borrowing the series from the library, but it is such a great series that I had to have a set of my own. I really can’t recommend this series enough. Inoue’s artwork is fantastic and his characters are marvelously complex. The series’ realism is phenomenal. All of the characters are struggling with their own limitations and searching for their place in the world. There are triumphs and there are failures, but how the characters deal with them is what makes the series so compelling, powerful, and even inspiring. I can hardly wait for the next volume.

Reiko the Zombie Shop, Volumes 1-6 by Rei Mikamoto. Action-packed, gory fun is probably the easiest way to describe Reiko the Zombie Shop. It reminds me a bit of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which is not at all a bad thing; granted Reiko the Zombie Shop was published first. I actually preferred the shorter one-shot stories in the series over the longer more involved plot arcs. Although the longer stories have some advantages: there’s more time to get a feel for the characters (of course, Mikamoto doesn’t hesitate to kill most of them off, anyway), and there’s a wider variety of zombies and powers displayed. Only six of the eleven volumes were released in English, ending on a cliffhanger, but the series is entertaining.

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19 November 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: November 12-November 18, 2012

My News and Reviews

Two reviews went up last week. The first was for Jirō Nitta’s historical novel Phantom Immigrants. It’s about Jinsaburo Oikawa, salmon fishing, Canada, and immigrant smuggling. The novel is somewhat difficult to find in print, but the translator has made a digital edition available. For the most part, I picked up Phantom Immigrants because I wanted to read more of Nitta’s work. (I read another of his historical novels, Death March on Mount Hakkōda, not too long ago.) The second review I posted was part of my Blade of the Immortal manga review project. This month I took a look at Blade of the Immortal, Volume 15: Trickster. Although I was a little disappointed with some of the fight scenes, I’m still enjoying the series.

Speaking of disappointment, Digital Manga has announced that it would be putting almost all of its print releases on hiatus (the exceptions are those works that were funded by Digital Manga’s Kickstarter projects). Digital Manga’s president Hikaru Sasahara stressed that the licenses haven’t been canceled, just that the print releases have been delayed. Digital Manga has also indicated that at least some of the titles will be available digitally before they’re available in print.

It’s a late notice, but Matt Blind has posted the call for participation for November’s Manga Moveable Feast to be hosted at Rocket Bomber later this week. It’ll be a short Feast, running from November 21 to November 25. Since the Feast will coincide with Thanksgiving in the US, we’re doing something a little different this month, focusing on manga that we’re thankful for, so do check it out!

And one last side-note: October’s manga giveaway winner Stephanie recently posted about winning at Rodeo Bucket (and said some nice things about Experiments in Manga, too)—Right-Brain Living & Winning!

Quick Takes

Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition, Volume 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-3) written by Koushun Takami and illustrated by Masayuki Taguchi. I love Takami’s original Battle Royale novel, but it took me a while to get around to reading the manga. The loose English adaptation, which attempts to establish the program as a reality television show, is unfortunate; I wish the story had been left alone. I also wasn’t particularly fond of the more sexualized elements of the Battle Royale manga. And the manga’s program administrator is my least favorite version of that character. Taguchi’s artwork is at its best when portraying extreme violence and gore. The “ultimate edition” includes some great extras, including an interview with Takami.

Full House, Volumes 1-4 by Sooyeon Won. After reading Won’s manhwa series Let Dai, I made a point to seek out more of her work. I was looking forward to reading Full House. The first volume was okay, but I can’t say I enjoyed the series much at all except for the character designs. Even for a romantic comedy (at least that’s what I think the series is supposed to be), the plot makes little believable sense. The main character is an absolutely terrible person—she’s malicious, vindictive, and incredibly selfish for no good reason. I couldn’t bring myself to like her or to even feel sorry for her plight, which could easily be solved if she would simply be honest. Only the first four volumes of Full House were released in print in English but more are available digitally from Netcomics.

K-ON!, Volumes 2-4 by Kakifly. I’ll admit that I enjoy K-ON!. But although the first volume of the series made me tremendously happy, I wasn’t quite as taken with the rest of K-ON!. As a musician, I personally enjoy the series the most when music is somehow involved which, as it turns out, really isn’t all that often. As far as yonkoma go, K-ON! is fairly story driven which I can appreciate. Granted, there’s not much of a plot to the series. It mostly consists of a group of high school girls enjoying each other’s company; I don’t see anything wrong with that. At four volumes, I think K-ON! is just the right length. Yen Press also has plans to release both K-ON!‘s sequel K-ON! College and its spinoff K-ON! Highschool.

Secretary’s Love by Tohko Akiba. If I hadn’t picked up Secretary’s Love for a couple of bucks way back when Borders was shuttering its doors, I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to reading this boys’ love one-shot. It simply wasn’t a title that I was particularly interested in. And I was right. Secretary’s Love is incredibly boring. It could have been cute, but instead of focusing on Tanemura and Tanizaki’s relationship, Secretary’s Love seems to be more about their being secretaries. There’s not much romance to be found in the manga, mostly a few chaste kisses in the workplace and vague allusions to more carnal nocturnal activities. If it wasn’t explicitly stated, it would be hard to guess that the two men have been dating for eight years; there’s just no passion.

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2 July 2012 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: June 25-July 1, 2012

My News and Reviews

Last week was the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast. For my contribution, I reviewed the second Vagabond omnibus. Vagabond is a phenomenal series based on Eiji Yoshikawa’s epic historical novel Musashi. Expect to see more reviews for the series here in the future. My most recent manga giveaway has also been posted. The winner will be randomly selected on Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter for a chance to win Yasuko Aoike’s From Eroica with Live, Volume 1!

Digital Manga’s Unico Kickstarter has reached both its initial goal and its first stretch goal, which means we’ll be seeing an English edition of Osamu Tezuka’s manga Unico as well as Atomcat. The next stretch goal, set at $47,000 (more than double the original goal), is for Tezuka’s manga series Triton of the Sea. Personally, I’m more excited about the possibility of Triton than I am about Unico and Atomcat combined. I’m also a little disappointed to see Triton of the Sea added as a secondary goal instead of receiving its own project.

As with Digital Manga’s other Kickstarter projects, the Unico project has caused debate within the online manga community as to whether an established publisher should be taking advantage of the platform. Alexander Hoffman has some More Thoughts on Kickstarter over at Manga Widget. There is also an excellent Manga Out Loud podcast episode that outlines some of the issues. The episode was released after Digital Manga’s Barbara Kickstarter project; Ed Sizemore is planning another episode on the subject, so keep an ear out for it.

Anime Expo took place over the weekend. I wasn’t able to attend, but there were a few announcements made that caught my attention. Rigtstuf has established a new division, Lucky Penny, which will allow them to release more anime. I’m particularly excited about two of the Lucky Penny licenses: the anime adaptation of Natsume Ono’s Ristorante Paradiso, to be released fall 2012, and Aoi Hana, based on the manga by Takako Shimura (the author of Wandering Son), to be released sometime in 2013. It was also announced at Tokyopop’s panel that the fourth and fifth volumes of the Hetalia manga will be released in English, although no definite plans have been set for their publication.

Quick Takes

The Flowers of Evil, Volume 1 by Shuzo Oshimi. I initially didn’t plan on picking up The Flowers of Evil, middle school drama isn’t generally my thing anymore, but after seeing the positive reactions from several other manga bloggers, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad that I did, because it’s a really intriguing title. One afternoon, Kasuga ends up stealing the gym clothes of a girl he likes (mostly by accident) and is seen by another classmate, Nakamura, who is intent on blackmailing him. I’m interested in seeing where Oshimi will take the series. I’m particularly curious about Nakamura, who’s a bit of a sadist; it’s hard to tell what’s going through her head and what her motivations and ultimate goals are.

Jyu-Oh-Sei, Volumes 1-3 by Natsumi Itsuki. I’ll readily admit that I’m a fan of shōjo science fiction, especially from the seventies and eighties. Jyu-Oh-Sei, serialized between 1993 and 2003, is reminiscent of the classics in the genre. Although there were parts that I enjoyed immensely, I didn’t find the series to be nearly as successful as some of those older works. Itsuki has a tendency to infodump instead of naturally incorporating plot and background details into the story. Not to mention that there were some inconsistencies in her world-building. Still, it is an entertaining series with gripping character dynamics. The third volume is particularly good as Itsuki ramps up the action, revealing several important plot developments in the process.

One Thousand and One Nights, Volumes 6-11 written by Jeon JinSeok and illustrated by Han SeungHee. The second half of One Thousand and Nights focuses a bit more on the development of the framing narrative. Sehara’s stories in the second half of the series are even more varied than in the first, ranging from Greek history to Romance of the Three Kingdoms to original tales. Unfortunately, they aren’t incorporated as well and the series isn’t as cohesive as a result. While I appreciate what JinSeok was attempting to do with the stories and that take place in the modern era, ultimately they don’t mesh well with the series as a whole. I did, however, really like the final twist to the story.

Rideback directed by Atsushi Takahashi. Rin Ogata is talented ballerina whose career is brought to halt due to an injury. She ends up joining her school’s rideback club where her exceptional sense of balance is an asset. Little does she know that this will lead to her being swept up in the political and military turmoil surrounding her country. The ridebacks are very cool machines (even considering the fact that they should really have a third wheel). A cross between a motorcycle and a humanoid robot, they are extremely maneuverable. I actually wish they were put through their paces a bit more in the series because they’re exciting to watch. Although some of the character development is rushed, Rideback is tightly plotted and highly engaging. Overall, it’s an excellent series.

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18 June 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: June 11-June 17, 2012

My News and Reviews

Last week I managed to post two reviews. The first was for the second issue of the English-language edition of Monkey Business, a literary journal that originally started in Japan. I’ve really been enjoying Monkey Business; it’s introduced me to a lot of creators, many of which I probably wouldn’t have come across otherwise. It also includes manga! The second review is a part of my Blade of the Immortal project. I’ve managed to review one volume of the series each month for the past four months. It looks like this is a completely reasonable pace for me, even considering the other two in-depth manga reviews I write every month. (For some reason, writing manga reviews is more difficult for me than writing other kinds of book reviews.) Anyway, Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal, Volume 10: Secrets is my latest review.

Also last week, I mentioned that Drawn & Quarterly had licensed Shigeru Mizuki’s GeGeGe no Kitaro. It seemed like it would be a “best of” collection but, if D&Q’s Twitter account is anything to go by, it looks like the release will be starting at the beginning of the series. I hope the title does well for them; I’m really looking forward to it. Elswhere online, Brigid Alverson has an excellent interview with JManga’s business manager Robert Newman about JManga’s Evolving Digital Subscription Service over at Publishers Weekly.

Several months ago, I reviews Haruki Murakami’s excellent oral history Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche. A couple of weeks ago Naoko Kikuchi, one of the Aum Shinrikyo members associated with the attack who was still at large, was arrested. With the arrest of Katsuya Takahashi just last week, the final member that remained has now been found. According to The Asahi Shimbun, his weakness for manga may have helped lead to his capture.

Finally, June’s Manga Moveable Feast will be starting on the 24th! This month we’ll be taking a look at the works of Takehiko Inoue who is a phenomenal mangaka. For my part, I’ll have a quick take on the first couple of volumes of Slam Dunk and an in-depth review of the second Vagabond omnibus.

Quick Takes

Ai Ore!, Volume 1 by Mayu Shinjo. The basic premise of Ai Ore!—a girl who’s often mistaken for a boy and a boy who’s often mistaken for a girl fall for each other—appealed to me quite a bit. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed. Supposedly, Ai Ore! is intended to be a romantic comedy, but I didn’t find it particularly funny. In fact, I didn’t really enjoy much of the first volume. I’ve been told that the series improves, but at this point I have no desire to continue on to find out. Probably the biggest issue I have with Ai Ore! is that I don’t like the male lead at all and I’m obviously supposed to. I can handle manipulative bastards and unhealthy relationships in my fiction, but Akira is just not working for me.

Hikaru no Go, Volumes 17-20 written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. These volumes are a turning point in Hikaru no Go. With the seventeenth volume, the series could have easily found a natural place to stop. However, I wasn’t disappointed that it continued since I enjoy Hikaru no Go a great deal. The eighteenth volume features six side stories which are not directly related to the main plot or that show previous scenes from a different point of view. It might be a bit of a filler, but it’s a fun volume nonetheless. I still only barely understand the finer points of go, but the characters’ passion for the game is obvious. It’s thrilling to see how intense they become when playing. With three more volumes to go, I’m looking forward to seeing how Hotta wraps things up.

One Thousand and One Nights, Volumes 1-5 written by Jeon JinSeok and illustrated by Han SeungHee. Changing the female Scheherazade into the male Sehara does defeat some of the purpose of One Thousand and One Night‘s framing story, but I will admit to enjoying the boys’ love overtones it lends to the narrative. Each volume features one of Sehara’s stories in addition to developing the plot and characters of the framing story. JinSeok doesn’t limit himself to tales found in the original One Thousand and One Nights; he draws from other world literature and folklore, as well. The selections do tend towards the unhappy, but I’m a sucker for tragic love stories, so I’m not going to complain too strenuously.

Gin Tama, Collection 2 (Episodes 14-26) directed by Shinji Takamatsu. At this point I still prefer the original manga, but the Gin Tama anime adaptation is steadily growing on me. I prefer the series when it finds new ways of approaching the material instead of strictly adhering to the manga’s version. I also really like the casting. Daisuke Sakaguchi in particular does a fantastic job of voicing Shinpachi; he has an incredibly dynamic range from cool and collected to frantic and freaked out. Gin Tama is a series with humor that often relies on the viewer being familiar with other series to fully appreciate, but there’s still plenty of ridiculousness that can be enjoyed regardless. I know for a fact that I’m missing many of the references, but I still get a kick out of the series’ absurdity.

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11 June 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: June 4-June 10, 2012

My News and Reviews

For most of last week I was in Nashville for a conference for work, which means I didn’t get nearly as much manga and anime in as I would have liked. Hauling large stacks of books through airports isn’t particularly fun, so I didn’t take much with me. Still, I managed to find time to get some reading in before I left. I also managed to post an in-depth review of The Bible: A Japanese Manga Rendition while I was away, the latest manga offering from One Peace Books. The Read or Die Giveaway Winner was announced last week as well. The post shares some favorite book loving characters and series, too, so please check it out.

Some exciting licensing news! Drawn & Quarterly will be releasing Shigeru Mizuki’s GeGeGe no Kitaro in early 2013. Rumor has it that it will be a “best of” collection, but no specific details on the publication have been released yet. Elsewhere online, CBLDF reported that both a manga and an anime have survived being challenged under Tokyo’s Youth Healthy Development Ordinance amendment. Although I’m not familiar with either work, this makes me very happy. And over at Yuri no Boke, Katherine Hanson has great a post about Yuri Characters Who Are Out To Family Members in Manga, which includes a couple of titles that are available in English.

Quick Takes

Fist of the North Star: Master Edition, Volumes 4-6 written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. I really do love this series. Post-apocalyptic, shirt exploding, martial arts mayhem, with a brooding hero…I can’t help but like it. I particularly enjoyed these volumes because they delve further into Kenshiro’s past. The overall story is starting to feel more cohesive and less “fight-of-the-week.” I also really liked Rei. He’s a great addition to the cast. He’s just as much of a badass as Kenshiro, but more emotionally unstable. Their personalities play off of each other nicely. I personally prefer the more realistic fights (and I use that term very loosely) in which Kenshiro’s opponents aren’t outrageously over-the-top.

Let Dai, Volumes 11-15 by Sooyeon Won. Let Dai is relentless and emotionally exhausting. The story is melodramatic, the narrative and dialogue is extravagant, and a lot of it is unbelievable, but the thoughts and feelings that the manhwa expresses are incredibly real. The scenes where Jaehee and Dai’s parents confront them about their sexuality hit very close to home for me. Let Dai is an epic. The characters actually grow and change as the story progresses. Events from the first volume that set everything into motion are never forgotten and are played through to the very end of the series. The youths in Let Dai have to face tragic circumstances, some of their own making, but society, adults, and even their own families have failed them, too.

Tokyo Zombie by Yusaku Hanakuma. I’ve read several of Hanakuma’s short manga, but Tokyo Zombie is the first book length work of his that I have read (it also happens to be his first long-form manga). Tokyo Zombie is a darkly comedic homage to the zombie genre, specifically zombie films. The manga incorporates and plays with many of the tropes that would be expected from a zombie story. Hanakuma also throws in plenty of his own quirky elements—pig surfing and professional wrestling, for example. Violent and grotesque, the manga quickly earns its “adults only” label. Hanakuma’s art style is deliberately crude, but it’s also rather charming somehow. Either way, it fits Tokyo Zombie perfectly.

Black Rock Shooter directed by Shinobu Yoshioka. The Black Rock Shooter franchise began with a single illustration by Ryohei Fuke. It went on to inspire music, video games, manga, and anime, including this eight episode series that aired on noitaminA. I probably wouldn’t have picked up the series had not someone made me sit down and watch the first three episodes. I didn’t think I would be interested in the life dramas of middle school girls, but I found the series to be oddly compelling even if its symbolism was terribly obvious. There is reality, but then there is psychological fantasy, too. The series has three major animation styles. The first one introduced is a visual feast that I’d really like to experience somehow other than streaming (my connection couldn’t keep up.)

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