Category: Manga of the Month

Manga of the Month: Zettai Karen Children

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Zettai Karen Children (絶対可憐チルドレン) by Takashi Shiina

We can blame this all on Ed Chavez as we can with so many other things. As a fan of Shonen Sunday I distinctly remember Ed recommending this title to me. That led me down the road I walk today. But in the end I have no regrets. This was the only path. My whole post is recommending Zettai Karen Children.

In an alternate history set in the not too distant future, next Sunday AD, psychic powers are a rare but not unheard of phenomenon. And while some people use their power for selfish gain, crime, and destruction the forces at B.A.B.E.L. use their gifts to defend their fellow-man and help promote the idea that psychics can be a force for good. Three of the most power psychics in the world are the extremely bratty and rebellious girls known as The Children. Can their new guardian Koichi Minamoto train them to their full potential while preventing them from taking over the world?

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Manga of the Month: House of Five Leaves

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House of Five Leaves (さらい屋五葉) by Natsume Ono

House of Five Leaves introduced me to the incredibly talented Natsume Ono. In this quiet and dark tale, she weaves together a character-driven story of family and morality with an unlikely group, a gang of kidnappers, during the Edo period.

Masa is a talented swordsman, but awkward and shy, who can’t keep a job despite his best efforts. One day, Masa meets the charismatic criminal Yaichi and before Masa knows it he is swept up in a kidnapping plot and the lives of the other members of the gang.

Masa’s dilemma and change over the course of the story has an odd air to it because his growth you want to applaud and yet the undercurrent is so dark. The story really began to weigh on me as Yaichi’s past slowly unfolds and things go from bad to worse for the Five Leaves. The characters all possessed such a pull on my heart and mind that when it came to its final conclusion I was emotionally exhausted.

Natsume Ono’s art style is always a treat, but with House of Fives Leaves it is particularly special. The brush work (reminiscent of calligraphy) combined with the flatness of her designs and shadows (reminiscent of woodblock prints) click perfectly with the time period. It actually seeps you even deeper into the setting.

Natsume Ono transforms a story starring a kidnapping ring into a compelling character drama that whispers suspense.

Manga of the Month: Seven Deadly Sins

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Nanatsu no Taizai (七つの大罪) by Nakaba Suzuki

Everyone is waiting for a new hero to arrive. Monkey D Luffy is a superstar but he is only one man. Ichigo Kurosaki and Naruto Uzumaki are close to retiring. There are some B and C level celebrities like Soul Eater Evans and Natsu Dragneel but they don’t have that top-tier of star power that classic shonen champions like Goku or Himura Kenshin had. There are a few empty seats on the round table of shonen money makers and the manga industry eagerly awaits the paladins who will fill those chairs.

Nanatsu no Taizai is a new series from Weekly Shonen Magazine that is attempting to gain membership to this illustrious line up. With a fantasy setting and high-powered knights it looks like it could be a viable contender.

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