One Piece 5 by Eiichiro Oda: B-

April 21, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Once upon a time, Usopp was just a local boy with a talent for tall tales. Everyone in his little seaside village knew him as the joker who claimed to be a pirate captain and woke people up in the mornings by shouting “Pirates are coming!” But then real pirates landed on the beach…

Now Usopp’s village is under attack by the Black Cat Pirates, one of the most legendary and feared crews on the high seas. And three young would-be pirates have joined him in defending the village: Nami the thief, Zoro the swordsman, and Luffy, the straw-hatted pirate captain with incredible rubber powers. Usopp is about to find out how an imaginary pirate stands up to the real thing… and what it means to be a real pirate. His neighbors will never believe this in a million years…

Review:
The beginning and ending of this volume are pretty typical shounen fare. Luffy and friends continue to fight the Black Cat Pirates, culminating in a fairly cool fight between Luffy and the pirates’ captain. Unfortunately, with the cartoonish art and villains, it never approaches the realm of a truly badass battle like one might relish in other series. In the ending of the volume, the crew has come to an oceangoing restaurant in search of a cook, and there’s a lot of random fighting amongst chefs and naval officers and it’s all sort of crazy at this point.

The middle, though, had some really good moments. For one thing, the rich girl who was to’ve been the victim of the pirates’ plot is so grateful to our heroes that she gives them a really swanky boat. It’s just like leveling up in an RPG or something! For another, Usopp shows some surprising maturity. He’s long been known as a liar in the village and habitually declared “the pirates are coming!” even when it wasn’t true. Now, rather than brag about his bravery in helping to repel real pirates, he wants the villagers to go on thinking of him as a liar so that their peace of mind won’t be compromised. After he leaves, his little band of followers carries on his “the pirates are coming!” tradition. I think I actually got a little verklempt!

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Bleach 26 by Tite Kubo: B

April 18, 2009 by 5 Comments

From the back cover:
Ichigo and all his friends are training like mad, spurred on by the looming threat of Aizen’s wicked plans. But while Uryuu and Chad increase their powers, Orihime finds out that she has to sit out the coming fight, leaving her friends without her protection. And Ichigo, despite his intensive training with the Vizards, can’t control his Hollowfied self long enough to battle. With the war against the Arrancars ramping up, can the team afford to have two fighters on the sidelines?

Review:
Aside from some mercifully brief “comedy,” this is a very strong volume. We actually see each member of the main cast as they are working on increasing their powers—Chad is battling with Renji, Uryuu (seems like ages since we’ve seen him!) and his dad finish their fight, Ichigo is working on extending the length of time he can remain Hollowfied, and Orihime is determined to fight even after being cautioned that she may not be cut out for combat. I particularly love Orihime’s determination and the fact that Rukia decides to help train her. The scene where a bunch of powerful folk are intimidated by her is pretty great, too!

The villains and their plot are still rather hokey, but since the focus is squarely on the characters, that doesn’t matter much. There’s a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about how some device has a hitherto-unmentioned ability to produce an Arrancar or something, and so a new, child-like opponent is introduced who is kind of neat. Also, the last few chapters are pretty great, since nearly everybody ends up in peril of some kind.

So, yeah. The plotting and the comedy are not really doing much of anything for me, but mild-mannered characters growing the determination to fight and Ichigo showing signs of genuine badassitude offer enough entertainment value to make up the difference.

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

One Piece 4 by Eiichiro Oda: B-

April 5, 2009 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates was the most feared evil genius on the high seas… until he vanished. Most people believe he’s dead, but only his crew knows the truth: Captain Kuro has been lying low in a small seaside village, posing as a mild-mannered butler until the time for pillage is just right. Now that time has come, and the ruthless Black Cat Pirates are about to attack…

Unless, of course, Monkey D. Luffy can stop them! All Luffy has on his side are his sword-wielding first mate, Zolo; his thieving navigator, Nami; Usopp, a local kid with a knack for telling lies; and his own bizarre rubber-limbed powers. If these four amateur pirates want to stop the entire Black Cat crew, they’ll have to come up with a pretty slick plan…

Review:
There really isn’t a great deal to say about this volume. It consists almost entirely of a battle against the pirates and the attempts of the main cast (plus Usopp, lying villager boy) to protect the village from their attack. There are plenty of reversals to make things more interesting—like Luffy and Zolo getting delayed only to make a dramatic entrance later, characters nearly getting defeated only to become reinvigorated, et cetera—but in the end, it’s still just one really long fight scene. And it’s not over with this volume, either.

Sometimes extended fight scenes can be really cool, but this volume just didn’t do much for me. I think the wackiness of the One Piece villains is starting to get to me. I like it best when the opponent is someone you can be interested in as a character, like the Soul Society Captains in Bleach or the sympathetic Seta Soujirou of Rurouni Kenshin. Despite their gimmicky cat-related attacks, characters like the Meowban Brothers of this volume can never truly interest me.

I look forward to the end of this arc, which will hopefully happen in volume five. Perhaps whatever lies beyond that will be more to my liking.

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Fairy Tail 5 by Hiro Mashima: B

February 19, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Gray’s old training companion Reitei Lyon is trying to revive a calamity demon, but doing so will make their former master’s sacrifice meaningless! What’s the secret of Gray’s past, and why does he keep taking off his clothing? Gray is revealed (metaphorically speaking) in this pivotal volume!

Review:
You know, there are things one sees in Fairy Tail that one is simply not going to see in any other manga. I’m talking about stuff like a gigantic flying rat carrying a bucket of poisonous jelly and a cow-man squaring off against a malicious tree. Sometimes, things are so cracktastic that one just has to admire them.

I actually liked this volume more than the last one, perhaps because I’ve moved past the foolishness of their embarking upon a quest that could get them expelled from the guild and become invested instead in their successful completion of the task at hand. The variety of magical abilities continues to be one of the most enjoyable parts for me, and I’m particularly glad to see Lucy’s skills increase in this volume. She’s by no means a match for Natsu or Gray magically, but both of them would have their butts handed to them by Erza, so there isn’t any annoying gender inequality going on.

Well, not in the realm of combat, anyway. There’s certainly a lot of fanservice in this volume, mostly on the chapter splash pages. In one of them, Lucy is wearing a sleeveless t-shirt that is held up by ginormous boobs and a prayer. The most egregious example, however, is an image of Erza wielding a sword while dressed in a négligée. Lucy’s garb is at least in character. Erza’s definitely is not.

We also learn more about Gray’s backstory, and I’m impressed with how deftly the flashbacks are woven in with the fighting in the present moment. It manages to be seamless but yet not confusing. I think partly this was achieved through pacing, as a little bit of information would be revealed at a time and when it seemed like the right time to switch back to the present, it would. The backstory itself isn’t much to get excited over, but the mechanics of it are really well done.

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

Case Closed 2 by Gosho Aoyama: B

February 19, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Conan must contend with the murder of a man who burns to death while the prime suspect has the perfect alibi; he helps a seemingly sweet and innocent girl look for her missing father; and he still has time to explore a haunted house with some of his new friends from elementary school!

All the clues are there—can you piece them together and solve these baffling cases before Conan does?

Review:
“All the clues are there,” it says. I would be highly surprised if I ever figure out one of these cases before Conan does, especially one with a ludicrously intricate method of offing someone.

I like this volume better than the first one. I think it’s because the three cases it contains are different from the kinds I’ve read so far. Instead of proving who did it and how (see above re: ludicrously intricate), they’re more about finding proof. In the first case, the prime suspect for a murder has the perfect alibi, so it’s up to Conan to disprove it. It’s actually a pretty fun story, even though I sigh heavily when Conan plays back a taped confession he’d obtained to the villain who’d just made it and is then surprised when the dude attacks him. Not so smart for a smart kid.

Later, a young girl claiming to be looking for her father is not what she seems. I would’ve enjoyed this story more if the back cover hadn’t given it all away by referring to her as “seemingly sweet and innocent.” This story also has some connections to the men in black who are responsible for changing teenage detective Jimmy into first grader Conan. The final chapters involve Conan and some first grade buddies investigating a haunted house and discovering its secrets.

This volume is a very quick read and contains neither the insanely elaborate plots nor the “Conan impersonates an adult to reveal the solution” that I was getting tired of. Conan also receives a lot of new gadgets from Dr. Agasa, and those are fun to see in action, too, even though it’s highly improbable that a soccer ball, even one kicked by a foot wearing super-powered sneakers, could ever fell a tree.

Filed Under: Manga, Mystery, Shounen Tagged With:

One Piece 3 by Eiichiro Oda: B-

February 18, 2009 by 2 Comments

From the back cover:
Sure, lots of people say they want to be the King of the Pirates, but how many have the guts to do what it takes? When Monkey D. Luffy first set out to sea in a leaky rowboat, he had no idea what might lie over the horizon. Now he’s got a crew—sort of—in the form of swordsman Roronoa Zola and treasure-hunting thief Nami. If he wants to prove himself on the high seas, Luffy will have to defeat the weird pirate lord Buggy the Clown. He’ll have to find a map to the Grand Line, the sea route where the toughest pirates sail. And he’ll have to face the Dread Captain Usopp, who claims to be a notorious pirate captain… but, frankly, Usopp says a lot of things…

Review:
I didn’t like this volume quite as much as the last, even though I got what I wanted in one respect—the fighting with Captain Buggy wrapped up and Luffy and crew began to sail and explore. Now that they have a proper navigator with some sense, they’re out to gather supplies and such, since to enter the Grand Line unprepared and in their little tubs of boats would be foolhardy indeed. I wonder if, in this series, the shounen tradition of the powerup will be adapted to the acquisition of bigger and more seaworthy vessels.

The first three chapters of this volume comprised Luffy’s fight with Captain Buggy. In the first one of these, the dialogue consisted almost solely of lines like “Chop-Chop Quick Dodge,” “Gum-Gum Sickle,” and “Chop-Chop Harpoon.” Toss in a handful of exclamation points for each. It was, as ever with this series, pretty silly, but still entertaining. I did snicker a few times, at least.

There were a couple of other funny things in this volume, too. As the main characters return to Nami’s boat, some thugs who had been laying in wait emerge, and it seems like we’re about to have another series of battles. Until they recognize Zolo, that is, and run away. I also am enjoying the instructions in the back of each book for making little paper props for the series. Here’s an approximate quote from the one in this volume:

You’ll need: scissors, glue, etc.
You won’t need: Tea. (Please don’t go to the trouble.)

I guess mostly what I didn’t like were some boring bits. In the middle of Luffy and Buggy’s fight, Buggy lapses into a flashback about how he used to know Captain Shanks, which I thought was dull. Also, some later chapters featuring a mendacious village youth were rather yawn-inducing, as well. Not bad, no, just kind of meh. I think there was actually one chapter (24) where nothing actually happened at all.

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

One Piece 2 by Eiichiro Oda: B

February 17, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
As a kid, Monkey D. Luffy vowed to become King of the Pirates and find the legendary treasure called the “One Piece.” The enchanted Gum-Gum fruit has given Luffy the power to stretch like rubber—and his new crewmate, the infamous pirate hunter Roronoa Zolo, strikes fear into the hearts of other buccaneers! But what chance does one rubber guy stand against Nami, a thief so tough she specializes in robbing pirates… or Captain Buggy, a fiendish pirate lord whose weird, clownish appearance conceals even weirder powers? It’s pirate vs. pirate in the second swashbuckling volume of One Piece!

Review:
I don’t know about the rest of you, but sometimes I just get a major hankering for some shounen. One Piece satisfies this requirement admirably, offering wacky villains, inexplicably absorbing combat scenes, unsinkable optimism, and a strong sense of camaraderie.

Luffy and friends must face off against Captain Buggy who, along with his crew, is terrorizing a port town. Buggy has eaten another of the devil fruits (Luffy at the Gum-Gum fruit, which gives him the ability to stretch like rubber), which lets various bits of his body fly off and attack of their own volition. It actually reminds me of something out of Tezuka, to see a cartoony disembodied arm fly over and stab someone. Buggy also has some bizarre lieutenants, including a furry guy with the ability to control animals and a sword-swallowing acrobat who has a plethora of attacks based on circus tricks.

Yes, it’s silly, but it’s a great deal of fun. There are also heartwarming things that make me like the characters, like the way they avenge a dog whose deceased master’s shop gets destroyed. Lest one thing they’re soft, however, they also do manly things like slice their own wounds to prove their toughness or something. I’m not sure what all that was about.

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Slam Dunk 2 by Takehiko Inoue: B+

February 9, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Volume two of Slam Dunk sure has been a long time coming! When we left off in volume one, hot-headed Sakuragi had grown frustrated with fundamentals training and quit the team. We pick up the story with Sakuragi regretting his decision, and he soon returns to practice after quickly polishing off a thug who’d been spoiling for a fight.

Although Sakuragi is still as clueless and boastful as before, he’s slightly less annoying than he used to be because he is starting to become interested in the sport more for its own sake than as a way to secure Haruko’s affections. Like a good shonen hero, his rate of improvement exceeds everyone’s expectations and he manages to impress the coach during an intra-team practice match despite needing to learn a special lesson about the value of teamwork.

The supporting cast gets a little more attention in this volume, most notably Assistant Captain Kogure and the team manager, Ayako, though they’re mostly relegated to reacting to the actions of others’ and/or calling out the names of moves like “Fly swatter!” The intra-team match is the highlight of the volume, giving readers an idea of how cool an actual game will be once the story advances that far. I’m personally looking forward to it!

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

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: , ,

Astro Boy 3 by Osamu Tezuka: A-

February 5, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
A timeless comics and animation classic, Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy is still going strong half a century after its creation, winning over readers of all ages with its combination of action, wit, and humanity. In the novel-length “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” a wealthy sultan creates a giant robot to become the ruler of all other robots on Earth. But in order for that to happen, he must defeat the seven most powerful robots in the world, including Astro Boy, who must have his horsepower raised from 100,000 to 1,000,000 to face the challenge! And Astro’s sister, Uran, also flies in to lend a helping hand! Plus, in “Mad Machine,” a scientist invents a device that causes other machines to go berserk, and Astro Boy must save the day!

Review:
Well, I can certainly see why someone would want to create a series elaborating on “The Greatest Robot on Earth.” There’s a lot going on and some surprisingly sympathetic robots. In his introduction, Tezuka says that he created this story during a period (1964-1965) when he was really enjoying his work. I think it shows, since even though there are still robot battles and dastardly caped villains, the potential to say something about the plight of robots isn’t squandered as it has been in other stories.

Once upon a time, there was a sultan who was ousted from power and exiled from his land. Still ambitious, he hired a roboticist to create a robot, Pluto, that would defeat other powerful robots and declare itself king of the robots, allowing the sultan to get his vicarious power fix. Pluto polishes off his first opponent in short order, but by the time he’s met the second, his personality is starting to come through. “I have no hatred of you but my master has ordered me to destroy you and I must obey him,” he says, before engaging in one of the cooler robot battles in the series so far.

Pluto also encounters Astro’s sister Uran when she tries to trick him by impersonating Astro, and actually strikes up a friendship with her, inquiring about how she’s doing and even allowing her to plaster his chest with some of her favorite stickers (my very favorite panel in this volume). His opponents are pretty sympathetic, too. The one that sticks out in my mind is Epsilon, who worked with and was beloved by children. Even when he was defeated, there’s a neat panel of his hands still clutching a kid who’d wandered too near the duel.

Throughout the story, Doctor Ochanomizu keeps telling Astro that the truly great robot is not the one with the most horsepower but rather the one who helps people. Pluto’s attempts to achieve greatness through fighting will never succeed, but when Astro boy finally convinces him to help avert a volcanic explosion, at that point, Pluto really has achieved greatness. It’s kind of deep, actually. Pluto’s whole character arc is surpisingly touching.

To say that I’m really looking forward to seeing what Naoki Urasawa does with this concept would be a profound understatement.

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

Astro Boy 2 by Osamu Tezuka: B

February 4, 2009 by 2 Comments

Book description:
As Mickey Mouse is to American animation, so to anime and manga is Astro Boy, the quintessential creation of Osama Tezuka, one of the world’s revered giants of comics and animation. In this volume, Astro Boy comes to the aid of Gravia’s robot president to prevent his overthrow at the hands of a secret anti-robot society; a robot magician is cloned as a setup to start a movement against intelligent robots, and only Astro Boy can expose the conspiracy; and Astro Boy defends a powerful robot racecar from an evil gang in the globe-spanning Equator Race! Astro Boy is an all-ages delight, as fresh, exciting, and innovative today as when it was created forty years ago. Everything is Go, Astro Boy!

Review:
The three stories in this volume, “His Highness Deadcross,” “The Third Magician,” and “White Planet,” were originally published in 1960, 1961, and 1963. I should mention here that the stories in the 23-volume collection upon which Dark Horse modeled their release are not presented in chonological order. Rather, Tezuka and the Japanese publisher decided on the best order, and then Tezuka wrote little introductory bits to put each story in context. These sometimes also include digs at Americans and how they reacted adversely to violence in the Astro Boy cartoon but were totally fine with “going over to southeast Asia and killing people.”

The premise of “His Highness Deadcross” sounds good: a robot has been elected president, thanks to a large turnout from robot voters, and some humans aren’t too happy about this. In reality, though, it’s kind of boring. I like the ideas it raises, like robots with voting rights and the ability to create more robots without human assistance, but most of the focus is on the campy villain and his attempts to force the president to resign. Seriously, this guy wears a cape, a plumed helmet, and has dialogue like, “It’s curtains for you.”

The other two stories are pretty good, though. In “The Third Magician,” a famous robot magician is cloned and then the clone is used as an art thief. He makes a public announcement about how at such and such a time, he will arrive and steal his target. I’ve certainly seen that done in other series, so now I wonder if Tezuka is responsible for the phantom thief genre, too! In “White Planet,” a boy’s beloved robocar is saved by the electronic brain of the robot who he thought was his sister. The boy spends no time mourning her loss or freaking out that she was a robot, but then again, he evidently enjoyed smacking her around, so he’s kind of a git anyway.

Astro Boy continues to be a quick read, and I like it well enough that at the present moment I’m inclined to keep going with it past the point that’ll prepare me to understand Pluto.

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