Her Majesty’s Dog 2 by Mick Takeuchi: B+

January 22, 2009 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
Hyoue Inugami is a lot older than he looks—500 years older, to be exact. Long before he became Amane’s loyal guardian, this demon dog served another master. He wasn’t alone in his duties, however. The sorcerer Kaiso kept two guardians—Hyoue and Zakuro. Now, after centuries of separation, Zakuro is back. The sprightly demon child says he’d like nothing more than to serve Amane alongside his old friend. But demons, like dogs, can be quite jealous when it comes to affection. When these two beasts start scrapping, who will emerge as leader of the pack?

Review:
This volume offers a twist on the romantic rival plot when Zakura, Hyoue’s former co-guardian, returns and manages to get Amane to declare that she’ll keep him for her guardian, too. It’s hinted that he’s got a sneaky agenda, so it was one of those, “Nooo, don’t believe him!” moments. Of course, he turns out to be a bad seed with lots of angst, but these chapters were all pretty good. I like that some interesting questions were raised, like what Hyoue would do if Amane were to die, and also a mysterious reference to Amane being “like that” back in their village.

My favorite part, though, is the first chapter in which Takako, Amane’s first and only friend, begins to have dreams about the events in volume one, where Amane protected her from a ghost assisted by Hyoue, who transformed into what Takako believes is a white cow. Hee. Some of the attempts at humor in this series are not funny, but I did have to snerk at super-deformed demon guise Hyoue all affronted at being mistaken for a cow. Anyway, I kind of figured that Takako would be allowed to keep her memories in the end, but I was all for that because every strong heroine needs a civilian who’s in on her secret! I guess I just like that Buffy dynamic.

Her Majesty’s Dog is quite entertaining. The angsty Zakuro plot didn’t thrill me, but there are several elements of its execution that genuinely surprised me, which bodes well for things to come.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo, Supernatural Tagged With:

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine: B

January 21, 2009 by Leave a Comment

From the front flap:
Ben Tanaka has problems. In addition to being rampantly critical, sarcastic, and insensitive, his long-term relationship is awash in turmoil. His girlfriend, Miko Hayashi, suspects that Ben has a wandering eye, and more to the point, it’s wandering in the direction of white women. This accusation (and its various implications) becomes the subject of heated, spiralling debate, setting in motion a story that pits California against New York, devotion against desire, and truth against truth.

Review:
Shortcomings is the story of Ben Tanaka, a guy with no career ambitions beyond managing a movie theater, who nonetheless thinks he knows everything, is always right, and that any kind of contrary opinion is a personal attack. He is relentlessly negative (a phrase I’d been thinking even before his girlfriend used it), insincere, shallow, judgmental, and so incredibly irritating that if I met him in real life I would leave tracks trying to get away from him. So, while I respect the vividness with which Tomine was able to evoke this character, I still pretty much hate him.

Ben’s girlfriend Miko has been putting up with his crap for a couple of years, but she’s not a blameless victim, either. She instigates arguments and goads him into anger, sometimes exaggerating things just to provoke a reaction. She’s often not wrong with what she says—he does have a thing for white women, for example—but the way she says it is guaranteed to lead to a fight. They are very, very bad for each other and their arguments are painful to read because it’s easy to imagine a real couple saying the same things.

The front flap promises a “brutal, funny, and insightful reflection of human shortcomings.” The brutal territory is covered pretty well. Ben is downright mean on occasions, but can’t take it when it’s dished back at him. One of the most memorable scenes is when, after his new white girlfriend has gotten to know him better, she breaks up with him. First, she tries to give an excuse about the return of an old flame, but then admits that he’s the problem. “I could be totally, brutally honest about why I’m doing this, but I’m not sure you’d ever recover.” I actually wish she would have elaborated and that he would’ve had a moment where he realized he was all those things, but it would’ve been unrealistic for him to ever be convinced he was wrong.

I suppose there’s some insight, too, even though Ben doesn’t experience a personality transplant. He does get what he deserves, though, and ends up alone and left behind. Will he learn? I sincerely doubt it. He’ll just go on blaming others for what they did to his life, never realizing all the crap he did to them in return.

What’s utterly missing is the promised funny. Looking back, I can’t remember a single thing that even made me smile, much less laugh. Depressing and cringe-inducing? Yes. Funny? No.

The art is pretty interesting. It’s nothing flashy, but there are some good subtle moments when Ben’s disgust or derision is well portrayed. It adheres rigidly to a rectangular panel shape throughout, and if I were writing this for English class, I’d postulate that this is a metaphor for Ben’s inflexible worldview. Some of the parts I like best use repeated panels to indicate the passage of time, such as the view of the parking lot while Ben is seeing Miko off on a trip to New York, or the last page, where he mulls over all that has happened while gazing out of an airplane window.

While I certainly didn’t like the characters or situations they put themselves in, I still must give Shortcomings kudos for invoking such a reaction. I’d be interested to read more from Tomine, but hopefully something with a slightly more sympathetic protagonist next time.

The material collected in Shortcomings was originally published as issues 9-11 of a comic series called Optic Nerve (Drawn & Quarterly). Issues 1-4 and 5-8 can be found in the collections Sleepwalk and Other Stories and Summer Blonde, respectively.

More reviews of Shortcomings can be found at Triple Take.

Filed Under: Comics, Triple Take Tagged With:

A, A’ by Moto Hagio: B+

January 21, 2009 by 1 Comment

Back in the late ’90s, Viz dabbled in this weird thing called “shojo manga” and released a few one-shot volumes. A, A’ (A, A Prime), a collection of science fiction stories, was among these, and (lamentably) represents the largest chunk of material from Moto Hagio available in this country. Hagio, along with many other women who were pioneers of shojo manga, was born in 1949. These women came to be known as the Year 24 Group, as 1949 was the 24th year of Japan’s Showa era. Exploring themes of sexuality and gender, many of their works are considered classics. Hagio’s contributions include some of the earliest boys’ love stories, like The Heart of Thomas, and Shogakukan Manga Award-winning story “They Were Eleven,” published by Viz in floppy comic format as well as in the hard-to-find Four Shojo Stories anthology.

The three stories in A, A’ also deal with themes of gender and identity, each involving a member of a genetically engineered race of people called “Unicorns.” In the title story (my favorite), a team of people is working to develop an icy planet. Because of the dangerous nature of their mission, each person’s genetic information was saved prior to their departure so that they can be cloned if they should die. Adelade Lee has just undergone that process, and has returned to her post with no memory of the past three years she spent there or the comrades who greet her so warmly. The original Adelade’s lover has a great deal of trouble adjusting to the clone, insisting that it isn’t really her, but growing confused nonetheless. I really like the resolution to this one and would’ve been happy to read more about these characters.

Instead, the other two stories feature Mori, a young man with telekinetic powers and a “kaleidoscope eye” that allows him to see the infrared spectrum, similar to what the Unicorns can see. In “4/4,” we meet Mori as a teenager who, along with other kids with special powers, is living on Io and training to control his abilities. Things aren’t going well until he meets Trill, a Unicorn who is the subject of a scientific experiment. The pair of them “resonate,” allowing Mori temporary access to more control and also eventually providing Trill with the ability to object to the experiments being performed upon her. This story is my second favorite, and I particularly like how Trill’s lack of emotional involvement is portrayed; there’s a great scene where Mori seizes and kisses her and she just sort of blankly endures it, like a doll.

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the last story, “X + Y,” very much. There’s a conference being held on Mars to discuss plans to improve its conditions, and the team sent from Earth to take part includes a male unicorn named Tacto. On Mars, he meets Mori, four years older now, who becomes obsessed with Tacto. I understand that back when this was written, it was probably a stunning thing for one guy to confess his love to another, but in “X + Y” it all seems far too rushed to me and I never understood why Mori feels that way. He also gets on my nerves by behaving very stupidly when he and Tacto are out riding a space scooter on a ring of Saturn (really!), resulting in a life-threatening accident. The Mars theories don’t make much sense, nor does a subplot about Tacto’s chromosomes. Hagio tries to interject some humor into this tale, mostly by having Tacto (who refers to himself in the third person) say random things like, “Tacto likes pudding.” It’s cute, but not enough to improve my opinion of the story.

To modern eyes, Hagio’s artwork will surely look old-fashioned. Drawn between 1981 and 1984, it features some interesting fashions (particularly for Adelade) and a male romantic lead with a flowing mane of curly hair. There’s a lot of variety in the page layouts, and more than one image of characters superimposed over moons, stars, and other celestial bodies. I may mock it a bit, but I do genuinely like it; it’s nice to read something that doesn’t look like anything else.

For the title story alone, A, A’ is worth picking up. I can’t remember how much I paid for my copy, but I don’t think it was much. There are ten copies listed on Amazon right now so it shouldn’t be hard to find.

Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Manga, Sci-Fi, Short Stories, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Lovers and Souls by Kano Miyamoto: B-

January 19, 2009 by 3 Comments

Lovers and Souls is comprised of the 100-page title story, two additional shorter stories relating to it, and two stories about a different couple. “Lovers and Souls” was my favorite of the bunch. It’s the story of Shinomiya, a beautiful art student with a fondness for cash and an ambivalent attitude about what happens to his body, and Matsuoka, an openly gay photographer who offers Shinomiya money in exchange for sex. Finding the experience tolerable, Shinomiya begins selling himself regularly.

I typically don’t like stories involving prostitution, so I was surprised to enjoy “Lovers and Souls” as much as I did. I thought Shinomiya’s pragmatic attitude was interesting, and liked how he began to feel comfortable with Matsuoka, relishing the quiet, affectionate moments and eventually putting an end to the monetary aspect of their relationship. A plot twist made me like this story even more, and I found the subsequent reaction to it surprisingly touching.

Miyamoto’s art isn’t especially pretty or exceptional, but I did like Matsuoka’s looks a lot: he looked Asian, but this wasn’t achieved by any exaggeration of stereotypically Asian features. It was more of a subtle facial structure kind of thing.

The author’s note at the end of the book mentions that the “Lovers and Souls” story will be continued in a book called Rules, which Aurora Publishing doesn’t seem to have licensed yet. I liked this well enough to check it out if they ever do so.

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

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

The Adventures of Young Det 1 by Gyojeong Kwon: B+

January 19, 2009 by 2 Comments

The Adventures of Young Det is billed as the story of “two adventure-loving boys who set out on an epic quest to slay a fearsome dragon that threatens their world.” Presumably, at some point it will be just that, but this first volume serves as a prologue, focusing on the relationship between a powerful human sorcerer named Lazarus and the lovely Ferat, chief of a race of prophets.

Lazarus, as we first meet him, is extremely talented and he knows it. Initially unimpressed with the Ferat, his admiration for her grows when he realizes her magical abilities exceed his own. Eventually the two strike up an agreement to teach the other their styles of magic. Unbeknownst to Lazarus, the Ferat is also keeping an eye on him because of a prophetic vision that indicates he will have something to do with the summoning of the dragon some eighty years hence.

Many in-depth conversations about the universe’s magic system follow and it’s to Kwon’s credit that these scenes manage to be more about the characters than magical mechanics. Lazarus palpably changes as a result of these lessons, and his growing feelings for the Ferat evolve quite naturally. Occasionally these discussions can get a bit wordy, and there are a lot of terms to get straight as well, but on the whole they’re perfectly comprehensible and don’t drag down the narrative.

Quite a few intriguing questions are left at the end of this volume, and I get the overall sense that Kwon has plotted this tale very carefully. Will Lazarus actually be responsible for summoning the dragon? Will the Ferat and her home really disappear as some visions have indicated? Will the story continue to be as enjoyable when it actually gets to the epic questing?

With beautiful art and a well-crafted story, The Adventures of Young Det gets off to a very good start in this volume. I look forward to reading more.

The Adventures of Young Det is published by NETCOMICS and is available online as well as in a print edition. There are four volumes so far, though only one is currently available on the site. New chapters are added according to this handy schedule.

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

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manhwa Tagged With:

We Were There 2 by Yuki Obata: A-

January 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Nanami Takahashi has fallen in love with her classmate, Yano, and confessed her feelings, but he said he didn’t know whether he liked her or not. They continue on as friends, and have some sweet moments now and then, but Yano remains aloof. It seems like every time they momentarily get closer, he slips away again, occasionally saying mean things to her.

Yano is still struggling with the death of his ex-girlfriend, who died while cheating on him with another guy. He didn’t think he’d ever date anyone else, and has been pushing Nanami away because she’s able to get under his guard. It’s quite the surprise when, seemingly out of nowhere, he tells her he likes her.

All of this leads to the most shojo-y page I have ever seen. This image encapsulates the very essence of shojo, and must be shared.

I tend to like series where the lead couple gets together early on (Kare Kano, High School Debut), since the story can then focus on issues other than “Does he like me?!” In We Were There, though, things are a bit weird. Even though Yano and Nanami are together, and are shown goofing around and having fun, the overall feel is not a happy one. A cryptic comment by one of Yano’s friends adds to the feeling of foreboding. Yano has a lot of issues and, somehow, I suspect things are not going to end well.

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

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Otomen 1 by Aya Kanno: B+

January 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

High school student Asuka Masamune has a reputation as a cool and stoic guy. He’s ranked number one in the country for kendo, and has black belts in both judo and karate. His name alone inspires fear in the hearts of his would-be opponents. But Asuka has a secret. Beneath this carefully-crafted masculine exterior, he yearns to read shojo manga, make plushies, and fall in love. When he meets tomboyish Ryo Miyakozuka, his veneer begins to crack. He finds himself wanting to do things to help her, like finish a home ec sewing project, make tasty bento lunches, and teach her to make the perfect birthday cake for her father. After Ryo mentions that she prefers masculine guys, Asuka tries to be her ideal, but with some encouragement from frenemy Juta, eventually realizes that he wants to be his real self with the person he cares for.

It’s difficult to see exactly why Asuka falls in love with Ryo in the first place, but once they start hanging out together, her personality begins to come through. They’re joined by classmate Juta, whose playboy ways tick Asuka off, but whom he gradually accepts because Juta’s friendship is also important to Ryo. They develop a kind of xxxHOLiC dynamic, with Asuka preparing lunch for the three of them while muttering things like “why am I always making enough for this guy as well?” Unbeknownst to Asuka, Juta has another reason for hanging around. He’s actually Jewel Sachihana, the mangaka behind Asuka’s favorite shojo manga series, Love Chick, and Asuka is the model for his heroine, as no one else embodies true femininity so well.

One of best things about this subplot is that pages from Love Chick work their way into the story, and you can see how well Kanno emulates that generic shojo art style. Also, as events unfold, it becomes clear that Juta is using incidents from Asuka’s life in his manga, even nudging him into action a few times in order to get new material, and that the male love interest looks exactly like a boy version of Ryo. Asuka remains clueless so far, only mentioning that he “surprisingly identifies with it a lot.”

In addition to the glimpses of Love Chick, there are plenty of other amusing things in Otomen. My favorites include the panel where Asuka, after binging on girly items, thinks “I’ve got to control myself” then looks down to see he has unconsciously completed a teddy bear; the scenes in which Asuka and Ryo both declare their intentions to protect the other, complete with flowery background (an image later replicated in Love Chick); and the part where Asuka purposefully leaves a volume of Love Chick lying around in the path of a heartbroken guy, who proceeds to go all sparkly over it.

Lastly, I’m really enjoying the male perspective. While a male protagonist is by no means rare in shojo, you’ll usually find them in science fiction or fantasy works and not in a high school romance. Asuka’s not your average guy, of course, but neither is he simply a typical shojo heroine in male disguise.

With its quirky characters and comedic approach, Otomen promises to be a lot of fun.

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

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

High School Debut 7 by Kazune Kawahara: A-

January 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

This is a pretty episodic volume, but still manages to move things forward for the characters. In the first chapter, Yoh is sick, giving Haruna the opportunity to care for him overzealously. Next, Yoh’s sister Asa is feeling insecure in her relationship with Yoh’s friend, Fumi, since he seems to easily resist her seductive powers. She entertains the notion of cheating on him, which, of course, makes Haruna want to step in and intervene. Lastly, the new school year begins, and several new freshmen boys are introduced, each of which gets stabbed by Haruna as she attempts to pin on their “new student” ribbon at the entrance ceremony.

There are some series you read that just make you happy, and High School Debut is one of those for me. I think the main thing I love is the open communication between Haruna and Yoh. He tells her what he likes about her, for instance, and they both immediately sense problems in the Asa/Fumi relationship and discuss what they ought to do about it. I really dislike it when a prolonged misunderstanding is used as a plot, so it’s such a relief to me when characters actually talk about things with each other.

I can’t believe this series is at the halfway point already! I recommend it most highly.

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

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

With the Light 2 by Keiko Tobe: B+

January 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment

With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child is the story of the Azuma family. Eldest son Hikaru has autism, and the series chronicles the struggles and satisfactions that his parents and teachers experience as Hikaru gradually learns to function in the world. This chunky volume from Yen Press, equivalent to volumes three and four of the original Japanese release, focuses on Hikaru’s fourth and fifth grade years and features many different challenging situations in the school setting as well as in broader society.

Though attention is certainly paid to the misunderstandings and problems that result from Hikaru’s lack of understanding of social nuances and situations, the series also takes care to show things that Hikaru is exceptionally good at because of his disability, like putting puzzles together with all of the pieces upside down (since he was never relying on the image to begin with), and mixing paints to perfectly match colors occurring in nature. Seeing Hikaru succeed is very rewarding, and is the aspect of this series that I enjoy most.

As was pointed out in the review of volume one, the series falters in the resolution of complex issues or conflicts. Cruel students and angry shopkeepers are likely to experience swift changes of heart, and a mother who had previously been at a loss on how to handle her autistic daughter has dialogue like, “Wow, she’s learning things faster now than with me yelling at her.” It just doesn’t seem genuine.

One last thing I wish to point out is that Yen Press has clearly taken steps to make this series approachable for readers new to manga. The size of each volume is equivalent to a large paperback book and the Readings Tips section tackles matters from a first-time manga reader’s perspective. I’d be interested to learn how many such readers there are.

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

Filed Under: Josei, Manga Tagged With:

FreshMen by Yuuya: C+

January 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment

In the title story, Takeyuki Saito and Hitoshi Sato are both studying art at the same university. At the entrance ceremony, Saito, who’d been up drinking the night before, momentarily slumps into Sato’s arms, giving the impression that he’s weak and needs looking after. In the weeks that follow, Saito takes advantage of Sato’s kindness to some degree, and eventually realizes that Sato has feelings for him.

“FreshMen” surprised me in a couple of ways. First, take a look at the cover image up there. Which one is the uke? In nearly every other yaoi manga, it’d be the smaller-looking blond. “FreshMen” switches things around by having Saito, the younger and shorter of the pair, be the seme while serious, dark-haired Sato is the uke. Second, Sato really struggles with his homosexuality, expressing the desire to just be “normal” and worrying a lot about exposure. There are some plot points I’m not fond of, but these atypical traits put me in a kindly frame of mind toward “FreshMen.”

The latter half of the volume is made up of three short stories featuring Chomaru and Shiina—characters from Yuuya’s doujinshi—which I don’t like nearly as well. Particularly distasteful is a story called “memory of,” which recounts the story of how, after Chomaru has been living with Shiina rent free for six months, the latter comes home drunk and extorts the former into exchanging sex for rent. This particular episode is a flashback, but the rest of their relationship is also kinda cold and weird.

Speaking of weird, the art also has its strange moments. Each couple has its blond and its brunette and the blonds (Saito and Chomaru) look very much alike. Mouths are also drawn oddly at times, with very red, poofy lips. I amused myself by imagining the characters sneaking sips of Kool-Aid between panels.

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

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