Home Archives for Milk Morinaga
14 March 2014 2 Comments

Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink

Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom PinkCreator: Milk Morinaga
U.S. publisher: Seven Seas
ISBN: 9781937867317
Released: June 2013
Original release: 2012

Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink is the second yuri manga by Milk Morinaga to have been licensed in English. The first, and my introduction to her work, was her series Girl Friends. I quite enjoyed Girl Friends and so was looking forward to reading more of her manga, in this case one of her earlier series. Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink was released in English by Seven Seas in 2013 in a single-volume omnibus edition. Morinaga first began creating the stories included in Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink in 2003. In Japan, the earlier stories were collected into a single volume in 2006. However, Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink was later released again in 2012 in two volumes that collected additional stories, including some that were previously unpublished. This two-volume edition of Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossom Pink is the one upon which Seven Seas’ omnibus is based. As such, the English-language edition of the manga collects nearly a decade’s worth of material into a single volume.

Nana and Hitomi were best friends who grew up together and attended the same elementary and junior high schools. Nana was looking forward to becoming a student at Sakurakai Girls’ High School, but that was when she thought Hitomi would be enrolling as well. However, Hitomi was accepted at Touhou Girls’ High School. Finding it too painful to continue to suppress her love for Nana after being rejected, Hitomi chooses to attend Touhou instead. Despite how close the two of them used to be, Nana finds Hitomi drifting away and she misses her terribly. But recognizing her own feelings is only the first step in mending their relationship as is begins to evolve into something more than just friendship. Similarly, several of the other young women at Sakurakai and Touhou are faced with their own first loves and crushes on classmates. It isn’t always easy to confess their feelings and falling in love with a person of the same gender often brings along challenges that other couples don’t have to deal with.

The stories collected in Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink follow a vague chronological order, but many of them aren’t directly related to one another. They share the same setting and to some extent the same characters, but only Nana and Hitomi are the focus of multiple stories in the volume. I actually really enjoyed Morinaga’s structural approach to Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink. Nana and Hitomi’s relationship provides a more developed, ongoing narrative, creating a framework which supports the supplementary side stories about their classmates and friends. Overall, I feel this gives the manga slightly more depth. Also included in Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink is a diagram that visually shows how all of the different stories and characters overlap and are connected to one another. Although they are interrelated and occasionally make references to previous developments and chapters, most of the stories do stand perfectly well on their own in addition to contributing to the manga as a whole.

Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink tends to be very cute, sweet, and romantic, which is not to say that every story is a happy one. I appreciated that some of the chapters in Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink have touches of angst, sadness, and bittersweetness to them. Nana and Hitomi’s relationship, despite having its ups and downs, does have an ending that seems to tie everything up a little too easily and nicely, but I won’t deny that it made me smile. Morinaga also addresses some very real issues and concerns, such as homophobia, that are encountered by same-gendered couples, but many of the feelings expressed are relevant for any romantic relationship. The manga may be a bit melodramatic at times, but it is emotionally resonant. Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink also incorporates a fair amount of humor. It’s a highly enjoyable and charming collection of short manga with likeable characters, a generally optimistic outlook, and a satisfying amount of realism to go along with its sweetness.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged: , , ,
17 June 2013 6 Comments

My Week in Manga: June 10-June 16, 2013

My News and Reviews

Another week at Experiments in Manga, another couple of reviews. Kaori Ekuni’s award-winning novel Twinkle Twinkle was recently brought to my attention and so I decided to read it. (Vertical is celebrating it’s tenth year of publishing, and Twinkle Twinkle was the first book it ever published.) I absolutely loved Twinkle Twinkle. It’s a peculiar love story between a woman and her gay husband who mostly married to get their parents off of their cases. It’s one of the best things I’ve read recently. As part of my Blade of the Immortal review project, I took a look at Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal, Volume 22: Footsteps. The volume marks the beginning of the final major story arc in the series. Blade of the Immortal has ended in Japan but there are still a handful of volumes that remain to be released in English.

And speaking of manga series ending, after ten and a half years Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son will be reaching its conclusion in Japan at the end of July. The fourth volume of the English-language edition of manga was recently released by Fantagraphics. I hope the entire series will be able to be translated as Wandering Son is a particularly important manga to me. Elsewhere online, there were a couple of podcasts of particular interest: Ed Sizemore returned with a one-time special episode of Manga Out Loud, which went on hiatus last year, and the Comic Books Are Burning In Hell podcast devoted an episode to Taiyo Matsumoto and his work. Also, Manga Xanadu’s podcast is now up to ten episodes! Oh, and one more thing—this week is the Skip Beat! Manga Moveable Feast!

Quick Takes

Cage of Eden, Volume 10 by Yoshinobu Yamada. I enjoy a good survival story, which is why I was looking forward to Cage of Eden when it was first released. Unfortunately, I found very little to like about the first volume and haven’t read any more of the series until now. The tenth volume is better than the first, but I’m still not convinced that Cage of Eden is worth my time even though I want it to be. By this point in the series the dialogue seems to have improved and there weren’t as many glaringly convenient coincidences and plot holes. The fanservice is still a bigger part of the manga than it really needs to be, though. Personally, I’m more interested in the action and mystery than I am in middle schoolers’ panties.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War by James Stokoe. Although I followed Stokoe’s Godzilla comic as it was being released in single issues, I still made a point to pick up the trade collection, too. I don’t have a particular interest in Godzilla, but I love Stokoe’s detailed and spectacularly colored artwork, which is what initially drew me to the comic. The Half-Century War is told from the perspective of Ota Murakami who in 1954 faces Godzilla as a member of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and becomes obsessed with the creature. The following chapters take place in different decades and locations: 1967 Vietnam, 1975 Ghana, 1987 Bombay, and 2002 Antarctica. The comic is pretty great with a quick pace and a good sense of humor. And Godzilla isn’t the only kaiju to make an appearance, either.

Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossoms Pink by Milk Morinaga. After reading Morinaga’s yuri series Girl Friends, I knew I needed to read her earlier work Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossoms Pink. Although overall the manga isn’t quite as sophisticated in its story as Girl Friends, it is just as sweet, charming, and romantic. In fact, I think I probably enjoyed Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossoms Pink even more than I did Girl Friends. The omnibus collects two volumes and nearly a decade’s worth of stories about the young women who attend the all-girls high school Sakurakai. There’s love and romance, friendship and affection with just a touch of the bittersweet. It’s a wonderful yuri collection.

The Two Faces of Tomorrow by Yukinobu Hoshino. I loved Hoshino’s 2001 Nights, so I’ve made a point to track down more of his work available in English. The Two Faces of Tomorrow manga is actually an adaptation of British science fiction author James P. Hogan’s 1979 novel of the same name. Scientists have developed a highly advanced artificial intelligence system that could be an incredible boon to human society, but there are fears that system could gain sentience and then turn against its creators. And so what is supposed to be a carefully controlled experiment is staged on a space station. The Spartacus AI is deployed and then deliberately provoked in order to determine how it will react and evolve. For fans of classic science fiction, The Two Faces of Tomorrow is well worth checking out.

Un-Go directed by Seiji Mizushima. I really wanted to like Un-Go, but after only a few episodes I found myself incredibly bored by it. It poses as a mystery series, but fails to actually engage the viewers in any of the investigations. I did find it interesting that the anime is loosely based on the novels and stories of Ango Sakaguchi. I was also fascinated by Inga. Actually, one of the reasons I finished the series was that I hoped to learn more about Inga and Shinjūrō’s relationship and their history. Unfortunately, none of this is ever explored in any sort of detail. In the end, I was more curious about the characters backstories than I was in whatever they were currently doing. Un-Go didn’t really work for me.

Filed Under: My Week in Manga Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
4 February 2013 1 Comment

My Week in Manga: January 28-February 3, 2013

My News and Reviews

I’ve mostly recovered from hosting the Manga Moveable Feast in January and it looks like things will be getting back to a more normal schedule here at Experiments in Manga. This past week I posted January’s Bookshelf Overload. There were quite a few nice deluxe hardcover releases last month. Speaking of nice, hardcover releases: I also posted the first in-depth manga review of February—Osamu Tezuka’s Message to Adolf, Part 2. I am absolutely thrilled that this series is available in English again. I sincerely think it’s one of Tezuka’s best works. January’s manga giveaway was also posted last week. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter for a chance to win Blue Exorcist, Volume 1 by Kazue Kato.

On to other fun things online! Sublime Manga, Viz Media’s boys’ love imprint, is celebrating its first anniversary with a great sale at Right Stuf and some fantastic license announcements. I am absolutely thrilled that Sublime will be releasing Tetuzoh Okadaya’s The Man of Tango and est em’s Tableau Numéro 20 in print later this year. On Twitter, Digital Manga is hinting that its next Kickstarter project will have something to do with Ishinomori Shotaro, which would be very exciting indeed. In other release news, the third issue of the English-language edition of the Japanese literary journal Monkey Business has been sent off to the printers. I really enjoyed the first two volumes, so I’m very excited to read the next one as well.

Elsewhere online, Kuriousity posted a great interview with Digital Manga’s newer hentai manga imprint, Project-H Books—Handling Hentai: An Interview With Project-H. Noah Berlatsky of The Hooded Utilitarian (among other places) wrote an essay on The Ethics of Scanlation for the Center for Digital Ethics & Policy. It’s a fantastic summary of some of the issues and different perspectives involved. On Facebook, Vertical shared a breakdown of its recent reader survey. Finally, the call for participation for the Naoki Urasawa Manga Moveable Feast has been posted. Justin at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses will be hosting be hosting the Feast later this month.

Quick Takes

Girl Friends, Omnibus 2 by Milk Morinaga. As much as I enjoyed the first Girl Friends omnibus, I think the second collection is even better. The first half of the series was told largely from Mari’s perspective; this time Akko’s point of view has become more prominent. At this point, Mari is trying to suppress her feelings for Akko, hoping that they can at least remain friends. Akko, on the other hand, is reassessing their relationship, trying to work out the differences between friendship and love. Eventually the two young women must navigate their budding romance together. Girl Friends really is a wonderful series and certainly one of the most realistic yuri manga that I have read.

The One Trick Rip-Off + Deep Cuts by Paul Pope. If you’ve never read any of Pope’s work, the newly released, hardcover anthology The One Trick Rip-Off + Deep Cuts is a fantastic introduction. It collects his longer work The One Trick Rip-Off (originally published by but now out of print from Dark Horse) as well as fourteen shorter comics, including the manga and manga-influenced work he created for Kodansha in Japan. The collection exhibits a nice variety of styles and genres from the more realistic to the more fantastical. The selected works span nearly a decade of Pope’s career. There is an appealing quirkiness to many of Pope’s characters and stories. At other times there is a sense of poetic lyricism. I loved The One Trick Rip-Off + Deep Cuts; it’s a marvelous volume.

Rurouni Kenshin, Omnibus 6 (equivalent to Volumes 16-18) by Nobuhiro Watsuki. This omnibus sees the conclusion of the lengthy Kyoto arc of Rurouni Kenshin as well as its aftermath. The duels between Kenshin and his allies and Shishio and his faction continue, ultimately ending in a violent showdown against Shishio himself. Some of the duelists’ techniques and powers are over-the-top and logically ridiculous, but they do make for some exciting and dramatic fights. I particularly liked how Watsuki was able to end the conflict with Shishio in such a way that Kenshin was still able to remain true to his vow. Kenshin and the others may have dealt with the immediate threat, but they haven’t made it through unscathed.

Tenjo Tenge, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-2) by Oh!Great. Tenjo Tenge was originally published by CMX manga in a heavily edited version which was never released in its entirety. However, the license was rescued by Viz Media and released in a non-censored, “full contact” edition. The manga is certainly deserving of its mature rating: Tenjo Tenge is violent and has plenty of fanservice. I’ve been told Tenjo Tenge gets better as it progresses, but right now neither the characters nor plot interests me enough for me to continue with the series. There were some really nice fighting bits, and legitimate martial arts philosophy and strategy were worked into the story, too, which I liked. There was also a hint of the supernatural. Even so, Tenjo Tenge didn’t really grab me.

Filed Under: My Week in Manga Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
15 October 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: October 8-October 14, 2012

My News and Reviews

Two in-depth reviews for you all this past week, one for manga and one not. First up was my review of Yukio Mishima’s breakthrough, semi-autobiographical novel Confessions of a Mask. More than six decades after it was first published, it’s still a potent work. In some ways, it reminded me a bit of Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human. The second review was for Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal, Volume 14: Last Blood, which is part of my Blade of the Immortal review project. Last Blood marks the end of one major story arc and the beginning of another. I’m still loving the series.

I’ve previously mentioned the Manga Out Loud podcast several times here at Experiments in Manga. The latest episode, which features a fantastic conversation about Osamu Tezuka’s Barbara with some big names in manga scholarship, will also be Manga Out Loud’s final episode. It’s my favorite manga podcast, so it saddens me greatly that the program is ending. Manga Out Loud was a fabulous show and the archives are well worth listening to even if there won’t be any new episodes added.

Both the New York Comic Con and Yaoi-Con took place over the weekend. Being stuck in the Midwest, I wasn’t able to attend either convention, but I was very excited about some of the manga license announcements to come out of the events. At NYCC, Kodansha Comics announced it will begin releasing Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga in October 2013. I’ve wanted Vinland Saga to be licensed for years, so I’m thrilled that it will finally be making its way into print in English. JManga has licensed Aoi Hana by Takako Shimura, the creator of Wandering Son. I’m glad to see a digital release of Aoi Hana, but also a little sad since it means it’ll probably be less likely to be picked up for a print license now. Vertical also had some great licenses to announce at NYCC: Osamu Tezuka’s Twin Knight (the sequel to Princess Knight) and Kyoko Okazaki’s Helter Skelter.

Over on the other coast at Yaoi-Con, Viz Media’s boys’ love imprint Sublime had a slew of new licenses to announce, including a license rescue. I’m particularly excited to see more manga by Yaya Sakuragi and a series by Kano Miyamoto scheduled for 2013. And the license rescue? I had most of my bets on Youka Nitta’s Embracing Love and was delighted to be proven correct. Plans are to release the series in two-volume omnibuses beginning April 2013. I already own the five volumes of Embracing Love that were originally released in English by Central Park Media, but I’ll happily be double-dipping for this series.

Quick Takes

5 Centimeters Per Second written by Makoto Shinkai and illustrated by Yukiko Seike. I tend to avoid most anime-to-manga adaptations since they often leave something to be desired. But after watching 5 Centimeters Per Second film, which I loved, I wanted to spend more time with the story. I’m glad I gave the manga a try because it’s a beautiful work. Seike’s art is lovely and conveys the characters’ feelings well. This is particularly important since pages and pages may pass without any dialogue at all. 5 Centimeters Per Second is a quiet and melancholy work—love and loneliness are closely tied together. The manga is a marvelous adaptation as well as being a wonderful work in its own right.

Berserk, Volume 36 by Kentaro Miura. Berserk is one of my favorite series and so I’m always excited when a new volume is released. I do prefer the earlier story arcs over the more recent ones, but I still love the series. Guts and his companions continue to be pursued by demonic powers. The pirate captain Bonebeard, who is no longer human, won’t let them be and he’s got plenty of monsters in tow. Monsters and demons aren’t the only things that Guts is battling against. His berserker armor, even when it can be held in check, takes a tremendous toll on him. The artwork in Berserk is great and Miura has a talent for creating creepy monster designs. The fights, which are rather chaotic, are engaging even if they can be a little difficult to follow at times.

Cardcaptor Sakura, Omnibus 4 by CLAMP. I’ve been looking forward to the release of the final omnibus of Cardcaptor Sakura a great deal. Despite the adorably sweet characters, there’s actually a significant amount of tragedy, sadness, and sacrifice in the series. But, much like Sakura’s mantra “I’m sure everything will be all right,” I ultimately find the series to be comforting. In the end, even though there is plenty that has been lost, love and friendship do win out. It’s not entirely unexpected since it’s been one of the manga’s strongest themes from the very beginning, but it does make me happy. I like the emphasis that is placed on the concept of love and how it isn’t limited to a single interpretation of what love is.

Girl Friends, Omnibus 1 by Milk Morinaga. Mari is a shy bookworm who is befriended by the more outgoing Akko. Suddenly, Mari has not one but an entire group of girl friends to hang out with. Slowly, Mari comes to realize that Akko means much more to her than just a friend, or even a best friend. So far, Girl Friends is a very realistic portrayal of young love. Mari trying to come to terms with her developing feelings for Akko is particularly well done. I honestly care about all of the characters in Girl Friends, not just Mari and Akko, but their friends (and boyfriends), too. I do worry about them; I want everything to work out well for all of them and I want them all to find happiness. I’m really looking forward to finishing the series.

Gin Tama, Collections 3-4 (Episodes 27-49) directed by Shinji Takamatsu. I still get a huge kick out of Gin Tama. It’s definitely not a series for everyone; some of the comedy can be pretty stupid at times. The episodes can be a little hit-or-miss for me, but even the episodes that are only okay manage to make me laugh. And the episodes that actually click with me I find to be absolutely hilarious. Take the final episode in the first season—the game of strip mahjong was so epic, I was almost in tears. There’s a ton of Japanese history and pop culture references and parodies in Gin Tama. The more of these you can catch, the funnier the show is. I do pretty well, but I know that there’s plenty I’m missing out on.

Filed Under: My Week in Manga Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page