Category: Manga

Ongoing Investigations: Case #034

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Picked up the Gundam SEED movies in a Right Stuf sale a few weeks back and just sat down to watch the first of three. I was pretty blown away by the amount of fan-service inserted into just a 90-minute movie. Kira, Athrun, and Cagalli each have an individual shower scene. Flay is also pimped out quite a bit throughout her appearance. And one scene between her and Kira that was merely implied in the TV series, is full blown in the movie. It was almost laughable how quickly events were flying by but since I’m watching these after knowing the plot it didn’t really matter. I was looking for an abridged version of the series that I could sit down and watch once and while because I loved SEED that much! It’ll be interesting to see the other two now, where is the Mu fan-service?

I for one appreciate more naked Cagalli and only regret there is not more. They seem to focus on the battles as opposed to the people. This makes for good robot porn but makes the people less important which was not the case in the original TV series. I guess in a way the purpose is to increase the fan-service while giving you a good recap of what happened. I think the SEED movies really only work as a supplement to people who already saw the TV show. You could figure out what was going but it would take some effort. That should not be the case. On a somehwhat unrelated note is it ever important that they discovered an alien skeleton in the Gundam SEED series? They make such a big deal about it in episode 14 and then it just fades into the background like it never happened.

I had been wanting to try High School Debut out for a while, I finally found a copy of the first book on the cheap at the Strand. The basic premise is as follows: Haruna was a complete tomboy who did nothing but play softball in middle school, now in high school she has made it her goal to be more girly and find a boyfriend. She totally sucks at this and decides she needs a coach, like in softball, enter tall, dark, totally cool Yoh. After some coercing, he agrees to be her coach on the condition that she DOESN’T fall in love with him. Now, I have mentioned before that a predictable plot doesn’t really bother me if the characters are good. Haruna is a rather enjoyable protagonist and it did have me laughing out loud a couple of times. However, it wasn’t sticking out of the crowd and it used its tropes a little too frequently. I’d say pass on this series, even though Yoh is incredibly cute.

After going to NYCC, having Mr. Scott VonSchilling talk about it several times, hearing generally good reviews, and finding a buy one get one free sale I picked up Scott Pilgrim volumes one and two. I guess I was curious about this title in two major respects. How was it as an OEL manga and was it entertaining overall? The first question is simple. It’s not an OEL manga no matter how some people may market it. It’s a comic from someone influenced by manga but it never tries to pass itself off as anything other than an American comic. This is certainly to its benefit because it does not try to fit itself into to some fictitious manga template. In fact,  most OEL manga would be much better served to adhere to this philosophy. As for the entertainment value, it was entertaining but nowhere near the level of awesome the hype would have led me to believe. Scott Pilgrim is a unemployed slacker dating a high school girl until he meets a girl in his dreams that he can’t get out of his head. If he wants to date her, he has to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends. It has a quirky sense of humor and likes to make music and video game references. It sort of reminds me of Blue Monday in that respect but the sense of humor is different. The main characters are interesting but the side characters are numerous and not as developed. That might change as the books go on but they mostly seem thrown in for no reason other than to be there. Its quirky sense of humor will either endear it to people or turn them off. It’s mostly a matter of having a resonance with the author.

Read Kekkaishi 16 and loved it through and through. Karasumori is really getting out of control and everyone is starting to take notice. Even giving an appearance to a character we had only heard tell of. It is great to see the overall mystery of the series starting to be explored though we are still without too much information at this point. Middle of the book are some funny chapters about a girl who falls in love with Yoshimori when he saves her after she falls off the roof of the school. She then proceeds to stalk him much to the amusement of the audience and the chagrin of both Tokine and Yoshimori. These chapters were just supposed to give us a break between arcs but it was nice to see Tokine finally taking a little more notice of Yoshimori. There were a number of cute moments throughout this book. And we end, where I had been reading the Japanese, with the start of Yoshi helping his brother on a mysterious mission. I love that they always give Masamori two-sides when he appears. You can just never really figure him out. Great as usual! Why isn’t everyone and their mama buying this again?

They are too busy reading Soul Eater so they can’t be bothered to read Kekkaishi. And so I weep for anime fandom. I finished off the original Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Overall an enjoyable show that earns its place in the pantheon of anime space operas. Though it’s a little more pulp sci-fi than stuff like Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Banner of the Stars. It stays the story of one ship vs. the most powerful armada in the galaxy. The plot would probably throw feminists into hysterics because the alien invaders have a military made of beautiful women who use trickery and deception to beguile men’s minds. While it can be seen as misogynistic, it’s mostly done so they can have willowy women on the screen. Tadashi Daiba and Kei Yuki sort of fade into the background as the series goes on in favor of the man that is Captain Harlock and his amazing ship/friend the Arcadia. They realized that Harlock is the selling point of this series. The audience wants more Harlock then you better give it to them. But every named member of the crew gets their day in the sun with at least one episode having back story. I must also point out that randomly in one episode we have full frontal nudity in a series without that much fan-service. It also has the odd habit of having episode titles that clearly says who dies and shows them being killed in the preview. I would suggest fans of old school anime should check the series out but I think most of those people have already seen Harlock.

Because one must ALWAYS share the Kekkaishi love, this is the pic of the week:

Manga of the Month: March

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Maria+Holic by Minari Endo

In an effort to save the ailing TokyoPop I have decided to cover another recently licensed manga that has a charming story and wonderfully delightful characters. Just like Future Diary. OK. I lied. Most everyone is both series is a bunch of horrible human beings. But like Future Diary it turns out Maria+Holic is quite fun.

Kanako Miyamae decides to go to her mother’s former alma mater and all girls Catholic high school. She hopes to find her true love among her fellow students. The first person she runs into on campus is a charming blonde girl named, Mariya Shido and her maid. Kanako instantly falls in love with Mariya only to later find out that Mariya is actually a secret, cross-dressing boy. Mariya attaches himself to Kanako to make sure she does not give away his secret. Kanako learns that the seemly sweet Mariya is a sadistic controlling monster. Will Kanako ever find her destined love? Is it the boy who is torturing her?

This series has something for everyone. Cross-dressing boys, yuri subtext, comedy, drama, and tentacle monsters from the sea. Most of the humor comes from Kanako being a complete and total yuri crazy moron. So you have to enjoy humor at the expense of another because it is almost always at our protagonist’s. The supporting cast is quite amusing with Mariya’s maid who by admission is 100% tsun and 0% dere; the female samurai who does more harm to those she protects than anyone out to get her charges; and the eternally happy girl who can pull anything out of her school bag. I am curious if it will ever focus on the potential relationship between Kanako and Mariya or will it stay pure comedy. But no matter which way it goes, it is a fun series. Please do read this mother up in heaven.

Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning by Kyo Shirodaiya and Eita Mizuno

Ayumu is brilliant in his own right but he constantly struggles with the shadow his brother left. Since his older brother’s disappearance Ayumu and his sister-in-law Madoka are still seeking the truth about the last case he was working on, The Blade Children. When a murder takes place at Ayumu’s school and the words Blade Children are uttered, he he becomes entangled in a world where nothing is simple. Ayumu’s amateur sleuthing is charming and his aloof attitude makes him the right amount of eccentric. Hiyono, the nosey school journalist, sticks herself like glue to Ayumu during his first case eventually becoming his indispensable partner. Her energetic and bubbly nature contrasts Ayumu perfectly. Many mysteries arise during the series, everything from a locked-room murder to riddles and puzzles, each one brings Ayumu closer to understanding The Blade Children. Spiral is an example of one of those rare occasions when the writer is not the artist. This is also the first manga for both creators. In its pages unfolds a good mystery with science fiction elements and a boy detective who, through wit and brains, unravels it.

Ongoing Investigations: Case #033

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At NYCC, Yen Press was giving away all the books they had brought to display on Sunday. It was mostly picked clean when I got there. I had to take what was interesting but not owned by Kohaku, Narutaki, or me. I picked up Black God book three based on the first episode of Black God anime which had potential to either be very good or very bad. I heard there were significant differences between the anime and the manga. It is a bit odd reviewing the third book in a series but here I go. The main character is out of school and works as a computer programmer in the manga. The pace of things is different because the girl killed at the end of the first episode does not die until the end of the second book. We start off with a guy having sex with a loli (so right there Narutaki is not going to be a fan). We soon learn after a fight and some exposition that Steiner (the previously mentioned loli-toucher) and Excel (the previously mentioned fake loli) are allies if morally flexible allies. The fights are generally enjoyable and one of the strongest reasons to keep reading. I don’t know why by my favorite character in the series is Akane but Kuro and Keita have yet to really sell me. If I had not watched the first episode of the anime I think I could have generally figured out what was going on although seeing it definitely helped. I can’t say that the book made me rush out to buy the rest of the series but if I saw it on sale I would pick it up. It’s not exactly original but it seems interesting. I am curious how Keita’s mother plays into the evil organization and if they have the cojones to kill of Akane despite me liking her.

My friend lent me the graphic novel Skim after we were admiring Jillian Tamaki’s artwork in a another project. Her style is certainly Japanese print inspired and she had the ability to draw characters who aren’t beautiful looking but rather charismatic anyway. Skim takes place during a period of change in a young girl’s life. It follows “Skim” as she falls in love for the first time, loses and gains a friendship, and as she discovers change is okay. Skim has a sense of humor about herself and her thoughts on the world around her are a breath of fresh air. Mariko Tamaki is able to capture a teenager’s thought patterns without coming off as trite or overly angsty. 

I picked up Translucent number one from a Dark Horse RighStuf sale after hearing people talk about it on the The Anime Roundtable. It a cute little love story about a girl who has a strange medical condition that is makes her partly transparent and the boy who loves her. I think is a series destined to be loved by critics and manga otaku and ignored by the masses. It has cute characters and a lovely little story that is only five books long. Mamoru is a nice goofy guy and Shizuka is a sympathetic girl much like Mugi from Hitohira. The side characters like Okouchi are quite charming. For some reason, the atypical art style and fact that the two are in a relationship reminds me a lot of Love Roma. I do admit while the unusual art style in Love Roma was a stylistic decision, here it is more of odd because it looks so amateur. I have noted that seinen series are more willing to artists who tell good stories but less artistic skill. While I enjoy that fact, I feel it further ghettoizes seinen manga in the U.S. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and we might do an article when it wraps up.

I love VIZ’s release of 20th Century Boys. Check out the abundant spot gloss all over the place! Not to mention the cover design is really nice! I had actually read a few chapters of this series a mighty long time ago. I am glad to be reading it again. In this first book we really get to know Kenji, I wonder if he will remain at the forefront or if we will get to see more of the group as well. I am certainly intrigued by the strange goings on as well as “Friend.” I do feel that an entire group of friends completely forgetting an incident is rather far fetched, but I have accepted this as part of the story. And I hope it will be explained as the story goes on.

I started reading Hero Tales in Yen Plus recently. Coming from Hiromu Arakawa of Fullmetal Alchemist I am sure this series already has plenty of buzz. Though I have not heard anything about it other than its existence before I started reading it in Yen Plus. I did not even realize that there was a 26-episode anime. Is there some reason no one talks about this series despite it coming from such a high profile artist or am I just not talking to the right people? It’s an enjoyable martial arts adventure so far. You have an oppressive empire and a young hero with a mysterious power tied into his destiny. I like Taitou and Laila’s brother/sister relationship. The general plot structure reminds me of the Suikoden series due to Taitou being one of the stars of the Big Dipper. He therefore has to find the other stars to accomplish his task. The main character has a much more powerful berserker form which could lead to lameness. Looks fun and worth following in either Yen Plus or graphic novels.

My love for Dragon Eye seems to be shared by few, but nevertheless (or perhaps because of that fact) I grabbed up volume six as quickly as I could. For whatever reason, this volume really drove it home for me that Issa is more of an in-between shonen and seinen hero, as opposed to his looks and attitude that imply he is the typical shonen protagonist. The beginning of this volume somewhat clears up a mystery (with a very good fight) and then pushes us fully into a new one involving the upcoming tournament. We are also introduced to some of squad one and specifically Akira, who seems to have a major problem with Hibiki. Incidentally, Hibiki remains one of my favorite characters and continues to be a mysterious guy. Aoi’s, his squad captain, interest in him is intriguing. It doesn’t seem romantic so I suspect they are related in someway. Looks like the tournament will be starting in the next book, can’t wait!

If you were curious about the three main characters Hero Tales, this is the pic of the week: