Short Program 2 by Mitsuru Adachi: B+

September 23, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Love and life are programmed in
* Is the life of a cute, young private detective on the line?
* Can love be found only half-way down the line?
* Will life change in a coffee shop?
* How can an earthquake shake up a relationship?
* Is destiny all it’s cracked up to be for a baseball loser?
* Will a playwright balance loyalty against love?
* Was it really that great in the good ole’ days?
* Can a manga artist watch baseball and meet deadlines?

Review:
Eee! I got to read this without spending $60+ on it! Thank you WorldCat!

I didn’t enjoy this collection quite as much as the first. I think the primary reasons were that many of the stories were really short and also that many of them featured baseball. I know Adachi is a big fan, but it kind of got to the point where I’d groan inwardly if the title page for the next story featured a kid in a baseball cap.

My two favorite stories had nothing to do with baseball. The first, “Spring Passes,” tells the story of a guy who had been persuaded to give a friend a lift on his motorcycle and then had a wreck. There was more to it than that, and though it was kind of predictable, I still liked its melancholy feel.

The other I particularly liked was called “The Road Home” and was told in two parts, each featuring a little boy that found himself whisked to another time, one forward and one back. I especially liked that the first half had no real resolution, and I think that’s kind of what I liked most about “Spring Passes,” too. The romantic comedy ones were cute with their nice endings, but the ones that really stood out did not take such well-trod paths.

Ultimately, I would like to own a copy of this for myself, but now that I’ve read it I will be able to hold out for the reasonable price that surely will present itself one of these days.

Filed Under: Josei, Manga, Seinen, Short Stories, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Short Program by Mitsuru Adachi: A-

September 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
The comic-book short story is one of the most difficult areas of storytelling, but Adachi handles the challenge with deceptive ease. His low-key approach belies the power of the emotions his characters portray. The resolution of Adachi’s stories are logical, dramatic, true-to-life, and completely unpredictable.

Span the range of human relationships in eight acts!
* Who’s the little guy who’s always getting into scraps?
* Is there a reason the track star is setting the bar higher?
* Is the nice guy across the way as nice as he seems?
* Will the detective track down his dream girl?
* She passes him every day on the street. Can he meet her?
* It’s the school reunion—are the old flames dead?
* How does the repairman compare to the heartthrob?
* Is the solution to gang rivalries worse than the problem?

Review:
This was my first time reading any Mitsuru Adachi, and I enjoyed the experience. I liked every story in the collection, though some more than others. Most had to do with romance in some fashion, some in a straightforward way where a couple got together at the end, and others in ways that subverted the reader’s expectations. I tended to prefer the latter variety.

My favorite story was one that seemed like it was involving romance—a boy and girl were out on a date at an amusement park and were having a conversation while on various rides. Their apartments faced each other across the street, and she thanked him for a few occasions where he was able to help her due to looking out of his window at just the right time. It totally did not end how I expected it to, and was quite awesome.

Another favorite was a story about a track star who kept setting her high jump goal higher to correspond with the height of the guy she liked. Instead of the story being told from her perspective, it featured said guy and his friend sitting in an apartment watching her in a televised event and figuring out how she felt about him.

About the only thing I didn’t like was the tendency of the stories to break the fourth wall. Adachi appeared in a couple of stories to make random comments, his name was mentioned by a character once, and a couple of other characters referenced the fact that they were in a manga. I really don’t find that kind of thing cute or funny.

Through the majesty of interlibrary loans, I have managed to acquire a copy of the elusive Short Program 2, which I’ll be reviewing in the next couple of days. Though a third compilation was released in Japan, it has, alas, never been licensed for North American distribution.

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen, Short Stories, Shoujo, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Akira 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo: A-

September 14, 2008 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency who will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like that which leveled Tokyo. At the core of their motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as… Akira.

Review:
I’d heard of the animated film Akira back in high school, long before I learned manga even existed. Now that my interest in seinen science fiction has grown, I decided to check it out.

In a word, Akira is cool. The plot is fairly complicated and rather difficult to describe. The military appears to be collecting kids with latent psychic abilities. The procedure to awaken their powers leaves them with chronic pain, so they end up addicted to a very high-potency drug. There’s a resistance group who’s trying to thwart the military’s plans and a thuggish motorcycle gang (led by Kaneda) gets mixed up in things as well. It’s to Otomo’s credit that all the crazy, intense action that plays out in the story still manages to make perfect narrative sense.

There’s a great deal of violence, much of it psychically perpetrated, with lots of explosions and head trauma. I didn’t find anything too graphically portrayed, but it bugged me when innocent bystanders were probably hurt by the actions of the central characters. In fact, no character is particularly likable. I guess I don’t mind Kei and Ryu of the resistance group too much, but Kaneda (the actual protagonist) has no redeeming qualities that I can see.

I really like Otomo’s art, especially the backgrounds in the urban scenes and the science lab where the military conducts its experiments. Facially, the characters have that ’80s manga look, but I like that style. I do have to say, though, that the expanse of Tetsuo’s forehead is truly a formidable one.

Akira is an exciting read, and I plowed through this volume pretty quickly. I’ve already put in my interlibrary loan request for volume 2, and am looking forward to its arrival.

Filed Under: Manga, Sci-Fi, Seinen Tagged With:

S. S. Astro 1 by Negi Banno: C

September 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment

The fact that I am not the intended audience for this title was made readily apparent when the eight-page color illustration collection in the front of the book contained not only a hot springs scene (complete with buoyant bosoms), but also an image of a character looking shocked to be discovered in the act of clutching a skimpy towel around her nude and glistening body while fellating a melting popsicle (as you do).

There’s not as much concentrated fanservice in the manga itself, at least. It’s the story of long-time friends Izumi Maki and Nagumo Yuko who return to their former high school as Physical Education and Japanese teachers, respectively. There, they meet and befriend fellow teachers Arai and Karasuma. The back cover promises “hilariously juvenile” behavior from this quartet, and while the content certainly delivers on the latter part of the bargain, there isn’t much hilarity in evidence.

The Astro in the title stands for Asashio Sogo Teachers Room, but the characters hardly spend any time there at all. Much of the action takes place outside of school, like going out drinking or viewing cherry blossoms. Events occurring at school are usually outside the classroom, which is a shame, since my favorite bits are those where they were actually doing their jobs, administering tests and devising trick questions with which to trip up the students.

Because S. S. Astro is a four-panel manga that takes place in a school setting, it’s inevitable that it will get compared to Azumanga Daioh, and there are indeed some similarities. Each of the characters has one single trait that becomes the punchline for most strips featuring them (chronic sleepiness, a voracious appetite, predatory lesbianism). Female characters dominate and most of the adult males who appear are cretins. Both series also have a surfeit of annoying characters, but with S. S. Astro it’s more a case of characters who can be interesting one moment and irritating the next.

The art isn’t bad, though often these twenty-something women appear far younger. Maki, in particular, has a tendency to look twelve. Questionable content aside, the best art is to be found in the color illustrations, especially the character portraits in the very front that resemble ID badges. Care has clearly been taken with the translation, including signs and sound effects, and very informative translation notes have been included. The overall feel of the book is quite nice, with a slimmer width and slightly larger trim size than usual to set it apart from the crowd.

Lastly, a brief preview for Suzunari is included in the back of the book; Yen Press would like you to know that it also features boobs.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen Tagged With:

Azumanga Daioh 2 by Kiyohiko Azuma: B-

August 31, 2008 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
The second hilarious volume of Azumanga Daioh takes Chiyo and the girls from end-of-first-year hijinks into the general silliness of their second year. Includes two special edition comic segments: “Osaka’s Half Day” and “A Day in the Life of Chiyo-chan!”

Review:
This volume was pretty much exactly the same as the first volume, except some of the cuteness factor wore off. The things I liked the first time (Sakaki, the kitties, the nonverbal storytelling, Chiyo-chan) were still the things I liked this time and the things I disliked (Tomo, Yukari-sensei, the pervy teacher) were still the things I disliked.

I was wondering whether I’d actually like this better if everyone annoying were excised and it was instead the “Sakaki and Chiyo are reasonable human beings and occasionally walk a friendly dog” show. I don’t think I’d tire of it, but I guess the other characters are necessary if only to prompt amusing reactions from my two favorites.

I find I haven’t much more to say, except that I hope Sakaki manages to befriend a kitty by the end of the series.

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen Tagged With:

Me and the Devil Blues 1 by Akira Hiramoto: A-

August 26, 2008 by Leave a Comment

RJ isn’t cut out for a farmer’s life. Despite the urgings of his sister and pregnant wife to give up his dreams of becoming a bluesman, he still finds himself drawn to the local juke joint, where folks of ill repute gather to listen to the blues. His own efforts to master the guitar aren’t going well, though, and after a particularly poor reception to his playing, one of the denizens jokingly suggests that he sell his soul to the devil to obtain the skill he lacks.

The desperate RJ goes through with the deal, and returns to wow the crowd with his incredible newfound ability. All this is not without a price, though, as he learns he’s actually been gone for six months and that his wife and baby have died in the interim, part of the devil’s deal to enable him to know the blues. He sets out on the road and before too long encounters Clyde Barrow, a white man and a criminal, who involves RJ in his schemes, one of which threatens to cost RJ his life.

I can honestly say that Me and the Devil Blues is unlike any manga I’ve ever read before. In fact, I think the closest thing to it in terms of tone and feel would be The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. There are parts that I really love and parts that I still don’t quite get, and through it all there is an unstinting depiction of the brutality and ignorance of which the human race is capable. Uplifting it is not.

The art—truly excellent throughout—also reminds me of American comics to some degree, but with more consistent quality than that medium usually manages. The resemblance is particularly striking in the first few chapters, where much of the action takes place at the juke joint in RJ’s rural town. Panels have no free space, and instead reflect a darkened interior crowded with people dancing, drinking, and socializing. It’s not hard to imagine it in gritty color.

Hiramoto also does great things with the character of Clyde Barrow, managing to visually convey the man’s potential to be charming, confident, scheming, rattled, and dangerous. I particularly like the mannerisms he’s been given; I’m not sure I’ve seen a mangaka bother to give someone a recognizable tic like Clyde’s habitual hair smoothing before. The time period of the story (early 1930s) is also well-rendered, with hairstyles, clothing, cars, and attitudes all doing their part to contribute to a feel of historical accuracy.

While certainly not the sunniest option one might have for reading material, Me and the Devil Blues is not one to miss. It may also be just the thing for that comics-loving pal of yours who is absolutely convinced there’s no manga that would appeal to them.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen, Supernatural Tagged With:

Azumanga Daioh 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma: B

August 12, 2008 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
Miss Yukari is not your typical teacher; in fact, she acts more like an air-headed student! But this works well in keeping up with the odd group of girls that attend her class such as Chiyo, the precocious 10-year-old high-school girl; Sakaki, the tall and admirable (who also has an unusual problem with animals); Tomo, the ultimate spaz; Osaka, the girl from outer-space (actually from Osaka); and Yomi, the sensible bookworm. Add in a teacher with an honest and upfront addiction to high-school girls and a rival P.E. teacher and you have yourself some Azumanga!

Review:
There’s no real depth here. Each character is a type, helpfully itemized on the back cover blurb, and doesn’t deviate much from established parameters. The vast majority of the volume is written in 4-panel strips that progress chronologically from April through Christmas of the girls’ first year of high school. There’s a punchline of sorts at the end of each of these, and this sort of segmented storytelling doesn’t really lend itself to a whole lot of character development.

What there is is a bunch of cute stuff and a lot of nonverbal storytelling (which I really like). My favorite character right off the bat was Sakaki, initially because her cool and stoic exterior hides someone who’s sweet and shy, so already my favorite strips tended to feature her. Then she started having wordless encounters with super cute animals and that was about all it took for me to declare this series a keeper, whatever else I might not like about it.

Said whatever else turns out to be some of the other characters. Energetic Tomo never fails to annoy me and Yukari-sensei is positively crap for a teacher, though she pales in comparison to the pervy Kimura-sensei. Sometimes the art looks a bit weird, too. There are plenty of cute expressions, but every so often someone’s proportions go a bit wonky and they end up looking like bad fanart.

I enjoyed this first volume of Azumanga Daioh. It offered a pleasant respite from action and angst and I plan on reading the rest of the series.

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen Tagged With:

xxxHOLiC 12 by CLAMP: B+

June 29, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Lately Kimihiro Watanuki’s dreams have been pleasant escapes that have given him the chance to talk to his new friend Haruki Doumeki. But now he’s falling asleep a lot—and starting to think his entire life with the witch Yuuko might be taking place in some kind of dreamworld. Then one night his dream is visited by a pretty princess named Sakura…

Review:
This is the second volume in a row to consist primarily of ominous hints regarding the goings-on in the Tsubasa storyline and the future of this one. I thought it was kind of neat last time, but it’s starting to get on my nerves a little, because it seems like the main xxxHOLiC storyline is rather scattered as a result. Of course, Watanuki popping in and out of a dream state probably contributes to that, as well.

Even though the story isn’t always coherent, and there are some bits that don’t make a lot of sense to me, some very important things manage to happen. The last few pages throw a new light on the series and are much appreciated. Hopefully that bodes well for a fair amount of revelation in the next volume.

Now that I’m getting my wish of a more epic storyline, I really oughtn’t complain too much, but I just hope that xxxHOLiC doesn’t end up playing second fiddle to its sister series. There are times when ties are a source of strength and times when they just hold you back.

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen, Supernatural Tagged With: ,

Maison Ikkoku 8 by Rumiko Takahashi: B

June 27, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Godai’s eavesdropping causes him to misunderstand Kyoko’s words—again. This time, it’s during Kyoko’s visit to her former husband’s graveside. A new wide-eyed tenant, Nozomu Nikaido, moves into room No. 2 and quickly causes trouble for the other Maison Ikkoku residents, especially Godai in his pursuit of Kyoko.

Review:
I was looking forward to Nozomu’s appearance, since he was left out of the anime. He arrives just after a couple of chapters with a more serious tone—Kyoko realizes she may be starting to get over Soichiro, and asks for his forgiveness—and dominates the rest of the volume with his antics.

It’s not that I disliked the result, it’s just that the antics (pranks among the residents, chiefly) aren’t really anything new. I got all optimistic when it seemed like he was going to steal Kozue away from Godai, since that’d be a tidy ending to their relationship and one in which she wouldn’t end up hurt. Alas, it was not to be. As soon as Godai determined to warn her away from the dense Nozomu, I knew what would happen.

Still, Maison Ikkoku earns points for simple charm alone. Plus, the gradual thawing of Kyoko’s heart makes me happy. I’ve past the halfway point now, so things should begin moving soon!

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen Tagged With: ,

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 1 by Eiji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki: B+

June 24, 2008 by 4 Comments

From the back cover:
Five young students at a Buddhist university find that there’s little call for their job skills in today’s Tokyo… among the living, that is! But their studies give them a direct line to the dead—the dead who are still trapped in their corpses, and can’t move on to their next reincarnation! Whether you died from suicide, murder, sickness, or madness, they’ll carry your body anywhere it needs to go to free your soul!

Review:
I really wasn’t sure whether I’d like this series or not. I’d heard it was funny in a macabre kind of way, but worried about excessive levels of gore. Though there was one page that was truly gross, there were fewer disturbing images and more amusing snippets of dialogue than I’d been expecting and I ended up enjoying it quite a lot.

The five members of the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service each had a different specialty they brought to the table, and their personalities meshed well. At times, I felt like I was watching a genre TV show—one of those with dashes of morbid humor—which is a compliment. My favorite character so far is probably Numata. His special talent is dowsing for corpses and though he looks all tough, he proved a couple of times to be a great big softie.

In the first chapter, the KCDS was formed (thanks to a winning lottery ticket that a grateful corpse gave them), and the three subsequent chapters dealt with different “cases” they came upon. Though each case was interesting, the recurring mystery of the spirit who hangs around one of the team and aids and protects him was what intrigued me the most. It was more genuinely creepy than anything else in the volume.

Lastly, Dark Horse provided extremely thorough notes at the back of the book, including a sound effects glossary and explanations of cultural references. This was good for a couple of giggles, too, and I’m sure the editor had fun describing sounds like “an organ hitting floor” or “foot bumping severed head” when he could’ve just written “thud” or “bump.”

I’m looking forward to continuing with this series; Dark Horse publishes a couple of other things by Otsuka and Yamazaki, too, which I might also check out eventually.

ETA: I’d originally classified this as shounen, because it was serialized some in Shonen Ace. However, it’s currently serialized in Comic Charge, which is definitely seinen. And it simply feels more seinen, so… there’s my rationale for switching it.

Filed Under: Horror, Manga, Seinen, Supernatural Tagged With:
« Previous Page
Next Page »