From the back cover: The air of celebration surrounding fifteen-year-old Oz Vessalius's coming-of-age ceremony quickly turns to horror when he is condemned for a sin about which he knows nothing. Thrown into the Abyss—an eternal prison from which there is no escape—Oz meets a young girl named Alice, who is not what she seems. Now that the relentless cogs of fate have begun to … [Read more...] about Pandora Hearts 1 by Jun Mochizuki: B
Shounen
Slam Dunk 8 by Takehiko Inoue: B+
After an admirable performance in an exhibition game against a tough rival, the Shohoku High basketball team is ready to get back to practice, but a gang of thugs with a grudge against team member Ryota Miyagi makes that impossible. They invade the court with the intent of starting a brawl that’ll get the Shohoku team disqualified from competition. Just when the thugs have been … [Read more...] about Slam Dunk 8 by Takehiko Inoue: B+
Slam Dunk 3-7 by Takehiko Inoue: B
How did I let myself get a whole year behind on Slam Dunk?! Of course, the upside to such a monumental lapse is having half a dozen volumes to gobble up back-to-back! At the end of the second volume, hot-headed protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi impressed team captain Akagi by declaring himself “a basketball man” in answer to pressure to join the judo team. As a reward, Akagi … [Read more...] about Slam Dunk 3-7 by Takehiko Inoue: B
Sand Land by Akira Toriyama: A-
From the back cover: In the far future, war has destroyed the entire Earth, leaving only a barren wasteland where the supply of water is controlled by the greedy king. In search of a long-lost lake, sheriff Rao asked the king of the demons for help... and got the king's son, Beelzebub, and his assistant, Thief. Together, the unlikely trio sets off across the desert, facing … [Read more...] about Sand Land by Akira Toriyama: A-
Deadman Wonderland 1 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou: B+
From the back cover: The Great Tokyo Earthquake. Ten years ago, it destroyed lives as it tore buildings asunder. Among those who lived through the disaster was Ganta Igarashi, now a middle school student finally getting a footing in his own life... that is, until the day the "Red Man" appears at his school and turns his world upside down again. Ganta's entire class is brutally … [Read more...] about Deadman Wonderland 1 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou: B+