Honey Hunt 4 by Miki Aihara: B

April 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Despite having no prior interest in acting, Yura Onozuka, the relatively normal daughter of celebrity parents, discovers a talent for it when she resolves to surpass her mother in the dramatic sphere. She has achieved some moderate success pretty quickly, including a spot in a commercial and a supporting role on a new TV drama.

Yura’s career is less the focus in this volume than are her romantic prospects, however. While volume three ended with one pop star (Haruka) confessing his feelings, here Yura is swept away by his twin brother (Q-ta, also a pop star), to the point where she’s distracted during an audition and later ditches a dinner planned by her housemates—to celebrate her drama’s debut—in favor of spending a night on the town with Q-ta.

Although one might wish for a heroine more doggedly dedicated to her career, it’s not hard to sympathize with Yura as she faces the choice between two dreams—the nurturing family-type environment offered by her housemates and the love of a prince-like suitor. Even though she makes some mistakes, she’s still likeable. Q-ta, however, comes off as quite the brat here, and one can’t help but wonder whether his protestations that he likes Yura for herself rather than for her famous father are truly genuine. If not, I suppose it’ll make for good drama.

In the end, while Honey Hunt doesn’t leave a particularly strong impression with the reader, it’s still something I enjoy reading.

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

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VIZ Release Schedule Updated Through January 2011

April 11, 2010 by 13 Comments

The Simon and Schuster website has been updated with information with listings for VIZ manga releases extending through January 2011. Along with many volumes (and cover art!) for continuing series, several debuts appear as well. I think most of these have been announced, but it’s nice to see it made official anyway.

Grand Guignol Orchestra by Kaori Yuki — October 5, 2010
Lucille and his orchestra encounter a town overrun with the worst kind of audience: the Living Dead! Well, not really. They’re people who have been turned into doll-like zombies. And they are definitely not a crowd to take lightly. Can a group of roving musicians use their skills to calm the beasts? Or is this curtains for the Royal Orchestra?!

Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi — October 12, 2010
Cross Game is a moving drama that is heartfelt and true, yet in the brilliant hands of manga artist Mitsuru Adachi, delightfully flows with a light and amusing touch. The series centers around a boy named Ko, the family of four sisters who live down the street and the game of baseball. This poignant coming-of-age story will change your perception of what shonen manga can be.

Kurozakuro by Yoshinori Natsumi — November 2, 2010
Mikito wakes up with superstrength. But there’s a catch. He may look the same on the outside, but deep inside lurks a monster that craves ultraviolence and the taste of human flesh. “I used to hate the sight of blood,” says Mikito to himself, “but now it looks so beautiful to me.”

Kamisama Kiss by Julietta Suzuki — December 7, 2010
Nanami has all kinds of new responsibilities she doesn’t understand, dangers she’s unaware of, and a cranky ex-familiar who’s… actually pretty hot. What’s a new-fledged godling to do?

Psyren by Iwashiro Toshiaki — December 7, 2010
People are going missing. And rumor has it that the Secret Society Psyren is behind it. But what is Psyren? Just an urban legend? Or could such a conspiracy be for real? Ageha Yoshina’s going to find out. And it’s not what he’s expecting at all. Get ready for the journey of a lifetime – where a telephone calling card is your ticket to chaos!

Itsuwaribito by Yuuki Iinuma — December 14, 2010
Utsuho’s truthfulness as a child resulted in an enormous catastrophe, and he decided to lie from that day forward. Raised in a village of orphans by a monk, Utsuho is an unrepentant troublemaker. The monk eventually inspires him to help people, but there’s no way Utsuho’s going to lead an honest life! Instead, he’s going to use his talents for mischief and deception for good!

Missing from this list is The Story of Saiunkoku, which appeared briefly on the Simon and Schuster site with a November release date but which has since been removed. Assuming it will be released as previously indicated, that means that a new Shojo Beat title has debuted or will debut in each month of 2010 with the exception of September. I’m willing to be VIZ has something slated for that slot, too; we just don’t know about it yet!

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Adolf 3: The Half-Aryan by Osamu Tezuka: A

April 9, 2010 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Now that the documents revealing Hitler’s secret have apparently been destroyed, it seems Japanese reporter Sohei Toge’s ordeal is over. But it turns out the Gestapo, not to mention the Japanese police, are still after him! Miss Ogi, his murdered brother’s dedicated school teacher, may be Sohei’s only hope! What does she know about the fate of those priceless documents?

Meanwhile, young Adolf Kaufmann has been brainwashed by the Hitler Youth, who send him to Lithuania to help the SS hunt down Jews. There he falls in love with a young Jewish woman—and he’s willing to risk everything to spare her from deportation to a Nazi death camp…

Then, in a terrible twist of fate, Adolf is ordered to execute Isaac Kamil! How can he kill the father of his best friend? But what will happen to him if he refuses?

Review:
We begin with the immediate fallout from the conclusion of volume two, in which a shootout between Toge and his foes transpired and the all-important documents were apparently lost in the sea. A couple of chapters are devoted to wrapping this up, but as the subtitle suggests, this volume actually spends the majority of its time with Adolf Kaufmann, the half-Japanese boy in training to join the Hitler Youth, whose life sucks a whole lot just now.

Even though Kaufmann has excelled in school, he still feels insecure about his place due to his heritage, an impression reinforced by special loyalty tests only non-pure students are required to perform. He gets in a few fights with a classmate over this point and when the father of his Jewish childhood friend Adolf Kamil—who, though extremely unfortunate events, comes to Europe to rescue some refugees and ends up in a labor camp—recognizes him and seeks his help, Kaufmann denies the acquaintance. Later, he meets a lovely Jewish girl and forcibly arranges her escape, sending her back to Japan to stay with Adolf Kamil, who finally makes his reapparance in this volume and ends up in possession of the documents, which weren’t destroyed after all.

I really admire how Kaufmann’s inner conflict is portrayed here. Even though he carries out some truly horrible orders, he manages to remain a sympathetic character because he is struggling so much with the persuasive power of a charismatic leader and his own inate beliefs. It’s much easier for him to hate Jews when they’re a nameless, faceless group, and one can see how even some small exposure to Hitler—as a reward for his “bravery” (really desperate self-preservation) in capturing an Asian spy, Kaufmann begins to train as Hitler’s aide—ratchets up his fervor, but when he’s one-on-one with a person, it’s no longer so easy to tow the party line. His desire to belong is understandable, as is his panic when connections to his past threaten to expose his own doubts. In these situations, he instinctively reacts to squash the threat, even when the consequences are awful.

In his introduction to this volume, Matt Thorn writes that a common theme in Tezuka’s work is criticism of the “human tendency to be contemptuous and fearful of difference.” One can really see that on display here, as Kaufmann’s turmoil shows that it’s easy to villify a group before you have attempted to know them. And once you have, then it’s hard to sustain the hate. I’m not generally one to employ lofty quotations, but this one by Longfellow is one of my favorites, and it applies: “If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”

If I had one complaint about this volume of Adolf it’s that I can’t really care much about the fate of the documents. The human stories are far more interesting, and even the brief tale of the pub owner who nurses an injured Toge and falls in love with him over the course of a single day makes more of an impact with me than the possibility that Hitler’s shameful lineage might be exposed.

Adolf certainly doesn’t qualify as a fun read, but it is definitely a powerful one. Before this series, the only Tezuka I had read was Dororo. While Dororo is definitely good, it’s this later, more sophisticated tale that has really gotten me excited to read more of his works.

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

Cheeky Angel 14-15 by Hiroyuki Nishimori: B-

April 7, 2010 by 1 Comment

The Ideal Woman competition proposed by Megumi’s self-appointed rival, Keiko, continues into volume fourteen. Megumi and Genzo, who have been partnered up for the contest, begin the volume by finishing off a random thug who’d threatened them, and successfully make it to the inn that serves as their goal for the day. After a random chapter in which Keiko and Megumi attempt to scare each other in their supposedly haunted rooms, the competition resumes the next day with a hike through the woods.

Unfortunately, the thugs return and most of the rest of the volume and some of the next is spent on our heroes running around the woods and showing up just in time to protect their friends and thwart the baddies’ plans. I am beyond tired of this kind of plotting and just about equally tired of complaining about it. There are a couple of redeeming things about this arc, however.

First, Hitomoji is paired with Megumi’s best friend, Miki, and seems increasingly intrigued by her. Miki is lady-like, something Hitomoji prizes, but also smart and brave. I think they’d make a great couple. More significantly, when Megumi is captured by the bad guys, Miki gets so upset that it makes her say some odd things about the curse and how Meg was before. It’s a neat twist that I hope proves essential in the conclusion of the series; for now, Miki has forgotten that she ever said anything strange, leaving Hitomoji to try to puzzle things out for himself.

Secondly, Meg and Genzo share what is one of the nicest moments between them yet. Earlier, Genzo barged through a steel door to save Meg from her captors—upon whom she had already inflicted much damage—and now they’re back at the inn, where she approaches him with a first aid kit and an offer to patch him up.

Genzo: If you were a man, you’d be cooler than me. You don’t back down and no one can touch you. I’m almost… jealous.

Meg: I knew you’d come. That’s why I wasn’t scared.

That’s a line that couldn’t be pulled off by just any heroine. Here, instead of coming across as dependent and awed by her masculine protector, it’s clear that Meg is referring to a respect between equals. Even better, Genzo gets it. He won’t try to protect her from situations that he has deemed dangerous, but he’ll have her back, just like he would for a male buddy. Nice.

After a disappointing fizzle to the Ideal Woman competition (the chief contestants both forfeit), Megumi turns sixteen, which prompts her parents, now that she can legally marry, to introduce her to a bunch of eligible guys. She ends up going on a date with one of them—causing Genzo and Ichijo to bemoan their lack of adulthood—but thankfully it doesn’t seem like something that’s going to continue for very long. It’s okay to spend a couple of chapters on how charmed by this guy Megumi is not, but any longer and I’d be bored to pieces.

In the end, these two volumes are an improvement from the few before them and, while I don’t anticipate much of anything new in the final five volumes (prediction: there will be thugs!), I’m still looking forward to seeing how it all ends.

Filed Under: Gender Hijinks, Manga, Shounen Tagged With:

Black Cat 9-11 by Kentaro Yabuki: B+

March 28, 2010 by 1 Comment

I’m at somewhat of a loss to explain how Black Cat manages to be so incredibly appealing, but these three volumes were a real pleasure to read and left me wanting to devour more of the series as soon as possible.

Volume nine begins in the middle of a confrontation between Cerberus, a trio of elite members of the Chronos Numbers, and Creed, the villain of the piece who is looking markedly glam this arc. (Seriously, here’s some evidence.) First, they must fend off a nanotech werewolf while Creed laughs his head off on the sidelines like any self-respecting villain must.

When this story started, the members of Chronos were the bad guys, but we’re obviously supposed to root for them here, and the fight is actually extremely cool. The fallout’s nice, too, with Creed freaking out that Train refused to fight him (preferring simply to rescue one of his friends) and a couple of his minions deserting him after it becomes clear that his true goal is not really what he represented it to be.

Volume ten begins with the fates of Creed and the members of Cerberus in question, though they are pretty quickly revealed. Creed decides that the reason Train will not fight and/or join him has to do with his ties to Sven, and so he kidnaps said fellow and is about to turn him into a nanotech monster when Train intervenes and ends up shot with the tech instead. This results in him turning into a little kid, and while that would be stupid in any other series, it actually kind of works here. Train’s laid-back personality compels him to enjoy the change, but when it begins to affect his shooting ability (and hampers his efforts to protect a defector from Creed’s ranks against some unscrupulous Chronos fellows), it’s time to consult the foremost nanotech expert, who happens to be Eve’s creator.

I could probably go on describing the plot for paragraphs on end, but suffice it to say that this series is a great deal of fun. I like the characters a lot, and all of their conflicts with the bad guys are satisfying in that way only shounen manga can be. Sure, what’s going on is sometimes kind of silly, and the overarching plot with Creed and Chronos is kind of half-formed, but that’s okay. One shouldn’t read Black Cat because one wants to think deeply about world-dominating criminal organizations and those who seek to thwart them. One reads it for the fast-paced action and a compelling narrative that makes it a real page-turner.

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Dr. Slump 1 by Akira Toriyama: C+

March 24, 2010 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
When goofy inventor Senbei Norimaki creates a precocious robot named Arale, his masterpiece turns out to be more than he bargained for!

Basking in the glow of his scientific achievement, Senbei scrambles to get Arale in working order so the rest of Penguin Village won’t have reason to suspect she’s not really a girl. But first Senbei needs to find her a pair of glasses and some clothes…

Review:
This series was recommended to me after I enjoyed Toriyama’s COWA! so much. Unfortunately, this one’s not really my cup of tea. I had originally borrowed the first three volumes from the library, but struggled to make it through just one. To be fair, its advocate was completely forthcoming about the “cracktastic humor.” It just didn’t turn out to be the kind that works for me.

This is the story of a socially inept inventor named Senbei Norimaki and the girl-shaped robot he creates. It begins promisingly enough, with a fun sequence detailing Arale’s creation, but quickly derails into zany, juvenile humor as Senbei ventures into a department store to buy undies for his creation. Some chapters are kind of fun—like when super-strong Arale is hounded by every sports club at school or when she finds a camera Dr. Norimaki invented that takes photos of the future—but many feature boogers, butts, and boobies.

I’m sure this would delight the young male audience for which it was intended, and it’s not as if COWA! was completely devoid of this kind of humor itself. The thing is—COWA! had real heart. I think I’ll always fondly remember the scenes of the monster kids and their wonderment as they took in the human world, but there are no similar moments in Dr. Slump, at least so far. That said, some of the gadgets are intriguing enough—like the camera—that I might give it another chance at some point. I do think, though, that it’s going to be one of those series that’s best in small doses.

Filed Under: Manga, Sci-Fi, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Otomen 5 by Aya Kanno: B

March 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Otomen is the story of Asuka Masamune, a manly-seeming boy who harbors a secret love for “girly” pursuits like cooking and sewing. In this volume, his tomboyish girlfriend, Ryo, is picked to represent the second-year students in the school’s Ideal Woman competition, and draws on things she’s learned from Asuka in order to meet the challenge.

The third chapter focuses on Juta, who is secretly a shojo mangaka, and his attempt to protect the dreams of his fans who would be crushed to learn their favorite series is penned by an indolent playboy. The fourth sees the return of the Beauty Samurai, an awesome sentai duo (Asuka and fellow otomen and makeup expert, Tonomine) that beats up bad guys and gives makeovers!

As in previous installments, this volume offers episodic comedy with a decidedly silly bent. All of the stories within share the common theme of identity, too, whether it’s Ryo deciding that she really ought to know how to cook and sew (Asuka assures her she’s fine the way she is), Juta struggling to maintain his anonymity, or Asuka and Tonomine finding a covert outlet for their skills while living in fear of disappointing a parent. Kanno’s light touch ensures the feel remains light and fun, but it’s nice that there are deeper things one can read into it if one chooses.

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

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Otomen 3-4 by Aya Kanno: B

March 21, 2010 by 1 Comment

These two volumes, although mostly comprised of one-shot chapters with silly plots (Kanno writes that she’s trying to hit all the major shoujo clichés), still manage to introduce two new characters and elevate the status of Ryo and Asuka’s relationship to “officially dating,” though that doesn’t result in any changes in the way they interact.

Volume three begins with Asuka agreeing to help Ryo out at a daycare center. He fully intends to lead the kids “in a manly manner,” but they soon tire of meditation and calligraphy. Eventually, he wins them over with fancy snacks and earns the love of a motherless boy who wants Asuka to fill that role.

An amusement park date’s next on the agenda (complete with dynamite-toting crazy), followed by a chapter about Juta’s family. The final chapter of the volume introduces Tonomine, Asuka’s kendo rival, who instantly becomes my favorite character. He, too, was forced to squelch his love for a traditionally feminine pursuit—he’s a genius beautician—and Asuka helps draw him out with a display of his own sewing prowess.

In volume four, Asuka helps Ryo’s dad understand girls just in time for his daughter’s birthday, then discovers a secret garden at school that’s been lovingly tended by a hulking fellow named Kurokawa. After Asuka reassures Kurokawa that loving flowers is not wrong, he proceeds to be subtle comic relief for the rest of the volume, surreptitiously sneaking up on beautiful people and “adorning” them with flowers.

When summer vacation rolls around, Asuka’s dreams of a beach date with Ryo (which awesomely involve riding dolphins) are stymied when he’s drafted to help with the business of a classmate’s uncle (a shoujo cliché I’ve seen a couple of times). This turns into a multi-episode tale of snack shack rivalry, complete with swimming challenges and displays of Asuka’s, Tonomine’s, and Kurokawa’s hidden talents. And, yes, there is a dolphin.

As you can see, the plots are nearly always extremely silly, bordering on ridiculous. The fact that this is obviously intentional makes it much more amusing than it would be in a series where the creator was genuinely trying to get away with stuff like this. I enjoy the cast a lot, and even though it’s clear that the plot is not going anywhere any time soon, Otomen is still a fun read. I liken it to Ouran High School Host Club in this regard, actually. I’m generally not one for episodic stories, but there’s a charm in both of these series that keeps me coming back.

Review copy for volume three provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: , ,

Cactus’s Secret 1 by Nana Haruta: B-

March 19, 2010 by 2 Comments

Miku Yamada has a problem: the boy she likes, Kyohei Fujioka, is oblivious to her feelings. When she attempts to give him chocolates for Valentine’s Day, he cheerfully offers to help her practice confessing her love for someone else. He seems to be more affected by memories of a childhood friend than by her, but occasionally makes comments that cause her to believe she has a chance. How can she make him realize she likes him?

The back cover would have us believe that Miku is an unfortunate victim of Fujioka’s obstinate obtuseness, but readers will soon realize that this is not actually the case. Miku can’t seem to decide whether she truly wants Fujioka to know how she feels, which leads to vehement denials of her feelings and episodes where she treats him quite shabbily. How could Fujioka, who is admittedly rather dim, be expected to correctly interpret these actions?

As one might surmise, it’s very difficult to like Miku, even though her melodramatic behavior is not outside the realm of possibility for a lovelorn teen. Statements like, “I’m going to become an amazing girl so Fujioka will fall for me!” rankle, too, since I tend to prefer heroines with something on their minds other than boys. The end product is a very shallow story, more suitable for young teens than veteran shojo readers, though it does improve near the end of the volume when Miku’s message is finally clear enough for Fujioka to understand. Fujioka’s response is not only perfectly in character, but also age-appropriate, promising more interesting circumstances to come as the characters progress into their second year of high school.

Cactus’s Secret was serialized in Ribon magazine, and boy, does it show. All characters possess the distinctive eyes common to works from that publication, and screen tone is abundant. There’s even an author’s note where Haruta writes about being chastised for using insufficient tone! As a result, the artwork, while reasonably attractive, is essentially indistinguishable from anything else in Ribon. That said, I do think Fujioka’s character design is pretty cute.

On the subject of author’s notes, the flaws of Cactus’s Secret might be excused with Haruta’s revelation that the deadline for chapter four occurred on the same day as her high school graduation. On its own merits, this manga might not be anything special, but when one considers that it was created by a high school student, it starts to look downright impressive.

Cactus’s Secret was originally serialized in Ribon and is complete in four volumes. Only one volume has been released in English so far.

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

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Love*Com 17 by Aya Nakahara: B

March 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

After the main Love*Com story finished, mangaka Aya Nakahara published a few additional bonus stories, which are collected in the series’ seventeenth and final volume. Three stories depict Ôtani and Risa during their junior high years and one revisits the gang four months after graduation. One of the major flaws of Love*Com in its later volumes was that, in a transparent effort to milk the series for all it was worth, the focus drifted too much from the leads to the uninspiring supporting cast. Here, at least, each story features one or both of the protagonists in the starring role(s).

Despite its hokey setup—practically every semi-significant character from the series coincidentally converges on the same beach on the same day—the post-graduation story is not only the best of the four, but also provides the best Risa/Ôtani scene in quite some time. It deals with Risa’s feelings of being left behind by her undergraduate friends, who are off having new experiences with people she doesn’t know while she contends with the challenges of fashion stylist school, which is not going as well as she had hoped. Somehow, this series works best when Risa is miserable, and when Ôtani steps up to the plate to cheer her up and listen to her troubles, it provides a better and more personal farewell for the series than the full-cast send-off volume sixteen offered.

It’s been a long time since I paused to admire and reread a particularly sweet moment between these two characters, and I can’t help feeling grateful that I was able to experience it one more time before the end. Maybe, just a little, Love*Com has redeemed itself.

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

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,
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