It’s an (almost) all animals edition this week at Manga Village. Charles Tan starts off by sending creepy fish with spiny legs to haunt your dreams with Gyo Volume 1 from Viz. Dan Polley sets off on Toto! The Wonderful Adventure Volume 1 from Del Rey. And just to be odd man out, I have Muhyo and Roji’s Burea of Supernatural Investigation Volume 3 from Viz. Then we do our Weekly Picks, which runs the gambit of card games, girls dressed as guys, vampires, bread making, and soul hunting. Come check out our choices. And for the kids, the All Ages comics list is up at Good Comics for Kids. Come find some reading material for the coming summer vacation.
Phantom Volume 3 By Ki-Hoon Lee/Seung-Yup Cho Publisher: Tokyopop Genre: Action Rating 13+ RRP: $9.99 Rating: Reviewed by Brian Henderson After K activates the untested Cerebus with the newly installed Aurora system, he takes on Kas Stein, the evil corporate warrior who has a mysterious past with Matilda the drill instructor in the skimpy outfit. We find that AIs like Cerebus aren’t very useful for fighting against experienced TC pilots, except this time when K and his mech sync perfectly and take out Kas at the last second. Everyone gets picked up just before the base self-destructs; K and Matilda are injured but will recover, but Kas, dragged out of his mangled TC, has lost his arm and likely his sanity.
While going through some old ANN news feeds, I picked up a few news items I want to comment on: DS Vision to go live in June: This just sort of passed right by in one of thier Daily Brief posts, but I want to give it more attention. This was first announced last November, and now it seems to be coming to fruition.
With Mother’s Day this Sunday, I thought I’d take a look at moms and the roles they play in manga. While we don’t get to see a lot of the parents in most teen manga, their presence, and sometimes absence can really affect the main characters development and actions. A parent can also drive the direction of the story.
We’ve got something old, some new, something shojo, and lots of shonen this week at Manga Village! Dan Polley starts the festivities off with Suzuka Volume 7 from Del Rey. Then Charles Tan gets a little D Gray-Man Volume 8 from Viz Media, but he seems up to the challenge. John Thomas takes us back to an oldie from Dark Horse’s past with Reiko, the Zombie Shop Volume 1, but don’t let that scare you. ‘Cause it’s time to get wild with some Wild Ones Volume 2 from Viz Media. Over in the colums, we’ve got our picks for the week, with lots of suggestions, but only one recommendation. Hope you got your economic stimulus check, cause you’re going to need it! Need something to keep the kids quiet so Mom has a peaceful Mother’s Day this Sunday? Then go to Good Comics for Kids and check out the new releases and picks for this week.
Kingdom Hearts Volume 1 By Shiro Amano Publisher: Tokyopop Rating: All Ages Genre: Fantasy Price: $5.99 Rating: Storyline: It’s about Sora, Donald and Goofy trying to destroy the Heartless. They go through space, and go through stories like Alice in Wonderland. What did you like about the story? I liked the characters Sora and Riku. I also liked it when this guy used a camera like the Kamehameha from Dragon Ball. What didn’t you like about the story? I was scared by Sora’s happy face. (Page 73) (Not really) Would you recommend the story to other kids your age? Yes.
Genju no Seiza Volume 4 By Matsuri Akino Publisher: Tokyopop Genre: Fantasy Rating: 16+ RRP: $9.99 Rating: After a string of animal murders are discovered throughout town, Fuuto and his guardians vow to bring the killer to justice. But after the return of Sohki leads to a startling turn of events, the young king begins rethinking what justice really is. Also, what happens when Fuuto pays a visit to the mysterious new pet shop that just opened in Tokyo? Find out in this volume’s bonus story starring Pet Shop of Horrors’ Count D! This volume is all about fathers and what it means to have great responsibility. Is helping people the right thing to do? Or should their destinies be left to fate? What is the true responsibility of a king?
Phantom Volume 2 By Ki-Hoon Lee/Seung-Yup Cho Publisher: Tokyopop Rating: 13+ Genre: Action/Mecha RRP: $9.99 Rating: Reviewed by Brian Henderson K agrees to work for the anti-corporation organization Athena, mostly because they promise to help his girlfriend recover if he does. He goes off to their training facility in the middle of the desert to prepare to fight against the mega-corporations, still not quite convinced that the people he’s fighting with aren’t just as much terrorists as those they fight against. Unfortunately, the mega-corps discover their secret base and launch an all-out attack to cut off the head of the serpent. K and his fellow trainees are left to defend the base and allow the civilians to escape and finally, K is reunited with Cerebus, the super TC that no one but him can operate.
This week, we not only try to entertain and spend your money, we’re gonna get you to get yer learn on! Our list of reviews starts off this week with some serious fallout in Nana Volume 9 from Viz by me. Charles Tan has some video game action with King of Fighters 2003 Volume 4 from DR Masters. John Thomas has another Tezuka classic from Vertical Inc. with Dororo Volume 1. And Charles Tan also has a novel review from Viz Media with Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases. Make with the clicky and find out what’s the best and worst of this week. Over in our columns, John Thomas has a very interesting look at what it takes to be a translator in Japanese manga and novels, with A Peek into Translation Part 1?. And then we’ve got our picks for the week. You don’t want to miss what we’re looking forward to this week.