Element Line, vol. 1

By Mamiya Takizaki
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Good characterization can save average plots. Nothing funny about that.

Kam is an orphan (always a orphan) living in a post-apocalyptic fantasy realm, with creatures called Rizom roaming the countryside in between the walled cities killing those without protection. There is some under the table skull-drudgery by the various political factions that are trying to protect and control the remains of humanity, while Kam is trying to escape the legacy of heroic father and leave the city before friends and created family discover his secrets.

Whole swathes of the story are fairly generic, but it is handled with a deft hand so that the character motivations seem their own rather than selected out of the cookbook. When Kam turns back to save a friend, it is not because he is inherently noble, but because it reflects on his character and the lessons he has learned. I think the power-up at the end of the volume was not necessary, there was already enough of a mystery about what is happening to Kam's body (no symbolism of puberty here) there was no need to go there yet. Still, the characters make sense, something that isn't always true in action titles.



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

-Ferdinand

Ral Ω Grad, vol. 1

Story by Tsuneo Takano with Art by Takeshi Obata
Released in the US by Viz


Slugline: Breaking new ground with a teen hero who acts on his lust for girls?!

A couple things that we need to get out of the way up front. This manga is related to the Blue Dragon computer game series, so some readers may be interested in that. Takeshi Obata was also the artist for Death Note (see Prospero's Manga reviews for Death Note 1-6 and Death Note 7-10.) And here is the kicker, there is nudity with implied off panel sex, so this manga came shrinkwrapped so can be considered e-v-i-l.

With all those qualifiers out of the way, Ral has been imprisoned in complete darkness for 15 years while Shadow monsters have ravaged the fantasy world. Ral was bonded with a shadow dragon Grad, and when he just a baby the dragon got a little bit miffed and did some of his own rampaging. Ral was confined to a mystical prison but after 15 years he is released because he is humanity's last chance of fending off the Shadows. After saving the castle, Ral and Grad decide to take the fight to the Shadow mother.

There are two moments that sold this to me. The first is Ral and Grad 's killing of Ral's father as soon as they could, out of anger after being imprisoned for 15 years was real. No soft and squishy feelings of forgiveness here, just get that done and over with. That and some morning shortly afterwards he already has women lounging around in his bed. This is a medieval fantasy, with the hero wanting his 'reward' and Ral trying everything that feels good (especially for a teenage boy) after being in a state of denial for over a decade. It would have been so easy for the creators to chicken out, to either make Ral virtuous for no reason or just a leech who is one just for it's own sake (see virtually any leech in a manga in a modern setting), but they threaded a needle creating a world and character that complemented each other. Ral is not someone to emulate, and is pretty far from the shoujo ideal of someone who understands women, but what happens and his behaviors make sense because of they flow out of the world and the character, not just shoehorned in to get the fan service quotient into the manga.

Now, is there still fan service in this? Of course. But it fits, it's not just there, or trying to get by with a nod and a wink. The fight scenes work and the art is pretty good, though sometimes things get a little too clever, but it is still a good read.



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

-Ferdinand

switch, vol. 1

By the Naked Ape: Saki Otoh and Nakamura Tomomi
Released in the US by Viz


Slugline: For a story about detectives, there is not a lot of logic here

Kai is the newest member of the Narcotics Control Division, but despite having a baby-face, he has a violent streak hidden well below the surface. Still, that means he is supposed to be trained detective, since they are so few slots for theses narcotic specialists, so instead we get a guy who seems out of a shoujo manga. The story seems to be trying to be realistic, dealing with drugs and the like instead of unstoppable assassins (Rose Hip Rose, I am looking at you) so the attempts to have what amounts to be a bipolar detective completely forces you out the story. I am sorry to have skipped me usual short synopsis of the story, but it seems not to matter much, because the story itself seems jumpy, as in sometimes it skips over material I think should be included, or conversations between characters not really seem to be connecting with each other.



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

-Ferdinand

Monkey High!, vol. 1

Story and Art by Shouko Akira
Released in the US by Viz


Slugline: Monkey's aren't usually this subtle about relationships

Haruna has had to transfer out of a prestigious school due to her politician father's scandal. She has learned from that particular harsh experience that school was a like a hill of monkeys, always jockeying for position. Unfortunately for her, the most monkey-like of all the boys is Masaru draws her attention. But despite both of their intentions they start exploring a relationship with each other.

What is nice here that there isn't huge declarations of love or emotional intent, mostly just two people trying to figure out what, if any, their emotional connection is. For once it is not an environment that is working against them, normally it seems that school classes are filled with people trying to destroy each other's relationships. Also, they both make mistakes, step forward, step back and wonder what the hell they are doing with no saints here. It feels like a while since I have read a shoujo that felt organic rather than needlessly contrived with over the top stakes (which means considering our review output means it was less than three months ago.)

I went back and forth on whether or not this was 3 1/2 or 3 stars, but while competent, even enjoyable, it hasn't quite started hitting all cylinders, with that spark, so to speak. I suspect that it will be clear within a few volumes, but after being down on the last few weeks of reviews, I am trying not to see what is not there for the titles that don't make me want to poke out my eyes.

As for my promise of all ages manga review today, it turns out there are very few all ages manga published, so I went for the next closest age bracket, 13+.



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

-Ferdinand

A Wish of my Sister

A Wish of my Sister and all other review of explicit titles have been moved to Prospero’s Manga – Mature, a review blog for specifically for those titles. Please check there for reviews.

Innocence, 2nd ed.

Innocence, 2nd ed. and all other review of explicit titles have been moved to Prospero’s Manga – Mature, a review blog for specifically for those titles. Please check there for reviews.

Blogging frequency update

Right now I am looking at my stack of manga to be reviewed and I am completely uninspired. I am worried that I may be little my ennui affect my reviews, so for the time being I am going to pull back to three reviews a week, MWF to combat that. Hopefully I will get exicited about titles again in a few weeks.

-Ferdinand

Dark Wraith of Shannara

By Terry Brooks, Adapted by Robert Place Napton and Illustrated by Edwin David
Released by Del Rey


Slugline: Not fantasy byproduct, very specific generic fantasy product.

The Shannara series is a classic fantasy series but I only read the first few volumes, so the Dark Wraith of Shannara starts from a point in the series that I am not familiar with. That being said, the book does a good job catching you up so that you can follow it easily. Jair has destroyed the Ildatch, a mystical living scroll, but in the process tapped something dark within himself and his wishsong, the fighting spirit of a slain comrade. His sister Brin who once had similar abilities but gave them up and is concerned that his wishsong power may yet consume him, but circumstances conspire to force Jair to rely on his wishsong in order to rescue comrades that had helped him in a previous quest.

The fact that you can follow the story, reflects on the reason that I originally stopped reading the series, that everything is spelled out in detail. I have not this many editorial boxes explaining the action to use in years, in either US comics or manga. Perhaps that is merely of its origin as a novel series, but I think it is more from the Terry Brook's style. It just feels very workmanlike, A is followed B followed by C, then there is handy set of instructions, then some audio-visual aids showing from a different perspective and so on. But the Shannara series does have its fans and putting the title together with other fantasy titles may introduce them to other titles.



-Ferdinand

Fairy Tail, vol. 1

By Hiro Mashima
Released in the US by Del Rey Manga


Slugline: Feels like Rurouni Kenshin with magic.

Lucy is a minor magician that wants to be part of the Fairy Tail, a group of wizards that are respected but also make other wizards very anxious because of their stunts. Lucy thinks she has found a wizard that will help her join Fairy Tail, but that wizard is actually luring women to be slaves. Fortunately, the bumbling kid from earlier in the manga is revealed to be Natsu, a powerful fire mage of Fairy Tail, who after wiping the floor with the impostor brings Lucy to meet the rest of the Fairy Tails. And afterwards, Lucy ends being Sancho to Natsu's Don Quixote to find a missing member of Fairy Tail.

While Natsu does not have the tragic past of Rurouni Kenshin, there are some echoes. The comedic bumbling character who turns out to be super-competent, a female lead that is talented but not very powerful and the impostor drawing on the reputation of the bumbling character's real identity (of being a Fairy Tail member.) I am not saying that this is bad, the art style reminds me a little of One Piece for instance, but there were so many similarities to other works that I have read and no real sense of dramatic weight to the title to make me feel the character's jeopardy, I just never got engaged or really cared over what was going on. Maybe I am just being a little jaded here, maybe for someone who picks this off the shelf this would be an average title, but for me, I need something more.



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

-Ferdinand

The Third, vol. 1

Original Story by Ryo Hoshino, Art by Ariko Itou with Original Character Design by Nao Goto
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: As a prequel, this manga reminds me of The Phantom Menace

This manga is the prequel of the anime title The Third, another anime title that I have not watched (hrm, I wonder if there is a pattern) so I have to look at this title as is, not as a teaser for the anime. Hundreds of years into the future after a war the majority of the world is desert, and Honoka , who suspiciously habitually wears a bandanna, is a beginning Dune Runner. Dune Runners are the guides and guards of the desert, but Honoka is still working out her approaches and gaining experience. This volume is basically a series of vignettes as she helps her clients and learns about herself.

Back to the slugline, for us old school fanboys, when we went into to see The Phantom Menace, we were subconsciously comparing it to our memories of the original series, which had achieved an unrealistic perfection over time. I got that feeling in reading The Third, that somehow that as a prequel it was not as powerful or simply as well structured as the anime it is based on. The writing and art itself is competent, but it just seems to lack a unifying plot or theme to bind it together. Maybe the characters that were introduced in this volume show up in the anime, and you needed to know that in order to bind the plot together, but at that point that is information outside of manga that I had no way in knowing, especially if I just picked this manga off a store's bookshelf.



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

-Ferdinand

eV, vol. 1

Created by Roger Mincheff, written by James Farr with art by Alfa Robbi and Papillon Studio
Published by TokyoPop


Slugline: Beware the Evil Bunnies

The slugline makes me want to sprinkle some of the lines from the Buffy:the Vampire Slayer musical, Once More with Feeling in the review, but I am afraid most people won't get people the reference. For the people who do, just remember Anya's bunny song.

Now that I have that digression out of the way, eV is set 20 minutes and five year's from now. Ev's father is a scientist specializing in nanotechnology and with the arrival of aliens asking for a Earth representative for an interstellar congress. Ev has some issues with her father basically disappearing for 5 years while preparing nanite enhancements for whomever eventually ends planetary representative, but car accident at the last minutes forces Ev's father to sacrifice the last five year's work to save her. But in return, she ends up having to become Earth's planetary rep, and let's just say aliens can be suckered just as well as humans by multi-dimensional creatures beyond anything's ken.

I wanted to like this more, but the pacing of the story seemed to be way off, sometimes skipping past things with barely any explanation, other times slowing down to show us details that don't seem to forward the story that much. I suspect that this was originally intended to be in another format (not manga) simply because of how the pacing seems off. There are some big sci-fi ideas, please I am always a sucker for Lovecraftian horrors.

And if the last scene doesn't scream out "sequel" I don't know what does. Is this the continuation of the trend of TV/Movie types getting involved in comics? Comic publishers have had an influx of Hollywood creators, is it nowmanga's turn? And is that a good or bad thing? I don't know, but in this particular instance, maybe the creators needed to acclimate more to the format.



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

-Ferdinand

Spy Goddess: Chase for the Chalice

Created by Michael P. Spradlin, Script by Rachel Manija Brown and Illustrated by Rainbow Buddy
Released by TokyoPop


Slugline: A literary rest stop between Spy Goddess novels

Rachel Buchanan and the rest of her friends from the Spy Goddess novels, which are about a bunch of teen spies after the mythically inspired Mithras sect, have to go to Japan to track down one of Mithras latest criminal capers. Rachel is denying any connection with the goddess that once defeated the Mithras cult, but needless to say when captured and as her friends race to rescue here, some evidence to the contrary is introduced.

I think I have noticed a pattern when novelists do manga adaptations (even if it not a direct adaptation) of their titles, it seems like they rely on the words to tell the story, rather than balancing between words and pictures. Not that I am an expert here, but that is my impression. Maybe because they have spent so much time in the world of their novels as purely written experience, it has hard to dial it back when they have to continue it in comic/manga format. As such, this title feels like I experiencing it from a distance, that all of the emotional cues that I am supposed to be getting are actually coming from a distance so that are just not connecting. Also, it feels like that there is, or should be, more going on with the characters that is actually expressed in the word or thought balloons. The art is nice, though I wish there was more of a difference between the two female leads, I had to work to keep them separated while reading.



Spy Goddess: Chase for the Chalice is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Dragon Sister!, Vol. 1

By Nini
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Dishonorable Mention
Slugline: What an exciting and suspenseful story. Not.

Okay, maybe I have been away too long and my tolerance of stuff has dropped down, but I couldn't bring myself to finish Dragon Sister! because it was so boring and cookie cutter. The characters were flat, all surface, and not even the art was enough to save it. It felt like a condensation of another work, where the characters moved from plot point to point, without any apparent motivation or reason for them to do so. Unlike yesterday's review of Your & My Secret, where reading it got me mad, this just failed to engage on any level other than wondering how many pages I had left.

Edited to Add: Over the weekend, I started feeling bad that perhaps I had let my negative review of Your & My Secret bias this review, so I tried to reread it, and gave it to Miranda to consider. Miranda is the one that pointed out for an action title, two of the fights were skipped over (we see them posing at the beginning of the fight, then we skip ahead to all the opponents on the ground) and the third is aborted after a couple of punches are thrown. At which point we threw up our hands and decided to let sleeping manga lie.



Dragon Sister!, Vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Your and My Secret, vol. 1

By Ai Morinaga
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Body swapping leads to new kinds of emotional abuse.

Update: For some additional insight into the title, please check out the comments for this entry!

Okay, I fully admit that I am guy. Not the most manly sort of guy in the world, but I still suffer from the XY set of chromosomes and I realize that there are some kinds of romantic tomfoolery that I will never get. I am fine with that, and I also admit that I am not fully immersed in all that is Japanese society and culture, so sometimes I don't get the attraction of some of the things in manga.

BUT, I am sorry, but I just can't wrap my head around the fact that this title is supposed to work as either a romance or a comedy. Nanako is tomgirl and Akira is the boy that likes her. They suffer a body swap, and Nanako takes to having a boy body with gusto, getting a girlfriend and ingratiating him/herself with the rest of the school and Akira's parent far better than Akira has ever managed to do. Akira, in Nanako's body, has to work to bring in money so that the body transfer can be reversed, but Nanako's scientist grandfather seems to be no hurry to do so, enjoying the money that Akira in Nanako is making and the fact that Akira is now a live-in maid. Akira's best friend is making the moves on Nanako, even though he knew that Akira liked her. So here we are, Akira in Nanako is having his dreams of maybe Nanako liking him back shattered, Nanako is using his body for her own enjoyment and seems to have hijacked Akira's life, while Akira's friend is going behind his back to hit on the girl the friend knew he liked and Akira's attempts to get his life back are stymied by the selfishness of Nanako's grandfather.

Where the hell in comedy and romance in this? I am thinking that this is more a tragedy and if something doesn't change soon, Akira is going to mentally break down or have to take radical action in order to take control of his/her life back.

So, I didn't think like this at all. And if someone can explain to me where the romance or the comedy is hiding in this story, please tell me via comments.



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

-Ferdinand

Rose Hip Rose, vol. 1

By Tohru Fujisawa
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Perverts and the Psychopaths of the World, Unite!

Shohei Aiba has a problem, in that he is bored with school and the life that school seems to be preparing for him. So he does some things that he is not exactly proud of just to alleviate his boredom, such as taking under the skirt shots of students on the subway and putting the pictures up on a website. This was working fine until a new student at the school named Kasumi catches him taking cellphone pics. Kasumi is more than a little bit odd, with gymnastic skills and an interest in men's magazines. Because of course Shohei does not make the connection between Kasumi and the mysterious new police officer Rose Hip. Not that in real life a person would really make that connection, but the connection was so obviously made for the reader that you have to wonder why Shohei doesn't make it himself. Actually, I liked it as an action piece, though at the end where any reasonable cop would have take the sniper headshot and taken down the antagonist of the piece, the fact that Kasumi or Rose Hip does not seems to be a bit of disconnect for me. I don't know how much of a connection that there will be made with the other Rose Hip series, since I have only reviewed the first volume of Rose Hip Zero (reviewed here) but there seems to be some. It is an okay action story, but if the characters continue to insist on pulling punches, so to speak, I can see this going downhill quickly.



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

-Ferdinand

CBG Review: Emperor's Castle, vol. 1

I have written a review for Emperor's Castle, vol. 1, available on the Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



Emperor's Castle, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

What has been going on

We have been a little quiet this last week, as we head into the last bits of the TokyoPop project that I have earlier mentioned. That project is making it hard to do reviews with the appearance of minimum of bias. We are hoping to finish it and hand it over to the artist, and thus be able to go back to a regular schedule with reviews next week. Thank you very much for your patience!

-Ferdinand

In the End

by Pink Psycho
Published in the U.S. by Tokyopop


Slugline: A shallow tour of a teenage wasteland.

This is saved from getting a Dishonorable Mention by fairly good artwork.

Kaito has settled comfortably into the role of a whipping boy as a teenager, and apparently can't think of anything to do besides lay around the house provoking his father or lay around his favorite club looking for other people to emotionally abuse him. It's just a matter of time before easy meat like Kaito is picked up on by a more substantial predator like Ren, lured in with a bit of manipulation and stroking, and then it falls apart.

This could have been an ugly look at the real world of abuse, but instead the author wants the reader to feel some kind of sympathy for Ren without putting enough work into describing Ren's motivations. And Kaito's change of heart speaks more to his lack of self than any real change. Thus, the ending rings false after a string of predictable incidents that don't convey much in the way of "romance."

I was never a punk or a goth, but I also feel vaguely insulted on their behalf because this story will, in the eyes of a parent, reinforce the idea that punk/goth kids are lost and vulnerable and can be "saved" by getting them into a more normal wardrobe. Most of the people I knew who wore lots of black or dyed their hair were far more vibrant and stable than the go-with-the-crowd types.



In the End is available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

Please Miss Yuri

Please Miss Yuri and all other review of explicit titles have been moved to Prospero’s Manga – Mature, a review blog for specifically for those titles. Please check there for reviews.

Fever, vol. 1

by Hee Jung Park
Published in the US by Tokyopop


Slugline: Screw-ups and lovelorn of Korea, unite!

The structure of this volume is nice and tidy: we meet Hyung-In, we meet Ji-Jun, and Kang-Dae brings them all together for a first meeting. What happens next is anyone's guess, but if the dialogue maintains this quality and Bong-Nam the spaniel sticks around, I will too.

Hyung-In is wrestling with the consequences of her friendship with an unpopular girl. Ji-Jun is...unlucky, in more ways than one, and more or less adrift in life. And Kang-Dae is the sort of scattered oddball that could make things interesting. Bong-Nam brings the drool and a waggy tail.

4 stars, with a bullet.



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

-Miranda

CBG Review: Mail Order Ninja, vol. 1

I have written a review for Mail Order Ninja, vol. 1, available on the Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



Mail Order Ninja, 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

CBG Review: Star Trek, The Manga, vol. 1 Shinsei/Shinsei

We have already done a review of Star Trek, The Manga, vol. 2 Kakan ni Sjinkou.

I have written a review for Star Trek: the Manga vol. 1 Shinsei/Shinsei, available on the Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



Star Trek, The Manga, vol. 1 Shinsei/Shinsei, Star Trek, The Manga, vol. 1 Shinsei/Shinsei the alternate cover,
Star Trek: the Manga, vol. 2 Kakan ni Shinkou are all available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

Translucent, v.1

by Kazuhiro Okamoto
Published in the US by Dark Horse Manga


Slugline: Teenagers feel invisible. That much never changes.

Invisibility as a cycling, mysterious illness -- it's a reasonable enough story idea. Even when set in the mundane world of middle school. But volume 1 proceeds to introduce us to a group of familiar characters, all of whom are dead set on being as normal as possible. Here's a disease whose only physical effect is invisibility, and everyone's ignoring the obvious implications.

Furthermore, the storyline insinuates that the disease is partly psychological. Which could lead to interesting stories too, but there isn't much sign of anything interesting happening so far. I couldn't even guess what volume 2 would be about -- there's no apparent conflict or goal in mind. The girl suffering from this disease wants to be an actress, but the story of reaching that goal hardly needs an invented disease to be interesting. The added "problem" actually detracts from that, in my opinion.

You can also check out Ferdinand's review!



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

- Miranda

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

CBG Review: Hellsing, vol. 1

As a reminder of why we are running so many links at the moment, I have a contract with TokyoPop to write a pilot manga for them, and while I am working on it I am trying to avoid reviewing their stuff. So of course I get nothing but TokyoPop titles to review.

I have written a review for Hellsing, vol. 1, available on The Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



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

- Ferdinand

Blue Eyes, vol. 1

Blue Eyes, vol. 1 and all other explicit titles have been moved to Prospero’s Manga – Mature, a review blog for explicit manga titles. Please check there for reviews of such titles.

CBG Review: Agent Boo, vol. 1

I have written a review for Agent Boo, vol. 1, available on The Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



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

- 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

Minima!, vol. 1

By Machiko Sakurai
Released in the US by Del Rey


Slugline: Cute dolls can lead to not-so cute situations.

Ame is schoolgirl who is actually depressed and knows that her friends don't really like her, rather than just being relentlessly upbeat about it. In a moment of despair, she buys a remaindered small stuffed toy, who is tired of being quiet and overlooked, and breaks the code of silence and speaks. Things spin out of control like you would and would not expect as Nicori tries to find his place in the world and with Ame.

First of all, Ame is portrayed as actually depressed rather than the fake depressed that seems to pervade manga. You don't stay upbeat, you just exist and hope that you will stop feeling. Then Nicori enters the picture and while things change under his influence, they are just the first steps of change, Ame does not discover that all of her problems are solved overnight. And she has been crafted by her problems so even if the problems disappeared she would still be the same person for a while until she adjusted to the changes. The fact that when Nicori was revealed to the world as a talking, moving plush animal that Ame was able to leave the amusement park without being chased or cornered by reporters and businessmen seeking to take advantage was something that I had a hard time believing. But that plot hole was soon plugged by the return of the reporters, a businessman seeking to take advantage of Nicori and a gang of street toughs kidnapping Ame hoping to also take advantage of Nicori. This injection of real world consequences of something that at first seems impossible grounds the piece and makes me eager to see more.



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

-Ferdinand

Manga Sutra, v. 1

By Futari H and Katsu Aki
Published in the US by Tokyopop


Slugline: A realistic story about figuring out how to enjoy sex.

It should be noted that pornography is not an accurate representation of people having sex – this is. And it’s not pornography, in that it’s more concerned about plot than gynecology.

The story centers on Makoto and Yuri, two virgins who meet through a matchmaker and get married. They are both willing and eager to enjoy sex, but reality keeps getting in the way. They both need practice, they’re both embarrassed by not getting it right the first time, and they both have siblings who try to educate them. No, there is no incest porn.

Factoids are sprinkled throughout the story along with a bit of explanation about various techniques. The central story is simple and straightforward and sweet in its way, but the obvious aim of the series is to educate. I think that’s a great idea, because sex requires practice and exploration and the fib that everyone’s automatically good at it really needs to be laid to rest.



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

- Miranda

Yozakura Quartet, vol. 1

By Suzuhito Yasuda
Released in the US by Del Rey Manga


Slugline: Superteens? I think they didn't know what else to tagline this with.

Four teens work to protect the town of Sakurashin from whatever arises to threaten it. There is something going on in the town, especially considering that the smokestacks on the town's skyline have blessing strips on them. But not to worry, the four teens all have abilities beyond that of normal men. Hime, despite being a teenager is the mayor of the town seems to have enhanced strength and speed. Ao, a cat-girl can read minds and Kotoha is a magician that can create things with just a word round out the superpowered part of the team. And then there is the guy, Akina, who will no doubtedly have to fend off the interest of the three girls.

I was thinking from the back ad copy that this would be more like a traditional superhero story. I mean, there is nothing wrong with super heroic stories, you can easily argue that Naruto is one. But this story didn't feel like one at all. It feels more like a civic class, with the characters all concerned about the town, but for some reason not seeming to have any of the apparatus of a town to draw upon. People must flock to live in this town, because the property taxes must be incredibly low if the town's mayor runs things with just the help of three friends. The fact that the three friends have wacky powers is just is, without any explanation. It just doesn't feel like it holds together, with the threats feeling fairly hollow.



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

-Ferdinand

CBG Review: Fruits Basket, vols. 1

We have also reviewed Fruits Baskets, vol. 13.

I have written a review for Fruits Basket, vols. 1, available on The Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



Fruits Basket, vols. 1 is available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

CBG Review: Megatokyo vols. 1-4

I have written a review for Megatokyo vols. 1-4, available on The Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



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

CBG Review: 0/6, vols. 1 + 2

As a way to get around the Conflict of Interest problem that I mentioned yesterday, I will be featuring (for a little while anyways) some of the my CBGXtra reviews that I have not previously linked to that date from before the conflict.

I have written a review for 0/6, 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!



0/6, vols. 1 and vol. 2 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Blog Update

Ferdinand (me, in other words) has just now signed a contract with TokyoPop to provide a pilot manga for them. This presents a Conflict of Interest on my part with TokyoPop, but since TokyoPop puts out a sizeable chunk of the new titles, it will be hard to for me to stop reviewing all of them. I can tell you my reviewing style won't change, and I will try as much as possible to push reviewing TokyoPop titles off to Miranda. In the cases in which I can't, I will remind people in the review about my Conflict of Interest.

-Ferdinand

I Wish..., vol. 1

By Hyun-Joo Seo
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: The granting of wishes with no monkey paw in sight!

Jin Ryu was left behind when her parents and brother went on vacation, and in a moment of spite wished that their plane would crash. Of course, their plane really does crash and Jin, ridden with guilt, goes to a sorcerer K who will grant a wish in return of what is most precious of the wisher. Unfortunately, his rule is that he cannot bring the dead to life. And since Jin has seen him, he cannot let her go without her making a wish. So Jin ends up being K's assistant, and observes (and usually tries to help) the people who come to K looking for wishes to solve their problems.

Many of these sort of stories seem to revolve around the monkey paw type of a wish, a wish whose intentions rebound on the wisher so that he receives what he wants in the most horrible way possible. I Wish... is different, in that while there are consequences to the wish, and what is taken in payment is often unexpected, if the wish rebounds unexpectedly, so far it does so in a way that the wisher would actually prefer if he knew. There is also an unexpected relationship between K and Jin's dead brother, which implies that Jin herself is more than one would expect. Also of interest is that the chapters are of much longer than one would expect, with only three stories in this volume. I am not sure if the published format for this story is longer than normal or that several episodes have been edited together to form longer chapters. Either way, this is a different but still well done entry in the wish-fulfilling genre of stories.



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

SERIES UPDATE: Loveless, vols 4-7

Feel free to check out our previous reviews for Loveless, vol. 1 and Loveless, vol 2&3.

The story drifted a bit, introducing characters who may or may not become more interesting, some bits of intrigue and some ass-dragging on Ritsuka's part. But in vol. 6, he demands to visit this Septimal Moon that has been mentioned and lo, in vol. 7 we are making progress. A diversion of sorts is begun in vol. 7 with the likely goal of making a team of Ritsuka and Soubi. It's sure to have repercussions later, no mystery about that.

And the short stories at the end of some volumes are cute too.



Loveless vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3 vol. 4, vol. 5, vol. 6 and vol. 7 are all available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

.hack//G.U.+, vol. 1

Story by Tatsuya Hamazaki with Art by Yuzuka Morita (corrected)
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Griefers can cause real grief over the fuzzy line of reality and the computer in the .hack world.

I may be one of the five people on the planet that doesn't know or apparently care that much about the .hack franchise. I do like the fact they are talking aboutgriefers AKA Player-Killers. Those are the folks whose game is to deny others the game. But many of the other elements of the story come from any one a half dozen cyberpunk, the computer is alive style games that date all the way back to TRON. Oh look, player's injuries affecting their real life status, the idea of rogue systems, missing mentors wandering back into people's life and so on. Add into it a heavy amount of the traditional fighting story elements, such as revenge and the desire for one to be stronger, as if you can suddenly add muscle mass just by yelling really loudly. Yet I am still giving this an average rating, despite those issues. Maybe I have been reading too muchshoujo and the like recently, but I do find most of the characters well done and they take full advantage of the possibility of the non-logical appearance in the computer world and run with it. If I had just read a bunch ofshonen I would have been less forgiving, but I find this okay, even if it does not make much of an impression.



.hack//G.U.+, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

CBG Review: Shin Megami Tensei KAHN, vol. 1

I have written a review for Shin Megami Tensei KAHN, vol. 1, available on The Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



Shin Megami Tensei KAHN, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Doors of Chaos, vol. 1

By Kyoko Mitsuki
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Grotesque violence, gothic lolitas and bishi boys of bad-assery. All it needs is some boys kissing each other to be perfect.

Mizeria and Clarissa are sisters that have cloistered their whole life, training their mystical powers as harmonizers to serve their kingdom. But on the sixteenth birthday, Clarissa is stolen away by their trainer Rikhter who has raised the girls their entire lives. Worse yet, it turns out that the girls are keys that can open (in Clarissa's case) or close (in the case ofMizeria ) doors to evil dimensions, so to speak. Clarissa finds herself drafted by a secret organization dedicated to keeping the doors closed and tracking downRikhter and her sister, both of whom she still loves.

One of the keys of Gothic Lolita style titles is the art, and this title delivers. Other than some sequences early in the book, the art is relatively easy to follow despite thegothic and sometimes busy nature of it. No big surprises in the story, but Mizeria , our protagonist, despite being a touch naive, does have some gumption. But I want to see some of the supporting characters to get sketched in and some motivations forRikhter explained, but I am willing to give it a bit of time to do so.



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

-Ferdinand

A.I. Revolution, vol. 1

By Yuu Asami
Published in the US by GoComi


Slugline: In a world of robots, there does not seem to be very many of them.

Sui's father is the scientist-entrepreneur in a near-future world where household robots are commonplace, but has just finished a prototype of one that could pass for human. Sui is asked to help Vermillion adapt to interacting with humans. But Vermillion not only looks human, he also has advanced technology that allows him to interface with any computer. This ability attracts the wrong attention at times, putting Vermillion and Sui in danger even as they try to help each other.

Some bits of this near-future is already out of date, just another example that even a decade ago the consequences of WiFi and broadband was not really understood. Vermillion's technology that makes him a target is conceivably now within the grasp of anyone with a PDA (or considering the direction of technology, cell phones.) The art also shows, well not its age per se, but certainly the fact that it feels old, or more precisely out of fashion. But once you accept those limitations, the story is solid though treading over well-worn ground and the art itself is fine.



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

-Ferdinand

Viz Anime at Amazon Unbox

As you can see on Prospero's Manga, we do refer people to Amazon.com for merchendise, simply because everyone has used them at one time or another. When you go through those referrals, Prospero's Manga receives a small royalty, which is the only way the blog can help pay for itself.

I thought I would share with you something that just dropped into my inbox. Viz Anime making available downloaded episodes of BLEACH, Death Note and Naruto- Uncut over at Amazon, each with a free sample episode until the end of the month. Feel free to check it out via the previews below.

(And of course we have already reviewed the Death Note while I have reviewed BLEACH over at CBGXtra, and Naruto was reviewed in my very first column for Comic Buyer's Guide.)



-Ferdinand