Category: Manga of the Month

February’s Manga of the Month: Bunny Drop

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Bunny Drop (うさぎドロップ) by Yumi Unita

Bunny Drop is a heart-warming story of growth, discovery, and family for two unlikely people, the 30-something bachelor Daikichi and the alone-in-the-world 6-year-old Rin.

Like so many stories, this one beings with a typical life-changing event, a death in the family in this case Daikichi’s grandfather. During the funeral ceremonies little Rin, the recently discovered illegitimate daughter of the grandfather, attaches herself to Daikichi who not only resembles his late-grandfather but seems to be the only adult not angry at her existence. As the family coolly discusses Rin’s future, Daikichi hotly proclaims he will become her guardian and raise her himself.

Dai is most certainly inexperienced but he has genuine affection for Rin and his commitment to bringing stability to her life makes you instantly root for him. Rin in what seems like child’s intuition connects with Daikichi right away. Their bond is an unspoken one that is written tenderly. They are learning about the world together as well as each other creating everything from hilarious outbursts to sweet realizations. It is also wonderful to see real change in each volume that stretches their relationship. This is equally felt as Dai’s family becomes more involved, we begin to learn about Rin’s past, and Dai starts treading the waters of love.

So despite the fun and sweet but not fully grounded premise, there are beautiful moments of wisdom interspersed among the comedy and drama. With an anime TV series coming out this summer and a Japanese live-action movie also due out mid-year, it is a perfect time to fall in love with Bunny Drop.


January’s Manga of the Month: Afterschool Charisma

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I will admit I have little understanding of what is actually popular on this site other than Narutaki talking about graphic design and Narutaki talking about sex. This explains the fact that when we retired the Manga of the Month last year we discovered it was apparently extremely popular. It just so happened no one ever mentioned it. Ever. So as Natalie Merchant once said we give em what they want. In 2011 Manga of the Month rises from the ashes like Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix. The Final Denouement is being retired as we try to put out more solo articles on Tuesday through Thursday. Since many of them would have been final denouements in their own right the Final Denouement has become somewhat redundant. Also like a phoenix the tears shed by Manga of the Month have immense healing powers. Hopefully these articles will get everyone to pick up some manga they might have easily overlooked considering how much there is to choose from.

Afterschool Charisma (放課後のカリスマ) by Kumiko Suekane

IKKI has always been VIZ’s attempt to try to broaden the manga market by letting people sample some more offbeat seinen series that would otherwise go over looked. With a few exceptions  what sells in the U.S. is shonen fighting and shojo romance. So while adults might read manga so far most adult manga has not caught on here. Afterschool Charisma is a quirky manga that has some appeal of the popular genres that sell books in the US while still distinctly being off the beaten track to hopefully broaden some reader’s horizons.

St. Kleio is a most unusual experiential school. All the student are the clones of famous historical figures who have been gathered together in hopes that with proper care they can surpass the accomplishments of their originals. Along side these luminary and sometimes infamous copies is Shiro Kamiya, the only student who is not a clone. When the clone of John F. Kennedy is assassinated Shiro learns that everything at the school is not exactly what  it seems. There are crazy cults, Byzantine conspiracies, and deadly experiments lurking in the shadows. Maybe even Shiro himself is part of some greater sinister machinations.

I usually see this manga compared to the old Clone High cartoon on MTV. They are both set at government controlled high schools that have characters who act silly in humorous contrast to their original  historical personas. But at the same time despite all the wacky hi-jinks in Afterschool Charisma we see from the first chapter there is a disturbing  undercurrent to the events at the school. This manga seems like a bizarre and goofy Hetalia at school but quickly turns into a taut thriller. It is definitely worth a look if you want something different that is able to mix humor and intrigue in equal measure.

Manga of the Month: December

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RG Veda by CLAMP

There are few CLAMP works that one could actually say go under appreciated so while RG Veda is certainly not wholly forgotten, CLAMP’s current and growing fan base may not have gone all the way back to the beginning. RG Veda involves many familiar, but well done, fantastical elements including a worn torn land, magic, desolated clans, gods, a mysterious prophecy, an orphaned child, and a group of warriors who come together to fight a great traitor. The setting is distinctly another time and place sufficiently ingrained in many mythologies of the world. The crux of the story centers around Yasha and Ashura, two beings that are destined to meet and cause great deeds and calamities in the world. Yasha is a great warrior who defies both Taishakuten the Emperor, what his clan wants him to do, and even fate itself to protect Ashura who is but a child at the beginning of the story. Once he does this, there is no turning back, his path is set and he has no choice but to see it through. Along their quest to free the world of Taishakuten’s wrathful rule they encounter allies and foes, sometimes having difficulty telling one from the other. There are very fatalistic themes presented so pick your favorites carefully because no one is safe and it’s never clear what paths all will take. While CLAMP reexplores this theme in X (possibly with more polish), RG Veda is still an engrossing fantasy tale with rich characters and a setting that shows off an ability to carve out a memorable tale in just 10 books.

Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi

If I had to pick one manga as the only manga I could ever read again it would be a tough choice but I am almost certain I would pick Maison Ikkoku. While she is hardly the best manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi is my favorite manga-ka. And my favorite work she has ever done is Maison Ikkoku. It captures everything that is wonderful about Rumiko Takahasi’s ability to write comedy and romantic drama that pulls at the hearts string while simultaneously tickling the funny bone. Most importantly it has a solid and wonderful conclusion that lets it avoid some of the criticism of her other work.

Yusaku Godai is a ronin desperately studying to get into college but the people in his apartment building keep disrupting his studies. Finally reaching his breaking point he is about to move out when he discovers there is a young and beautiful new apartment manager named Kyoko Otonashi. Godai instantly decides to stay and try and win her affections but he faces some major obstacles. First he is perpetually broke and horrifically unlucky. If anything can go wrong for him it will go wrong for him in the worst possible way. Secondly he quickly gains a rival for her attentions in the form of the handsome, witty, and rich tennis coach, Shun Mitaka. And the most important obstacle is the fact that Kyoko is a widow who has not moved on from her the death of her husband.  Can Godai find happiness or is he doomed to remain a loser for the rest of his life?

I doubt most people are going to connect as personally to the story of Maison Ikkoku as I have. I so empathize with Godai. I understand how it feels to be continually a day late and a dollar short. I know how it feels to wonder if you seemed destined to fail no matter what you do. I know how it is the continually reach for a goal that always seems ever distant. To feel you will never measure up to those around you. I also understand perfectly Godai’s love for Kyoko. Kyoko has a dignified beautify and a refined grace. She is strong yet gentle. She can be stern and even stubborn when pushed but by default she generous and kind. She always pushes Godai forward believing that he can be a better man and do more. At the same time she never lets him get away with giving up or slacking off. More than anything else she feels real. She is a mixture of sadness and happiness and strength and weakness that makes her feel authentic. Their slow building relationship and their give and take is what sold me on the series. But make no mistake I think this series will resonate with anyone who reads it. The delightful mixture of comedy and romance is superbly balanced and draws you in. By taking the scenic route towards the conclusion it makes the overall trip much fun and ultimately rewarding. I could go no but what you should take away from this is that more than any other manga I suggest everyone go out an read at least the first book of Maison Ikkoku.

If anyone knows me well enough they know that I do not whip out Maison Ikkoku as anything but The Big Gun. And with that I announce that Manga on the Month is going on hiatus. This blog is always a work in progress so we decided to mix things up once again. We are replacing the manga of the month with the Speakeasy. Once a month Narutaki and I will pick something that is on our mind and give you a little dissertation on the subject. I think it will be a little more personal and should thought provoking and entertaining for both you the readers and us. See you next year!