From the back cover: Sure, lots of people say they want to be the King of the Pirates, but how many have the guts to do what it takes? When Monkey D. Luffy first set out to sea in a leaky rowboat, he had no idea what might lie over the horizon. Now he's got a crew—sort of—in the form of swordsman Roronoa Zola and treasure-hunting thief Nami. If he wants to prove himself on the … [Read more...] about One Piece 3 by Eiichiro Oda: B-
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One Piece 2 by Eiichiro Oda: B
From the back cover: As a kid, Monkey D. Luffy vowed to become King of the Pirates and find the legendary treasure called the "One Piece." The enchanted Gum-Gum fruit has given Luffy the power to stretch like rubber—and his new crewmate, the infamous pirate hunter Roronoa Zolo, strikes fear into the hearts of other buccaneers! But what chance does one rubber guy stand against … [Read more...] about One Piece 2 by Eiichiro Oda: B
Ouran High School Host Club 11 by Bisco Hatori: B+
Eleven volumes in, things are still pretty much where they started with this series. Haruhi is still concealing her gender and participating in the Host Club, Tamaki is still ignorant of his feelings for her, and characters like Mori and Hunny haven’t changed a bit. This volume finds the gang competing in a sports festival that Tamaki has orchestrated in an attempt to spur … [Read more...] about Ouran High School Host Club 11 by Bisco Hatori: B+
Slam Dunk 2 by Takehiko Inoue: B+
Volume two of Slam Dunk sure has been a long time coming! When we left off in volume one, hot-headed Sakuragi had grown frustrated with fundamentals training and quit the team. We pick up the story with Sakuragi regretting his decision, and he soon returns to practice after quickly polishing off a thug who’d been spoiling for a fight. Although Sakuragi is still as clueless and … [Read more...] about Slam Dunk 2 by Takehiko Inoue: B+
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka 1 by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka: A+
In the Astro Boy story “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” available in the third volume of Dark Horse’s edition of the Astro Boy manga, a power-hungry sultan creates a robot named Pluto and gives him instructions to destroy seven other powerful robots that could challenge Pluto’s claim to the title of King of the Robots. Pluto dutifully carries out his orders but bears no personal … [Read more...] about Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka 1 by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka: A+