From the back cover: By all appearances, Soichi Negishi is a sweet, well-mannered boy who loves Swedish pop music, trendy boutiques, and all things fashionable. But at the same time he's also Krauser II, front man for Detroit Metal City, an indie death metal band whose popularity increases by the day. Once the DMC makeup goes on and Soichi takes the stage, his natural talents … [Read more...] about Detroit Metal City 1 by Kiminori Wakasugi: C
Manga
Antique Bakery 1-4 by Fumi Yoshinaga: A
Last month, I debuted the Manga Marching Orders feature, in which I invite readers to help me decide what to read next. The results were very close, but, in the end, Antique Bakery came out on top. On the surface, Antique Bakery is the story of four men who work together at a bakery, providing delicious cakes for their customers. What that simplified summary fails to mention, … [Read more...] about Antique Bakery 1-4 by Fumi Yoshinaga: A
Millennium Prime Minister 1 by Eiki Eiki: C
The premise of Millennium Prime Minister is so ridiculous it almost sounds fun. Minori Nagashima, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and video game aficionado, ditches school one day and ends up at an arcade, where she takes on and defeats an opponent who’s been trouncing the other patrons. Initially angry, the young man changes his tune when he sees Minori, and declares, “You can … [Read more...] about Millennium Prime Minister 1 by Eiki Eiki: C
Kare Kano 11-12 by Masami Tsuda: B-
One thing that Kare Kano does differently from a lot of shoujo manga is that it puts its side stories about the main couple's friends in the middle of the series rather than the end. That might be a disruptive and frustrating choice if one is consuming the story rapidly—the "Dark Arima" arc has been left hanging since the end of volume nine—but for someone like me, who hasn't … [Read more...] about Kare Kano 11-12 by Masami Tsuda: B-
High School Debut 11 by Kazune Kawahara: B+
From the back cover: Haruna becomes worried when she sees Yoh hanging out with an unattractive classmate. (Yoh does seem to have strange taste in women, after all...) She has good reason for feeling uneasy—it looks like this girl really does want to sabotage their relationship! Review: The main reason I love High School Debut is that it skewers some of the typical shojo … [Read more...] about High School Debut 11 by Kazune Kawahara: B+