Manga Xanadu

As I’ve described before, the Kindle has a lot of potential, but it seemed to be wasted in the 1.0 version. Well, apparently that wasn’t quite true. There is more potential in the Kindle, they just didn’t want you to see it. Fortunately, there are people out there who are never satisfied with what we’re given. I learned about this while listening to Leo Laporte’s Tech Guy podcast.

Igor Skochinsky has a blog called Reversing Everything. He got a hold of a Kindle and decided to see what made it tick. Taking it apart both physically and hacking the software, he found some interesting programs residing in the Kindle, just out of reach of the user; a picture viewer, minesweeper game, and some GPS capabilities through the browsers.

The program of interest to mangaphiles is of course the picture viewer. It allows for a “picture” folder to be created, and the pictures can then be loaded into a sub folder to create a “book” that will appear on the home screen. It’s a little slow at turning pages, but will view jpg, png, and gif. So if you read a lot of scanalations, this might be worth a try.

A word of warning though. This is not a quick and easy hack. The Kindle runs on Linux and Java, and you may have to understand these programs to pull off the hack. There are some zips on the site of programs he used as well as explanations of what he did. Only the tech-savvy and/or very rich (that could afford to buy a new one should anything go wrong; this isn’t covered by warranty) should attempt this. (But if you do and it works, let me know)

We’ve got another week of “something for everyone” at Manga Village! For the Manly Man, Dan Polley shoots out a review of Golgo 13 Vol 12 from Viz. For some sweet shojo goodness, Lissa Pattillo goes to the Yume Kira Dream Shoppe from Viz. Charles Tan continues the horror with Uzumaki Vol 2 from Viz while John Thomas takes a flight on All Nippon Airline: Paradise at 30,000 Feet for some Yaoi comedy from Digital Manga Publishing. I’ve got some good anti-hero action in Togari Vol 5 from Viz. 4 out of 5 reviewer prefer Viz Media this week.

Over in the columns, we give our Picks for the week, and then Charles Tan explains Why he Loves Sports Manga. Come check out these and our other columns and reviews. Everyone’s welcome at Manga Village.

Dragon Drive Vol 3

by Keiichi Sakura
Published by Viz Media
Genre: Fantasy, Gaming

Rating: All Ages

Grade: B

Storyline

After a battle against Rokkaku, he joins Reiji and friends to compete in the Dragonic Heaven. As time goes on, Reiji meets two small children, Lyn and Sue, abusing a small water dragon, along with Chibi. Reiji battles their dragons and defeats them. Time goes on, his team meets the same two children, engulfed in darkness. After Reiji recovers from anger, He tries to save the children AND go to the next round.

Review

A new character! Okay but seriously, a new “fun” character to the series! In Volume 3 of Dragon Drive, we see Reiji and a powerhouse of Chibi, fueled with anger. There’re some mysterious people creating a dark aura. The tournament looks like quite a challenge. And the rest will be revealed.

What I liked about it

Angered Chibi looked really awesome. Huge teeth stuck out of his mouth and there was some pretty huge muscles. I also liked the suspense the manga held. I think it was pretty cool.

What I didn’t like

Berserker Reiji and Chibi kind of freak me out, even if they look cool.

What you could do to make it better

Nothing.

Is this suitable for children?

Yes.

There’s some good variety this week, ranging from old school favorites with Archie and Disney to new with Cartoon Network Block Party & Franklin Richards, the Marvel version of Calvin.

ARCHIE COMICS
Betty #172, $2.25
Jughead And Friends Digest #27, $2.49
Pals N Gals Double Digest #119, $3.69
Sonic X #30, $2.25

DC/Johnny DC
Cartoon Network Block Party #42, $2.25
Teen Titans Go #52, $2.25

GEMSTONE PUBLISHING
Barks Rosa Coll TP Vol 02 Donalds Atom Bomb, $8.99
Uncle Scrooge #373, $7.99
Walt Disneys Comics & Stories #688, $7.99

MARVEL COMICS
Franklin Richards TP Collected Chaos Digest, $8.99
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #33, $2.99
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #10, $2.99

SCHOLASTIC INC
Amulet HC Vol 01 Stonekeeper (AA), $21.99
Spotlights for this week:

Sonic X #30 – We introduced my oldest daughter to the Sega Genesis when she was 4 or 5, and since then both my daughters have become obsessed with the blue hedgehog and his friends. Video games, toys, clothes, a trading card game and a DVDs of the TV show fill their rooms. And of course, the comics. This is a new series Archie started based on the Sonic X TV series, which was brought over from Japan. Surprisingly, there have only been two short mangas done about Sonic in Japan. Sonic X follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy as they fight against Dr. Eggman and his robot cronies for control of the Chaos emeralds in the human world. They are helped by Chris Thorndyke and his Grandfather Chuck. The comic sticks to the first two seasons of the TV series. The art stays true to the TV series and the stories are well written. At least, my kids think so.

Amulet Vol 1 – Scholastic books started an imprint three years ago for graphic novels. They have done Goosebump books and Bone. Amulet is a new story by Kazu Kibuishi, who’s previous story Daisey Kutter: The Last Train was selected as one of the best books for kids in 2006 by the American Library Association. In this new series, Emily and Naven move with their mother to their deceased great grandfather’s house after their father dies. But strange things are afoot in the house, and their mother gets lured to a door in the basement by a sinister creature. The kids follow and end up in world inhabited by demons, robots and talking animals. Befriended by a robot rabbit named Miskit, they must find a way to save their mother. The art is nice and the story looks intriguing. But if the hard cover is too much, wait for the soft cover. Clicking on the title will take you to a pdf with a 16 page preview.

Oh! Pay me! (If you get that….)

It that time of the month again. Yes, that’s right. It’s time to do my Previews order. It wasn’t so bad this time. Only eleven titles on my first count, and two weren’t too hard to drop. I had considered getting the title Kannazuki no Miko. It’s only two volumes longs, but it’s an “only if I’ve got nothing else to get”, and I’ve got more to get . The other was Good Witch of the West. That was a little harder to give up. The story was finally getting good. We’re out of the courts and into the wilds, facing the “dragons” (dinosaurs), and finally searching for the meaning behind the Star Queen. But the other titles that are scheduled to come out are more interesting to me.

That takes me down to 9 titles, and a total of $60.72, right at the top of my limit. There are some new titles coming out in April that I’d like to read. Two are from Viz; Fairy Cube by Kaori Yuki. I’ve become a big fan of her work. And Record of a Fallen Vampire. I don’t know much about this series, but before it was licensed, I had gotten the first volume in scanalation. It obviously sounded interesting to me. Some publisher should hire me to scout titles. I’m obviously doing pretty good at it since most of the books I pick to check out get licensed soon after.

There is one title I’m going to see if my youngest might be interested in. Tokyopop has another Disney based title. This one is Fairies, about Tinkerbell and her fairy friends. My youngest actually likes being a girl, and she might be interested it. I wonder, why is it the Japanese are faster to take advantage of licenses like this than we are? Is it more expensive to get a domestic license? This is second Disney manga (not cine-manga) that Tokyopop has released. The first was with the Disney Kilala Princesses. Think there’s any chance of getting Deltora Quest brought over here?

So, now I’ve given the background of my order, here’s my problem. CMX is soliciting a new series. It’s by the same manga-ka as The Palette of 12 Secret Colors, Nari Kusakawa, and is called Two Flowers for the Dragon. It’s a teen shoujo title with a girl that can turn into a dragon, who is faced with two suitors that she must choose between. Two reasons make me want to check out this series: it’s by Nari Kusakawa, and it’s got a dragon in it. That’s about all I need. But, I’m already at my limit. So, I’m going to leave it up to all you readers. Do I go off my “diet” and get Two Flowers for the Dragon, or do I be a good girl? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Hell Girl
by Miyuki Eto; Original Story by The Jigoku Shoujo Project
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Genre: Horror/Shoujo
Rating: OT 16+ (Teen 13+)
Price: $10.95

Rating:

I don’t get it. Someone really needs to explain this to me. What was so bad about Hell Girl Volume 1 from Del Rey? I just finished reading it, and can’t see any of the problems so many other reviewers seemed to have with it.

I’ve seen the anime this manga is based on, and, on the whole, the first volume follows the first 4-5 episodes in it. There are some minor changes, such as Enma Ai is seen as a student at the schools the girls go to, instead of always waiting in her home with her “Grandmother” for a request to come through the computer. And in the anime, those that ask for Ai’s help get a straw doll with a red string around it’s neck. If they decide to make the contract with Ai, all they have to do is pull the string. Ai also gives those looking to make the contract a taste of what they will be getting after they die and go to hell. Other than those small changes, this volume follows the beginning of the anime fairly faithfully.

First, to get one thing straight. I don’t know what happened, but the age rating on this volume is wrong. It’s marked OT (16+) on the book, but the Del Rey website has it at Teen (13+) . I really hope this was an oversight on Del Rey’s part, and not a concession to any groups that may have been upset with the title or the subject. I will be very disappointed with Del Rey if it was the latter. This is definitely a title for a younger audience than 16.

So, working with the premise that this is actually a Teen rated book, everything else about it would make sense. The art style, with the big eyes fits in with Del Rey’s other Teen titles for girls, Pichi Pichi Pitch: Mermaid Melody and Mamotte! Lollipop. The stories are very shoujo with young girls as the protagonists and lots of drama to drive them to the desperate action of seeking out Hell Girl. But, what really clinched it for me was when I got to the end of the veterinarian story, as he was being tormented before being taken to hell.

About 10 years ago there was a series of horror stories written for teen readers called R.L. Stein’s Goosebumps that were really popular. I’ve come to know these books very well. My oldest daughter was hooked on them for quite a while, and my youngest daughter has been watching the tv specials that were made from the books. And Hell Girl plays just like one of these stories. An innocent kid who gets sucked in by the normal looking person who turns out to be a demon, and has to find a way to defeat it. This is Hell Girl’s formula to a tee, with the only difference that the girls go to an external source to find their answer, and even though they win in the end, they have a consequence to bear for the rest of their life. It’s a Japanese style of horror, but it’s still teen horror. Once that hit me, the book just fell into place.

That said, this is a terrific book for teens that like things on the dark side. Not necessarily goth, but like to be scared every now and then. The stories may seem to be disturbing at times. The veterinarian story is hard for pet lovers to read, but you can’t deny he didn’t deserve it. They can also seem overly dramatic, but that’s just shojo. The teacher that is able to turn not only all of the protagonist’s friends against her, but also her whole family might seem a little unrealistic to grown adults. But to a 12-13 year old girl who thinks her parents are already against her, this might not seem so. The point is, sometimes you have to look at things from their perspective.

The only thing I wish was kept from the anime is the straw doll each requester was given. In the anime, making the choice to make the contract with Ai Enma was emphasized strongly. It was shown to be a big decision, and it almost seemed like Ai wished the people would change their minds, though she would never try to persuade. In the manga, the choice doesn’t seem as important. Ai does ask once more before completing the contract, but it doesn’t get that same emphasis.

Over all, Hell Girl is good horror for teen girls. This is one of those titles where I say ignore the age rating. Del Rey blew it on this one. Hell Girl fits in perfectly with a teen audience, and will appeal to them if they are given the chance to read it. Sometimes, demographics does matter.

You never know when or where he’s going to strike next…

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Not Hikaru no Go! Please! Don’t take my Hikaru no Go!!! What in the heck is going on at Viz and Shonen Jump? Why do they keep doing this de-evolution? I can’t say enough how much I despise Bobobobo-Bobo, and how bad of an idea it was to put Bleach into it, but now, they’re taking my Hikaru no Go? Yeah, fine, great, I’m glad people will be getting their Slam Dunk dose every month, but quite honestly, I was NOT impressed with the preview. I don’t care that it’s one of the most popular manga in Asia, ever. Hikaru no Go is one the most popular manga with ME, and I don’t want to see it tossed out from the magazine! And don’t try to spin it like “Now it’ll come out more often.” to me. I was getting 1-2 chapters every month, and that was just fine with me. I don’t need to buy another volume every couple of months. I get Shonen Jump so I can read those series’ without the added cost or space taken up! I mean, of all the manga they’ve got in there, why Hikaru? Why not that abomination that is Bobobobo-Bobobo? If you want to give a series title “Worse Manga of the Year”, it’s got to be that one!

Viz, if you want to put Slam Dunk in as a serialization, great, fine, good. I’m thrilled, cause I wasn’t going to read it otherwise. But don’t take out one of the strongest titles for it! It’s bad enough we’re going to be stuck with a Yu-Gi-Oh title forever, at least leave us with something that doesn’t need constant power-ups and stimulates our minds, not our adrenaline glands.

Once again, the girls are showing they’re smarter than the boys. Shojo Beat has a fantastic line up (though I’m not thrilled about the premise on Absolute Boyfriend’s replacement, I’ll hold judgment until I’ve read a few chapters). Shonen Jump keeps throwing out their top players, and keeping the half-baked rookies. Are these guys trying to top the LA Clippers?

Well, that just ruined the rest of my night….

Not to be left out, my husband Brian is contributing reviews of the manga he reads as well. The infection is spreading…

Junk: Record of the Last Hero Volume 1
By Kia Asamiya
Publisher: DrMaster Publications
Rating: 15+
RRP: $9.95
Rating:

Reviewed by Brian Henderson

Hiro is a troubled high school student who has refused to go to school ever since he had a terribly traumatic fight with the school bullies. One day, he happens across a website looking for a monitor for a revolutionary new product called only “JUNK”. Once he receives his “JUNK” though, his life will never be the same. JUNK turns out to be a super-powered suit of armor that allows Hiro to do things beyond his wildest dreams. Just one problem, his dreams turn out to be anything but heroic, in fact his dreams are very selfish and self-serving, causing problems not only for the people in the city where he lives, but for those closest to him. Add to that the mysterious appearance of another JUNK suit who isn’t too happy with his he’s chosen to live his new life…

My biggest problem with most superhero comics these days is I find them ridiculously unrealistic. Yes, I know that looking for realism in a comic book seems a bit silly, but I do find it really nonsensical that so many teenagers, when given super powers, automatically become selfless superheroes, dedicating their lives to saving the world without a moment’s thought to what they might get out of all this power.

JUNK isn’t like that. JUNK portrays things the way I’ve always thought they’d realistically be. If you took your average teenager and gave them powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, do you seriously think that they wouldn’t abuse those powers? Heck, if Superboy was real, he’d be peeping at girls in the school showers, showing off in front of the guys and making himself look good to the cheerleaders. That’s how teenagers think and act and that’s exactly how Hiro acts when he gets his JUNK suit. Without question, he’s a messed up kid, he hates authority, he’s got a vendetta against the bullies who beat him up, he’s obsessed with an idol singer, at no time does the idea of fighting for truth, justice and the Japanese way ever occur to him and that’s the way it should be!

Volume 1 deals with Hiro’s first tenative steps out in his new JUNK suit. Being an impulsive teen, he ignores the manual and just goes for it, stumbling around and learning as he goes, never once thinking about the consequences of his actions. By the middle of this volume, he’s taken bloody revenge against the bullies, is being hunted by the police, he’s considered a public menace, his entire life is falling down around his ears and it’s all his fault. Then he meets the second JUNK suit and it’s operator is not impressed with the way that Hiro has been handling his responsibilities. Hiro is unstable, liable to fly off the handle at the smallest provocation and isn’t concerned in the least about how his actions impact others. He has a long, long way to go to learn how to be a hero.

In the end, perhaps the only negative to the story is that it’s all way too convenient. He’s in the right place at the right time to get the right suit so he can learn the right lessons and do the right thing. Yes, it’s a set-up, but you have to struggle at times to suspend your disbelief. While we haven’t seen anything about the company that made the suits, you have to wonder why they haven’t done anything about their monitor trashing downtown with their proprietary JUNK suit although I’m sure that will come into play somewhere down the road. For now, you have the media wondering just where these amazing suits came from and why they keep knocking down buildings and causing destruction wherever they go.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary in the superhero genre or you’re jaded by the four-color spandex concept, check out JUNK, it gives a much more realistic view and plenty of action to keep any fan happy. 9.0

Horror, fantasy, ninjas, cars and some BL are all waiting for you at the Manga Village! This week, Charles Tan gives his take on Uzumaki Vol 1 from Viz. Dan Polley, another new addition (Yay!) brings the tale of ninjas in love with Tail of the Moon Vol 8 from Viz. Lissa Pattillo has some sweet boy lovin’ with You and Harujion from June/DMP.  Finally, it’s me with some magical land romping in Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden vol 6 from Viz.

Over in our columns, John Thomas throws his hat into the debate and asks “What is Manga?” Check it out, and then tell us what you think in the comments section. We love to get comments. Then we give our Weekly Picks in Pick ‘n’ Mix, and a little news in our new News column.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy your stay!