xxxHOLiC 13 by CLAMP: A-

March 28, 2009 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
The medium Kohane-chan has been punched and bruised on national TV, but still her controlling mother is forcing her to go on the air. Now Kimihiro steps between the rebellious young psychic and her raging mother, only to take the beating himself. See the dramatic conclusion of Kohane-chan’s story!

Review:
What a perfect manga to read on a rainy day!

The majority of the plot revolves around Kohane-chan, whom I’ve never been very interested in. After a series of television apperances in which she seems to be inaccurate because lesser psychics can not see all that she can, public opinion turns against her. After being pressured by her mother to be “right,” even if it means lying, Kohane instead basically destroys her own career so that it’ll all be over.

I was kind of wondering why this story was occupying center stage, but then the words of Kohane’s mother hit home. Though her mother had been wishing for something day in and day out, it had never come true. This is a direct parallel to Watanuki’s current situation. Last volume, he learned that his entire existence may be a dream, but if he wishes hard enough, it might become reality. Now he’s confronted with proof that—if one has the wrong kind of wish, a hurtful wish—that’s not so easy to achieve.

Still, he’s determined to try and to not take for granted the people with whom he comes in contact, which results in him being much nicer to Doumeki than before. I particularly love the scene where Doumeki is chastising Watanuki for allowing Kohane’s mother to hit him while at the same time Watanuki is inquiring about how many rice balls Doumeki would like and what he’d like inside them. It seems like a small thing, but Watanuki has never so graciouly offered to fulfill Doumeki’s culinary requests in this manner.

I’m still pretty confused about what exactly Watanuki’s situation is. Is he living in a dream, peopled by dream characters? Or is he dreaming that he is part of reality, and only certain people can see him? He was concerned, for instance, that the receptionists at the television studio where Kohane’s appearance was being broadcast would not be able to see him. It’s possible he’s right, as a member of the production team later says, “Get Kohane and her mother off screen” when Watanuki is there, too. Perhaps they saw him merely as superfluous, but perhaps they didn’t see him at all.

Like the previous volume, quite a lot of intriguing information is revealed in the final few pages. Yuuko also remarks that, “Very soon, that time will finally come.” Could it be that an end is in sight?

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

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: D

March 24, 2009 by 16 Comments

twilightcoverFrom the back cover:
About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him—and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Review:
I can’t say I wasn’t warned. Often and at length, as a matter of fact. Still, I wanted to make up my own mind about the series, and felt that I couldn’t legitimately mock something if I had no basis for my comments. So I read it. And let me be clear about one thing: all of those warnings were absolutely right.

If you don’t know by now, Twilight is the story of Bella Swan, our klutzy and apparently delicious-smelling heroine, who moves to the perpetually overcast town of Forks to live with her father. There, she encounters Edward Cullen, who, we are told many times, is the personification of physical perfection. He also happens to be a vampire, and does things like save Bella from getting hit by a car, follow her when she and her friends go shopping in another town, and break into her house to watch her sleep. Which isn’t creepy at all.

For the first 80% of the book or so, there’s really no plot. There’s just Bella and Edward encountering each other, him aloof at first (but only because he’s trying to resist her extra-tasty aroma) and her growing increasingly more infatuated with him. Edward’s fond of sending mixed messages, too, like saying, “You need to stay away from me” and then promptly inviting her on a jaunt to Seattle. Maybe this is supposed to be the plot, because it happens several times—Edward threatening to go away or angsting that she’s better off without him, but in the end, not going anywhere.

He eventually opens up and shares more vampire facts—culminating in the unintentionally hilarious scene where he reveals his ability to sparkle in the sunlight. Yes, really. Towards the end, Meyer realizes she needs some conflict or something, so a vampire with tracking abilities is introduced and sets his sights on Bella, forcing all of Edward’s vampy brethren to take her into hiding to protect her. Bella asks Edward to make her a vampire so she can be safe and stay with him forever and ever, but he claims to know what’s best for her and refuses to comply. Then they go to prom.

Besides being almost unbearably dull, Twilight sometimes cracked me up with its lame writing. I snickered every time Bella, when pondering Edward’s latest directive to keep her distance, claimed that she was “gripped in a sudden agony of despair.” There are lots of lines about how Edward is her whole life now, and how “his liquid topaz eyes were penetrating” and his breath makes her mouth water, et cetera, but here’s my favorite:

His expression slowly folded into a mask of ancient sadness.

Seriously, that is making me giggle even now.

Neither Bella nor Edward is particularly likable. There’s one scene where a friend of Bella’s father tries to warn her away from dating Edward, and I’m sure I was supposed to sympathize with her because of this meddling adult but all I could think of was how bratty and rude she was being. One could argue I’m simply too old to appreciate this book, but there’s at least one person at work around my age who’s quite vocal about her love for the series.

About the only marginally interesting apsects of the book are the backstories of Edward’s family and how they became vampires. Even so, I find that a single sentence is the limit of the praise I can summon.

Lastly, I leave you with this comic I drew for my coworker’s eleven-year-old daughter, whose bedroom is a Twilight museum but whom I also successfully hooked on Buffy. Tremble before my leet artistic skills.

Filed Under: Books, Supernatural, YA

The Devil’s Trill by Sooyeon Won: B-

March 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The Devil’s Trill is the fourth volume of NETCOMICS’ Manhwa Novella Collection—an anthology of short stories from Korean authors. This particular volume is by Sooyeon Won, creator of Let Dai. Melodramatic in the extreme but entertaining nonetheless, I reviewed it for Comics Should Be Good.

Filed Under: Manhwa, Supernatural Tagged With: ,

Heaven’s Will by Satoru Takamiya: B

March 5, 2009 by 4 Comments

From the back cover:
Sudou Mikuzu has a very special talent—she can see ghosts. And because of this predisposition, she’s become a magnet for all sorts of unwelcome monsters. Luckily for her she’s just met Seto, a friendly, cross-dressing young exorcist. Sudou needs protection from all the creepy phantoms bugging her, and Seto needs to practice his exorcism skills. Consequently, the pair decides to team up and help each other. In return, Sudou promises to bake a cake every time a ghost gets zapped!

Review:
There are many good things about Heaven’s Will, but one profoundly disappointing one that I suspect was not actually the will of the mangaka.

This is the story of Mikuzu Sudou, a girl with the habit of fleeing from things that frighten her. What frightens her? Anything she can’t understand, which includes ghosts and boys. One day, while fleeing from the clutches of a creepy stalker, she seeks refuge in a house that her classmates regard as being haunted. There she meets the lovely cross-dressing Seto, whom she initially takes for a girl, and his vampire companion, Kagari. Seto offers to dispel the spirits, or oni, that are bothering her and though he originally wants to charge a hefty fee, settles for payment in daily cakes.

Throughout the course of the story, Mikuzu works on her tendency to run away from things and actively tries to understand strange things as well as face up to them. Seto, who doesn’t frighten her due to his cute appearance, gives encouragement but also works as a subject, since Mikuzu wants to know more about him, even though he seems very strange. When she learns that Seto plans to give his body over to the spirit of the sister who died on his account, she works hard to dissuade him and refuses to be distracted by the silly case of a haunted piano. Kagari also has rather sad reasons for hanging around Seto, which Mikuzu does her best to understand, as well.

There are a couple of little things that bugged me—the part with Mikuzu’s stalker wraps up awfully abruptly and though in the short story that spawned the truncated series she says there’s no one she can tell about her ghost-seeing abilities she later has some random anonymous friend who’s forwarding clients in need of exorcism to her. (Mikuzu has agreed to serve as bait for oni so that Seto can profit by exorcising them.) Also, the part where the spirit of Seto’s sister appears is kind of random. On the positive side, I really like Takamiya’s art. It’s clean, pretty, and very expressive.

Although I think Takamiya does a good job with Mikuzu’s development, the story is unfortunately limited to one volume and doesn’t go any further. The final chapter is moderately satisfying, with Mikuzu hopeful and resolved to keep Seto from essentially killing himself on his sister’s behalf, but I really wanted more. In her author’s notes, Takamiya says, “Unfortunately, it ended without me being able to even do half of what I had planned.” And that’s a real shame. I could’ve happily read about these characters for quite a while.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

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

Two Will Come 4 by Kyungok Kang: B+

February 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Jina Han was just a normal girl until she learned that she was destined to be the victim of a curse placed on her family generations ago by a magical serpent that was killed by her ancestors. Since the revelation, various people close to Jina have attempted to kill her, but she is staying strong. Determined not to let the curse defeat her, Jina tries to put together the clues and figure out whom among her friends and family could really be the one destined to murder her.

Two Will Come is an enjoyable supernatural tale, reminiscent in some ways of a horror movie, but one that emphasizes psychological suspense rather than gory visuals. I never anticipate any of the attempts on Jina’s life, and even here in the final volume they manage to surprise me. Unfortunately, I didn’t experience the same reaction to the climactic reveal, since I found it rather predictable. I do like that the origins of the curse are fully explained and all subplots neatly resolved. A chapter of side stories also fills in some backstory for a few of the characters.

While Kyungok Kang’s art certainly has a retro style—it’s supposed to be 1999 but the fashions remind me more of late ’80s shojo—it’s also quite appealing. Kang uses the contrast of black and white spaces effectively in the context of the story while maintaining a smooth sense of flow that contributes to the overall atmosphere. This, combined with skillful storytelling, results in a very satisfying reading experience.

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

Filed Under: Manhwa, Supernatural Tagged With:

Two Will Come 3 by Kyungok Kang: B+

February 14, 2009 by 1 Comment

Book description:
Jina is through sitting around in terror and accepts an invitation for a night out with her friends. En route, however, she has a vision that indicates one of them will be responsible in some way for her death. She begins to try to puzzle things out, working to figure out which one of her friends could have a motive for wanting her dead.

Review:
Last time, I talked about the continuity in this series as one of the things I like best. Well, another of those things is the ability to surprise the reader with shocking images without resorting to violence and gore to accomplish it. Kang does a good job of building a suspenseful atmosphere then bursting out with a panel of psychological creepiness. Any time someone tries to attack Jina, it’s out of the blue and surprising, and there’s also a very cool moment where she’s thinking about one of the murdered victims—sort of imagining the victim in her mind’s eye—and then suddenly that victim turns around and seems to start talking to her. It’s very nifty.

Also in this volume, the two parts of Jina’s life—school romantic drama and family curse drama—begin to come together and one can see what Kang has been planning all along. You see, it’s true that there will be one person who tries to kill the intended victim, but there will also be a second person, an “enabler.” Someone around Jina will incite someone else to kill her, in other words. And as the relationship drama escalates, two girls obsessed with Jaesuk and angry at Jina because he likes her begin to look like serious suspects. It’s quite well done. I had never really questioned the presence of the school drama, so I hadn’t expected it to all tie in together like this.

Too, the subplots are not forgotten, and it looks like all of them will be successfully resolved in the final volume. Just one more to go!

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manhwa, Supernatural Tagged With:

Two Will Come 2 by Kyungok Kang: A-

February 13, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
A mysterious “auntie” has just told Jina her family’s chilling secret. Jina is marked for violent death—and her killer is going to be one of two people very close to her. Meanwhile, her schoolmate Jaesuk is determined to make his feelings for Jina known, even if it means exposing his own shady past. But then a nighttime rendezvous with Jaesuk leads to a shocking scene right in the family kitchen… and Jina learns that her two worlds are about to become irrevocably intertwined.

Review:
One of the things I like best about Two Will Come is its continuity. A couple of things happen in this volume that reference or build upon small moments from the first volume, and one must pay attention to be able to catch the subtlety because Kang doesn’t point out, “Hey! Remember that time Lloyd talked about a girl from his past? Well, do ya?” She just lets you put things together on your own. Similarly, I’m quite sure now that the figure I saw skulking in a car in volume one was indeed Jina’s aunt.

This volume is a lot more action-packed than the first. Jina has the worst day ever, as she learns about the family curse and then, in quick succession, survives one attempt on her life, learns all about her boyfriend’s duplicity, and then survives a second murderous attack. Her reaction to learning about the curse is well done, prompting many lovely two-page spreads and thoughtful soliloquies like this one:

Layer after layer… If you keep peeling away the shells, all sorts of hypocrisy and truth you never imagined lay themselves bare before you.

After the second attempt upon Jina’s life, her cousin and his friend, Lloyd, take her on a road trip for a bit, where they meet with a fellow who had, thirty years ago, been compelled by the curse to murder his wife and who has since devoted his life to researching its origins. The encounter ends up heartening Jina and she ends the volume determined not to let the curse defeat her. It’s all very interesting, but I do have to wonder why this fellow is not in jail. It looks like there were witnesses to his act and everything. With everything else fitting together so well, this unanswered question is quite jarring.

In addition to all of the main plot advancement going on, there’s also some development on a couple of subplots. All in all, the story feels very balanced and purposeful, two qualities I greatly appreciate.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manhwa, Supernatural Tagged With:

Two Will Come 1 by Kyungok Kang: B+

February 12, 2009 by 1 Comment

Book description:
Ordinary high school girl Jina discovers that she is heir to a terrible legacy handed down from her family’s sinister history. Long ago, her ancestors killed a magical serpent known as an Imugi, believing that it would bring them good luck. Unfortunately, the creature cursed them as it died, decreeing that one family member of each generation for that day forth will be killed by two people closely acquainted with that person. In this day and age, no one wants to believe in such outmoded superstitions, but one of Jina’s relatives has been murdered without fail in every generation. Now, Jina has been informed that she will be next to die…

Review:
Two Will Come is a suspenseful manhwa series involving a family curse that dooms one member of each generation to be killed by two people they know whose identities are unknown. This first volume sets up the story and introduces Jina, her friends, and her family. Not a great deal actually happens, aside from Jina acquiring a boyfriend who is, unbeknownst to her, a liar and a jerk. Jina’s also in the dark about her supposed fate, and the volume ends just as her aunt is about to tell her what happened to the previous generation’s victim.

Despite the lack of action, the volume is still entertaining. There are quite a lot of characters to get to know and their personalities and relationships are clearly established throughout the volume. A few subplots are brewing, too, primarily the mystery of the motives of Jina’s new boyfriend. There are some other things that I think might later be important, but I’m not sure, like the shadowy figure sitting in a car outside Jina’s house. Was that supposed to be her cousin or aunt watching out for her or someone with nefarious intentions? I’m not even sure whether I should spend brain cells remembering it for future reference.

Kang’s art has a retro feel, with eyes reminiscent of ’70s shojo but fashions and postures that remind me more of something from the early ’90s like Please Save My Earth. Though I’d describe most of the panels as “light,” with plenty of white space, Kang does employ black backgrounds, too, usually in more suspenseful scenes or in the several between-chapter drawings that depict Jina with two unknown hands reaching out to grab or touch her. All of the characters are easy to tell apart, even obscure family members, which is important when introducing so many characters at once.

After a volume of getting to know everyone, it seems the story will really kick into motion next volume. I’m looking forward to it.

Two Will Come is a four-volume series published by NETCOMICS. Volumes one and two were produced in print editions, but the whole series can also be found online for only $0.20 per chapter.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manhwa, Supernatural Tagged With:

Her Majesty’s Dog 10-11 by Mick Takeuchi: B

January 26, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Amane has returned to the Kamori family island to take up her position as clan leader and dutifully accept the marriage arranged by her family. After several volumes of build-up, the identity of the traitor who has been hiring a renegade koma-oni (guardian demon) to perform violent acts is finally revealed. Guess when a surprise is not a surprise. When there’s a great big spoiler on the front cover, that’s when!

The traitor interrupts Amane’s succession and takes control of the clan and Hyoue. Muddled plotting, in which character motivations and revelations concerning Amane’s family are rather confusing, follows. Amane briefly returns to Tokyo in defeat, but after encouragement from her friends and some special training to perfect her skills, returns to the island to get Hyoue back.

I’ve found the biggest flaw of this series is its tendency to undercut serious scenes with “comedy.” This has happened so many times in the preceding volumes that one starts to think, “Here’s a pretty cool scene. I wonder how it will be ruined.” Anytime something pivotal occurs, I’m half afraid to turn the page to see what gag awaits me. Thankfully, these incidents are few in the final volumes, and eventually some satisfying stuff between Amane and Hyoue is allowed to happen without interference.

The best part of these final volumes is finally getting to see Amane grow as a person and as a character. She has been attempting to squelch her emotions for a long time, which has hindered her ability to use her powers fully. Finally, she faces up to the ugly side of herself and confidently makes a decision* about what it is she really wants.

On the whole, Her Majesty’s Dog isn’t a bad series, but if, like me, you get annoyed when dramatic moments are sabotaged by cheap gags, then it may not be for you.

* Includes a speech about precious memories.

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

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo, Supernatural Tagged With:

Her Majesty’s Dog 9 by Mick Takeuchi: B-

January 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
New mysteries and conflicts awaken when Amane, Hyoue and Ateko encounter a childlike demon and an old acquaintance of Hayato’s. Friendships are reforged and feelings born anew as the trio enjoys their last days together before Amane’s forced wedding. Amane is torn between her duty and her heart—but just as she and Hyoue seem to be getting closer, Amane makes a shocking decision!

Review:
Amane does indeed make a decision, but since she spends the volume mulling it over, it’s not at all shocking.

After the drama with the koma-oni last time, this volume is mostly filler. Presumably, Amane and friends are hanging around in Kyoko (where Takako’s grandma lives) to enjoy a last bit of time together before Amane must return to the village to get married and take over leadership of the clan. Most of the chapters concern a demon kid who turns out to be a tree spirit, though some pages are spent on the onmyoji who’s also investigating the demon’s acts, as he’s conducting a side experiment of his own to see whether the Kamori clan’s koma-oni can be made to serve other families as shikigami.

It’s mostly quite boring, and I’ve pretty much given up trying to understand all the muddled attempts at intrigue concerning threats to the Kamori clan. Also, I continue to be annoyed when “comedy” interrupts tense scenes. It feels like nothing genuine ever gets to happen; any moment, however pivotal it could be, can be sabotaged for a cheap gag at any time. You can certainly mingle drama and funny in the same story successfully (Yes, it always comes back to Buffy), but not when one is always the punching bag of the other.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo, Supernatural Tagged With:
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