Love*Com 10 by Aya Nakahara: B+

March 16, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Risa got a job at a restaurant so she could be close to Ôtani’s cram school. But now it looks like one of her coworkers wants to get close to her! Kohori is cute and short and majorly into Umibouzu, but Risa just wants to be friends. When circumstances conspire to make it look like she’s interested in more, what will a super-stressed Ôtani do?

Review:
It seemed like I was always annoyed with one or the other of the two leads throughout this volume and, at different times, mentally advised each to dump the other. First, Ôtani, with the excuse of being stressed out about college entrance exams, says a lot of really unkind things to Risa, saying that she’s basically useless and has nothing to offer in terms of helping him out. Next, Risa, who already knows a guy at work fancies her (since he’s been caught in the act of kissing her while she slept) and that Ôtani is exhausted and jealous, stupidly agrees to basically go on the date with the guy to a concert. And, of course, Ôtani runs into the two of them together.

This act is so stupid, in fact, that it was EXTREMELY satisfying that Ôtani breaks up with her as a result. I was probably supposed to be all, “Oh noes,” but instead I felt a vicious glee. One thing I didn’t like is that, because Ôtani is always mouthing off and saying mean things he doesn’t really mean, the impact of his harsh words was lessened. The rest of the volume is Risa trying to get back into his good graces, eventually resolving to stay away from him until he finishes his exams and planning to persuade him to take her back at that time. Interesting how I kind of forgave her too by this point, making the volume’s happy ending a welcome one.

Risa’s propensity to start sentences with “Well,” continues. In one chapter, she did it ten times. Three of those were the “Well, gosh” variant. I had to snicker at one square o’ narration (squarration?) that was comprised entirely of this meaningful sentence: “Well, I mean, gosh.” I assume that she really is saying some particular Japanese phrase over and over again, but it’s starting to get on my nerves. While I’m griping, who the heck is that other kid on the cover? I recognize Kohori (the aforementioned coworker who fancies Risa) but I have no idea who the other dude is.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

U Don’t Know Me by Rakun: A-

March 15, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Seyun and Yoojin grew up together because their fathers were close friends, and even after Seyun and his family move some distance away their friendship endures. Now in high school, Seyun is doing his best to get Yoojin to notice him in a romantic way, but Yoojin seems oblivious until the day one of his friends tells him, in a case of mistaken identity, that Seyun is “a well-known manwhore” at his school. Yoojin finally releases his pent-up emotions in a violent sex act—which I’m happy to say is not treated as being okay—and he and Seyun eventually become a couple.

Drama ensues, but always grows out of the story and the strong characters. Even the sex scenes focus more on the characters than the act itself—several times the way the boys converse throughout reminds me of similar scenes I’ve seen in the works of est em. The art is also quite lovely—I didn’t learn until the penultimate chapter that Rakun is actually Yeri Na, creator of Do Whatever You Want—with a clean but expressive style. One particularly nice panel features Seyun embracing a ghostly image of Yoojin while thinking, “What do I have to do for you to look at me?”

What I like most U Don’t Know Me is that it moves beyond the moment of consummation into more real-life concerns about being in a gay relationship. Seyun frets a lot, for example, that he can never give Yoojin children, be someone Yoojin could introduce to his employers, or fulfill Yoojin’s mother’s dream of a beloved daughter-in-law. When Yoojin’s parents eventually discover the boys’ relationship, their kindness actually makes Seyun feel worse, like he’s betraying them by robbing Yoojin of his future. It seems awfully rare that a boys’ love title actually touches on these issues.

U Don’t Know Me is not your run-of-the-mill boys’ love story. The complexity of its plot, its characters, and their emotions combine to offer an engaging reading experience on par with some of the best titles in the genre.

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

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manhwa Tagged With:

Double Trouble by Takashi Kanzaki: C-

March 15, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Fearful of acting on his attraction for his new stepbrother, Naruki, Kou Sawara moves away from home and into the dorm at his high school. Soon thereafter, however, Naruki transfers in. His meek and innocent personality is a hit with the guys at school and Kou works himself to the point of exhaustion protecting Naruki from their advances. When his roommate suggests hypnotizing Naruki so that he’ll be able to protect himself, Kou agrees. Unfortunately, this hypnosis manifests as a super-aggressive seme personality that has Naruki turning the tables on all his would-be seducers, Kou included.

Most of the story revolves around Kou’s conflicted feelings—he’s in love with the original Naruki, but that Naruki is not in touch with his own love for Kou. The aggressive Naruki openly confesses his affections, but Kou doesn’t want to be the “bottom” in the relationship, nor does he consider this personality to really be Naruki. Add in a manipulative roommate who wants Kou for himself, and you get the basic gist. The art and storytelling are both competent, and I did appreciate that the sex scenes are suggestive rather than explicit.

I should probably steer clear of boys’ love titles with wacky premises, though, because even though I know they’re meant to be comedic, I still end up taking them too seriously. For instance, I was really bothered that Kou never once thought about how wrong hypnotizing Naruki was. Now he’s basically hypnotically compelled to sleep with a whole bunch of guys and not remember doing so. Is that not rape? Is that not violation most profound, no matter how implausible the means?

It also really bugged me that there’s no resolution at all to the story. I might’ve liked it a bit more if Naruki had regained his own personality in the end, but as things leave off, it seems like he’ll be stuck with his split personality forever. Sorry, but inflicting permanent mental damage upon the one you love does not strike me as terribly romantic.

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

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: ,

Love*Com 9 by Aya Nakahara: B+

March 15, 2009 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
Risa’s life should be perfect. After all, she’s finally dating the guy she loves. But Ôtani’s never actually said that he loves her, and they don’t even act like boyfriend and girlfriend. Wasn’t dating supposed to fix all that? To make matters worse, graduation is looming and Risa’s not sure she likes the way her future with Ôtani looks. Could this be the end of her love and their friendship?

Review:
Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve read this series. I kind of forgot how good it is.

Risa and Ôtani are getting a little more comfortable together as a couple, but Risa still isn’t sure how Ôtani feels about her, since he keeps saying mean things to her. The tendency of both characters to speak insultingly to each other is the one thing I really don’t like about this series, so I was happy to see it actually addressed in the plot, even though it doesn’t seem like it really gets any better afterwards. Essentially, Risa just realizes that Ôtani doesn’t mean what he says and that he actually does love her.

Random observation: Risa’s friend Chiharu is the Tina Hakim Baba of the series. When Risa complains about Ôtani calling her stupid, Chiharu attests, “I think that’s just his way of saying he loves you!” Totally Tina. If you don’t catch that reference, you’re probably lucky.

Moving on, there’s a brief chapter on the school festival then it seems like we kind of branch into a new arc. Everyone except for Risa knows what they want to do after graduation. Even Ôtani has begun to study to try to get admitted into college. Risa initially tries to dissuade him, since his grades are so bad, but it turns out that when he buckles down, he can actually do pretty well. This just makes Risa feel more alone and abandoned than ever, though.

Even though I’ve seen variations on this plot before, I still think it’s interesting and well-handled and look forward to where it’s headed. I’m especially pleased that the characters are graduating now, when the series is only half over, since it seems we might be following them at least a little while into young adulthood. Risa also ends up taking a part-time job in this volume, bringing with it an injection of new characters, too.

One final random observation: Has Risa always begun 80% (approx.) of her sentences with “Well,”? I was seeing it all over the place in this volume and it was really distracting.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Monkey High! 3 by Shouko Akira: B+

March 13, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
On Valentine’s Day, it’s no surprise that playboy Atsu gets plenty of chocolates from fawning girls. But everyone’s shocked when a heart-shaped box is found on Macharu’s desk—especially since it’s not from Haruna! Does Macharu have a secret admirer?

Review:
The trend of basing the chapters around relatively commonplace events continues—there’s one taking place on Valentine’s Day, one on Haruna’s birthday, and one about student council elections. The overall story continues to be pretty episodic, with much silliness from the supporting cast, but the moments between Haruna and Macharu are always serious and always good. I think that’s because Haruna herself is so serious she balances out the wackiness of her classmates.

Like the main couple in High School Debut, I like that it’s easy to see why Haruna and Macharu like each other and why they’re a good match. I get a little annoyed when various characters attest that Haruna really should be going out with Macharu’s friend Atsu because of his looks, but I suppose that does give her the opportunity to unequivocally state that she likes Macharu. There’s a great scene toward the end of the volume where she seeks him out to talk about some thoughts she’s been having, like how she’s not sure what she can do on her own, having always believed the influence of her politician father was in some part responsible for her success at her old school. It’s nice that they can talk to each other so freely. I also love that Haruna many times initiates the smooching, rather than passively waiting for it like some shoujo heroines I could name.

While I’m very happy with the development of the main couple, I could wish for a more memorable supporting cast. Atsu’s easy to remember because he talks so much. Next in recognizability are the guy that eats a lot and the girl from the student council, but that’s seriously all we know about them. There are a couple of other boys and girls who appear and have lines of dialogue and stuff and I have no idea what their names are or anything. I don’t want the story to veer off and focus on one of these classmates or anything, but they’re meaningless as they are.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

NANA 9 by Ai Yazawa: A

March 12, 2009 by 4 Comments

Spoilers beyond the cut.

From the back cover
Takumi and Hachi are getting married, but it’s far from a joyous announcement. Nobu and Nana are devastated, and even Takumi’s bandmates take the news hard. With paparazzi skulking around for a new scandal to exploit and tensions between Trapnest and Blast on high alert, will Hachi ever get her happily ever after?

Review:
I had started this volume immediately after finishing volume eight back in August but watching Hachi dutifully submit to Takumi’s advances was just too horrible and I had to put it aside. It took seven months for me to be ready to give it another go. Having made it to the end this time, I’m feeling at least a little more optimistic about Hachi’s chances for happiness.

One might think, in a volume dealing with the fallout from an unplanned pregnancy, that the expectant mother would be the one experiencing the most traumatic emotions. Fascinatingly, however, Hachi seems quite serene. Lonely and missing Nana, but still at peace with her decision to marry Takumi and seemingly even happy with him, to the point of snuggling with him in the swanky new apartment he rents for the two of them. I don’t really know what to make of that, honestly—can she actually love him? Is this another of her acts that she’s putting on for the sake of her child? Even when we do see her, it’s more from Takumi’s perspective than her own, so I hope we get some insight into her thoughts soon.

It’s actually Nana who reacts the worst, to the point of actually blacking out and forgetting some of her actions. Her friends are very concerned and her interactions with them are the best parts of the volume for me. I especially love the scene near the end where Ren has read the letter Hachi left for Nana upon moving out of their apartment. In it, Hachi says that Nana will always be her hero. As Ren urges Nana to go after Hachi, and she demands why she should have to be the one to do that, Ren replies, “That’s what a hero does.” It’s no exaggeration to say that line made tears spring to my eyes. I love the love between friends in this series. Even if the narration—”Is your new life that you protected at all costs still fulfilling you now?”—is beginning to drive me crazy with impatience to know what happens.

Another thing I appreciate is that Takumi is not the straight-up villain. Yes, he’s controlling and untrustworthy, but he seems to be making an effort to be nice to Hachi. We’ll see how long that lasts. I liked that the bonus story, ostensibly about Naoki, managed to sneak in some more revelations about Takumi’s character, too. Plus, you will never do wrong in my eyes by praising the music of T.Rex and David Bowie!

The only complaint I could make is that the Trapnest members don’t really interest me much. I find Reira, with her predilection for sobbing, rather tiresome. I think I’m supposed to feel sorry for her, but she just gets on my nerves. Still, I suppose even that is good character development.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

Monkey High! 2 by Shouko Akira: A-

March 10, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Haruna and Macharu head off to the amusement park for their official first date! But how romantic is the date going to turn out with scary roller coasters, guys hitting on Haruna, and even rowdy classmates popping up?

Review:
Considering that my two complaints about volume one were its clichéd events and annoying supporting characters, this back cover blurb didn’t do much to entice me. Thankfully, the contents were better than described.

I continue to like the main characters and the contrast between them. Macharu is all spazzy, hyper, and enthusiastic while Haruna is beautiful and “cool.” It’s so nice to have a shoujo heroine who’s smart and reserved! The pain of her broken home life weighs on Haruna, and we see more evidence of that in this volume, so it’s nice to see her laugh in Macharu’s presence. She really needs someone like him, and this is the reason why she ultimately keeps some of her problems from him, to avoid damaging his carefree outlook.

The overall plots of these chapters are pretty silly—an amusement park date, the gang participating in a big quiz show, et cetera—but there are plenty of good character moments sprinkled throughout. There’s also a really cute bonus story about Macharu’s little sister, Misato. Usually the bonus stories included in manga don’t do much for me; this is probably the best one I’ve read in some time.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

Moon Boy 1-6 by Lee YoungYou: C+

March 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment

When boy-crazy Myung-Ee Joo was in the fifth grade, she picked a fight with her popular classmate, Yu-Da Lee, after he warned her to stay away from an older boy with a bad reputation. She told him to meet her in the alley behind school after class, intending to apologize, but he never showed up. Even weirder, the next day at school no one but Myung-Ee remembered he had ever existed!

Five years later, Myung-Ee’s family has relocated and she has transferred into a high school rumored to have many attractive male students. There, she runs into Yu-Da again—now a member of the student council—but he claims to have no memory of her. Later, one of the other student council members, Sa-Eun Won, turns up at Myung-Ee’s house to have another go at erasing her memory and ends up telling her the whole story: both she and Yu-Da are descended from a species of rabbits that once lived on the moon. That’s why their eyes glow red at night. Their predators are the fox tribe, who feed on the blood and livers of the rabbits.

Yu-Da is a very special type of rabbit—the “black rabbit”—whose liver, when fully grown, has the ability to grant immortality to the one who consumes it. Back in fifth grade, the fox tribe kidnapped him and altered his personality. The other members of the student council are all foxes ordered to guard him until his liver reaches maturity, at which point it will be used to awaken their queen.

Myung-Ee, like any plucky heroine, vows not to let them hurt Yu-Da and soon meets up with some members of the rabbit army. Over the course of subsequent volumes, she works on improving her fighting skills so that she can save him. Of course, even though she is very human in appearance and considered inferior by the other rabbits, she makes incredible progress and soon can hold her own in battles with low-level foxes. While the main plot essentially stagnates until volume six, there are a few other subplots, including revelations about Yu-Da’s personality and abilities, a couple of boys with feelings for Myung-Ee, and the introduction of some mysterious new characters who claim to want the rabbits and foxes to live in peace but have a rather violent way of showing it.

Moon Boy has a lot of flaws, but the unifying theme among them is inconsistency. The exact nature of Yu-Da’s personality, for example, changes a few times before the final version of the facts is set forth in volume five. Belated additions and story tweaks are sprinkled throughout, too, like in volume four when Yu-Da’s liver, originally useless until fully grown, suddenly becomes “deathly poisonous” before that time. Also, the story shifts radically in tone from serious combat to unfunny comedy, including the most banal school festival chapters I’ve ever read (and trust me, I’ve read plenty).

The art exhibits a similar problem. I’m not a big fan of the style in general—some of the characters look way too young, others have astoundingly improbably hair, and the combat scenes are very hard to follow—but it gets even more unattractive in the “comedy” segments. Occasionally, though, there’ll be a panel or page out of nowhere that actually looks pretty good.

And, really, the same can be said for the story as a whole. Yes, it has many problems, but sometimes it’s almost good. Invariably, these are the more serious moments, and I have to wonder how much better I’d enjoy this series if all attempts at comedy were excised. Volume six had the least comedy of any so far, and is probably the best of the lot. I just wish I could believe that the latest story developments are really heading to something satisfying instead of another meandering excursion to Dawdleville.

Review copies for volumes four through six provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manhwa Tagged With:

Monkey High! 1 by Shouko Akira: A-

March 9, 2009 by 4 Comments

From the back cover:
Haruna Aizawa thinks that school life is just like a monkey mountain—all the monkeys form cliques, get into fights, and get back together again. The school that she just transferred to is no exception. There’s even a boy called Macharu Yamashita who reminds her of a baby monkey!

It’s hard enough fitting in at a new school while dealing with family problems… Will Haruna remain jaded and distance herself from everyone around her? Or will Macharu win her over with his monkey magic?

Review:
Viz really does have some quality shojo of the high school romance genre. Love*Com, High School Debut, We Were There, and now Monkey High!. Each one that I’ve read, I’ve really liked a lot.

Haruna Aizawa’s father is an upstart politician at the center of a corruption scandal. Because of this, she transferred into a new high school, but the group dynamics—which she compares to a gang of monkeys—are much the same. She strives to keep her distance, but one boy manages to befriend her. Macharu is rather scrawny and not generally someone a beautiful girl like Haruna would consider the ideal boyfriend, but he’s kind, considerate, and sincere and before Haruna realizes it, she’s fallen in love with him. They receive instant support from their classmates who think the mismatch has great potential to be interesting.

Haruna and Macharu are both interesting characters, and it’s awfully refreshing to read a title where the heroine is not earning the affections of the dreamiest, most popular boy in school. Also, Haruna has had boyfriends before, so is not going spazzy over having attracted a boy’s notice. There are some genuinely cute moments between them, and I’m happy to see them become a couple so quickly, as I tend to like stories where getting together is only the beginning of the story, rather than its culmination.

There are some things I found a little annoying, though. The three chapters in this volume deal with the school play, school trip, and Christmas, respectively. Is Akira-sensei just getting the clichés out of the way up front? I’m a little worried. Also, I didn’t find it funny when Haruna and Macharu’s classmates just happened to be eavesdropping on the lead pair at a few crucial moments, interrupting with their antics.

Considering how often I grumble about unfunny attempts at comedy in manga, I wouldn’t blame anyone for concluding that I simply have no sense of humor. I assure you that isn’t the case; I just don’t like it when it isn’t part of the story but instead disrupts it.

Monkey High! was originally published in Japan as Saruyama! and is complete with eight volumes total. Viz is releasing it in English and five volumes have been published so far.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

Papillon 2 by Miwa Ueda: B-

March 9, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Shy Ageha has long dwelled in the shadow of her beautiful and popular twin sister, Hana. With help from her school’s new guidance counselor, however, she’s begun to transform herself. In this volume, she reconciles with her mother after years of feeling that her parents preferred Hana and even moves on romantically when she realizes that her feelings for Ryûsei might not actually be love.

Papillon is a pretty fun series, and I definitely enjoy seeing family issues get some attention in a manga. The reconciliation between Ageha and her mother is a bit too easily achieved, but when’s the last time you saw a shojo manga heroine enjoy a nice warm hug with her mother? Not often, I’d wager.

On the negative side, I can’t help but feel that the actions of Ichijiku-san, the counselor, are incredibly inappropriate. He has groped Ageha a couple of times (apparently accidentally) and playfully made pretend advances upon her that would get him fired about a hundred times over in the real world. It takes me out of the story that he’s doing these things and is seemingly unconcerned about the occupational repercussions.

What I liked best about volume one—the relationship between Hana and her scheming sister—takes a backseat in this volume, but the way Hana lurks about looking furious as Ageha reconnects with her parents suggests there’ll be more sisterly strife in the future, which is all the reason I need to read on.

Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,
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