By CLAMP | Published by Yen Press The plot of Kobato. sounds like a typical shoujo magical girl story. A dim-witted and clumsy heroine, who also happens to be guileless and compassionate, is tasked with filling a magic bottle with wounded hearts so that her dearest wish can be granted. But Kobato. isn't shoujo. If anything, it's seinen, as it ran for seven chapters in … [Read more...] about Kobato., Vols. 1-3
Comics
Fruits Basket 21-23 by Natsuki Takaya
As I recounted in this week’s Off the Shelf column, I have been a fan of Fruits Basket for nearly a decade now. I followed the end of the series in Japanese, and because I knew how it ended, I was able to postpone reading the final English volumes and delay the sad moment when the series really would be over. This week’s Manga Moveable Feast, however, prompted me to finally … [Read more...] about Fruits Basket 21-23 by Natsuki Takaya
Backstage Prince 1-2 as viewed on VIZmanga.com
One of the more exciting manga-related announcements to come out of San Diego Comic-Con was the debut of VIZ's new online manga portal, which syncs user accounts between the web browser and various supported devices. This is great news for me: since I don't own any of those supported devices, I've been hoping a site like this would come along. Of the assortment of shoujo, … [Read more...] about Backstage Prince 1-2 as viewed on VIZmanga.com
Pandora Hearts 2-5 by Jun Mochizuki
Reading Pandora Hearts is like mentally treading water. There is so much going on that one is constantly churning the plot waters, trying to stay afloat. It’s not that I’m saying this is a bad thing or that I object to thinking—far from it!—but that I never appreciated episodic lulls so much as when they weren’t around to give me a chance to understand and process what just … [Read more...] about Pandora Hearts 2-5 by Jun Mochizuki
The Prince of Tennis 40-42 by Takeshi Konomi
Although the final three volumes of The Prince of Tennis contain many ridiculous things and are, objectively speaking, really not that good, I still think the story wraps up reasonably well. Volume 40 begins with the tail end of the set between Seishun's captain, Tezuka, and Sanada of the Rikkai team. Tezuka is dragging things out to buy time for absentee Ryoma to arrive, … [Read more...] about The Prince of Tennis 40-42 by Takeshi Konomi