GetBackers 13 by Yuya Aoki and Rando Ayamine: C

July 10, 2006 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
Ban, Shido, and Emishi make their plans for rescuing Ginji… and for retrieving the limbs of the Venus! Meanwhile, Ginji talks to Miss hela about her hatred of the Venus de Milo and her plans to destroy its mystique by reattaching its arms! The final battles begin with everyone facing off and the secret behind the seven Mirokus is revealed!

Review:
It’s been six months since I read volume 12, and I must extend special kudos for the well-done Story Thus Far recap. And then promptly revoke them for the untranslated sound effects. Sound effects glossaries at the back of the book are a tad annoying, but there’s not one of those either. I can read the sounds, but I don’t always know what they’re supposed to signify. “Poto” when a rat appears means… what? Ta-dah? Poof? Scamper?

I’m not very excited by the Venus arc. It’s kind of boring after the whole Infinite Fortress storyline. With so many mysteries of that place still to be explored, I’m impatient for the characters to go back there. The one aspect of the current storyline that is interesting to me is the Miroku family, but even that is due more to differences between manga and anime than any amazing awesomeness they possess.

So, everyone fights somebody. Ginji is cool as the Lighting Lord. Ban is cool with non-spiky hair. The lady who’s trying to reunite Venus’ arms with her body has a really stupid motivation for doing so. And there’s random crack about some drug enabling you to set your body on fire and be a badass. Maybe I’m more willing to suspend disbelief for kooky fighting abilities in animes. Whatever, just end you stupid arc, end!

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The Prince of Tennis 14 by Takeshi Konomi: B+

July 1, 2006 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
As more intra-squad games are played to determine the starting lineup, fellow Seishun Academy players Kunimitsu Tezuka and Sadaharu Inui duke it out for a slot. But the disparity in their skills becomes evident when everyone realizes that Tezuka has not budged since he delivered his serve. Meanwhile, Coach Banda of Yamabuki Junior High offers team captain Tezuka a chance to play overseas as an exchange student. Could this be the end of Tezuka’s tour of duty at Seishun?

Review:
I have special compliments for the art this time around. There are a couple of places where little details go unnoticed until somehow pointed out, and when one goes back and looks, they’ve been there all along.

This volume concludes the ranking matches, and includes a few chapters of preparation for the tournament before it finally begins in the last chapter. There are a few changes in the various roles within the team, and Seishun’s weakness—the lack of another strong doubles pair—may not be one for much longer. All this is decent, and I’d probably be talking about the character or skill development if I hadn’t already seen this in the anime, so it’s not new to me.

I thought the pacing was good, with just enough of a “preparing for the tournament” feeling without dragging it out. It’s a cruel cliffhanger that the tournament only juuuust starts before the volume is over, and I wish I had volume 15 already.

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Rurouni Kenshin 28 by Nobuhiro Watsuki: A

June 30, 2006 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
As the feared assassin of the Bakumatsu, Himura Kenshin killed in the name of the new era. As the rurouni of Meiji, he wielded a sakabato to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, all along holding true to his vow to never take another life. Now Kenshin’s fight with Enishi has entered its final stage, as has his quest for atonement. Will another life be required to complete the circle? The road of redemption has been a long one for the world-weary swordsman, but now that Kenshin has found the will to live, can he muster the strength to survive?

Review:
Well, Jinchu’s ending was not terribly exciting, and I thought the Ryumeisen was pretty silly, but whatever. The end of act 250 is nice, though, and just sets in motion a lot of sad chapters as the members of the group begin to go their separate ways. I like the little details that Watsuki remembers to include. For example, in act 255, one of the students in the dojo is Ota. Remember Ota? I’d also probably give the volume high marks just for Kenji alone. Could he be cuter? I think not.

Ultimately, the best thing about this volume isn’t the climactic finish to the arc, but rather the time Watsuki takes in letting things wind down and allowing the audience to get some closure on what’s happening with each character. I can’t think of anything left unresolved, and some things were even included that I didn’t expect to see—Yahiko’s fifteenth birthday was great and sniff-inducing.

So, even if I wasn’t wowed by recent volumes, I can at least avow that it was worth it to continue to the very end.

Filed Under: Historical Fiction, Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Hikaru no Go 7 by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata: A

June 24, 2006 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Hikaru is horrified to find that he’s losing all of his games at the insei school! The Young Lions Tournament is just three months away, and the insei who qualify will play against rookie pros, including Akira. Hikaru sees his chance to impress his rival, but can he turn his losing streak around in time?

Review:
It’s hard to articulate why I love this series so much, but I really do. The plot is not a new one in shounen manga, but the characters are so endearing, and the art so great, that it still feels fresh. Hikaru is your typical boy, thoughtless at times, but still with the occasional sweet moment when he is determined to do something good for Sai. And, of course, Sai could not be prettier and/or cuter. I particularly like when all that’s in his thought bubble is a little heart.

It’s also pretty unique how far we’ve progressed so far. A little over a year has passed since Hikaru started playing, several months are covered in this volume alone, and I think the story is somewhere over the halfway point of the anime series. With 16 volumes after this one, it makes me think there’s tons of story that wasn’t animated, and since I have remained unspoiled on it, it’s quite a lovely prospect.

In this volume, I liked that Sai is able to diagnose why Hikaru keeps losing, and actually do a bit of instructing that nudges Hikaru’s skill level up some. Plus, the stylized representations of their games as parrying swordplay was a pretty cool way of illustration his progression. The other insei are more interesting than his former clubmates back at his junior high, because they’re better skilled and less worshipful of his abilities, and with this volume, he’s just getting into playing against a couple of characters that I quite like.

Everyone needs to read a bit of shounen tournament-style manga every once in a while, to experience its awesome addictive power. Hikaru no Go would be an excellent choice.

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: , ,

InuYasha 26 by Rumiko Takahashi: B+

June 17, 2006 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Inuyasha and friends encounter a strange mountain with mystical powers. The mountain is so sacred Kirara, Kikyo and Shippo can’t even set foot on it!

Meanwhile, the Army of Seven have resurrected their final member and now seek revenge on those responsible for their original deaths. Elsewhere Sesshoumaru is in pursuit of Kohaku when he too is refuted by the purity of the mountain. What is the secret of this mountain? And will the Army of Seven be more than a match for Inuyasha and crew?

Review:
I haven’t been very excited by the Band of Seven storyline in general, but things picked up a little in this volume. I must admit that my opinion is probably influenced by the fact that most of the ugly brothers are gone, and it’s just the bishies and the tank guy that just says, “Gyuh.” Suikotsu is my favorite, even though he doesn’t do much except have cool hair and Wolverinesque claws. The last brother, Bankotsu, is introduced, and livens things up a bit, too.

Near the beginning of the volume there are some nice moments between Inuyasha and Kagome, and then the action begins in earnest. It was well done and certainly helped pique my interest in this arc. I was hoping to see the momentum continue to build and possibly some swift and decisive dispatching of foes to keep the story rolling along at a brisker pace, but alas. It was not to be. Still, the volume ends at an interesting point in the story, and overall, I thought it was an improvement over the last one.

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

Rurouni Kenshin 27 by Nobuhiro Watsuki: B-

May 27, 2006 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Kenshin and his comrades have finally discovered the location of Enishi’s island compound. Woo Heishin, Enishi’s mysterious second-in-command, meets them on the beach and brings his deadly bodyguards, the Su-shin or the “Four Stars,” to serve as a welcoming committee. Part of the gang dives into combats with Woo’s warriors as Kenshin prepares himself for his fateful, climactic duel with Enishi. Each of them a ferocious fighter, the Su-shin are set on stopping Kenshin’s friends dead in their tracks.

Review:
Well, this volume was better than the previous one. Each of Kenshin’s gang gets a chapter to their own as they fight off one of the thugs commanded by Enishi’s second-in-command. This part was okay, but it felt like quite a delay before Kenshin actually stepped forward and did something. It feels like it’s been an extraordinarily long time since we’ve seen the old sort of Kenshin, and I was happy to see him back, but still, there’s just something about these chapters that is not terribly exciting.

I also am rather annoyed with Watsuki for his excessive self-deprecation in his columns. I know modesty is a cultural thing in Japan, but really—some critiques probably wouldn’t have occurred to me until he pointed them out, at which point I was like, “Yeah, actually, those villains really are lame!”

Artwise, there are some panels of various characters that are very well done, probably moreso than I’ve seen in previous volumes. There were also a few panels with weird angels, sometimes prompting one to turn the book to try to get a proper perspective, which was kind of irksome. I guess Watsuki was trying something new, which was mostly successful.

Filed Under: Historical Fiction, Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Rurouni Kenshin 26 by Nobuhiro Watsuki: C+

May 21, 2006 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
If there’s one thing tough-as-nails street brawler—and ex-Sekiho Army cadet—Sagara Sanosuke can’t stand, it’s hypocritical, loudmouthed braggarts who talk the talk but are incapable of walking the walk. Finding himsef in the middle of a provincial squabble between an old man and the local yakuza, Sano returns to his old “fight merchant” ways and agrees to do some ad hoc butt kicking for pay. But the old man he’s hired to tangle with might be his strongest foe to date.

Review:
The majority of this volume involves Sanosuke fighting to help protect a town from some yakuza creeps. It’s pretty durn boring. There are a couple of out-of-character references by the characters to the fact that they’re in a manga, which I didn’t find too amusing, and Sano seemed to be going a little haywire with the “giving people nicknames” deal. It does, however, introduce the character of Ota, who is totally lovable, even though he doesn’t say a single word. I’d like to see what becomes of him someday.

Finally, in the last few chapters, we return to Kenshin and the others in Tokyo, with the conflict with Enishi just about to come to fruition. Except, right at the end, it doesn’t happen! In fact, it doesn’t even not happen! What I mean is, something gets in the way between the gang and Enishi, and then we don’t see that fight because it’s going to happen in volume 27. I’d be more frustrated by this if I didn’t already have 27, courtesy of Waldenbooks getting theirs in crazy early.

Filed Under: Historical Fiction, Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

InuYasha 25 by Rumiko Takahashi: B

May 16, 2006 by 2 Comments

From the “In this volume” blurb:
Inuyasha and friends are in for the fight of their lives—again! This time they square off against the accursed Band of Seven—a group of monsters each with their own special brand of killing techniques. Can Inuyasha and his comrades overcome this bloodthirsty band of killers?

Review:
Firstly, a gripe about “The Story So Far,” which appears in each InuYasha volume. It is so not the story so far! It’s, like, the story of volume one, and has never been updated so as to be truly useful in reminding one what went on in the previous volume. Yet, I always read it every time just to be complete about things. Irksome!

The back cover was way spoilery for this volume, so I used the rather vague blurb above. Doesn’t it sound like every shounen manga, like, ever? I’m certainly not going to argue that the ongoing plot is terribly original or that it has a clear sense of direction. Even though the same plot elements with Naraku seem to replay multiple times, and the whole love square with Koga, Kikyo, Kagome, and Inuyasha replays multiple times, this is still an enjoyable title. The main charm in this title is in the characters.

It’s rare for me that my favorite character in a series is the main character, but such is the case with Inuyasha. I’m also quite partial to Shippo. In this volume, he had these little wailing acorns that he used to signal Inuyasha that something was afoot. They were so cute!

So, yeah, anyway, Inuyasha fights some bad guys. Sesshoumaru turns up and fights one. Koga turns up and fights one. Kagome-tachi are endangered, by poison and then by fire. No progress is made on capturing Naraku. None of this is very surprising, but there are enough twists and turns to provoke character reaction and interaction which, in turn, are what’s worthwhile. Am I going to keep reading to the end, even if it’s twenty more volumes of the same? Totally!

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

Princess Tutu 2 by Mizuo Shinonome et al.: B+

May 10, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Book description:
Ahiru’s transformation into Princess Tutu has fulfilled her life-long fantasy, but her charmed new life is not a ballerina’s fairytale. Jealousy rules her new magical kingdom, and an envious Princess Kraehe will continue to thwart Ahiru’s efforts to win her broken-hearted prince. Princess Tutu will have to toss her tiara aside and become a soldier to fight for the heart of the boy she loves.

Review:
The story, although still different from the anime, picks up somewhat in this volume. This version of the tale is simpler and might possibly make more sense than the anime version. It still didn’t seem very much like a fairy tale to me, though. I was happy that one of my favorite Fakir scenes from the anime was able to be incorporated, although his backstory was not. Yet again, he’s forced to say, “I thought I told you to _____.” He must’ve said it three times in the first volume.

My major quibble with this volume is the art. There are plenty of cute panels, especially the giant hamster and the blarghing cat-sensei, but I swear this artist has a problem with butts! A straight-on butt is fine, but when drawn from any other angle, they just look weird! A good example is the picture of Rue on page 11. Her right leg looks fairly normal, but it looks like her left leg’s just been sort of propped underneath her skirt or something. I don’t see how it could line up with where her waist is at its current angle. Tutu’s also got the Funky Butt Syndrome on page 29.

Most of the time the facial art is okay, but Princess Kraehe seems to fluctuate. On the cover, she looks like a drugged-up prostitute, and then on the title of chapter 7, like a man. It’s somewhat of a distraction from the story, but it isn’t catastrophic.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shounen Tagged With:

Princess Tutu 1 by Mizuo Shinonome et al.: B

April 30, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Book description:
Ahiru loves ballet but is rather clumsy at it. She has a crush on Mytho, but he seems detached and emotionless. A magical pendant from the proprietress of a new shop in town transforms her into Princess Tutu, a graceful ballerina who dances “to guide your heart.” She realizes that Mytho’s heart has been shattered and that only she can help him find the pieces.

Review:
I’m labelling this as shoujo, because the anime was, but this ran in Champion RED Comics, which I know little about. It certainly isn’t one of the major shoujo magazines that I’m familiar with. The two volumes that make up the Princess Tutu manga were also written after the anime, with the series director (Jun-ichi Satoh) sharing credit for the story.

I have seen all of the Princess Tutu anime, and liked it very much. (The opening song is gorgeous and the first half of the series is truly excellent. Second half is still better than loads of other shows.) Therefore, I probably won’t be able to keep some of the impressions from the anime from influencing my perception of the manga.

The anime was definitely something special, a pure fairy tale, which the voice actress for Ahiru described as “a moving picture book.” I’m not entirely sure that someone just picking up the manga would get that same impression, as it reads like a fairly standard magical girl story. There are some pretty substantial differences from the anime, ones which make the story a little less distinctive, at least at the beginning. Towards the end, thankfully, more fairy tale elements are introduced, and I’m hopeful there’ll be more of that in volume 2.

Overall, I prefer the anime at this point, and would advise anyone interested in the story to simply watch it instead. The manga is short, however, with just one more volume, which I already have, so I’m definitely going to keep reading. Plus, I’m curious to see whether it will end the same as the anime, or have any additional information about the fates of the characters.

Random note about the cover image: Ouch, that looks uncomfortable.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shounen Tagged With:
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