Manga Xanadu

Out in the middle of Tokyo Bay, a man called Shogun is trying to break out of Umihotaru Prison, a maximum-security island fortress, so he can save the world. Accompanied by a frightened young manga artist, these two men are prepared to risk everything as their daring escape plan grows deadlier by the minute. However, the prison authorities will do whatever it takes to return Shogun and his reluctant companion to custody. Shogun’s ultimate goal: Tokyo, where a girl he calls the “final hope” lives, but a murder in Kabuki-cho has triggered a chain reaction of terror. Can Shogun reveal the truth about the false peace created by the Friends? And what are the facts behind the disaster that took place in the final moments of the 20th century?! 20th Century Boys Volume 7 By Naoki Urasawa Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Plus Genre: Drama/Mystery Price: $12.99 Rating:   What happened December 31, 1999?  The events of that night start to unfold as both Shogun and Kami tell the tale to two young people who want to know the truth.  But will learning these facts bring us any closer to the truth?  Once again, Urasawa poses more questions than…

Jack Frost Volume 1 By JinHo Ko Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $10.99 Rating: Any high schooler on a nerve-wracking first day at a new school is apt to lose his or her head a little.  But in Noh-A’s case, she literally does!  When she wakes up in one piece with a little help from a mysterious doctor, Noh-A quickly realizes that nothing is as it seems at Amityville High, where paranormal creatures battle for supremacy.  Caught in the crossfire, Noh-A may have to rely on the unlikely (and possibly unreliable) aid of the most sinister student at Amityville…the deadly Jack Frost! By all outward appearances, this title looks to be a pale shadow of the horror manga Hellsing.  Cracking open the book doesn’t do much to alter that appearance.  There is lots of action and decapitation, but not much in actual plot.

Princess Resurrection Volume 3 By Yasunori Mitsunaga Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Supernatural Price: $10.95 Rating: Mummies, vampires, and a ghost ship: a typical day in the life of Princess Hime, monster slayer extraordinaire.  But when her kid sister visits, Princess Hime may have finally met her match.  Now she’s facing her toughest battle of all: sibling warfare! The campiness we saw in the first two volumes of this series starts to get toned down in the third.  The fight between Hime and her brothers goes past simply sending hordes of monsters to something more serious.  It’s not going to be all fun and games from here on out.  It’s too bad the fan service doesn’t also take a hike.

Deka Kyoshi Volume 1 By Tamio Baba Publisher: CMX Age Rating: Teen Plus Genre: Drama/Suspense Price: $9.99 Rating: Toyama, a tall and beefy detective, goes undercover as a fifth-grade teacher.  The previous teacher was discovered on the ground outside of her condo and rumors say she jumped…or was she pushed?  Toyama is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, but it seems like he has a more pressing task at hand: his rowdy students.  One student, Makoto is a little strange and his eccentricities make him a prime target for bullies.  Makoto can actually see the demons inside people, which manifest themselves as visions of horrible monsters.  Will this strange student be able to help Toyama? Sounding more like a take off of Kindergarten Cop, Deka Kyoshi is actually a title that looks at serious issues that kids are facing everyday.  It presents them in an interesting and unusual way, but CMX’s overly-conservative age rating of the book may keep it from reaching the audience it is meant and most appropriate for.

Princess Resurrection Volume 1 By Yasunori Mitsunaga Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Supernatural Price: $10.95 Rating: Werewolves, demons, monsters, vampires – all these ferocious creatures are afraid of the same thing: the beautiful Princess Hime, an awesome warrior who fights the forces of evil with a chainsaw and a smile.  Not only does she look great in a tiara, she has magical powers that allow her to raise the dead.  She’s a girl on a mission, and with the help of her undead servant and a supercute robot, there’s no creature of darkness she can’t take down! Take a Princess with a chainsaw, an androids in maid costume and a bit of a loser student who gains semi-immortality by accident and throw them into a battle with monsters out of a drive-in double feature and you have the first volume of Princess Resurrection, a series that balance’s campy horror with a more serious fight to become the King of Monsters.

Ayu still can’t give up on her love for Mayama, even though his relationship with Rika seems to be deepening.  Nomiya’s growing interest in Ayu might be a balm to her broken heart, but he’s moving to Tottori for six months! Is Ayu cursed to suffer hopeless love affairs forever? By Chica Umino Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 Rating: This volume is all about the love polygon of Mayama, Ayu, Rika and Nomiya.  Ayu seems to be deliberately torturing herself by working with Mayama and Rika, and seeing their relationship grow.  Rika is preparing for the Valencia Art Museum Annex, a project she and her late husband submitted for and won, and seems prepared to also make it her last, something Mayama’s not prepared to let Rika do.  And Nomiya, the player, finds himself doing something he never thought he would, falling for Ayu. There’s a lot of drama going on in this volume, especially with Rika.  She still haven’t been able to get over her husband’s death, no matter what kind of face she puts on.  A flashback from Hanamoto shows what a difficult time she had after the accident, and how she…

There are a lot more changes coming to Shonen Jump, according to this latest issue.  The issue starts with the first of a three part preview of the new manga Toriko.  It’s a food manga done shonen style, so everything is exaggerated to the extreme.  It is the Gourmet Age, with man is constantly striving to find best ingredients to make the ultimate menu.  Toriko is one such man.  He is a gourmet hunter.  He travels the world catching the most delicious and dangerous foods, since, of course, the best tasting food is in the form of giant monster-like animals.  And in best shonen tradition, he is also the best at it.  In the first chapter he is hired to catch a Garara Gator.  It’s very over the top, with Tokiro looking like a character out of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.  He’s all upper body muscle.  He also eats.  A lot.  I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve read the other two parts before rating it.  But for now, it feels kind of average.

Black God, Volume 2 Story by Dall-Young Lim, art by Sung-Woo Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price: $10.99 Rating: Balancing a normal existence and an unbreakable pact with a divine being is anything but easy. Much to his chagrin, Keita is discovering this the hard way. Try as he might to distance himself from recent events, Keita can’t shake Kuro, the mototsumitama who saved his life. But when the stakes get higher and another human-mototsumitama pair comes looking for a fight-one with Keita’s childhood friend, Akane, as the prize-Keita is forced to reevaluate his attitude and stand by both his old and new friends. Who will emerge victorious? Several different plot lines pick up in this volume.  Keita and Kuro starting training, beginning with Kuro, and growing to include Keita working with her.  Keita’s game coding start to take off with a company showing an interest in both the game and Keita’s skills, and the group that is searching for the doppeliners continues to reduce the thirds down to the root.  I get the feeling that these three plot lines are related, but it’s hard to tell how.

I’ve never written a “Best of ” list since I never thought I knew enough to make such choices, but I’ve decided to make the attempt this year.  All of the titles on the list are books I’ve read at least one volume of, and most started this year.  The few exceptions should be obvious.

Heaven’s Will By Satoru Takmiya Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $8.99 Rating: Sudou Mikuzu has a very special talent – she can see ghosts.  And because of this predisposition, she’ become a magnet for all sorts of unwelcome monsters.  Luckily for her she’s just met Seto, a friendly, cross-dressing young exorcist.  Sudou needs protection from all the creepy phantoms bugging her, and Seto needs to practice his exorcism skills.  consequently, the pair decides to team up and help each other.  In return, Sudou promises to back a cake every time a ghost gets zapped! At first glance, Heaven’s Will appears to be a typical supernatural romance title with a cross-dressing twist.  Once you start reading though, you’ll find that it’s actually the start of an interesting that should have been given more of a chance to develop.  The characters really grown on you, and the story, which has some sad twists to set it up, could have gone on to do so much more.

Comic Volumes 7-8 By Ha SiHyun Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $10.99 Rating: Comic is a manhwa that is very much the typical high school romance. It’s stuffed full of melodrama, which doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. It’s the fact that none of the characters are likable enough to carry it off  and the story veers too far of it’s tracks that makes it bad.

BakéGyamon Volume 3 By Mitsuhisa Tamura Publisher: Viz Media/Vizkids Age Rating: All Ages (8+) Genre: Game Price: $7.99 Rating: The battle begins in earnest as the final 32 contestants are paired up tournament-style.  With the playing field a mock Tokyo Tower, there’s only one way to go…up!  Sanshiro will now have to use his battle skills against the very people he wants to befriend! This volume falls into the tournament style of fighting that most shonen titles eventually get to.  But unlike those shonen titles that become tired and uninteresting in their constant need to power up, this volume doesn’t fall into that trap.  Sanshiro remains true to himself, and while his goal is now to win the game, he won’t sacrifice his monsters or having fun to do it.