Time Stranger Kyoko 1 by Arina Tanemura: B-

July 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been invited to contribute reviews to the Manga Recon section of PopCultureShock. This is my first review for them, and it was originally published here. Carlos Santos from ANN has also written a review of this title, and brings up some points left out of mine, so you may want to check his out, as well.

It’s the 30th century and all of the nations of Earth have united to form a single kingdom. The treasure of the people is their princess, Kyoko, but she’d rather attend school like a normal girl than fulfill any of her royal obligations. Her sixteenth birthday is approaching, however, and along with it the celebration at which Kyoko must finally appear before her subjects, putting an end to her incognito scholastic career.

Kyoko resigns herself to her fate, but her father offers her an alternative—if she can awaken her younger twin sister, who has been asleep since birth, and turn princess duties over to her, Kyoko can have her freedom. To do this, she must locate twelve godstones scattered around the planet and the twelve telepaths who can use them. When gathered, they can set into motion the giant clock upon which Princess Ui sleeps and use its power to awaken her.

I was pretty put off initially by the notion that Ui was to be awoken for the sole purpose of foisting princess duties upon her. Even though Kyoko intends to give her sister a choice in the matter, it’s still a thoroughly selfish aim. Quickly, though, Kyoko ends up revealing her identity anyway (to thwart a band of thieves who’re menacing her schoolmates) and her goal becomes simply meeting her sister.

Adventure ensues, with Kyoko gradually acquiring more powers and, eventually, locating the first of the telepaths. She’s often tempted to use her powers for selfish reasons, but usually ends up helping others in the end. Other hobbies include requiring rescue by her bodyguards and behaving irrationally.

There are some comedic elements to the story, though not all of them are a success. I giggled at the instructions for the issuance of a royal greeting (step 5: gesture flamboyantly!) and I like that Kyoko’s magic cane has a personality and dialogue, but I can’t stand the character of Chocola. She’s the King’s cat android pet, and I reckon I’m supposed to find her unbearably cute, but instead she just creeps me out.

As usual, Tanemura’s artwork features big eyes, lots of screentone, and a plethora of flowers. I was a little disappointed that she didn’t avail herself of the opportunity to draw the kirito—humans whose DNA has been combined with that of plants or animals—in a new and different style. Mostly, they just get things like pink hair or gold eyes. Kyoko herself has pointy ears, but no one has commented on them thus far, so I’m not sure if she’s supposed to a hybrid or not.

While I didn’t love this volume, I didn’t absolutely hate it, either. It’s true that neither the story nor the characters particularly engage me, but because the series is only three volumes long, it’s really not that much of a commitment to see it through to the end. I expect that I will do so.

As a final thought, I leave you with a topic: Arina Tanemura is the manga equivalent of Meg Cabot. Discuss.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

Fruits Basket 20 by Natsuki Takaya: A

July 4, 2008 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
Kagura and Kazuma hotly discuss Tohru liking Kyou. With Kagura’s forceful encouragement, will Tohru be able to muster up the courage to tell Kyou how she feels? Meanwhile, Ren is determined to get her hands on Akito’s mystery box—even if it means killing for it!

Review:
I got a pleasant surprise on Wednesday when I discovered this had been released on the 1st! For some reason, I still had it on my Excel spreadsheet o’ releases (yes, I totally have one) for the 15th.

This volume started and ended with chapters about Tohru and Kyou—in the first she realized she loved him and in the last he began to tell her why he thinks she really shouldn’t. It was powerful stuff, and it was a little weird seeing Kyou look so very upset. I think I’d read the summaries for these chapters as they were originally released, but hadn’t seen the corresponding images until now.

The bulk of the volume, however, was devoted to Akito. Akito’s childhood was revealed, along with a lifelong fear of being left out, left behind. There are many subplots to Fruits Basket, and I guess the one about Akito’s family isn’t one I’m terribly interested in, because while these chapters were good, the best parts about them were when two members of the Zodiac were suddenly released from their curses! Their sudden loneliness at no longer being connected to the others was very affecting and I loved Momiji’s chapter. It felt like we’re starting to get closure for some of the secondary characters’ stories.

Akito kind of lost it near the end of the volume, leading to a fairly giant cliffhanger. I can’t tell if it doesn’t feel as menacing as past acts of violence (despite Akito being more unhinged than ever before) because I actually have sympathy for Akito or because I know how things are going to play out. Probably a little of both.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ve no need to tell anyone to read this series. It just so happens that in addition to being popular it’s also incredibly well-crafted.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Basara 27 by Yumi Tamura: B+

May 20, 2008 by 4 Comments

From the back cover:
In this special collection of side stories, join Sarasa and Shuri after the war, as they rebuild Japan and travel the world together. In the distant Huang Empire, Sarasa is infected with a fatal disease—but will Shuri betray the Huang Emperor to save her? And when the new Japanese government is beset with turmoil, it’s up to two children to convince a reclusive hermit named Hayato to lead his country.

Finally, Yumi Tamura offers a glimpse of life before the apocalypse… before the ruined world Sarasa knows… before the beginning of Basara!

Review:
What I like about how Tamura envisioned these appendices is that they feel like natural extentions of the main story. She didn’t have to manufacture some conflict for Shuri and Sarasa that was insulting to them, like inserting some new vixen who’s a threat to their relationship. Instead, it’s a story about guilt and atonement, adjusting to the needs of another person, and making amends by doing something with one’s life.

The tale with Hayato also isn’t useless fluff, since he’s dealing with anger towards Tatara who seemingly deserted them all and whose absence led to the creation of a government that didn’t fit the revolutionaries’ ideals. Shuri and Sarasa’s kids make an appearance, and they’re cute enough, but the best is Motomichi, all growed up and looking incredibly like his dad. I especially like the panels where Hayato looks into the young man’s eyes and thinks “I killed your father.”

The rest of the stories are really, really short and don’t contribute a great deal to my enjoyment of the book either way. The last one, though brief, does end on a good note for the series, however.

Now Basara is really over. Sniff.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Gender Hijinks, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE 17 by CLAMP: A-

May 18, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Book description:
One of the travelers is about to die, and the only way to keep that from happening is to make a deal with Yuuko the witch. The price has lasting repercussions for the others—one must be responsible for the saved life while another is sent out into the inhospitable ruins of Tokyo on a quest… alone.

Review:
It’s not a surprise that when CLAMP does shounen, they don’t do it like everyone else. In most shounen series I’ve read, characters aren’t allowed to undergo such fundamental changes as have occurred in these last couple of volumes of Tsubasa. There’s also lots of rather subtle character growth and interaction, too, especially between Fai and Kurogane. I love every scene where these two are together—okay, part of it may be “squee, they’re so in love!” but there’s a lot more to it than that. Fai’s struggle to stay remote and unconnected is particularly fascinating to me.

There’s not a whole lot of focus on what’s going on with Syaoran, since there were more immediate things to deal with, like wishes and their prices. Sakura, however, gets a lot of attention. Upset by how often people are getting hurt on her account, she decides to pay the price of one of the wishes on her own, and exhibits some surprising toughness. I’m a little unsure of where this grit came from, honestly, but the chapters focusing on her quest are pretty neat. I’m impressed by how well the story was conveyed in a 99% nonverbal fashion.

The ending is super sweet, and ties back in to Fai’s issues in an understated way. Again, I urge people not to judge this series based on its early volumes—I think it’s starting to become one of my favorites by CLAMP.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe: B

April 26, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Book description:
Young Wataru Mitani’s life is a mess. His father has abandoned him, and his mother has been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Desperately he searches for some way to change his life—a way to alter his fate.

To achieve his goal, he must navigate the magical world of Vision, a land filled with creatures both fierce and friendly. And to complicate matters, he must outwit a merciless rival from the real world.

Wataru’s ultimate destination is the Tower of Destiny where a goddess of fate awaits. Only when he has finished his journey and collected five elusive gemstones will he possess the Demon’s Bane—the key that will unlock the future.

Charity, bravery, faith, grace, and the power of darkness and light: these are the provinces of each gemstone. Brought together, they have the immeasurable power to bring Wataru’s family back together again.

Review:
It took me ages to finish Brave Story. Sure, it’s quite long, but the real issue is the occasionally aimless nature of the story. Ostensibly, this is the tale of a boy who ventures into a fantastic land to change his destiny. This venturing doesn’t occur until page 226. Before that we get the rambling tale of Wataru’s family and how his dad wants a divorce because he’s fallen in love with another woman. It’s not irrelevant stuff, but it’s told in a rather disorganized fashion. Editing would’ve helped a great deal.

Once Wataru enters Vision, the story picks up a bit, but it never fully escapes its meandering ways. The fantasy elements are interesting, and I’m always fond of political struggles in fantasy novels, but the characters are pretty flat. They can all be summed up in one or two words. There’s Kee Keema, a big lizardy guy, who’s friendly and devout. Meena, the cat-girl, who’s friendly and agile. Kutz, the Highlander (kind of a cop), who’s tough and buxom. They really never develop beyond these roles.

There are also some loose ends. At the beginning of the story, Wataru and his mom keep receiving phone calls where nobody speaks. I’m guessing the “other woman” is the culprit, but the mystery is never resolved. Another time, Wataru is given a task by someone, goes off to perform it, does something bad instead, and doesn’t return to the town. Wouldn’t that person wonder where he’d gone, go to check on him, find out what he’d done, and issue some kind of search?

Lastly, the book has some kind of strange soporific power, as I dozed off while reading it on at least five separate occasions.

For all these faults, though, it really isn’t bad. It’s kind of like a shounen anime, where some of the episodes are rather pointless filler, but it eventually pays off with something cool. I’m just not sure I’d recommend for someone else to slog through 816 pages for that sort of experience.

Filed Under: Books, Fantasy, YA Tagged With:

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE 16 by CLAMP: A+

March 25, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
The five dimension-hopping travelers have stuck together through all sorts of worlds and all kinds of harrowing adventures. But when the group enters the ruined city of Tokyo, two powerful fugitives set in motion a disastrous chain of events that may cause their tight-knit friendship to unravel. Syaoran’s mysterious past is finally revealed, and a tumultuous battle leaves one of the friends near death, while another becomes an enemy after a shocking act of betrayal. Don’t miss this pivotal volume in the Tsubasa saga!

Review:
Holy crap! Now that’s what I call major payoff! It took quite a long time, but wow! In retrospect, maybe all that lag time was necessary to make the events in these chapters even more shocking by contrast. This was easily the most suspenseful volume of manga I’ve read in ages.

In addition to all the stuff in the blurb above, which was incredibly awesome, there was also movement on a couple of subplots—namely the twin vampires that Seishirou is after and Kurogane’s quest for revenge against the person responsible for killing his mother. These chapters were very, very creepy and every bit as dark as something like Tokyo Babylon or X.

I am really glad that I didn’t give up on this series. If, like me, your interest waned around volume 10, I urge you not to give up on Tsubasa. It’s volumes like this that really show what masterful storytellers CLAMP are. Now if only they could get over their thing with eyes…

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE 15 by CLAMP: B+

March 24, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Kurogane, Syaoran, Fai, Mokona, and Princess Sakura have come upon a desert of shifting sands and ruined skyscrapers. This postapocalyptic nightmare is all that remains of the booming metropolis that was Tokyo, and the survivors are battling for the few life-giving resources left in the world. As the five dimension travelers search for another piece of the princess’s lost memories, they will all be tested to their limits in ways they never expected!

Review:
When did I start to like Kurogane so much? It’s crept up on me unawares. My favorite thing about him is how observant he is. It was Kurogane who, a few volumes back, knew something was up with Tomoyo and her Dragonfly Race. It’s been he who’s noticed Syaoran’s shifts in personality, and it’s he who initiates a fascinating conversation with Fai in this volume about how the latter has been keeping his distance while wearing a “constant grin.” What I love is that no one ever cried, “Gee, Kurogane! You sure are observant!” Instead, the character trait is portrayed with subtle consistency, and I really like that.

There’s a lot to like plot-wise in this volume, too. The gang from X is almost all here, but with some differences. The groups that Kamui and Fuuma lead are reversed from how they were in the X manga, and Subaru and Seishirou are missing. All of Tokyo is battling over water—a precious resource in this country—and it’s a pretty interesting landscape for our leads to be thrust into. More importantly, there is a major development concerning the villain’s plans that also seems like it might shed light on Syaoran’s mysterious origins.

Every time I resume reading this series I realize anew how entertaining it can be. Some chapters are uneventful, and I find it hard to care very much about Syaoran and Sakura, but I really adore Fai and Kurogane and anything that pertains to them.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Fruits Basket 19 by Natsuki Takaya: A

March 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
As the Fruits Basket saga continues, the relationship between Tohru and Kyou becomes increasingly complicated, especially since most of the members of the Zodiac seem to look down on him. Tohru comes to the realization that if she wants to save Kyou, she’ll have to create some sort of trigger to break his curse. But what, if anything, can cure Kyou?

Review:
There was a lot going on in this volume, with quite a lot of the cast making an appearance. Many plot points were advanced nicely, including some I’d forgotten about.

The most important things, though, centered primarily on Shigure. I swear, he’s probably the single most fascinating character I’ve ever encountered in manga. I especially loved his conversation with Hatori where the latter was chiding him for saying cruel things to Akito and urging him to be kind instead. Shigure essentially said he wasn’t going to coddle Akito in a paternal way, and it seemed his intentions are to force Akito to cease wallowing in despair and step forward to meet him.

He also had a gripping scene with Tohru where he essentially said that all of the Jyuunishi look down on Kyou in their heart of hearts, and that they accept his imprisonment as his duty. The notion definitely stuck with and disturbed her later when some of the younger Sohma were gathered at the house. It seemed that he wasn’t quite right about their opinions, though, so I have to wonder what his intent was there.

Toss in a nice long chapter featuring Ayame and some genuine progress with Kyou and Tohru, and I am a happy reader indeed. Not so happy, however, when I contemplate waiting until July for the next installment.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Fruits Basket 18 by Natsuki Takaya: A

February 25, 2008 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
As rumors swirl about Machi trying to kill her little brother, Kakeru figures that the only person who can get the truth out of her is Yuki. But when the two of them visit her, they learn a shocking secret. Later, Motoko wants to tell Yuki her feelings before she graduates and leaves the school—and him—forever. But will their parting be such sweet sorrow?

Review:
If Shigure was the stand-out character in volume 17, this time it was Hatsuharu.

The first few chapters were good—we got more background on Machi and the chapter featuring Motoko was actually far better than I’d anticipated. It dealt with the bittersweet feelings of graduation in a general sort of way, and I really liked it. I also discovered, courtesy of a flashback to the previous occasion when Motoko spoke of her feelings to Yuki, that while I used to think I preferred Takaya’s old drawing style to the current designs, that’s no longer the case. The old style looked really weird to me.

Things got even better in the second half of the volume. After learning from Hiro some of the things Rin had suffered due to her relationship with him, and hearing from Yuki that no one had seen Rin in a while, Haru went to confront Akito about what had happened to her. A riveting and thoroughly awesome confrontation ensued. If there were any character who would dare to get physical with Akito in their rage, it would be Haru.

It turned out that Rin, having seen Tohru upset by Kureno’s words, had followed him to the main house, been manipulated by Akito’s nutty mom into attempting to steal one of Akito’s possessions, and been caught in the act. She’d been kept in the isolated room designated for the one possessed by the spirit of the cat and only discovered when Kureno spotted food being delivered there.

This, of course, brought to everyone’s mind what’s due to happen to Kyo once he graduates (see, the chapter with Motoko really did have some thematic bearing on the series). Tohru is worried he seems to have accepted his fate and the volume ended with her silently pleading with him not to go.

So, lots of plot progress, lots of sadness, lots of greatness. I’ve enjoyed reading these volumes close together. Volume 19 is due in several weeks, but after that, it will be a torturously long wait.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Fruits Basket 17 by Natsuki Takaya: A+

February 24, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Akito has more than skeletons hiding in the closet—the curse, dear reader, is not the only reason Kureno won’t leave Akito. And who can make Arisa understand Kureno’s devotion to Akito? Graduation is approaching, so everyone needs answers!

Review:
This volume was awesome from start to finish. I followed this series as it was being released in Japanese, so I knew what was coming, but I still got goosebumps during the scene where Kureno told Tohru the real reason he won’t leave Akito’s side. It wasn’t only the big reveal itself that was so great, but also the skillful manipulation of tension and atmosphere leading up to it.

Speaking of manipulation, most of my favorite scenes involved Shigure—a conversation with Hatori, a phone call with Kureno, and an encounter with Akito. The phone call was especially good, with snippets of it being doled out across several chapters. In his appearances, Shigure was manipulative, honest, teasing, hateful, and, in one particular panel, downright creepy. What an amazing character.

I also liked that most of the other subplots were touched on in this volume. There were some very cute Kyou/Tohru and Yuki/Machi scenes, and things like Momiji and his sister and Shigure’s editor’s relationship with Ritsu even got a mention. There wasn’t a single chapter that merited anything less than a perfect score, in my opinion.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,
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