High School Debut 1 by Kazune Kawahara: A-

October 11, 2008 by 5 Comments

From the back cover:
Back in junior high, Haruna Nagashima was only interested in two things: softball and manga. Now that she’s starting high school, Haruna’s focus has changed—she wants to snag a boyfriend and have the romance of her dreams!

After blindly following the advice of fashion magazines and the like, Haruna fails to win the eye of any guy. Convinced that a coach is needed (just like when she trained for softball), she recruits cute upperclassman Yoh Komiyama to instruct her on how to make herself more appealing. Yoh agrees, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!

Review:
At its core, High School Debut is a cute story with likable characters. Oh sure, Haruna is a girl who’s hopelessly clueless about something and has a blunt but kind boy nearby to steer her in the right direction and rescue her at key moments, which is not the most original concept ever, but the focus is on the right things, like being one’s self and learning what qualities are really most important in a prospective boyfriend.

It’s fun and refreshing and I like it a lot. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the shopping trip chapter; it felt like an episode of What Not to Wear, which I admit to watching on occasion. The one thing that bugs me is that Yoh instructs Haruna to stop working out. Apparently only weak and spindly women are attractive? At least Yoh’s buddy, Fumi, doesn’t think so. He seems to like her the way she is, and by the end of the volume, Haruna thinks she might be in love with him.

One of the things I must praise is the art. Kawahara employs some standard shoujo tricks to be sure, like relying on sparkly tone for the background of many panels, but maintains a distinctive style. Though the use of tone is generous, it doesn’t result in a cluttered page. She does innovative things with layouts. But most importantly, each of the main characters is facially unique. This is not one of those series where all the boys look the same except for interchangeable hair. I particularly like the look of Haruna’s best friend, Mami; she looks like she might be more at home in a josei manga.

I note that this was serialized in Margaret like two of my other favorites, Boys Over Flowers and Love*Com. If I were a Japanese person, I think I know to which magazine I’d be subscribing!

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Sand Chronicles 3 by Hinako Ashihara: B+

October 10, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Sweet 16-year-old Ann returns to rural Shimane from Tokyo for the summer, eager to reconnect with her boyfriend Daigo. But will the allure of their close friends—wealthy brother and sister Fuji and Shika—sunder the romantic ties that have bound Ann and Daigo since they were 12?

Review:
I didn’t like this volume quite as much as the first two because it was missing that special feeling of nostalgia. Instead, it focused mostly on relationship and family angst, which was entertaining in its way, but didn’t elicit the bittersweet vibe that usually elevates this title above its fellows.

There was more focus on the Tsukishima siblings in this volume, which was welcome, as both of them separately tried to break free of the stifling mold their family has imposed upon them. Ann and Daigo begin by being worried about the Tsukushima in their town, but it’s probably only a matter of time until things escalate. I’m not really looking forward to that happening, since it will cause so much pain all around, but it will undoubtedly be interesting.

I’m also looking forward to farther down the line chronologically; will the series depict Ann in her early twenties, and follow right up to where she is as the story begins? That would be really neat.

Although these chapters here were not the best, the cliffhanger ending was pretty cool and I’m definitely looking forward to volume 4.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

Skip Beat! 14 by Yoshiki Nakamura: A-

October 10, 2008 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Vie Ghoul is the new band burning up the charts by stealing Sho’s moves, and Kyoko’s hopping mad on his behalf. Kyoko’s confrontation with Sho about his lack of action doesn’t go as well as she hoped—Sho gets violent, and the frontman for Vie Ghoul gets a good look at Kyoko’s demons. And both men seem a little more interested in Kyoko than Ren would like…

Review:
This volume was a bit of a slow starter, since I really don’t care very much about the director of Dark Moon and his father complex. Sho’s appearance injected some much-needed energy and also brought about the return of Kyoko’s grudge demons and scary facial expressions, which we haven’t seen for a little while.

Throughout the volume, Ren’s manager Yashiro was unapologetically meddling in Ren and Kyoko’s affairs, which was great. Without him pestering Ren, we’d probably never know what Ren was thinking, so he’s very useful in that regard. My favorite scene in the volume was when he and Ren were eating at an outdoor patio and a couple of random guys nearby were discussing Kyoko. After one admitted to fancying her, Yashiro grinned evilly, and the following exchange ensued:

Y: That boy likes her.
R: That’s nice.

I seldom laugh aloud as I read, but that bit cracked me up.

Of course, Ren’s just playing it cool, as his totally sweet phone call to Kyoko to make sure she was ready for a location shoot proved. I loved seeing him unnerved by the possibility that Sho could steal Kyoko away. I’d never considered Sho a serious romantic rival until this volume, and I certainly don’t think he deserves Kyoko, but his attentions are probably the one thing that’d make Ren lose control over his emotions, so I’m all for it.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Dororo 3 by Osamu Tezuka: B

October 8, 2008 by 3 Comments

Book description:
Hyakkimaru and Dororo search for the treasure hidden by Dororo’s parents, but are thwarted in their search by a traitorous bandit, man-eating sharks, and greedy samurai. Afterwards, they continue to encounter demons and tales of the misdeeds of Hyakkimaru’s powerful father.

Review:
This final volume of Dororo was a disappointment on a few fronts.

At the end of the second volume, it seemed that Hyakkimaru had a new goal: find the money buried by Dororo’s parents and use it to fund a revolution against the samurai. They started off this volume looking for it, but after the location marked on the map turned out to be a bust, they never spoke of it again. Instead there were stories about angsty horse demons and voracious ghouls and a random revelation about Dororo that was probably groundbreaking for its time but has been done better since.

There were a couple of spots of snerkworthy dialogue, like this gem of deep characterization: “Wait. If I kill you, I’ll get another body part back… That’d make me glad.” And let’s not forget Hyakkimaru’s stirring farewell to the lady who’s just fallen in love with him and died in the space of five pages: “See ya.”

The biggest disappointment, however, was the lack of any meaningful controntation between Hyakkimaru and his father. Oh sure, the villagers Daigo had been exploiting rose up in revolt and won the ensuing battle, but it was all very anticlimactic. The end was pretty abrupt, as well, though I did rather like the melancholy aspect of it, and at least a few loose threads were tied up.

All in all, I did enjoy reading Dororo and I think it was an excellent place to start my Tezuka education.

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

Fairy Tail 3 by Hiro Mashima: B

October 6, 2008 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
The evil members of the Dark Guild Eisenwald have found a cursed flute that can murder anyone who hears its music—and now they’ve taken over a midtown train station with a very loud public address system. Only Natsu and his crazy friends (including a flying cat) can stop them!

Review:
Fairy Tail has finally won me over. I think it was the fact that several guild members went on a mission together that did it, since I enjoyed seeing their various powers on display. Natsu also got to partake in a couple of nifty battles with nice choreography.

One thing I like about the combat in this series is that people have more than one trick. They don’t have to keep doing a “Wind scar” or “Amekakeryu no Hirameki” over and over again, but have many different aspects of their magical specialties that they can employ. I especially like Erza’s ability to don armor to suit her opponent; it has the added benefit of being very prettily drawn, as well.

At the end of the story, Erza gets arrested by the body that governs those with her special abilities. Oh noes! I predict the spiky-haired hero and friends will attempt a daring rescue, that Happy will turn out to be a sexay layday, and that Erza’s heretofore unseen angsty brother, Pyakuya, will make an appearance.

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

Fairy Tail 2 by Hiro Mashima: B

October 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Beautiful celestial wizard Lucy has teamed up with the crazy fire wizard Natsu and his bizarre flying cat, Happy. Their job: to steal a book from the notorious Duke Everlue. But the eccentric Everlue has killed wizards before, and Lucy’s team is walking right into his death trap!

Review:
I was getting serious GetBackers vibes from the first mission in this volume. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy are hired by a client who will pay them two million “jewels” to retrieve a book from the library of some crazy, lecherous old guy. They fight some bodyguards with specialized combat abilities, and Lucy goes around in skimpy outfits, though not quite as skimpy as the stuff Hevn wears. (Side note: I haven’t read any GetBackers for two whole years now. Must remedy. It’s not the best thing ever, but I would still like to finish it.)

A new powerful female character is introduced in the second mission and I thought I’d like her, since she seemed keen to instill some discipline in her fellow wizards, but she turned out to be as illogical as the rest in her own way. The second story also introduces the threat of dark guilds, those who’ve broken rules (such as accepting assassination requests) and have been ousted from the league of official wizard guilds, which is pretty nifty. Some of these villains have some neat magic abilities, too; I particularly like the guy who manipulates shadows.

The art continues to be great. Not only does Mashima excel at depicting cities, but there’s never any question of where a scene is occurring, and sometimes you even know what room is next door, what’s down the street, etc. Some maps are helpfully provided, as well.

I liked this volume a little more than the first one, but I’m still not entirely sold on following it long term. Mashima employs gag humor that I don’t really care for (someone turning up naked for one panel just so someone else can joke about it), but at the same time there are amusing bits that I like, such as when Happy (the cat) picks up a skull in a storage room and randomly wears it as a helmet for a few pages. The magic system, not only the abilities but the organization, is also original and interesting. If only the characters weren’t so irksome!

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

Fairy Tail 1 by Hiro Mashima: B-

October 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the Fairy Tail, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead, her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu’s not your typical hero-he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?

Review:
This series was praised on a couple of review sites I read, but I have to say I’m kind of underwhelmed so far. I think my main problem with it so far stems from the characters, who are fairly annoying and reckless. The wizard guild members pride themselves on thumbing their noses at authority, and one has to wonder how they keep getting jobs when they’re famous for destroying public and private property.

There’s definitely potential, though, and later chapters that began to explain Lucy’s magic were more to my liking. I’m quite impressed by the art, as well. I adore any panel that depicts a city, because Mashima does them particularly well, and though we’ve got the stereotypical spiky-haired hero and buxom girl for the leads, some of the other character designs are very original. Like the Taurus spirit Lucy conjures who looks like a man-cow in superhero briefs. With six nipples. His appearance led to the one line that I actually did giggle at, when he saved them from a dangerous situation and Natsu gratefully cried, “Cow!!”

So yeah, I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would, but I’m willing to give it a couple more volumes to catch my interest.

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

Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind 4 by Hayao Miyazaki: A-

October 4, 2008 by 2 Comments

From the back cover:
Now Princess Nausicaä and the God Warrior, a biotechnological abomination of the war known as the Seven Days of Fire, embark on a journey to the Crypt of Shuwa to seal away forever the terrible weaponry hidden within. But everyone seems to be conspiring to prevent Nausicaä from carrying out her mission, even the mysterious guardian of the crypt himself! In the end, as the surprising secret of the crypt is finally revealed, Miyazaki makes a profound statement about free will and the sanctity of life that sheds light on our own technologically advanced, yet morally troubled, twentieth century.

Review:
I was a little disappointed by this final volume because I had trouble understanding exactly why Nausicaä made the decision she did at the very end. I think that she wanted humanity to take its chances and not accept any help from the crypt’s technological capabilities, since that would once again be fiddling with life, but said chances look very slim indeed, so I’m a little confused.

In any case, the ending is suitably epic, with a couple of moving casualties. Mostly it’s action, action, action and plot, plot, plot, but there is actually a bit of humor, too, from the unlikely source of a crazy emperor’s severed head. I also liked how one little romantic subplot gets resolved in a couple of panels, even though Nausicaä’s eventual fate is a little less clear.

Overall, reading this series has been an interesting and enjoyable experience. It has required a lot of brain power to digest ideas, events, and their significance, but it’s been worth it. It’s not every day a manga can make you put it down and stare contemplatively at your wall for a few minutes, after all.

Filed Under: Manga, Sci-Fi Tagged With:

Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind 3 by Hayao Miyazaki: A

October 2, 2008 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Humanity, in its hubris, has precipitated a devastating environmental disaster. Flourishing industrial civilizations have been swallowed up by the Sea of Corruption, an enormous forest of fungi that releases a miasma of poisonous spores into the air. Nausicaä, a compassionate young princess, and her allies battle to heal a wounded world and its inhabitants…

Now Nausicaä embarks on an inner, spiritual journey to the very heart of the Sea of Corruption, where she discovers its surprising secret! Compelled to share her discovery, she returns to the land of the living. But then she accidentally awakens a God Warrior, a biotechnological abomination of the war known as the Seven Days of Fire, from its stasis. And now the monstrous, yet childlike, God Warrior thinks Nausicaä is its mother!

Review:
I have no idea what those last two sentences are on about, because that did not happen in this volume. What does happen is that the environmental threat comes to a head, bringing many epic scenes of noble insects on their way to sacrifice themselves to neutralize a man-made mutant mold. Nausicaä nearly loses hope then regains it, and winds up being worshipped by a people who’re universally reviled.

There isn’t as much political stuff this time around, but that must be in the next volume, because now that things have kind of settled on the environmental front the big problem that’s left is the two crazies in charge of the warring nations. As a result, Kushana doesn’t appear much, but when she does, she is a complete badass. Seriously. I was tempted to bust out a scanner at one point just to have evidence to support my claims.

One thing I wanted to point out specifically is how well Miyazaki conveys a character’s thoughts with just a glance. There’s one nice sequence where Nausicaä is standing in a section of purified forest, spores floating about her, and the focus shifts to her young male companion, who’s watching her with a small smile on his face. It’s obvious just from that how he feels about her.

There’s not a lot I can say about this that I haven’t already. It’s really, really good and I’m extremely happy that I heeded all the recommendations I read. I hope someone will heed mine!

Filed Under: Manga, Sci-Fi Tagged With:

DVD 1-2 by Kye Young Chon: A-

September 30, 2008 by Leave a Comment

DVD reminds me of some various and random things—Ai Yazawa’s NANA, the short-lived and cult favorite TV series Wonderfalls, and the pilot for the BBC show Being Human—while managing to be something fresh and original. It’s true that I have not read a great deal of manhwa, but DVD is the finest example of Korean comics craft that I have yet encountered.

DVD is the story of Ddam Shim, who has been dating handsome Sajang Min for three years, right up until he breaks up with her over dinner, saying there are certain things about her that he just can’t stand anymore. For instance, Ddam sees illusions, from clusters of grapes floating overheard to chatty cows on the train and rebellious shadows that get blown free in a windstorm and run off. She also seems to be incapable of feeling cold, and Sajang postulates that she might not be completely human.

Heartbroken Ddam decides to commit suicide and blows her remaining money on some pretty things for herself. On the tag for a bra she finds a phone number and, after some deliberation, calls it and makes arrangements to spend her last day on earth with that person. The number belongs to Venu, a very handsome guy with a boob fetish who believes his looks to be a handicap and aims to lead as pointless a life as possible. He makes his living by selling story ideas to novelists and manhwa-gas while his best friend DD—an uncouth punk with a thing for long eyelashes—is a DJ. They meet up with Ddam and, in short, begin to change her life.

Venu and DD are fun characters, and their relationship is entertaining. Even though they often engage in immature or violent behavior, they have some entirely random conversations that appeal to my love of the absurd, such as the best techniques for spitting and whether hairy feet would be useful in winter. I may disapprove of some of their actions, but they’re trying to cheer Ddam in their own inept way and that helps to balance their faults. Ddam is far from a cipher, but so far, she’s still numb from all that’s been happening and spends most of her time reacting to events around her.

I also really like the playful style in which the story is told. It lapses frequently into flashbacks, daydreams, Ddam’s illusions, and Venu’s stories, many of which are quite amusing. With some creators, such a juggling act might result in something incomprehensible, but Chon has a sure hand and keeps things on track. The mystery and evolution of Ddam’s illusions are particularly interesting—especially as they begin to involve real physical objects and become visible to others—and the second volume ends on a cliffhanger with a lot of intriguing possibilities.

The art style is pretty angular, with all of the main male characters possessing a set of heavy black eyebrows and everyone receiving highly slanted eyes and pointy chins. I’d swear that Sajang and Venu have nearly the same face, but their styles and expressions are so different that there’d be no chance of mistaking one for the other. DD is also particularly expressive, and I admire Chon’s skill in conveying his feelings and reactions so clearly.

So far, only two of DVD‘s eight volumes have been published in English. With DramaQueen’s currently uncertain status, a future for this title seems unlikely, which is truly a shame. Still, there’s a lot to like in the volumes we do have, and they’re worth a read, even if we’ll never know how it all turns out in the end.

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

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