The World I Create

By Ayami Kazama
Published in the US by CMX Manga

Slugline: Believing is Seeing

This manga is about people that have the ability through magic lanterns to create illusionary environments that can encompass all of the senses.  These 'projectionists' share their school grounds with a more traditional high school so that they share many of the same problems of typical students except that their conflicts are not just over grades but over their special abilities.  A couple of students that have had trouble advancing  in their training end up creating worlds not for their teachers but for each other.  A student that is losing her projectionist ability has to decide what her last illusion will be and how she will keep her projectionist friends despite moving back to the ordinary school.  Two students first aggravate each other then help each other reach ever greater heights in their abilities.  A student is worried that he will lose his girlfriend if she pursues her projectionist abilities.  In all of these different stories characters from the others visit but the problem of each story remains their own to resolve.

This is an all ages title, and the conflicts in each story reflect that rating in that none of them are intense though they can be bittersweet and their relationships while having the beginnings of romance for the most part are innocent and sweet rather than hot and heavy. It is not much of a surprise to find out that at the heart of each story is the revelation, the showing of a truth. That ties in with the characters' projectionist abilities, because in most cases that truth can only be shown through those abilities. But this is one of those times were the all ages ratings holds back the title, because the stories could be so much more bold than they end up being. A less restrictive rating could have allowed higher and more varied stakes rather than leaving the reader with a sense of repetition and a mild disappointment that the manga was not more.

The World I Create is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Rampage, vol 1

By Yunosuke Yoshinaga
Published in the US by CMX Manga

Slugline:  Who knew the skull could be sliced through like butter?

Zhang Fei is a wanderer in ancient China during a period when the bureaucratic eunuchs corruption has lead to civil unrest.  Which basically describes all of China's history, but in this instance the forces hoping to bring change are called the Yellow Turbans. In their fervor to bring change they commit as many crimes as their opposition, so Zhang Fei agrees to join a volunteer force against them lead by Liu Bei. He sacrifices his life to save a little girl but instead of dying he wakes with a cursed spear after a near-death dream experience. When in fear for his life the spear takes control and is relentless in destroying the enemy but is reluctant to return control over his body. Liu Bei is revealed to be secretly a woman and has experience with the power that has Zhang Fei in its grip, so he joins her and her army despite being told of the risks of the cursed spear, hoping that they can help each other with his power and the Yellow Turbans.

One of the annoying things that I find with historical Chinese tales is that I can never keep all of the names straight so that the frustration of working out character references by their context may be spoiling my review. That may partially explain why it seems that the characters' rationales and why they react in the ways they do always seems to be off in the title, appearing to be more the creation of convenience and plot rather than motivation. But since the whole point of these characters is for gratuitous violence and nudity, accomplishing that seems to be more important than the journey there. This is not a deep story, at least not yet, so looking for anything more than battle scenes and having a chance to ogle some non-sexual nudity is probably asking for too much. The violence is done in loving details while the nudity is not, with them not being tied together so the story so far has not been disturbing, but it is just an excuse for violence. Fortunately, it well orchestrated violence.

Rampage, vol 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

My Darling! Miss Bancho, vol. 1

By Mayu Fujikata

Published in the US by CMX Manga

Slugline: Not ashamed to know how silly it is.

Souka has decided to attend a technical school so she can quickly graduate and get a job to help out her recently divorced mother. Unfortunately she made a mistake and her chosen school is run by grade-based gangs that have many fights and school wide rumbles. It is so bad that Souka quickly discovers that she is the only girl left enrolled at the school yet because she has already paid the tuition she is reluctant to just quit. To encourage her stick around the class leader Yuuki gives her an iron plate to defend herself so while caught up in a brawl she uses it to knock out the Bancho, or gang leader of the whole school. That makes her the school's gang leader so she chooses to defend her title out of fear that someone worse will take it and she uses the role's influence to make something of a school populated by hooligans. That and trying to figure out the violent yet nurturing Yuuki, of course.

While in the beginning of the manga it tries to to tell the story seriously, by the end of the volume it has accepted that the whole idea underlying the manga is a little silly and has decided to roll with it. This becomes especially blatant in the inevitable beach trip chapter. It is this willingness to use the cliches of the formal challenge, the requires field and beach trips of school manga that helps makes what would be just another school manga into something that will be actually remembered. Well, that and the manga has a slightly unusual setting being set at a vocational school, which does not appear to be that different from a regular school but in my understanding has differences that run far deeper than just the cosmetic appearance, so hopefully those differences will come into play in the series.

My Darling! Miss Bancho, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Stolen Hearts, vol. 1

By Miku Sakamoto
Published in the US by CMX Manga

 

Slugline: Despite years of reading manga, I am still not sure what the difference is between a kimono and a yukata.

Koguma is the stereotypical big tough guy that exists in every teen manga, so when Shinobu spills something on his package she fears the worst especially when she learns it contained an antique kimono.  Shinobu agrees to work with Koguma to pay for the damages, but rather than doing hooligan-related activity she expected she instead learns that she will be joining him in working at his grandmother's kimono shop.  Given the chance to see him outside of the school where all anyone can see is his looming size Shinobu sees that he is more and they enter into a relationship.  But they both have a lot of work left to do in their relationship and get their schoolmates to see past both Koguma's reputation and the odd appearance they present when together from their height differences

This is a fairly light and fluffy school romance manga, mostly because the relationship is in the honeymoon period where everything the other one does is cute and perfect.  This manga feels more like an all ages title due to the combination of a somewhat educational storyline about the kinds and a how-to of wearing kimonos, and in that Shinobu's focus seems to be getting others to see past Koguma intimidating appearance rather than their own romance.  Koguma is a softy, an emotional blank that happens to look big and tough who is anything but.  His grandmother as a background character who is obsessed with money, seems to be more interesting than him.  Despite the weak romance element, there is still something about the manga that keeps readers' interest despite the face the elements and characters individually do not.

Stolen Hearts, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

The Lizard Prince, vol. 1

By Asuka Izumi
Published in the US by CMX Manga

 

Slugline: Dating outside of your taxonomic Class should require a PG-13 rating

Canary is Linaria's princess and has reached marriageable age while the neighboring Gazania also has a unmarried prince but Heath has a bad reputation.  Canary is only willing to meet Heath to berate him, but he has no desire to do that and switches places with his magical talking lizard, Sienna.  Sienna is charming while masquerading as Heath and convinces Canary to visit him again.  Heath is surprised by Sienna's actions so he decides to be rude to Canary to drive her away.  Canary sees through his deception and declares her love for Sienna, which lifts a curse to reveal that he is Heath's brother.  But as Sienna gets closer to Canary they are forced to rely on his lingering ability to turn into a small lizard to solve problems for their kingdoms and for themselves.

This title straddles the line between shoujo for teens and a more all ages title.  All ages titles stay away from deep relationship/sexual issues to keep their rating while most shoujo titles have to go into those waters because their whole point are relationships.  Not to say that shoujo titles are solely about teens trying to hook up but they still delve deeper into relationships than the relatively platonic love that Canary and Sienna seem to share.  The title reads like a shoujo but after a while it feels that something is off and that confusion sabotages the story.  The shoujo aspects should have been further submerged or been embraced fully.  This makes this title perfect for the tween age bracket, those who are not quite ready for a 13+ title but who desperately want to be.

The Lizard Prince, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Oh! My Brother, vol. 1

By Ken Saito
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Siblings who are way too close.

Masago is the younger sister of the popular class president Shiro. Even though he is far more popular and gets better grades than her, Masago looks up to him even as she plays second fiddle to him. After all, being close to her brother gives Masago an opportunity to indulge her crush on his best friend, a fellow school council member. One day while walking home from school Shiro sacrifices himself to save Masago from a traffic accident and everyone at their school, including Masago herself, is devastated. Shiro is not gone, because his spirit has apparently set up a time sharing arrangement with Masago's body. Mosago and Shiro have to work together to finish his last project for the school council while making accommodations for each while using Masago's body.

Despite all expectations, the fact that Shiro is overly protective of Masago in that way manga often describes as 'sister-love' the story manages to not come across as too creepy. Creepiness all too easy even when the siblings aren't forced to share a body so that makes Oh! My Brother stand out more. The manga comes to a natural conclusion about three quarters of the way through the volume but the story is picked up in the next chapter and is crudely restarted. While the resulting story is fine, continuing it seems to have been last minute decision which may explain the story's uncertainty afterwards. This is only a two volume series so that may be a hindrance that the story never really recovers from, but in this volume it does pretty well.



Oh! My Brother, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Deka Kyoshi, vol. 1

By Tamio Baba
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Old school detective

Toyama is a police detective investigating the suspicious suicide of fifth grade school teacher. He goes undercover as the teacher's replacement and befriends the class misfit,Miyahara, who see things no one else can. Miyahara is seeing the various mental disturbances that the students have so Toyama believes his descriptions. Toyama uses them to deal with the various afflictions that the students have while making a friend and an unofficial partner of Miyahara while also drafting the school nurse into his efforts. What is certain that someone is behind the teacher's death and there is a mysterious figure lurking in the background that makes all of the students' problems worse, but by the end of the first volume his identity remains unknown.

The art and story feels very old school, like the title was produced in the 70's or 80's with the art simplified and the storytelling straightforward. The rational explanation for the supernatural abilities is weak, even by the liberal standards of manga, which still bugs me. The stories worked best when both theToyama/Miyahara team and the student of the week deal with the problem together rather having Toyama punching a psychosis that only Miyahara can see leaving the student confused. The best example of this was the "Swimming Girl" chapter where the student confront her guilt over her parent's breakup by speaking with her mom in addition to Toyoma and Miyahara's own efforts. It still feels like an After School Special at times but in the better stories reader isn't being preached to.



Deka Kyoshi, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

The Battle of Genryu: Origin, vol. 1

By Shoko Fukaki
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: A plot an uncertain as its fight scenes are smooth

Jin is a high school student that also practices martial arts and while he is good at it he is not exceptional. Except for about one day a month when everything seems to go his way and he can pull off near superhuman feats of agility and strength. Jin chalks off those days as his lucky days but his family knows it is just a sign of his growing power. Unknown to Jin, he has deeply hidden abilities that have secreted away so that he doesn't lose control and kill people. But Jin days of hiding are over because his missing brother Soichiro has found him while also using his own marital art abilities to rule the fight circuit. At first Soichiro has Jin beaten by ordinary thugs during one of his weak days but quickly escalates to challenging Jin himself while trying to convince their sister that he has their best interests at heart.

This is another example of how the story doesn't seem to know where it wants to go. At first it seems that Soichiro is going to be a mysterious mastermind but when he is more fully introduced he starts to look like one of the misunderstood characters who can be redeemed once their own errors are proven to them, usually by beating that into them during a battle royale . But the the uncertain, almost stuttering plot refuses to settle down to a consistent direction or tone. Martial arts manga are not required to have much of a plot but what little they have should flow as smoothly as its fight scenes. Unusually, the fan service wasn't too annoying, verging on the reasonable rather ridiculous while the art in the few fight scenes being especially well done.



The Battle of Genryu: Origin, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

A Tale of an Unknown Country, vol. 1

By Natsuna Kawase
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Yet another Princess disguised as a maid romance

Rosemarie is the princess of a small and poor country whose brother has arranged her marriage to a neighboring prince. Prince Reynol rules over a wealthy and technologically advanced country and a marriage with him would be a benefit for Rosemarie's country but she has heard many rumors about him, few of them good. Rosemarie disguises herself as a maid to work atReynol's castle in order to learn the truth about him and despite him knowing that she is really the princess, they still managed to get to know each other and decide to go forward with the betrothal. But there are always new challenges as he returns her favor and visits Rosemarie at her own castle.

Most of the book is a lightweight romance until Rosemarie's brother turns into a control freak and reveals that most of the couple's troubles are the result of his own machinations. He is testing the couple to make sure that their love is strong, or something similar is the justification he is using to justify himself. If a parent tried to manipulate their kids this way, there would be no sympathy from the readers but somehow here it is supposed to be acceptable. Any relationship would be hard-pressed to survive similar revelations because t he couple would be continually questioning whether their feeling are real or manipulated. This is another example how the storytelling and art are fine, but the concepts that lay underneath the surface, that help drive the story, are of concern.



A Tale of an Unknown Country, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Ballad of a Shinigami, vol. 1

By Asuka Izumi and Original Story by K-She Hasegawa
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Featuring a death that never shows up

Momo is a shinigami, a reaper like spirit born from a suicide who takes on the the appearance of a young girl wearing white. Despite her supernatural connection to death she is not especially dangerous or even girl-like, but she does carry messages or other hints from the dead to the living. The living often need the help in order to deal with their own pasts and quite frankly to get the girl/boy.

White symbolizes death in many eastern cultures, so the fact that Momo is wears white is not as reassuring as one would first think when she is introduced. But it seems like that it is not very important who or what Momo looks like as long as she gets to say her one line per story that forces the potential couples to change and survive the fate that would otherwise lay in store for them. Momo barely more involved in the stories than the old Cryptkeeper character that once introduced horror stories, and in that sense the supposed main character does not feel very necessary to the stories. This is more like an anthology of tortured teen romance than actual supernatural stories or even a single continuing story, and while the individual stories are done well, there is nothing holding them together and making the title as a whole interesting enough to rise above average.



Ballad of a Shinigami, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea

By Nakaba Higurashi and Seiichi Morimura
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: A historical epic without any actual epic story

Temujin is the son of a Mongol chieftain and despite questions about his parentage he rises to lead the Mongols, forging them into a nation. His main obstacle along the way is a blood brother he made while hunting as a youth. But as they both grow older, they become leaders with different motivations until their conflict is carried over to their children until only one family is left alive. Guess which one.

This is based on the same source material as the movie by the same name, but since virtually no one saw the movie and even fewer in the English speaking world have read the source material. Despite the scarcity of the material, the manga reads as if the readers can bridge the gaps on their own, presumably because they have seen or read one of the other versions of the story. There are a lot of gaps to bridge over as the story jumps around in time without warning and with a very generic facial and dressing style for the characters it takes a lot of work to figure who everyone is as eras change. Fortunes twist and turn off panel, so that leaders rise to the height of their power then become friendless with the transition of a single line of text. It comes across as a collection of scenes rather than a story or even a tale of a broken friendship.



Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

The Lapis Lazuli Crown, vol. 1

By Natsuna Kawase
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Everyone prefers to go through school to be with the boy they like rather than simply dating them.

Miel is a child of a magical family in the Kingdom of Savarin but despite her family's history of magical prowess she is not interested in pursuing that. She wants to be considered cute and attractive so that she can hopefully marry well, which disgusts her more magically adept sisters. One day while in town she meets Radi , a visiting nobleman who bears a resemblance to the popular Prince Radian, but of course could never actually be him. If you really believe that, I also have this fine bridge in Brooklyn available for long-term lease. Through an amazing 'twist' Miel learns of Radi's true identity and gives up her aspirations of being a gold digger, deciding instead to practice her magic so that one day she will work at the palace helping the Prince.

Why yes, one afternoon is all that is need to change someone's goals from selfish to altruistic ones. Goals that are so so altruistic Miel doesn't even think romantic thoughts about Prince Radi, though he does think she is 'special.' While the storytelling and art are accomplished, at the same time the story itself is so mild that I think the manga's E for Everyone was not intended but merely a side-effect of the title's frantic inoffensiveness. The review rating is not the result of failure or inept execution, but instead as a result of the story not affecting the reader in any way and making one wonder with it in the first place.



The Lapis Lazuli Crown, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Venus Capriccio, vol. 1

By Mai Nishikata
Published in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: A boy prettier than any girl and a girl who is as rude as any boy.

Takami and Akira have been friends ever since Takami's mom signed her up for piano lessons in an attempt to combat Takami's tomboy nature. While she never gained Akira's skill at the piano, Takami did enjoy Akira's friendship. But Akira is determined for Takami to see him as more than a little 'sister'. By the end of the first chapter, he has managed to do so, but he has a lot of work left to do in order to get Takami to see him as boyfriend material.

On the face of it, this seems a lot like many other shoujo titles. To a certain extent it is, but the execution of it elevates the title together. Takami is a tomboy, but not so strongly that her feminization seems like a betrayal of the character and while Akira is a talented pianist he still has deficiencies that reflects his human nature. Takami does not immediately fall in love with Akira upon realizing he is a boy, but is open to the possibility as Akira starts working on her. Sure everyone is too pretty and seems unaware of it, but that is just fact of shoujo. Still these are characters I can mostly believe in (while Akira is a little too nice and understanding but does not yet verge on sainthood.)



Venus Capriccio, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Suihelibe!, vol.1

By Naomi Azuma
Released in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Alien gamekeeper after school club

Tetsu is looking to join a school club and decides to join the biology club. As soon as he checks it out, he has to defend the club's existence to the school council, along with helping Lan, an schoolgirl alien, recover some alien animals around the school. Tetsu manages to convince Lan to join the biology club so that it will continue, and over the course of the volume gathers another three members to reach the minimum size of the club of five members so that it can continue to exist in spite of the school council’s opposition. Of course, along the way Tetsu and the new members of the biology club help Lan recover some of the alien animals that she has been sent to Earth to recover.

This is definitely a kid’s title, since it is so very, very mild. The art style is very open and rounded so all the characters look and feel very young and wide-eyed. The challenges that the character face are not that, well challenging or dangerous, which fits the intended audience. The characters are only lightly sketched out, with Tetsu being the most with Lan the alien all, well, surface. The other three members of the club are pretty much stereotypes. Just because this is a kid's title doesn't mean it shouldn't have any depth, but despite that lack it is solid and not bad. Just the story has all the dramatic tension of overcooked pasta and thus not very enticing.



Suihelibe!, vol.1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Astral Project, vol. 1

by marginal and Syuji Takeya
Released in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Jazz that literally produces an out of the body experience.

Masahiko is living in Tokyo doing odd jobs, escorting former idols to prostitution meetings when he learns that his sister has died. Dodging his parents, he returns to his childhood home to get a momento of his sister, and choses to take the unmarked music CD in her player, the last thing she listened to. Once he has returned to Tokyo, listening to the jazz music on the disk, he has an out of the body experience, as his astral form wanders over the city. The rest of the first volume is taken up by Masahiko trying to understand just how his sister died, who else is wandering the astral space over Tokyo and trying to origin of the jazz music on the disk that his sister left behind.

This is a mature title, not for any reason that I can tell in the first volume. Probably the naughty stuff starts kicking in the later volumes, but here we have profoundly isolated character, Masahiko, who can literally float above it all. But as the volume progresses, the mysteries that his sister have left him drive him to interact with others, both in the real world and the astral world. The Japanese fascination with jazz music and musicians also rears it's head, but it is tied into the mystery in a natural way, and provides an additional point of confusion/contention for the characters. The characters' are being pulled out of their normal patterns, and the storyline timebomb dropped at the end of the volume was a good change of direction.



Astral Project, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Two Flowers for the Dragon, vol. 1

By Nari Kusakawa
Released in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: A threesome with a dragon is not as kinky as it sounds

Shakuya is the heir of the ruling family of an isolated desert city built around an oasis. The ruling family has had a tradition of having arranged marriages with the sons of important families of the city, but Shakuya's was lost in a sandstorm when they were both very young, and a new betrothed was chosen for her. A magical tattoo of a flower was placed on her arms, and as her love for her first betrothed grows, her tattoo grows. Unfortunately for her original betrothed had survived the sandstorm and returns five years later, having only just then regained enough of his memory to return. Now she has two flower tattoos, and whichever grows the most in the next year, the betrothed that flower represents will marry her. Shakuya has fallen in love (or what she thinks is love) with her current suitor Kuwan, but Lucien, her first one is back and is far more attentive than what she is comfortable with. Plus, there is the little problem that her family is descended from water dragons and she retains the ability to transform into one.

Okay, this feels like a real choice in the romance department. Kuwan and Lucien have different personalities and different schemes to attract Shakuya, none of that will he or won't he fall in love with the girl that you always know is just an excuse to draw out the story, because if there wasn't any conflict over whom the characters were attracted to, well, there wouldn't be much of a story now would there? Shakuya is not immediately torn between the two, she doesn't want to have a fickle heart, but she is still a romantic young girl, and she overreacts (I think at least) to the slightest change. The addition of her having dragon and water control abilities gives her own power base, so to speak, so that she is not overshadowed by the boys. Now, the previous work from this creator, The Palette of 12 Secret Colors, I was not very impressed by, but I feel the the characters here are far more grounded and real, despite their abilities.



Two Flowers for the Dragon, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Kiichi and the Magic Books, vol. 1

By Taka Amano
Released in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Reading is more than Fundamental, it's magical

Kiichi has had a hard time in his village every since his mother died and it was revealed that he had a horn on his head. That showed that he had some oni parentage, and there are many superstitions and legends about oni, none of them good. But when a traveling librarian came to their village, his books have drawings that come alive and he has a young traveling companion who may have been brought to life from a book herself. Wanting to learn more about his parentage and race,Kiichi decides to join them as Mototaro is returning to a local book depositary, because at the book depositary there are likely to be researchers and books that can help him with his questions. But there is a long way from Kiichi's village to the book depositary, and many things can happen along the way.

While this is a teen book, at least this first volume feels all ages. Nothing too frightening or over the top, but still effective. All three of the characters have emotional as well as physical journeys going on, especially the ones that doesn't look like they have one. That being said, well this is a well constructed story, it doesn't feel like it has that extra something that could turn the story into something great. It is just good, and it is shame when you call something just good you are only giving it modest compliment. But while I enjoyed it, I doubt I will remember much about it in a week or two. But that might just be because of how many manga a week I read...



Kiichi and the Magic Books, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Crayon Shinchan, vol. 1

By Yoshito Usui
Released in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Everyone loves a bad boy, even if he is in kindergarten

Shinchan is a five year old with an innocence of a two year old and the mind of a typical lecherous old man of anime. So needless to say he makes the lives of his family, friends, teachers and random passing strangers difficult and interesting all at the same time. This volume does not seem to have any continuing stories, sometimes more along the lines of situation or complications that have been added to the main characters lives, such as a principal with a face like a mobster and the addition of a dog to the household. These are short, brutal and funny. The volume itself is fairly small, but it works to the title's advantage, because if it was too long I think Shinchan would cease being funny at some point and just be annoying. As it is, I think some psychiatrist is going to make a lot of money from Shinchan's parents one of these days, that is if the pharmaceutical industry doesn't make him a poster boy for the need for more ADD drugs. The reason that this title is rated M for Mature has to do with Shinchan having the innocence of a two year old, in that random nudity seem perfectly acceptable to him.

And no, I have never watched the anime, the perils of living a cable free life. And writing all these review for you, my readers. I slave away, really.



Crayon Shinchan, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in manga and anime.

-Ferdinand

SERIES UPDATE: Presents, vol. 2

You can check out our review of Presents, vol. 1.

Presents continues its approach of one-off horror stories, all centered around the idea of presents, how they help, hurt and curse people that accept them. In some ways, I think this volume is stronger then the first, because it starts out immediately with a vision of Santa Claus that I suspect only a culture that hadn't been steeped in Christmas and Santa Claus could produce. Santa Claus and Death are both recurring characters, talking and giving the main character Kurumi's perspective and some suggestions on how to deal with some gift givers. Not all of the stories devolved into horror filled tales of greed gone wrong over presents, several of them were rather touching. So while I could easily got bored at too many one-off tales, Presents, at least in this volume, varied their approach enough to continue to draw me in.



Presents, vol. 1 and vol. 2 are both available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Variante, vols. 1 + 2

Written and Illustrated by Iqura Sugimoto
Released in the US by CMX Manga


Slugline: Having your arm replaced with a metastasizing shape changing thing is one way to get out of piano lessons.

Aiko has had a really bad day. She has not been doing so well in her piano practices, because of them she never gets to play outside with her friends, she comes home late one day and her parents are dead, killed by something that is so horrible she has blocked out her memory. And to cap it off, somehow her arm has been replaced with some rapidly changing chimera, capable of expanding, shifting shape and slicing people to shreds. It seems to be mostly under her control, but it does some bad things, such as killing her best friend's dog. The organization that 'rescued' her and is trying to control, cover up and exploit the Chimeras has this idea that it might be a good idea to pack her off to a lab and cut her up a bit to determine what makes her tick. But despite being very depressed (incited by the additional murder of her best friend by another Chimera) she decides that she will continue to live, and to do so she has to agree to fight the Chimeras. The second volume is mainly about Aiko learning to deal with the fact she is used as a killing machine and the fact that she freaks out everyone around her. In addition, we learn a little about the background of Sudo, the homicide detective that is part of the organization and is Aiko's handler.

Body horror has this interesting tradition in manga. I suppose it is the ultimate expression of the confusion of adolescence, when your body changes and seems to have its own wants and desires, irrespective of your own feelings in the matter. I think that the first volume is stronger to the second, where it descends more into the monster of the week and the monster within, where the first volume dealt more strongly with the isolation and depression of such a radical reshaping of one's life. I am sad to say that the shocker of the first volume actually took me by surprise, where I thought a character was going to serve as a grounding force and doesn't (dancing around to maintain the spoiler aspect of it.) But the first volume works much better as a horror story, where the second volume starts going into the action aspects of it, which were less engaging for me. The story also has the hurt Rei aspect, that infatuation that came out of Neon Genesis Evangelion to see the character Rei hurt. I never understood it myself, but apparently that is a big thing, and that built that right into the character, the haphazard, hurt look she continually project whenever she meets a Chimera, because that is the best way to engage her arm's self-defense mechanisms. I am not sure to admire the creator's rationale or wince at the thought that people like that.



Variante, vol. 1 and vol. 2 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand