SERIES UPDATE: Kashimashi, vol. 4

Check out previous reviews of Kashimashi vol. 1 and Kashimashi vols. 2 and 3.

After the story wandering around uncertainly for a while, Kashimashi vol. 4 finds it metaphorical feet in the revelation that Hazumu's near-death experience of volume 1, the one him to a her, was fated. Fate is not something that can be denied, and Hazumu's death is approaching once again. With that sort of ticking clock in the background, suddenly the characters have something that drives them, so that things matter. True, there is a bit of soap opera business where all of the characters know that Hazumu has a month left to live but no one knows that everyone else knows, but it prevents everyone descending in maudlin crying. I do wish that the characters had handled the revelations at the end of the third volume a little better, especially the potential 'cure' for Hazumu that was introduced at the end of that volume that wasn't really followed up in this one. Overall, the introduction of the ticking clock has pushed the series back up in the 3 1/2 stars category.



The Kashimashi vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3 and vol. 4 are all available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

CBG Review: BoogiePop Doesn't Laugh, vols. 1 + 2

I have written a review for BoogiePop Doesn't Laugh, vols. 1 + 2, available on The Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!

Miranda has previously written a review of BoogiePop Doesn't Laugh, vol. 1. Check it out and feel free to compare what she thought to what I wrote!



BoogiePop Doesn't Laugh, vol. 1 and vol. 2 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

The Last Uniform, vol. 1

Story and Art by Mera Hakamada
Released in the US by Seven Seas' Strawberry line

Slugline:Is there a single yuri title with high school age characters that is not set in an all-girl private school with dorms?

This is a slice of life manga, which for once does not include a visit to the beach or wearing a yukata to a festival. I had to get that out of my system upfront, that has been turning into one of my bugaboos lately. It is focused on two older roommates Kase and Beniko and younger roommates Sawara, Yamada and Hiwatari at a high school. Beniko is one of those perfect girls that have fans following around her all day, while Kase is more of tomboy and dislikes all the attention that her roommate gets, yet is not immune to her roommates charms herself. Sawara and Yamada have been roommates for a while when Hiwatari is added to their room, upsetting the balance between them but Hiwatari later develops a little bit of a crush on Kase after she beats on a pervert that exposed himself to Hiwatari with a shinai.

Since this is a slice of a life, there is little attempt for there to be an overarching plot, with each episode pretty much standalone though there is some progression as events from previous episodes are incorporated into the status quo of later episodes. The question that is posed on the back of the book, who is going to hook up with who, does not even really get asked in this volume, because no one hooks up anyone, or even announces their feelings. I have failed in the past to notice obvious signs of dating before (long story dating back to college), but this volume merely shows the gradually deepening of the characters feelings for each other, but other than Hiwatari's rather obvious crush, the overt romance has not begun by the end of the volume.

The Last Uniform, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.
-Ferdinand

Aoi House in Love, Vol.1

Story by Adam Arnold with Art by Shiei
Released by Seven Seas


Slugline: The showdown between yaoi and yuri should be more exciting than this.

Aoi House in Love continues the story of Aoi House, and should be considered as part of that larger story than a new series. Basically the folks from Aoi House go to a con, has a friendly competition of Uri House (a house of yuri fans, rather than fans of Uri Geller) and goes into a cosplay challenge with some The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya fans. I really wanted to give this volume a gentleman's 3 stars, but after going back and forth on it, I just couldn't. A harder decision than you think because I know that people from Seven Seas read this blog, but too many things come up and drop out of the story with minimal explanations, the weird relationship between Alex, Elle and Morgan just doesn't feel real, and the reality TV angle that keeps on being tossed into the mix relies on the boy's cluelessness rather than the reader's cleverness to remain hidden. It also suffers in comparison to Dramacon, another manga set at a convention, whose less complicated and even sparse style makes Aoi House in Love seem messy and uncontrolled, an unfair but inevitable comparision. Many of the same concerns I had with Aoi House vol. 2 still hold true here also so that this is now more a title for people who just love harem comedies or need to see what happens . I believe the next volume is the final one, so here's hoping that they can wrap it up as well as they began it.

Oh, just to make a me a total meanie, the color 4-panel comics in the back just didn't seem that funny.



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

-Ferdinand

Boogiepop Dual, Loser's Circus v.1

Art by Masayuki Takano
Published in the U.S. by Seven Seas



Slugline: Boogiepop rides again, this time in a boy, Akizuki, with the help of an ex-Boogie host.

Boogiepop has its own formula -- girls menaced by dark spirits who use schoolmates as puppets -- which works well, and will until they exhaust all of the permutations. This volume includes a handy franchise time line to gauge their progress.

In Loser's Circus, Boogiepop is channeled by a boy for the first time. The evil spirit in question is attacking girls in Akizuki's school and he, with the help of a teacher, is trying to track the enemy down. Since he's a boy and the targets are girls, it's a fine line between "tracking" and "stalking." The teacher herself is a former Boogiepop carrier, and it's interesting to see that there's life after Boogiepop -- and high school.

It's another good story in a franchise that doesn't seem to have any real losers (that I've seen, though the nonlinear ones require some patience). This is part one of two parts.



Boogiepop Dual, Loser's Circus v.1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

He Is My Master, v. 1

Story by Mattsu with Art by Asu Tsubaki
Released in the U.S. by Seven Seas



Slugline: If you were so incredibly rich you could hire anyone you wanted to be your maids and wear fetish gear, why would you hire ones with overprotective pet alligators?

Yoshitaka's parents have died and he is left alone with his mansion, his gobs of money and no one to supervise him, not even a estate executor. So after a few moments of private grief, he decides he needs some staff to help run the mansion, and when two early teens near his own age wander by in need of a job, he hires them on the spot. Of course, one has the penchant for creating ludicrous challenges to solve any disagreement, often enforcing her will and making a central point of said challenges her pet alligator.

It is filled with maid fan service, so if that is your thing, go ahead. But the situation here is only barely sketched out and it's only there to get the characters together and apart in the most frustrating and teasing of ways. I guess it would be possible to take this concept seriously and still have a fair amount of humor, but no, just assume that whenever possible they will go for the easiest and cheapest laugh and panty shot, no matter what it takes plot- or character-wise in order to get there, and you pretty much have the whole book. I have to admit I just started skimming this title after a bit, because all of the gags were obvious and were exactly what you would expect. If possible, this was a lower brow comedic version of a harem comedy. With an alligator.



He is My Master, v.1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Tetragrammaton Labyrinth, v.1

by Ei Itou
Published in the U.S. by Seven Seas

Slugline: Nuns! Demons! Scythes! Gatling guns! And it's yuri!

This has many of the same elements as Chevalier d'Eon -- Christian-based horror, demonic transformations, regenerating heroines, deity-patronized weaponry (but they get the deity right) -- set in Victorian London and presented in a clearer art style. Our two girls, Meg and Angela, are standard-issue tormented killing machines as of v. 1, and while this is part of Seven Seas' Strawberry (yuri) line, there isn't anything particularly romantic or unusual about their relationship. Yet.

I don't see anything particularly unique about this story so far, but the action is well handled and large amounts of blood are dished out via dismemberments, large-bore automatic weapons, and the weaponized farm implement du jour, our magic scythe. The artist is less worried about striking dramatic poses than Chevalier's artist, and more interested in getting to the flying body parts. Other plot elements, all of which we've seen before, serve to get us from Combat A to Combat B. If you're in the market for girls and gore, this is a good pick.



Tetragrammaton Labyrinth, v.1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

Venus Versus Virus, v. 1

By Atsushi Suzumi
Published in the U.S. by Seven Seas



Slugline: Two hot goth girls in action! Plus they may be one of the Seven Seas yuri titles! Can this possibly ever get any better?

Sumire is a typical girl who has one problem: she can see dead people sometimes, and sometimes the dead people can see her back. One day a ghost threatens her, and a goth girl shoots it dead. Which is an interesting feat since it was already a ghost, but is beside the point. They go back and forth and the goth girl named Lucia uses her as bait for the Virus, a type of contagious ghost, so to speak. In the process of getting the ghost that been haunting the school, Lucia has to shoot Sumire with her spirit bullets, which has the dual effects of making Sumire a great target for roaming Virus ghosts, but also gives her the ability to kill them. Sumire realizes that she needs help, training and protection and moves in with Lucia, much to the consternation of her friends who do not realize exactly what is going on. She goes on a couple of jobs, but only barely survives them just trying to avoid invoking her own strange abilities.

There are some interesting character bits here, despite my claims of yuri fandom. As in, the women looking longingly at each other is not what I am talking about here. While Sumire starts out shy, her development to being a little more outgoing is organic, and while she currently plays the helpless female, she may have a monster inside and the cynical, world-weary Lucia may be the one to drag her back to reality. Decent action, interesting characters and some different story twists make this an enjoyable read. 3 stars, with a bullet.



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

- Ferdinand

Hollow Fields, v. 1

Story and Art by Madeleine Rosca
Published by Seven Seas



Slugline: What if Harry Potter was a girl, attended a school for mad scientists, and had no idea how use a wand/screwdriver..?

Lucy Snow manages to get a little bit lost on her way to a new boarding school and ends up at a different school instead, one that offers free room and board, and expects the very best of its students. Or else. Because after she has signed on the dotted line, she discovers that the school is intended to train the next generation of mad scientists, with classes like graverobbing and how to build killer robots -- things that Lucy has no experience or skill in. But she better not have the lowest grades at the end of the week, because that is when the student with them is sent to detention. And no student has been seen after they have been sent to detention. Considering the nature of school, no one is thinking that is because the kids in detention are having so much fun that they have completely forgotten to come back to their dorm room or the dining hall. Lucy stumbled across some secrets, some of which help her along and set up things for the next volume, provided she survives the first detention selection at the end of her first horrible week. But that experience gives her a goal to focus on.

This is one Seven Seas' successes, and they have already gone back to press within a month of its release. It's also the only book that was created by someone outside of Asia to win a major international contest for manga in Japan. The title revels in finding an expectation and then breaking it. The fellow outcast she meets on the first day? Gone in less than ten pages rather turning into the Ron to Lucy's Harry. Her Hermione, on the other hand, definitely has his own agenda, and despite being the child of dentist, she has no idea how to be a mad scientist, she has no inherent skills or prophesied abilities, but she is willing to work long and hard at it in order to become better. Not only just to survive, but to have a goal greater than that, a goal that the rest of the students, perhaps due to their expectations, have apparently never have thought of.

The art is the mad scientist clockwork design, and all of the teachers of the school, the Engineers, show both their strangeness but at the same time their approachability in their design. Miss Notch goes from kindly doorkeeper to ferocious jailer without any radical transformation sequence but instead through just demeanor -- which is a harder trick than one would think. There are a few points where I thought it just didn't quite close the gap or hit just the right note, but because the story was willing to ignore what it was supposed to do and with an art style that is impeccably matched with the material, this book is still worth a look.



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

- Ferdinand

Aoi House, v. 2

Written by Adam Arnold with Art by Shiei
Published by Seven Seas



Slugline: Harem girls who know that they are in harem, and know enough to mock the whole situation.

The second volume of the OEL Aoi House, I feel, suffers from its legacy of being a webcomic and being printed by Newtype USA. Sure, everyone and their cousin has either been exposed to it (heh, sorry, feeling the sophomoric humor, exposed to it, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more) via the reprints or the webcomics, but the fact that it has to be continually up, always funny, always grabbing people's attention, means that it never has a lull in the action. When you read it as a graphic novel, you need those lulls for character bits, so that the characters hit more than one note. While a couple of the harem girls did so, I think the majority of characters were more obviously one-note than they were in the first volume. I am not sure whether that is just me, the side effect of writing for graphic novel or webcomic, but it was just not as surprising as the first one.

What did take me almost completely out of the story was the Final Fantasy riff in the middle of the volume. Apparently, I am the only anime/manga fan whose knowledge of Final Fantasy is gleaned solely from AMVs I have watched over the years. So I recognized a couple of the outfits, but the whole joke just went right over my head. Not necessarily its fault.

I still like the central conceit of a couple of hetero fanboys trapped in a harem of yaoi-crazed fangirls. There was some movement toward an overriding story arc, but this volume just didn't get to me the same way the first one did.



- Ferdinand

Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~, v. 1

Story by Satoru Akahori with Art by Yukimaru Katsura, original character design by Sukune Inugami
Published in the US by Seven Seas



Slugline: A guy who is a girl, who turns into girl, gets more action then when he, no she, no whatever, was a guy.

First off, I will have to beg the reader's indulgence. I, the bitter old anime/manga fan, who first saw Ranma 1/2 from a tape off Japanese TV with someone the room yelling out relevant plot points since there was no such thing as subtitles, have a singular weakness. It's yuri. Romantic titles with all-female leads. Not to say my brain completely turns to mush, but I notice that I am lot more forgiving of these titles than most others. I think I have managed to be impartial here, but take what you will with a grain of salt.

Hazumu, a guy, likes Yasuna, a girl, and thought the feeling were at least appreciated, but when he confesses to her she does not take it well. His feelings squashed, Hazumu takes to the surrounding hills, where he is squashed by a falling spaceship. The aliens, feeling bad squishing someone, decide to do some repairs, but there were only so much genetic material left (when they squish someone, they really squish someone) and they could only rebuild him as a her.

Thus, the main conflict of the series. Hazumu as a girl manages to connect to Yasuna in a way he couldn't as a boy, and discovers a new connection to a childhood friend Tomari (a tomboy neighbor) and she isn't quite sure how to handle it. Is a boy in a girl's body a hetero girl, a lesbian, or what?

These sorts of questions could have been really delved into, but they are only explored in connection with the main characters' relationships. I would have liked to see more about Hazumu wrestling with his/her own questions of identity. That would have been a much heavier title than the light, fluffy romantic fare we have here, which I still find it interesting, though some of the supporting characters are sillier than they need to be.



- Ferdinand

RavenSkull, v. 1

by Christopher Vogler & Elmer Damaso
Published by Seven Seas



Slugline: Ivanhoe's villan, Sir Brian, resurrected and re-cast as a cursed knight in love with the equally cursed Rebecca.

I've never read Ivanhoe (though I recommend Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court) and now that I've read a brief overvieww of the plot, I'm glad to feel less obliged to. Sir Brian was killed by Ivanhoe, in the book, and now he's resurrected by Rebecca and brings back hell's curse for both of them. The all-star cast also includes Richard the Lionheart, King John, and Robin Hood with Merry Men in tow.

The characters and plot are fairly standard for this kind of story, and nobody does anything really surprising aside from how Rebecca brings Sir Brian back from the dead -- that was a nice sequence. The action and artwork are solidly good to balance out the rather ordinary dialog and characters. And insulting well-known characters like Ivanhoe is always fun.

(For more interpretations of stock characters, check out Grendel by John Gardner and The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell)

There's potential for plot twists further down the road, since the cure for their curse isn't certain and its location is unknown, so we'll see where the writer leads us.



- Miranda

Boogiepop Doesn't Laugh, v. 1

Story by Kouhei Kadono, Art by Kouji Ogata
Published in the U.S. by Seven Seas



Slugline: Boogiepop "manifests" from within an average schoolgirl to defeat a demonic presence feeding off the student population.

This manga is based on the original Boogiepop novel, as opposed to the many other forms that popped up in the course of Boogiepop's success. I find this one easier to follow than the Boogiepop Phantom anime, as it seems to cover the timeframe of the story completely before moving on to the next character viewpoint of the timeframe. It also helps that the first viewpoint allows for some explanations about Boogiepop himself, whereas in the anime he just came and went and it took much longer to get a grip on what was happening.

Volume 1 starts with missing girls and rumors about the local bad girl and a new drug on the scene. Then Keiji finds out his girlfriend is being "possessed" by a protective spirit and things get odder from there. Being far removed from the action, Keiji's viewpoint of the timeline sets out some structure and landmark events for later reference. When Keiji's side of the story is finished, we move on to Kazuko's view of the events.

Boogiepop Doesn't Laugh gets points for nice brush-and-ink artwork, general weirdness, and social/psychological commentary. Nudity, drugs and sexual situations mean it's probably going to be shrinkwrapped, too. The anime, if you're interested, was quite dark and gloomy and I recall liking the soundtrack quite a bit.



- Miranda

Aoi House, v. 1

Written by Adam Arnold with art by Shiei
Published by Seven Seas



Harem titles. Some people like them, sane people don't. Urgh, sorry, my prejudices are showing, but I just find them, well, maybe on occasion amusing, but it just strains credulity to that so many women would find one guy, especially the dopey guys that they seem to find to be the male leads of harem comedies, so irresistible. I wish that being shy and studious was all that was necessary to draw to women to me. Then again, despite being surrounded by beautiful women, the insurance premiums must be murderously high due to the constant beatings they endure.

Thanks to Seven Seas we have the logical response to harem comedies, with two college guys surrounded by yaoi-obsessed fangirls. Ah, sweet justice. Thanks to a minor sign failure that turned Yaoi House into the more innocent sounding Aoi House, these two anime fans, Alex and Sandy, and their perverted hamster find themselves in Aoi House, filled with scantily clad women whose only interest is seeing how long the guys can keep their hands off each other.

Aoi House is a fast-paced fun little story that knows better than to take itself too seriously. And knows it should make the jokes that never seem to be made in the more traditional harem comedies. Strong recommendation and a reminder that Aoi House is the Seven Seas webmanga, so you can preview it at their website, www.gomanga.com.



- Ferdinand.

No Man's Land, v. 2

by Jason DeAngelis & Jennyson Rosero
Published by Seven Seas



Slugline: A Civil War vet hunts demons in the wild, wild west. And yes, it's partly his fault that they're there.

Pick up volume 1 of this OEL so you know that we're in the middle of a showdown with one of the bad guys. After the fight -- which is just as over-the-top as any manga -- the story pauses a bit to fill in some background.

This being a horror title, No Man's got a dark past, linked to both Lincoln's assassination and the disastrous spell that unleashed demons into the world. The incident cost him his wife and son, as one might expect.

These are story elements we've all seen before, so here's what sets No Man's Land apart from other demon-hunting stories: it's a well done "weird west," which I have a soft spot for, (doesn't everybody?) and it doesn't have the cultural misperceptions that crop up in Japanese manga. For example, the Quakers are correctly portrayed as pacifists.

(I would never hold it against a Japanese title for getting American cultural details wrong, but when Catholic nuns start waving magic wands topped with the star of David, it gets really distracting.)

IMO, Seven Seas is a publisher to watch. Everything they publish is OEL and quite faithful to the manga style, right down to the reverse-reading. I'm looking forward to watching Western and Eastern graphic literature hybridize and develop its own style.



- Miranda