Deadman Wonderland definitely earns its 16 + rating with liberal dropping of f-bombs and some harsh violence in the treatment of the Deadland Wonderland prisoners. There is no nudity or sex to speak of, which would be out of place in the story presented.
Review copy provided by Tokyo Pop. ``xEkyVkpyZlVnhyejvPI``x1265206785``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1427817413``xJinsei Kataoka``xKazuma Kondou``x``x``xAction``x``x``xRay Yoshimoto``xBryce P. Coleman``xTOKYOPOP``xOlder Teen``xA+``x10.99``x150``x225``xDeadman Wonderland v1.jpg``x``x``x``x What Park's Looking At: Mid-January 2010``xParkCooper``xBlack Jack v8
Vertical
More tales of the world’s greatest outlaw (as in unlicensed) doctor. Old school tales as timely as America’s health-care turmoil.
“The Tattooed Man”: An old-school Yakuza boss needs surgery, but he’s comforted by the fact that if the achieves nothing else in life, the tattoo that covers his body can be preserved for posterity. Black Jack is called in... but he’s not supposed to mar the tattoo! Well, some years later, the man dies. But it’s Old Home Week when, years later, the man’s son sends for Black Jack—Mom has now passed away as well, and it’s time to examine the tattoo Mom wouldn’t allow anyone to examine before now. Once the tattoo is examined, can Black Jack give a convincing reason why the son shouldn’t kill him?
“A Visit From A Killer”: A one-eyed assassin comes to visit Black Jack — he plans to shoot a visiting despot soon, but Black Jack has been hired to be on hand for just such an emergency. The killer is worried that Black Jack’s reputation for saving anyone short of the actually dead will counter his shot — what will happen when each man feels he must do his duty?
And that’s only two of the stories I liked best in this latest issue of Black Jack. Come and drown your sorrows regarding the fact that the recent Astroboy movie didn’t do well with the critics with one of the world’s freakier-lookin’ doctors, courtesy of Tezuka.
Very! Very! Sweet! v4
Yen Press
On one hand, this manhwa is not for me. Because the back cover copy is written as if you know what happened in the previous three volumes and what the setup is, I can understand it, but I still can’t make heads or tails of the contents inside. There are some teens/young people, and they’re looking to form relationships, but things are still very up in the air about the success of such desired relationships. But... there are scenes that are intriguing, I must admit, like a nice one where the guy is like “why’d you go get super-tan?” and she explains she hoped it would impress the guy she likes, and her honesty is so straightforward, he can’t criticize her any more. And then she’s like “if so-and-so said she liked muscle men, would you dash off to the gym?” and the answer is that he would. And they just sort of sit there, a little sad—trapped by the rules of unrequited teen love. But what I really like most is that this conversation is boy-girl, not between guys or between girls like you’d see in America more often. I dunno. There are some Japanese kids and Korean kids and one exchange student who talks in broken Korean because it’s the best she can do and I can’t tell or keep straight who’s interested in whom... but... if I had come in from volume 1, I might be interested, because SOMEONE is doing more than just phoning it in, here. And there’s no adapter, so I wonder if it isn’t the honest-to-goodness creator...
Detroit Metal City v2
Viz Signature
I hate to tell you this: It’s no secret that this is a horrible book. It’s trying very, very hard to be horrible, after all. As a book about death metal of the hardest type, it’s got tons of references to rape, hell, pigs, the combination thereof, and much, much worse in the songs of its titular band. But... and I’m as shocked as you must be to hear this—this one is better than the first one. It’s an improvement. Horrible though it still is.
If you’ve just gotten here, DMC is about a guy who lets out his dark side by becoming the leader of a death metal band. He’s quite a wimp in life, but in his very-made-up persona, he’s hardcore. Well, he’s really not at all, but he FAKES hardcore better than the best in his field. However, the horrible, horrible words and concepts that infuse this shocktabulous fakery turned me off last time.
Well, you’ll be happy to know that, as a civilized member of the human race, they’re still turning me off this time. But that doesn’t mean I don’t actually LOOK at what I’m sent to review. And I have to tell you, this time, there’s more characterization, and some concepts that actually have... well, SOMETHING to them.
For example, there’s a hardcore band of all-females who are bashing DMC. Our protagonist is sent to go disrupt their performance... without his makeup, because that would show WHO was causing (well, attempting) the sabotage. While trying to get up on stage, his shirt is torn open, his chest gets all scratched up, and he’s got a cold, so he keeps sort of sneering because his nose is running—and since he was already scrawny in build, the lead singer girl of the rival band just can’t help but see his presence (her imagination helps her out a lot) as a visit from beyond the grave from her hero, Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols.
Here’s another one—a huge fan of DMC writes that he is sick and needs an operation. So our protagonist decides to go and visit him in his sick bed as his lord-of-the-underworld persona, Krauser. So he’s got to encourage this guy to be brave, and go and get his operation... but that’s a NICE thing to do, and Krauser is ridiculously EVIL. So the protagonist guy is wracking his brains trying to do this nice thing and still stay in character as an infernal avatar of diabolism.
Last one: DMC has this little man that they abuse on stage, because, well, the little man gets off on that sort of thing. But our protagonist finds out that the little man has a co-worker he’s got a crush on. So we let the little guy write a song, and sing it for her on stage... and it kinda has a Neil Diamond feel, because that’s the guy’s main musical influence personally... yeah, the attempted craziness just ensues from there.
I can’t recommend this nasty, nasty book to anyone. Please, world, don’t think that I think you should even touch this manga. I hereby officially WARN you that it is a Concerned Mothers of America/CBLDF lawsuit waiting to happen. But if DMC ALREADY sounds like your cup of tea, I can inform you that DMC v2 not only has what you sick, sick people want, it now tries to combine it with things like character and plot as well.
Barb: “What’s so bad about this book, anyway, really?”
Me: “That does it.” >I go to my office, retrieve book, bring to Barb, open book to a given page< “Here, hold this.”
Barb: >reads< “Okay, I hate this.”
Me: “Indeed.”
Barb: “Sure enough, I’m offended.”
Me: “I’m sayin’.”
Barb: “Me, who read the Dark Horse one about the dominatrix who saw ghosts. Me, who read Battle Royale.”
Me: “Uh huh.”
Barb: “And of course you know what really bothered me?”
Me: “Besides the obvious? The art?”
Barb: >Does brief double-take< “Hm? Oh, no. It was... well, I guess the art was... well, I’m not really gonna worry about the art. It really pales in comparison with the main thing.”
Me: “Uh-huh.”
Barb: “That’s right: the adaptation.”
Me: “Beg pardon?”
Barb: “The adaptation! It’s just so clunky! Not smooth! Not... not FUNNY!”
Me: “...”
Barb: “Oh, the _words_ and _what_ they were saying didn’t really offend me. It was the delivery of the lines themselves. That could have been made really funny. But the way it’s done on the page...”
Me: “Uh...huh. Well, I guess with great comedy potential, also inevitably comes great comedic flop potential.”
Barb: “That’s for darn sure.”
Me: “I love how it’s the CRAFT level that’s offended you.”
Barb: “Of course, what else?”
One Thousand and One Nights v8 (see image)
Yen Press
I’d seen this book around for a while, but everyone in it is so pretty, I presumed it was yaoi. Volume 8 suggests that I may have presumed that hastily. Not only am I not seeing boys kissing boys in this volume, but there’s some non-clothedness here, and it seems decidedly female. Basically, this is a story with Middle-Easternish overtones, with crusaders (the Crusades kind, as in Jerusalem), a sultan, Muslim lands, dancing girls, romance, old grudges, you get the idea. It might be interesting to you, especially to those of a history-minded bent, but it’s just not for me.
Kanji in MangaLand v1
JPT Productions
![](http://image.ebook30.com/data_images/36/1946540.jpg")
For 24 bucks, this book, printed and apparently created in Spain, but published by Japan Publications Trading Co., Ltd., but distributed here by Kodansha, starts teaching one to read and write kanji. I think its teaching approach is pretty effective, and Barb agrees. They try to associate a given kanji with a little picture that evokes the strokes needed to write it whenever they give you a new one... It looks hard to me, but it also looks like, if anything might work to help teach one kanji, this might. I found it in the library at one of the branch campuses where I teach... I suppose what its existence and presence says about American culture these days is pretty obvious...
And now, a bonus: What Barb Looked At:
Sarasah v1
Yen Press
Barb says: "Wow, this is a rarity: usually, comedic shoujo manga is not particularly romantic nor particularly amusing. But in the case of Sarasah, however, everything works just about the way it's supposed to. The plot, really quickly: girl likes boy, boy very much dislikes girl for no clear reason, complications ensue, she ends up in a coma, and finds out that the problem with this relationship-she-wishes-she-had is due to past-life-issue stuff, so she must go back to the past and fix her karma, or else she'll never get the guy she wants. Neat, huh? The pacing is good, the plot is light and familiar and yet sometimes unpredictable, the situations are genuinely twisty (in a good way), and the quips will genuinely make you smile. The art is beautiful but not the not-uncommon overwhelming level of "OMG my pupils are dialating" Korean-beautiful; you want her to be able to solve her little mystery... you can't quite see what she sees in her love-interest boy, but that's high school for ya... and the fact that it goes to slightly-supernatural past-life areas is just something one didn't quite see comin'. I can see shoujo fans and manhwa-heads liking this. Since I'm not the biggest fan of shoujo in the world, I personally am not the ideal target audience, so I don't know if I'd read this whole series, but that's just me, I think, because I happen to like my supernatural with, well, more stringy-haired ghost-ladies in it. However, even a shoujo-hater might tell you that this one is worthwhile."``xEkyuypFElVbdPPKTse``x1264603185``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``x1001nights_8.gif Otomen v4``xYsabet``xEach time I read a volume of Otomen I'm surprised again by how endearing it is, but its over-the-top streak feels rather a lot stronger in volume 4 than it did in vol. 2, the last installment I reviewed. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I read vol. 4 without having read vol. 3, but then was able to find a copy of vol. 3 and get properly caught up. Still, having read them out of order probably has at least a minor effect on my impression.)
The series is still very focused on Asuka and his ongoing efforts at hiding his too-feminine interests from most of the world, but while his relationship with Ryo is still a constant factor, this is the second volume in a row where one of the main storylines has had to do with Asuka meeting/discovering another otomen (first Hajime, the make-up artist, and now a boy with a passion for flowers), and it's also the second in a row which focuses quite a bit on some sort of competition between them, this time in the form of two beach bars' growing war for customers.
I don't find those aspects as interesting as I do Asuka's developing romance with Ryo and their friendship with Juta, so it's no surprise that my favorite story in volume 4 has to do with Ryo's birthday, Asuka's plan to bake her a cake, and Ryo's father's unexpected interest in learning just the tiniest bit more about feminine things in order to try to make his daughter happier. It's not a deep storyline, but it's incredibly sweet. (Ryo's father takes his hardcore masculine-things-only! stance a bit far, but it's less cringe-inducing than Asuka's mother's need to keep Asuka from growing up into a transvestite like his father.)
This is the kind of series that gives shoujo its fluffy, sugary reputation, but it's a good representation of that subset of the genre. For the most part I had fun with this volume although, like some other reviewers, I think I'd find Otomen more enjoyable still if it took the gender issues it raises a bit more seriously, or at least made those aspects a bit less ridiculous.
I didn't think to check the credits on volume 3, but as of that volume or volume 4 the translator/adapter are different than in volume 2; that said, I didn't notice a significant difference in the scripts.
Volume 4 of Otomen includes a one-page glossary of Japanese terms.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkyuypEuZlIUZzDZZw``x1264601478``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421525372``xAya Kanno``x``x``x``xRomance``xComedy``x``xJN Productions``xJN Productions``xADV Manga``xAll Ages``xB-``x9.99``x150``x225``xOtomen v4.jpg``x``x``x``x Biomega v1``xCharlesWebb``xFrom the publisher’s description: “The N5S virus has swept across the Earth, turning most of the population into zombie-like Drones. Zoichi Kanoe, an agent of TOA Heavy Industry, is humanity’s last hop, and he’s not even human!”
One would think a book with a gun-toting, talking bear would make more of an impression. Unfortunately, Tsutomu Nihei’s (Blame!) most recent work sort of blows over the reader like a gentle wind to be forgotten almost immediately.
This action-packed, sci-fi horror vehicle follows its lead, Kanoe, an artificial man with the requisite frustrated AI companion and badass bike as he attempts to find a genetic key that will inoculate humanity against a virus that has converted swaths of the population into zombies. As opposed to creating a new approach to the zombie-pocalypse genre, the writer-artist has instead piled conceits on top of one another – from space-borne spores, to soulless corporations, to body horror, to weapon porn (seriously some of the guns are ridiculous).
The plot trots out megalithic corporations with shady agendas with the strange, added twist of a moral imperative to their actions – the corporation is acting to create a new beginning, motivated not so much by greed as I suppose an odd sort of idealism about restoring the world. The lead character, Kanoe, makes less of an impression – this volume doesn’t give the reader any real indication of his motives beyond duty to his company and a vague sense of not wanting the whole world to be immolated in a nuclear holocaust.
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The art in the book has a rushed quality to it as well with the line work possessing a sketchy, back-of-a-notebook style to it. Some of the character designs seem raw and underdone and the rhythm of some of the action is hard to follow with gaps in transitions and slightly weak storytelling throughout. Where the work is redeemed is in the frenetic nature of some of the action scenes, particularly those involving artificial person on artificial person violence. Likewise, some of the drone designs are visually striking in that sort of overdeveloped, Resident Evil boss sort of way. Plus, you know, there’s a gun-toting, talking Russian bear.
Perhaps getting the first volume out setting up the action-heavy world-building will allow Nihei to focus on the character-building in the next installment.
Note: this title will be available on February 2, 2010.
Review copy provided by Viz. ``xEkyuyppAAyYSpesmIo``x1264600996``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421531844``xTsutomu Nihei``x``x``x``xSci-Fi``xHorror``x``xJohn Werry``x``xViz Media``xMature``xC+``x12.99``x150``x225``xbiomega v1.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Prose Weakness``xNibley``x
As I sit here, planning to write yet another column about our translation weaknesses, I wonder if I do that a little too frequently. But on the other hand, this week is turning out to be crazy busy and I can't think of anything else. So.
I mentioned before that we were removed from a light novel translation project because our prose translation was not up to snuff. Well, we wanted to find out exactly how bad it was so we decided to participate in the Kurodahan Press Translation Prize contest. We weren't expecting to win and we didn't, but it was a good way to gauge our prose translation skills and it was also a really neat experience.
The judging for the contest was divided into three categories: translation accuracy, representation of the original (capturing the author's style), and English flow. Each participant could get up to 10 points for each category (30 max) from each of the five judges (for a total of 150 maximum points). We don't know the breakdown of our scores, but we placed sixth with a total of 108 points, and because we have math geek tendencies, we calculated that to be 72%. That gave us a C, maybe a C-, depending on the curve. Then again, depending on the curve, maybe we got a B!
Anyway, it's obvious we need to work on prose translation to get that score up. I'm afraid that admitting this might cause people to wonder about our work as translators in general, but I'm hoping that they'll read our manga translations and see the quality for themselves, whether it's good or bad. There's a distinct difference between writing and translating dialogue (which is really just about all manga is), and writing and translating prose. While one phrasing might work really well for a descriptive passage, it might not work so well for a line spoken by a high school student. Just like different writers can be better at one than the other, translators can be, too.
I just deleted a couple of paragraphs where we were musing on the differences between prose and dialogue, and we realized they're not really all that different--at least not technically. In either one, you want to use the right words to get your message across, you want the words to sound nice, and it's good to have clever metaphors, etc. Although not all of us are quick enough to come up with clever metaphors off the tops of our heads in everyday conversation. So I guess the difference is between narrator voice and character voice?
I was going to steal a line from a story our cousin wrote to illustrate my point, but then I decided that stealing is wrong even if he would probably forgive us, and he didn't answer his cell phone so I couldn't ask for permission. So instead, I'll use a short phrase we came across one day, which I still don't have permission for, but is publicly available if you know where to look, and would be difficult to spot even so. The phrase is this: “thought it to be pretty.” Reading it as a line of prose, describing a character's reaction to something, it works really well. But if that character were to say that reaction out loud, in exactly that same way (e.g. “I thought it to be pretty.”), it would probably sound a little off.
Of course, it all depends on the character, and there could be a bunch of exceptions. Ayame Sohma, for example, might talk that way, or a very proper noblewoman or someone. But Kyo would never say it that way. He would just say, “I thought it was pretty.” This all goes back to what we're always saying about character voice.
Going back to our thoughts on prose, I suppose the difference could be in descriptive power. An aspiring writer friend of ours recently blogged about how her weakness in writing is that she loves descriptions too much, and come to think of it, I remember always hating having to write them. Anyway, she talked about how most modern readers aren't going to want to read five different descriptions of the same place, and if you think about it, people don't tend to spend a lot of time describing things in dialogue. Usually they just say what's going on once, and maybe how they feel about it, too.
And now that we spent a whole column wondering (and not necessarily very coherently) why we're not good at writing/translating prose, I want to vouch for our dialogue translations! We think they're very good! But since people aren't always the most accurate judges of themselves, we'll just turn this into a shameless plug and say, “Go check out some Ace Attorney manga!”
``xEkyFAVuEpkxLrvvBcy``x1263954102``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg All My Darling Daughters ``xPennyKenny``xAll My Darling Daughters will be released January 19, 2010.
Relationships can be a minefield. There are issues of control, power, and what each person really wants out of the relationship. Fumi Yoshinaga explores this rich and explosive territory in the five inter-connected stories of All My Darling Daughters.
The focus here is on emotion, not plot. There are no villains, grand quests, or great romances. The characters are going on inner journeys, trying to understand themselves and the people they're intimately connected with. They're also trying to make their conflicting thoughts and desires understood by others.
These are stories of mothers and daughters, men and women. In one story a woman tries to come to terms with her mother marrying a man younger than her own thirty-some years. In another, a young woman looks into contracting an arranged marriage, and in a third, a teacher indulges in some highly improper behavior with a confused and troubled student.
Yoshinaga keeps a distance between the readers and the characters. The reader isn't privy to a character's thoughts. She has to go by what's said and how the characters behave; only there's often a disconnect between what the characters are saying and how they're acting. This dissonance accomplishes two things. It makes the characters more human, more believable; and it increases reader involvement in the story by making her look beyond the surface to see what's really going on.
All My Darling Daughters isn't entirely without humor. There are light moments. For the most part though, a melancholy, bittersweet air hangs over the book. There are no problems that are truly resolved. The characters might understand themselves or one another a bit better, but that doesn't mean everything is sunshine and roses after. In many ways this volume reminds me of Keiko Nishi's Promise, a two-story collection Viz released in the early 90s. Both authors seem to believe some sort of understanding can be achieved, but that it won't necessarily lead to the typical idea of happiness.
Yoshinaga's art is extremely attractive. There's very little background detail. The focus is on the characters' faces and body language. Only rarely does Yoshinaga slip into a modified, deformed version of the characters to show extreme emotion.
All My Darling Daughters is a little gem of a book. It's definitely not for the fan of the typical shojo series found on the local Barnes and Noble's shelves. However, readers who have moved beyond Nana or who enjoy Jodi Picoult's novels might want to give this a try. ``xEkyFAVFpVVgIQkRdAC``x1263953055``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421532409``xFumi Yoshinaga``x``x``x``xDrama``x``x``xJohn Werry``xJohn Werry``xViz Media``xTeen``xA``x12.99``x150``x225``xAll My Darling Daughters.jpg``x``x``x``x Monkey High! v8``xYsabet``xMonkey High! has been one of those wonderful series that completely took me by surprise with how endearing it is. I have to admit that most of the supporting cast made very little impression on me, but Haruna and Macharu made me smile right to the end of the series, which concludes with this volume. This is one of those great instances of the leads really balancing each other out, and of a relationship being allowed to really develop.
As the series wraps up, the end of high school is on the horizon and, as is usually true for both fictional and real-life high school couples, Macharu and Haruna need to figure out where they and their relationship are headed. Being committed to each other and taking one big step in their relationship early in the volume is all well and good, but they're from very different social worlds, and Haruna's father has plans for her that don't involve marrying a shopkeeper's son.
One of the things I like best about Monkey High! is that, while the characters have their share of misunderstandings (which rarely feel contrived), they actually talk out what's going on. In this case, once Macharu realizes that Haruna's father is making a determined effort at deciding her future, his typically impulsive response is to simply take her home with him. His family immediately takes her in, and the move gives both of them a chance to seriously think about where they're going. The way Akira writes the two of them is really quite lovely--at this point, they're both very sure that they want to be (and stay) together, so it's a pleasure to watch them figure out how they're each going to go about making sure that happens.
There aren't a lot of surprises in this volume, but there are a lot of nice moments, and the story wraps up well--something that's usually a concern for me. (I tend to breathe a sigh of relief when I close the final volume of a series that has a decent ending, honestly, having been burned by unexpectedly dull or unpleasant endings too many times.)
Volume 8 of Monkey High! includes the creator's comments on the series' end and a page of cultural/translation notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkyFAVkFkAjIaNxoOr``x1263952329``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421526697``xShouko Akira``x``x``x``xRomance``x``x``xMai Ihara``xMai Ihara``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xMonkey High 8 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Love*Com v16``xYsabet``xThe Love*Com finale sneaked up on me--somehow I'd been unaware that volume 16 was the last (vol. 17, due in March, is made up of side stories) until it arrived. Other than the fact that the main characters' high school graduation almost always means that a manga has reached its end, this volume is nearly indistinguishable from almost any other installment in the series--which is good news if you're looking for exactly what Love*Com usually delivers, but maybe a bit less good if you're hoping for it to go out with a bigger bang.
With graduation just over the horizon, Risa and Ôtani are busy working on the graduation committee. The committee's responsibilities include choosing a skit for their class to perform, and much to Ôtani's chagrin, it's decided that he'll be playing the lead in a version of "Issunbôshi", the tale of a tiny boy who travels in a soup bowl. To add insult to injury, he's also the victim of some small but unpleasant pranks that he thinks might be Risa's doing. It's not a great way to end their last year of high school, but the show has to go on!
I have to admit that I'm disappointed (although unsurprised) that the pattern of Risa and Ôtani misunderstanding and distrusting each other continues right to the end of the series, although it's more toned down (and briefer) than it has been at other times. But this volume also shows them banding together to help out one of the supporting cast, and it does at least give some closure to a couple of characters other than the leads, which is nice. The skit they put on is pretty funny, too, as is the way Ôtani and Risa's classmates can't resist poking fun at them for old times' sake, so the volume ends on a higher note than it began on.
This isn't an amazing conclusion to the series, but it's generally the same level of comedy that readers have come to expect from Love*Com, and given my general wariness when any manga series draws to a close, I'm satisfied with that.
Volume 16 of Love*Com includes the bonus story "The Place Where We Belong", about actor/singer Teppei Koike, who played Ôtani in the Love*Com movie.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkyFFuVlFEsdUerIVZ``x1263345831``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421523833``xAya Nakahara``x``x``x``xRomance``x``x``xJN Productions``xShaenon K. Garrity``xViz``xTeen``xB-``x9.99``x150``x225``xLove Com 16 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Monster DVD Box Set 1``xCharlesWebb``xIn 1986, in West Berlin, brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Kenzo Tenma makes the fateful decision to save the life of a young boy named Johan. Nine years later, Dr. Tenma learns that his former patient is tied to a series of serial killings. Now, on the run for murder, the doctor must not only clear his own name, but must also stop the charismatic young monster's series of murders.
Having watched the first volume of this series I wonder if its creator, Urasawa (of 20th Century Boys fame) has read MW by Tezuka. Thematically, both works are similar: a man loved and respected by the community learns that a decision from his past has created a killer. In both cases the protagonists drop out of their lives to find charismatic, mad dog killers and learn subsequently about the darkness within themselves.
In the case of MW - named for a deadly nerve agent that drove its antagonist to homicidal insanity – Tezuka went for a mad, pulp thriller propelled by sex and murder against the backdrop of American interventionism and government irresponsibility in the 70’s. With Monster, Urasawa shoots for something more understated, set against the fall of the Berlin Wall and the generally low-key adventures of its hero who wanders from location to location attempting to learn more about the mysterious Johan.
The recently release box set contains the first 15 episodes of the 74 episode series, following the good doctor from his rise to prominence to his professional downfall. It’s a bit drier than the back-of-box copy would suggest, but not boring. The first episodes in this package deal with institutional politics at Dr. Tenma’s hospital and the hand wringing that goes into his decision to save a child’s life instead of that of the local mayor.
Given the pacing of these early episodes, the viewer mostly hears about Johan as opposed to seeing him. It does make him seem like something of a vague threat to Dr. Tenma. As a result, the stakes feel less concrete and Tenma’s journey feels slightly under-motivated. Dr. Tenma feels guilty about potentially unleashing a murderer upon the world and he fears that Johan’s actions are his fault – but Johan’s actions in the present are less clear than the ones he committed in the past, again, making the character feel more like a ghost than a presence in the actual story.
Still, Dr. Tenma is an interesting character – his struggle is with his commitment to the preservation of human life while knowing that when he finally meets Johan he might have to kill the young man. It’s a fascinating conflict that I’m interested in seeing play out over the next volumes.
On the technical side, Madhouse Studios visualizes the manga with results that are simple and basic, but effective. The character design in some ways feel like a throwback to 80s-style animation (appropriate to the story, itself created in the late 80s and early 90s). Suffice it to say that the studio provides solid visuals for the work.
A note – the volume receives a slightly lower grade than I would like given the way that it’s presented here: besides the rather Spartan presentations of the special features (lots and lots of text) the collection of episodes actually ends mid-storyline. Not at a cliffhanger, mind – it literally ends in the middle of a story and it’s confusing that the follow-up episode wasn’t included in this volume. It’s an unfortunate omission that otherwise mars a very good set.
Review copy provided by VIZ Pictures.
If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at Monster In Your Veins
``xEkyFFuuAVkbhMvXNhs``x1263344952``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421529619``xNaoki Urasawa``xMasayuki Kojima``xMadhouse``x``xThriller``xDrama``xCrime``x``x``xViz Media``xMature``xB+``x59.98``x150``x225``xMonsterSlipcase_Boxset1.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Not Cavemen``xNibley``xIt may or may not be obvious from the way we write this column, but we tend to be a bit obsessive sometimes. So I've still been thinking about this article: http://www.tcj.com/?p=1884
More specifically, I've been thinking about the part where it says that fans want translators to write worse. In fact, we have seen this to be the case. Although I'm not sure how common that opinion is, we have heard (or read, actually, since it was online) a fan say that she likes to see bad grammar in subtitles, because that's how she knows it's closer to the original Japanese.
I feel like we've probably addressed this subject before, but I want to address it again. I want the fans to know that just because Japanese grammar is radically different from English, that doesn't mean that Japanese people speak in incorrect grammar. And if the grammar isn't bad to a Japanese reader, then an English-speaking reader won't have the same experience as the Japanese reader if the translation's grammar is bad. Of course, with the cultural references and stuff, the native English speaker probably won't have the same experience anyway, but there's no reason we should make it worse by having all the characters using poor or stiff English.
I think of cavemen. Except for the Geico commercials and the very short-lived sitcom, cavemen are generally made to speak with bad grammar. (Brief tangent: The Geico commercials and the sitcom would have been way funnier (in our opinions) if the cavemen had actually lived in caves. They could be well-furnished caves with art on the walls, electricity, a grand piano, etc., but they still should have been caves. Otherwise, what makes the cavemen “cavemen”?) And unless I'm understanding things incorrectly, the reason we make cavemen speak in bad grammar is to demonstrate that they are of lesser intelligence. So when someone translates manga, and lets the translation sound weird because it's “true to the Japanese,” then the people who grew up associating constant bad grammar with cavemen and people of lower intelligence are going to think that everyone in Japan is of lower intelligence, and so is anyone who reads anything from Japan. And that is incredibly wrong (not to mention racist).
We happen to have a sister and brother-in-law who generally reject manga, and, while they haven't told us why, based on their attitude they seem to be of the opinion that all manga is “stupid.” It's quite likely that they sampled some manga (I seem to remember our sister saying something about being an extra for some movie that was being filmed at Comic Con, and picking up some manga to read there...) and thought the script was very poorly written. Also from their attitudes, it seems like they don't realize that when that happens, it's usually the fault of the translation. I've tried to illustrate this a few times with our literal translation posts, but here it is again: the quality of writing in a translation can be completely independent from the quality of the writing in the original language.
To be fair, there are manga characters who do use bad grammar, just as there are native English speakers who use bad grammar. Heck, even we use bad grammar on purpose sometimes (I think we mentioned that in another column). But, like with native English speakers who use bad grammar, they don't do it all the time. So in order for it to stand out when they do, they need to be using decent grammar the rest of the time.
Anyway, the point is, as translators, we want fans to realize that it's appropriate for a translation to sound good; now the industry just needs to make sure that translations actually do.
``xEkyklEFukpVWcFyiVw``x1262813420``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Yotsuba&! v7``xjoykim``xTo say I am fond of Yotsuba&! is a bit of an understatement. When a new volume of Yotsuba&! reaches my hands, I tend to drop everything else I am reading and immediately dive into Yotsuba's latest adventures. By this point in the series, I no longer have much doubt that any new installments will be good reads. The real question is whether they can possibly live up to my overwhelming expectations of excellence.
Fortunately, the seventh volume of Yotsuba&! proves to be a very satisfying read, even for someone with expectations as high as mine. While none of the individual chapters are true standouts along the lines of, say, the parody of The Professional in volume 2, they are still extremely funny. The volume is nicely bookended by a family trip to a ranch, but it's still very episodic fare. Familiarity with the previous volumes will make some of the jokes more enjoyable, but a new reader would have no problem starting the series here.
Because Yotsuba&! is rated for all ages, people often automatically assume that it's intended for kids. I do see kids at my library checking out the books, but I think the series is most appreciated by teens and adults--anyone who has just a little distance and perspective on being Yotsuba's age. I was reminded of this while reading volume 7 because, compared to some of the earlier volumes, we see less of the Ayase girls and more of Koiwai's friends; consequently, some of the jokes seem particularly aimed at older readers.
One feature of Yotsuba&! that doesn't always get discussed in reviews is the art. Reviewers always mention the comedy and the pitch-perfect depiction of childhood, but Azuma's art sometimes gets forgotten in the mix. This is a shame, I think, because the art makes everything else work. Azuma's style doesn't draw attention to itself, but it is superbly well-crafted. After all, the art is behind the pacing of those great jokes; those reaction shots that make me laugh out loud are set up by Azuma's illustrations and layout.
The manga also has a strong sense of place thanks to Azuma's art. This is easy to overlook, because Yotsuba&! isn't set in an exotic locale or time period. But Azuma really brings everyday places to life as Yotsuba runs around her house and her neighborhood or navigates the aisles of a convenience store. Again, this is the sort of craft that's often invisible while one is reading. But when that sort of detail is absent, as is often the case in more amateurishly drawn works, it's very much missed.
I really can't recommend Yotsuba&! enough. Volume 7 may not be the absolute best in the series thus far (the only reason I didn't give it an A+), but it is still a wonderful read. Don't wait to buy or borrow a copy for yourself!
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkykZuZlykIIiNAVMI``x1262747862``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0316073253``xKiyohiko Azuma``x``x``x``xComedy``x``x``xAmy Forsyth``x``xYen Press``xAll Ages``xA``x10.99``x150``x225``xyotsuba7.jpg``x``x``x``x Leave It To Pet, v4``xPennyKenny``xLeave it to Pet, Volume 4 goes on sale January 5, 2010.
When nine-year-old Noboru recycles a plastic bottle, it comes back as PET, a robot devoted to helping him. Unfortunately, while Pet's intentions are good, his execution of said intentions leaves a lot to be desired. In this volume, PET helps Noboru pick out a present for his mother, washes the car, and plays soccer, among other things.
Leave it to Pet is adorable. While clearly meant for younger children, this collection of short stories will appeal to anyone who enjoys gentle humor. Like Kiyohiko Azuma's Yotsuba&!, Pet finds the humor and oddity in everyday occurrences. Who hasn't had trouble coming up with a gift for a relative? Or didn't like the one thing available to snack on? Or tried to make a new toy work the way its box said it would? Except for the talking, recycled robots, Pet is a series that's grounded in reality. Readers can relate to what Noboru and friends are going through, even as they laugh at PET's over-reactions to situations.
Seriously, the characters are adorable. PET is eager and enthusiastic, but not overly bright. L'il Bagz is easily distracted. Plaz is the brains, so to speak, of the "Recycled Heroes" crew, and Alu likes cute things. Noboru, meanwhile, is the long-suffering yet ultimately optimistic recipient of the Heroes' help. In other words, he's the perpetually put-upon Big Brother to PET and the others.
Creator Kenji Sonishi doesn't write down for his readers. There's no "wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Isn't this cute?" at work here. Sonishi takes his material and children seriously.
Each stand-alone story generally runs between five and ten pages, though the soccer storyline runs through several chapters. The shorter length works well for beginning, younger, and struggling readers. The stories are long enough to be enjoyable, but not long enough to frustrate an unsure reader.
Sonishi's art is clean-looking. He doesn't add a lot of unnecessary lines to the characters. There's also very little background detail. The focus of the panel is kept on the main characters and the action, making it easy for younger readers to follow what's going on.
Also included in the volume is a bonus craft feature that details how to make a dog out of a plastic bottle and modeling clay. It's explained well and looks like a fun snowy day project for those who enjoy crafts.
If you're looking for a gateway manga for younger children or just want something light to read for yourself, give Leave it to Pet a try.
``xEkykEFkpAAmzzXdBAY``x1262132099``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421526522``xKenji Sonishi``x``x``x``xComedy``xSci-Fi``x``xAlexander O. Smith``x``xViz Media``xAll Ages``xA``x7.99``x150``x225``xleave it to pet 4.jpg``x``x``x``x What Ysabet's Reading - December 2009 ``xYsabet``xThere's just enough time left in the year to squeeze in another batch of short reviews! To finish off 2009, here are some quick looks at vol. 13 of Ouran High School Host Club (Bisco Hatori), vol. 2 of Black Bird (Kanoko Sakurakoji), vol. 7 of We Were There (Yuki Obata), vol. 15 of Kaze Hikaru (Taeko Watanabe), vol. 5 of St. Dragon Girl (Natsumi Matsumoto), vol. 6 of Mixed Vegetables (Ayumi Komura), vol. 12 of Crimson Hero (Mitsuba Takanashi), and vol. 14 of S.A. (Maki Minami)
All reviews are based on copies provided by the publisher except volume 7 of We Were There.
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Ouran High School Host Club vol. 13 (Bisco Hatori)
Translated by Masumi Matsumoto (no adaptation credit given)
Ouran is always a good time, and this newest installment is no exception. After volume 12 gave readers more focus than usual on the older boys, volume 13 comes back to the tangle of varyingly-unacknowledged romantic feelings both Tamaki and Hikaru (and Kaoru, although he's taken a step back) feel for Haruhi, and back to the question of how Haruhi feels about each of them. Hikaru, in some ways one of the most childish characters in the series, has mostly come to terms with his feelings with some help from Kaoru, but his friendship with Tamaki makes it more than a little awkward.
Since I've said all that, you might think this volume is all about romance, but it's more than that; rather, the possibility of romance is making the characters more aware of how much they've really come to feel like the family that Tamaki fondly imagines them to be, and that dynamic is ripe for exploration. As for Haruhi, while she's reluctant to admit the possibility that she might feel more for Tamaki than admiration, she's making a real effort to be less passive and initiate things in her life, including with the host club--much to the guys' amusement and chagrin. And of course, business as usual (mostly) continues in the club itself, so there are plenty of hijinks to go around.
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Black Bird vol. 2 (Kanoko Sakurakoji)
Translated by JN Productions (no adaptation credit given)
I tend to cut a series' first volume a fair bit of slack. Volume 1 of Black Bird offered a premise that I thought could be developed in interesting ways, and while it didn't seem to be reaching its potential, well, it was early yet. Unfortunately, volume 2 doesn't help. Too much of the main characters' relationship has already gone from making me uncomfortable to making me feel kind of gross just reading it. (Note "making me feel". Mileage may vary, clearly.)
In this volume, Misao--whose flesh and blood can give demons different degrees of power depending on whether they consume or marry her--is still trying to figure out whether Kyo, a tengu she knew as a child, truly loves her or is only interested in what he can gain from marrying her. While she's piecing things together, she meets his retainers (who for the most part are charming and friendly to her, and are my favorite part of the book), one of whom looks an awful lot like Kyo.
Based on this volume, I still think there's some promise in the concept, but very little of the execution works for me. Misao interacts with Kyo as if she thinks she owes him something and has talked herself into believing that her attraction to him is love. Kyo is clearly meant to be more sympathetic than he actually comes across, and there are hints of a tragic backstory to go along with his kind gestures to his retainers. He's also clearly meant to be seen as actually loving Misao very much, and not just for her power-giving potential. So that's...nice. I mean, it's an extremely baseline requirement for a romantic relationship, and he doesn't get much past it, but at least it's there. He cares. He's just an aggressive, domineering jerk about it.
VIZ offers so many fantastic series in the very same genre that I can't recommend going for this one unless the premise sounds like it's exactly up your alley. I personally can't convince myself to see this as at all romantic, but at least Misao isn't a wilting flower who doesn't even try to resist Kyo's alpha male behavior.
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We Were There vol. 7 (Yuki Obata)
Translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki and adapted by Nancy Thistlethwaite
Speaking of fantastic series VIZ offers, We Were There continues to be a great read. In volume 7, Yano and Nanami's friend Takeuchi is trying to do the right thing and get over his feelings for Nanami, so he accepts another girl's invitation to try being her boyfriend for a month. Yano has a few sharp words for him over the decision, but Takeuchi retaliates; in his eyes Yano isn't really in a position to criticize anyone else's relationship choices, especially since Yano still hasn't figured out how to avoid making Nanami miserable.
It's a timely conversation--soon afterwards, Yano has to make a decision that, it turns out, will have a profound effect on Nanami's feelings, and Takeuchi's right that his track record with that kind of choice isn't the greatest.
As always, We Were There's strength is in Obata's execution of the story. There's a fair bit going on in this volume (more than there often is, with this series), but it's all about decisions and their results, and Obata is very good at showing the consequences of her characters' actions.
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Kaze Hikaru vol. 15 (Taeko Watanabe)
Translated and adapted by Mai Ihara
Kaze Hikaru is another title I recommend highly every time I read a new volume, and vol. 15 is one of the installments in the series that's driven more by the characters than the politics, which always makes me happy. (It's a serious point in the series' favor that I find the politics-heavy volumes as interesting as I do, but that may have a lot to do with the liberal sprinkling of cultural notes through the series. You'd have to really try to not learn a lot, reading these books.)
The bulk of this volume is devoted to Sei's attempts to maintain her male disguise in the face of multiple threats: she's still being plagued by the unwanted attentions of Nakamura, a new recruit who's utterly convinced that Sei is a woman, while Captain Kondo invites her to perform a coming-of-age ceremony which would involve--among other things--changing her hairstyle to one that would eliminate the last traces of femininity in her appearance. Sei is less upset by the prospect than she is by Nakamura's reaction to it, and Okita's lack of reaction. And on top of all that, a renowned doctor visits the troop and offers to give all of the men physical exams.
That's all enough to keep Sei plenty busy, and it provides lots of opportunity for her to consider her situation in general and the nature of her relationship with Okita. Okita himself is a bit flustered for a lot of this volume, which is adorable--Watanabe writes him as both extremely competent and convincingly awkward in much the same way as she writes Sei as an obvious girl with a convincing masculine disguise. Since those are some of my favorite things about Kaze Hikaru, I thought this was a solid installment in a generally awesome series.
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St. Dragon Girl vol. 5 (Natsumi Matsumoto)
Translated by Andria Cheng and adapted by Heidi Vivolo
St. Dragon Girl is really growing on me, even though it's a much more episodic series than I usually prefer. (It helps that I've started thinking of it a bit like a TV series where almost everything about the relationships go back to their default settings after each episode, with any lasting changes happening slowly.)
Momoka has started taking real steps towards really letting Ryuga know how she feels about him, using time-honored strategies like making him lunch and finding an ideal location to confess her love to him, but both supernatural and mundane forces--but wait, there's no such thing as a mundane force in this series. At any rate, unrelated supernatural events and calculated interference from both Momoka and Ryuga's other prospective love interests, who are plenty magical in their own right, are all conspiring to keep our heroes apart. With a sports festival, a club trip, and the occasional rampaging panda spirit to contend with, volume 5 of St. Dragon Girl is quite literally action-packed from beginning to end, and it's a lot of fun.
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Mixed Vegetables vol. 6 (Ayumi Komura)
Translated by JN Productions and adapted by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic
Volume 6 of Mixed Vegetables has a somewhat unfortunate problem: there's never really any doubt about how its central conflict will be resolved. At the beginning of the book, Hanayu has just failed one of her exams because she chose to help her father finish an important order at the patisserie the night before, which is more than a little awkward since she promising Hayato's parents that she'd stop working at their sushi shop if she didn't pass all of her exams. Rather than explain the extenuating circumstances and let them decide whether to hold her to the agreement, she follows it to the letter instead of the spirit, thereby making herself miserable and either saddening or frustrating almost every other character.
Now, this criticism doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book--this is far from being the only series with this particular weakness. I continue to find most of the characters in Mixed Vegetables enjoyable, especially Hayato's parents; beyond that, how the situation gets resolved isn't so glaringly obvious, and I liked the way it was handled. I'm less pleased with the other subplot involving Hanayu's father's assistant, Maezawa, who no one seems to like but who Hayato seems to regard as a credible threat to his relationship with Hanayu anyway.
If this all sounds a bit wishy-washy, it's because Mixed Vegetables is continuing to be a perfectly pleasant story, but it has yet to make itself remarkable in any meaningful way.
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Crimson Hero vol. 12 (Mitsuba Takanashi)
Translated and adapted by Naoko Amemiya and Tetsuichiro Miyaki
Judging only from my very limited experience with Crimson Hero (this is my fourth consecutive volume), it almost seems to alternate between volumes devoted to major volleyball games and volumes devoted to the characters' interpersonal relationships, although of course there's overlap in both directions. Volume 12 is more in the latter camp, which means I liked it better than I did vol. 11.
Nobara has major relationship issues in this volume, what with a) really wanting to be in a relationship with Yushin (no surprise there, but not being in a relationship despite their feelings for each other is rough on both of them); b) not wanting to keep their feelings for each other a secret from Haibuki, a friend who's in love with her and doesn't know of any reason why he shouldn't be; and c) being the object of a really pushy rich boy's affections... a) and b) are handled pretty well, but I found the c) storyline set my teeth on edge a bit. Fortunately, that doesn't get the bulk of the focus; instead we get a fairly believable depiction of a love triangle where one of the people involved doesn't know what's going on. Having made the decision to not formalize their relationship, the way Nobara and Yushin handle the situation is unfortunate but plausible, and their concerns about their feelings throwing the team off-balance are justified.
All in all, I found this volume was a pretty good read, but I suspect that the next volume will swing back to volleyball and the supporting cast I haven't entirely figured out yet--which is only fair, given that this is a sports manga and all--and if it does, it'll probably be much less to my taste. But I'm sure the pendulum will swing back again.
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S.A. vol. 14 (Maki Minami)
Translated by JN Productions and adapted by Amanda Hubbard
The newest volume of S.A. uses a tried and true method of shaking things up: with Hikari and Kei's relationship going pretty well, the thing to do to retain the competitive spirit at the heart of the series is introduce a new challenger. New transfer student Iori Tokiwa arrives on the scene and promptly ties Hikari for second place on an exam, pushing everyone in S.A. (except for Hikari and Kei) down a notch. The lack of bad history between Tokiwa and Hikari means that her competitive instincts come to the surface in a healthier--and friendlier--way than they do with Kei, who begins feeling jealous of how well she's hitting it off with Tokiwa.
As I've said in earlier reviews, this series, while it'll never be a favorite, is working somewhat better for me since Hikari and Kei actually acted on their feelings for each other. I don't usually like jealous boyfriend storylines, but Kei's usually so confident about his superiority that it's a nice change to see him a bit shaken up. Tokiwa seems a little too perfect to me, but since his job so far seems to boil down to making Kei jealous, I guess that's appropriate. (Actually, he seems so specifically designed to appeal to Hikari that it almost makes me suspect that he's some sort of decoy in an elaborate plot designed to lure Hikari into something unfortunate, but I don't think this is quite that sort of manga.)
``xEkykEFEElkZjqtjWML``x1262131182``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xKaze Hikaru 15 cover.jpg Words of Truth and Wisdom: Honorifics``xNibley``xWe actually spent a good deal of the trying to figure out what we should write our column on today, and then our editor-in-chief sent us an e-mail asking us if we would like to respond to this article: http://www.tcj.com/?p=1884
We asked if there was a specific part or if we should respond to the whole thing, and he said “yes,” so we decided to just start writing and see what happens. So let's see...
I think we agree with the article as a whole. This might seem ironic coming from the “awesome awesome awesome translators” that Matt Thorn called out in the blog post that the article is responding to (yes, that was us; we apologize for our lack of flair and limited vocabularies), but yes, we do think that most manga translations need to be better. But to be fair, our experience with translations is mostly limited to anime subtitles (because we can compare them on the spot) and we've only read a few volumes of English translated manga, so we try not to comment too much on the state of the entire _manga_ industry.
So let's move on to something we have a more clearly defined opinion on: honorifics. Actually our strongest opinion on honorifics is that they ought to come up with a different term for them, because “honorifics” as a whole does not only refer to -san, -sensei, etc. And not only that, but -chan is actually not an honorific, because an honorific is used to show respect and social distance, while -chan is used to show closeness. Therefore -chan is the opposite of an honorific: a diminutive.
That aside, we tend to like to leave them in. This might be because one of the first things we translated was DN Angel, where the way Daisuke addresses Risa, Riku, and Satoshi, as opposed to the way Dark addresses Risa, Riku, and Satoshi, comes into play several times in the story and actually affects how things happen. But the rewriter took them out of the final English version, which we haven't read, so hopefully they got it to work anyway.
That brings up an important point that was mentioned by William Flanagan in the comments to Mr. Thorn's blog post: it's really not up to the translators whether or not honorifics get left in the dialogue. We just do what they tell us to. I think one of the companies we work for would let us get away with taking them out, but all the rest tell us to leave them in, so that's what we do. Whether or not they get taken out in the final version is out of our hands.
On the other hand, we can also see where leaving the honorifics in can be a bad thing. We think it's kind of weird when a series has a very Western-style fantasy setting and yet all the character's are using Japanese honorifics for everybody. That makes things especially tricky for something like Negima!, which starts out in a very Japanese setting, but then moves to somewhere where they're probably all speaking Latin or something very not-Japanese. We just decided that, since many of the characters we're focusing on are still very Japanese, and most of the readers would be used to the honorifics by now, it's okay to leave them in. But it's not entirely our call anyway.
We've also heard examples of English-dubbed anime where Japanese honorifics are used, and it definitely sounds a little off. They sound fine inside our own heads, because we're constantly dealing with the original Japanese. But when the actors say them like they're foreign words, then it's going to come across as a foreign word, and it's going to sound out of place. And of course, anyone new to anime or manga will think it sounds weird anyway.
I do think it's possible to engage new readers even with the honorifics--Fruits Basket is a good example of that. I also seem to remember our mother, who is by no stretch of the imagination interested in anime or manga, asking us what -chan means because it showed up in Memoirs of a Geisha, and we know tons of people have read that. So honorofics can't be completely off-putting.
So basically, our opinion on honorifics is this: If the setting is not Japan, it's probably better to come up with something else. If the setting is Japan, we don't see any problem with using them, especially because of their function in showing relationships between characters. It could be argued that there are ways of showing respect and the like without using honorifics, by choice of words, use (or lack) or contractions, etc. We tend to think that that's for dealing with polite language versus familiar language, and not with specific forms of address, but that's probably just an opinion thing.
This debate could probably go on forever, just like the whole subs versus dubs thing. But there's our two cents anyway.
``xEkyEVFpAFuxvqopIMD``x1261530934``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Butterflies, Flowers v1``xYsabet``xI've been looking forward to Butterflies, Flowers coming out in English ever since I first started reading about it on Twitter, for the simple reason that it's a new josei title. (It's being released under VIZ's Shojo Beat imprint, but josei--manga for older-than-adolescent female readers--is so underrepresented in North America that there often just isn't an ideal imprint for it, so that's where VIZ generally puts it.) It wasn't until I actually laid hands on a copy of volume 1 that I realized I had essentially no idea what it was about.
Butterflies, Flowers, it turns out, is about the unlikely (or unsurprising, depending on your perspective) potential romance between Choko, the daughter of a once-great family that's now fallen on hard times, and Domoto, the director of the company where she finds work. As her boss, Domoto takes an inappropriate (on several levels) and unappreciated interest in Choko, constantly finding fault with her and showing every sign of being willing to cheerfully work her into the ground, but she soon discovers the reason for his interest in her: he was one of her family's servants when she was a little girl and he was a teenager, before her family's fortune crumbled. And though you'd never know it from his initial behavior towards her, it seems he still thinks of her very fondly.
With his secret revealed, Choko and Domoto's relationship is transformed--but only when they're not at work. After hours, Domoto sees himself as still being indebted to Choko and gladly waits on her, whether she wants him to or not, but at work he shows her no mercy. While Choko tries to reconcile these two sides of him, she quickly discovers that her childhood adoration of the older boy she once called "Cha-chan" hasn't faded, and is rapidly transforming into love.
Much as I adore shoujo manga, it's a nice change of pace to have main characters older than eighteen. Choko is smart and has a good head on her shoulders. She can be intimidated as she learns the ropes at her new job--and tries to deal with Domoto's attention, regardless of which way he's treating her--but she also steps up to the plate when circumstances require it. As for Domoto, he's still a bit of an enigma, but he takes his dual roles as Choko's boss and servant seriously. The supporting cast is fun, too; I think I already have a soft spot for Choko's younger brother, who can't quite let go of their family's now-faded glory days, and I like Domoto's friend Suou's ruthlessly practical streak.
There's a lot in this volume that I enjoyed, and I hear rumors that it gets better in volume 2, so I'm already very curious about that. So far, the story covers fairly unsurprising ground, but for the most part it covers it well. The humor is (unsurprisingly) skewed for an older audience than most comedic romance manga I'm familiar with, and not all of it worked for me; overall, I found the book quite funny, but I found that some of the material (including the first scene, which convinced at least one reader I know to put the book right back down) crossed the line between being risqué and offensive, which I thought was a shame. The story and overall humor are engaging enough that those few lines scattered throughout struck me as pointless and jarring.
I wouldn't say I'm completely hooked on this one yet, but as I say, I'm really looking forward to seeing where it goes from here, and I'm delighted to see a new series targeting an older demographic.
Volume 1 of Butterflies, Flowers is sold shrink-wrapped and includes one page of translator's notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkyEVkpZpANzoKfptt``x1261520709``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421532034``xYuki Yoshihara``x``x``x``xRomance``xComedy``x``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``xNancy Thistlethwaite``xViz``xMature``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xButterflies Flowers 1 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x MangaLife Spotlight: Death Note: L: Change The World``xbarblien``xAh, Death Note: L: Change the World.
Good movie, not-so-good book.
SMALLISH SPOILERS from those who haven’t read the series, seen the anime, or seen the live action series. You have been warned.
Having thought that I’d been there, done that concerning Death Note, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the two live action films of that particular manga series have a sequel of sorts. L: Change the World takes a left turn from Death Note, the manga, insomuch as it features L, the strange, good guy foe of Light Yagami, the owner of the Death Note notebook that kills whenever Light puts a name in it. Well, if you’ve read the manga series, you know that L... well, I’m not going to go spoil it all for you, but suffice to say, L isn’t the person who ultimately goes head to head with Light in the manga. In the second Death Note live action film (Death Note II: The Last Name), L is definitely the one who does. Now, that’s way, way cool, as L is probably one of the best eccentric characters to come out of manga in a long, long time. I’m a big fan of the Death Note live action movies, as I’m fascinated by L. Tasuya Fujiwara, who also starred in the live action Battle Royale films (which I’ll admit I haven’t seen yet because they sound INTENSE), embodies Light in a way that is a joy to watch, but the real revelation is Ken'ichi Matsuyama's L (who apparently is also in the live-action based-on-manga movies of Detroit Metal City and Nana). Matsuyama’s got the idiot-savant uber-geek parts of L down! If you think he doesn’t, try walking in that odd question mark posture L has or try jumping onto a piece of furniture so as to perch there the way he does. It’s not easy (and, yes, I’ve tried it). Fujiwara plays Light as an arrogant little bastard, while Matsuyama plays L as Sherlock Holmes with Asperger’s Syndrome. The acting in the Death Note live action series is really what sets it apart from other live-action based-on-manga films.
When Death Note: L: Change the World was released, I wanted to see it. Then I read a review of it that didn’t like it in the least, so I hesitated. Whenever an anime goes OAV, or an anime series strays from a manga (e.g. Full Metal Alchemist, Naruto), the results aren’t pretty, most of the time. However, curiosity got the best of me, so when Change the World showed up on DVD, I rented it.
And enjoyed the heck out of it.
No, it’s not Death Note. This film isn’t for those casual viewers who’ve heard about the series and wondered what it’s about. Newbies will get totally lost if they start here---and they’ll wonder what the big fuss was about. Instead, Change the World is for big fans of the series who just want just a little more before they wave a fond farewell. On that level, the movie works admirably.
The set-up: L solves the Kira case (Kira is Light Yagami’s nom du villain), but at a terrible price. L only has 21 days to live. Since detective work is his life, he ends up going up against some slightly generic bio-terrorists, as well as getting involved with a young, plucky teenaged girl and a near-genius (math/science based genius, anyway) young boy in the process. Since L isn’t exactly emotionally intelligent, seeing him trying to deal with panicky but brave young people is the cheese in this film. Seeing how they bring out whatever humanity the human computer has inside of him is compelling… but really, only if you’re a big L fan the way I am.
On an objective level, I can only give this movie a B. However, the fan in me gives it a big B plus.
Now, before I go, I have to mention that the good people at Viz, knowing that Park and I are Death Note aficionados, sent us the novelization of Change the World. Once again, the novel is NOT the place to start with the series. The novel follows the live action version of the series, not the manga or anime, which may be confusing to fans of the manga, not to mention casual readers.
Now, I really don’t have a lot to say about the book, as I just saw the movie. Except… and I hate to complain, but… as a novelization, I really think it could have used an honest to goodness ADAPTER instead of just a translator and an editor who probably did as much adaptation work as possible on it. I know, I’m prejudiced, because I do adaptation work for manga companies, but as such, I can tell an adaptation versus a translation that’s been fixed up. Fiction needs to flow, which requires an adapter who knows fiction and has a lot of adaptation experience. Even great translators with good adaptation skills (I know several and admire their talents), even good editors with above-average adaptation skills, often get smashed on the rocks of manga fiction.
Death Note, because it lacks an adaptation that flows, also lacks an exciting authorial voice. It just doesn’t sizzle like the movie does, even though it’s based on the same events, more or less. You do find out interesting things, such as how the orphanage that spawned L came into being. I also liked the first scene with L… in a freaking bear suit, of all things. So, it wasn’t like this was a bad book. Indeed, in a few places, it was almost as interesting as the movie.
It’s just… prose style matters in novels. In manga series, you can sometimes get away with a good translator with adaptation skills. Heck, sometimes, you can even get away with an earnest scanner, if the series isn’t, for instance, a comedy that needs sparkling dialog. But prose needs oomph. As with many manga prose translations, this novel just doesn’t have it. The prose style has to make up for the fact that there aren't actors to act it-- the prose style itself has to be zippy, therefore, in order to give it the right amount of equivalency to the movie.
So, I have to give the book Death Note: L: Change the World a C Plus, although my fannish heart doesn’t like the fact.
It’s just… fandom isn’t GOOD fandom if it’s unquestioning. Fandom isn’t about being a lemming. It’s about admiring what is work of worth.
I admire L: Change the World, the movie. I just wish I could say the same for the book.
A review copy of the novel was provided by the publisher.
``xEkyEVkpEluvNABBsPO``x1261520184``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xDeathNote-LChangeTheWorld-Novel.jpg Oishinbo A la Carte, Izakaya: Pub Food``xPennyKenny``xRelease Date: 1-19-2010
I LOVE this book! I don't even cook and I loved reading this book about how different Japanese pub foods are prepared. I also loved reading about the characters and the character of Japan.
The conceit behind the long-running Oishinbo series is that the publishers of the Tōzai News, a Japanese newspaper, have commissioned the creation of the "Ultimate Menu," a compilation of the best in Japanese food. The slacker reporter Yamaoka Shirō has been put in charge of the project. Over the course of the series he and his colleagues travel the country, seeking out the best of the best in specific types of food.
Rather than translating the entire series, Viz has put together anthology volumes, collecting stories centered around one type of food or beverage into one book. In "Izakaya," the focus is on pub food - "simple and straightforward" dishes as author Tetsu Kariya puts it.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I love this book. Learning about the different foods Yamaoka encounters was fascinating, though I really wish more recipes had been included. The book opens with one for fried sardine fish cake that includes photographs of each step; but it just isn't enough. I really wanted the ones for scallop rice, mushroom pie, and kitsune udon among others. While Kariya does list the ingredients within the story, proportions and cook times are sadly lacking.
While food is the focus of "Izakaya," the characters also hold the attention. Yamaoka is a complex guy. He comes across as something of a slacker, though he does care about his work. He has father issues that occasionally impinge on his attempts to create the "Ultimate Menu." He can be clueless about his own relationships, though he can shrewdly assess other people's. In this volume, readers get to see him go from a happy bachelor to an even happier married man with a family.
Though the rest of the cast is barely developed, they are good for some comic moments. Their presence in the story also gives Kariya the opportunity to develop discussions on life and character. You see, the world of Oishinbo isn't just about food and eating. It's also about living. One of my favorite chapters, "An Honest Taste," revolves around one of Yamaoka's recently married co-workers. As she says of herself, she's not young and has an established lifestyle. Because of that, a conflict arises between her and her husband. Yamaoka then uses a very specific kind of gratin dish to impart a lesson about marriage to the couple. In "The Ultimate Wedding Outfit," trying a novice chef's experiments helps a rebellious young man define his own career goals. In the wonderful "Potato Hater!", a feud between two old schoolmates leads to a new appreciation of potatoes and a lesson on confronting problems rather than avoiding them. Kariya deftly handles the material, folding lesson and plot together in such a way that it doesn't seem like a heavy-handed morality fable.
Akira Hanasaki's art will seem almost crude to those used to shojo manga. The characters are drawn in a flat, simplified style that's slightly reminiscent of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy. Background streets and buildings, as well as the food, however, are very detailed. Someone who knows their izakaya food could probably pick out the dishes just by looking at them.
Also included in the volume is a short essay by Kariya explaining the magic of an izakaya. This was enjoyable, as it gives extra detail and helps the reader immerse herself in the Japanese izakaya scene.
Oishinbo A la Carte, Izakaya: Pub Food isn't going to be for everyone. It's a mature book in that it deals with working adults in the real world. However, anyone who enjoys food, learning about a different culture, humorous stories, and well-written stories should definitely check this book out. I know I'm going to go hunting for the rest of the volumes in the series.
``xEkypApyppkENDuWoKr``x1260906002``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421521458``xTetsu Kariya``xAkira Hanasaki``x``x``xDrama``xComedy``x``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``x``xViz Media``xTeen``xA``x12.99``x150``x225``xoishinbo07.jpg``x``x``x``x Time and Again v1``xjoykim``xTime and Again is a new historical fantasy manhwa from JiUn Yun (Cynical Orange). Set in Tang Dynasty-era China, it follows a dissipated exorcist, Baek-On, and his sensible bodyguard, Ho-Yeon, as they travel through the countryside completing jobs for hire. Though volume 1 does have a few stumbles, it's one of the most promising series openers that I've seen in a long while.
The story so far is very episodic, with the individual episodes inspired mostly by Chinese and Korean folklore and literature. Much of its initial appeal comes from the setting. The historical details in the costuming are very pretty; the ghost stories are unsettling but generally shy away from gratuitous gore. There's never any promise of happy endings, and that contributes to the creepy atmosphere. As I noted in my previous write-up, the tendency for the stories to become morality plays reminds me a lot of early episodes in xxxHOLiC and of Pet Shop of Horrors.
However, the main characters are the main reason I think this series has the potential to be really strong. Though Baek-On and Ho-Yeon are very peripheral in some of the chapters (they don't appear in chapter 3 and barely appear in chapter 4), they are easily one of the best things about the book. Baek-On's first entrance is an inglorious but memorable one--he shows up for a job dead drunk and draped over the long-suffering Ho-Yeon's shoulder--and it soon becomes clear that he has charisma to spare. He even quotes Li Bai! Ho-Yeon is quieter and sensible, in some ways a classic second lead, but he has solid chemistry with Baek-On. The odd couple humor works, and there's just enough mystery about their pasts to pique readers' interest. What is driving Baek-On to drink? What is the tragedy in Ho-Yeon's past? Yun only drops the vaguest of hints, but it's more than enough to make me impatient for volume 2. I'm genuinely eager to know more about these two characters, and that's almost always a formula for success in a series.
The art here resembles that found in a lot of sunjeong manhwa. The two leads are beautiful and epicene, and a great deal of attention is paid to the drape of people's hair and clothes. While I do like how Yun draws the leads--especially the mercurial Baek-On, in all of his many moods--I found some of the other character designs a bit generically pretty; I even briefly confused two of the women characters at one point. I also wearied of Yun's use of one particular artistic device (close-ups of eyes). That issue is mostly confined to a single chapter, however, so hopefully it will not be a recurring problem.
If Time and Again focuses a little more on the characterization of the two leads--and the last pages of volume 1 suggest that's the plan--I think it will be one of my favorite manhwa. Fans of ghost stories and folklore retellings should definitely check this series out. Time and Again is also being serialized in Yen Plus and is available there monthly.
Volume 1 of Time and Again includes a set of beautiful color pages, an often amusing afterword by the creator, and translation notes. Like many of Yen Press's series, it's printed in the slightly bigger 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" trim size.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkypApVFVkeuPNAkJX``x1260905352``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759530580``xJiUn Yun``x``x``x``xFantasy``xHorror``x``xJuYoun Lee and HyeYoung Im``x``xYen Press``xOlder Teen``xB+``x10.99``x150``x225``xtimeandagain1.jpg``x``x``x``x High School Debut v12``xYsabet``xI didn't review volume 11 of High School Debut, and back when I was reading it, I was kind of glad that I wouldn't be writing a review--it would have been a fine installment for a lot of series, but High School Debut is one of my pure-glee shoujo series, and I hold it to higher standards. Happily, volume 12 (the second last in the series) lived up to my usual expectations.
At the end of volume 11, Haruna decided she and Yoh should celebrate his birthday by going away on an overnight trip--not realizing the implications of a dating couple spending the night together. By the time they head out at the beginning of volume 12, she's been made very aware of what people will think, and more importantly, has had the idea that "all guys expect sex in this situation" drilled into her head. She doesn't feel at all ready to sleep with Yoh, but is so determined to meet his expectations that she spends the entire first day of the trip in a frenzy of trying to psych herself up for it.
Whether or not to have sex with Yoh isn't Haruna's only worry in this volume, either. Asami's attitude toward Haruna dating Yoh is getting worse--or showing more clearly--and is developing into a real threat to Haruna and Asami's friendship. And on top of that, it's well past time for Yoh to be making decisions about what he wants to do with the rest of his life, and like many couples (real and fictional alike), he and Haruna haven't really thought about what that's going to mean for their relationship once they're no longer in high school together.
It all sounds like a pretty heavy volume, but it's not. Haruna's naiveté is out in full force, and as usual, it walks a fine line between being remotely believable and being too over the top, but I still find her energy and enthusiasm charming instead of annoying. I love that she and Yoh are able to have serious conversations about their relationship that might not be possible if Haruna were more reserved (or prone to making more accurate assumptions), and it makes the moments when she does understand the situation or Yoh's feelings that much more enjoyable, especially since her moments of comprehension usually happen in public, where Yoh really doesn't want to talk about them. His acceptance of how different they are, even when he's acutely embarrassed by what's going on, continues to be one of the things I really like about him. I'm going to miss this series when it's over.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkypApVpFAcZsMaIOD``x1260905039``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x142152922X``xKazune Kawahara``x``x``x``xRomance``x``x``xGemma Collinge``xGemma Collinge``xViz``xTeen``xA-``x9.99``x150``x225``xHigh School Debut 12 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: On Fan Translations (Sort Of)``xNibley``xHmm, I can't think of a good introduction for this column. Maybe because I'm not sure exactly what to write about. I figure we ought to address TokyoPop's idea of using fan translators for the titles that are on hiatus, so I guess that's what we'll write about.
I don't think it will be too surprising that we're not fans of the idea. First and foremost, we had some ongoing titles put on hiatus, and we would hate to let anybody else translate them. We're possessive like that.
Second, we're not so sure we'll be able to compete against free labor. Now, unless I understood our high school and college economics classes incorrectly, generally higher quality products get higher demand and therefore stay in the market longer, while poor quality products disappear from the market as the consumers realize they're buying junk. So as far as competition goes, it then comes down to a question of quality.
The problem is, when you work as a translator, the only people who can really tell the difference in quality are other people with your same language set, but those people aren't usually the ones translators are marketing towards. (They market toward one language or the other, usually.) And to be honest, we've seen both good and bad translations from both fan translations and licensed ones.
It makes sense that fans would be good translators and here's why: they love the titles they're working on and want what's best for it. Ideally, anyway. We're fairly certain there are some fan translators out there who are in it just for the recognition, but hopefully they're in the minority.
Of course, there's also the possibility that fans are biased toward favorite characters or potential developments or whatever, and the nuance of their translations can lean in those directions even when the original Japanese didn't. But I think the biggest danger with fans is that they tend to lack in training, and when that happens, things get translated wrong. We've learned from experience that experience helps, and we've seen many a fan translation (of course, by “fan translation,” we are including Crunchyroll translations, even though technically those are professional) where it was obvious the translator wasn't familiar with a grammatical construction or something. On the one hand, we wish we could explain what those mean to the other translators, but on the other, we kind of wish they'd just let us do it. We're selfish like that.
Of course, by no means am I saying that professional translators are perfect. I just wrote that column about mistakes we've made, after all. And it's been argued that professional translators are more likely to take liberties with the text. (We like to think that the liberties come from the English adaptation writers, but that doesn't change the fact that they're there.) But (and this is an ideal again) professional translators should have higher standards expected of them. And when they don't meet those standards, they get censured. Now, if fans are working for manga companies, then those companies can censure them, just like they can censure professionals, which brings me to the one idea that would benefit fans, fan translators, and... well it might not actually hurt professionals.
If fans must be used, then sure, put them on the titles that have been on hiatus, the ones that have a very small audience. That way the titles can be out there for people to read legally without the company having to spend money that they're not going to earn back. But make it like a training program, like an internship. If the fan translators prove they can translate accurately, make it readable, and still capture a good deal of the spirit of the original, promote them to professional translators for higher profile projects and higher pay.
Of course, that doesn't solve the problem of potentially less work for us professionals, but I like the idea of ensuring high quality translations. I think the best way to solve the “less work” problem would be for more people to buy more manga! The holidays are upon us, and we're sure there's a bunch of manga out there that would make great presents!
``xEkypFlkFylZqaQgnvp``x1260382368``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden v9``xYsabet``xThere's something particularly pleasant about reading a series by a well-loved manga creator and finally feeling like you have some idea what the fuss is all about. I've said before that I'm finding Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden much more engrossing than the other Yuu Watase series I've tried, and volume 9 hasn't changed my opinion.
This volume begins as Takiko returns to her "real" life in 1923 Tokyo, unaware that the Celestial Warriors who she's come to love so much have driven her away after discovering that the Priestess of Genbu must die to fulfill the prophecy. Takiko arrives home to find that no real time has passed back in her own world, but she can't simply return to the life she knows. With her mother dead, she has to consider a marriage proposal from an unexpected source, which means trying to forget the intense love she shared with Uruki in The Universe of the Four Gods.
Takiko's father, fearing for her safety, tries and fails to destroy the book to keep it from ever drawing Takiko back, and within its pages, the Celestial Warriors are equally unable to forget her--and increasingly aware that they really do need her power as the Priestess to save Bêi-jîa from an encroaching ice age.
This volume doesn't spend much time as usual with its supporting cast, since its main focus is on Takiko's efforts to adjust to her changing life in Tokyo, and most of the attention paid to what's happening in Bêi-jîa has to do with Uruki's side of his relationship with Takiko, but they're not entirely neglected. With or without her there, things are changing quickly as the weather cools and the Qu-dong army closes in around them.
Watase packs a lot of action into this volume, especially given how much of it is spent in the real world. I found myself particularly enjoying how Takiko's experiences have changed her and her relationships with the people she left behind, with so much time passing for her while their lives basically stood still. I'm glad that Watase handled it fairly subtly, making it seem genuinely possible for Takiko to choose to return to her former life if she wants to. I also liked that Takiko and Uruki's pain over being separated from each other was depicted believably despite how easy it would be for it to become too melodramatic. A very good volume, all in all.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkypFlkkEkchmUqjCt``x1260382212``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x142153035X``xYuu Watase``x``x``x``xFantasy``xDrama``xRomance``xLillian Olsen``x``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xFY Genbu Kaiden 9 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Yotsuba&! v5-6``xbarblien``xYotsuba&! v5
I did not get to go to the ocean this year. Instead, I got to move into my first house. Big change, big responsibility. I’m not the type that longs for former times, that thinks that childhood is some magic time filled with nothing but happiness and good times. I’m not nostalgic in the least.
Yet, when I read Yotsuba, I also realize that sometimes I get a little too adult for my own good. When I read about the kooky kid’s adventures on the beach, when I see her splashing in the rain with an umbrella, when I see how when she gets into something, she really, really gets into it, when I see that she’s always engaged in life and seldom bored, it makes me think that there is a time and place to value the childlike in our lives.
Yotsuba is a series that has one little, tiny admonition at the end of it.
The words: Enjoy Everything.
It’s so simple that it’s almost zen, but it’s something that we’d all be better off to remember. Life isn’t about who dies with the most toys (or comics), it’s about how much we enjoyed ourselves and explored along the way.
Yotsuba is a truly great read. Great art, terrific characterization, very gentle, very sweet, very much for real kids and those who love them. This is ice cream without the artificial sweeteners and colors. It goes down the palete smoothly and deliciously.
You never want the artificial crap again after tasting the real thing.
Here’s my tiny admonition: Enjoy Yotsuba.
And now... a review of Yotsuba&! v6.
Yotsuba&! v6
Recently, my husband and I got bikes. While we loved bike riding as kids, we hadn’t done it much as adults. We shlepped up a tall hill, then coasted down again. It wasn’t a huge deal, but, man, it was fun.
I mention this incident because in volume six of Yotsuba & our little lady with the mostest gets HER first bike. Now childhood changes a lot from generation to generation, but the delight of a bike still must be one of the biggest thrills of them all, especially for little kids.
Yotsuba makes us remember things that we sometimes forget. It’s odd to say that we forget JOY, but we do. We forget playing paper cup telephone. We forget what it’s like to bug adults while they’re trying to do a project. We forget our bikes and even the risks involved. We forget scraped knees and worrying our parents when we go too far. And when we do remember, we see childhood through ridiculous rose colored glasses that don’t allow us to see that childhood, while often joyous, isn’t easy.
Yotsuba helps us remember. It doesn’t drown childhood in manufactured nostalgia or cheap sentimentality. Instead, it shows us all the ups and downs of being a kid. Frustrations, misunderstandings (both humorous and otherwise) sit cheek by jowl with the elation of discovery and the modest but real pleasures of learning new things. While Yotsuba isn’t a message book with a heavy moral, you do get the feeling that the series is trying to tell you something. And I think I know what it is:
Find time to have a little fun.
It’s good advice for all of us.
``xEkypFlEyuApkIeTidY``x1260381649``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x031607392X``xKiyohiko Azuma``x``x``x``xComedy``x``x``xStephen Paul``x``xYen Press``xAll Ages``xA+``x10.99``x150``x225``xyotsuba_5.jpg.gif``x``x``x``x Yotsuba&! v3-4``xbarblien``xYotsuba&! Volume 3
Sometimes, in our rush to live our lives, to pursue our hopes and dreams, and to pay the bills, we forget about how much fun day-to-day life can be. We forget how much fun it is to go to the pool or a zoo or to see fireworks. We get too busy. We say we’ll do it later. Then, we don’t. Sad really.
If there’s one manga out there that really makes you want to stop and smell the roses, to make you want to forget your troubles, c’mon, get happy, it’s Yotsuba. Oh, Yotsuba isn’t about big things. No one’s going to fight a big bad here or get to be number one or save the world. Leave that sort of stuff for the battle manga and the superhero comics that do that sort of thing way, way too much. Instead, Yotsuba is just the story of a little kid doing the sorts of things that make little kids (and adults if they’d stop being so darned stuffy and allow themselves to have some fun) happy. In this volume, our goofy little five-year-old learns about the joys of flowers, zoos, festivals, and fireworks. That’s it. Nothing too plot-heavy, but as enjoyable as all get-out.
So, if you’re looking for a manga for a kid or just something to give you a break from all your concerns, Yotsuba is a must-read.
As a sort of post-script, I should say that the art is really darling, without ever getting to be too saccharine.
Highly recommended.
And now... a review of Yotsuba&! v4.
There’s a Beach Boys song called All Summer Long that lists all the fun the singer’s girlfriend and he had during the summer. There’s a line that says “Won’t be long till summer time is through”. Then the drummer yells out in the most defiant, happy voice possible, “Not for us now!”
That’s how Yotsuba&! makes me feel, sometimes. In Yotsuba’s world, no matter what the season is, it’s always sunny, even when it rains. I know, I know. Yotsuba’s not about much of anything. It’s just about a cute kid who has a lot of fun and is happy most of the time. Nothing earth shattering there. But Yotsuba is like what Steve Martin said about banjo music. Much like it’s difficult to be depressed when you hear a banjo, it’s difficult to stay unhappy when reading Yotsuba. Unlike a lot of American works for children that try so hard to be all primary colors and funny, while throwing in age inappropriate remarks to try and keep the parents awake, Yotsuba isn’t post-ironic in the least. Instead, it’s unabashedly for kids in a way that shows how a real kid fits into the world and tries to comprehend new experiences. There aren’t a lot of rough edges in Yotsuba, not a lot of traumas, but you do understand that the adults have their concerns and they’re often too complicated to talk to a kid about…and how confusing that is to a kid.
I like this series a bunch. It makes a difficult subject (a realistic comedy about childhood) look easy. No smart assed sit-com kids here.
Just a little girl with a smile as big as the great outdoors.
Review copies provided by Yen Press.
``xEkVAlplyAVgxGOcTce``x1259808695``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0316073903``xKiyohiko Azuma``x``x``x``xComedy``x``x``xStephen Paul``x``xYen Press``xAll Ages``xA+``x10.99``x150``x225``xyotsuba_3.gif``x``x``x``x Antique Gift Shop v9``xjoykim``xThe mysterious shop is one of my favorite tropes in manhwa and manga. When done well, it's a setup that lends itself to interestingly episodic storytelling. I hadn't read Antique Gift Shop before receiving a review copy of volume 9 in the mail, but once it arrived, I was curious to see what Eun Lee was doing with this familiar premise.
This manhwa proves to be a difficult one to join late in the series. As the second-to-last volume in this series, volume 9 delves deep into one character's past, presumably building upon hints and flashbacks from other volumes. Before it gets there, however, it gives us the conclusion of a slightly twisted retelling of the Little Mermaid fairytale. I was initially confused by the jump from this story-within-the-story to our protagonist, Bun-nyuh, though I suspect that would not be an issue for anyone who had read the first eight volumes.
The second half of the volume, which focuses on Bun-nyuh, is much stronger than the first. Bun-nyuh runs from her responsibilities at the gift shop, only to encounter some of the harder truths of her past. The lines between past and present are constantly blurred as Bun-nyuh makes her journey, both literal and emotional, to her hometown. As a newcomer to the series, I wasn't always entirely sure what was happening to Bun-nyuh, but I appreciated the atmosphere that Lee creates with her dreamlike imagery. A hand reaches out of thin air; a character's clothing shifts from modern to traditional beneath the sweep of his long hair. Lee's art isn't necessarily prettier than that found in other sunjeong manhwa--it's very much drawn in the style you find in a lot of licensed manhwa--but she does a good job of using the art to highlight the big emotional moments.
Bun-nyuh herself is impulsive and more than a little self-absorbed. It's hard not to be impatient with her at times, even if this volume is intent on putting her through the wringer. This might be irritating over the course of the entire series--that would depend on how much the focus is on Bun-nyuh in other volumes--but here I was willing to make some allowances for her given the circumstances. As for Mr. Yang, he only makes a few appearances in this volume, some of which might be imagined, but his absence is almost more significant than his presence could be.
I wouldn't recommend starting at volume 9 of Antique Gift Shop to any reader, but others with a fondness for this particular trope may want to check out the series from volume 1.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkVAlpZAVyGVVBMhee``x1259807956``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759531641``xEun Lee``x``x``x``xDrama``xFantasy``x``xHyeYoung Im``xJamie Rich``xYen Press``xTeen``xB``x10.99``x150``x225``xantiquegift9.jpg``x``x``x``x Rasetsu v2``xYsabet``xI admit it: it took me a little while to bring volume 2 of Rasetsu to the top of my review queue. Not because I'd heard anything off-putting, but because I hadn't read the first volume and was completely unfamiliar with Yurara, the series Rasetsu spins off from.
Turns out it's a shame I put it off, because Rasetsu is a really fun read. Reading through the character list at the beginning of the book got me up to speed enough that I had no trouble following the story. For the benefit of anyone else who might not know the plot, here's the gist: Rasetsu is a teenage exorcist who's been (literally) marked by a demon who intends to steal her away on her 20th birthday if she hasn't found true love by then. This puts a bit of an urgent spin on a young shoujo heroine's quest for romance, but Rasetsu seems to be kept pretty busy by working for an exorcist agency, where she has a group of entertaining male co-workers. Oh, and she replenishes her psychic energy by eating lots of sweets.
(I still haven't the faintest idea how this series connects with Yurara.)
The series is fairly episodic, so the characters go out on three different assignments during the course of the second volume, but there's plenty of time spent on the dynamics between Rasetsu and her co-workers, particularly Yako, who controls water (the character bios tell me that Rasetsu headhunted him in volume 1), and Kuryu, who uses kotodama (controlling people/spiritual entities through the power of words, a power familiar to anyone who's read Her Majesty's Dog).
I like Rasetsu herself quite a bit. She's never overshadowed by the other characters, and she's presented as a competent, powerful psychic, although the exorcisms they perform sometimes tap into her fears about being taken away by the demon who apparently loves her. Those fears make her vulnerable, so there's an element of the guys being protective of her, but it doesn't come across as patronizing or as downplaying her ability, which is always refreshing. (There's plenty of teasing going on, but it seems to be equally balanced and affectionate.)
Overall, this is fun, solid shoujo. It hasn't stolen my heart, but I really enjoyed reading it.
Volume 2 of Rasetsu includes one page of bonus manga.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVAlpZFFlalnVhExH``x1259807338``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527510``xChika Shiomi``x``x``x``xRomance``xSupernatural``x``xKinami Watabe``xKinami Watabe``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB+``x8.99``x150``x225``xRasetsu 2 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Dealing With Stumpers``xNibley``xWe've been watching subtitled anime again, and you know what that means: complaining about the quality of subtitles these days! Okay, so actually there's not so much complaining, but there was something we noticed. Sometimes it becomes apparent that a translator is stumped on a line of dialogue. We can tell because they obviously either ignored it entirely or made something up. Not that we can blame the translators for not wanting to translate certain things. There are some words in Japanese that are nearly impossible to convey in a concise manner in English (unless you happen to be lucky enough to get really good context for it). But it is a little unfair to the viewers, who have no hope of ever knowing what the character really said.
I mean, things always get lost in translation, and everybody's bound to miss some nuance or other. Even if the translator did their best to get it across, everyone interprets things differently, so each member of the audience might understand it differently anyway. It almost makes me wonder what the point in having a common language is sometimes, but that's a different rant.
Anyway. We were thinking we would discuss how we deal with the stumpers. Now, in most cases, it's easy to look words up in a dictionary, but sometimes there's a brand-new slang term. For example, we only just recently found out that cosplay, already an abbreviation in and of itself, is abbreviated to just cos. Of course, that one was easy to figure out based on context, and we were able to quickly confirm with a native Japanese speaker that we were right. Which brings us to the first, and usually best, way to deal with stumpers: ask a native speaker for help. (It's only “usually” best because not every native speaker is familiar with all the slang. I'm sure there are tons of English slang terms that we have no clue about.)
Then again, we tend to get wrapped up in our work and for some reason we're reluctant to e-mail our Japanese friends and ask for help. (Part of it is from time constraints--we're not sure how quickly we'll get a response, and we want to turn this thing in, darn it!) So we've discovered some more difficult ways to deal with the problem. First, there's always the Japanese language dictionaries. They won't give you an English term to translate the word into, but they will tell you what it means so you can figure something out. It's actually a very easy method, but sometimes is hard in that it requires the actual reading of kanji. We can be very lazy sometimes. But it can be a big help in looking up verb endings that we're not so familiar with. It's also good for looking up contractions. For example, “nantatte” isn't in our J-E dictionaries. But if we look it up in a Japanese language dictionary, we find out it's actually an abbreviation of “nan to itte mo,” which we can easily find in our J-E dictionary as “after all is said and done, to say the least.”
Now back to those slang terms. For those, it helps to find a Japanese slang dictionary. These are easily found by using Google, especially if you know the Japanese word for slang (zokugo, 俗語). But because language is always evolving, you won't necessarily find what you're looking for in the slang dictionary. This is where things can get really hard. First, you have to do a Google search. If you're lucky, you'll find a page like the Japanese version of Yahoo! answers, where somebody asks what something is and somebody else comes and explains it all away. If not, you have to go through all the links, looking for enough context to piece together what this new thing means. And of course, it's all in Japanese, so you'd better be good with kanji.
Slang and new words aren't the only stumpers, though. Sometimes manga likes to deal with Science, or History, or Technology. In those cases, Wikipedia is our best friend. (Except in the cases when there's no article on what we're looking for, in which case we swear never to speak to Wikipedia again. Only not, because we know we'll always come back.) It's pretty simple, though. First we go to Japanese Wikipedia and find the article we need. Then we just click on the “English” link on the left and voila!, translation found! We used this method when translating the Ace Attorney manga, and Phoenix Wright's hair was compared to shape memory alloy. Even if we'd heard the term in English first, we wouldn't have had any idea what it was. (And that's why we also added a translator's note, even though many of you may already have known what shape memory alloy is.)
Well, we think that about covers it. Oh, wait! One other thing we use is an English thesaurus, to help us figure out how to word things when we know exactly what something means, but we have no idea how to fit it into an English sentence so that it sounds normal. It doesn't always help, but it tries. Usually.
There. Now THAT probably covers it.
``xEkVApZZZylhWHjXZmx``x1259077768``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya v4``xPennyKenny``xA student is missing. A grandmother vanishes. A murder occurs in a locked room. What do all these things have in common? The SOS Brigade. More specifically, Brigade Chief Haruhi - a high school girl who lives for mysteries and excitement. Too bad her classmate and fellow brigade member Kyon doesn't share her - or the rest of the brigade's - enthusiasm for odd adventures.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya isn't a book I would have picked up based on its cover. It looks like a typical perky, high school girl story. Well, Melancholy does have a perky high school heroine. But it also has alternate space-times, alien life forms, time travelers, and Espers. The science fiction elements of the story sneak up on readers gradually, giving an added punch to the mystery element.
The only character readers really get to know in this volume is Kyon. He's the reader surrogate, the average guy swept up into strange events beyond his control. He comes across as a bit mopey and unhappy about being involved with Haruhi; yet, he also seems fascinated by the weirdness that follows her. How he deals with the problem of the vanishing grandmother is especially interesting, as it happens to be his grandmother that's missing. Watching him deal with his exuberant younger sister while trying to get his grandmother back without letting anyone know what's really happening is extremely enjoyable. Though like Kyon, I'm a bit puzzled as to what some of the things he saw are supposed to mean.
Readers wanting to know more about the rest of the SOS Brigade members are out of luck. Though Kyon name-checks them and mentions their special abilities, that's about all we get on them. Twice, motivations for two of the team's behavior are hinted at, but it's not enough to make them fully-developed characters. In previous volumes they might have had larger roles, but here in volume four the other members of the SOS Brigade are basically deus ex machina that wrap up any problems with little difficulty.
The final arc of the volume, which is basically a murder mystery on an island, reads a bit like a Kindaichi Case Files mystery - only with fewer clues. At first it's hard to see how it ties in with the other stories in this volume, it's so far removed from the others. In the end, however, Gaku Tsugano brings it all together on a note both slightly chilling and humorous.
The story can be difficult to follow at times, mainly because of the extreme number of close-ups on faces. It cuts the narrative flow and creates unnecessary confusion. When not focusing on faces, Tsugano has a strong sense of pacing. Dramatic scenes get a nice build-up, then explode off the page. The characters are attractive and fairly distinguishable from one another. There's a bit of cheesecake, but not enough to be distracting.
While I wouldn't recommend a new reader begin with volume four, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is worth checking out at the library.
``xEkVApZZFFFUsmKwcqG``x1259077333``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759529477``xGaku Tsugano``xNagaru Tanigawa``xNoizi Ito``x``xSci-Fi``xAdventure``xComedy``xChris Pai for MX Media LLC``x``xYen Press``xOlder Teen``xB+``x10.99``x150``x225``xharuhi_4.gif``x``x``x``x Beast Master v1``xYsabet``xAt only two volumes, Beast Master is the very definition of short and sweet. (Assuming, of course, that the second volume is at least reasonably similar to the first.) It has the kind of premise that at first glance elicits (in me, anyway) a "hmm, could be cute, but it'll probably get dragged out for way too long" response, so I'm glad that I knew the series' actual length before I cracked volume 1 open.
Having said that, here's the premise: our heroine, Yuiko, is a good-hearted high school student whose love for animals is so intense that it sends them running in every direction but hers. Unlike her friends, she isn't particularly interested in boys--at least until she meets Leo, a transfer student who's just returned from abroad and whose life in another country has left him with an affinity for animals, a deadly survival instinct, and very little knowledge of how to function in Japanese society. Yuiko quickly realizes she's the only person at school who's not afraid of him, and then discovers that when Leo loses control of himself and attacks someone, she's also the only one who can calm him down.
If you're getting the impression that there's basically nothing believable about Beast Master, you're pretty much right. It almost feels as if it ought to be a fantasy story, but...it isn't. Instead it's just completely implausible, but it has enough charm to compensate. (Although I should note that it seems to feed heavily into the stereotype of Japanese believing that other cultures are savage, what with Leo's actual behavior and the way Yuiko imagines his life away from Japan.)
All of the charm I mentioned comes from the characters. Both Yuiko and Leo are endearing, and while most of the supporting cast fades into the background a bit, a character known as "Boss"--a gang leader who initially tries to pick a fight with Leo but immediately softens towards him--was really pretty awesome. As for the plot, I find my feelings on it are very neutral. I'm interested in reading volume 2, but that's because of how adorable Yuiko and Leo's relationship is, not because I'm dying to find out all about things like Leo's family history. But if that's what volume 2 is about, I'll be happy to go along for the ride.
Volume 1 of Beast Master also includes one of Motomi's early stories, "Fly".
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVApZyFlFdjcvVMJl``x1259076383``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421532018``xKyousuke Motomi``x``x``x``xRomance``xComedy``x``xJN Productions``xLance Caselman``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB-``x9.99``x150``x225``xBeast Master 1 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Real v6``xbarblien``xWe get a lot of review manga in this house. Some of it we’re really happy to see (Yotsuba, Naruto, Vagabond, Pluto, Hunter X Hunter, etc.), some of it, not so much (those will remain nameless). But every time a Viz package comes in the mail, we both have the same look of expectation in our eyes. We both mentally think to ourselves, “Please, please, please, may Real be amongst the review copies.” Real is the one of the only manga that my husband (as he always gets to it first) drops everything for in order to read it. He eats it up, gets a happy grin on his face, then waits impatiently for me to read it. I always hesitate for a minute. I’m not into sports manga and I’m not into slice of life anything, so I always wonder, “Why do I love this series so much?” I hesitate, then I do the same thing. I try to delay the pleasure of reading the book. I try to savor it. But then I just gobble it up, ending up with the same happy grin on my face, knowing in my heart that I’ve just once again read something really, really, truly special.
Real is about wheelchair basketball. Don’t let that be a turn-off to you. There’s nothing depressing about the series, although it can, at times, be harrowing. What’s more, there’s nothing artificially “inspiring” about the series. In lesser hands, such a series could be a strident, message-filled mess. In Takehiko (Slam Dunk, Vagabond) Inoue’s hands, however, it becomes about as real as real can be. Real isn’t per se about the competition or the sports. Instead, it’s about (and I’m quoting here) “Strength in the face of adversity.” It’s about finding your dreams, finding a new goal, finding a new reason to live after your hopes and expectations have been dashed. It’s about finding purpose, which is something we all need to do with our lives. Rather than just being about pain, it’s also about finding one’s way after one’s way has been blocked.
This is a series for older teens and adults who want something they can believe in. I can’t recommend it enough.
Perfect art, great storytelling…
I’m out of words. Just read it.
``xEkVApZypFlAlVruXKI``x1259076038``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421519941``xTakehiko Inoue``x``x``x``xDrama``xSports``x``xJohn Werry``x``xViz Signature``xOlder Teen``xA+``x12.99``x150``x225``xREALv6.jpg``x``x``x``x Boys Over Flowers: Jewelry Box``xYsabet``xWhen they're done well, there's something special about books like Boys Over Flowers: Jewelry Box: they're not exactly part of an original series, but they're a chance for an author and readers alike to revisit beloved characters and, sometimes, see what direction their lives are going in after the series proper ends. In this case, the new stories in the Jewelry Box, which take place a year after the end of the series, feel as if they were written immediately after Boys Over Flowers concluded, with no noticeable change in Kamio's portrayal of the characters.
Here we are one year later, and Tsukushi and Tsukasa haven't seen each other in the flesh since his graduation. While they've been trying to keep their relationship alive through phone calls, Tsukasa is honoring his agreement with his mother and living abroad while he learns the ropes of the Domyoji empire, and Tsukushi, who's just graduated herself, has found a job rather than going on to university. She's also become closer friends with Rui, who she's started addressing by only his given name--not the sort of thing likely to go over well with Tsukasa and his jealous streak.
As the series so often did, the Jewelry Box takes the characters around the world for Tsukasa and Tsukushi's reunion, and again as Kamio pulls the focus off them in the second half of the book and gives us a look through Rui's eyes as he contemplates their relationship and the way their lives intersect with his. (One bit of the bonus material that I particularly liked was the page of notes on Kamio's experiences with traveling to scout out locations where she wanted to set pieces of the story.)
I found myself really enjoying this volume. Because it's a one-shot, there's no room for it to have any major conflicts that overhaul the characters' lives or the way we see them, but that also means it doesn't have any of the over-the-top plot twists that sometimes aggravated me during the main series, which relied on them heavily. Instead, the book is tightly focused on the characters, and the result feels like spending an hour or so with people you used to know well and catching up quickly on how things have been going. It's not high drama, but it's pleasant, so I'd call this a success.
Boys Over Flowers: Jewelry Box includes so much bonus material at the end that it's almost like a mini-fanbook tucked away back there.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVlVEyZuVYXdAauDD``x1258516745``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421530872``xYoko Kamio``x``x``x``xDrama``xRomance``x``xJN Productions``x``xViz``xTeen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xBoys Over Flowers Jewelry Box cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Maximum Ride v2``xjoykim``xMaximum Ride is the story of six friends, led by Max Ride, who are the products of some unscrupulous genetic engineering. When they were younger, a sympathetic scientist helped them escape from the school that had made them by knitting together human and avian DNA. Now the school is hunting them down, and Max and the others realize that they won't be safe until they get some more answers about where they come from and what they were made for.
This global manga is adapted by NaRae Lee from James Patterson's bestselling adventure novels for teens by the same name. Volume 2 of this series covers events from the second half of the first book in the series, The Angel Experiment. I haven't read volume 1 of the manga, but I have read the original prose novel. And I think this may be a rare case where an adaptation improves on the source material. The manga adaptation is less weighed down by Patterson's bland prose, and the addition of stylish visuals to the action-packed plot is effective.
It helps, of course, that Patterson's story has a lot of manga-friendly elements, such as appealing young people (with wings!), gruesome monsters, epic escapes, and dramatic backgrounds that range from Death Valley to New York City. The manga is at its best when Lee takes full advantage of this with her art, as when she draws Max and her "flock" in full flight as they get themselves out of another scrape. (They do get into rather a lot of them!) Lee's character designs for the flock are attractive and easily distinguished. It's a good sign, actually, when the characters are recognizable even after they've disguised themselves in an attempt to avoid capture. Her art handles the villains less well. The Erasers are generic wolf-men; they are as forgettable as the low-level minions in a Shonen Jump fighting series.
The weaker aspects of the story tend to come straight out of the source material. Most of the characters other than Max do not have much of a personality; in that respect, they do not live up to the promise of their character designs. That's particularly true of Fang, Max's tall, dark, and handsome love interest. He's supposed to be brooding; he comes off as a blank. Iggy and Gasman are also underdeveloped, though that's slightly less problematic because they also get less page time. They aren't supposed to make readers swoon. As for Max, she does get some character development, but for a person with wings, she spends a distressing amount of time swooning and being caught by others.
The plot is a standard one that blends together a lot of familiar tropes: genetic engineering, evil schools, psychic kids, and (of course) teens who will save the world. It's not boring, but it's also not original enough to be much of a hook on its own. This is not a story about shiny ideas; it's a story that provides excuses for beautiful people with wings to get into really cool fight scenes.
Reading volume 2 of Maximum Ride didn't leave me particularly interested in continuing with the story in volume 3. It's not bad, but it's also not making a good argument for being worth my time. I do hope, however, that the future gives us a chance to see more work from NaRae Lee. I would definitely like to know what she can do when she is not being constrained by the limits of someone else's story.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkVlVEyFpEztpjbRQu``x1258516301``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x075952968X``xJames Patterson``xNaRae Lee``x``x``xAdventure``xSci-Fi``x``x``x``xYen Press``xTeen``xB-``x10.99``x150``x225``xmaxride_2.jpg``x``x``x``x More Stuff I'm Looking At: Mid-November``xParkCooper``xBlack Jack v7
Vertical
Well, it's time once again to sell you on the wonderfulness that is Black Jack, my favorite entirely-unlicensed genius Japanese doctor, and the best way I've figured out is to tell you about some key stories in a given volume.
"The Gray Mansion": Even Barbara enjoyed this Hammer-Horror-esque tale of siblings gone violent... after I cleverly edited it so Pinoko wasn't in it (Barbara finds Black Jack's assistant Pinoko eye-roll-worthy).
"Unexploded Bomb": Tezuka parcels out yet another story of Black Jack's youth-- this one a huge reveal instead of a tiny hint, since Black Jack here gets revenge on the guy who was most responsible for certain unexploded land mines-- revenge for Black Jack, but especially for Black Jack's late mother...
"High and Low": Barbara also enjoyed this story of a low-class construction worker and the head of a huge company who come to befriend one another because they're the same rare blood type...
It's good! It's good, I tell you! Please don't miss this volume of Black Jack, brought to you by Vertical! Dr. Tenzo Kenma of SyFy's MONSTER is a piker compared to Black Jack!
Barb also enjoyed the writing at this link:
http://www.vertical-inc.com/news/2009/09/23/new-services-added-to-black-jacks-health-package/
You're So Cool, v5
Yen Press
This just arrived at my house recently. This extremely Kare-Kano-like manhwa (or so I felt last time) kind of amused me a month or so ago, with its tale of a very goofy girl and her very troubled-by-a-bad-uncaring-mother boyfriend (by the way, V.B.Rose volume 6 is now on sale!). Well, things take a slightly less derivative turn this volume as the boyfriend finds out mom has cancer and is probably gonna die. He reacts to this news by being really cold to her, and promptly shows up at goofy girlfriend's house with a really high fever. She and her almost-certifiably-insane-and-yet-somehow-she's-a-doctor? mom nurse him back to health. He decides he's had enough of this life, and will go study abroad in America. He dumps girl-girl and becomes a recluse. Girl-girl (who incidentally is extremely terrible at speaking English, so this new plan is anathema to her on every level) checks around for her tall dark man, and a dream suggests to her what her next move should be.
The art in this story is of that bizarre kind where it sometimes feels like I'm reading a high-school soap-opera story from another planet where the humanoids have INSANELY HUGE EYES and INSANELY TALL BODIES WITH HUGE HANDS. "Isn't that sort of like a lot of manga/manhwa?" you ask. No no-- those beings don't really look human at all, _realistically_, but they do look like vaguely-proportionate _cartoons_ of humans. These creatures in this series look like realistic humans... but 8-foot-tall humans with triple-sized eyes and giant hands. Maybe it's a future where people have been genetically engineered to play basketball. In the dark. But nonetheless, I find their emotional struggles kind of engaging. Best Supporting Alien Oscar nomination to the girl's insane mom.
You're So Cool will conclude with the next volume. A manga that wraps up its story in just six volumes? What a country! Sign on for You're So Cool now, commitmentphobes, and enjoy a short-for-manga/manhwa story of a man who could be your hero and the girl whose mom has (perhaps not entirely inadvertently) prepared her for dealing with any amount of insanity.
Slam Dunk v7
Viz
I have to say, I was a bit disappointed by this volume of Slam Dunk; most of it is one big long fight, without the cool powers or even special moves or even clever banter that make all the other manga volumes in the world that consist mostly of one big long fight cool. Big Red and his new rival for coolness make friends, in a very nice couple of scenes where they discover their common ground: they're both fools for love, losers with the ladies. Compassion and mutual respect is born! But unless you need to see this meeting of the lonely hearts and minds for yourself, I feel I must warn you that this volume is kind of skippable in my opinion. The cover's a very pretty shade of orange, though.
Cat Paradise v2
Yen Press
Well, I told you Cat Paradise was pretty good last month, and it continues to maintain its quality this time as well. The main cat and heroine work on moves to try to increase their usefulness... a bad bad villainess is set loose on her and a few other members of Team Good Guys-- it's a rather long fight, but quite a suspenseful one! One really gets a life-or-death feeling from it. We also introduce a new hero/cat duo's powers: The cat likes to take naps. When his human gives the signal, the cat falls asleep, and everyone nearby enters the cat's dream, where reality is exactly like reality-- except with a special spin that the human and cat dream up-- and they imagine themselves to be unstoppable! The problem: the cat's nap only ever lasts a handful of minutes (it feels like about 10). If we can't defeat Team Bad Guys in that amount of time, Team Good Guys is on its own, and weaker than ever... I like the Little Romeo personality of the new (human) character, I like the suspense of a battle that really felt life and death, and I like the creator's sense of pacing this story in general. If you're man enough (or girl enough?) to like stories with lots of cats, it's one of Yen's best titles, frankly. Feel free to check it out!
Oishinbo a La Carte: Vegetables
Viz Media
I really didn’t like the first volume of Oishinbo. I didn’t like the art, and I didn’t like the story, such as there was of one. This one, I like better. I’m surprised, because the art’s about the same. However, this one hardly has any of the main character’s dad in it, thus losing the forced aspect of the series’ conflict that is their adversarial relationship, and that’s what most irritated me last time. Somehow, this time, a second exposure to the art softened my feelings about it, and grouping the stories in the book by theme—vegetables—helped make the book seem like it had more of a purpose than the hodgepodge of the first volume. (My complaining probably caused my Viz contact to remember not to send me the second volume, which focuses on wine and sake. I don’t have a big moral objection to it, but I don’t actually drink much myself, so it’s just as well.) This volume’s focus on vegetables helped give it an added raison d’etre, and indeed, a number of the stories focus on helping children not hate vegetables, so that felt like it had a doubly-important purpose, since it doesn’t suggest you trick them, or even dress the food up, but advises actual tips on how to cook them so kids don’t hate them. The tips seem plausible, too. So, for this volume, at least, I retract my former intense dislike of Oishinbo in general. It’s still not very pleasing to the eye, but at least I feel like it has a purpose for existing (this time, anyway). So, while it’s rather dated in its style... hey, vegetables are still vegetables. It got Barb and I to go tempura some eggplant. Yay!
Kieli: The Dead Sleep in the Wilderness
Yen Press
Normally I don’t review things translated by members of ML, including friends, and the Nibleys are both. And I’m not doing so now, either: this isn’t a review, it’s what I’m looking at. And right now what I’m looking at is this prose novel—not a manga, although it does have occasional pictures. A girl and a boy can both see ghosts. In fact, he’s a special breed of person who was created for the purpose of warfare. The two of them help a ghost find rest, and have a bit of romance in the meantime. If you love supernatural manga but wish you could combine them with the pleasures you get from reading prose novels, well, allow me to make you aware of this book brought to you by Yen Press. While I’m at it, volumes 1 and 2 of the Nibley-translated Higurashi: When They Cry are also on sale right now from the same company. There’s some twins, and some trespassing on sacred ground, and some murders and maybe some curses and demons. I’m not reviewing it. I’m just makin’ you aware of certain facts, people. So be aware.
``xEkVlVEVVkpikQJFZDs``x1258515520``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xblackjack7.jpg MangaChat: Monster, the Anime (on SyFy)``xParkCooper``xBarbara and I, having read the series, have been watching most of the episodes of the anime MONSTER, by the co-creator of the beloved manga/anime MASTER KEATON, via the cable channels of SyFy and Thriller.
Barb: Wanna have a quick chat about Monster on SyFy and Thriller?
Park: Sure! ...I miss the music for Master Keaton, but if I don't compare them, Monster's theme music is fine... Monster, like Hunter x Hunter, is also indeed benefiting from the TV Factor... adds structure.
Barb: As I get older, I get more and more into japanese voice work. I miss the idea of hearing Johan in Japanese...and hearing that victim who said "the monster is coming"...but the populist in me wants Monster to be a big hit, so I'm watching it... the story somehow seems more believable as an anime... better pacing...
Park: At first I thought I was going to hate the girl who does the voice of Eva, but when he walked out on her, I thought she started developing a bit of edge to her voice. So I said, "Okay, well maybe the way the voice actress is playing it is that Eva gets her edge as a result of being dumped for the first time in her life, not that she exactly had edge all along..." It's funny that we have higher expectations for manga plots than for tv. But you know, I think we do. When those plots don't exactly have the supernatural in them. Or sci-fi, etc. Although Monster sometimes pushes the envelope just a little.
Barb: Some people might find it a little low-key, at first....if only they could have gotten to episode 4, where it hits the fan, a tad sooner. Now, the pace is okay for me, but CSI types might inititally find the pace a little slow....
Park: Yes. I think you have summed that up well. The pace is also pushing it, but it's within my Okay Range, yes.
Barb: ...Oh, Eva! I'm looking forward to hearing her all bitter....but I'm sad that she won't be in japanese either.....
Park: Yes. Actually... that's an interesting point. there IS more edge in everyone's voices in Japanese.
Barb: The way I feel is, it's here, it's free, it's good....and I want it now, so thanks, TV....
Park: Sometimes in english dubs I feel like everyone's last job was announcing clearly and sensibly for commercial voiceovers, and that now they're stuck in that tone.
Barb: I dunno if I'd rewatch it in Japanese when it comes out...when it's a mystery/suspense thing, when you're done, you're done....
Park: Tenzo's doing all right... although I nearly called him Keaton...
And I agree with you about rewatching it... But... don't you want to hear Johan? In Japanese?
I do.
Barb: I suppose someone's posted it online in Japanese, but I like legal showings best....and I hate watching things on the computer....
Park: Now, in Fruits, the voice work was about as good in each language. That's one of the secrets to its success besides the direction.
Understood.
Barb: Okay, having the same (?) guy that did the voice of Master Keaton doing Dr. Tenma is a real draw for me....
Park: But Johan is one of those characters where it really matters in Japanese. In Yu Yu Haakusho... who cared, really? I liked Kuwabara in English, anyway, so whatever.
On the other hand, the first two seasons of Yu Yu were very much watch-with-half-an-eye/ear.
Barb: A lot of Fruits lovers might disagree with you, but I think Fruits had above-average American voicework.... And yeah, about that last thing you just said....
Park: But Johan... Akito... Orochimaru...
Barb: Yeah, exactly! Japanese voice actors do incredible villains.... Remember how in fruits, I kept having you switch back and forth from Japanese to English for Akito's voice? I mean... what a choice!
Park: Japanese bishonen villains care as much for human life as they care what you think of their lifestyle-- nothing!
Barb: Yeah, and Johan's one of them...
Park: Which brings us back to... exactly.
Barb: So, Monster's direction....
Park: Hm. Well, I've seen worse. But I've seen better.
Barb: I really haven't noticed it....
Park: It makes no mistakes, but it's flashy as a one-dollar bill.
Barb: Oh, until that one episode with Johan in the hospital....that was really well done.... The direction is a little old school....
Park: I noticed the use of close-ups on Mr. Junkers' freaking out... and the lighting on-- yeah exactly. The lighting use in the parking garage. I guess we'll pull out direction when we need it, like the string section in PSYCHO
Barb: It's all so low-key... it could crank up the hysteria a little more....
Park: (...PS if your name was Mr. Junkers I don't care if you've got a weapon of mass destruction strapped to your back-- I couldn't possibly take you seriously. I'm so glad the J is silent)
Yes, actually. That would have helped us understand Tenzo going frozen, a little more DUN-DUN-DUUUNNN would. As the twins would say. Okay, any last thoughts?
Barb: I mean, in its spiritual ancestor, Master Keaton, which every GOOD anime fan should watch, the intelligent, low-key direction worked well with the material, but here, I guess, being an American and into flashy things, I could use a bit more YAARGGGH!
My final thoughts? Watch it. So far, either a high B or a low B plus....
Park: Yeah, I agree. I think I'll give it a low B+.
Barb: Anime for grown ups! Come on, people, you gotta love that!
Park: P.S. I'm looking forward to the Magnificent Herr Steiner
Barb: P.S.S. Oh, God, yes, my favorite character!
(MONSTER is brought to America by Viz Media.)
``xEkVlVEuuVZPEUznUya``x1258514457``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xMonster_VIZ_Media.jpg Yotsuba&! v2``xbarblien``xThe second volume of Yotsuba&! was when I discovered I had just made a friend for life. Specifically, it was in the second story, which is a tip of the hat to one of my favorite films, Leon: The Professional. In the story, our little girl Yotsuba sees Leon and goes on a “killing” rampage with her squirt gun. It is, in a word, hilarious, as well as right up my alley. I could have seen myself doing something just like that at her age.
In point of fact, one of the things I love about Yotsuba is that I’ve rarely seen such an accurate, more joyful, and more modern depiction of what it’s like to be an inventive, intelligent, mischievous (but not naughty), brave (but somewhat easily freaked out and enchanted) child. Oh, yeah, I like Little Lulu and Dennis the Menace quite well, but they seem to be representing children from another time and place, as foreign to me as little Nell in Dickens’ Victorian London. Yotsuba is the rare work that shows what it’s like to be a kid nowadays.
I also like that, while Yotsuba has a tendency to try and imitate adults, she is only five years old and really doesn’t totally get how the world works yet. She occasionally says things that are a little too harsh or frank, but she’s also got a secret sensitive side. Like real kids, she can be hurt by an insensitive remark. Fortunately, most remarks go over her head. And she recovers quickly, which is good, because when she cries, she cries LOUDLY. This kid feels like a real kid. Not what an adult thinks a kid is like, but what kids really act like.
What can I say? Yotsuba’s terrific.
``xEkVlVEFpFkvHGhVcNJ``x1258513032``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x031607389X``xKiyohiko Azuma``x``x``x``xComedy``x``x``xStephen Paul``x``xYen Press``xAll Ages``xA+``x10.99``x150``x225``xyotsuba_2.gif``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Less Than Perfect``xNibley``xThis week's column I think is going to be a warning, mostly to ourselves. Thanks to our current project, we've had the opportunity to go back and reread some of our older translations. It's kind of like... you know how after a manga artist has been around for a while and gotten really popular, they'll release special editions of their work, and then the artist will write an afterword or a chat column or something talking about how interesting or painful it was to look back at her older works? Or I guess they might not release those in English so much. Oh wait, no, I'm pretty sure a bunch of Hana to Yume artists put older one-shots at the end of graphic novels of their popular titles. So maybe you do know what I'm talking about.
Anyway. It's kind of like that. We'll go back and find certain pieces of dialogue that we translated and think either, “Wow, what a funny line!” or, “Seriously, we translated it to THAT!? We obviously were not paying very much attention, or there were some harmful fumes around or something.” (As a side note, we do usually give the credit for the good lines to the manga artist, but there are times when, as translators, we can tell that the wording choice was our own and we are egotistical enough to call ourselves geniuses for those.)
The worst is when we find a translation that not only sounds kind of strange but is also pretty much the exact opposite of what the character said. In those cases, our first instinct is to shift the blame to the adaptation writer, but we can't just throw away the possibility that it was our fault to begin with. Everyone makes mistakes, after all. I seem to remember mentioning this before, but sometimes, I'll be looking back and forth from the book to the computer screen, and we'll be changing stuff around, and Athena will be distracted with some other part of the job, and important parts of the sentence, like the main verb or the word “not,” will somehow not get typed.
Of course, some of the problems actually come from lack of experience/knowledge. We remember being horrified when we realized, after turning in the script, that a certain numerical term that we had trouble with in volume six of Fruits Basket meant “three days a week.” That wasn't what we had translated it to. So we checked the final version just now, and fortunately it looks like someone down the line caught the mistake and was able to fix it. But that's kind of... the Japanese word is “kuyashii,” which is often translated to “frustrating,” which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Anyway, we still feel bad (or “kuyashii”) that we weren't the ones to do the job right. (Just remember, it's all for the good of the series!)
Come to think of it, we recently made a mistake in volume... one of those volumes of Negima! (23, Athena reminds me)... when they're talking about aegis cruisers. Did I mention this before? They were talking about aegis cruisers, but we didn't realize they were a common thing, since aegis is a Greek mythology term, and they use those as proper nouns all the time in Negima!. So we thought it was a specific ship called the Aegis. Wrong. Fortunately, a fan pointed it out (we also found out around the same time from a clue on Jeopardy!, which just goes to show you can learn stuff from all kinds of places) and we're told the reprints will have it fixed. Yay!
Wow, this column is kind of starting to be depressing. How many other mistakes are out there, confusing all the fans!? Oh yeah, there's the one about the matching scars in Saiyuki. (Somewhere in volume two, Hakkai's supposed to say something to Sanzo like, “I don't want to have matching scars,” but that's not what we had him say.) That one pains us to think about. We got it wrong for two reasons. First, lack of experience. We still didn't have a firm grasp on “soroi (matching).” And second, we had seen a different translation of Saiyuki, which also had it wrong, and we got ourselves stuck on a mistake.
Fortunately, I think there's hope. We have a lot more experience in Japanese now, for one thing (forget about the Negima! one for a second--that was a military term and not (I hope) common knowledge; we can't be expected to know everything! (Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses.)). For another thing, we have more experience searching for things we don't know (I said FORGET about the Negima! thing!). For a third thing, we've learned we need to be more aware of what might need searching out (now you can remember the Negima! thing). And also, we've learned the value of proofreading. Plus we have this column to help us remember that we're not perfect, which means we need to work harder.
``xEkVZAyllFEFczFlWeR``x1257968831``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Yakitate!! Japan v20``xStevenBari``xDetermined to prove the world wrong and win the Yakitate Baking competition, Azuma, Kawachi and Kanmuri are out to make Japan known for the best bread. But they’ve got competition-- and they aren’t normal chefs. Then again, Yakitate isn’t a normal competition.
Takashi Hashiguchi’s hilarious adventure of culinary competition is filled with bizarre occurrences, strange characters, and even more bewildering winning dishes. Yet, Hashiguchi brilliantly melds cookbook acuity with good old manga absurdity.
Volume 20 has Azuma’s team facing an old competitor in Kawachi, who, due to a lamentable series of events, has become half man, half pig. Yet, Katsuo, the pig-man, is hardly regarded by anyone else as freakish or out of the ordinary (save for jabs at his swine-like stench and homeliness). Still, this is a world where the competition judge somehow transmogrifies time and space to reflect both the struggle of the competitors as well as Japanese wordplay. Of course, all of this is to determine who can make the best pork sandwich.
Nonetheless, this utter absurdity is Yakitate’s charm. There are few moments of predictability for such a straightforward premise: three heroes out to win a competition. Naturally, there wouldn’t be a story if they didn’t at least win most or all of these challenges. Yakitate, however, keeps you on the edge of your seat, as suddenly the kitchen and characters are morphed into a parody of another manga, Saiyuki (a retelling of the Chinese tale Journey Into The West), where Kawachi and Katsuo must face each other as Sagojo (a kappa) and Chohakkai (a pig monster).
Finally, Hashiguchi’s art is incredible. His crisp, clean style and character design are just surprising for this series’ subject matter. With extraordinary attention to detail, from Katsuo’s award-winning pork sandwich to Kawachi’s muscle definition, Hasiguchi has a grasp on the real as well as the ridiculous.
Yakitate vol. 20 may leave you scratching your head at first, but soon you’ll come to understand that anything could happen, including that three Japanese kids can bake the world’s best bread.
``xEkVZAyluZyJgzZtKST``x1257968476``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421522373``xTakashi Hashiguchi``x``x``x``xComedy``x``x``xNoritaka Minami``x``xViz Media``xOlder Teen``xB``x9.99``x150``x225``xYakitate_20.jpg``x``x``x``x Vampire Knight v8``xYsabet``xNot to understate things too badly, but volume 8 of Vampire Knight took the story in a direction I wasn't expecting at all. My usual policy is to avoid spoiling major plot twists in my reviews, even if they're revealed within the first few pages of a volume, but I don't see a way to avoid that here. So if you absolutely don't want to know any details about what happens in the first third or so of this volume, now is the time to back away.
(I usually assume that back cover copy for most given books will give away more than I'm happy with, as a reader, but this time around VIZ's marketing people have also very carefully worked to avoid mentioning anything that happens after the first few pages of vol. 8. Nicely done, marketing. The front cover artwork is actually more explicitly spoilery than anything you can read on the back.)
What vol. 8 gives us is the vampiric equivalent of a Sleeping Beauty story: Yuki, who's been haunted by bloody visions, is awakened from her years-long amnesia when Kaname drinks from her and gives her some of his blood in return. (To be fair, a vampire's bite is usually taken as a metaphor for sex, not a kiss, but...) But Yuki doesn't become a vampire; rather, the illusion of humanity she's been shrouded in all this time disappears, returning her to her true nature--a vampire whose very own Prince Charming turns out to be her older brother.
This raises all kinds of immediate implications and questions. Needless to say, it's a This Changes Everything moment for both Yuki and the readers; it also probably goes without saying that Zero doesn't take the revelation well (and Hino handles his moment of discovery very well). Beyond that, it's interesting to see which characters were and weren't already aware of Yuki's nature, and to watch the reaction of the other vampires, especially since Yuki's blood is as pure as Kaname's.
I'm still somewhat adrift when it comes to the politics in this series, probably because I've read most of the volumes so far apart. Since their importance is becoming more obvious with each installment, it may be time to go back and reread from the beginning, which is always a good excuse to look for foreshadowing and see how well the groundwork was laid for any major plot twist. (A lack of solid groundwork won't keep me from enjoying a series, but it doesn't go unnoticed; for example, it's been years since I've read Mars, and the two things I always remember about it are that I really enjoyed it and that its habit of bringing plot twists literally out of nowhere struck me as a real weakness.)
To sum up, this volume did an impressive job of completely changing my expectation of where this series is going. Now it's time to wait and see how well Hino continues that momentum in the volumes to come.
Volume 8 of Vampire Knight includes a two-page bonus comic and several pages of editor's notes on the characters' names and a bit of terminology.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkVZAyZZuudkGfBXdo``x1257967744``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421530732``xMatsuri Hino``x``x``x``xDrama``xSupernatural``x``xTomo Kimura``xTomo Kimura``xViz``xOlder Teen``xA-``x9.99``x150``x225``xVampire_Knight_8_cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Cirque du Freak v1``xjoykim``xDarren Shan and Steve Leonard are best friends with a shared taste for creepy things. Steve is a fan of horror movies and has an interest in the occult, while Darren's favorite things in the world are spiders. When a mysterious circus arrives in their town, both boys are wild to see to the spectacles. But their viewing of the show has unexpected consequences that will put their friendship to the test.
The Cirque du Freak manga is adapted from a long series of teen horror novels by Irish author Darren Shan. (Yes, the author's pen name is the same as his lead character's name.) While some English-language novel series have been adapted directly in English-language sequential art (see: Warriors and Maximum Ride), this manga was actually adapted into manga in Japan from the novels, and then licensed by Yen Press for U.S. publication. As a result, it still reads right-to-left, as this version does not flip the Japanese version. I haven't read the original novels, so this manga adaptation was my introduction to this story.
Like so many series openers, Volume 1 of Cirque du Freak is mostly setup. The chapters here serve primarily to introduce readers to Darren, his friends, his family, and Mr. Crepsley, a performer from the Cirque du Freak who catches both Darren's and Steve's attention. The actual events unfold in an extremely predictable manner. In fact, the ominous hints on the very first page pretty much give away the entire volume's plot. I appreciate foreshadowing in storytelling, but good foreshadowing isn't so obvious that it renders reading the actual manga unnecessary.
Arai's art is energetic but occasionally awkward. The characters' faces and figures sometimes seem distorted, as if they were too hastily drawn. I also wished that Arai had come up with a better design for the important character of Crepsley. Crespley's character design reminds me too much of the minor villains from Rurouni Kenshin; it may be physically exaggerated, but it is short on personality.
Cirque du Freak doesn't break any new ground as a horror story. Still, its emphasis on thrills and action makes it a good alternative for those who are tired of reading about ageless monsters with the emotional maturity and tortured love lives of emo high school students. Why should shojo fans get all the vampires? Fans of the novel will definitely want to pick this one up. Other readers, however, may be better served by waiting to see if the second volume manages to build on all the setup work done by the first.
Volume 1 of Cirque du Freak includes an excerpt from Darren Shan's novel and a behind-the-scenes comic by Arai on the making of this manga adaptation.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkVZAyZuVueSsicZpS``x1257967454``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759530416``xDarren Shan``xTakahiro Arai``x``x``xHorror``xFantasy``x``xStephen Paul``x``xYen Press``xTeen``xC+``x10.99``x150``x225``xcirque_1.jpg``x``x``x``x Sarasah v2``xCharlesWebb``xWhile I’m not the target audience for sprawling, time-tossed period romances peppered with political intrigue in historical Korea, I was nonetheless charmed by my introduction to Sarasah with this second volume.
The story sees modern teen Ji-Hae landing in “ye olde” Korea as Lady Ari – through circumstances which are likely covered in the first volume – where she hopes to make things right with her boyfriend, Ja Yun, in a past life. Unfortunately, the only way to get close to Ja Yun is to pretend to be a boy named Seung-Hyu and get tied up in the political intrigues of the age. Further complicating things are Lady Ari’s doting parents who want her to be a proper lady and Bub-Min, a local vassal who sees through her boyish disguise and offers to help her (while furthering his own secret agenda).
There’s quite a lot going on here without even mentioning the coldhearted Misa-Heul who commands Ja Yun’s loyalty totally, or Ja Yun’s lover/Ji-Hae’s rival, or Ji-Hae’s complicated amnesia cover story. Worse still, if she wants to get closer to Ja Yun she’ll have to join a sort of elite youth social club called the Hwa-rang-do…
Like I said, it’s a lot.
It’s dense with plot yet fairly easy to follow. Ji-Hae/Lady Ari/Seung-Hyu is the slowest part in the machine so she’s always being updated without the plot feeling like it’s grinding to a halt to deliver a block of exposition. The well-trod gender-bending plot is invigorated by Ji-Hae’s anachronistic behavior – she’s hardly convincing as either a boy or a girl in that age and has to constantly scramble to keep up appearances. While her endgame is unclear – what does she hope to gain by getting close to Ja Yun – Ji-Hae is nonetheless a compelling protagonist given her pluck and determination.
It also helps that the additional layers of intrigue in the story make the world feel a bit richer to the reader even if it’s somewhat unclear what the stakes are or what the various agendas are. While my ability to follow the story was initially complicated somewhat by the bishonen-style art which generalizes the genders of many of the characters, the narrative nonetheless drew me in and maintained a fairly easy-to-follow flow.
This is greatly due to the unique voices provided to each of the characters. Ryu Ryang successfully creates unique identities and behaviors for the cast, negating my qualms about the visual style and allowing me to focus on the story.
I’m pleased to have been pleased by a book that I otherwise wouldn’t have read. By making the characters interesting and the circumstances of the story energetic and complex (but not complicated) Ryu Ryang has made this book something that I would heartily recommend.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at Monster In Your Veins
``xEkVZlyVEylxZIYGGYQ``x1257865168``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759530165``xRyu Ryang``x``x``x``xRomance``xSupernatural``x``xAbigail Blackman``x``xYen Press``xTeen``xA-``x10.99``x150``x225``xSARASAH_2.gif``x``x``x``x Naruto v46``xbarblien``xBoy, take a break from reading a manga for awhile and you miss a lot. After Naruto’s mentor, the one and only pervy sage... I don’t want to go into it, spoiler-wise, but it was sad, so I took a break. And now in Volume 46, Naruto’s whole village is in deep doo doo. There’s a guy named Pain, who is almost ridiculously strong…and the village is rubble. The fifth hokage had to expend two tons of chakra just to keep the villagers from all dying. Naruto’s friend Choji’s Dad almost floated up to the big ramen shop in the sky, that’s how bad his injuries were. And Naruto’s sensei Kakashi, who I’ve been worried for awhile... I honestly don’t know his status. Nice cliff hanger there. Hope that he’s okay.
As to a review, I’m of mixed feelings about the series as it stands. My feeling is that if you love fight mangas where slowly but surely the heroes and villains get near Godlike powers that fill up astounding splash pages worth of action, you owe it to yourself to glom into Naruto, the sooner the better. Yeah, I know, it’s popular and some people don’t like popular, even if the popularity is based on how good the series is. And believe me, if you’re into battle mangas, Naruto is the Beatles of such a genre. Hugely popular (and deservedly so), but also excellent on all levels. This manga will be remembered. It will be influential beyond belief. It will be enjoyed long after the Naruto craze is over, I’m pretty sure of that.
Then why are my feelings mixed? Because I left comics in part because of the disease I call “Superhero elephantitis”. What I mean by that is that when a hero gets more and more powers, we spend more and more time watching him/her train. Then after awhile, he or she gets so powerful that in the end he or she can only fight other godlike creatures. There’s no room for smaller tales or smaller concerns such as character interaction at that point. For example, Superman could fight an unarmed crook, but it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. So the superhero ends up fighting to save the world every freakin' storyline! Bigness can lead to lack of creativity, boredom, and reader alienation. I fear for Naruto, excellent series that it is, because there’s no place to go after one’s turned one’s amp up to eleven. And how’s the series going to ever get that Naruto/Sasuke fight that we know has to happen eventually if it uses all of its chakra on manufactured threats to the Leaf Village?
Part of me wonders if we’re at some type of turning point for the series. Part of me says that it’ll just keep getting bigger and bigger until I won’t have fun reading it any more.
Yet, people seem to like “bigger is better”, even if I have problems with it. For instance, my husband is still nuts about this series and thinks it just keeps building in battle manga-y goodness. He still breathlessly reads the series cover to cover, excited and as happy as a kid every volume, still enthused and amused at every juncture, just like he used to be about superheroes before event fatigue killed his enthusiasm and turned him into a shonen-loving mangahead. I’m happy for him, honestly I am. A good fight manga is hard to find. I’m just a little knackered concerning big bangs in comics and manga, regardless of quality. Probably just a phase I’m going through.
I still love the characters in Naruto. I still worry about them and mourn their losses. So, in spite of my own personal prejudices and concerns, I give this volume an unabashed B Plus.``xEkVZlyulFukJqtcdTt``x1257864834``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421533049``xMasashi Kishimoto``x``x``x``xAction``xAdventure``x``xMari Morimoto``x``xViz Media``xTeen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xNaruto46.jpg``x``x``x``x Yotsuba&! v1``xbarblien``xThere was a time, back when I was writing for comics websites, that I wouldn’t have admitted how much I love Yotsuba&! I wouldn’t have admitted it because I was overly concerned with what male comics fans thought of me. If I didn’t just read the toughest grim and gritty comics, I thought, I’d no longer be respected by fanboys. Then something happened that changed my mind. I got a condescending, ignorant, patronizing e-mail from a fanboy concerning my internet article, “Why I Read Manga.” Without addressing any of my article’s points (I doubt he even read the whole thing), he told me that as a female who read manga, I couldn’t help but be anything but ignorant concerning American comics. Manga was for girls, superhero comics were for guys, he reasoned. I read manga, so my opinions couldn’t possibly count.
In short, I’d just been locked into the manga closet.
Never mind how many comics I’ve read over the years, how big a fan I used to be of comics, or how much I’ve written about them on the internet, I was, just because I dared to say I read manga, a GIRL. Not a woman, a girl. A frilly-dressed, shoujo-loving, GIRL. Never mind that manga isn’t a genre, let alone one that only appeals to females, never mind how manga connects with the casual readership while most comics are intentionally designed to only appeal to hardcore comics fans, never mind how, if we must generalize, comics appeal to an aging readership, some of which loathe the untried and untested, while manga attracts adventurous readers of all ages, especially the young. You read manga and you’re female, you’re automatically rendered into an instant stereotype by some male comics readers.
Seeing that my every attempt to show the androgynous nature of my mind over the years, as well as my love for hardboiled fiction of all kinds, now means nothing to the ignorant, I’m no longer afraid. My reputation in some fanboys’ eyes is suspect anyway just ‘coz I fill out a bra, so here goes nothing.
I love Yotsuba. I don’t care if it’s a sweet, gentle, humorous comic for children, I don’t care if it’s about the little joys and troubles of an inventive young girl. I don’t care if it makes me out to be a total girly-girl, fit only to read shoujo for the rest of eternity. I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to get the approval of those who can’t see me as an individual, but only as primary and secondary gender characteristics.
So, I’ll just say, Yotsuba is one of the best manga series out there. The art is clean and cute, as is the storytelling style. Fortunately, it never gets to be cutesy or childish. Instead, it is childlike in the same true, endearing ways that Pixar films or Miyazaki films are. I would give this to any kid, male or female. I’d give this to any teenager who ever had a brother or sister. I’d give this to any adult who ever knew and loved a kid. I’d give it to anyone who is interested in the finest in sequential storytelling, be it manga or comics. I’d give it to anyone who is on the side of art, entertainment, joy, and LIFE.
The only people I wouldn’t give it to are the type of fanboys who think that manga is a genre and that reading anything but superhero comics will give them girl cooties.
Those type of readers are too busy locking themselves into the small, cramped, dark closet of superhero comics. Not to mention, their own ignorance and sexism.``xEkVZkyEkEFFzKQqcYd``x1257261213``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0316073873``xKiyohiko Azuma``x``x``x``xComedy``x``x``xAmy Forsyth``x``xYen Press``xAll Ages``xA+``x10.99``x150``x225``xyotsuba1_YP_500.jpg``x``x``x``x Case Closed v32 ``xStevenBari``xIn volume 32 of Case Closed, everyone’s favorite teenage detective trapped in the body of a first-grader is gumshoeing his way through ancient treasure, TV stars, and possibly the Professor Moriarty to his Sherlock Holmes!
Aoyama has Conan take a break from straight murder mystery to solve an attempted murder, and then an accidental kidnapping. Seriously, if Aoyama continues at this rate, he may run out of people in his stories.
The book opens with the continuing mystery of the Osaka Castle murders. Here Conan and Harley work together, alongside Harley’s dad, the Chief of Police, to uncover a treasure left by the great samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the murderers who will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.
One of the most surprising parts of the story is the father-and-son dynamic between Harley and Chief Hartwell. Stoic and calculating, the chief enters the scene of two fresh murders and finds Harley parading the crime scene in a flurry of conceit. Hartwell knocks Harley back to solid ground with one swift punch. Although probably not the best parenting, Aoyama makes this point in the story more than just the act of a frustrated father. It is a cathartic moment, which becomes so much more compelling at the narrative’s finale.
Sadly, the second story’s ending wasn’t as convincing; in fact, it was a major letdown. When Detective Moore and friends are invited to an exclusive party by pop star Yoko Okino, Conan finds an actress with her throat slashed and five suspects. Although Conan solves this case with remarkable skill, the story’s conclusion was too intent on returning things to the status quo than resolving the narrative. A dues ex machina of disappointment.
Overall, Case Closed volume 32 is a thrilling mystery filled with violence, craftiness, and a plucky little hero. One’d be remiss to miss out on this.
``xEkVZkVAZFEMFBDQjtc``x1257259731``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421522004``xGosho Aoyama``x``x``x``xMystery``x``x``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``x``xViz Media``xOlder Teen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xcase closed 32 cover 2.jpg``x``x``x``x Love*Com v14 ``xYsabet``xHere's the thing about Love*Com: I always enjoy reading it, and that's a really nice thing to be able to say about a series. But on the flip side, once I've finished a volume I don't necessarily have the feeling that I'd want to revisit it. Volume 14 made me laugh, and it was fun to see the characters again, but it was absolutely overflowing with misunderstandings, which doesn't tend to be something I like.
The obstacle Risa and Ôtani have to overcome this time is nominally Risa's grandfather's resistance to their relationship--he took an immediate dislike to Ôtani, apparently on the basis of nothing more than Ôtani's height. Grandpa thinks nothing at all of doing everything he can to interfere with their romance and have some fun along the way, and apparently he has cash to burn, because the tactic he chooses is hiring a beautiful older woman to feign interest in Ôtani and draw his attention away from Risa. He even admits it to Risa, who immediately tells Ôtani what's going on...only to discover that Ôtani refuses to believe the worst of Hitomi, the woman who's been conveniently crossing paths with him.
And here we run into the real obstacle our heroes face, which is their ongoing inability to deal with this kind of situation without distrust or annoyance. They're making progress and genuinely care about each other, but Ôtani's assumption that Risa's simply lost her mind and Risa's inability to trust that Ôtani really isn't likely to fool around on her are real problems. They're perfectly believable problems, though--just being presented against a larger-than-life comedic backdrop. Sometimes that combination works better for me than others, and I personally didn't find this storyline did much for me. But even at the worst of times, I still find Ôtani and Risa's escapades fun to read about.
As is often the case, the supporting cast are one of the highlights in this volume. Nobu and Nakao don't have a whole lot to do this time out other than mercilessly tease Ôtani for his refusal to understand why Risa's upset with him, but they have so much fun doing it.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVZkVluVywdBjICsP``x1257258456``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421523728``xAya Nakahara``x``x``x``xRomance``x``x``xJN Productions``xShaenon K. Garrity``xViz``xTeen``xB+``x8.99``x150``x225``xLove-Com 14 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x The Gentlemen's Alliance † v10``xYsabet``xIt looks like I'm tuning back in with The Gentlemen's Alliance † just in time for it to be almost over, which took me a bit by surprise--although I suppose it shouldn't, since Tanemura's series tend to be either short or mid-length. Anyway, I missed volume 9 and went into volume 10 only after spending a while trying to make sense of the "Story Thus Far" section. It's not the recap's fault that I was even more confused when I finished reading it than when I began, since they're meant to jog readers' memories, not simply take the place of having read the previous volume (and the first six volumes of a series).
So here we are in the second-last volume, and it seems like most of Haine's issues with her family (families?) have been resolved, which mainly leaves her relationship with Shizumasa and Takanari up in the air. She's one of the few (or only) people who's even aware that there are two of them, and she has feelings for them both, but it turns out that their family situation is so complicated that whatever choice she makes between them may be entirely irrelevant.
When I read The Gentlemen's Alliance † before, I was both interested in and frustrated by the fact that the male leads were twins who, as well as being in competition for one girl's love, were living such a completely bizarre life that most of the world didn't even realize that one of them existed. I don't know how much their story was delved into in earlier volumes, of course, but the revelations about their family in volume 10 turned out to be pretty interesting and far, far less contrived than I'd expected. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the whole situation is plausible, but "pleasantly surprised" is a good feeling to have when closing a book.
Other than that, the love triangle is handled fairly well; I think it's pretty clear where Haine's affections actually lie, but the complications aren't too far-fetched, so my main issue with it is the frankly creepy way Shizumasa treats her. My love-triangle concerns are also offset a bit by the way the supporting characters react when Haine reaches out to them for help, which was really pretty awesome.
Volume 10 of The Gentlemen's Alliance † includes several pages of sketches and bonus strips, as well as two pages of translation notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVZkVlkFZwGWbXRMu``x1257258237``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421530767``xArina Tanemura``x``x``x``xRomance``xFantasy``x``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB``x8.99``x150``x225``xGentlemens Alliance 10 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Hero Tales v1``xjoykim``xTaitou Shirei is one of the strongest fighters in his village--so strong, in fact, that he helps drive out soldiers from the Imperial Army when they make trouble for the other villagers. On the day Taitou finally completes his coming-of-age ceremony, his teacher gives him an ancient sword, the Kenkaranbu. But the sword's not fated to stay in Taitou's hands for very long: a mysterious thief makes off with it that same night, leaving behind the unwelcome revelation that Taitou's destiny is tied to the legend of the Big Dipper.
Now, to anyone whose read a lot of fantasy novels or manga, all of this is probably sounding quite familiar. A boy with a special fate? Check! A sword of destiny? Check! A prophecy involving stars? Check! It's all been done many, many times before. So what hope does Hero Tales have of standing out from the pack?
Two words: Hiromu Arakawa. There are only a handful of mangaka who have earned so much of my goodwill as Arakawa; I love her work in FullMetal Alchemist that much. That story has such wonderful characters and tight plotting that I was honestly curious to see what Hero Tales had to offer, even though my patience for run-of-the-mill fantasy ran out a long time ago. Arakawa may not be the sole creator of this work--she shares the credits with various other names--but it definitely still has her fingerprints all over it.
Much of the action in volume 1 is just what you might expect from such a familiar premise. The first chapter introduces our hero and some of his sidekicks, and the theft of the sword provides the impetus for Taitou to leave his village and begin his quest. What saves Hero Tales from being wholly generic are the smaller details, especially the amusing interactions between the characters. Taitou's sister, Laila, is just as strong-willed as her rather dense brother, and their traveling companion, the monk Ryuukou, has his hands full keeping the two of them out of trouble. And it doesn't take long for the trio to encounter various other interesting individuals, like Koyou, a sailor who does women's makeup as a hobby.
The art will feel familiar to anyone who has read Arakawa's other work. When I read a chapter of Hero Tales in Yen Plus magazine, I kept expecting Taitou and company to run into characters from Fullmetal Alchemist. The style itself is more serviceable than stunning, but I appreciate the clear paneling and the easily distinguishable character designs. And the style does work well to highlight the many small comedic moments, such as Taitou's failed attempts to unsheathe the Kenkaranbu.
Volume 1 of Hero Tales is a decent start for a series--nothing more and nothing less. It might not be original enough to snare a casual reader, but there's enough potential in the characters and story that I'm interested in seeing where Arakawa goes in future chapters. I'll keep my fingers crossed that at least some of those directions are unexpected ones.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkVZkVZAEpMGgbhLuH``x1257257910``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759531161``xHuang Jin Zhou``xHiromu Arakawa``x``x``xAction``xFantasy``x``xAmy Forsyth``x``xYen Press``xOlder Teen``xB``x10.99``x150``x225``xherotales1.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Choose Your Words``xNibley``xI mentioned in the last column that we were marathoning some anime a couple of weeks ago. It's definitely good to watch a lot of anime for several reasons, including the fact that anime is awesome, but, more importantly for the purposes of this column, it gets us thinking about the translation process. In the course of our anime marathon, a character used a word like “maladroit” or something (in the subtitle), and that got us thinking a lot.
It's kind of tricky, translating dialogue. We definitely think it's a good idea to encourage viewers, or readers, to increase their vocabulary, and the character in question definitely would know what “maladroit” means. But this time I realized something that we definitely need to start keeping in mind ourselves: just because the character using the word knows what it means doesn't mean the character he's talking to does. In this case, he was talking to someone who probably wouldn't. I think it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everybody who's fluent in another language knows what every word in that language means. But just like with English, I'd be willing to bet that every other language in the world has terms that even some native speakers don't know. You can probably find a lot of examples of this in a series like Lagoon Engine, where the main character is a really smart kid, and his little brother is constantly asking him what the big words he's using mean.
That all being the case, I realized that, when choosing words for a character to say, we have to start thinking about the characters they're talking to. There have been several times when we chose a word we didn't think was very common, and justified it by saying, “S/he would use that word--they're very smart, they like to talk big, etc. etc.” But if it's a so-called SAT word, and they're talking to someone who's not known for their studying skills, and that someone doesn't say (for example), “Mail a droid?” then chances are it was a poor wording choice. (In cases such as Ayame Sohma, this rule can be ignored, because he doesn't care if people understand him so much.)
Another thing to consider is, of course, how people normally talk. We saw some other subtitles that were translating “shokudou” to “refectory.” We only happened to have just recently discovered what a refectory was because we were doing research on monasteries for something we were working on, and we were looking up all the different rooms and places in a monastery. Like I said before, it's good to encourage people to use dictionaries and expand their vocabularies, but at the same time, most high school students are going to call their refectory a cafeteria. Of course, this was a fancy school, so maybe they wanted a fancier term. We think “dining hall” is sufficiently fancy, but that could just be a personal preference thing.
I guess it would be important here to remind everyone that there's very rarely a “set term” to translate each Japanese word to. Okay, so that's actually not really true. If you're translating patents or something, there's lingo for stuff and you need to use the exact term so everybody knows what you're talking about. But when it comes to manga and anime, there's a lot less precision. So “shokudou,” which literally means “meal hall,” could be translated to just that, or it could be any of the terms we talked about in the last paragraph, or even something else, like “mess hall.” Why? Because “refectory,” “cafeteria,” “dining hall,” and “mess hall” all refer to a big room where a lot of people go to eat. Then you just pick which one works best and/or sounds the most natural or the nicest based on the context.
Of course, people tend to disagree on what works the best. We have a friend who is very annoyed that we chose “like” instead of “love” as a translation of “suki” in a certain volume of Fruits Basket. But we recently revisited that scene and now that we remember the context, we stand behind our decision even more firmly. Although it's also true that sometimes we'll revisit old translations and be like, “What on earth were we thinking!?” Don't worry--those times are very rare.
Anyway, problems like the “like” versus “love” thing only show up when both words are common and have different connotations. I think. And it's usually pretty easy to know what word not to use. I don't remember if I mentioned this example before, but if I did it was probably long enough ago that it's okay to mention it again. One time, our Japanese literature professor was translating a story, and he came across the word “kakuu,” which he looked up in a dictionary which gave him the translation of “volplane.” He's a pretty smart guy, and even he hadn't heard of that word, so he decided not to confuse his audience and interrupt the flow of the story by using it. But it would have been a correct translation.
And so we learn once again that the thesaurus is our friend.
``xEkVyyAFkuFPGSfOahX``x1256693243``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg What I'm Looking At, Late October 09``xParkCooper``xNaoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, v5
Viz Signature
Oh, Naoki Urasawa, is there anything you won't draw? 20th Century Boys is a very strange manga. I almost typed COMIC...Because that's how strange it is. When a bunch of kids were young, they had a secret club. In the clubhouse, there was a little story they wrote about how the club, at the end of 1999, would rise up and stop the end of the world. Years later, grown up, they notice that certain terrorist acts are happening-- which are exactly like the signs that their little fantasy foretold would signal the end of the world. Someone who read that book-- one of the friends? One of their childhood enemies?--read that little story, and decided somehow to make it come true. In volume 5, we get a really good idea who exactly is behind all the bombings, and the plague that's started killing off sizable numbers of the world's population... because it's the end of 1999, and the end of the world is here. A giant robot (no, seriously, I'm serious) is spreading the plague through Tokyo, and it's up to the grown-up Friends to destroy it. And then... we STOP that story, and we pick up 15 years later... in 2014. The world is getting more and more fascist... by fighting the end of the world, did the Friends actually play right into the hands of someone's master plan? It sure as heck feels like it. ...I'm torn about 20th Century Boys. It feels like The Little Rascals meets Watchmen with (as of the second half of volume 5) a little bit of Half Life 2 or Deus Ex, all drawn by the guy who did Monster (now on SyFy!). What the heck? I'd read volume 6 to see what happens next... and yet, I don't actually want to go back to the previous 4 volumes. A surprisingly Western-feeling story from Viz Signature.
(The Strongest Bride on Earth) Sumomomo, Momomo v2
Yen Press
Okay, I'm still interested. Although most Americans can't handle the truth regarding the level at which Japan finds panty shots and other related elements of the World's Strongest Bride's attempts to make herself sexually appealing for her legalistic fiancee delightfully amusing (it does help a little that those attempts always fail horribly), this title continues to make me chuckle repeatedly while reading it. Always in spite of myself, mind you, but it does. In this volume, for example, the Bride and her new rival from another family are getting really samurai-old-school-talking amongst themselves... meanwhile, both of them are ignoring their love interest, Koushi, who's wriggling like mad in order not to be eaten by the sea serpent/eels he's dangling over (he fails, of course. They bite the heck out of him). See what I mean? Stupid. Juvenile. Yet amusing. Again, in spite of myself, I must say that I would read volume 3 if it came to my house.
Samurai Executioner v4 and v8
Dark Horse
How good does Samurai Executioner continue to be? Very, very good. So good I'll review it even though no one sent it to me-- I merely checked it out from the library. Therefore it is solely pride, not duty, that leads me to comment on S.E. once again. Pride, I say, that a human being can write this well. As is my wont, I also read some of the best stories to Barbara, who also was, in turn, awed by the power of Dear Old Samurai Executioner's Creative Team (extra kudos to the writer, in my opinion, Kazuo Koike). In volume 4, Yamada, our executioner associate proposes marriage. Can you believe it? He also makes a very kind gesture to a condemned female prisoner... uh, those are two different stories, though. Learn of the horrors that happen when the government experiments with cancelling executions to save money. Enjoy volume 8's story about why a man can't just become the masked spirit of justice in a city just because he has the power and the authority, and contemplate what it says about superhero comics (completely coincidentally-- I don't think Kazuo Koike was thinking of Batman when he wrote it. I think). Read how, also in volume 8, Yamada shames a killer into killing himself, just through a few well-chosen words about honor. BECAUSE YAMADA-SAMA IS HARDCORE. Believe it. Read it.
Toxic Planet
Yen Press
Okay, this takes a little explaining. Toxic Planet is apparently French in origin. It is not, by my definition, manga. The artwork is more of a western comic strip style, as it is indeed a comic strip, probably a webcomic, since it's in full color inside. Here's the concept: in the near future, industrial pollution is so bad that everyone wears gas masks, even indoors. (Well, grandma likes to leave hers off indoors sometimes when the air purifier is running, but the others find this to be a sick and unhealthy idea.) The point is to show the extreme to which the culture is headed, an "oh well, what can you do, that's just the way things are" mentality about trees being something you read about in museums and so forth. The problem is that there's not much character development or even any other source of humor-- every page works this one concept of environmental black humor, and it gets preachy after two pages. Still, Yen sent it to me, and the other MangaLife reviewer felt like "it's not manga," but I felt like, what an American manga publisher chooses to publish in the field of sequential storytelling is arguably worthy of note, if nothing else. Still, while I got all the way through Toxic Planet, it wasn't exactly fun, although, again, that's more the fault of the high concept the creator decided to go with than the art or the translation. Toxic Planet is about 140 pages for 12.99.
Cirque du Freak v3: Tunnels of Blood
Yen Press
Well, good news, bad news. The good news is that this volume of Cirque (coming really soon to theaters in the form of a very garish-looking live-action movie) is the best yet. The bad news is, that only puts it at "solidly better-than-average teen vampire fare." On one hand, that means that by volume 7, if the improvement continues at the exact same rate, it'll become the best sequentially-told teen vampire story ever published. On the other hand, one has a feeling that it'll level off somewhere before we get to that lofty height. Still, I'm enjoying the series as far as it goes. The story of Darren Shan, who happens to have the same name as the author, the cocky and fairly clever young half-vampire, continues as his mentor decides it's time to leave the Cirque du Freak for a while and learn the rules of being a vampire in the urban world some more. Darren's pal Evra the snake-boy comes too. Darren also gets a human girlfriend-- which is a problem when another monster threat imperils the city they're in. Can Darren save his friends and friendships... thereby ending his zero-for-two history in that department? You'll have to read it to find out... While still a little hokey sometimes, the manga of Cirque du Freak is slowly getting to be a better and better read... indeed, I cannot imagine myself getting nearly as much out of reading the prose series this is based upon (especially now that I'm seeing ads for the movie). It doesn't quite feel like a manga as far as the writing and pacing... but MUST EVERYTHING feel like manga? Manga, in general, has its own moments of hokeyness too, especially in the vampires-for-teens field... This is entertaining enough that I feel that the target audience will probably welcome it gladly.
``xEkVyyAFpyVPfdjcJXC``x1256693065``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``x20th century boys v5.jpg Rin-ne vol. 1 ``xYsabet``xIt's been a long, long time since I've read anything by Rumiko Takahashi, although of course I have a general familiarity with her work. As a rule I've preferred her shorter, darker stories to her long-running comedies, but Ranma ½ may have been my very first introduction to manga, back when friends began reading it in high school. However, having missed Inuyasha entirely, it's safe to say I'm really, really out of the Takahashi loop.
Sitting down with the first volume of Rin-ne was a bit like running into a warm, friendly acquaintance I hadn't seen in about ten years. Takahashi's style is so distinctive, in more ways than just her artwork (which is, of course, immediately recognizable); while the characters don't specifically remind me of characters from her other work, they feel as if they'd fit right in in other stories. And like her other comedies, Rin-ne's basic plot is set up in such a way that the story could go on for a very long time. (And if Takahashi's earlier works are any indication, I daresay it will.)
Rin-ne's heroine and viewpoint character is Sakuya, a high school student who's been able to see ghosts since she got lost in the woods as a child. It's an ability she's hoping to grow out of, but it seems like there's little chance of that, especially once she meets her classmate, Rinne, a red-haired boy no one else seems able to see. Rinne, who reluctantly describes himself as "a shinigami...sort of", is in the business of guiding stuck souls to their proper place in the afterlife, and Sakuya's curiosity and ability to see those souls--and other things--inevitably lead to her being caught up in Rinne's work.
Volume 1 starts with two stories about ordinary ghosts, one of whom Sakuya has already been unwillingly interacting with on her own. The stories give readers just long enough to get to know Sakuya and Rinne a little bit before Takahashi begins adding more characters and more of Rinne's background.
So far, Rin-ne is a fun, comfortable read, and pretty much what I expected. (Anyone who wants to see a self-fulfilling prophecy in there is free to do so.) I don't foresee falling in love with it, but I like the characters and am looking forward to the next volume. I'm also really pleased that VIZ is able to release online chapters simultaneously with the Japanese release; I hope it (and their other online releases) does well for them.
Volume 1 of Rin-ne includes a page of cultural and translation notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVyyyuApZSPWqTLKz``x1256664907``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421534851``xRumiko Takahashi``x``x``x``xComedy``xSupernatural``x``xChristine Dashiell``x``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xRin-ne 1 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Case Closed v31 ``xStevenBari``xJimmy Kudo is an adolescent trapped in body that is both youthful and frustrating. While most teenagers feel this way, most are not trapped in the body of a first grader. Under the pseudonym Conan Edogawa, Jimmy continues his amateur detective work with the help of some crazy gadgets and an unparalleled mind.
In this volume, Conan takes on impersonators, fishermen, and an ancient treasure hunt. Each of the stories are exciting, despite having little to no evidence presented to the viewer beforehand. Essentially, the joy of Case Closed is how Conan solves the mystery and successfully explains it to the authorities without being written off as just a little kid.
Strangely, Case Closed has an effervescent light-heartedness despite being set against really gruesome murders. Rather than undermining the joviality, these hapless murders act as coincidence in a world that is warm and amicable. Gosho Aoyama acknowledges the darkest parts of society without pulling any punches, but he doesn’t let those hostile emotions envelope the world around it.
In the first full story of volume 31, Conan, Rachel, and Detective Moore stumble on a man impersonating as the detective who has hung himself in his hotel room. The concept of seeing oneself already dead is disturbing, but Aoyama gives the scene both creepiness and comedy. As a Gunma detective looks over the impersonator’s body, he mistakes the dead man for the real Detective Moore. When Moore comes up behind to give the detective orders, the bumbling sleuth screams in fright, “Yeek! A Ghost!”
Exciting and thoroughly amusing stories coupled with fantastic art makes Case Closed a cut above other crime books. Aoyama’s slick vivacious characters are sharp (so sharp their noses can pass for murder weapons!) and intensely expressive. When Kazuha takes Conan and the group on a tour of Osaka Castle, her physicality indicates her excitement: wide eyes, gaping smile, arms open big. Similarly, Harley connotes his feelings toward the tour with his body language: crossed arms, weary eyes, and a frown.
Case Closed is a great series that not only makes murder mystery fun, it makes it addictive. By the end of volume of volume 31, you’ll be ready to uncover volume 32.``xEkVyyyuupAtZOINjOu``x1256664409``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421521997``xGosho Aoyama``x``x``x``xMystery``x``x``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``x``xViz Media``xOlder Teen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xcase closed 31 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x What Ysabet's Reading - October 2009 ``xYsabet``xWhat I'm Reading - October 2009
It's time again for another round-up of quick reviews! I'm taking a look at vol. 19 of Skip Beat! (Yoshiki Nakamura), vol. 11 of La Corda d'Oro (Yuki Kure), vol. 7 of B.O.D.Y. (Ao Mimori), vol. 6 of Haruka -Beyond the Stream of Time (Tohko Mizuno), vol. 3 of Honey Hunt (Miki Aihara), vol. 8 of Wild Ones (Kiyo Fujiwara), and vol. 14 of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs (Yukiya Sakuragi), all available now or coming soon from VIZ. All reviews are based on copies provided by the publisher.
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Skip Beat! vol. 19 (Yoshiki Nakamura)
Translated and adapted by Tomo Kimura
One of the first words that comes to mind when I think of Skip Beat! is "expressive". (Close on its heels are "high-energy" and possibly "overwhelming".) Kyoko takes wearing her heart on her sleeve to such an extreme, and her every mood is illustrated in such detail, that I sometimes find it a bit hard to get lost in the story. Yet most of the individual volumes aren't over-packed with events, so I'm usually able to get back into it fairly quickly even if Kyoko's abrupt mood changes throw me out a little. (Is that a contradictory response? You bet.)
Having said that, volume 19 isn't all that focused on Kyoko. She continues to apprentice herself to Koo, a veteran actor visiting from his home in the U.S., but most of the volume's attention is on Koo and his relationship with Ren, who almost no one knows is his son. But even when Kyoko isn't front and center, the story feels very fast-paced, especially given that almost all of the characters have flairs for the dramatic that would be pretty notable if Kyoko's theatrics didn't leave them all in the dust.
This far into the story, I'm not feeling much edge-of-my-seat suspense over the main character relationships, but I'm enjoying the process of seeing how things play out. And as subplots go, I really liked Kyoko and Koo's connection and how it's developed since his introduction. Underneath all the layers and factors that Kyoko isn't aware of, it comes across as a very sweet, sincere relationship.
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La Corda d'Oro vol. 11 (Yuki Kure)
Translated and adapted by Mai Ihara
A lot of the magic has gone out of La Corda d'Oro by this point in the series--and I say that in the literal sense, not as a criticism. Having gotten a taste for what it's like to be a gifted musician, Kahoko desperately wants to be able to play the violin herself, without supernatural assistance. Her newfound love for music feels very authentic, as do her feelings of uncertainty and determination. She knows that it won't be a quick or easy road to becoming a real violinist (although she's got the dual advantages of knowing what it feels like to play beautifully and of being a manga heroine), and feels awkward with some of the new friends she met through the school's music competition, but she throws herself at the challenge with all she's got.
This volume also introduces a new character, Aoi, who transfers into Kahoko's class and seems to know her. Kahoko has no idea where she might know him from, but that doesn't deter him from following her around while she hangs out with her friends, or from suggesting that the two of them (and Ryotaro) sneak over to the all-star music camp two of the other characters are attending.
One of Kure's sidebar notes mentions that Aoi is a character from the second La Corda video game, which got me thinking about how strange it must be to create a manga based on a game. But it's just an idle thought--I have no idea how closely the storyline follows the game's, or whether Kure has a fair bit of flexibility with what happens in the manga. Aoi's appearance feels a bit out of the blue to me, but there could be any number of reasons for that.
I generally really like fantasy stories, but I find I'm liking La Corda d'Oro better as it moves further into the real world; Kahoko's intense love for her instrument is much more compelling to me than the magically-assisted competition was.
**********
B.O.D.Y. vol. 7 (Ao Mimori)
Translated by Joe Yamazaki
B.O.D.Y. just moved up in my estimation for the second volume in a row, which may be a record for it--usually I like one volume better than the previous one, but then the next one frustrates me again.
Volume 7 deals with two plot threads: Ryoko meets Ryunosuke's glamorous, prickly mother and unorthodox father, and the new substitute teacher at school turns out to already know Ryunosuke--perhaps better than Ryoko is comfortable with. In my vol. 6 review, I said that a new B.O.D.Y. volume gets bonus points from me if Ryoko doesn't tell any lies, and this is the second consecutive volume where she's pretty honest. That doesn't mean Ryunosuke is above bending the truth, though; like Ryoko, he does it with good intentions, but it doesn't go any better. Now, I don't much like it when he lies, either, but his deception here is slightly more understandable.
The storylines in this volume don't really have surprising twists, but are handled in a fairly realistic way. Ryoko and Ryunosuke's relationship is growing on me more with each volume. They're still a little rocky (there has to be some relationship drama, after all), but they're trusting each other more and more, and clearly want to do right by each other, and that goes a long way with me. It also helps that the things they're dealing with in this volume are much more plausible than earlier events often were: Ryoko very much wants to make a good impression on Ryunosuke's parents and for him to have a happy home life, and Ryunosuke doesn't want to upset Ryoko unnecessarily. All in all, this still isn't my favorite type of shoujo, but it's continuing to grow on me.
**********
Haruka -Beyond the Stream of Time vol. 6 (Tohko Mizuno)
Translated by Stanley Floyd (HC Language Solutions)
Volume 6 of Haruka has a more tightly-plotted feel to it than volume 5 did, which makes it much easier to be caught up in the story. (This may or may not have something to do with the fact that about a third of the book is devoted to side stories, which I found quite readable, especially the second one.)
In the main story, Tomomasa has gone missing after a conversation with Ran, who's still dealing with what happened to her when she was under the demon clan's control. Akane and the Guardians set out to find him, but days have already passed since his disappearance. Readers are shown two parallel stories for most of the volume, since Tomomasa's whereabouts are revealed to us immediately, so the book is more about the developing relationships between the various Guardians as they work together to find him, the changing relationship between Akane and Ran, and Tomomasa's handling of his situation.
There's some nice character work in this volume, which is refreshing for me after not really clicking with any of the characters before. I'm still not precisely attached, but I'm glad to be liking the series more.
**********
Honey Hunt vol. 3 (Miki Aihara)
Translated by Ari Yasuda (HC Language Solutions) and adapted by Liz Forbes
The third volume of Honey Hunt is much less focused on Yura's acting career and her desire to compete with her celebrity parents (particularly her mother) than the first two volumes were. Instead, a lot of the focus is on her relationships with the two male leads, Q-ta and Haruka. With Q-ta away for a month, Yura finds herself obsessively waiting for any contact from him, while also trying to figure out if he has any interest in her for herself or if he's still only paying attention to her because of her father. At the same time, Haruka, whose attitude towards Yura has been much more antagonistic, has taken enough of an interest in her that he wants her to come to his upcoming concert, but it's unclear whether or not he mainly wants to distract her from his brother.
It's a fairly unsurprising love triangle, and Aihara is apparently incapable of writing male characters who have any idea how to express their feelings to a girl, but the guys in this series continue to be a huge step up from the male characters in Hot Gimmick (to which I will apparently never stop making comparisons. Forgive me--Hot Gimmick was kind of traumatic, if also apparently unforgettable). She has a real knack for getting readers hooked, though, and that combined with the simple fact that I don't hate the characters means that I find Honey Hunt very readable. And despite the increased focus on Yura's relationships with the twins, her career goals aren't completely overshadowed--she's trying hard to improve as an actress and to deal with the challenges thrown in her path, like the confrontational, established actress who's very vocal about not liking Yura's work. Yura's trying to grow and change, and she's already doing a decent job of it. I find myself looking forward to more of this series.
**********
Wild Ones vol. 8 (Kiyo Fujiwara)
Translated and adapted by Mai Ihara
The new volume of Wild Ones is very much about family. First, Sachie and Rakuto's friend Azuma's grandfather has been hospitalized, and Azuma, who's trying to deal with the possibility that his grandfather may not be long for the world, finds himself befriending a little girl in a similar situation. I don't usually connect very strongly with Wild Ones (one of a handful of series I've read several later volumes of without having had a chance to read them from the beginning), but this particular story made a very good impression in me, with its look at how different people react to the possibility of their own deaths or a loved one's.
I'm still piecing together Rakuto's family history, never being quite sure how much has already been revealed and how much is new information, but his family ties take front and center later on in the volume. That particular storyline looks like it'll be continuing into the next volume, so I'll hold off on much commentary.
Wild Ones has been very hit and miss with me, but vol. 8 was a pleasant surprise. I think this is the first time I've really felt that I'd like to find a full set and read it through from the beginning for my own sake, rather than in the name of better-informed reviews.
**********
Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs vol. 14 (Yukiya Sakuragi)
Translated by Maya Robinson (HC Language Solutions) and adapted by Ian Reid (HC Language Solutions)
Volume 14 of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs is all about puppies--specifically, puppies that don't even exist yet. Suguri really wants Lupin to father some puppies of his own, and that dream takes center stage when her manager, Teppei, takes his purebred dog off to be bred. Suguri is crushed by Teppei's opinion that breeding a mutt like Lupin is an entirely different prospect than breeding purebreds, what with the potential difficulty in finding good homes for the resulting puppies, and she accepts his challenge when he tries to scare her off in the name of not bringing unwanted pets into the world.
There were a few things in this volume that made me wonder if there's a cultural gap interfering with my reading. (The most significant is probably Teppei's insistence that breeding mutts is risky because of potential health risks, which is an argument I've only ever heard against purebreds here in Canada, where the attitude seems to be more than purebred dogs are at much higher health risks than mixed-breeds.) I'm also a little confused by Suguri's fierce desire to have her male dog bred (although I don't think this is a cultural thing gap?), since presumably the resulting puppies would live with the mother dog and her owner, not with Suguri and Lupin, but...okay. That's not the point of the volume; we're supposed to be empathizing with Suguri's hopes of a) letting Lupin have the best possible life by following his instincts and letting his genes carry on, and b) deepening her own created-family connections with both Lupin and the staff at Woofles. The book does a good job of that--as always, Inubaka's appeal lies it its realistic depictions of the relationships between the characters and their dogs.
``xEkVyyyuppVtSWLlIEF``x1256664005``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xSkip Beat 19 cover.jpg Jack Frost v2``xCharlesWebb``xThe first few pages of volume 2 of JinHo Ko’s Jack Frost almost lost me entirely in its opening pages. They were so dense with competing factions plotting and throwing out the esoteric history of their world (the 13th Amityville War? The Pillar of Solomon?) that I was immediately taken out of the reading having not read the first volume.
Writers take note: a good recap page can go a long way towards grabbing your new readers.
After this prologue the book actually settles into a comfortable groove and introduces us to Noh-a, a teenage girl who has mysteriously become a resident of the land of the dead which has been carved up into competing districts led by factitious leaders. Through voiceover, Noh-a tells us that in the land of the dead she’s special – she's the much sought-after “Mirror Image” who cannot die where others can. She’s followed by the title character, a tough with a bad reputation who alternately protects her and keeps the secrets of her life in the land of the living. All the while, she attends Amityville High – a school populated by others who look like teens but are skilled fighters.
This volume has Noh-a and Jack travel to the Kite Village, where a clan of fighters hunts a creature that might help unlock Noh-a's powers and memories.
Frankly, it’s the breathlessness of the book that makes it work so well. Slowing down to think about why the competing districts seem like rival schools from your typical fight comic or why Noh-a hasn’t figured out that Jack may have had something to do with her death is beside the point. The story is all about pushing forward from one plot point or event to the next and it’s all made livelier by Ko’s very kinetic, clean line work. Ko keeps the pages clear and easy to follow, especially in the grand, extremely violent fight scenes.
In fact, I should note that the book is rather gory – appropriately so, given the content of the story, but it occurs so abruptly in the first instance that it kind of surprised me. Still, in spite of multiple decapitations and a tree made of bodies, the book avoids feeling gratuitous with these elements, keeping the tone just so where it’s clear that this is a rough world where horrible things happen to its characters.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at Monster In Your Veins``xEkVyyyFAVkAxGXZcps``x1256663952``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759529531``xJinHo Ko``x``x``x``xAction``xSupernatural``x``xJiEun Park``xArthur Dela Cruz``xYen Press``xOlder Teen``xB+``x10.99``x150``x225``xJACKFROST_2-199x300.gif``x``x``x``x Soul Eater v1``xPennyKenny``xSoul Eater is a sexier, older teen-oriented take on the Pokemon franchise. Only instead of capturing monsters, the young weapon-meisters use their scythes to capture souls. Once a scythe - which can take human form - eats 99 human souls and the soul of a witch, it can become a Death Scythe, the weapon of Death himself.
After three prologue stories in which creator Atsushi Ohkubo introduces the main protagonists, the story proper begins as Maka and her scythe Soul Eater, and Black Star and his weapon Tsubaki, compete for a zombie's soul. If they fail to claim it, they'll be expelled from Death Weapon Academy.
If you enjoy over-the-top characters, undead action, weird looking creatures, and fan service, Soul Eater is the series for you. Ohkubo isn't going for emotional nuance here. He defines his characters with one or two traits and sets them loose to battle. Maka has Father issues. While "coolness" is everything to Soul Eater, he's still a sucker for a big-bosomed woman. Oblivious Black Star is a show-off and Tsubaki is nervous and loyal. Rounding out the main cast is Death the Kid, who's obsessed with symmetry. Their common trait is that while they're not very competent, they do give it their all.
Soul Eater's pace is fast and furious. It bounds from humorous situations to ferocious battles without pause. The only thing that slows the action is "bathing beauty" fan service pages. While the art is nice and, in general, they're rather amusing, they do tend to bring things to a halt, which creates a jerky reading experience.
Ohkubo draws on a variety of art styles. Some panels, with their delicate linework, could have come out of Blade of the Immortal, while others are very Yu-Gi-Oh like. Still others share the same sensibilities as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The blacks are heavy, sharp, and crisp. The mix of styles and color play creates a sense of crude, bumptious energy.
Though they share the trait of being lanky with their weight in their feet, the characters are still distinctive looking, making it easy to identify them even when they're in action. Ohkubo uses a nice mix of standard action, comic, horror, and deformed design styles that blend together surprisingly well.
The action scenes are laid out well for the most part. The battles are broken up - going from wide-shot larger panels to smaller panels that draw in on a particular character's face then back to the wide-shot again. This helps keep the reader focused, allowing him to catch a breath before swinging back into panels of dizzying acrobatics. The only fight scene that doesn't work for me is the one between Kid Death and the Soul of the Pharaoh. It's hard to figure out exactly where the attack is coming from, what the attack is, and how the character is reacting.
One problem I have with the translation is that the sound effects are translated on the page - inserted beneath the sfx in parentheses. I find it distracting, not only because I feel I have to read them, but because it crowds the panel. Other readers, however, might not have that problem.
While Soul Eater Volume One isn't a Halloween book per say, this is the perfect time to check out its mix of action, humor, and light horror.
``xEkVyyyFkuZIjkQmSxo``x1256663247``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759530017``xAtsushi Ohkubo``x``x``x``xComedy``xAdventure``xSupernatural``xAmy Forsyth``x``xYen Press``xOlder Teen``xB+``x10.99``x150``x225``xsouleater_1.gif``x``x``x``x Honey and Clover v7 ``xYsabet``xAt this point in the series, Honey and Clover has crossed the line separating the characters' metaphorical search for themselves to a literal one: Takemoto, worn down by his inability to figure out what he's going to do after he graduates, finds himself cycling across Japan in search of...well, everyone else says he's looking for himself, but he's not even sure about that. It's just him, his bike, and an increasingly-empty wallet.
In my vol. 6 review I referred to Takemoto's journey as the series' most iconic storyline, and it's in this volume that it really gets into full swing. Broke and exhausted, with his bike giving out under him, he's still easily filled with wonder at the beauty of what he sees around him. Arriving at a temple, he geeks out blissfully over the detailed craftmanship of its gate and resolves to spend more time stopping at temples and paying attention to the things he passes, but he then almost immediately falls in with a group of traveling temple-restorers who find him asleep beside his broken-down bike. In order to earn money to replace his bike, Takemoto finds a temporary place among them, doing their cooking and cleaning while they work.
One of the things I love about Takemoto is his genuine appreciation for simple things done well. He's spent the series surrounded by geniuses and people who have at least some idea of where they want to be, but never recognizes his own positive, meticulous attitude for the gift it is. He now throws himself wholeheartedly into the task of making good food for the workers and loves every minute of it: here, he's found a place where he can belong, at least briefly, and where he feels useful instead of extraneous. It may be fleeting, but it's exactly what he needs to start him on both the literal and metaphorical roads home.
Back at the school, Hagu takes on the challenge of teaching a summer painting class for kids, which may or may not be exactly what she needs: being an artistic genius comes with its own problems, and she's still struggling to live up to the expectations placed on her. Meanwhile, Yamada and Rika finally meet for the first time, which badly flusters Yamada and makes Mayama attempt some unnecessary--and unwanted--damage control. We're also given another brief look at Hanamoto's memories of Rika and her husband, which I always enjoy (and get misty-eyed over); the younger characters may sometimes forget or fail to realize that it wasn't that long ago that their teacher was in their place, but the narrative always remembers his past and the similarities between him and them.
With only a few volumes left to go, the story doesn't precisely give the impression that it's wrapping up just yet, but the characters are spreading their wings and really starting to come into their own as they cross into adulthood.
Volume 7 of Honey and Clover includes a bonus chapter, a short behind-the-scenes comic from the creator, and two pages of cultural notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkVyEuuFVpoqgATXDa``x1256144350``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x142152368X``xChica Umino``x``x``x``xDrama``x``x``xAkemi Wegmüller``xAkemi Wegmüller``xViz``xOlder Teen``xA+``x8.99``x150``x225``xhoneyclover7.jpg``x``x``x``x Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka v6 ``xStevenBari``xPluto: Urasawa x Tezuka is a re-imagining of the Astro Boy story arc “The Greatest Robot on Earth.” In that story line, Astro Boy is confronted with a sincere question of robot programming. Why bother building a human-like robot only to inhibit its wider development and individuality with specific hardware and software that keep it locked in a certain niche? And moreover, why do humans then force robots to destroy each other?
Urasawa takes Tezuka’s weighty concept of artificial essentialism vs. existentialism and focuses on the mature underpinnings that the original did not explore. Gesicht, a humanoid robot who’s the best investigator at Europol, follows a string of gruesome human and robot murders around the world, each body taking him closer and closer to the culprit. Who is destroying arguably the world’s greatest robots, and why? And could Gesicht himself be next?
In volume 6, Gesicht seeks out the answers he needs in Samarkand, Persia, only to be given the run around by Professor Abullah. Who is Goji? Who is Sahad? And what does an everlasting tulip named “Pluto” have to do with these grisly murders?
Pluto is an astounding murder mystery that has beautiful visual imagery and literary gravitas. From the gorgeous architecture of the future, especially the Netherlands, to the subtle physicality of his characters, Urasawa’s art is stunning.
In one of the early scenes, Gesicht meets with Professor Abullah, Head of the Republic of Persia’s Ministry of Science. The tense cat-and-mouse nature of the conversation is cleverly relayed in Abullah’s body language. When he lies, Abullah does not look Gesicht in the eyes, such as when he denies knowing about the man called “Goji.” Furthermore, Abullah’s snide demeanor is carried in his smirks and furrows, never his words. The juxtaposition of smug expressions and vague verbiage makes Abullah three-dimensional and deadly.
In another Abullah scene, the Professor gives his condolences to the late Dr. Netwon-Howard’s android Epsilon. When Abullah remarks how wonderfully Epsilon is built, she counters with a jab at his own prosthetic body. Epsilon quickly apologizes for the insensitive outburst, but Abullah sooths, “It’s not so bad. Compared to losing my entire family, losing my body was nothing...” Abullah’s sentiment underlines his motivations, as well as articulating the grief of losing one’s whole family.
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka is an extraordinary manga that re-imagines a classic without cliché or lack of invention. It’s a brilliant exploration of the dark side in Tezuka’s Astro Boy. And the best part of Volume 6 is that you don’t even need to be up-to-date to enjoy this book. Even if you don’t know any of these characters, the thrilling mystery that Gesicht follows is a contagious page-turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
``xEkVyEukuppAkkWSEKy``x1256142400``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527219``xNaoki Urasawa``xOsamu Tezuka``xTakashi Nagasaki``x``xMystery``xThriller``xSci-Fi``xJared Cook and Frederik L. Schodt``x``xViz Media``xOlder Teen``xA``x12.99``x150``x225``xpluto 6.jpg``x``x``x``x Rasetsu v1``xPennyKenny``xA red flower mars Rasetsu Hyuga's chest, a memento left by a powerful spirit who's vowed to claim her for his own - unless she finds her true love by her twentieth birthday. Until that day comes, she uses her mystic abilities to free and banish spirits with her colleagues at the Hiichiro Amakawa Agency. Yako Hoshino, a young man with spiritual abilities of his own, comes to the agency seeking help. What he doesn't expect to find is a dead ringer for his lost love. Sparks fly between the pair as they become partners in spirit-busting.
The cover of Rasetsu proclaims that it's the sequel to Yurara. However, readers who haven't checked out that series will find themselves able to comfortably jump into this one. The characters, with one exception, are new and the storyline is original. Even when the hold-over character Yako does show up, the important parts of his backstory are skillfully woven into the narrative so the reader doesn't feel lost.
Rasetsu is one of those brash, sweets-eating heroines who are so prevalent in manga and anime. She's also intelligent, headstrong, and vulnerable. Readers can't help but like her independence and determination. While she has reason enough to cower in fear and avoid the very mention of spirits, she doesn't let her situation stop her from doing what she does best. She questions herself, but doesn't run away from the answers.
Yako also questions himself - mainly about why he's hanging around the rather odd characters that make up the Hiichiro Amakawa Agency. Though slightly melancholy, he's not drippy or stupid. His confusion over Rasetsu is completely understandable, especially once his history with his dead love interest is revealed.
While Rasetsu and Yako's story is the series' main draw, I find myself fascinated by the supporting characters. Though Kuryu, Rasetsu's usual partner, is introduced as a very easy going guy with a minor psychic ability, it soon becomes obvious that there's more to him than meets the eye. He reminds me of Tokyo Babylon's Seishiro as he was in the early volumes before he revealed his dark side. Not so much in looks, as in demeanor. Well, that, and his way with birds. Amakawa, the agency's chief, offered Rasetsu hope and a place in the world after she was attacked by the evil spirit, but what does he get out of it? Is he just altruistic? Or is there another reason he's interested in her? Shiomi sets up these mysteries and possibilities but doesn't attempt to answer them in this volume, which will make the reader eager to come back for more.
The story's inherently dramatic aspects are well-balanced with humor. Shiomi can go from creepy to comic, serious to silly in a panel's space. While the spirits do pose a threat, the ones in this volume at least are fairly easily dispelled. Readers looking for heavy horror won't find it here.
Shiomi's strong sense of design results in some lovely images. First off, Rasetsu is a striking looking heroine. With her long, straight, black hair and white pantsuit, she's attractive without being overly sexualized. When she dispels a spirit, she is surrounded by glowing, upward-bound lights. In these scenes, she takes on an almost serene, beatific look, which silently adds volumes to her characterization. The men are handsome without being too bishonen or unrealistic looking.
There's a strong sense of movement on the pages, as Shiomi offers a variety of perspectives on the action and continually moves in and out on the characters' faces. Her inclusion of traditional shojo elements such as flowers in the background and dramatic lighting are used sparingly and to great effect.
Fans of supernatural romance should definitely check out Rasetsu, Volume 1.
``xEkVyEuEllFCThgOKqR``x1256141883``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527502``xChika Shiomi``x``x``x``xRomance``xSupernatural``x``xKinami Watabe``xKinami Watabe``xViz``xOlder Teen``xA-``x8.99``x150``x225``xrasetsu01_1.jpg``x``x``x``x Nightschool: The Weirn Books v2``xjoykim``xAlex Treveney is searching for her missing sister, Sarah, who has disappeared and been forgotten by all who knew her. It doesn't take Alex long to realize that any answers will be found inside the Nightschool where Sarah worked; however, getting past the school's defenses proves to be unexpectedly difficult. Meanwhile, the hunters are regrouping after their earlier run-in with Alex left three of their own in critical condition. But they won't have much time to rest either, as new trouble is heading their way.
Volume 2 of Nightschool represents a marked improvement over volume 1. The narrative here is much less bogged down with setup, and as a result, the focus moves away from the rather derivative elements of the premise, like vampire and demon hunters, and onto the characters.
This gives Alex, our protagonist, a chance to shine. Her concern for her missing sister makes her determined and fearless. When her first attempt to infiltrate the Nightschool doesn't go so well, she promptly finds another way in. This is quite a change from the character we met in volume 1, who often just reacted to things happening around her; the Alex we see in volume 2 makes things happen. I particularly loved her showdown with a rather condescending teacher in chapter 11. And all of her interactions with her astral continue to be adorable. The scene where the pair tackle some very tedious paperwork had me laughing out loud.
In comparison, the rest of the cast remains a bit underdeveloped. The hunters' personalities do begin to come through a little as they worry about their injured friends, but overall, they feel rather generic. (It's never a good sign when I know so few characters' names this far into a story.) Even their teacher, Daemon, is stereotypically mysterious; there's nothing new about being tall, dark, and taciturn.
Chmakova's art continues to be a pleasure; it's full of energy, personality, and humor. I especially love how she uses her art to highlight the many moments of comic relief; the characters' expressions do a great job of selling the jokes. (Don't miss the hilarious scene where one character attempts to describe her reading material to another one.)
Volume 2 of Nightschool may fall a little short of meriting a grade of A, but it offers readers plenty of reasons to stick with the story. I'll hope that future installments develop the secondary characters and plotlines more. I'm definitely looking forward to reading volume 3!
This book is printed in the larger 5.75" x 8.25" trim size and includes one very pretty insert of color pages, two pages of author's notes, and two pages of fanart.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkVyEuuylEvTsQprqZ``x1256058281``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759528608``xSvetlana Chmakova``xDee DuPuy``x``x``xFantasy``xSupernatural``x``x``x``xYen Press``xTeen``xB+``x10.99``x150``x225``xnightschool_2.jpg``x``x``x``x Words Of Truth And Wisdom: You Say Potato, I Say Potato...``xNibley``xThe other day, we ended up having an impromptu anime marathon, and, because we like checking out all the spiffy bonus features on our anime DVDs (as I'm sure many people do), we watched the out-takes for a certain series. We know most anime fans who prefer subtitles tend to check the dubs anyway, just to see what the voices are like, and we used to be that way, too, until the dub of one of our favorites was just so different from the original (not just how the voices sound, but the script was actually, like, not even a translation) that we swore off of them. But it's just a personal preference thing--we have nothing against people who enjoy dubs. Still, we do get curious, so if a DVD has features that involve the English dub cast, we will sometimes watch them. It's a good, low-commitment way to sample the dub.
Anyway, for this particular series, something that really stood out was the pronunciation of one of the names. We know that one of the criteria most fans have for the quality of a dub is whether or not the actors can pronounce the characters' names properly. Yes, we remember back when Card Captors was on the air and all the fans were appalled that everyone called her saKURa. We watched Card Captors, too, and every time they called her by name, we corrected them, but more because we thought it was funny than anything else. Years down the road, we realize that not everyone has studied Japanese, and we can't really fault them for not knowing how it's pronounced. But we do think that it shouldn't be too hard to have someone, like a voice director or somebody, learn the correct pronunciations of the names and coach the actors accordingly, and that's what seemed to have happened in this series we were watching. But there was one name that kept grating on us, not just because it was wrong, but because it was wrong in a way that would only happen if the people involved thought that it was right. So we thought we'd have a brief discussion on pronunciation.
Of course, now that I think about it, we didn't really have any classes in college that focused much on pronunciation. A lot of people think Japanese is a tonal language (meaning the meaning of a word changes based on the pitch of each syllable), and that's true, but only inasmuch as English is a tonal language. For example, I could sign a CONtract, or I could conTRACT an illness. So since Japanese isn't much more tonal than English, Japanese classes really don't spend too much time on accents and things. Or ours didn't, anyway. That being the case, almost all of what we're going to talk about is based on observation, and there are probably other people out there much more qualified to discuss this in depth.
First, quick vowel lesson: A is pronounced as in “father,” I is pronounced kind of between “sit” and “seat,” U is pronounced like in “put,” E is pronounced like in “pet,” and O is pronounced like in “cone.” Roughly. In my Spanish class, I learned that “U and I are weak; everybody else is strong.” This holds true for Japanese, as well. In fact, Spanish pronunciation is very similar to Japanese. R is pronounced with the tip of the tongue in both languages, but in Spanish it makes more of a D sound, while in Japanese it's more of an L. This is basic Japanese, so I apologize to those of you who are like, “Yeah, yeah, I already know this.”
Like in English, Y is kind of a half-vowel. Unless it's the first letter in the syllable, it doesn't make a new syllable. So “Kyo,” for example, isn't two syllables (Ki-o), but one (Kyo). Okay, if you want to get really technical, it's two moras, because it's actually Kyo-u, but the O and the U combine to make a longer O sound, and in English we call that a syllable.
Then there's the double consonants, like in Hakkai. They're a little hard to describe, but the easy way to deal with them is to make sure to pronounce both of them: Hak-kai, as opposed to Hakai.
The tricky thing is the accents. In most cases, it works to just put the emphasis on the first syllable, like “Yuki,” “Tohru,” “Hana-chan,” “Momiji,” etc. (Incidentally, Fruits Basket is not the series we were talking about, though we did watch it as part of our marathon.) It even works for “Shigure,” though technically it has no emphasis at all.
In some cases, though, the second syllable gets emphasized more. We've noticed this mostly happens when the first syllable's vowel is weak (U or I) and the second syllable's vowel is strong (A, E, or O). For example, we used to always call Evangelion's Misato “MIsato,” until we listened to the dialogue and realized, “Oh hey, they're actually saying miSAto.” But if the second syllable's vowel is weak (like in SHIzuku) or the second syllable is only a vowel (like in MIaka or CHIaki) the first syllable gets the emphasis, or at least sounds like it does.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, so the best way to go is to just listen to what the Japanese voice actors call everybody. Now if only that were possible for manga...
``xEkVVuZkFlyDkHFbOBw``x1255472386``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg MangaChat: Vagabond``xParkCooper``xThis week in MangaChat we look at Takehiko Inoue's Viz Media series VAGABOND, about the life of pretty much the most important samurai-type guy ever, Miyamoto Musashi. Park loves this series... Barb prefers Inoue's (Viz Signature) series about wheelchair basketball, REAL (although Park certainly likes that, too).
Barb Lien-Cooper: I guess I’ll start. It's funny, in a way. Vagabond was nominated for an Eisner. However, the manga I’d like to nominate for one is Real, by the same creator.
Park Cooper: Would you say that the main difference you have in enjoyment regarding the two involves Vagabond's pacing?
If so, I could understand. Like Hikaru in With The Light, creator Inoue certainly goes at his own pace.
Barb: Well, I foolishly came in late in the series, so I didn't know who anyone was.
So I got too confused to get into the series.
PC: Well, that's true, I, too, didn't think I would get into it when we tried out volume 9 or 10.
Barb: Plus, it just seemed like a lot of fighting to me.
PC: I had to back up to start with 1.
Barb: It's definitely something you have to read from the start, unlike a lot of other manga. Plus, you have to love samurai, and I was a little burnt out on sword books.
PC: Understood. What would you say was the main cause of your sword burnout? Kenshin?
Barb: I sort of had my fill after Kenshin, as much as I liked that anime.
PC: There you go. Well, I have to say, it's even a bit more sword-intensive than Kenshin, yes.
Barb: Plus, remember, I’m sort of burnt out on what I call Super-hero-y books.
You know, a battle manga that's all fight and not enough character development.
PC: I don't know how to defend Vagabond against the lots-of-fighting charge. It's almost impossible to defend against the pacing charge, but it feels like I should be able to defend it on the fighting charge. But I can't.
Vagabond does have a lot of fighting. But there is also character development. Well... for those who live.
Which is pretty much Musashi and his little female friend Otsu.
Barb: Heck, I even got burnt out on Naruto...and Hunter X Hunter because they were all about learning some OTHER superhero-y godlike skill and then fighting some other godlike being for 200 pages.
PC: His childhood friend (male) lives... but so far, never, ever seems to really learn anything.
Barb: I guess it's also because I’ve already seen the Toshiro Mifune films about the character.
PC: Right, Hunter x Hunter is a good example of being pacing-challenged, and I can't defend that either. You have to go with it in spite of that, or not.
Ah, now that's a good point too, actually.
Barb: Yeah...with Hunter, I just wanted to see if Gon found his dad.
PC: If Kenshin was a real guy and you saw the live-action version, you'd feel less need for his manga/anime.
I think Gon is gonna have a lonnnng way to go on that front.
Barb: And I suppose not being able to get into Lady Snowblood sort of told me to let go of Sword books for awhile.
With Naruto, I just suspected that the stuff was about to hit the fan and all the adults I liked were going to die.
PC: I understand. Well, we don't have to like the same things... it's more than enough for me that you just kind of respect Vagabond for what it is, and you do. It is, indeed, easier to love REAL.
Barb: Oh, yeah, I love Real. I need to take out an hour or two and read Volume Six.
The thing about Real is that I could actually re-read that series once it finishes. I can't think of a lot of manga series I can say that about. Maybe GTO....
PC: Yes. I’ve re-read Hunter, and Kare Kano. I haven't even actually reread Naruto yet...
except the one with Choji
Barb: I’m not judging. I love that our tastes differ a little. I’m just asking.
Oh, yeah, the one with Choji’s big fight, I did re-read. So why are you into Vagabond, anyway?
PC: I like that Vagabond is like Osamu Tezuka's BUDDHA (with more swords). It's extremely about Musashi’s spiritual development.
Barb: I re-read Fruits Basket a lot, even though usually, shoujo isn't my thing.
It's just such a complex series. I’d re-watch the anime, see something I hadn't noticed before, then re-read the manga.
Which the movies were sort of about....or it might just be that I really like Mr. Toshiro Mifune.
PC: There's this great scene, for example, where he hears a voice inside him telling him what to do in a fight, and he looks inside himself to see who that is, because it's sure not him... he's expecting to find his abusive-in-ways-that-haven't-been-fully-explained-yet dad (who was a weapon master himself)... but instead, it's the two old guys he met on his journey so far.
One was able to fend him off with a wooden backscratcher. In his sleep.
The second one was the one who set him up to beat his own pupil, the pupil who was so good he couldn't learn anymore, because he couldn't be afraid of anyone.
Barb: Oh, so it sort of goes to your basic Bruce Lee philosophy, that fighting isn't just about fighting, it's about philosophy and self-improvement, too.
PC: And when you see that his dad has left his psyche and that the two old geezers have taken up residence there instead you gasp because that's sooo important.
Yes it TOTALLY does. In volume 22 or so, Musashi finally starts muttering to himself about "hm, I see, the way of the sword is like fire, it's like this and this and so and so.... hm... this is pretty good stuff, I should write this down sometime..."
Barb: Yeah, kind of like in I’ll Be Seeing You where Giner Roger's voice started talking in Joseph Cotten's head instead of his fear-based inner voice.
PC: Yes, it's very like that, I just thought I’d let you say so instead of me...
Also, Musashi is known for whittling statues of the Buddha in his spare time. But in volume 20 or so he starts whittling... and they all come out as demons. And you're like "oh ho, so this is how he started out-- all tormented inside, but he's moving toward inner peace and balance."
Barb: Well, he did write all of this down, right? If I remember right, this guy in Vagabond, in real life, was a great swordsman and philosopher who wrote that important book....
What's its name again?
PC: Um... The Book of Five Rings, yes?
Barb: Yeah, that's the one. He's a big, big national hero in Japan, right? Miyamoto Musashi.
PC: Yes. So Inoue is being extremely cute and tease-y about this being his Young Indiana Jones chronicles of the greatest samurai ever.
Okay, maybe that's how I can explain the appeal. It's Japan's Young Indy Chronicles. except their guy actually existed.
Barb: Since he's a big name in Japan, no wonder the Ministry of Culture gave Vagabond that big manga award!
PC: Yeah, exactly.
Barb: It just blows my mind that Japan has a ministry that cares about manga. The idea that manga matters is just so cool. In America, you'd never see the National Endowment for the Arts or PBS give a rat's tail about comics.
PC: Art is important to culture, and culture is of national importance. Hm, I am going to go out on a limb and say that there's a patriotic love that actually comes into play. With Musashi I mean.
Yeah, here in America art has gotten caught in the struggle between liberal and conservative, I’d say.
Of course, it's also creator-owned, too. American writers of comics don't really get rich. They don't own the rights to the works with the widest pre-audience, and the creator-owned market is in dire straits.
Barb: Plus, community standards are different in Asia, which gives creators more freedom to grow.
Oh, that's right, a manga series is a creator's BABY.
PC: OOOOOOOH Erik from Viz just said: "Hi Park, Sure, I’ll be happy to send some Vagabond along. It's one of my all-time favorite series and I’m glad to know you're interested in it!" Darn right I’m interested in it, baby.
Barb: So there's not the alienation of a comic book writer writing someone else's piece of corporate property.
PC: Exactly! And so Japan is already trained to happily follow the creator to his or her next work.
If they don't DIE first. I’m looking at you, Naruto and HunterXHunter...
Barb: Even with bad manga series, you have the feeling that the creator CARES and isn't just doing it for profit.
PC: Of course they care! This is important to them more than to anyone-- it's their personal gamble!
Barb: It's funny; in comics, I don't follow creators that much. Instead, I follow stories.
PC: Which... is why I felt a little cold recently regarding Rose Hip Rose. It felt like, for one of the only times ever, a manga creator was purposely trying to come up with something kinda Hollywood.
Barb: Okay, Hunter is an exception because we both liked Yu Yu....
But I haven't picked up the new one from the creator of Fruits or Kenshin....
Mm. Gimmick is kind of Hollywoody too, in my opinion.
PC: Well the reason it's such an exception is because their series are so long! I can't believe Inoue did 100 volumes of Slam Dunk, 25 volumes of Vagabond, and is now apparently doing Vagabond and REAL simultaneously... and isn't 109 years old...
Barb: Yeah, that amazes me. He's just so good at what he does. And he just gets better and better.
``xEkVVuZElkFOtmanxcC``x1255471823``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xVagabond1_500.jpg InuYasha: The Final Act, Episode 1``xCharlesWebb``xRating: B+
After 56 manga volumes and 167 episodes, the long-lived InuYasha is rounding into the final stretch with The Final Act. This final block of episodes will represent the final 20 volumes of the manga and thus resolve what is, to my mind, one of the more rarefied manga/anime titles.
When I think of InuYasha, I think of Dragon Ball and its offshoot series, not because their content is especially similar, but because their structure is. Entire seasons can proceed with only marginal advancement in the plot, but at the same time, both titles have tremendously vocal and loyal fanbases.
Specifically, looking at the title under review here, we find most of the characters in the same places they were two seasons ago, or even six seasons ago. Female lead Kagome is still flunking out of school in the present while helping InuYasha and the gang seek out jewel shards before the villainous Naraku finds them. The only shift (and we’ve seen this before) is dissent among Naraku’s ranks as disparate portions of his soul manifest as separate entities plotting to destroy him and assume control.
There’s something simultaneously frustrating and soothing about the sitcom nature of this series. The situations are driven by the new enemies the cast faces each week and how they redefine (however temporarily) the cast’s relationship to one another. By the end of each episode, things shake out to about the same as they were at the beginning, and the status quo is restored. It's the same as it ever was with this episode, as the gang accidentally takes out some trash for Naraku and gets a new addition to the road crew in the bargain (hint: a constant victim of mind control who needs to get over their persistent guilt issues).
I wish I had more positive things to say about this episode, but unfortunately, I have very little new to say about it, given the static nature of the stories. Here’s hoping this final season will see more character and story development with the episodes that it has left.
InuYasha: The Final Act will be available on Hulu.com courtesy of Viz, in subtitled episodes on Saturdays.
If you liked this article, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at Monster In Your Veins
``xEkVVuuVyuVgdWQBklz``x1255445645``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xINUYASHA The Final Act.jpg Hayate The Combat Butler v13 ``xStephenJoyce``xHayate the Combat Butler, another serving from Viz's Shonen Sunday line, is a very interesting and surprisingly good series. It's the story of Hayate Ayasaki, a hard-working young man who's forced into being a butler after his parents are unable to resolve some of their gambling debts. This may seem like a horrible turn of events, but in the end, it works out better for Hayate. He's now in a place where the people actually care about him, and though he may have a hectic work schedule, he does appear genuinely happy.
It's not always a great idea to start a manga thirteen volumes in, but it's always good to start somewhere, right? Luckily, this series seems to be easily-accessible, and the characters are recognizable archetypes: Hayate, the series' leading character, is kind-hearted and willing to go the extra mile for his friends-- Nagi, the spoiled rich girl, is slowing becoming a better person due to the presence of Hayate, and Maria, the tough girl, of whom everyone is scared, since she might kill them at any time. These are just the main characters that live in the mansion that's the center of most of the action in the series.
The idea of the main character being a butler in a Shonen manga seems somewhat strange, but once you dive into the series, it's really an afterthought which only really pops up every so often. Most of the time the stories never really focus on Hayate being a butler, but instead use his job as a way to explain why he's in this mansion setting.
Speaking of the story, this manga is mostly a collection of different episodes in the life of Hayate and his friends. The easiest thing I can compare it to is a sitcom, where the story progresses, but doesn't necessarily build on the previous episode. There are certain themes and small plot threads that are spread throughout each story, such as Hayate's interest in Hina, a supporting character. For the most part, though, each story can somewhat stand on its own and be fairly enjoyable. This could be a turn-off for manga fans used to series that rigorously continue the story from chapter to chapter.
Another fun aspect of this series is that it's able to poke fun at the fact that it _is_ a manga. Breaking down the fourth wall can be a lot of fun when it's done right, and it's definitely done right in this series. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does happen, it's usually in a humorous fashion, and it did get a few chuckles from me, particularly when the characters try to go right to the limit for the book's T+ rating. Regardless of this aspect, the series does have a very humorous vibe throughout the volume that'll probably get a smile out of most readers.
From an art standpoint, this series doesn't really stand out all that much. Kenjiro Hata has a somewhat generic style that can easily be confused with other artists of his caliber... but this not necessarily a bad thing. The art is beautiful and of great quality, but it just doesn't really stand out as something that will grab your attention.
The setting may seem a little odd for a Shonen manga, but Hayate the Combat Butler v13 is a solid read that left me smiling and ready for more wacky adventures from Hayate and his friends. The stories were entertaining, and didn't rely on old manga clichés to get their laughs.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
``xEkVVuuuluZeztXSOTm``x1255444847``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421523385``xKenjiro Hata``x``x``x``xComedy``xAction``x``xYuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi``xMark Gianbruno``xViz Media``xOlder Teen``xB``x9.99``x150``x225``xhayatev13.jpg``x``x``x``x Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You v2``xYsabet``xWhen I closed the second volume of Kimi ni Todoke, one thing that struck me was how tidy it was, plot-wise. This volume encompasses exactly one storyline: the school is abuzz with nasty rumors about Sawako's new friends, Yano and Yoshida, and the more insidious rumor that Sawako is the one badmouthing them.
Now, for anyone who's read volume 1, it's overwhelmingly obvious that Sawako is incapable of even grasping why anyone would want to spread rumors, never mind actually doing so herself. It's almost equally obvious to her friends and Kazehaya (Sawako's prospective love interest), but unlike the readers, they don't really understand Sawako or know what she's thinking; while both Yano and Yoshida instinctively want to trust her, they're also aware that they barely know her. Their uncertainty is as believable as Sawako's innocent inability to figure out what's going on around her.
Kazehaya takes a fairly sidelined role in this volume, as he tries to figure out what's going on and help improve the situation. I appreciate that he immediately grasps when it's not his place to step in, and that he not only respects but understands that Sawako's other friendships will sometimes need to take priority over his own desire to spend time with her. He treats Sawako with genuine consideration, trying to understand her and help her without taking charge of any part of her life. These are excellent traits in a love interest, and it's refreshing to see.
Sawako herself continues to be painfully naïve about how other people interact, but her delight in figuring things out and being able to spend time with others is still heartwarming. And she is figuring things out and changing accordingly, even if it's a bit of a slow process so far. I'm really enjoying watching her develop.
Volume 2 of Kimi ni Todoke includes one page of cultural notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVVuuFlFuRhFXRTdB``x1255443834``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527561``xKaruho Shiina``x``x``x``xRomance``xComedy``x``xJN Productions``x``xViz``xTeen``xA-``x8.99``x150``x225``xKimi ni Todoke 2 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x MangaChat: October 2009-- PART TWO``xParkCooper``xConcluding the MangaChat from two weeks ago, in which we learn what Park meant by that "And Yet..."
Read the first part here:
http://www.mangalife.com/features/MangaChatSeptember2009--PA.htm
Barb: I mean, I could easily get hooked on Slam Dunk...and that goes on forever!
3:28 PM I had trouble enough getting through all of Monster...actually, I couldn't...I had to just have you tell me how it ended.
I shudder to think how long Naruto will go on.
You know, I used to laugh when manga-ka wished on a new manga that it would make 100 plus volumes.
Park: I wonder, if Naruto's creator gives himself autonomic imbalance, if the guy doing Pluto will come in to finish it...
Barb: I don't laugh any more. It's totally conceived, especially with a shonen; especially a sports manga.
Park: Yeah, especially a sports manga, that's true.
You just have another tournament.
Barb: I've decided that 20 volumes is my limit. Heck, I even had a somewhat hard time finishing my beloved GTO because of it.
Park: Harlem Beat was 3-on-3 street basketball... and then she had them join the high school team for reals in Rebound.
Barb: Okay, my conclusion: I liked it, but I’m not going to allow myself to get hooked on it.
Park: Understood. No getting hooked on sports manga for barb.
And yet
Barb: See, they can go on almost as long as superhero comics!
And yet....
Park: Oh that's not the and yet.
Barb: REAL.
I’m hooked.
Park: The and yet is Real. Yeah, there you go. Real is, so far, not exactly a sports book. the sport of wheelchair basketball is merely... a theme
Barb: Totally, completely hooked.
Park: So you do have vol 5 there next to ya?
Barb: Yeah, a manga about a sport as opposed to a sports manga.
Yup.
Park: This one had more coherence to it than even earlier volumes.
Barb: You know, I tried to savor this volume, but I ended up chomping it up instead.
Park: Yeah... so we've read vol 5 now and WE HAVEN'T ACTUALLY HAD A FULL OFFICIAL GAME OF WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL do you realize that?
I only JUST NOW realized it
Barb: I always feel at the end of Real, "When's the next volume coming out?"
Park: Let alone a full official game of BASKETBALL back when everyone was walkin' around.
Barb: Yeah, you're right. It's not per se about "the love of the game".
Park: It's like Friday Night Lights but we go to commercial at the start of the game and come back later after it's over
the rich, rich, ripe fruit of characterization and relationship
and overcoming personal limits
...not that I watch Friday Night Lights.
Barb: Instead, it's about how wheelchair basketball gives the characters some sense of direction and autonomy in their lives; how it gives them dignity and a difficult but achievable goal to work towards.
Park: Yes.
Barb: I like Real for the same reason I like manga, period. The best manga are problem solving stories.
And the challenge of getting back one's life after an accident or an illness has got to be about the biggest problem out there.
Park: There was a touch of Naruto and Sasuke when baldy and guy-in-hospital got mad at each other and tried to kill each other-- see, Baldy is the bomb because he totally ignored the fact that Guy Currently In Hospital was not able to physically fight on the same terms
Because this is partially about being able to ignore that physical limitation!
And indeed as I recall they both laid into each other!
And that's not even volume 5!
Barb: At the end of a good problem-solving story, like Fruits Basket, a reader says, "If Tohru can solve her problems and those of that Sohma family, maybe I can solve my problems, too."
Park: What did you think of Baldy's scenes with Blond-girl-he-accidentally-put-in-the-hospital in vol 5?
I thought (among other things) they were well-paced and well-done in general
But after all, where o where is the fat that need be trimmed from Real? NOWHERE! THAT'S WHERE!
Barb: I thought it was pretty real, fairly painful, but not depressing. It may even end up being hopeful. Maybe, in time, she'll forgive him.
Real is all muscle and guts.
Park: Yes, Real is not actually DEPRESSING.
Barb: While some characters do pity themselves at the start, that's because it's part of the process towards acceptance.
Park: Depressing is [the movie] Pulse/Kairo, where there's nothing else you can do.
Barb: NOT DEPRESSING!!!! (Real that is!)
Real is inspiring, but not in a cheap or sentimental way.
Park: In Real, there's not a lot you can do ABOUT not walking like the old days, but there's a philosophy of there being a lot of OTHER things you can do!
Barb: It's an astounding book for adults and older teens.
Park: It would be BS if they DIDN'T pity themselves ever at all.
Barb: Yes, and that's pretty awesome. The philosophy thing, I mean.
Park: BS I say. BS! Yet no! Not Real!
Barb: My favorite manga for some time. Grade: A or A PLUS.
Park: A Plus, says I!
Review copies were provided by the respective publisher or publishers.``xEkVululVZuPNgnEEkA``x1254848574``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xREAL v5.jpg Naruto v46``xbarblien``xBoy, take a break from reading a manga for awhile and you miss a lot. After Naruto’s mentor, the one and only pervy sage… Well, I don’t want to go into it, spoiler-wise, but it was sad, so I took a break. And now in Volume 46, Naruto’s whole village is in deep doo-doo. There’s a guy named Pain, who is almost ridiculously strong… and the village is rubble. The fifth hokage had to expend two tons of chakra just to keep the villagers from all dying. Naruto’s friend Chojo’s Dad almost floated up to the big ramen shop in the sky, that’s how bad his injuries were. And Naruto’s sensei Kakashi, about whom I’ve been worried for awhile… I honestly don’t know his status for certain. Nice cliffhanger there. Hope that he’s okay.
As to a review, I’m of mixed feelings about the series as it stands. My feeling is that if you love fight manga where slowly but surely the heroes and villains get near-godlike powers that fill up astounding splash pages worth of action, you owe it to yourself to glom into Naruto, the sooner the better. Yeah, I know, it’s popular and some people don’t like popular, even if the popularity is based on how good the series is. And believe me, if you’re into battle manga, Naruto is the Beatles of such a genre. Hugely popular (and deservedly so), but also excellent on all levels. This manga will be remembered. It will be influential beyond belief. It will be enjoyed long after the Naruto craze is over, I’m pretty sure of that.
Then why are my feelings mixed? Because I left comic books in part because of the disease I call “Superhero elephantitis”. What I mean by that is that when a hero gets more and more powers, we spend more and more time watching him/her train. Then after awhile, he or she gets so powerful that in the end he or she can only fight other godlike creatures. There’s no room for smaller tales or smaller concerns such as character interaction at that point. For example, Superman could fight an unarmed crook, but it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. So the superhero ends up fighting to save the world every frikkin' storyline! Bigness can lead to lack of creativity, boredom, and reader alienation. I fear for Naruto, excellent series that it is, because there’s no place to go after one’s turned one’s amp up to eleven. And how’s the series going to ever get that Naruto/Sasuke fight that we know has to happen eventually if it uses all of its chakra on manufactured threats to the Leaf Village?
Part of me wonders if we’re at some type of turning point for the series. Part of me says that it’ll just keep getting bigger and bigger until I won’t have fun reading it any more.
Yet, people seem to like “bigger is better”, even if I have problems with it. For instance, my husband is still nuts about this series and thinks it just keeps building in battle manga-y goodness. He still breathlessly reads the series cover to cover, excited and as happy as a kid every volume, still enthused and amused at every juncture, just like he used to be about superheroes before event fatigue killed his enthusiasm and turned him into a shonen-loving mangahead. I’m happy for him, honestly I am. A good fight manga is hard to find. I’m just a little knackered concerning big bangs in comics and manga, regardless of quality. Probably just a phase I’m going through.
I still love the characters in Naruto. I still worry about them and mourn their losses. So, in spite of my own personal prejudices and concerns, I give this volume an unabashed B Plus.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
``xEkVuluZApyVSDDIBdm``x1254847906``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421533049``xMasashi Kishimoto``x``x``x``xAction``x``x``xMari Morimoto``x``xViz``xTeen``xB+``x9.99``x150``x225``xNaruto46.jpg``x``x``x``x We Were There v6``xYsabet``xThe opening pages of We Were There vol. 6 beautifully illustrate the particular blend of endearing/frustrating that make me like Yano while being just a bit annoyed that I find him charming. (That's "charming" in the sense of small, adorable animals, not in the sense of roses and champagne. But roses and champagne are overrated, anyway.)
Nanami and Yano's relationship is still on the rocks as this volume opens, and Yano's friend Takeuchi's continued interest in Nanami isn't helping matters--or is it? The two boys have been friends long enough that Takeuchi has a pretty good grasp on Yano's behavior, and he shows a lot of insight with Nanami, too. As for Nanami, she may not be truly tempted to try finding love with a new guy, but she still feels so badly burned by her experience with Yano that all of his efforts at winning her back meet a lot of resistance. It's still obvious to everyone around them that they're not over each other, but We Were There isn't the kind of story that makes readers assume that people having strong feelings for each other will lead to a "happily ever after" ending. There are plenty of issues for the characters to work through, and it turns out that Nana-san, Yano's dead ex-girlfriend, isn't the only ghost hanging over him.
One thing this volume handles particularly well is its introduction of other elements from Yano's past: they're not presented in a heavy-handed way, but it's not hard to put some pieces together and see how they contribute to Yano being who he is today. I expect Obata will develop that storyline further as the series continues to unfold, and I'm looking forward to seeing how that part turns out. Meanwhile, although I do get the feeling that Nanami and Yano's relationship will continue to be patched up, I can only assume that there'll be a few more rough patches along the way.
Volume 6 of We Were There includes a bonus story set a few years before the series' main story.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVuluylVEcotrFgza``x1254846851``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421520230``xYuki Obata``x``x``x``xDrama``xRomance``x``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``xNancy Thistlethwaite``xViz``xOlder Teen``xA``x8.99``x150``x225``xWe Were There 6 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Interpreting``xNibley``xMany apologies to everyone who may have been looking forward to a column last week. Right up until the day we were supposed to write it, we were dealing with some personal issues, and then on the day it was actually due, we ended up going to Disneyland. I know, I know, what kind of lame, lazy slackers skip out on their responsibilities to go to Disneyland, right? Well, we'll have you know that we skipped school to go to Disneyland many times. Actually only once a year, and I really would not recommend falling behind in school to go to Disneyland.
But anyway, a friend of ours, who lives in Japan and only visits the United States about once a year, was going to be at Disneyland that day, and we wanted to be able to spend time with him. And the reason I bring that all up is because now I can write a column on interpreting! See? There's a method to my madness. Usually, anyway. ...Okay, sometimes.
Right. Interpreting. Here's a little factoid that most people may or may not realize, but only pay attention to if they're in some sort of language-switching business: translating refers to changing one language into another in writing. Interpreting refers to doing it with speech only. So if you're watching subtitled anime, chances are somebody translated the script (which would have been written). But if you're watching anime in Japanese without subtitles, and your friend who knows Japanese is telling you what they're saying, then your friend is interpreting. And let me tell you, interpreting takes a lot more confidence, and a different kind of skill.
See, when you're translating, you can take as much time as you want, looking up every word in a dictionary, cross-referencing to make absolutely sure you're getting the right nuance, etc. etc. But when you're interpreting, it's best to do it all on the spot, or else you have people standing there waiting around, and there's a possibility that by the time you've looked up the word in the dictionary, nobody even remembers what you were talking about. Of course, there are electronic pocket dictionaries that probably help speed up the process, but none of us had one of those, so we got to try interpreting without it. Our friend has an iPhone, and we'd imagine there's a J<->E dictionary app, but he couldn't use the internet on his phone, because it was a Japanese one and... we don't know why, but it just couldn't get internet.
So when you're interpreting, you have to get creative. We were going through the Sleeping Beauty's Castle walkthrough, where it has all the scenes illustrating the story (the Disneyland version is a little too Maleficentric, if you ask us; I mean, Maleficent's a great villain and all, but some of us want to see the scene where Philip and Aurora met), and since our friend wasn't familiar with the fairy tale, we got to explain everything. That brings up an interesting question, come to think of it. The descriptions of the scenes are all written down, and we said the Japanese outloud... so originally it was text, which would make it translation, but we were speaking, which would make it interpreting... hmm...
Anyway, that was when we realized we didn't know the Japanese word for “spinning wheel.” It was easy to work around it, though, because we were able to say “the machine that makes thread,” and our friend supplied “itomakiki.” The lesson to be learned here is one we read in a book at our college bookstore a few years ago--you can double your fluency by learning ways to explain the words you don't know. Tadah! Fortunately, we were in a very low-pressure situation where it was okay to mess up. So for anyone wanting to learn to really speak Japanese, we would definitely recommend finding a friend you can talk to.
Of course, that can be risky, too. Athena and I don't practice speaking Japanese with each other for two reasons. First and foremost, English is much easier, and we are lazy. But second, we're afraid we'll end up training mistakes into each other, since we don't really have anybody around to correct us.
But anyway, back to interpreting and the kind of brain power it requires. As I said, we were lucky to be in a low-pressure situation, where we had time to talk things out if anybody got confused. But when we were in Japan, we went to church with a relative, and it was his job to interpret the meeting into English for those in the congregation who didn't know Japanese. It was crazy to listen to, because someone would start talking and just seconds later he'd be repeating it in English into a microphone, which would play into the headphones of the people who needed interpretation. So he was listening in one language and speaking in another at the same time! That must take an incredible amount of concentration. It was pretty amazing. It would be neat to be able to do that one day, but for now, we enjoy taking our time translating manga.``xEkVukuVpVVADtKKlIG``x1254245055``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg MangaChat: With The Light: Raising An Autistic Child v5``xParkCooper``xWell, continuing our/my big push for Yen Press’ WITH THE LIGHT: RAISING AN AUTISTIC CHILD, we have here an interview of me with an American educator, one who has read a few manga, but mostly is very, very much a part of what I call the Casual Audience—one who is not a hardcore fan as such in the least little bit. I’ve called on her before to get a clear perspective of just what the average American who isn’t a fan of hardly anything geeky (except the TV show BIG BANG THEORY) might think of a given comic book or manga, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to call upon her, as she is a vice-principal at an elementary school but has also been a teacher and assistant superintendant in the past. I lent her my review copy of WITH THE LIGHT volume 5. And so, my discussion of WITH THE LIGHT volume 5 with someone who serves as a perfect example of an endorsement of this series and what it can offer educators and other Americans, because if she can read it, you can read it: my mom.
me: I saw your email about finishing the book
Let's talk about it a bit
DPC: Yes, it's well done.
me: What did you mean by "a little confused about the characters and the repeating"
DPC: I identified with the mommies and the asst. principal.
me: I can guess about the characters, but what did you mean about the repeating?
DPC: Well, every now and then things would be repeated.
me: Okay I think I know what you're talking about... I think those are between chapters, right?
OR do you mean the characters would repeat things?
Hikaru repeats things a lot...
or someone will say something, and he'll repeat it back to them... is that what you mean?
DPC: It's not drawn the same, but the words are almost the same.
There were many characters and it was hard to keep them straight.
me: Okay, that's probably a chapter break...
Understood. You came in in volume 5, after all.
DPC: But I decided that if it was originally published in chapters, they might have to catch everyone up to what had happened last.
me: The only really important people are Hikaru, his mom, and his teacher...
DPC: Like a tv serial show.
Yes.
me: Yes, that's it. manga often appears serialized in magazines first. so the books are like if they stuck the tv shows end to end to make a movie... every 30 minutes they would say things again to catch people up.
DPC: I was just confused by the Japanese stuff. Kind of like visiting a foreign country. The little boy sang a song about spores... that seemed odd.
me: Well, they're a little more interested in mushrooms over there, it's true... shiitake and all those...
DPC: Yes.
me: But let's get back to the autism... volume 5 is the only non-library copy I have, so it was the only one I could give you.
But even so, do you feel you have a better understanding of autism now? Tell me about that.
DPC: Well, yes. I think the disability is different with different children in severity. Some are more challenged than others.
And that's true of them. Certain days they can do things that surprise you, all right.
And they all like textures and need their space.
me: Uh huh. Do you agree with me that (preferably from the beginning, not jumping in at vol 5) educators must be made aware of With The Light?
DPC: Yes. I plan to get it ordered in our libraries for teachers and for older students.
me: Okay good!
It'll be on amazon... and the ISBNs will be available there.
Barb and I plan to push it hard at MangaLife...
DPC: That's a good thing.
me: Besides the fact that you came in late, and that Japanese culture can have some rather unexpected things in it sometimes, would you say the text itself was pretty easy to read?
DPC: Yes. Sometimes I wasn't sure I was reading the right box, but I more than got the idea.
me: Let's talk about the key characters. Start with Hikaru.
DPC: He was a sweet boy, but I’m not sure what to say about him... He didn't speak much, which is normal... I love the way he was drawn.
me: Okay, let's switch to Hikaru's mom
DPC: She was very apologetic for him. She didn’t want to cause anyone trouble. She was worried about what would happen when she got old and died. It was all very realistic.
me: Okay, now, his main teacher. I know his teacher is a very frustrating person... you should have seen the problems they had with the lady teacher before him, the one who retired... but I felt like the teacher really made progress throughout the book
DPC: Hummm. But not enough to make me sympathetic to him...
me: Heh. How did you feel about the end of volume 5, where it stopped?
DPC: He never liked playing with the kids like the assistant principal did.
I liked the part about handing down the yellow hat and the backpack.
That was so sweet... but I was surprised that the little boy wouldn't really allow that. I felt surely he would still have his sentimental attachment to his old things...
DPC: All the extra info is really good.
me: Yes
DPC: At the beginning and at the end.
me: Anything else that you would add? any unanswered questions? I can maybe explain anything cultural...
DPC: Do you think little kids really fold all that paper? Origami? How do they know how?
me: They teach each other
DPC: I....guess.
me: Kids did paper shuriken (look like throwing stars) even when I was in school (in texas!).
DPC: Yes...did you call them that?
me: Although I never really learned how to do them right, myself.
No we called them throwing stars.
I've just picked up the Japanese word for it. That’s just how it is when you read as much manga and watch as much anime as Barb and I do...
``xEkVukuulEuORpmjqHB``x1254244814``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xwiththelight_5.gif St. Dragon Girl v4``xYsabet``xFrom the beginning, each volume of St. Dragon Girl has contained a few distinct stories with little to connect them to each other, but volume 4's chapters are just interconnected enough to give it a less episodic feel. It's a fairly subtle shift (at least partially resulting from the series changing to a monthly serialization rather than bi-monthly, which editor Nancy Thistlethwaite mentioned a while back when discussing it), but I find it makes me engage more significantly with the story and enjoy it more, since character development is one of the main things I look for as a reader.
In these chapters, Momoka and Ryuga get to know the dragon possessing Momoka rather better than they did before--perhaps a little too well for comfort, but they need all the help they can get when confronted by both a vengeance-seeking demon and a powerful magician out to destroy Ryuga's family. The one thing that most of the supernatural entities in St. Dragon Girl have in common is an interest in the Kou family, but their motivations vary from petty vanity to generations-long rivalry. Matsumoto transitions fairly smoothly between lighter and more intense stories, although I find this is a series where I don't feel too anxious about the outcomes, probably because the more lighthearted, comedic plots and the more serious-seeming plots are equally likely to involve something like a character's life being at stake. That lack of concern doesn't really detract from my enjoyment of the story, but I can't deny it has an effect on how I read it.
Character-wise, communication still isn't Momoka and Ryuga's strength when dealing with each other (which will probably never stop frustrating me when characters are supposed to have known each other for such a long time, but that frustration is hardly unique to this title), but there does seem to be definite--if slow--progress in terms of their relationship. Ryuga still seems overly inclined to protect Momoka, especially given that so much of the trouble she gets into happens because she's kept out of the loop, but he seems to be gradually improving on that front as well.
As before, St. Dragon Girl is a fun, somewhat fluffy read, and I'm glad that I'm starting to feel more invested in the story.
Volume 4 includes a bonus feature where Natsumi Matsumoto answers fans' questions, a fanart section, and a page of cultural/translation notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVukukplViEWpwVFr``x1254242085``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421520133``xNatsumi Matsumoto``x``x``x``xRomance``xComedy``x``xAndria Cheng``xHeidi Vivolo``xViz``xTeen``xB``x8.99``x150``x225``xSt Dragon Girl 4 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x What I'm Lookin' At: Late September 2009``xParkCooper``xDragonBall: VizBig Edition v4.
Viz Media
IT CAME FROM 1984: This giant-size omnibus edition comprises what we would normally think of as volumes 10 through 12 of DragonBall. I’d already read DragonBall Z, but DragonBall was fairly cool too, being the adventures of little-kid Son Goku. It’s time for the big martial-arts tournament, but right near the end, someone releases one of the biggest threats Earth has ever known: Piccolo, the demon king (although some of us know that what he really is is rather more complicated than being a “demon king”). Can Piccolo gain the seven Dragon Balls and use them to wish back the one thing that would make him even more dangerous: his long-passed youthful vigor? Well, many of us know the answer already, but this is fun for shonen fans whether they came in on DBZ like I did, or whether they know nuthin’ ‘bout nuthin’ that’s going on, or if you just want to revisit the series. You’ve got to admit, three volumes for 17.99 seems pretty fair... If I was giving out grades, here, this would surely be some kind of A... Oh, I almost forgot to mention that a big part of the fun is that, as always with this series, adapter Gerard Jones is at the wheel. Yay!
The Antique Gift Shop v8
Yen Press
This manhwa is not for me. In it, there’s an antique gift shop. Bun-Nyuh works there. I don’t think she wants to... there’s magical stuff going on. Welcome to the Korean version of xxxHolic. Maybe.
This volume, a Nepalese goddess shows up for a visit, and she’s good for business... but she’s also trouble.
Everyone’s insanely pretty (except Bun-Nyuh, who’s merely kinda pretty), everything’s magical... there’s a mermaid, and someone who’s kinda cursed to eat and eat until she dies... we have to figure out (in the next volume) what to do about that... If you like xxxHolic, Nightmare Inspector, and that sort of “let’s open a mystical business (or temple, or move in with a music teacher) from which we can help magically messed-up people with their problems” type of stuff, you might like this manhwa, because it’s another one of those...
Croquis Pop v5
Yen Press
I don’t think this manhwa is for me. I’m not sure, because I don’t have a handy summary (or indeed any summary) of what this series is about. There are these magic-type people or something called Croquers. They seem to have reality-altering/shaping powers. A created-world is called (I think) a croquis, you see (if I’m right...). I think Da-Il is the main protagonist... he’s special, a little like Naruto seems sort of dorky when you meet him, but he has hidden potential...
To paraphrase the philosopher Towelie, “I have no idea what’s going on right now.” This doesn’t look like the worst magical adventure ever, but I can’t get into it because what has gone before in the previous four volumes is such a blank to me. If you just can’t get enough of this sort of thing (if you’re insane for Clamp’s Tsubasa, for example), and you want to go check this out from the beginning, you have my permission, because it might turn out to be not half bad. But at this point, it’s pretty hard to say.
Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning v8
Yen Press
I don’t think this manga is for me, either. Again, I’m not sure, because I have no idea what’s going on. Everyone has guns, and they seem to have extremely advanced combat skills. Not NARUTO advanced, just Gunsmith Cats advanced, but still fairly advanced. There’s this guy named Kanon whom we’re all trying to kill. He, in turn, is having trouble killing us because Team Good Guy is “his own kind,” and he has some limitations about killing his own kind (a limitation he’s trying to overcome). It may involve the Blade Children, which, and this is just me taking a wild guess, might be kids who also have future killing-machine-potential. It also might involve God and the devil, although I THINK that might just be a metaphor we’re tossing around a lot, not sure.
If you love gun battles and cerebral strategizin’, and human killin’ machines and stuff, Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning might be an even better bet, in my opinion, than Croquis Pop. But I think we’ll all have to take a look at earlier volumes to be sure.
Angel Diary v9
Yen Press
From the makers of Demon Diary comes Angel Diary... who could have seen that comin’? Unlike Demon Diary, though, there’s some female romantic leads this time, apparently...
Basically, one important angel has made a friend or ally or something with a demon, and must help protect said demon from other angels. It’s not like this big Miltonic thing—the princess of Heaven lives in a little bungalow on Earth... it’s just, you know, angels, demons... all of which wish that our protagonist liked them best... as a friend, or, you know, whatever... in other words, this is a manhwa about ZOMG emotional relationship-based intensity. And to make it more interesting, there’s angels and demons.
This manhwa is not for me. Everyone’s pretty, except for the protagonist, who is just kinda cute in her (her?) way... if you like this sort of thing, here’s more.
Legend v5
Yen Press
Yet another manhwa from the creators of Demon Diary and Angel Diary...
A thousand years ago, there was this sword that was a big deal known as the Seven-Blade Sword. Basically, imagine a sword with six extra kinda-boomerang-shaped blades coming off the main blade, three per main edge. Okay, the guy whose destiny was involved with that sword died, but now he’s back as the leader of Team Good Guys. He revisits the old days in flashback dreams of the past, and it appears other members of Team Good Guys are starting to have similar experiences, since they’re reincarnated too. Anyway, we’re all on a quest to collect the seven scattered blades of the Seven Blade Sword, who seem to have taken on human form and don’t want Team Good Guys to re-assemble the Sword. I can see where they’re coming from, but there’s demons involved somehow, so clearly we need to do it anyway. Oh, and each blade has a different power.
Get the idea? It’s one of those... Saiyuki meets Inu-Yasha... with more swords. Oh yes. There will be swords. Or blades, anyway. If you like this sort of thing, there’s a chance you might like this. Although, really, HAVE you read Saiyuki and Inu-Yasha? If not, I suggest you go give those a shot first...
You’re So Cool v4
Yen Press
Okay, this is a romance manhwa. Here’s what it’s like: remember Kare Kano? Imagine that as a manhwa TURNED UP TO 11. THEN TURNED UP AGAIN TO LIKE 15.
Nan-Woo is a very goofy girl. She looks goofy, too, although kinda cute. She wanted a super-hot boyfriend, and boy, did she find one: Seung-Ha. She made him be her boyfriend in the last three volumes by, if this volume is anything to go by, deciding they were gonna be a couple and just not taking no for an answer: she sort of stubbornly annoyed him into it.
Basically, Seung-Ha is Arima from Kare Kano, and Nan-Woo is your typical Korean high school romantic heroine—the most stubborn being on earth. Deep down, Seung-Ha likes her, because she’s emotionally very tough and resilient. Seung-Ha, on the other hand, is emotionally brittle— since he’s, you know, the Korean Arima, he has a biological mother (who's entering back into his life) who’s messed-up and nothing but trouble, or at least that’s how he remembers her...
There’s also a side-romance between Nan-Woo’s pretty brother and a male friend of his... those two are THIS CLOSE to realizing that they like each other so much they don’ know wha’ to do, but they aren’t officially there yet this volume.
If you liked Kare Kano up until the terrible ending, I feel compelled to tell you that you actually might indeed like You’re So Cool, as long as you don’t mind a little Korean déjà vu.
``xEkVFyupZAuZaOsPCJv``x1253640794``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xdragonballvizbig4.jpg Haruka -Beyond the Stream of Time- v5``xYsabet``xThe monk-prince Eisen has become the seventh of the Eight Guardians, but one last Guardian remains shrouded in mystery. As the search goes on for Akane's final protector, Akane still struggles to accept the power within her...and then, Major General Tachibana goes missing!
This is the fourth volume I've read of Haruka -Beyond the Stream of Time- , and I still feel that having missed volume 1 is hurting my chances of really getting into the story. (Obviously that's a risk with any series, but usually by a volume or two in I feel reasonably on top of what's going on.) I'm not positive that having read the series from the beginning would completely solve my inability to keep the characters straight, but it would undoubtedly help. All of Akane's Guardians are clearly meant to have distinctive personalities, but for the most part I'm still mentally labeling them as "the quiet one", "the cute one", and so on. That's just not promising.
In this volume, Akane finds herself chafing under some of the restrictions that come with being the Priestess of the Dragon God. She slips out when she's supposed to stay safely inside on an unlucky day, and winds up being rebuked for it. Later, she and some of her Guardians visit Ran, a girl who was under the control of the demon clan for quite some time and is now recovering from the experience. The Guardians hope Ran can share useful information with them, but Akane's encounter with her doesn't go at all as planned.
Despite my initial comments above, I'm interested in some of the things going on here. I can't really decide whether I find Akane's apparent resistance to fully accepting her role frustrating or understandable, but I liked her conversation with Ran, and I like her scenes with Eisen, the newest Guardian. But I can't stop feeling that there are simply too many characters who don't have enough individual focus, which keeps me from getting attached to any of them. With each volume I appreciate the plot more, but not caring much about the characters one way or the other makes it virtually impossible for me (personally) to get really involved in what's going on.
Volume 5 of Haruka -Beyond the Stream of Time- includes several pages of bonus material and the bonus story My Mind, His Mind.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkVFyupFEpsDvqeSvd``x1253640310``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421524864``xTohko Mizuno``x``x``x``xRomance``xFantasy``x``xStanley Floyd``xStanley Floyd``xViz``xOlder Teen``xC+``x8.99``x150``x225``xHaruka 5 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x MangaChat: September 2009-- PART ONE ``xParkCooper``xThis week kicks off the husband-wife MangaChat. Can Park and Barb discuss two manga in just 20 minutes? Let's find out.
Barb: Let's start with Sumomomo Momomo: The Strongest Bride on Earth.
Park: The Strongest Bride on Earth is a strange book that should not have the level of fan service panty shots it does.
3:07 PM Part of the point of Sumomo(...mo) is that the dude is not about to have sex with her-- she isn't really drawn with any sort of provocative body.
Sure as heck not for ME anyway.
So it seems rather wrong.
Barb: I like this manga a lot more than I thought I would. Yes, it has fan service. Yes, its humor can be a little (okay, a lot) dirty. But it's cute.
Park: And I don't think they're being ironic.
Barb: No, I don't think they are, either.
Park: But there's a lot to like about it, even though it's not exactly a patented MangaLife grade in the A Range.
3:08 PM Somehow the violence is both painful and amusing, like Excel Saga.
3:09 PM The fact that the main guy has NO battle skills that he's actually managed to develop adds a certain element of novelty to the whole thing...
It's like if we expected Tohru Honda to fight her own battles, almost.
Barb: It's a cultural thing, I suppose. I mean, in America if you showed a young woman in sort of sexual situations, parents would (rightly!) get mad. But because Asia seems to have a different attitude towards teens (and humor), it comes off as "sweet dirty" not, “oh, you perv.”
Park: Somehow. Yes. If people say I’m giving them a pass they shouldn't have, I admit that might be a conversation worth having, but I do feel that cultural standards matter in this case.
3:10 PM Like when Onizuka in GTO gets a bit lecherous.
Barb: I like a good dirty joke, as long as it's funny and it doesn't hurt anyone. And the humor here isn't out to put women down or anything.
I'd cringe at that.
The plot is strangely old-fashioned.
3:11 PM Park: Hm. That makes me realize who our problem is with-- the creator. We're not mad at Onizuka because Onizuka is such a buffoon (and a virgin). Our little Strongest Bride TRIES to sexually offer herself, and fails so bad, we can't blame her for being prurient... but we do wonder if we shouldn't blame the creator.
3:12 PM Yes, it's not the most original story in the world. There's fighting, there's classrooms, there's even people with the characteristics of the Chinese zodiac for heaven's sake.
Barb: A young woman is told be her dad that because she's female (boo!), she can't be his heir and run their martial arts school unless she marries the son of another martial artist's dojo. And she agrees! Only to find that the son has on guts and no interest in her. So she becomes his bodyguard.
It's a weird set-up. A little Ranma, maybe.
3:13 PM Park: Our little dragon-style-martial-arts girl is THE draw here, because she's got that personality that goes insanely along with anything and everything.
And with such Excel enthusiasm. And naïveté.
3:14 PM Barb: What I like about the series is that the young woman is so darned enthusiastic about everything: sex, marriage, the choice of husband, etc. And she never takes offense at her beloved's putdowns or lack of interest. She sees him as a hero, even though he's a coward.
Park: So I guess it comes down to what the creator will do in future volumes... for example, will Boy-Boy keep approaching this fighting manga like he's the Ace Attorney, or will he give up and learn to fight? I think the first one is much funnier...
And yet, yes, there's a cowardice factor there, too...
3:15 PM I feel like the creator saw Kung Fu Hustle, so the male lead has an emotional chi blockage...
Barb: I hope that later in the series, the son isn't such a drip. Because, as is, our little bride is the whole series. Like her, like the series. If you don't, you will hate this series.
...Yeah, you're probably right.
Park: Yes, if we can't improve more of anything else, we need more of the bride.
As much as possible in fact.
3:17 PM Barb: In spite of myself, in spite of the somewhat harmless sexism, and in spite of the one joke concept, I like the volume I read. So, I give it a rather generous B minus to B.
I think that it's one of Yen's strongest works, along with Sarasah and the A-plus Yotsuba.
Park: Understood.
Shall we move on to Whistle?
Er, Whistle!
3:18 PM Barb: Whistle!
Park: Whistle(!) has a lot going for it. Which it needs, in order to overcome its one huge drawback-- it's about guys playing soccer. ...The end.
So it better be the best kids playing soccer story you could tell, and I think it just about is
without bringing the supernatural into it
3:19 PM Barb: You know, I read a lot of shonen. I like action-adventure. Yet, usually I don't read sports manga. Okay, I'll read Slam Dunk for the humor and the characters. I read Real because it's not just about sports. But sports mangas are pretty much all the same to me.
3:20 PM For instance, I could never read Prince of Tennis. It's all just about the game. Heck, I even dumped Hikaru No Go for the same reason.
Park: It's got LOVE OF THE GAMEness, it's got soccer... (Joy [Kim] recently talked about how a kendo manga Yen sent her didn't have enough clever use of kendo matches in it, but was merely a backdrop for wacky characters. Not so, Whistle.)
3:21 PM Barb: I couldn't make head nor tail out of Eyeshield 21.
Park: Yeah, let's not go to Eyeshield
But Whistle backs up its soccerness with emotional character resonance.
3:22 PM And this volume you've read is a good example. "Why oh why did blondie leave the team? Just so he could play AGAINST us? What oh what is UP with that? I feel strong feelings about this!"
"And it makes me think about how blondie and I first became friends! I remember it like it was yesterday..."
Barb: Yeah, that's true. One of the nice things about it being about a relatively simple game and a limited amount of characters is that I was able to jump onto Volume 23 (!) and still enjoy it.
Park: Right-- three less players on the field at a time than even Princess Nine.
3:23 PM Barb: I guess what made Whistle work for me is the same thing that makes Naruto work for me. Every character has something to prove, along with a back story that shows why this character just has to be the best!
So you root for every character, knowing that they can't all win.
3:24 PM Park: And you don't need to memorize the names, although I've had it beat into me enough that Sho is our lovable little guy and reason-d'etre. But between Blond Daredevil Guy and Cool And Stoic (on the outside) Guy and Sho, it's a rich panoply of character interaction.
Yeah, in this volume especially-- someone's gonna lose!
Barb: Oh, Princess 9! Everyone go out and rent that! The only sports anime I've ever liked!
Because it's not just about the game.
3:25 PM Park: And if Blondie screws it up, he's got to, like, get an MBA and take over dad's company! A fate worse than death!
Barb: However, Whistle is, in a way...fortunately, I like soccer.
Yeah, that part really got to me.
3:26 PM So, I guess that I'd give Whistle v23 somewhere between a B plus and an A minus.
Park: Like I said about Prince of Tennis-- the trick is that it's not a sport-- it's REALLY a battleground for improving yourself at your most basic level.
Barb: I mean, I see why you're such a fan of it. It's cool and everyone who likes soccer should read it.
Park: And overcoming your own perceived limits.
Understood.
3:27 PM Barb: However, I just don't want to get hooked on a sports series.
Park: Understood.
And yet...
What does Park mean by this "And yet..."? He does actually mean something by it! Find out what later this month here at MangaLife.com!``xEkVFEVAZuypozvAVVG``x1253159746``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xwhistle23.jpg What I'm Lookin' At: Early September 2009``xParkCooper``xBlack Jack v6
Vertical
Well, it’s more Black Jack, and it’s more Black Jack coolness. I’m starting to really feel challenged about how to sell you on Black Jack in new and different ways every time, when Black Jack is simply Black Jack, and if you like Black Jack, you will also like this volume... I guess I’ll hit you non-spoilery highlights from a couple of this volume’s stories:
“Revenge”: Japan’s board of directors decides they want Black Jack to either accept a medical license, or be in jail, once and for all. A powerful old man decides he wants Black Jack to operate on his son, or else. Will ANYONE come out a winner in this scenario?
“Terror Virus”: A terrible outbreak on a ship causes the government to secretly hire Black Jack—and rival Dr. Kiriko, the euthanasia-happy doctor we’ve met in previous volumes. But even if they’re successful, will Black Jack and Dr. Kiriko end up knowing too much for their own good?
Okay, if that doesn’t whet your appetite, heck with you.
Goong v5, Yen Press
This manga is just not for me. One might like it if one likes shoujo about modern princesses involved with romantic difficulties. Barb: "I think the art is rather pretty... quite manhwa pretty." She's still a bit burned out on reviewing right at this moment, or else she might've reviewed it herself.
Zombie Loan v6, Yen Press:
I'd long been interested in this title, since... well, since it has the word Zombie in the title. But I really can't say that I cotton to it... Basically, there are people who kill zombies... but no one does it for free. I understood the concept okay by the time I finished reading it, but now, a few weeks later, I can't quite recall how it all works. There’s no guide inside to who’s whom or what has gone before. This should appeal to the readers of Bleach, though; that should tell you something...
Barb: “I think the art’s cute. In sort of an East-meets-West way.”
B.Ichi v3, Yen Press
I can’t tell what’s going on in this fighting manga. There’s a lot of fighting, and apparently some robots. There are special weapons... and... bones... There’s people in strange outfits. I guess it might appeal to fans of other fighting manga... who... like... strange people and robots...? The back comes the closest to giving me a hint of what’s up: there’s a Robot Fight tournament... We’re against the King of Spin... Spin as used here might be a special fighting style or move... Our heroes are attacking the “Fear Factory,” which seems to be involved with robots somehow... Does that help?
I swear, a bunch of kids probably just jumped up from their computers and bolted for the store to buy this based on my description...
Barb: “Uh... the art here is even more... East-meets-Westy... the art is like a more... grown-up and advanced One Piece?”
Me: “You mean LESS grown-up and LESS advanced, right?”
Barb: “No, it’s more grown-up.”
Me: “Oh, you mean in emotional TONE. Less cartoonish, sort of. Okay.”
Barb: “It’s... less crowded.”
Me: “It’s... incredibly MORE crowded. That’s part of why I have so much trouble telling what’s going on.”
Barb: “Okay... you need to tell the readers... that... aspiring manga-ka who wanna see how indie comics and manga have, and will, influence one another... could find this interesting.”
Me: “Done, and done.”
Barb, doing her impression of Baby Snooks from old-time radio (for some reason): "I... like the guy on the cover... he has a big gun and white hair, so that's pretty. ...Big gun prob'ly go boom real loud."
Me: "Okay, you win."
Tena on S-String v1
Yen Press
This manga is okay if you like this sort of thing. This is a supernatural manga with a musical theme—there are (instead of shinigami) Soul Tuners, who adjust people’s Soul Scores, the music of the soul. Oops, a convenient-to-the-plot accident released some weird viral notes into the world, and they’re causing havoc in human lives, so we have to trouble-shoot.
Into this concept comes music teacher Kyosuke Hibiki, who was hit by a car, put in the hospital, and when he woke up, he could hear and see Soul Scores as lines of musical notes swirling around people. Soon he’s got a goth-loli-lookin’ Soul Tuner living with him... and then two more...
It’s Oh My Goddess meets Bleach meets xxxHolic meets Nightmare Inspector meets... well just about everything else you’d expect. It’s not badly done, but the only original part is the combo of a light, harmless supernatural manga with the musical theme. The adaptation sometimes feels like it could use just a little more tweaking, but mostly is pretty good. If you like every other light, comedic, supernatural manga, there’s a good chance you’ll like this one too, since this one is like most of them put together with a slightly new take on things...
Waq Waq v1
Viz Media
This manga is not for me. In a futuristic dystopia where peasants struggle to survive, bad robotic creatures threaten everybody. The cyborg corps known as the super-cool-and-tough Guardians protect the peasants... but there is a rumored being called a Kami who can grant a wish, or save us all, or something like that, called a Kami... and one guy thinks he’s found the Kami—the mythical person whose blood is red, not black!
Wait, what? Everyone else’s blood is black? That’s the only twist that keeps me curious to know more, and (perhaps wisely?) they haven’t explained to me why human-looking beings don’t have red blood these days...
If you like fightin’ and sci-fi and the-world-fell-apart-already scenarios, you might like Waq Waq. But personally, I would recommend trying Dark Horse’s _Banya: The Explosive Deliveryman_ (of course, Waq Waq is for teens, and Banya is for somewhat older readers, as I recall, but hey).
Gestalt v2
Viz Media
This manga is not for me. It’s a supernatural adventure with a lot of pretty girls in vaguely fan-service poses... Basically, there’s a big bad demon, and there’s Oliver, a priest, who I think is headed to the taboo continent known only as G (the whole continent is forbidden? Really? Must be pretty taboo to keep people from going there)—I think the bad demon thing was there at one time, and probably still is, so I bet Oliver’s quest is to deal with that. Helping him is a sorcerer who used to be a guy but lost one fight or bet too many, and now is mute and... female... there’s a dark elf along for the ride, too... in fact there’s a lotta elves in this volume...
Everyone’s pretty, everyone’s magical (or divinely magical)... you get the idea, especially if you’ve experienced Saiyuki and/or Record of Lodoss War and/or Black God... if you like other supernatural fantasies, you may like this one, because this one is a lot like those ones...
Cirque du Freak v2: The Vampire’s Assistant
Yen Press
Actually, I liked this volume better than the last volume of same. The set-up volume sometimes felt awkward... this one was somewhat better. The illustrator/manga-creator-who’s-adapting-the-book-series mentioned getting the hang of it better this time, and I agree. The adaptation is maybe a little bit better than last time, or, at least, I noticed clunkiness less often.
The boy who loves spiders who became a vampire (or half-vampire?) last time is trying to learn the ropes of being a vamp this time, but finds it extremely hard... especially drinking blood from humans (which, while it can be delayed, is needed for his survival sooner or later)... and also, the lack of other humanoid contact besides his mentor. To solve the second one, the two of them return to where it all started— the Cirque du Freak. There, our protagonist makes a new friend of a reptile boy, and makes even more friends... but there’s also tragedy ahead, which almost (but not quite) made me a little surprised that this only has a teen rating, instead of older teen. Oh well, at least we aren’t afraid to really go for it... no bloodless, safe series, this.
All in all, I feel better about this series than I did at first, so I wouldn’t cry if Yen Press sent me a volume 3 of it some day.
``xEkVFpFulZysNgDCZpO``x1253034876``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xblackjack6.jpg Vampire Knight v7``xYsabet``xIt had been a while since I last checked in with Vampire Knight (back around volume 4), so it was nice to have a chance to catch up on what's been happening in the series. Since my first exposure to VK, I've also had a chance to read a few volumes of Hino's earlier series, Captive Hearts, and I have to say I find Vampire Knight much more interesting.
Here in volume 7, we find Yuki attempting to regain her repressed memories and figure out if Kaname had anything to do with making her forget her past, while (in the grander scheme of things) plots are thickening in the world of vampire politics and seem to be coming to a head. As always, there's an awful lot going on in here: Yuki is having bloody hallucinations, an unexpected transfer student arrives on the scene, Zero may have lost his only chance at holding onto his sanity, and both Zero and Kaname are trying to find ways to protect Yuki. (It's likely a sign of how serious the threats facing her are that Zero seems willing to go along with Kaname's efforts to protect her, unpalatable as they are to him.) I find it can all get a bit confusing at times, but it's safe to say there's never a dull moment.
It's easy to get caught up in the story while reading, but I find that the impression I'm left with after closing a volume of Vampire Knight has more to do with the gorgeous artwork than the sometimes-blurry stream of events. Hino's art style improved dramatically between Captive Hearts and Vampire Knight, developing from perfectly serviceable but unmemorable to its current slightly overblown gothic beauty. It's not a look that would fit every story, but it suits Vampire Knight very, very well.
I'm not madly in love with this series, and there's more than a little tang of "guilty pleasure" to it, but I can certainly see why it's so popular. There's something about it that aims straight for the id, and it's infinitely more appealing than certain other vampire stories taking the world by storm.
Volume 7 of Vampire Knight includes a six-page bonus comic and several pages of editor's notes on the characters' names and a bit of terminology.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkVFpFFkVkpMgIDuxg``x1253033252``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x142152676X``xMatsuri Hino``x``x``x``xDrama``x``x``xTomo Kimura``xTomo Kimura``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB+``x8.99``x150``x225``xVampire Knight 7 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Stay in School``xNibley``xAfter our last column, we got an e-mail from a reader pointing out that the quadratic formula is in fact Not the one used to find the derivative, and we promised we would clear that up. The quadratic formula is used for finding roots. The formula for finding the derivative doesn't seem to really have a name. Also, we think the word we were looking for instead of “reduce” was “simplify.” We take the literal translation and simplify it into normal English. So hopefully we've got that all straight now. And many apologies to those of you who have a hard time following math.
Speaking of math, I guess people are all back in school by now. (Except for those of us who have graduated, of course, unless they're teachers or went on to grad school or something. This is just another example of how there are just too many exceptions to everything to be able to generalize anything.) I was thinking of making excuses for our mistake of two weeks ago by pointing out that we haven't really used math in like ten years almost. We tested out of math anyway, but our college gives the same credits for math as for language, so you can either take math or a language, and not have to deal with the other one. And then I was thinking about how when you're taking all these really complex math classes, you tend to be like, “Why am I even learning this? There's no way I'm going to use it in real life!”
I think that it's probably true that unless you're going into a specialized field, you're not going to be finding a whole lot of derivatives in real life. But you can also find math in unexpected places. For example, we actually do use math when translating manga. Most of the math comes when translating character profiles, since Japan uses the metric system and the United States uses... the other system, whatever it's called. The English system? Don't quote me on that; I could be wrong. Fine, I'll check Wikipedia. Aaahhh, okay. The United States uses the “United States customary system” (aka “American system”), which is derived from English units. And once again we learn that, thanks to the internet, it only takes a few seconds to check your facts before making a fool of yourself in public.
Anyway, Japan uses the metric system, and America uses the American system, which means when a character's height is listed, it's generally a good idea to convert those centimeters into inches. Sometimes, their weight will be listed to, so we have to convert kilograms to pounds. But the most fun is when they're talking about temperature, and we have to convert degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit. We also have to use math to fill out invoices so we can get paid. In other words, math is Always Important. Or almost always, anyway.
I think I had some other thing to say about how you can apply all kinds of subjects from school to translating or whatever job you might be in, but it's been a rough week for us, and I've forgotten what it is. English is probably pretty obvious--you have to know English grammar to make everything sound good. (See what I did there, how I used bad grammar on purpose? ...Don't worry; it only has to be funny to me.) But specifically English writing classes can be a big help too, as far as, y'know, being able to write stuff. Unfortunately, history classes aren't usually very helpful in translating manga, because most of the history mentioned (but not all!) is Japanese history, like about the Warring States Era or the Edo Era or something, which isn't part of the general curriculum here in the United States.
Anyway, my point is, since it's all “back to school” time and whatnot, pay attention in class, because you never know what might end up helping you later in life. Especially if you want to be on “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?”
``xEkVkVkVZkEPzyBXSEk``x1252525721``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Sand Chronicles v6``xYsabet``xVolume 6 of Sand Chronicles picks up half a year after the end of volume 5 and Ann's resolution to move on with her life. She's studying hard to pursue a major in Japanese literature, and has been trying to move forward with her love life, too; she hasn't been home to Shimane since her heartbreaking last conversation with Daigo, and she also hasn't yet told anyone in Shimane that she and Fuji have been dating for a few months. But she can't keep that secret forever: an unexpected visit from a Shimane friend leads to the news being carried back to Daigo, and to Ann being told that Daigo has also started dating someone else.
This volume is almost as much about Ann and Daigo's relationship as earlier ones have been, even though they don't exchange a word for the entire book. Ann and Fuji's relationship is convincingly awkward--Ann tries very hard not to compare Fuji to Daigo, and to not let her past overshadow her new romance, but she knows there's an element of using her feelings for him to push past her feelings for Daigo. Ashihara conveys the complexities of her characters' feelings very well, and keeps Ann on the delicate line between getting over someone and being unable to forget them. Ann's reaction when she hears that Daigo has a new girlfriend is very real, and although Ann herself feels guilty for taking it so hard, I think many (or most) people who've been in a similar situation will know how she feels.
Of course, it's impossible for Ann or Fuji to completely distance themselves from Shimane. Ann avoids going home, but Fuji is persuaded to visit because of his mother's worries about his sister. Shika has also had plenty of things to deal with, between discovering the truth about her parentage and feeling guilty for how badly she treated Ann the last time they saw each other. Once Fuji arrives home, an encounter with Daigo is almost inevitable given how small Shimane is.
As a reader, I really like Ann and Daigo's relationship, and I hope it works out, but I still feel that anything could happen here. Ann is very, very hard on herself for her tendency to lean on people when she's hurting, but there's nothing malicious about her behavior, and while she worries about using Fuji it's still obvious that she genuinely cares about him. So while I have my own hopes for how the story will go, I'm trying not to have my heart set on a specific ending. I don't think I'll be disappointed, however it turns out.
Volume 6 of Sand Chronicles includes a two-page glossary of terms and cultural notes at the end of the book.
``xEkVkVkVVVlAvqPcPaX``x1252525558``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421524643``xHinako Ashihara``x``x``x``xRomance``x``x``xKinami Watabe``xJohn Werry``xViz``xOlder Teen``xA+``x8.99``x150``x225``xSand Chronicles 6 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Goong v6``xjoykim``xIn the latest volume of Goong, the ladies of the royal court think they have discovered the perfect solution to Shin and Chae-Kyung's marital woes: sex. The young couple finds themselves locked in a bedroom on a cold winter night with just one set of bedding and single heating mat. Their options are pretty clear: sleep together or freeze. And freezing is looking like a pretty good choice, given how strained their relationship has become.
It may be tempting to roll one's eyes at this development, but to do so would be a little unfair. Goong has been a soap opera from the very beginning, and any readers who have stuck with the series this far have probably embraced the melodrama. In fact, Goong is arguably at its best when it sticks to its soap opera roots. The romantic and political intrigues--from Shin's lingering attachment to Hyo-rin to Daebi's scheming on behalf of her son--are more consistently entertaining than the attempts at comic relief, which almost all misfire. I'll take another face-off between Shin and Yul over poop jokes any day. (I wish I was making up the part about the poop jokes, but I'm not.)
And there is plenty of intrigue in this volume. Events in volume 5 sometimes seemed stuck in a holding pattern, but here the plot is moving forward. Unfortunately, few of these developments have anything to do with growth on Chae-Kyung and Shin's parts. Shin continues to be a prat, while Chae-Kyung still shows no signs of having a backbone. She is less put upon than she is in volume 5, but her main role continues to be that of a victim. The characters actually taking action in volume 6 are Yul, his mother, and their supporters. Yul finally makes some decisions regarding his feelings for Chae-Kyung, while his mother continues to put Yul forward as a better choice to be the next king than Shin. The rivalry between Yul and Shin is becoming more and more open.
When I read volume 5 of this series, I offered it a qualified recommendation, and volume 6 is only encouraging me to add more qualifiers. At this point, I'm not convinced that any of the four leads are ever going to be particularly likable, nor do I think I will ever care about the resolution of the love quadrangle; this is not a romance for the ages. On the other hand, the rest of the premise still shows promise. Which prince will end up on the throne, and on what political terms will he make it there? Readers with an interest in plot and setting may want to stick with Goong to find out, but those who primarily read manhwa and manga for the love stories would probably be better off trying their luck with another series.
Review copy provided by Yen Press.
``xEkVkVkFZVlFojNbFJI``x1252523758``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759531471``xSoHee Park``x``x``x``xRomance``xDrama``x``xHyeYoung Im``xJamie Rich``xYen Press``xTeen``xB-``x10.99``x150``x225``xgoong6.jpg``x``x``x``x What I'm Lookin' At: August 2009``xParkCooper``xWE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED WHAT I’M LOOKIN’ AT
Naruto v42, Viz
Holy cow.
Someone dies this volume. Someone you actually care about. Probably the most important death that we’ve ever seen happen in this series.
Oh by the way after that SASUKE FINALLY CATCHES UP TO HIS BIG BROTHER. This is it: the start of their final fight. Seriously. By the way, if you were wondering what’s up with the whole killing-the-person-closest-to-you-who’s-like-a-brother-or-a-best-friend that the remaining members of the Uchiha clan seem to have going on, yeah well that’s explained in this volume. By Itachi. Along with a reason why he’s kept his little brother alive up until now.
If you didn’t think things were really going to be happening in this series after the battle at the waterfall, volume 42 tells you that that’s just not true.
Okay, the last fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru probably should have clued you in to that, too, but here’s another clue.
>gulp< >choke<
Naruto v43, Viz
Oh man. The last volume was like around 185 or so pages... this one is around 241. At the start, the creator deeply apologizes for this, because it drove the price of the tankobon up, but he felt it was the only way to bring you the end of the Itachi vs. Sasuke storyline.
But did VIZ make this volume more expensive? THEY DID NOT. Still 7.95, baby. For 241 pages. Enjoy.
Oh also IT’S THE END OF THE SASUKE VS. ITACHI STORYLINE. This is it. For reals. If you figured, last volume, “you say it’s the final fight, but probably Itachi will beat Sasuke and leave him to recover and grow stronger in the future, like he’s done before, or else Sasuke will beat Itachi but he’ll get away”?
No. Neither of those happens. There’s a winner, and no one gets away, as such.
And then the winner wakes up to Madara Uchiha, who starts talking about exactly what this whooooole Uchiha thing has REALLY been about.
Except... geez, he’s MADARA UCHIHA! If stuff he tells you seems to explain some things, fine, but don’t believe EVERYTHING he tells you! And you certainly shouldn’t consider DOING WHAT HE SAYS...!
Barb: “So the fight between the brothers is finally over, right? So that’s the end of that, right? At least THAT’s settled, huh?”
Me: “Yeah, well, but that’s where things start to get REALLY BAD.”
We, the readers, find out the truth about why the whole rest of the Uchiha clan died, and what’s been up with big brother Itachi. So feel free to pick up this extra-big ninja extravaganza.
Eden v1-2, Dark Horse
Picked these up at my local library. Post-apocalyptic story about what happens after a huge plague hits the earth, hardening exterior human tissue until finally one dies, as the last step is the softening of the insides. At a research base, two kids (and a robot they find) survive, having been made immune in the last days of the plague. That’s the end of that story...
The next story is years later. They’ve had kids, and they’ve discovered that other humans survived, too, although a lot of sizable towns are now uninhabited. A cure (the same one that was used to keep the kids from getting it, I guess) was given to everyone else in the world, which froze the progress of the disease, although a lot of people were stuck with unusable body parts, so, by necessity, cyborg mechanical parts made a huge leap forward.
The male kid has started a huge drug plantation in South America. A kidnapping attempt on his wife and kids goes wrong, and his son is cut off from what’s left of the civilized world. Dad sends their old friend the combat robot to help look after the boy. The boy falls in with some sort of freedom fighters or something, and it turns into an even bigger mess...
That’s it so far. Details that would be convenient for us to know, like exactly what year in the future it is now, exactly what level Earth’s current post-plague population is at, or what exactly Dad’s plans and/or goals are, are missing. But... well, if you like this sort of thing, this series might interest you. And Japan loves this sort of thing. Although the very Japanese idea that maybe this plague should’ve been allowed to happen because humanity is kind of a blight on the poor Earth (cf. Knives from Trigun, the guy from Gatekeepers who felt we were all maggots, the bad guys from Alive, etc) is here, too...
DMC (Detroit Metal City) v1, Viz
Hmmm.
I’m not sure I’m the best person to comment on this manga.
Here’s David Rasmussen’s opinion of this title: http://www.mangalife.com/reviews/DetroitMetalCityv1.htm
If the grade doesn’t just jump out at you, since it only appears at the bottom, he seemed to feel it was about a D- or so. I don’t hate it as much as he did... in fact, I don’t feel very passionate about it at all. The idea is that it’s a Spinal-Tap-like story of a death metal band in Japan, where the main guy is mostly just a nice, meek fellow, but this brings out his dirty side, and he finds that a little irresistible. But basically, the creator just decided to sort of Spinal Tap up metal with the most ridiculously over the top dialogue they could. I say “dialogue” instead of “content” because, as many people feel about professional wrestling, all the dirty filth in the world of DMC is fake, just for show. You can be dirty in your heart, but none of these people really wants to, say, bite the head off a chicken or anything. That’s gross. So instead of being about hardcore scary metal type people (if indeed such individuals actually exist in real life at all), the whole thing just comes off as juvenile and silly and potty-mouth and sexist and offensive attempts at humor. It’s not going to ruin the youth of America any faster than anything else is, but it’s hard for me to see it becoming anyone’s favorite new manga.
Sigh... of course, I could be wrong, and my words above could have just made the target audience for this title jump up, run from their computers, and drive like mad to the store to pick this up... presuming they’re old enough to drive... I hope so, because this manga is certainly rated M for Mature... but in my opinion, I think that readers who enjoy the bizarrely stoopid might do better to try Cromartie High School, and I think that Tokyo Tribes has a lot more to offer the truly “street” or “urban” manga reader... Not that Tokyo Tribes is my favorite title in the whole entire world... and technically I can kind of take or leave Cromartie...
I’m pretty sure I am not the right person to review this manga.
If indeed such a person exists in real life at all.
New feature: What I reviewed on my iPhone
The wife's watching an old noir entitled Raw Deal on TV and such is our love that we can't stand to be apart from one another, so it's time to practice my iPhone typing. Welcome to the latest episode of what I'm keeping track of: the typed-from-the-living-room edition.
Alive, Del Rey Manga
Remember that hack Shymalan's _The Happening_ where people start killing themselves all over the place? Well, guess who ripped that concept off from someone? I don't know the answer, but I strongly suspect that _someone_ swiped it from _someone_, because here it is again. This time, it appears that aliens, or maybe something more elemental, have/has tripped a death-is-great trigger in thousands and thousands of brains all over the place. But a couple of dozen people just weren't ready for the big dirt-nap yet, and _those_ folks each seem to have gotten some amazing power out of having their brains messed with. This phenomenon hits three friends, the youngest of which kidnaps the girl, leading the third friend to chase after the two. The two hook up with Team Evil, who're up to big mysterious shenanigans, while our hero rescuer teams up with a kid who can hide things behind invisible force fields and a girl who has cold powers who wants revenge against Team Evil for her own reasons.
Not unlike Del Rey's Psycho Busters, and a lot of other manga, this is a neat little story of the preternatural that soon enough starts devolving into a pretext for kids with cool powers to fight each other. Still, if that's your bag, this will be just up your alley, and if it ain't, well, it's still fun enough to pick up at the store and flip through it so as to at least give it the chance to tempt you... the art’s attractive enough, and the nearly-no-holds-barred attitude toward death will satiate the horror-tinged appetite of many older readers.
Black Jack v5, Vertical
More tales of the world's greatest outlaw surgeon who plays by his own rules, and as time goes on, the stories not only remain quite weird, as in previous volumes, but are starting to get more referential to earlier volumes, which is bad for new readers but cool for old readers... My favorite was the tale of the man who sharpens the scalpels of Black Jack and the acupuncture needles of his old-school counterpart, the blind acupuncturist: namely, the world's greatest swordsmith, who asks for payment of millions of yen... and then uses the bills as the fuel for his forge. Another good story features the head of a hospital who disrespects anyone who didn't go to the same university as himself, who gets served Black Jack style when he insults not only Black Jack, but Black Jack's mentor as well...
``xEkVEluAuVliPGvJsPe``x1251849458``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xnaruto-v43.jpg Highlights from Yen Plus (Sept. 2009)``xjoykim``xIt doesn't seem entirely fair to do a formal review of a single issue of a magazine, especially a magazine that serializes sequential art. So much is taken out of context that it's difficult to do make a reasonable evaluation. That said, since Yen Press included a copy of the September 2009 issue of Yen Plus in my latest bundle of review copies, I thought I'd write up my thoughts on some of the series featured within and share some general impressions of the magazine as whole.
Time and Again by Jiun Yun
Hands down, this was the big surprise of the magazine for me. I was just sliding the magazine out of its shrink-wrapping when I noticed the tiny picture of one of the Time and Again characters on the cover. "Wait," I thought, "isn't he that guy from the manhwa Pahanjip?" But I didn't recognize the English title Time and Again--this is not entirely my fault, as it's not a direct translation of the Korean one--so I wasn't sure this was the manhwa I was thinking about until I actually turned to the chapter in question.
Had I known earlier about this license, I definitely would have cheered for it, because Time and Again was high on my manhwa licensing wish list. (For the benefit of any Powers That Be that may be reading this, that list also includes the quirky They, Too, Love by Seo Moon Da Mi and the remainder of NaBi Kim Yeon-Joo. Please consider bringing them over as well!)
Anyway, Time and Again is set in Tang Dynasty China and follows the adventures of a wandering exorcist, Baek-On, and his sensible bodyguard, Ho-Yeon. The episodes in each chapter are inspired by Chinese and Korean literature and folklore, and their tendency to be something of a morality play reminds me a little of early xxxHOLiC and Pet Shop of Horrors.
The episodic storytelling allows the chapter included in this issue of Yen Plus ("Karma") to stand alone pretty well. There are some confusing moments, as many of the women characters look very alike and some of the flashbacks are not clearly distinguished from the present day action. But the basic charms of the series still come through: the slightly creepy ghost stories, the historical details in the pretty art, and the intriguing hints that Baek-On and Ho-Yeon are as haunted by their pasts as their customers are by ghosts.
I'll definitely be looking forward to the release of volume 1 in December, and am glad that I finally found out about it!
Hero Tales by Jin Zhou Huang (story) and Hiromu Arakawa (art)
I am a huge fan of Hiromu Arakawa, thanks to her work on Fullmetal Alchemist, so I was very curious to see her work on a different series. This is the story of Taitou, a young man who discovers he is the latest incarnation of one of the stars of the Big Dipper. In this chapter, he has just spoken with the emperor of his country and is about to learn something about how his fate is tied to those of his enemies.
This is a difficult manga to judge on the basis of such a short sample. The introductory notes don't provide quite enough information for complete newbies to the story, so I was more than a bit confused as I read. Also, it's impossible to tell whether Arakawa's tight plotting, which makes Fullmetal Alchemist such a joy, is present here. (Arakawa may only be listed as the illustrator, but a little web research suggests that "Jin Zhou Huang" may be a pseudonym for a group of creators that also includes her.) That type of plotting is not the sort of thing that is obvious to a first-time reader or that tends to show up very early in a series.
Meanwhile, the familiarity of Arakawa's character designs is actually occasionally disorienting. I kept expecting Ling Yao, General Armstrong, or other Fullmetal Alchemist characters to pop up in one of the panels beside Taitou, Ryuukou, and Ryuushou.
I'm not sold on this series yet, not by a long shot, but I am intrigued enough at this point to be interested in seeing the proper beginning of it.
Nightschool by Svetlana Chmakova
When I reviewed vol. 1 of Nightschool back in May, I though it was mostly promising but a bit derivative. I wondered then if the series might improve once it got past the business of setting up the story and introducing the cast, and the chapter included in this issue of Yen Plus suggests that it does. We don't see much of our protagonist, Alex, but we do get some tense action scenes. In action manga, there is often a scene where the teacher/mentor character finally gets to show off some of his or her skill. Think of Kakashi using his Sharingan for the first time in Naruto, or Tezuka showing off his nasty drop shot in The Prince of Tennis. That's what Chmakova gives us here, and it's entertaining even for someone like me who is rejoining the story after not having read several of the previous chapters.
Overall thoughts
The September 2009 issue Yen Plus proves to be something of a mixed bag for this reader. The other series included (Maximum Ride; Pig Bride; One Fine Day; Jack Frost; Pandora Hearts; Black Butler; Soul Easter; Sumomomo Momomo) were either not of interest or fairly incomprehensible to someone joining the action mid-story. That's not a bad showing, though; I don't expect to like every part in a compilation, nor do I demand that all narratives be friendly to newbie readers. In fact, I think series that try too hard to be comprehensible to readers who don't start from the beginning tend to do a disservice to those readers who do.
The production values of Yen Plus are fairly nice, on par or better than those of Shonen Jump and the sadly defunct Shojo Beat. (I may miss Shojo Beat's series and features, but I don't miss the colored ink that often undercut the impact of the art.) I especially like how the magazine takes advantage of having both left-to-right and right-to-left reading series by featuring not one but two gorgeous covers.
On the downside, I do wish that the magazine provided a little more information about the series featured. For example, none of the chapters had full credit pages, so there was no mention of the hardworking translators or adapters of the material not originally written in English. The pages introducing each series could also be improved. I was a bit frustrated when I read Hero Tales because much of the action and discussion centered around a character who didn't appear in the cast of characters and was also not mentioned once in the "What Came Before" article.
I wouldn't say a subscription of Yen Plus is a must have for manga fans or institutions like libraries, but I'm glad that it's part of the comics magazine landscape. It's not a bad way to sample new series, and seeing the art of the featured series at the larger magazine trim size is definitely a treat.
==
Review copy of the magazine provided by Yen Press.``xEkVElulAplgkLnzncm``x1251848908``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xyenplussept09.gif NANA v17-18``xYsabet``xBoth volumes 17 and 18 of NANA open with flashforward scenes to the series' "future", giving readers longer-than-usual insights into where the characters' paths are taking them. Vol. 17's opener includes a meeting between Hachi and Shin, which is one of my favorite "future" moments so far. (Since he's so much younger than the rest of the cast, Shin is, of course, a handy barometer for trying to calculate how much time has passed between those scenes and the series' main events.) This particular scene also offers them--and us--the first real clue about what's happened to Nana in the intervening time; subsequent flashforwards pick up where this one leaves off, giving us a substantial window into their lives at that point.
Back in the "present", there's a lot of other information offered up in these two volumes, such as an explanation for Mai's decision to use the name "Misato Uehara" when befriending Nana and Blast, and the nature of her actual connection to Nana. There's also fallout from Weekly Search's ongoing efforts to dig into Nana's past and expose her mother, who abandoned her when she was only a child. Meanwhile, Hachi's efforts to protect Nana from Search's investigation run into trouble as she realizes that she can't simultaneously protect everyone they're going after.
As unfortunate as the circumstances are, all the excitement has the perk of bringing Hachi and Nana back into each other's lives in a more immediate way, possibly aided by Trapnest being out of the country to work on a new album. Hachi is utterly determined to be there for Nana at all costs, even though it also means being around Nobu, which is still uncomfortable for both of them. (And incredibly endearing!) This turn of events showcases one of the most charming, heartbreaking things about Nana and Hachi's relationship: they've been drifting together and apart to varying degrees since very early in the series, and the constant upheaval and drama makes them miss each other and worry about their relationship, but when they're actually together they easily fall back into the rhythm and affection of their friendship. With all that's going on around them, it's lovely to see how well Yazawa portrays this kind of friendship, where seemingly no amount of separation can really come between them.
Volume 18 sees Blast facing new problems as the trouble that's been following Shin finally catches up with him, leaving Nana facing some tough choices. This volume also marks one of the occasional shifts in the wistful, reminiscing voiceovers that help remind us that we're watching the characters' pasts unfold; usually it's Hachi looking back and grieving for the choices they all made, but here Nana's voice makes another rare appearance as the past and the future draw closer together.
These two volumes offer a multi-faceted look at the web of relationships between the main characters, reinforcing them while showing readers new aspects of what's been there all along. We're given more of an introduction to Nana's biological family and more of an idea of just how complex the various relationships between the Trapnest members are. It's a lot to take in, but Yazawa handles it all with her usual skill. NANA continues to be poignant and often devastatingly accurate in its depiction of deeply flawed people working their way through life.
Each volume of NANA is sold shrink-wrapped, and includes the bonus "Junko's Place" story as well as The Family Times, a "newspaper" devoted to upcoming (at the time of Japanese publication) books/CDs/movies based on Yazawa's work. Vol. 18 also includes a 70-page bonus story focusing on Takumi.
Review copies provided by VIZ Media.``xEkVElulVppiqoBBqTG``x1251848500``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421526700``xAi Yazawa``x``x``x``xRomance``xDrama``x``xTomo Kimura``xAllison Wolfe``xViz``xMature``xA+``x8.99``x150``x225``xNANA 18 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: The Return of the Literal Translation``xNibley``xLast time, we promised that we would further demonstrate how completely different Japanese grammar structure is different than English by presenting the Return of the Literal Translation! Now, to be honest, we were kind of lucky when we did the first Literal Translation, because we happened to open a book of manga to a page with things like “first ear” and “my stomach is diminished.” We're not entirely convinced we'll be so lucky this time, but this time is going to be different anyway.
In the first Literal Translation, we rearranged the sentences so that they would at least fit into the rules of proper English grammar, if not good English writing. This time, we want to present the translation as it would be if you were to look up each word individually and translated them in exactly the same order as they are in Japanese. But we will conjugate the verbs. And adjectives. In Japanese, they conjugate adjectives, too, so if the grammar actually makes sense, that's probably from a translated, conjugated adjective.
We wanted to make it a perfect one-to-one translation, but that's going to be impossible. Japanese has little words known as “particles” that sometimes translate to English prepositions and sometimes translate to things like “too,” but also sometimes are just there to let you know what part of speech the word it modifies is. For example, “o” (or “wo”) doesn't have an English translation--it's just there to let you know that the word before it is the object of a verb. And there are the sentence ending particles that let you know what kind of sentence it is (they roughly translate to ? (ka) and ! (yo)) So we'll be leaving those untranslated.
Anyway, this time, to commemorate the release of volume one of Berry Berry, the newest series by one of our favorite manga artists, Banri Hidaka, we have chosen a page from I Hate You More Than Anyone, on sale now, from CMX! Hidaka-sensei is also the creator of VB Rose and Tears of a Lamb (also on sale now, from TOKYOPOP and CMX, respectively). Sadly (for us), we did not translate any of those last two, but our good friend Barb Lien-Cooper is currently the English adaptation writer for VB Rose. And we do hope that whenever Berry Berry gets licensed, we get to translate it, because it's about twins and everything! Surely we would be well-suited for such a project, with our experience not only as translators, but as twins.
Right, moving on. The context for this scene is that the main character, Kazuha, has taken her brother to go shopping with her, to buy a gift for the guy she likes. Of course her brother hates the guy. And... I think that about covers it. This is from volume 6, starting on page 56 (of the Japanese version).
Kazuha: Man recieve happy thing what??
Chizuru: Him to give thing?
Chizuru: What even good is not?
Kazuha (aside): Ehh?
Kazuha: So say don't.
Kazuha: Chii man child right?
Chizuru: Then Dad to ask. Keh.
Kazuha: Disagreeable is! Embarrassing.
Kazuha: That too, that person taste weird is.
Chizuru: So is, huh?
Chizuru: Kazu receive happy one--what is!?
Kazuha: Uehhh?
Kazuha: Receive... hmm... hrm, well...
Kazuha: Hat also good. Other day saw clothes also were good.
Chizuru: Trip!?
Author: No... trance...
Hmm... I still don't think it's as classic as the Saiyuki one we did, but I think it gets the message across? If you think it was like, “No, I can totally see where the Japanese word order would still work for emphasis in English dubs!” then e-mail us, and maybe we can find a better example.
Anyway, we thought this would be a good opportunity to discuss the different layers of translation. And now it's time for a shout out to all our fellow math geeks out there, with a math-related analogy! Translating is like finding the derivative. When you're first starting out, they teach you to find the derivative using the quadratic formula, and plug all these numbers into a ridiculously annoying and complex... well, formula (the quadratic one). At least, I think it was the quadratic formula. Wow, was it really ten years ago we took our first calculus class? Now I feel old. Anyway, you have to go step by step because you're not used to it yet, and you have to learn the theory behind it and how it all works. Then when you've got that all down, they teach you the trick, so now you can look at x cubed and say, “The derivative is 3x squared.”
So what we did with that translation up there was plug everything into the metaphorical quadratic formula. And now you're all looking at a quadratic formula, which doesn't make a whole lot more sense than the Japanese itself. The next step would be to put it into proper English grammar (reducing it), and then you keep doing that until it all makes sense and sounds like something somebody would actually say. For some of those lines up there, you could probably figure it out without knowing too much Japanese. But for others, you'd need to be a little more familiar with the language. And thus I have once again reassured myself that our job has purpose (grin).
I still think we might need a better example... Maybe we'll find one for next time. Or maybe we won't. We'll just see what comes up!``xEkVEkplFZArLhJAsJL``x1251208379``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Mixed Vegetables v5``xYsabet``xIn every high school manga, exam time comes around to haunt the characters sooner or later. In vol. 5 of Mixed Vegetables it's Hanayu and Hayato's turn to see if they can squeak by while also working at Hayato's parents' sushi shop and, of course, figuring out exactly where they want their relationship to go. Hanayu is having a hard time coming to terms with a few different things on the Hayato front, such as his unexpected revelation that he intends to take over the sushi shop instead of pursuing his dream of becoming a pastry chef, his apparent unwillingness to confide in her, and the fact that they'll quite likely be going their separate ways after graduation. It's all a lot to deal with, but happily Hanayu is proactive enough that she's able to take the initiative and speak to Hayato about her worries.
I really like the way Mixed Vegetables handles the romance developing between its two leads. Despite Hayato's tendency to try to back off and not burden Hanayu with his problems, they seem to communicate fairly well and have a pretty believable relationship. The obstacles they face are also believable, like Hayato's father not being convinced that it's a good idea for their relationship to go any further and exams looming over them after they've spent so long devoting all their free time to perfecting their cooking skills rather than their studies. (It's actually nice to see them having such a concrete reason for letting their schoolwork slide a bit.) Towards the end of the volume, Hanayu accepts a challenge that strikes me as a bit over the top, but not ridiculously so.
As well as liking Hanayu and Hayato, I find myself enjoying all of the adults in the series, which is a bit unusual. They come across as responsible yet fun, and have a convincing blend of affection for and authority over their children/students.
My impression of the series is unchanged from my opinion after reading volume 4: this is a solid, enjoyable read with characters I like spending time with.
Volume 5 of Mixed Vegetables includes two pages of cultural/translation notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkVEkplpuASUpRbXKA``x1251208049``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421519712``xAyumi Komura``x``x``x``xComedy``xRomance``x``xJN Productions``xStephanie V. W. Lucianovic``xViz``xTeen``xB``x8.99``x150``x225``xMixed Vegetables 5 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Bamboo Blade v2``xjoykim``xKojiro, a high school kendo instructor at Muroe High, has made a risky bet in a moment of desperation. If his all-girls kendo club can beat the Machido High club coached by his old friend, Kojiro will win a year's worth of free sushi. But if Muroe High wins, Kojiro has to surrender a kendo trophy that his friend covets. When volume 2 opens, Kojiro has managed to assemble a team of sorts, led by the quiet but expert Tamaki. But even Tamaki's expertise might not be enough to carry the rest of the team to victory and save Kojiro from living on instant noodles.
In volume 2, the reader gets to spend a little time with the different girls on Kojiro's team as they train for the meet. Newbie Miya discovers that she enjoys kendo more than she originally thought she would, rather frightening some of her peers in the process, while the elusive Sayako finally stops ditching school long enough to make an appearance at the club. Totsuka and Igarashi also give us a look at the five girls on the Machido team. They have a lot more training than the Muroe team, but they also have more than their fair share of eccentric personalities, which might give Kojiro's girls a fighting chance after all.
The time we spend with these characters in the days leading up to the meet would be a lot more interesting, however, if the characterization had some more zing. Unfortunately, it mostly ends up feeling flat, perhaps even a bit predictable to anyone who has read other sports manga. For example, the intentional eccentricity of the Machido girls only makes them more forgettable; one wacky character trait does not a personality make. The Muroe students do not fare much better. They do come alive in the rare moments when the story focuses on their interactions--such Sayako's run-in with Miya, and Kirino and Sayako's friendship--but those scenes are few and far between.
My biggest complaint about the story, however, is not the characterization but the mangaka's use of kendo. The best sports-themed manga series succeed partly because they find a way to convey their characters' love of their sports to the reader. When I read Crimson Hero, Nobara's love for volleyball jumps off of every page; I get caught up in Crimson Field's matches because I share her enthusiasm for it. Similarly, when I read The Prince of Tennis, it's easy for me to believe that the boys on the Seishun team are completely dedicated to improving their tennis games as individuals and as a team; their passion for tennis is simply undeniable. In contrast, when I read Bamboo Blade, I only get the vaguest sense of the characters' feelings about kendo. The kendo is mostly a background detail, an excuse for interesting costumes and terminology; there's just one scene involving footwork where the kendo seems like a meaningful part of the plot. Aside from that, this could be a story about a teacher assembling a ragtag archery club after making a rash bet, and it probably wouldn't be very different.
It's possible that the treatment of kendo will get better as the series goes on. I've come to expect manga series to be a little shaky in their first couple of volumes, and I think Bamboo Blade could improve once the story is not being directed solely by the initial plot device of Kojiro's bet. At present, however, Bamboo Blade is a likable but otherwise forgettable addition to the sports manga already licensed and available in the states. Borrow this one from a friend if you're fond of sports manga in general or kendo in particular, but don't add it to your "to buy" list quite yet.
Review copy provided by Yen Press. The volume features color pages at the front of the book, a page of translation notes, and a short preview of vol. 3.
``xEkVEkplpEFTejThKKd``x1251208013``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759530467``xMasahiro Totsuka``xAguri Igarashi``x``x``xSports``x``x``xStephen Paul``x``xYen Press``xOlder Teen``xC``x10.99``x150``x225``xbamboo2.jpg``x``x``x``x Movie Review: Ponyo``xParkCooper``xPonyo is a sweet, wonderful film that was not created for you.
It was created for a five-year-old.
We saw it in the theater on Sunday. We liked it, but there were a couple of hmm moments, such as the ending. You're watching the movie, and enjoying it, and near the end you're like "Really, movie? You're going to end that way?" and then sure enough, it ends just that way. It is not a shocking or surprising ending. There is such a lack of twist to the ending that it will almost feel to you that it's some sort of mind-bending reverse-twist, but it's not. It's you. You're expecting a twist or something, and it's just not going to oblige you.
Ponyo, also known as Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, is about a magical little fish (female). Some time ago, a magical guy fell in love with the goddess of mercy, who may be Mother Earth, or a goddess of the sea, or more than one of the above... you get the idea. He has lots of potions and elixirs that he works on carefully so that some day he can restore the ocean to the vitality of life it had millions of years ago. He hates humans and their polluty ways.
He has a school of little fish-daughters, however, and one of them, Brunhilde (there's a great moment when she busts loose Ride-of-the-Valkyries style, complete with very similar music), loves the surface world. She meets a little five-year-old boy (who renames her Ponyo), who helps her get free when she accidentally gets a jar stuck on her head. Dad comes and gets her back, but there's no stopping the love these two have for each other. Boy and pet fish, girl and boy, it doesn't matter: love is love, and this, baby, is love. The entire middle of the movie concerns what happens after Ponyo re-escapes from her dad's place and goes off to find her boy again... and finds him... it just rocks. It's terrific.
The best part of this movie is the whole movie except for the first 14 mins or so and the last 8 mins or so. But that's because YOU (and I) want it to kick into high gear just a teensy bit faster, and because you and I see how it will end.
But this movie was not made for you nor I. This movie was made for five-year-olds, and it's just so good, you'll probably enjoy it too. But only 30 mins after we saw it, Barbara's brain had it figured out: this is a children's movie. And a look on the Studio Ghibli website confirmed it: the old master wanted to do a children's movie for little children, but he got caught up in doing Howl's Moving Castle instead. Everyone always hopes for another TOTORO from him, so they were like what the heck? This made the old master sad, and somewhat sick, and he had to go live very simply in a little house on a cliff by the sea for months... which led to Ponyo.
Take young people to go see Ponyo, or just go yourself. But don't judge it like an adult. "Ponyo does not have themes," said one Ghibli member, and I understood what he meant (oh it has themes, like the whole environmental thing; he meant, like, complicated English-major themes). It's simple. It's meant to be experienced either BY children or LIKE a child. Engage your sense of wonder. It took me back to my childhood, and touched my heart, and I lived in a landlocked county, people, hundreds of miles from the ocean, then and now. But it's funny, and it's sweet, and it's great.
It breaks down about like this:
Panda Go Panda: perfect for a 3 year old
Ponyo: for a 5 year old
My Neighbor Totoro: for a 7 year old
The Cat Returns: for maybe a 7 or 8 year old
Kiki's Delivery Service: for an 8 or 9 year old
Spirited Away: 9 or 10 years old perhaps(?)
So there you go. Go see Ponyo, and share it with the young people.``xEkVpZEVyVuJXTcaDJG``x1250715654``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421530643``xHayao Miyazaki``x``x``x``xFantasy``xAdventure``xComedy``x``xMelissa Mathison``xStudio Ghibli/Disney``xAll Ages``xA``x8.99``x150``x225``xponyo_on_the_cliff_by_the_sea_1_jan_poster_low.jpg``x``x``x``x Dystopia: Love at Last Sight``xParkCooper``xOkay, there's one really big spoiler here, but I have to tell you, because I don't think I can make you properly interested in this series otherwise, okay? Okay. So.
This is a manhwa about Lyon and his sister Dionne (Lyon and Dionne, aren’t they just terribly cute?) and a female friend of Dionne’s named Shikku... who likes Lyon. Well, they start really liking each other. Dionne approves.
Wait for the spoiler... wait for it... here it comes... go read my review of Ponyo now if you don't want to read the spoiler... annnnnnnnnnd...
Then Lyon is hit by a car and dies.
Well, that was surprising, wasn’t it? Betcha didn’t see that comin’.
But wait—after the funeral, Dionne comes home—and there’s Lyon.
Well, it’s not Lyon... it’s her NEW brother, Gabriel!
See, we all knew that Lyon had a bad heart, and he wasn’t predicted to live to adulthood, so mom and dad secretly had Lyon CLONED (hence Gabriel) as a sort of BACKUP SON. They never told sis about this, either, and she freaks out because, understandably, to her it feels like they sort of gave up on committing to having Lyon as a legitimate family member in the first place (I can see her point, frankly)...
So, now there’s a hole in Dionne and Shikku’s hearts where Lyon used to be... AND THERE’S A STRANGER (named Gabriel) STANDING IN THAT HOLE WHO LOOKS JUST LIKE LYON IN EVERY WAY. But he doesn’t know them! Will we all be able to deal with this freaky emotional curveball, or what? It’s GATTACA meets THE ISLAND, only instead of being hardcore sci-fi, it’s about young girls (and one hot cloned boy) and their emotional ZOMGness.
I gotta tell you, I thought this manhwa was perfectly nice, but on the highway to Boringsville until the creator threw this twist in... now, I feel it might have a shot at interesting some tweenish female readers. I like the (perceived, anyway) sexism of the messed-up parents that Dionne picks up on in how they don’t really feel like there’s even a point to being a family if they don’t have (some version) of their precious son...
The one thing that bothers me about this set-up (besides the fact that they didn’t name Gabriel something else that rhymes with Dionne... really, how can you accept a new brother if he doesn’t rhyme with you?) is where the heck Gabriel has been all this time and what he’s been doing... He speaks whatever language we’re speaking and everything (the creator Judith Park is “German, by way of Korea,” but this series reads right-to-left, so I actually don’t know what country we’re meant to be in... does “Shikku” sound Japanese to you? Because it does to me, I think), and understands the culture... I HOPE that the creator will explain this in later volumes, and won’t just expect us to presume “oh I guess he was in a big jar at the hospital listening to learn-a-language-in-your-sleep tapes” or something...
If that gets dealt with properly, this is a potentially interesting, if kind of slowly-paced so far, series.
``xEkVpZEuZVypTcwDhjR``x1250714756``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0759529264``xJudith Park``x``x``x``xDrama``xSci-Fi``x``xMichael Waaler``x``xYen Press``xOlder Teen``xA-``x10.99``x150``x225``xdystopia.gif``x``x``x``x Ōoku: The Inner Chambers v1``xYsabet``xI've read bits and pieces of Fumi Yoshinaga's work over the past few years and generally enjoyed it, but somehow I was entirely unfamiliar with Ōoku: The Inner Chambers until VIZ announced that they'd acquired it and a remarkable number of people I know just about fell over on the spot from joy. Reactions like that tend to quickly put new titles on my list of things to check out, so getting a chance to review the first volume of this highly-acclaimed series is a real treat.
As the back cover proudly proclaims, Ōoku was nominated for an Eisner in 2008 and won the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize this year. The copy also sets the stage for the story: during the Edo period, a new disease ravages Japan and kills 75% of the male population. 80 years after the initial outbreak, societal gender roles have been turned on their heads, with men being carefully protected and sought after to father children while women perform most of the previously male-dominated roles...including holding the rank of shogun. And by extension, the Inner Chambers, which house the shogun's beautiful, cultured concubines, are now populated by men.
What the cover copy doesn't talk about is the characters, which strikes me as an interesting choice. Much of volume 1 of Ōoku is devoted to setting up this alternate world where women rule Japan--and what's more, where they've done so for long enough that it apparently seems entirely normal to everyone. Yoshinaga shows us glimpses of the society through several characters' eyes, sometimes hinting at and sometimes spelling out the different restrictions placed on people's lives: we see life going on in the Inner Chambers and in the outside world; we see the politics and intrigue as a new shogun comes to power and the men who live to serve her try to adjust to her rule while vying for her favor; and we see the limited choices faced by women and families of both high and low birth as they try to ensure that their bloodlines survive in a world where only a quarter of women can find husbands.
Yoshinaga's decision to change the point-of-view characters as the story unfolds is handled very smoothly; the shifts can be sudden but never seem jarring or forced. Most of the characters interest me, but I feel as if I'm holding back on really connecting with any of them until I get a bit more of a sense of which story threads will be carried into subsequent volumes. (There's a specific reason for that, which I can't discuss here without going into more spoilery territory than I'm comfortable with.) Once events take us into the Inner Chambers themselves, the politicking is the most constant thing about the story, and information about it is doled out in measured doses both to readers and to the characters who are beginning new lives in Edo Castle. There are also intriguing hints dropped regarding what the outside world knows/thinks about Japanese society and how that conflicts with the reality. I'm excited to see where it all goes, and if I have a chance to review volume 2, I'll speak more about the characters.
Like all of the books I've seen from VIZ's Signature Line, Ōoku is beautifully produced. (I have only one complaint about the line overall, which is that the larger-than-usual size makes the books a bit harder to shelve with the rest of my collection. But you know, I'll get by somehow.) Vol. 1 has three color pages at the beginning of the book, and feels almost (but not quite) as if it has a dust jacket. The adaptation makes good use of an older style of English, which allows for class distinctions in different characters' dialogue and gives the impression of reading an older work.
Volume 1 of Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is sold shrink-wrapped and includes four pages of translator's notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkVpyklyVkNYUZVasM``x1250628652``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527472``xFumi Yoshinaga``x``x``x``xDrama``x``x``xAkemi Wegmüller``xAkemi Wegmüller``xViz``xMature``xA``x12.99``x150``x225``xOoku_1_cover_cropped.jpg``x``x``x``x S.A. v11-12``xYsabet``xI read volumes 11 and 12 of S*A fairly close together, but not quite back to back, and I'm not sure whether that small lag has anything to do with how different the two volumes seem to me. Vol. 11 has a lot to do with Kei's family and his ongoing struggle with his grandfather and their different ideas about how he should be living his life, but it also spends some time on Akira and Tadashi's relationship and her insecurities about it. (Unfortunately, the way things like that usually get handled in this series doesn't do much for me. Let's just say that some complex scheming results.)
Vol. 12, meanwhile, returns to the Special A group's regularly scheduled antics. Possibly for the first time since I began reading this series (around vol. 5 or so), the characters are called on to actually do something school related! Apparently their collective raison d'etre has to do with inspiring the rest of the students at their school: Tadashi's mom, the school chairman, forces them to compete against another exclusive school, Kokusen High, in the "National Search for the Top High School Student". Bizarre contests ensue, but Hikari is in her element and all fired up with the spirit of competition. (Helped along by the chairman's blackmail tactic, which is hitting her where it hurts.)
One thing bothered me in volume 12, and I'd like to mention it. About halfway through the book, Hikari remembers a time when her brother's friend randomly hit her. Her brother hit the friend back and then, upset about having used violence, wouldn't look at Hikari for a while. Hikari's recollection ends with "I'm sure he was mad that I made him fight his friend". The present-day events that the memory relates to aren't so bad, but the reflexive self-blame in that line is jarring and disturbing, esp. given Hikari's generally sunny disposition. (With some characters, in other series, it might make me wonder at hidden undercurrents...but Hikari is about as deep as a saucer.) I'm going to hope its undertones are different in Japanese.
As a general note, I'm liking Hikari and Kei better now that their feelings for each other are more out in the open. The series still isn't really clicking with me, but having the focus shifted away from the unpleasant undertones of their earlier competition is definitely a step in the right direction.
Volume 11 of S.A. includes a side story and a one-page bonus manga; volume 12 includes a two-page bonus manga.
Review copies provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVpykZAplRxeWoqMM``x1250627908``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421526190``xMaki Minami``x``x``x``xRomance``x``x``xJN Productions``xAmanda Hubbard``xViz``xTeen``xC-``x8.99``x150``x225``xSpecial_A_11_cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Revolutionizing the English Dub?``xNibley``xToday we're going to pick on Disney a little bit, because we care about them very deeply.
A while ago, it came to our attention that we had actually seen very few Ghibli/Miyazaki films. We figured this might be kind of a serious error on the part of self-proclaimed anime fans, so off we went to add movies to our Netflix queue and rectify the situation. So recently, we got to the part of our queue where we're getting a bunch of Ghibli/Miyazaki films. We watch the movies with subtitles, but we like to watch the Behind the Microphone bonus features, though we're not entirely sure why. Part of it is to find out what cool actors they got for the dub, and to get some insight into how they do it.
So last Sunday night, we watched Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and the Behind the Microphone feature revealed two things that may have explained... okay, backing up a bit. At San Diego Comic Con, we went to one of the Cartoon Voices panels, where Laraine Newman talked about being in Ponyo just a little tiny bit. What she said was she had seen all the dubs of foreign language films where the acting was... I don't remember what she said, but in our own words it's less than stellar. We've noticed this ourselves--they'll get actors, and even voice actors (who would be used to acting with only their voice) who are brilliant in most situations, but when placed in a dub, everything falls a little flat. So she was determined to revolutionize the English dub! and do a fantastically amazing job. ...Then she got to recording and found out that “with the way Japanese works,” it was nigh impossible, and she ended up sounding just as bad as the kung fu movie dubs that get made fun of all the time. (Regardless, you should all go see it anyway and support anime and hand-drawn animation!)
We actually don't believe that it's so close to impossible to get a dub to sound brilliant, and we think we have some idea of the way Japanese and English work *grin* So, returning to the Nausicaa dub, the actors revealed two things. First, they don't get all the context. Maybe there's a good reason for this, but with just that information, it doesn't make any sense, but it does explain why it does explain why you have actors emphasizing the wrong words. It happens a lot in cartoons, when the words themselves make sense together, but the way an actor emphasizes them makes you wonder if they've read the whole script. Apparently they haven't, and it sounds pretty unnatural.
Here's an example from Kingdom Hearts. One character (you'll know who if you've played it, but I'm trying to keep the spoilerishness to a minimum, in case there are people out there who haven't played it yet and want to) has the line, “I wrote the contract!” In the English dub, there isn't really any emphasis, as you might expect from reading the sentence without any context. It could be a neutral sentence (though he says it angrily), or it could be like when someone says, “I wrote the book on that subject!”, implying that of course they know everything about it.
Now let's add some context. The line comes in a scene where another character (we'll call him Character B) is doing the first's bidding, only he didn't do exactly what the first character (now Character A) wanted. Character B explains his actions by saying, “That wasn't in my contract.” So Character A says, “I know! I wrote the contract!” I'm not sure exactly how to explain why, but with the emphasis on the word “wrote,” it makes sense. Kind of an, “I wrote the contract! Of course I know what's in it and what's not!” But with no emphasis, we hear it and go, “Wait, what?”
The other thing we learned from the Nausicaa actors is that they listen to the Japanese actors, apparently to get the intonation right. Let me explain why listening to Japanese intonation is exactly how to get the English intonation wrong. We're going to use Kingdom Hearts as an example again, because it's really the only dub we pay much attention to.
So there's this semi-dramatic, important scene where one of the characters says to another, “We'll go together.” It's not supposed to be a funny scene, but sometimes it makes us giggle (and sometimes it makes us shake our heads sadly), because the emphasis is placed on “we'll,” and the rest kind of trails off, like maybe it's an afterthought or something. (Keep in mind that it doesn't need to have a lot of emphasis to be emphasis. It wasn't so ridiculous that “we'll” was shouted; it just sounded a little funny.)
When we heard it, we immediately suspected the source of the problem--the actor must have been trying to match emphasis based on the Japanese intonation. But in Japanese, the sentence would be something like “issho ni ikou,” where the first two words form the adverb “together.” And that means that the Japanese actor was, very logically (especially based on Context (<--key word)), emphasizing the idea that they would be going together. In other words, if you emphasize the word in the same place as the original Japanese, that doesn't mean you're going to emphasize the word with the same meaning, and this is significant.
(Incidentally, if we're assuming our Japanese correctly, the “we'll” that got the emphasis in the English version was so beneath that level of importance that the Japanese version left it out entirely, relying on the zero-pronoun and (our favorite word) Context to let the players know who was going together.)
In that example, the only real problem was that it made an otherwise normal sentence sound odd. But it's happened in certain classes (I'd say which but I actually don't remember for sure) at school and college that the teacher or professor will give the students a sentence to illustrate how emphasizing different words can actually change the entire meaning of the sentence. My favorite is one our little sister heard: “I didn't kill my wife.” Each word in that sentence will change the implicit meaning when it's the one emphasized. For example, “I didn't kill my wife,” implies that you didn't kill your wife, but you're not entirely surprised she's dead, and maybe you know who actually did kill her. We won't go into the rest, but try it! It's fun! ...In a kind of disturbing way. Just remember it's fiction invented for demonstrative purposes.
So I was going to go into just how grammatically different Japanese is from English, and how the words fall in a completely different order, by presenting The Return of the Literal Translation!. But I think this column is long enough, so we'll save that for next time.
As for our brilliant strategy on revolutionizing the English dub, our plan is simple: let the translators hang out with the voiceover directors. That way, they can explain which words were emphasized and why. And when a line doesn't fit, or doesn't sound like it means the same thing as it should, the translator--who will be right there--will be able to help suggest alterations that still work. And above all else, let the actors know the context.
``xEkVppEFFEuvRJUIgvQ``x1250013314``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Review: v22 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle``xjoykim``xThe last time I reviewed Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle for this site, I noted that CLAMP had just kicked the plot of the series into high gear. Well, after many chapters of high drama, volume 22 finds our protagonists enjoying a temporary respite on yet another new world. Once again, it's a place that one of them calls home: the Country of Japan. At first the gang's stay in Kurogane's country seems like a chance for them to recover from all the hurts, emotional and physical, that they incurred in Seresu, Fai's homeworld, but their rest doesn't last long. Not one but two other travelers soon break the peace at Shirasagi Castle, bringing reminders that the events around them continue to hurtle towards some sort of final confrontation.
The feeling that the story is beginning to come full circle runs heavily throughout this volume. It's not just that the characters' world-hopping is bringing them home, one by one; it's also the way that the narrative is continually revisiting past events from new perspectives. Even the two travelers who interrupt the gang's stay in Japan are familiar faces; we've met them in previous volumes, and one fight in particular is explicitly presented as a re-match, though with a twist.
The group's stay in Kurogane's country also provides an opportunity for all the characters (but especially Kurogane and Fai) to look back on how much they have been changed by their travels. One recurring theme of the series is the prices that people pay for those that they love. Those prices are always high and, as some characters can now acknowledge, sometimes unacceptably so. The scenes where they do that hit just the right emotional notes, and after 20+ volumes of ups and downs, the newfound maturity of the characters in question feels very honestly earned.
Though some mysteries are explained in when the gang arrives in Japan, there are still plenty of others to provide fodder for fan speculation. A dream sequence reminds us that Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is closely linked with another of CLAMP's series, xxxHolic, in ways that remain quite fuzzy; also, there are a few cryptic references to Syaoran's parents (as yet unseen) that suggest they will prove to be important players in later volumes. Combined with CLAMP's tendency to give almost every major character a clone, replica, alternate universe counterpart, twin, and/or foil, it's enough to leave even the most careful reader scratching his or her head in confusion. Princess Tomoyo's observation that "reason itself is beginning to crumble" thanks to Fei Wang Reed's schemes seems ominous in more ways than one!
In short, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles continues to be a very solid fantasy adventure series, though perhaps one that is best for readers who don't mind muddling through occasionally confusing fight scenes and frequently confusing plot twists. I will keep hoping that subsequent volumes manage to answer more questions than they raise, but I also won't hold my breath for it.
This volume features several pages of useful cultural and linguistic notes by translator and adapter William Flanagan at the back of the book.``xEkVppEkyEZMVVXiqwB``x1250012617``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x0345510380``xCLAMP``x``x``x``xFantasy``xAdventure``x``xWilliam Flanagan``xWilliam Flanagan``xDel Rey``xTeen``xA-``x10.99``x150``x225``xtsubasarc22.jpg``x``x``x``x Kaze Hikaru v14 ``xYsabet``xI like Kaze Hikaru more and more all the time, and I really wish my local library system had a set so I could go back and read the earlier volumes that I haven't had a chance to read; at this point I've read enough of the series that I have a fairly comfortable grasp on what's going on, but I'm still aware that I don't have the whole picture here.
This was a particularly good volume. Sei had plenty of great moments--one could even say she was downright badass at moments, and yet she never stopped being endearing. Nicely done, Watanabe-sensei! One thing I admire about this series is that I never forget that Sei is a girl, but it's not hard to see her through the male characters' eyes and understand why most of them believe she's a guy. I really enjoy watching the other characters react to her, and in this volume there are several new Shinsengumi recruits who meet her for the first time and have to start trying to figure her out. Unfortunately for Sei, one of them immediately sees through her disguise and refuses to be swayed from (or be quiet about) his opinion that she's clearly a woman, even when she makes it a matter of honor.
Plenty of other things are happening in this volume: for one, Sei's relationship with Okita is changing under the pressure of his belief that she would be happier if she left the Shinsengumi and lived as a woman, although the thought doesn't make him happy. There's also plenty of action for the supporting cast, particularly at the beginning of the volume, as a recruiting party heads off to Edo to find and bring back new members for training.
As with the last volume, this book is more about the characters' relationships than the political environment, but the two aspects are entwined deeply enough that the politics are always there in the background, waiting to surface at any time.
There was one visual touch that I particularly liked, which is the way volume 14's cover mirrors volume 13's. I'm becoming very fond of Watanabe's art style.
Volume 14 of Kaze Hikaru includes a special look at hairstyles from the period and a three-page glossary of historical terms.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVppEpulphPodsTeE``x1250010480``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421524171``xTaeko Watanabe``x``x``x``xAction``xRomance``x``xMai Ihara``xMai Ihara``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB+``x8.99``x150``x225``xKaze Hikaru 14 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Crimson Hero v11``xYsabet``xVolume 11 is only my third volume of Crimson Hero, and I find my feelings on it are already fluctuating a little bit. I included my reaction to vol. 10 in a "What I'm Reading" round-up a few months ago, and in retrospect I think I much preferred that volume to this one. I like Nobara, the lead, and I find her non-relationship with Yushin interesting (after vol. 10 I wrote, "This is one of the few times when I've read a manga where two characters are in love and aren't getting fully involved with each other for reasons that actually make sense", and that's still one of the things I particularly appreciate about the writing). Similarly, I like that the romantic subplot is important to the characters but isn't constantly being given center stage.
About 2/3 of this volume is devoted to Crimson Field's match against the Aigaku team (which you wouldn't really know from the back cover copy), but I found the game itself less interesting than last volume's build-up and didn't really get into it. I assume that a lot of the drama here would work better if I were better acquainted with the supporting cast, but it also doesn't help that sports manga generally don't work for me; obviously, Crimson Hero isn't to blame for either of those factors.
Bearing that in mind, I like the dynamic between Nobara and her teammates; there's a lot of team spirit and good sportsmanship there, and it isn't overplayed. On the flip side, I wasn't crazy about the way the Aigaku team is presented. The players are obviously meant to contrast with Nobara's team, but their backstabbing, ruthless behavior--towards each other as well as their opponents--felt too heavy handed for my taste. There were things about their presentation that I liked, particularly the difference between their current and former coaches, but it just didn't come together for me.
All in all, while there are things I enjoy about this series, most of them weren't really on display in this volume. But now that this match is over, I have hope that the focus will swing back towards the aspects of the story that I have more interest in. Meanwhile, people who enjoy the moment-by-moment drama of an intense sporting event will likely be happier with this volume than I was.
Volume 11 of Crimson Hero includes several pages of "one-page manga" and a side story.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
``xEkVppEpkVAYkGTETqD``x1250010259``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421523647``xMitsuba Takanashi``x``x``x``xSports``xRomance``x``xNaoko Amemiya``xNaoko Amemiya``xViz``xTeen``xB-``x8.99``x150``x225``xCrimson Hero 11 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x What I Reviewed: April 2005 (Part Three: The Conclusion)``xbarblien``xBack in the day, there was a site that my wife Barbara used to review manga for... they became defunct, but I found some old manga commentary that Barb wrote way back then that never got used, and I thought it could be cool to open this little manga time capsule... with “whatever happened to” commentary after them from me (well, if needed)... So come with me now BACK... BACK... BACK in the time machine to that era when this Naruto thing was really starting to catch on:
APRIL 2005.
Kare Kano v13
by Masami Tsuda, from Tokyopop
I never expected that I would become all that much of a shoujo fan, but I am unashamed to say that I'm a big fan of Kare Kano. Part of the reason was I saw the excellent anime version of it (called His and Her Circumstances) awhile back. Done by the same people who did Neon Genesis Evangelion (of all things), His and Hers was a tight, crisp, funny, and heart-touching slice of life romance comedy. Problem was, the anime ended in a weird place (about 1/2 through the manga series) and I wanted to find out how it ended. While Kare Kano lags in pacing in places and it's got a weird structure (the most important characters are hardly featured at all in the middle volumes), it's still a joy to read. The reason comes down to the characters. We can easily identify with the teenaged lovers, Arima and Yukino. We root for them and want their romance to succeed.
Kare Kano also succeeds by never sugar-coating the characters. For instance, in this volume, Arima, who comes from a seriously dysfunctional family background, starts losing it big time. He's always been tightly wound up; a cute, serious time bomb waiting to go boom. You'd think it would be a bit of a relief to see the boy finally let go of the anger. But, it isn't, as you know things will only go from bad to worse.
If you're interested in reading (or writing) shoujo, your first stop should be your local comic book store to pick up Kare Kano.
(Editor’s note: This was before Barbara quite grasped that some comic book stores do not carry manga, let alone every manga in print...)
Kare Kano v14
by Masami Tsuda, from Tokyopop
In this volume of Kare Kano, the popular teenage romance manga, things really start hitting the fan. Arima, the too-serious but still cute male lead in our drama, is starting on the road to mental colapse. Yes, he's hurting inside. Matters are only worsened by the arrival of his manipulative estranged mother. Arima's problems are distancing him from his smart, loyal girlfriend, Yukino.
Now, I'm not big into romances, unless Bette Davis soapers count, but I like romantic comedies. I got into Kare Kano because of the humor factor. It can often be a quite funny book. But, what really made me stay as a reader was the deft characterizations in the work. It's not a perfect series, by any means. Sometimes the pacing is a bit off. Sometimes, a plotline falls flat. But, the characterization makes the whole thing work. Because we care so deeply about these characters, Kare Kano stops being a comic book series and starts being a chance to hang out with some cool people.
While I'm eager to find out how the series ends, I know I'm going to miss it when it's gone.
(Editor’s note: Actually, the ending was so disappointing, we don’t miss it that much—we just miss the wasted potential for a good ending.)
Tuxedo Gin # 11
by Tokihiko Masuura, from Viz
Tuxedo Gin is one of the many children of Ranma 1/2 in terms of plot. A teenager turns into an animal and sit com hilarity ensures. Where Gin is a bit different is that it's about a teenaged boy who dies and returns as a penguin. Yup, a penguin. A cute, darling, hard-to-hate aquatic mammal.
You'd think that Tuxedo Gin would not be that good of a read, therefore. I sometimes think to myself, "Why'd I buy yet another volume of a cute little story about a cute little penguin?"
Well, it's because it's funny. Very funny. It's also because the characters are just such nice people. And, the plots have some genuinely original twists and...
That durned penguin.
It all comes down to how damned cute he is.
Couple v1
by Jae Sung Park/Sung Jae Park, from CPM Manhwa
Manhwa is Korean manga, simply put. I haven't read tons of it, but it sort of has its own flavor to it, although I can't point to specifics. Maybe it's a little sweeter or prettier or gentler...but I can't say that for a fact.
All I know is that Couple, a CPM manga, was an entertaining read. The plot: a young, naive college girl with nowhere else to go moves in with a fellow student---a slightly older male who is desperate to keep his hormones in control. See, he's a nice guy and she's a cute little thing, so his desires interfere with doing the right thing of keeping his hands to himself.
Sure, we all know from the title where this manhwa's eventually headed, but there's still something to the work, light as it is. I think the thing to it is the young man's fight with his own nature. Sure, he'd like a girlfriend. And it's sure hard for him not to look at this girlie with anything but lust. But, she's sort of the kitten to his bulldog from the Warner Brothers cartoons. His protectiveness is sort of nice to see.
So, it's not an earthshaking story. The characters are nicely realistic and likeable.
(Editor’s note: Couple v2 turned out to be a little too fanservice-y for us, so we stopped there. But 1 isn’t bad.)
Those Who Hunt Elves v7
by Yu Yagami, from ADV Manga
When I watched the anime of Those Who Hunt Elves, I wasn't impressed. It was too much of a silly, one-joke concept for me. The setup: A troupe of misfits stranded in another dimension of fairies and elves can only get back if they find the pieces of the spells, which are now mystically tattooed onto the bodies of random elves, to get them back to Tokyo. In order to do so, therefore, they have to strip elves (which are almost all cute females, of course) to find the spell fragments. Think of it as a silly Inu-Yasha with more fan service. In fact, the nicest thing I could say about the series was that it wasn't half as fan service-y one would think it would be.
Cut to reading Those Who Hunt Elves, the manga. Yeah, sure, it's goofy and often silly, but this is a rare case where the manga outshines the anime. The reason why has something to do with Yu Yagami's unique imagination, which makes the experience of reading Elves kind of like reading fairy tales on laughing gas. Whether it's Santa Claus or a handsome prince, these stories are about as light and fluffy as you want a funny fantasy manga to be.
But, there's another reason these stories work better on the page: we sort of learn more about what's in the characters' hearts in the manga than in the anime.
I think that's what makes all the difference.
(Editor’s note: actually, after that, we came across a few more examples of the manga outshining the anime—it’s not THAT rare of a phenomenon. But it was for us, at the time...)
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka v23
by Tohru Fujisawa, from Tokyopop
I've always liked stories about problem-solving and problem solvers. From Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Gregory House, I've always liked stories about people who may be hard to like at first, but are admirable because they'll move heaven and earth to help people in trouble.
In his own insane way, 22-year-old former-gang-member-turned-teacher Eikichi Onizuka is one of the world's great problem-solvers. The humanity of this manga series comes from the fact that Onizuka believes that teachers must always help their students, no matter what it takes or who they piss off in the process. The humor comes from the fact that Onizuka always takes things a step or ten way too far. For instance, in this volume, for complicated reasons, Onizuka decides that only way to make a girl's father admit he loves her is to fake her kidnapping. Soon, the "kidnapping" becomes the biggest news story of the day. SWAT teams are called. It looks bad as bad can be. Yet, it works out for the best, as it always does, for the great teacher and his students.
With more balls than a pawn shop sign and more lives than a stray cat, Onizuka may not win any Teacher of the Year awards. However, he's still one of the most memorable and strangely admirable characters in manga today.
I give this series my highest recommendation.
Naruto v6
by Masashi Kishimoto, from Shonen Jump/Viz
My husband sponsors an anime and manga club at the school where he teaches. I got to meet his club at a local convention. It was great to talk to young high-school-aged manga and anime fans. When I asked them what their favorite manga was, they kept mentioning Naruto.
After reading the first volume, I knew what they were talking about. Naruto is almost impossible not to like and is very easy to love. Six volumes later and I still haven't gotten enough of the books.
The setup is really quite neat: Naruto is a young man with an extremely dangerous (if it wasn’t sealed inside him) nine-tailed fox spirit stuck inside him (it was shoved inside the poor kid to save his village). Well, because of this thing inside him, the villagers are always kind of distrustful and cold to him. Rather than let it get him down, he tries with all his might to become a ninja. Actually, he's not exactly the best student at the ninja school, but he's got a lot of guts and determination. We want him to succeed.
In these exciting, battle-filled books, characterization is what separates the great books from the mediocre ones. Characterization is what makes Naruto a great series. As we get to know the character's back stories, we cringe a bit when they're in danger (which they are...a lot). The trials they have to go through are more exciting than superhero comics or what have you because these are just kids with special abilities (and many weaknesses) going up against almost unstoppable foes. Sure, you got your magical abilities, your "powers", your big confrontations, just like in comics from the non-manga mainstream of comics. However, unlike mainstream American comics, Naruto's creator has taken the time to make us care about the characters before putting them in danger. He also made them vulnerable, often scared creatures, just like any kid would be in a super-challenging, even life-threatening situation. The fact that these kids aren't perfect and aren't all-knowing and all-powerful is exactly Naruto is such a page-turner.
``xEkuAuEEyZAkJdBLBqI``x1249411679``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xthosewhohuntelvesv7.jpg Waiting For Master Keaton or Someone Like Him: Or, Viz Spawned a Monster: Or, Don’t Mess with the Johan``xbarblien``xI’m almost completely burnt out on writing reviews. After almost seven years at Sequential Tart, being all but forced to review some of the worst comics on the face of the earth (which tells you the sorry state the American comics industry has descended to), even writing manga reviews, even when I like a manga (which is more often than not), is like pulling teeth for me. And yet. And yet. I feel almost compelled to write about Monster.
In a way, why bother? The series has already been published and lauded to almost a ridiculous degree. And while it’s a good series, it’s a flawed one, no matter what most critics say. Too often, the plot verges on the wildly implausible. Too often, one wonders why some victims of the “monster” are even dead (one victim could have easily hit the little creep with a bottle!), let alone why the “monster” isn’t sighted by witnesses, killed by his would-be victims, or someone else. Too often, the stories repeat themselves. Too often, the going is slow and sometimes even frustrating. And yet. And yet.
I have to read the damned thing. Don't get me wrong. It’s not exactly an addictive with me. Now Death Note, that was an addiction. The anime of Fruits Basket, that was also an addiction. Don't even get me started on GTO, Trigun, or Bebop! With Monster, I glide through a volume with various degrees of interest, sometimes wondering why I’m still reading it, only to have a cliffhanger or a revelation reel me in again. The series constantly promises that it will move forward, only to leave one wanting yet again. And yet. And yet. I keep reading. I’m on volume 8 now. I tell myself I can stop now, or that I can skip ahead, or even look up what happens through Wiki (if indeed someone has bothered summarizing the series), yet I don’t. Instead, I wait around for awhile, then when the inner-library loan system I get Monster through spits out another volume, I read it. I keep saying that I can’t imagine myself waiting on the eleven or whatever number volumes I still have left, yet I still wait. And I still read.
The story, and a dubious one it is too, goes something like this: The almost preposterously noble but great looking Dr. Tenma once saved a little boy’s life. Only, the boy is (let’s call a spade a spade) evil incarnate. The child grows up and becomes a serial killer of sorts. More often, the now grown up Johan uses psychological persuasion to do make others do his dirty work for him (I’m still not sure how that works). Dr. Tenma decides that he has no choice but to kill the little bastard, only (to an almost infuriating point), Tenma is the Hamlet of assassins: the good doctor simply cannot make up his mind to stop this pariah, no matter how many good, decent, innocent people Johan kills and manipulates in his wake. Why? Because Dr. Tenma is GOOD. No other reason, just that, from what I can see. Further, Johan seems to have some pretty big plans of a vague nature. Thank God no shinigami threw a Death Note down at his feet! Then again, if a Death God had, maybe the series might have progressed a little more rapidly. Throw in an almost outrageously big and shadowy conspiracy involving Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall and Neo-Nazis and Bob’s your uncle, plot-wise.
Too often the stories read like this: Tenma has been framed for Johan’s crimes, so he’s constantly on the run, although he always seems to have money to burn. And while one would think that a classically handsome Japanese doctor wouldn’t be hard to spot in the more Teutonic parts of Europe, he seems to be almost as hard as Johan to catch. Well, just as someone or another finds out his secret, that person sees Dr. Tenma do something righteous and that person decides that Tenma can’t be guilty, so that person lets him go, never once thinking that it wasn’t up to them but the authorities to judge innocence or guilt or, if they’re wrong, that they just helped a serial killer.
As I said, it’s easy to get mad at this series!
And yet. And yet.
Confession time: What makes this series great is that it’s written by the co-creator of one of my all-time favorite anime series, Master Keaton. What especially frustrates me about Monster is that Keaton is such a superior series (from the anime and the few online scans I can find), yet we may never, ever, ever see it over here because there’s a huge dispute about whether the artist of Keaton co-wrote the series. Monster makes a rather ambiguous claim in favor of the answer of Yes. The best moments of Monster share Master Keaton’s moments of humanism, the worst ones suffer from being overly ambitious. The small stories in Monster, such as the one about Tenma’s ex-girlfriend almost finding a nice guy to care about, only to be done in by cruel fate, are fantastic. It’s those small stories, with characters that I feel real empathy for, that keep me reading the series. Those Keaton-esque moments make me scream for a series that I know probably isn’t going to be collected here any time soon. It’s also probably just a bit too old to be a hot topic for scanners.
Yet I live in hope. If people think that Monster is such a treasure, maybe, just maybe, someone will remember that before the noble Dr. Tenma, there was once a splendid predecessor named Keaton. I’m not into scans because I believe that those who create manga deserve to be paid for their efforts (although I certainly don’t look down on those who find value in scans, so please don’t think that), but I’ll make an exception for series in copyright limbo. And Keaton’s so far in limbo, from what Wiki tells me, it’s practically in hell.
I only hope that those who follow Monster will eventually clamor for Keaton the way I do.
But until then, all I can do is read its overly ambitious counterpart, swear that I don’t have to read another volume, then wait.
Just as I wait for Keaton. Only in the case of the good Master of Life, in Keaton’s case, unless I learn kanji, I may be waiting in vain.
Monster Series Grade, so far: a very, very low B Plus``xEkuAuEkFkucoJGapZA``x1249408922``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xMonster1_500.jpg Ouran High School Host Club v12``xYsabet``xThe last time I reviewed a volume of Ouran High School Host Club, I talked a bit about how well animation suited this series. I love the manga for itself, but I still can't help wishing that I could see this volume in motion.
This time around, Hatori-sensei unobtrusively highlights the way half of the boys in the club (Kyoya, Mori, and yes, Hunny--I know, I can't believe I'm writing that) so often take care of the higher-strung twins and Tamaki. Kaoru, nominally the more mature and sensitive of the twins, has taken steps to deal with the fact that he and Hikaru both have feelings for Haruhi, and his strategy isn't sitting well with Hikaru. During the fallout, Kaoru goes to stay with Hunny and Hikaru goes to Mori's, putting the older boys in the position of being their confidantes.
Meanwhile, Tamaki hasn't gone on the second-years' trip to France and is trying to keep himself entertained at home to prevent the other members of the host club from realizing that he hasn't left the country. And alone (with his staff) in France, Kyoya takes the opportunity to go looking for Tamaki's mother, following a faint trail of clues to her whereabouts.
There's a lot of good stuff packed into this volume. I like how it's about both the friendships between the club members and about the twins trying to figure out their own relationship as they grow up. Being in the host club has gradually been pulling Hikaru and Kaoru out of the world they'd built for just themselves, but as their horizons have expanded and they've started being recognized and treated more as distinct individuals it's becoming clearer to them that they can't necessarily live a single, shared life forever. Kaoru is the first one to recognize that, but it's a nice touch that Hikaru isn't quite as immature or oblivious as Kaoru tends to think he is, and that the other characters know it, too. (I really loved Mori's reassuring comment to Hunny, who's worried about them: "Hikaru will figure something out. Because [he]'s the older brother." It's a nice nod to the fact that Hunny, for all his overwhelmingly bubbly personality, is also an older brother and is also in the position of trying to figure out his relationship with his own brother. And of course Mori is too, although his sibling relationship seems much less...fraught.)
Kyoya's search for Tamaki's mother is also pretty awesome, and in addition to showing how much effort the ruthlessly practical Kyoya will put in to looking out for the others' interests (or the club's, as he'd undoubtedly say), it also gives Hatori a chance to delve further into Tamaki's relationships with his family members and into the reasons why he behaves the way he does.
Volume 12 of Ouran High School Host Club includes a bonus side story, Hatori's retrospective on working with her first editor, and a page of editor's notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkuAFAVEuFKvIZrYuy``x1249395143``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421526727``xBisco Hatori``x``x``x``xComedy``xRomance``x``xMasumi Matsumoto``x``xViz``xTeen``xA``x8.99``x150``x225``xOuran 12 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x B.O.D.Y. v6``xYsabet``xOnce again, I'm giving the newest volume of B.O.D.Y. a (slightly) different grade than the volume before it, this time moving up to a C+. Here's the first reason: I don't think Ryoko told a single lie in this volume. I'm shocked and pleased by this development. And speaking of things that don't happen this time around, Ryoko and Ryunosuke's relationship doesn't face a single major crisis. (Gosh, I wonder if those two non-events are connected?)
It's actually quite nice to have the pressure taken off the two leads a bit; they're both still around for the entire book, so this isn't one of those cases where whole chapters are spontaneously devoted to supporting characters. But it means that we get a chance to see them just as a couple going about their business, and in this series I find that a lot more pleasant than their usual fare.
As for what does happen in this volume, well, there's still fallout to deal with after Kousuke (the host who sees Ryunosuke as competition and cheerfully manipulated Ryoko's friend Asuka into falling for him) realizes that his ploys really just aren't working, and may even be having a change of heart about being a complete and unabashed jerk, especially after Asuka discovers the truth about him. And in a quieter moment, Ryoko and Ryunosuke have just started talking about meeting each other's parents when a conveniently-timed visitor arrives at Ryunosuke's apartment.
I'm not very attached to the arc with Kousuke and Asuka, personally, but I really liked the scenes where Ryoko and Ryunosuke were talking about their families. They're much more likable characters with the drama dialed down, which is a bit unfortunate since this series seems to rely so heavily on unexpected (or sometimes "unexpected") plot twists. The constant fluctuation in how much the story appeals to me makes it hard for me to rate some individual volumes significantly higher than others--even when I'm enjoying it I'm constantly suspicious about how long it'll be before the story veers off in another direction. Still, I'm continuing to like it more than I originally expected I would, and I still think it may be just the thing for readers who prefer this style of shoujo.
Volume 6 of B.O.D.Y. includes a page of editor's notes and several bonus pages from the creator.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkuAFAuAAyJKXlFLKB``x1249394996``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421523612``xAo Mimori``x``x``x``xRomance``x``x``xJoe Yamazaki``xKelly Sue DeConnick``xViz``xOlder Teen``xC+``x8.99``x150``x225``xBODY 6 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Back From Comic-Con``xNibley``xI'm not entirely sure this week's column will be very coherent. We just got back from Comic Con and we haven't had much time to recover. But I am going to go ahead and brag about the autographs we got! We got an autograph from Bill Farmer, Eric Goldberg, and a voice actor whose name we could never catch, but he does the voice on Space Mountain. We're sorry we never caught your last name, sir! (And we can't make it out in the autograph, either. We should have asked him when we got the autograph, d'oh.) But it's still made of awesome.
Anyway. Today we wrote some cover copy, so I thought I'd talk about that a little tiny bit. “Cover copy” means the summary they put on the back of the manga that comes out. Maybe everybody but us already knew that, but I thought I'd explain just in case. We have the privilege of writing cover copy for a few of the titles we translate, and it's a really interesting experience. At first, we hated it, because we hate summarizing things. Unless we're, like, telling about our favorite episode of Hercules: The Animated Series or something, but somehow when you do it for work or school, it's never as fun. Maybe it's because we have to focus on the important bits as opposed to the fun bits. Yeah, that's probably it.
But then they imposed a rule that we had to write the summary in fifty words or less, and somehow that made it a lot of fun. It's kind of like a word puzzle. We have to pick the most important part and only summarize that. Actually, it would probably be better to pick the part that most people are going to be interested in, regardless of how important it is to the story, but... well, let's just say there's a reason we're not in marketing. That's probably also why whenever we see the back covers we supposedly wrote the copy for there's a different text on them. But that's okay; hopefully we at least gave the people who wrote the real version something to go off of. Anyway, after we summarize the part we chose to write about, we have to then take away all the extra words and figure out how to rephrase things to make the whole thing fit within fifty words. We like to make it exactly fifty words, because it's somehow more fun for us that way.
Aaaand that's really all we have to say on cover copy, so I think it's time to change the subject. At Comic Con, there aren't that many panels that are really relevant to translating manga, but there is one that's extremely relevant, as the subject is translating manga. There was a panel of manga translators and a few other people involved in translating, and it was a question and answer session so the fans could ask them pretty much whatever. Ideally the question had to do with translating anime or manga, would be my guess. It was an interesting panel, and at first I thought we could use those questions as material for more columns... but then I realized I think I've talked about everything already. Of course, some of that was a long time ago, so maybe I could do it again. But there was one question we've only touched on lightly. It was basically this: why do light novel translations suck? It was worded much more politely, but that was the gist of it.
The answer given at the panel was basically that it's much harder to translate prose than it is to translate manga, and it would cost a lot more to find someone who has the right experience to translate a novel and get them to agree to do it and do a good job. Only one member of the panel even had any experience translating novels, because everyone else was smart enough not to try it. So let me tell you about a couple of people who weren't that smart. You guessed it--those people are us.
The offer came to us a while ago, and it was for a series we had translated the manga of, so we thought it was a good opportunity to read more of the series as well as develop a new skill. We weren't surprised to learn that translating novels is super super hard. Still, we thought we were doing pretty well. We do have our own opinions about what's readable and what's not, and we made sure to read our translation and tweak it before we turned it in. But maybe we weren't reading it carefully enough, because we found out later that, basically, our translation sucked. When we got this information, we were given the chance to revise a book later in the series (which we had already translated ourselves), and even though we had already gone through and revised it once, when we read it the third time, we realized that the translation did indeed need lots and lots of help. It was a big blow to our confidence, but it was also important to not let it get us down, and hopefully we're improving.
So in sum, you can be a fantastic translator of manga (that sounds egotistical, doesn't it? I like to think of it as standing behind our work) and still be a terrible, terrible translator of prose. But practice makes perfect, right? Anyway, that's probably a big reason why light novel translations tend to be of lower quality. The panelists also mentioned how the guys who translate, like, fine literature type novels will spend years on one book, and usually have like a master's degree or something. I don't remember (some reporter I am, right?). But anyway, it takes a lot to translate a novel, and it's easy to see where something as... unimportant (regardless of how fun or awesome) as a light novel wouldn't warrant that kind of work. And that's our own contribution to the answering of that question. Tadah!``xEkulAkEEFFitAlDeKl``x1248921133``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You v1``xYsabet``xKimi ni Todoke: From Me to You is one of several new VIZ titles I've been looking forward to reading this summer (other series on my list are Children of the Sea and Ôoku: The Inner Chamber). I have quite a few friends who're big fans, so I'm happy to have a chance to check it out.
Kimi ni Todoke introduces us to Sawako Kuronuma, a painfully shy high school student who wants nothing more than to be friends with her classmates. Trouble is, Sawako gives off creepy vibes and has no social skills whatsoever, so if she's having a good day the other students edge away slowly instead of just running. This is shown in an over-the-top way, of course, but the manga-ka, Karuho Shiina, has really nailed one of the paradoxical dynamics in this sort of situation: Sawako's classmates freely call her "Sadako" (the name of the female lead in The Ring), whisper about her, avoid her, and tell tall tales about her ("you'll be cursed if you look into her eyes for three seconds!"), all while seeming to truly believe that she speaks to ghosts and can curse them at will. Believing someone can hurt you and then treating them badly makes no logical sense, but it's an all-too-believable dynamic.
Despite this treatment, Sawako is determined to befriend the people around her, even if this means watching them recoil from her attempt at a cheerful "good morning!" every single day. It's not quite true to say that her gloomy exterior hides a sunny personality, but Sawako is almost uncomfortably earnest, unfailingly good-natured and helpful, and a true believer in the idea that everyone in the world is a friend waiting to happen. She's drawn in a few distinct ways depending on the scene: sometimes she's creepy and plain; sometimes she appears in a cute, stylized way for the readers' benefit; and sometimes, when another character really looks at her and sees her real personality, she's beautiful.
Throughout the book, there are several of those latter moments. First they happen with Kazehaya, a popular and boy who sees something in Sawako that charms him and makes him begin reaching out to her. Later, some of their other classmates follow his lead, giving the book two parallel progressions as Sawako begins to change and, more significantly, as her classmates' perception of her begins to change. Sawako herself attributes all of this to Kazehaya's encouragement and kind nature, while he tries to get her to see that she's the one beginning to build connections.
Kazehaya is a great character in his own right. He should be too good to be true, with his huge smile and the friendliness that radiates from every pore, but Shiina keeps him from coming across as either saccharine or as potentially two-faced. His efforts to reach out to Sawako and her heartfelt delight as she begins to make a connection with someone else for the first time are a real treat. It's equally adorable watching them start to fall for each other, even though there's never a moment when they both realize that's what's going on. It's also unsurprising that other characters notice how much attention he's paying to her. Here, too, Shiina presents a realistic balance of reactions from the people around them: while some assume that there must be something to Sawako if Kazehaya likes being around her, others don't take it nearly so well. These very convincing undertones are one of the things I like best about the series so far.
As a side note, I was glad to see that the Japanese title has been retained. I know this is a bit of a sticky decision for publishers, since the flip side is that casual new readers may not be as quick to pick up a book with a Japanese-only title (the translated subtitle isn't visible on the spine, only the front cover), so I can only conclude that there's enough of an existing audience ready and waiting for it to appear under a familiar name that keeping it seemed like a viable choice. And that strikes me (despite my lack of marketing savvy) as a good sign.
Volume 1 of Kimi ni Todoke includes two pages of translation/cultural notes and a sheet of stickers (!).
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkulAkpApueiWAbyjh``x1248920904``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527553``xKaruho Shiina``x``x``x``xRomance``xComedy``x``xTomo Kimura``x``xViz``xTeen``xA-``x8.99``x150``x225``xKimi ni Todoke 1 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Skip Beat! v18``xYsabet``xI'm a bit late writing a review for volume 18 of Skip Beat!--it's been out for a couple of months--but before I read it I wanted to make sure I was caught up on the volumes that have come out since my last review. And just as well that I did, since this series doesn't slow down for a minute!
Kyoko's drama, Dark Moon, is getting excellent ratings, but in this volume she's been given a new Love Me Section job: serving as personal assistant to Koo Hizuri, a Japanese actor who's been living and working in Hollywood--and who, not-so-coincidentally, played the same role in Tsukigomori (the original drama being remade as Dark Moon) that Ren is now recreating. Nothing in Skip Beat! happens by chance, however, and within a few pages it's made clear that Koo is allowing Kyoko's agency's president to use him to antagonize Kyoko and bring Ren to her defense.
The reasons behind this plot aren't spelled out in this volume, although all the pieces to this puzzle are strewn throughout the book; Kyoko herself certainly hasn't put it all together, but readers are supposed to have a pretty good idea of what's actually going on. And even without knowing what's happening, Kyoko doesn't leap through anyone's hoops. Whether she's fighting back or cooperating (and that sometimes varies from panel to panel), she's a complete wild card.
I enjoyed Kyoko's developing relationship with Koo quite a bit more than I expected I would, given how much time he spends pushing her buttons (sometimes unwittingly) and figuring her out. He also winds up teaching her a fair bit about both the art and business of acting, although what she picks up on aren't always the lessons he intended.
There's a lot packed into this volume, between the scheming and the flashbacks and the hints, and Nakamura layers it all together pretty skillfully. And this is a small thing, but I was glad to see Kyoko going back to her lighter hair color. I usually don't have a preference for what characters do to their hair, but that made me irrationally happy. Kyoko's relationship with Sho is put on the back burner in this volume, but her other relationships are moving in interesting directions, so I'm once again looking forward to seeing where things go next.
Vol. 18 of Skip Beat! includes a page of cultural and translation notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkulAkpZkFKzwwGRoF``x1248920723``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421525984``xYoshiki Nakamura``x``x``x``xDrama``x``x``xTomo Kimura``xTomo Kimura``xViz``xTeen``xB+``x8.99``x150``x225``xSkip Beat 18 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Dogs: Bullets and Carnage v1``xrasmussen``xI don’t know. Either I’ve become far too jaded or VIZ has become far too jumpy. Either way, for a title that is claiming to be M for Mature… hmm… Okay I can see why, the title is a bit much. Okay.
Let’s see… Badou’s found some “Lost Children” (and by found I mean they’re sitting in the closet of these guys they gunned down a whole lot). Something called “Fetish Mutants” ...it seems this batch is wanted by the Mafia… why? Because that’d explain all the random violence and shooting and people getting ripped open and apart throughout the volume. That’s why.
Oh, joy, it’s ANOTHER title with smarmy-assed unstoppable killing machines, a wide cast all thrown together for some reason or another (I personally blame the success of successful shows like Cowboy Bebop or inspiring the trend towards group dynamic action series) full of eccentric “unique” individuals (who I am sure each you’ve only seen in maybe 3-5 different series apiece; they're types if nothing greater than that lookalike-wise). The series is yet another in the wide gravy train (for the creator, not for you or me) of action yarns that tries to relive the glory days of better series… and doesn’t do so well. No, not at all.
As for the rest of the plot? Lots of action and violence and shooting and other stuff (that makes sure this earns that M rating all right) is strung about a lot of stuff that sounds like this is a follow up series to a past series.
“…but the Stray Dog has his own problems now that the enigmatic Giovanni is back on the scene.” (wait, isn’t that the boss from Pokemon’s first story arc before the Orange Island episodes?)
Oh, and then there’s the really hot Naoto who has come to the underground looking for the killer who wields the same strange black sword as she does (while she‘s at it she could look for a premise to her character that doesn't sounding halfway borrowed)… and then there’s this one-eyed person and this cute girl with what looks like angel wings… and did I mention there’s a buttload of violence? Yeah.
It’s a Saturday Matinee popcorn-muncher-level title. It’s straightforward action, hot chicks, cool hot guys and the usual backstories and plot devices and large scale beat-em-ups and so forth.
It’s not great, but it’s a mild action yarn that could possibly get interesting… but I’m going to reserve that judgment until I see another issue and where this all goes from here. So for now, on a tentative note, let’s call it a day and wait for more to come with next volume by giving this a middle of the road C. Neither up nor down, we’ll have to wait for the make-or-break second volume to see if this title can really crank on some speed and become an addictive read… or break down on the side of the road and stay in it’s mildly interesting yet not too interesting halfway point. Good luck, title, you’ll need it.``xEkulAkpVuFNkVISyOL``x1248920543``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527031``xShirow Miwa``x``x``x``xAction``x``x``xAlexis Kirsch``xAlexis Kirsch``xViz``xMature``xC``x12.99``x150``x225``xdogs bullets carnage.jpg``x``x``x``x What I Reviewed: April 2005 (part two)``xbarblien``xBack in the day, there was a site that my wife Barbara used to review manga for... they became defunct, but I found some old manga commentary that Barb wrote way back then that never got used, and I thought it could be cool to open this little manga time capsule... with “whatever happened to” commentary after them from me (well, if needed)... So come with me now BACK... BACK... BACK in the time machine to that era when this Naruto thing was really starting to catch on:
APRIL 2005.
Fruits Basket v5
by Natsuki Takaya, from Tokyopop
Now, I have a relatively low level of cuteness tolerance.
However, you'd have to be a real sourpuss not to get into Fruits Basket.
At first blush, Fruits (or Furuba to its fans, of which I'm one) sounds no different that your typical sitcom manga. The plot: there's this family called the Sohmas that are cursed to turn into Chinese Zodiac animals when hugged by the opposite sex. Into their life comes one Tohru Honda, a typical teenaged girl with an atypical empathy factor. Her love and understanding makes this highly dysfunctional family start to function.
What sets Furuba apart from, say, a comic like Ranma 1/2 (also about a curse that changes people into funny animals) is that the curse isn't per se funny to those who have it. In fact, the curse does a lot to hurt their identities and self esteem. For instance, in volume 5, we meet young Kisa, a child so traumatized by being teased by her classmates that she can no longer speak. Her story, like a lot of the back-story to the Sohma saga, is pretty heartbreaking.
Behind a lot of the cuteness and humor of Furuba is a really strong and wonderful message about self-acceptance, dealing with rejection by those who don't understand you (even your own family), and getting on with your life even with a physical challenge to do with. The writing is always light and never preachy, but the message is still there for those who wish to see it.
The characters and how they deal with the impediments to their lives is what has made me a big Furuba fan.
Fruits Basket v7
by Natsuki Takaya, from Tokyopop
Once upon a time, my husband Park and I went into an anime rental place looking for something to rent. When we pondered picking up Fruits Basket, two smart and sweet teenaged girls INSISTED we rent it. They could not stop going on about the anime and how we'd love it. Even though another manga friend went on about the work's worth, we were skeptical. I mean, we were much more the GTO/Excel Saga type anime fans, not as into the cute stuff.
Long story shortened: We loved Fruits Basket the anime. We gulped down the episodes in marathon watching sessions because the work was so original and fresh. We were saddened when the anime ended. In fact, we went so crazy for it, we recently watched it again, and loved it just as much. We hardly ever do that with animes (well, maybe Princess Nine and Excel Saga, but usually not).
Cut to the present: Our library had Fruit Basket manga to check out. We'd sort of forgotten how good it was, so we picked it up and didn't think we'd get as excited again concerning it. We did...again.
Fruits Basket is shojo for people who don't just want cuteness to their manga. Instead, it's the deeply felt story of the dysfunctional Sohma family and their road to becoming a family that works. Yes, it's funny, yes, it's cute, yes, it's very sit-com. But, it's also about characters you can identify with and love.
Fruits Basket is the number one shoujo in the country for good reason: these people are fascinating to know. They are, in short, our friends.
Fruits Basket v8
by Natsuki Takaya, from Tokyopop
I like action in my manga. But, there are many exceptions. Fruits Basket (Furuba to its friends) is one of those exceptions.
If you've seen Furuba in anime form, you know that some of the characters from the manga weren't in it and that many of the mysteries were still unsolved. While still one of the most satisfying endings to an anime on record, if you're like me, you want the rest of the story.
Furuba v7 and v8 are sort of the place where we get the rest of the story of the dysfunctional Sohma family, who are forever cursed to become members of the Chinese Zodiac during moments of stress. Secrets are starting to be revealed that the anime didn't have time for. As such, I'm excited by these volumes especially...and the ones that come afterwards.
Behind all the cuteness, sitcom antics, and good humor lies the story of one family's attempts to make peace with each other. It's very much the story of young people trying to grow up and out of their family's problems.
Furuba is not only one of the most popular shoujo mangas ever, it's also one of the best.
(Editor’s note: This is one of the only times you’ll see me break my own rule of talking about things in critique mode that other MangaLife staffers are involved with, but I figure that B wrote this way before we ever met the Nibleys, the translators of the entirety of Fruits Basket, so this is really just more like one of those things like when the rat and the cat helped Baby Tohru find her way back home to the Crimson Butterfly, and never dreamed that they’d meet again someday in the future and become friends... in other words, it’s okay to use non-magical time travel and coincidence to break your own rules. And aren’t we all, really, on a very slow trip to the future from the past?)
Hikaru No Go v1
by Yumi Hotta and Taskeshi Obata, from Shonen Jump/Viz
I'm not into sports manga per se, with the exception of the Princess Nine anime series. So, when my husband got hooked on Hikaru No Go, I was skeptical. I mean, here's a manga about a game I don't know how to play. How could that be interesting to me?
Well, Park left the manga around and hinted at me he'd like me to read it, but I kept my distance. Wonder if I didn't find the game interesting (or worse yet, didn't understand it)? Finally , I read the comic, partly at the insistence of our friend Queenie Chan, who is writing the manga The Dreaming (about a haunted girls' school) for Tokyopop.
I was instantly hooked.
What the author does so rightly is to introduce the game of Go to the readers quite slowly, only telling us what we need to know as victory turns to victory. She also takes the time to show why the game matters to those playing it. Because the characterization is so sharp (somewhat of a rarity in some--but hardly all-- Shonen Jump titles), we know these players, as well as their motivations, hopes, and dreams.
And, no, I'm still not sure how Go is played. I think it's like a more intense Othello or Pente. That doesn't matter. I'm still hooked on Hikaru No Go.
Hikaru No Go v3
by Yumi Hotta and Taskeshi Obata, from Shonen Jump/Viz
By volume three of Hikaru No Go, I was so hooked that I practically screamed in frustration that the next volume wasn't out yet. Unlike some mainstream Western comic graphic novels that I couldn't wait to end, manga like Hikaru No Go goes down like your favorite comfort snack and leaves you wanting even more of the same.
Hikaru No Go is an interesting variation on the sports manga genre: Instead of a sports team being assembled, a Go team is assembled. Go is sort of checkers meets chess, but more interesting and varied than either game. It's also a generations old gaming obsession in some Asian countries. It's one of the most honorable games that ever was. Yet, in this volume, one of the players is tempted to cheat to win. If you've been with the series through the first two volumes, you'll be absolutely horrified at the prospect.
At the heart of Hikaru No Go is a simple, old-fashioned concept called honor. In an age where steroid monkeys are hailed as heroes, a book about good sportsmanship is really just what the doctor ordered.
No, I'm not hooked on Go the game yet. But, I wouldn't be surprised if the game caught on in the USA, just because Hikaru No Go makes it out to be the samurai of games.
Kill Me Kiss Me v1
by Lee Young Yuu, from Tokyopop
Above average gender-bender comedy, a bit like Victor/Victoria goes to a Korean high school. The story involves Tae who exchanges identities with her look alike male cousin Jung-Woo Im in order to get close to her crush. Only thing is that her crush is best friends in a not quite Yaoi way with the school's bad boy. So, Shakespearean "hey, that's a boy, but I'm a boy, what am I feeling about this boy, can that really BE a boy" plot lines occur all over the place. Amongst all the bishonen and gender confusion is actually this rather interesting and quite funny story about young men and women coming to terms with their sexual orientations. Because high school is the time of gender and even affectional confusion, Kill Me Kiss Me is actually a brave little toaster of a work because it tackles these issues in a fairly honest, affecting, and funny way. My only complaint: Damn, those cousins DO look alike---so much so that I got confused every so often about who was whom.
``xEkulkklZFAusbrXIyn``x1248228739``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xFruits Basket v8.jpg Black Bird v1``xYsabet``xThe first volume of Black Bird can be conveniently summarized in just a couple of lines. Like so: "When Misao Harada's childhood friend (and first love), Kyo, moves back to town just before her sixteenth birthday, she learns that her lifelong ability to see supernatural beings springs from an innate power in her blood that makes demons want to either eat or marry her to get at it. Kyo, a tengu, wants to marry her. He's in the minority."
I've given myself a day or two to mull this over, and the truth is that I'm not sure how I feel about this volume. It has both pros and cons: the premise is potentially interesting, but so far the execution mostly involves Misao being repeatedly attacked and Kyo (literally) licking her wounds. (This is usually presented more suggestively than I expected, but not enough so to warrant shrink-wrap.)
I like that Misao doesn't take her fate, er, lying down by simply agreeing to marrying Kyo, even though she has genuine feelings for him. (It's a little unclear to me whether marrying someone or losing her virginity to them is the key thing at hand: at one point Kyo's main rival for Misao's affections indicates that he's still interested even if she's already slept with Kyo, but Kyo gives the impression that her sleeping with him will seal the deal. Maybe he's just interpreting it as a so-far-theoretical acceptance of his proposal.) Events cast her as a victim, but she doesn't fit tidily into that mold. She accepts the facts of her situation quickly, but isn't willing to take for granted that the only options available to her are becoming a bride or a meal.
She's also believably conflicted about Kyo, since she has good memories of him from childhood but now has reason to believe that he's interested only in the power he can get from her if they marry. I'm less impressed by her apparent failure to even try to come up with a backup plan despite the evident truth of the demons' claims: if she doesn't marry a demon, other demons will keep wooing and attacking her. I'm not saying I have any idea what that backup plan should be, since she's clearly in a bad situation and none of the choices look good. But flatly refusing Kyo's protection even though she has no way of defending herself seems...a little short-sighted.
One thing that intrigues me is Sakurakoji's note on Kyo: "He was supposed to be a very different character, but I was forced to cut pages and he turned out to be not a bad character at all." I wonder what her original plan was? I'm very unsure about what I think of Kyo so far; he's charismatic and seems to truly care about Misao, but the level of uninvited physical contact he basically forces on her is off-putting (memo to the authors of the world "...but she really likes it, so it's okay!" is never a good answer), although for the most part he genuinely is helping her. It's hard to decide what to make of that. I can work with it as a plot point, but visually it keeps being depicted as if he's assaulting her, which is...let's call it unfortunate, especially when it's clearly meant to come off only as risqué.
As is often my complaint, there are too many assumptions and not enough conversations between the main characters, but this is only a first volume. While I dislike that pattern in general, I don't hold it against individual stories unless/until it goes on for a few volumes; just because I've been burned by stories that drag it out infinitely doesn't mean it's not understandable at the beginning of a relationship.
Volume 1 of Black Bird includes one page of translation/cultural notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkulkklkAVyrXZjeYh``x1248228295``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421527642``xKanoko Sakurakoji``x``x``x``xHorror``xRomance``x``xJN Productions``x``xViz``xOlder Teen``xB``x8.99``x150``x225``xBlack Bird 1 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x We Were There v5``xYsabet``xAfter the slightly faster-paced events of volume 4, volume 5 of We Were There feels more like the first three volumes: not a whole lot happens, and yet the story doesn't drag in the slightest.
At the end of vol. 4, things between Yano and Nanami took a not-entirely-surprising turn for the worse when Nanami realized that, despite the way he's often spoken of her, Yano still loves Nana-san. Figuring that there was no way for her to compete with a dead girlfriend he still misses, Nanami broke up with him.
To give Yano some credit, he's spent most of the series making a valiant effort to be a good boyfriend to Nanami, although he's so messed up that he hasn't always succeeded. Now that she's broken up with him, he realizes pretty quickly that he really wants her back, but it's hard for him to argue his case when she avoids him as much as possible--and worse, is spending time with his friend Takeuchi, who's developing a real crush on her. Nanami, for her part, is determined not to let Yano talk to her and shake her resolve, and also isn't convinced that Takeuchi actually has feelings for her.
It all sounds very ordinary, but its ordinariness is what makes it so believable. We Were There doesn't rely on unexpected plot twists or even on unusual situations to carry it; Nanami and Yano could be any pair of teenagers trying to figure out their hearts and their lives. Even the (figurative) ghost of Nana-san overshadowing their relationship isn't all that unusual, although fortunately the lost loves that so many people feel that they're in competition with usually aren't actually dead.
This volume is a bit less heartbreaking than usual, but given the series' track record I'm sure that's just a lull. Still a lovely piece of work.
Volume 5 of We Were There includes a bonus story set a few years before the series' main story.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.``xEkulkklpZuKPUHDFoQ``x1248228074``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421520222``xYuki Obata``x``x``x``xDrama``xRomance``x``xTetsuichiro Miyaki``xNancy Thistlethwaite``xViz``xOlder Teen``xA``x8.99``x150``x225``xWe Were There 5 cover 1.jpg``x``x``x``x Words of Truth and Wisdom: Fruits Basket Revisited``xNibley``xA lot of people are making a big deal about the last volume of Fruits Basket being out now, so we thought we'd join the fun! ...But then we realized we've already talked about most of the things that really stood out in This Very Column! Still, that doesn't have to stop us from trying! Apologies if it's too repetitive.
Fruits Basket was the very first series we translated professionally, so it will always hold a special place in our hearts. We actually turned the translation in... a long long time ago (can't remember when, exactly, but it was a while), so in a way, for us, Fruits Basket has been over for quite some time now. That being the case, it's kind of hard to think of anything really deep to say about it, since it's been so long since we've read it, but! we actually typed some thoughts about it soon before we turned in the script, and now I'm going to cheat and paste those into this column! Mwahahahaha... ha ha... ha.
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We've been in the middle of translating Fruits Basket since the beginning of our professional translating career. Technically we still are, since, like I said, we still have to translate a few things, tweak the script, and turn it in. But after that, we won't be translating Fruits Basket anymore. It's kind of a weird thing to think about, like it doesn't compute. Only we've actually had quite a few looooong periods of time when we weren't translating it, so it probably won't be a whole lot different. (And technically, there's still a fanbook, if TokyoPop gets it and asks us to translate it.)
It's not really a sad feeling. We've translated a lot of series that have ended by now. This is actually the longest series we've worked on, unless you count Negima!, but we're only just starting on it, so that's kind of weird by itself. We don't think it will go on for another 22 volumes, but it's hard to tell with that one.
But anyway, it's a great series, and we're really honored that we were able to translate all of it. We've learned a lot from it, directly and indirectly, about translating and being a good person in general.
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Then after we turned it in:
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Well, it's official. We turned in the script today, and we are no longer translating Fruits Basket in the progressive tense. From all the long, epic stories we've seen, I feel like after something like this, there should be kind of a "And now it's time for a new beginning" at best and a "Now what?" at worst, but as it is, we're just going to go on with life as usual.
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So that's what we said back then, and we stand by it. It was fun translating Fruits Basket, just like it is translating everything else. I seem to remember having more angry outbursts with it than with anything else, probably mostly because we had already read volume five of Saiyuki by the time we started Fruits Basket. Fruits Basket was hard, though. We would explain it to people by saying it looks like Natsuki Takaya is a master of the Japanese language, which means everything is very poetic and hads a bunch of nuances that are really hard to get in English. Of course, the fact that there would often be two different narrations and the actual dialogue all going on at the same time didn't really help, but we eventually got used to it, and now, when we deal with other titles that do similar things, it's a lot easier.
We were actually really sad that Takaya-sensei stopped talking about video games right before Final Fantasy IX came out. That one's our favorite, so we really wanted to know how she liked it.
There's been some talk about how to fill the void created by the lack of new Fruits Basket. Of course there's never going to be anything that's exactly like Fruits Basket, and if there was, everybody would dismiss it as a wannabe Fruits Basket anyway, so trying to replace it seems like a really bad idea. Instead, it would probably be best to realize that there are a lot of good titles out there, and to enjoy them for them, and when you feel the need for some good Fruits Basket, just go read it again.
We were recently at a convention where a manga artist was asked about a certain character who died, and he pointed out that as long as he still makes stuff from that series, that character will be in it, so, in effect, he'll still be alive. And that's pretty much how it is with anything, but even without new chapters being written, you can always go back. As long as the series still exists, it's still alive. So, to paraphrase what that manga artist said, “Don't worry about it 'being over' so much. It's not a big deal.”``xEkuZVlElyVFMpsgFYz``x1247581865``xfeatures``x``x``x45611116047418``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x``x150``x225``x``x``x``x``xtwins.jpg Honey and Clover v6``xYsabet``xI remember watching the Honey and Clover anime* for the first time a couple of years ago and not understanding at first why some of my friends loved it so much. But I liked it well enough, so I kept watching, and then at some point I found myself loving it intensely. "At some point" isn't a deliberate attempt at vagueness; I really can't remember a specific moment in the story where it happened. But wherever that point was, the manga has now definitely passed it: Umino's knack for making me believe in these characters and their feelings as they grope their way towards their futures has really kicked up another notch or two.
I want to single out the fact that there are several moments in this volume where I love Morita. To say that doesn't happen very often would be a bit of an understatement--his frenetic energy doesn't really work for me--so that makes it all the more impressive to me that Umino integrates him and his madly over-the-top subplots so well with the main story and the rest of the cast. He has a truly wonderful scene with Yamada towards the beginning of this volume, which reminds me of how much I enjoy their friendship. On a surface level they have so little in common, but from time to time Morita seems to be connected with her in a way he isn't with anyone else.
Yamada gets a lot of focus in the first half of this book, as she continues to spend time with Nomiya and deal with her feelings for Mayama. It hasn't been that long since Mayama was forced to confront some unpleasant realities about his part in their relationship after Yamada confessed her feelings to him, and now it's her turn. All this attention on the three of them also means we spend more time with Nomiya's officemates, which amuses me more every volume. (I particularly love Miwako.)
The second half of volume 6 brings us to the beginning of what is probably Honey and Clover's most iconic storyline. Takemoto, ostensibly our viewpoint character and the eternal Everyman of the series, is having no luck finding a job and is beginning to feel desperate about it. Surrounded by geniuses and people who've begun carving out their own niches, he feels increasingly adrift...and unwittingly sets out on a journey to discover himself. The beginnings of that journey capture both the poignancy and the comedy of the series, as he and the other characters realize what he's done. It's a striking image and plays out beautifully, but some of the immediate fallout is extremely funny.
This volume includes a short behind-the-scenes comic from the creator and two pages of cultural notes.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media.
*VIZ announced a release date for the first anime boxset at AX, which is very exciting. It feels like I've been waiting to own this show for a long time.``xEkuZVlEVyybSpvIqQy``x1247581566``xreviews``x``x``x33481114656321``x1421523671``xChica Umino``x``x``x``xDrama``x``x``xAkemi Wegmuller``xAkemi Wegmuller``xViz``xOlder Teen``xA``x8.99``x150``x225``xHoney and Clover 6 cover.jpg``x``x``x``x Honey Hunt v2``xYsabet``xThe second volume of Honey Hunt is as pleasant a surprise as the first. (Having already covered the way my residual feelings from Hot Gimmick color my perspective on Aihara's work in my review of volume 1, I won't rehash that here.) Instead, I'll start by talking about the heroine, Yura, who is shy and usually unassertive--not the best combination when trying to break into showbiz, but she manages to overcome those tendencies when there's no other choice.
At the beginning of this volume, she has no other choice: her outfit for the commercial that's about to start shooting has been sabotaged (not that most of the people on staff seem to actually realize that there's no other way a piece of clothing carefully hung up in a closet is going to suddenly develop a huge stain), and the general attitude on set is that there's nothing for it but to delay shooting Yura's scene, which will screw up her co-star's work schedule. Yura has a sudden burst of inspiration that works out, and the scene goes ahead in a way that impresses both the director and--begrudgingly--her co-star, Haruka. (More on him in a minute.)
Yura has an astounding amount of naiveté about the business, but she also has a fair bit of natural talent and intuition as an actress. It makes her vulnerable to sabotage and to undermining her own best chances, but it also means that her manager, Nishiwaki, and the director of the commercial she's been cast in have some faith in her.
Then we come to the two male leads: Yura's co-star, Haruka, and his twin, Q-ta, who's a musician. Back in vol. 1 Q-ta expressed interest in Yura, but was upfront about his motivations, which involved wanting to get close to Yura's father, another musician. It's starting to seem like his interest is genuine, though (the story's been leading readers in that direction all along, but Yura herself is now having moments of wondering if it's possible). Meanwhile, Haruka is openly antagonistic towards Yura--at least by normal standards. (I need another Hot Gimmick comparison here after all: my perception of Haruka's treatment of her is influenced by the fact that, i