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27 September 2013 Leave a Comment

Library Love, Part 17

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Arisa5Arisa, Volumes 5-7 by Natsumi Ando. As ridiculous and unbelievable as Arisa can be, I’ll have to admit that I actually am rather enjoying the series. The number of plot twists that Ando works into the manga is astounding. I know that they’re coming, but I have no idea where Arisa is going. I’ve learned not to stress out about it and just sit back and enjoy the absurdity as it develops. However, I can’t help but wonder where all the adults are in all of this. Occasionally a teacher, parent, or guardian is seen, but none of them seem very involved in the students’ lives at all. But then again, that might be part of the point of the series. The students in class 2-B have issues (they have a lot of issues) and King Time began in part because their needs and concerns weren’t being addressed elsewhere. More and more of their secrets are being revealed, but I’m not sure we’re any closer to actually learning who the King really is. Arisa continues along its dark and twisted path and I can’t help but be oddly mesmerized by the whole thing.

Cowa!Cowa! by Akira Toriyama. Cowa! had completely slipped under my radar until just recently. It’s a shame that I didn’t read it sooner because it is a terrific and highly enjoyable manga appropriate for kids as well as adults. The first few chapters are fairly episodic and start out with Paifu, a young half-vampire/half-werekoala, and his best friend and ghost José Rodriguez getting into all sorts of trouble. But then the manga develops a continuing story—Paifu’s hometown of Batwing Ridge is suffering from an epidemic of the Monster Flu. It’s up to Paifu, José, their not exactly friend Apron, and Maruyama, a grumpy ex-sumo wrestler, to save the day. Together they travel in search of the cure and it ends up becoming quite an adventure. There’s action and danger, bad guys and monsters. The interactions between Maruyama and the youngsters are simply marvelous. The manga is a lot of fun and funny, too. It may be silly at times, but it’s also heartwarming and has a good message. Cowa! is an absolute delight and definitely worth a look.

Slam Dunk, Volume 7Slam Dunk, Volumes 7-10 by Takehiko Inoue. I am a huge fan of Inoue’s manga. While Slam Dunk isn’t my favorite of his series, I still find it to be a great manga. Slam Dunk was Inoue’s breakthrough work and is immensely popular and influential. The basketball games in Slam Dunk are extremely well done, but so far what appeals most to me about the series is the characters. I particularly enjoy all of the delinquents that show up in the series and on Shohoku’s basketball team. The guys are just as capable in a fist fight as they are on the court. Granted, Sakuragi still has a lot to learn about basketball. He has some natural ability and potential, but I’m not sure anyone has actually taken the time to explain all the rules to him. Realistically, this is somewhat unbelievable, but it does provide a certain amount of humor. In general, Slam Dunk is much more comedic than Inoue’s other manga available in English. However, there’s still some seriousness and plenty of heartfelt passion in the series, too.

Time LagTime Lag written by Shinobu Gotoh and illustrated by Hotaru Odagiri. I didn’t realize it at first, but Odagiri is also the artist for Only the Ring Finger Knows, which I quite enjoyed. Time Lag is a slightly older work, and not quite as memorable, but still enjoyable and rather sweet. Satoru and Shirou used to be very close growing up, but after junior high they’ve grown apart despite Satoru repeatedly professing his love for the other young man. Satoru can’t seem to figure out what went wrong, but when a letter from Shirou arrives three years late he may have one last chance at setting things right. However, complicating matters even further is a love-triangle involving Seichii, another classmate. Plots that revolve around a giant misunderstanding often annoy me, but in the case of Time Lag I think it was handled very well. Some of the smaller misunderstandings were still frustrating, though. Granted, those deliberately created by Seichii and his jealousy make a fair amount of sense in the context of the story and the resulting drama is understandable.

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7 June 2013 Leave a Comment

Library Love, Part 15

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Ju-On: Video Side by Miki Rinno. I haven’t actually seen any of the the films in Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On franchise, but I believe that Ju-On: Video Side is an adaptation of the first direct-to-video Ju-On movie, also known as The Curse. The manga opens with a woman being murdered by her husband as their young son looks on. Because of the violence and deaths associated with the house, the property is difficult to sell. Despite being warned against it, the Murakami family moves in. Their lives are quickly consumed by horrifying incidents and bizarre accidents. Anyone even remotely connected to the household is at risk as the vengeful spirits take out their anger on the living.

Nana, Volumes 9-12 by Ai Yazawa. I continue to be impressed by Yazawa’s Nana. I have a feeling that this will be a series that I end up buying to have a copy of my own. It’s just that good. The characterization in Nana is phenomenal. As the series progresses, the characters continue to evolve and grow. They are all multi-layered and their relationships are complex. While the interpersonal drama is still extraordinarily important in Nana, these particular volumes start to focus on Trapnest and Black Stones as bands a bit more. The two groups and their members are revealed to be very closely linked. Complicating matters further, they’re harassed by paparazzi. Their careers get in the way of love and romance as they lose some control over their own lives to their music labels.

The Nao of Brown by Glyn Dillon. I was happy to discover that all the praise The Nao of Brown has received was well-deserved: Dillon’s artwork is gorgeous and the storytelling is mature. Nao Brown is half-Japanese and half-English, living in London with Purely Obsessional OCD. She is plagued by violent thoughts and is afraid that one day she actually will hurt someone, which makes leading a normal life and developing healthy relationships with other people difficult. But then she meets Gregory, a burly washing machine repairman who reminds her of one of her favorite anime characters. The two of them hit it off pretty well, but not without some problems.

Slam Dunk, Volumes 3-6 by Takehiko Inoue. I am much more familiar with Inoue’s later seinen works Vagabond and Real than I am with Slam Dunk, his immensely popular breakthrough series. Although there are some similar themes to be found in all three series, Slam Dunk is more obviously humorous than the other two. It’s great fun. I’m very fond of Hanamichi as a protagonist. He’s a sort of delinquent with a heart of gold. Actually, the delinquent aspects and Hanamichi’s gang are some of my favorite parts of Slam Dunk. Of course, the basketball is good, too, and really the focus of the series. By this point, Hanamichi finally gets the chance to play in a real game. Even though he’s still a new player and makes plenty of mistakes, he also shows an impressive amount of potential.

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24 December 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: December 17-December 23, 2012

My News and Reviews

It’s the holiday season and I’m doing all sorts of traveling, but I did manage to post two reviews last week. The first was for the historical novel An Alaskan Tale by Jirō Nitta. Only three of Nitta’s novels have been translated into English; An Alaskan Tale was the first to be published, but I ended up reading it last. An Alaskan Tale, based on a true story, is about the life and adventures of Frank Yasuda, a Japanese in Alaska in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I also reviewed MiSun Kim’s yonkoma-ish manhwa Aron’s Absurd Armada, Omnibus 1. I was actually surprised by how much I ended up enjoying the volume, and look forward to the next omnibus, scheduled to be released June 2013. Later this week, December 26 to be exact, the Hikaru no Go Manga Moveable Feast will begin! I’ll be reviewing the first volume of Hikaru no Go as part of my contribution. I’ll probably also be using the Feast as an excuse to talk about mahjong in manga again (having previously written about Mahjong, Kubota, and Wild Adapter.) The 26th is also the last day of Akadot Retail‘s End of the World Blowout. This is the best sale I’ve ever seen on Akadot: 45% off of orders of $60 or more, which also qualifies you for free shipping if you live in the United States. Simply use the code xmas2012 at checkout. Last year I posted Finding Manga: Akadot Retail which has some tips about finding and buying manga through Akadot.

Quick Takes

The Crimson Spell, Volumes 1-2 by Ayano Yamane. There don’t seem to be many fantasy-oriented boys’ love manga available in English. The Crimson Spell is one of the few that I have read. It was also my introduction to the work of Ayano Yamane. Even though only two of the four volumes were ever released in English, The Crimson Spell is my personal favorite Yamane manga. I enjoy the fantasy setting, Yamane’s beautiful artwork, the drama and sword fights, the outlandish characters, and the healthy dose of humor that the series incorporates. I also like that sexual energy is tied so closely to magical energy, which ends up being a perfect excuse to include plenty of explicit sex scenes.

Genshiken, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-3) by Shimoku Kio. I missed out on Genshiken when it was being released by Del Rey Manga, and so was excited to get a chance to read it when Kodansha began releasing the omnibus editions. Genshiken is probably best described as an otaku slice-of-life comedy. Kanji Sasahara is a university freshmen who has never had the confidence to pursue his interests until he joins a club filled with other otaku who act as his guide to the wonderful world of fandom. Genshiken covers a lot of ground: dōjinshi, Comiket, cosplay, models, video games (including porn games), and more. While I wasn’t blow away by the first Genshiken omnibus, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters. I look forward to reading more of the series.

Here Is Greenwood, Volumes 6-9 by Yukie Nasu. I really enjoyed Here Is Greenwood. I wouldn’t call it a spectacular manga, but I’m glad that I read the series. I was consistently entertained by its offbeat characters and goofy humor. Here Is Greenwood is a funny and even heartwarming series. I like the guys of the Greenwood dormitory quite a bit. The manga is mostly episodic, but these last few volumes introduce an overarching background story and love interest for the series’ main protagonist Hasukawa. Not surprisingly, he has even more to be stressed out about now than when the series first started. And though he’s able to begin to stand up for himself, he still has pranks pulled on him on a fairly regular basis.

X, Omnibus 4 (equivalent to Volumes 9-12) by CLAMP. For me, X is a series that’s so bad it’s good. I have to admit that I love the manga in all its melodramatic glory, but it really is a ridiculous series. Not ridiculous as in funny, but in how incredibly over-the-top it is. The cast of characters is huge and more and more characters continue to be introduced. None of the characters are particularly well-developed, but I do like them. The plot is a mess and doesn’t always make a lot of sense despite the fact that what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen is constantly being rehashed. Because of this, the story doesn’t go anywhere fast. But I still find the series to be engaging. I like the omnibus releases of X. I don’t think I’d have as much patience with the single volumes.

Slam Dunk, Episodes 24-38 directed by Nobutaka Nishizawa. At this point, I’ve seen more of the Slam Dunk anime than I’ve read of Takehiko Inoue’s original manga, so I can’t really compare the two. I’m still enjoying the anime, though. Basketball is the main focus of the series, but I’m glad to see that all of the delinquents are still getting some screen time. (Mito is probably my favorite character in the entire series.) The basketball team has a fair number of delinquents on it, too, including the series’ lead Sakuragi. Except for his enthusiasm and comic relief, I’m not entirely sure what purpose he serves on the team yet, but I am very fond of him as a character.

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1 October 2012 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: September 24-September 30, 2012

My News and Reviews

Since it is the end of one month and the beginning of another, the most recent manga giveaway has been posted. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter for a chance to win the first volume of Mayu Shinjo’s Ai Ore!, Volume 1 as published by Viz Media. The most recent Library Love feature was also posted. Basically, it’s a bunch of quick takes of manga that I borrowed from my library.

Also posted last week was my review of Elements of Manga Style by João Henrique Lopes, a Brazilian artist. Lopes was kind enough to send me a copy of the book for review. I found the subject matter to be fascinating and now want to read more about the theory and design of comics and manga.

Finally, there’s one item of news that I want to mention: Hiroaki Samura’s manga Blade of the Immortal is coming to an end. He’s been working on the series for nineteen years. The English release of Blade of the Immortal (which I am slowly reviewing) is still several volumes behind the Japanese release, but the end is drawing near.

Quick Takes

Barbara by Osamu Tezuka. Barbara is a very odd manga, but I’m not convinced that Tezuka was deliberately trying to be strange; I think it just happened to turn out that way. The manga focuses on Yosuke Mikura, a novelist, who happens across Barbara, a young woman and a drunk destined to become his muse. It is reveled early on that Mikura isn’t a particularly reliable narrator, so there’s always a question of how much of Barbara is the truth and how much of it is his delusions. For me, this was the most fascinating aspect of the manga. The final “twist” to the story was heavily foreshadowed and therefore wasn’t at all surprising, but even though it was completely predictable I did like the ending.

Maka-Maka, Volumes 1-2 by Torajiro Kishi. I haven’t read much explicit, adult-oriented yuri manga, but in my limited experience Maka-Maka is one of the best out there. It’s also completely in color. Each chapter is only about eight pages long and centers around a moment in the lives of Jun and Nene. The two young women are best friends and in Maka-Maka are shown to be almost constantly in each others arms, teasing, fondling, and having sex with each other. Maka-Maka is very voyeuristic but not at all sleazy. It is abundantly clear that Jun and Nene enjoy being with each other. There’s a lot of giggling involved and they are incredibly affectionate. Both Jun and Nene have boyfriends, but their relationship with each other is incredibly important.

Makeshift Miracle, Book 1: The Girl from Nowhere written by Jim Zub and illustrated by Shun Hong Chan. Makeshift Miracle originally started as a webcomic written and illustrated entirely by Zub. The present incarnation has been rewritten and Chan has been brought in to handle the art. So far, the most striking thing about Makeshift Miracle is its gorgeous artwork. The color work in particular is beautiful and dreamy. Plot-wise, not much has happened yet, the first book mostly serves to set the mood and scenario, but I find myself intrigued. I’m particularly curious about and amused by Esurio. Current plans are for the next volume to be released in 2013. I’ll certainly be keeping my eye out for it.

Otomen, Volumes 6-10 by Aya Kanno. I am still really enjoying this series. Even though it has a serious and honest message, Otomen is frequently silly and even ridiculous. But that’s what makes it such a delightfully fun series for me. That and Asuka is absolutely adorable when he blushes, which is often. The characters face trials and tribulations, but for the most part Otomen is a fluffy, feel-good manga. Granted, the characters aren’t particularly complex or deep, but I do like them. Which is good, because more and more characters keep being introduced. Technically, Otomen is a romantic comedy so supposedly there’s an overarching story dealing with the romance between Asuka and Ryo, but that particular plot point is going nowhere fast.

Rurouni Kenshin, Omnibus 4 (equivalent to Volumes 10-12) by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The long Kyoto arc continues! I find that I generally prefer the longer more involved stories in Rurouni Kenshin over the shorter ones. This particular arc has taken a few detours along the way, but I’m glad to see that the main cast has finally been reunited. As much as I like Kenshin as a character, I think the manga works best when his “family” is around him. I was pleased to see more of Kenshin’s past and background revealed in this omnibus, specifically his younger years before he became the skilled swordsman that he now is. As part of this, the master swordsman he was raised by and studied under is also introduced, which was nice to see.

Slam Dunk, Episodes 1-23 directed by Nobutaka Nishizawa. I haven’t read much of Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk manga yet, preferring his more serious works, but I was still excited to discover that the anime adaptation of the series was available in English. I’m not quite a quarter of the way through the anime and there’s only been one real basketball game so far, which surprised me. I was particularly impressed that almost an entire episode was able to devote itself to a single minute of game time without losing my interest or feeling too drawn out. While the comedic elements are definitely still there, it seems like Slam Dunk is becoming more dramatic and serious as the series progresses. I’m looking forward to watching more.

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25 June 2012 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: June 18-June 24, 2012

My News and Reviews

I posted two reviews last week, neither of which have anything to do with manga whatsoever. As I’ve mentioned before in passing, I study traditional Okinawan karate kobudō. Because of this I was interested in learning more about Okinawan history. George H. Kerr’s study Okinawa: The History of an Island People was exactly what I was looking for. It is the first and one of the only comprehensive histories of Okinawa available in English. My second review was for Todd Shimoda’s novel Subduction with artwork by his wife L. J. C. Shimoda. The illustrations and overall design of the book were some of my favorite parts of the novel.

Digital Manga has launched their latest Kickstarter project. The company hopes to publish Osamu Tezuka’s Unico in English and in full color. The project already has a ton of support and I’m expecting it to be successful. Plus, if the project meets it’s goal quickly, Digital Manga will announce yet another Tezuka manga to be licensed. As much as I love seeing Tezuka available in English, I hope that Digital Manga will consider other titles to fund through Kickstarter, too. Another project I’d like to draw your attention to is for Laurianne Uy’s Polterguys, Volume 1, a fun manga-inspired comic. You can learn more about Laurianne and read Polterguys at her website Laurbits.com.

This week is the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast! Anna and Michelle, the co-hosts for this month’s Feast, have a nice kickoff post. Below, I have a quick take for the first couple of volumes of Inoue’s series Slam Dunk. I previously reviewed the first Vagabond omnibus and later this week I’ll be reviewing the second. Buried in some of my past Library Love posts, I have a couple of quick thoughts on Real, which is probably my favorite series by Inoue. Happy Feasting, everyone!

Quick Takes

Calling by Miu Otsuki. Calling was a really nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting much out of the manga, but it turned out to be an excellent boys’ love one shot. One of the best things about Calling is that Otsuki avoids many of the unfortunate and often used tropes of the genre, especially those dealing with rape. When Kazuaki tells Kira to stop, Kira stops. (Seriously, consent is hot.) The story is much better for it, too. The men’s relationship deepens and matures more naturally than it would have otherwise. The two obviously care for each other and make for a very affectionate couple. There are conflicts and misunderstandings in Calling, but it is a very sweet manga with well-developed characters.

Sanctuary, Volumes 1-4 written by Sho Fumimura (Buronson) and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. Akira Hojo and Chiaki Asami are two ambitious young men who are determined to transform Japan together, Hojo working through the underground and Asami working through the political system. Their struggle to rise to power is fraught with challenges as they confront corruption and very real danger. They have literally put their lives on the line to reach their goal. Sanctuary is thrilling. Hojo and Asami advance only to be pushed back again. They just barely manage to hang on to control of the situation. One wrong move and all of their efforts will come to nothing. This series is fantastic and I’m really looking forward to reading the rest.

Slam Dunk, Volumes 1-2 by Takehiko Inoue. Slam Dunk was the first of Inoue’s manga to be translated into English. Initially published by Raijin Comics, the license was later rescued Viz Media. Slam Dunk was Inoue’s breakthrough manga. The story follows Hanamichi Sakuragi, a big guy and high school delinquent who joins the basketball team in order to win the affection of a girl. Except, he doesn’t really know much about basketball. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how funny the series is. It was also interesting to see Inoue’s earlier, more simple (but still dynamic) style of drawing. Although I don’t feel compelled to rush out to find out what happens next, I enjoyed these first two volumes and would like to read more.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Episodes 14-26 directed by Kenji Kamiyama. It’s been a while since I’ve watched any Stand Alone Complex, but because so many of the episodes stand on their own, I found myself falling back into the series fairly easily. Unfortunately, some of those episodes can be rather tedious; although there’s some good world building, there’s a lot of talk and not much action. I would find my attention wandering, making it difficult to follow some of the political machinations that become important later on. But when the series actually gets around to kicking into gear, it’s great. The animation quality is excellent, too. And I’m never going to complain about a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno.

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