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28 May 2012 4 Comments

My Week in Manga: May 21-May 27, 2012

My News and Reviews

Last week was the Oishinbo and Food Manga Moveable Feast, hosted by Khursten over at Otaku Champloo. Both of my posts last week had something to do with the Feast. First, I reviewed Oishinbo, A la Carte: Ramen & Gyōza, the third thematic Oishinbo collection to be released in English. I’m a foodie, so I really enjoy the series. My second post was Random Musings: Oishinbo and the Romance of Food in which I ramble on a bit about food, couples, and relationships.

Not too long ago, I read and reviewed Otaku Spaces,  written by Patrick W. Galbraith with photography by Androniki Christodoulou. Recently Néojaponisme posted a three part interview with Galbraith about the book and otaku in general. It’s lengthy, but a good read. Elsewhere online, David Letters has an engaging article about Crying Freeman, sex scenes, and such at 4thletter!—Cartoonishly virile, absurdly smooth: The Crying Freeman Story. Finally, RightStuf announced the next book in their print-on-demand manga service, the eighth volume of Bizenghast by M. Alice LeGrow.

Quick Takes

Bus Gamer: 1999-2001, The Pilot Edition by Kazuya Minekura. Toki, Nakajyo, and Kazuo are complete strangers that are hired to work together in a game of corporate espionage taken to the extreme. As far as I know, Minekura hasn’t been able to continue the Bus Gamer series although she has expressed interest in doing so. I’d love to see where she takes things; Bus Gamer has a solid start. The plot is a little bizarre, but I like the characters. I’m particularly fond of Kaz. He has some darkness in his past but has turned out to be very good natured and endearingly flaky. Although it’s only been hinted at so far, each of the young men have their own reasons for participating in what has become a deadly game.

Let Dai, Volumes 6-10 by Sooyeon Won. Dai absolutely terrifies me. Although no longer the leader of the Furies gang, he can still be incredibly violent. He does show brief moments of gentleness, but for the most part he scares the hell out of me (and quite a few of the other people in Let Dai.) And yet, he has this strange allure; people can’t help but be drawn to him, for better or, more often than not, for worse. One of the things that makes Let Dai so compelling, and so difficult to turn away from even though it’s almost traumatizing to read, is the complexity of the characters’ relationships and interactions. Some of the power dynamics are very strange. Occasionally the series can be a little melodramatic and angsty, but the resulting tragedies are very realistic.

Wonton Soup, Volumes 1-2 by James Stokoe. I was recently introduced to some of Stokoe’s current illustrations and was so smitten that I immediately sought out any and all of his published works, which is how I discovered his short series Wonton Soup. Johnny Boyo is famous for his culinary talent but he left that life behind to become a space trucker instead. Wonton Soup is a pretty gimmicky series, one of the characters even comes out and declares it as such, but there are some moments of brilliant entertainment mixed in. I much preferred the first volume to the second simply because it focuses slightly more on Boyo’s crazy cuisine. Ultimately, there’s not much substance to Wonton Soup, but Stokoe’s art is great.

Bodacious Space Pirates, Episodes 1-11 directed by Tatsuo Satō. Don’t let the title or the length of the skirts fool you, Bodacious Space Pirates is not at all the fanservice fest it looks like it might be. Instead, it’s an entertaining coming-of-age space opera that focuses on characters and storytelling. If anything, the story might be a little too innocent; the crew of the Bentenmaru are some of the nicest, most wholesome pirates I’ve ever seen. Still, I’m enjoying the show tremendously. Marika, a first-year in high school, discovers that she is the daughter of a space pirates after her father passes away. Even more surprisingly, she has been selected to succeed him as captain. Bodacious Space Pirates was such a fun, pleasant surprise. I’ll most likely pick up Sentai’s release.

Gin Tama, Collection 1 (Episodes 1-13) directed by Shinji Takamatsu. I’m a fan of Hideaki Sorachi’s original Gin Tama manga, so I was surprised how long it took me to warm up to the anime adaptation. Both series are quirky with plenty of absurd humor. The sheer amount of Japanese cultural references makes them a hard sell for a casual audience since they’re not immediately accessible. Additionally, the first two episodes of the anime require that the viewers already be familiar with the manga in order to make any sense of it at all. But eventually, the anime started to work for me. I found myself laughing at the jokes, even the ones that I already knew, and I genuinely had a good time watching the show.

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14 May 2012 3 Comments

My Week in Manga: May 7-May 13, 2012

My News and Reviews

So, I finally got around to reading Hiromu Arakawa’s manga Fullmetal Alchemist. I really enjoyed the first anime series (I haven’t watched Brotherhood yet) but I think that the manga might be even better. I took a look at the first omnibus and loved it. I also reviewed the last volume of The Guin Saga to be published in English, The Marches King by Kaoru Kurimoto. I’ve become quite fond of the series, so I wish there was more available in translation. It’s nice to have the first major story arc, though. And then there’s always the anime, even if it isn’t as good. I’ll probably make a point to review The Guin Saga: The Seven Magi manga now that I’ve finished the translated novels.

I reviewed Math Girls by Hiroshi Yuki soon after Bento Books published the novel in English last year (it was their debut release). I rather enjoyed the book. The second volume of the series will be published later in 2012. Bento Books also recently began a Kickstarter project to release the manga version of Math Girls. The translation itself is already completed but they need a bit of a financial boost in order to finish up the English edition of the manga. I hope the project is successful; I’d really like to see this niche manga made available.

And for a couple of other interesting things online: Erica Friedman of Yuricon and Okazu has posted videos for a five part series about yuri. Completely unrelated, if you’re interested in how the March 11 earthquake affected libraries in Japan, the National Diet Library has released a report on the subject. Part of the report, “The Great East Japan Earthquake and Libraries,” is available as a pdf in English. The report is fairly extensive and isn’t necessarily for casual reading, but it is one of the definitive resources for information about libraries and the earthquake.

Oh, and one final heads up! May’s Manga Moveable Feast, featuring Oishinbo and other foodie manga and hosted by Khursten Santos at Otaku Champloo, will begin on the 22nd!

Quick Takes

Brody’s Ghost, Book 1 by Mark Crilley. I picked up Brody’s Ghost on a whim. I’m glad I gave the series a shot, though. In fact, I liked the first volume so well that I immediately went out and bought the next two available books in the series. Brody is a very average guy (at least, he thought he was) who has caught the eye of a ghost. She’s determined that he will be the one to help her track down a murderer. The story is fairly average so far, but I’m really enjoying Crilley’s artwork. He has created a futuristic, rundown, urban environment that works marvelously well. My only real complaint is that the book is so short, well under a hundred pages. Still, I’m looking forward to continuing with Brody’s Ghost.

Flowers & Bees, Volumes 1-7 by Moyoco Anno. Komatsu wins a prize—I have never seen a character go through so many different hairstyles within the course of a single series. Even though it is completely different in so many ways, Flowers & Bees reminded me a lot of another of Anno’s manga, Happy Mania. Both series feature protagonists with extremely bad luck when it comes to love and who tend to overreact and freak out over the smallest incidents. The humor in Flowers & Bees is manic, raunchy, and cruel, frequently bordering on offensive, but I still found it to be hilarious. The second half of the series does sober up a bit, but not by much. The epilogue to the series seemed tacked on and unnecessary, but it was nice to see where many of the characters ended up after the series proper.

Let Dai, Volumes 1-5 by Sooyeon Won. So far, Let Dai is a very intense manhwa series. I wasn’t expecting it to be as violent as it is, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised since one of the main characters is a notorious gang leader. There’s also quite a bit of manipulation and intimidation. Dai, the aforementioned gang leader, is vicious and terrifying and yet his charisma makes him captivating and strangely alluring to others. Jaehee, who was once a straight-laced student, has been caught up in Dai’s influence. Their relationship is complicated to say the least. At this point, I really can’t imagine anything turning out well for any of the people involved; the series has a very ominous atmosphere.

Princess Jellyfish directed by Takahiro Omori. As someone who is rather socially awkward, a lot of Princess Jellyfish hit pretty close to home for me. Amamizukan is an apartment building home to a group of women, all of who are some sort of otaku. Tsukimi, one of the residents, has her life thrown into turmoil when she meets the cross-dressing son of a politician. Princess Jellyfish is leisurely paced, paying more attention to characters’ development rather than intricate plots. The anime finds a decent place to stop in the story, but it’s not much of an ending as almost nothing is actually resolved. I loved Princess Jellyfish, it’s a wonderful series, but it leaves me wanting more. I’d like to read the manga upon which it was based.

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5 March 2012 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: February 27-March 4, 2012

My News and Reviews

Last week was my usual set of posts for the end/beginning of the month, which means it was a slightly slower week. February’s Bookshelf Overload was posted as was Experiments in Manga’s monthly manga giveaway. You still have a couple of days to enter for a chance to win King of Thorn for Keeps. Also posted last week were some random musings about the Manhwa Creator Bank, a campaign being coordinated by Korea’s Seoul Animation Center and Netcomics.

The next Manga Moveable Feast is coming up in a couple of weeks and will be held from March 18 to March 24. Manga Worth Reading will be hosting and this time we’ll all be taking a look at the work of Jiro Taniguchi—Jiro Taniguchi Topic of Next Manga Moveable Feast. I’ve got a couple of thing planned for the Feast, including an in-depth review of Taniguchi’s most recent release in English, A Zoo in Winter.

Now it’s time for some interesting reading that I’ve found online recently! Anime News Network has an interview with Tomomi Mochizuki, the director of the House of Five Leaves anime adaptation which just finally had a Region 1 DVD release. (I’m absolutely thrilled about this release and preordered the set the day it was announced.) Over at Robot 6 is another great interview: Felipe Smith talks manga — and life. Finally, and on a much less happier note, I’d like to direct your attention to a post over on Manga Bookshelf: Apple censors still targeting LGBTQ content? What Apple has been and is doing continues to piss me off, and Amazon is guilty of similar actions, too.

Quick Takes

Demon Diary, Volumes 1-7 written by Lee Chi-hyong (volume 1) and Lee Yun-hee (volumes 2-7) and illustrated by Kara. Raenef has been declared to be a demon lord, but with his innocent and kindhearted personality he doesn’t really seem to be cut out for the job. It’s up to the demon Eclipse to show him how things are done. About halfway through the series, the story changes significantly in tone. While there is still humor and comedy to be found, Demon Diary becomes much more serious and dramatic. Almost everything that does end up happening was at least hinted about, so at least the developments don’t come out of nowhere. I think I preferred the more overt silliness, but I did find later volumes to be interesting, too.

Library Wars: Love & War, Volume 7 by Kiiro Yumi. I like Library Wars best when library policy becomes a more integral part of the story. The last few volumes seemed to stray from that a bit, focusing on some of the characters’ personal lives (which makes them come across as high schoolers rather than grown adults), but the seventh volume brings library issues to the forefront again. A couple of new characters have been introduced, including a new antagonist, so things should continue to become more interesting. I’m still frustrated by Iku’s incompetence, but that seems to have been downplayed somewhat in this volume, which I appreciated. While I haven’t really been blown away by Library Wars, for the most part I have been enjoying the series and will continue to follow it.

No Longer Human, Volume 3 by Usumaru Furuya. I have been both dreading and really looking forward to the final volume in Furuya’s adaptation of Osamu Dazai’s novel No Longer Human. Dreading because it is such an intense and dark story, and looking forward because Furuya has done such a phenomenal job with the series. Having read the original novel I knew where things were heading, but it doesn’t make it any easier as a reader. Yozo finally experiences and has a chance at true happiness only to have it torn away from him as he slips back into darkness. The back cover calls it a “devastating finale” which is very apt. The changes that Furuya has made from Dazai’s original have worked really well.

Purgatory Kabuki, Volume 1 by Yasushi Suzuki. I wanted to like Purgatory Kabuki. I really, really did. I mean, the cover art is absolutely gorgeous and flipping through the volume reveals some stunning illustrations as well. But, that’s really all the manga has going for it. Unfortunately, Purgatory Kabuki lacks coherence, even in its artwork. Had I not previously read a summary, I would have had no idea what was going on in the story. Actually, even after reading a summary, I still didn’t really know what was happening. Something having to do with demons and swords and hell…I think. It is pretty, though. Originally, Purgatory Kabuki was intended to be three volumes long, but as far as I can tell only the first volume ever reached publication.

Cromartie High School directed by Hiroaki Sakurai. While for the most part I can say that I prefer the original manga series (although, that might just be because I read it first), the anime adaptation of Cromartie High School has some things going for it, too. It doesn’t stray much from the original material, but it does have the advantage of sound—Mechazawa’s smooth voice, the music that accompanies most of Freddie’s appearances, etc. Hayashida’s hair has a life of its own. Even though I already knew what all the jokes were going to be, they still made me laugh. There are twenty-six episodes, but each one is only about twelve minutes long. It’s a ridiculous series with an absurd sense of humor.

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4 March 2012 2 Comments

Random Musings: Manhwa Creator Bank


Recently, an article at CNN’s blog Geek Out! caught my eye—Publishers want you to know: Manhwa is not manga written by Danica Davidson. As the article points out, manhwa (Korean comics) are often promoted in the United States as manga (Japanese comics). This is not always the case, and more recently there have been greater efforts to support manhwa as manhwa. Although manhwa and manga share similarities, they also have their differences, mostly stemming from the cultural differences between Korea and Japan. While my primary interest is in Japan and therefore manga, I also read and enjoy manhwa and other comics from around the world.

Not long after the above-mentioned article was published, I was contacted by a representative from Netcomics, which primarily publishes manhwa along with a few manga titles, about the project Manhwa Creator Bank that they are helping to coordinate with the Seoul Animation Center, a part of the Seoul Business Agency in Korea. The campaign is meant to be a way promote manhwa to other cultures and countries with the hope that publishers will become interested in licensing manhwa.

The Seoul Animation Center initially picked forty-nine manhwa properties to be a part of the campaign. Netcomics created a Facebook page for the Manhwa Creator Bank project as well as individual pages for each of the forty-nine titles that were selected. The Manhwa Creator Bank website also provides information about the individual titles and can be browsed by genre or publisher. A PDF catalog can be downloaded for each manhwa, generally consisting of a cover image, the creators’ bibliography, a brief synopsis, key selling points, art and page samples, and other general information.

The Manhwa Creator Bank is primarily aimed towards marketing manhwa to publishers interested in licensing a title. As a reader, it is a useful way to discover manhwa that has the potential to be released in English. I found it to be a really interesting collection. If by browsing through the Manhwa Creator Bank or looking around its Facebook page you see something that strikes your fancy, talk about it. Let your friends know, and let the publishers know, too. Personally, I would love to see more manhwa translated into English.

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30 January 2012 2 Comments

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

My News and Reviews

So, last week, Experiments in Manga hosted the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast. It was a lot of work, and I stressed out about it quite a bit, but in the end I think I’d call it a success. I think I can even say that I enjoyed myself. I certainly have a sense of accomplishment. It will take me a little bit to completely recover, but I think it was worth it. February will mostly be reviews, but once March comes around I should be prepared to start reintroducing other features again. Please do check out the archive page; there were a lot of posts last week. Also, check out this month’s manga giveaway for Usamaru Furuya’s Genkaku Picasso, Volume 1. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so you still have a couple of days to enter!

Quick Takes

Goong: The Royal Palace, Volume 1 by Park SoHee. I’ll admit, high school romances aren’t really my thing, but I still enjoyed the first volume of Goong. Probably because I enjoy a bit of court intrigue. The concept is interesting: What if a monarchy still existed in Korea? Chae-Gyung, a commoner, finds herself an unwilling participant in an arranged marriage with the Crown Prince Shin Lee. He’s not particularly happy about it either, mostly hoping that she’ll at least give his family a hard time. Shin Lee comes across as a jerk most of the time, but he fortunately isn’t a complete ass. It’s really hard to tell sometimes, though. The first volume also includes a lengthy interview with the creator, which is a nice touch.

Love Pistols, Volumes 1-5 by Tarako Kotobuki. Love Pistols (the title is actually Sex Pistols) is just so…entertainingly bizarre. Male pregnancy, animal souls, constantly shifting sexuality, gender and sex—I couldn’t help but like it. “Zoomanity” is generally more concerned about breeding than love, resulting in some very strange relationship dynamics and convoluted extended families. Fortunately, Kotobuki eventually provides a much needed family tree to help sort everything out. Kotobuki’s artwork sometimes leaves a bit to desire; body proportions, especially in earlier volumes, are frequently off. Tokyopop published the first five volumes of the still ongoing series; currently SuBLime is offering a digital edition, with the possibility of bringing the manga back into print.

Tesoro by Natsume Ono. Tesoro, which is the Italian word for “treasure,” collects fourteen stories and a gallery of Ono’s illustrations, mostly from earlier in her career. Many of the stories were previously only published in dōjinshi anthologies. Some of the elements that feature heavily in Ono’s later work are already evident here. Her love of food, gentlemen with glasses, family and interpersonal relationships, New York and Italy are all present. I found the stories to be delightfully charming and endearing. Some are funny and heartwarming while others are a touch melancholy or sad. Ono’s artwork is as distinctive as ever. It’s a lovely collection, certainly a must-have for any Ono fan. 

Redline directed by Takeshi Koike. Redline is one of the best looking anime that I have seen in a long time. Animated completely by hand, it is absolutely gorgeous. I love the color palette chosen. The anime’s got style and is an impressive achievement. However, I never really felt engaged by the story. Perhaps it’s my own fault as I’m not especially interested in racing. Despite the creative worldbuilding and fantastic character designs, I didn’t find the film to have much substance to it. I never felt particularly attached to any of the characters, either, even though I did like them. Still, Redline is a highly entertaining film and a lot of fun. I enjoyed watching it, and will probably watch it again. Visually, it is absolutely fantastic.

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