Hell Girl Volume 1 By Miyuki Eto Publisher: Del Rey Manga Genre: Supernatural Rating: Teen (13+) Price: $10.99 Rating: Summary: Hell Girl is a girl named Ai Enma who has recently transferred into a middle school. She will come to people who want revenge on their enemies via a strange, eerie website named Hell Corresponce that appears only at midnight. She will bring those people down to Hell. The only price is your soul; you will suffer in hell after you die. What did I like about it: I liked the ever-so-beautiful Hell Girl’s looks and actions. Graceful and kills enemies with her phrase. The drawings and vocabulary were perfect as well. There was also one story I liked, which ups the rating. What did I dislike about it: The stories were interesting but it was disgusting because of what happened to the people that were about to be sent to hell. Also, the death of a puppy displeased me, as I like animals. Could you improve: No, you couldn’t improve on the manga. My reason why is because of said graphics and vocabulary. Also, by just looking at the pictures, you could somewhat tell what was going on. The…
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Volume 1 by Yoshiyuki Nishi Publisher: Viz MediaRating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/ActionPrice: $7.99 Rating: When the ghost of a tormented school-girl starts terrorizing subway passengers, can Muhyo and Roji resolve the paranormal crisis before it totally derails? Meet Toru Muhyo and Jiro Kusano, sole proprietors of the Muhyo Bureau of Supernatural Investigation. Muhyo is an executor, the highest rank available in the Magic Law Assosication, and the only one able to practice Magic Law. Roji (who always turns his name around, so everyone just calls him that) is Muhyo’s secretary, a second clerk and the lowest rank. In this first volume, we are introduced to the protagonists, and see what they do with Magical Law. Put simply, they exorcise ghosts by sentencing them to either above or below, depending on their crimes.
It’s time for another round of mini reviews. It’s the teen edition of Shonen Jump. Next time I’ll give some reviews of some Tokyopop titles.
Dragon Drive Volume 6 By Kenichi Sakura Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Fantasy Rating: All Ages Price: $7.99 Rating: Storyline Kohei is pushing himself to the limit. His body can’t take much more training. Meanwhile, Silver is waiting as Reiji and Hikaru go on to the trials to get Shinsaber. Meanwhile, Maiko is captured and taken to Guan-Coo, who isn’t how Maiko expected it to be. Guan-Coo seems gentle, as it acts like a baby. Review Once again, it is pretty much hilarious. The battle scene at the end gets the reader tense. It’s quite a charm. What I liked about it Guan-Coo is very funny. He’s cute and acts like a child. What I didn’t like Once again, nothing. I like it all. What you could do to make it better I have no idea. Is this suitable for children? Yes.
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.
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.
Dragon Drive Volume 5 By Kenichi Sakura Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Fantasy Rating: All Ages Price: $7.99 Rating: Storyline After Kohei brings the Jinryu Stone,his leader pushes it away, as it is fake. Meanwhile, Reiji is traveling on to find the dragon Shinsaber, to save the world. When he meets Koryu, after saving his life, Reiji and the mysterious Hikaru are locked up. Review Nice. It’s very funny in some points, and the cute pictures before the start of a new chapter are hilarious. “Look, time flies!” What I liked about it Three words: Hilarious and cute. What I didn’t like Nothing. It was simply spectacular. What you could do to make it better Nothing. Is this suitable for children? Maybe, but there’s a lot of blood and a dragon’s head gets cut off.
Gon Volume 1 by Masahi Tanaka Publisher: CMX Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Adventure Price: 5.99 Rating: What was the story about? It was about Gon and other animals. Gon sees a hyena, coyote, bob cat, lion, bears, fish and beavers. What did you like about the story? I liked the second story when Gon shares with the lion. I also like how Gon made his mansion. What did you dislike about the story? I hate it in the story with the baby eagles, when Gon can’t fly, because he is a dinosaur. I also hate Gon’s violence. Would you recommend this story to kids your age? No. There is too much violence
Project D.O.A. Volume 1 By Jeffrey Nodelman & Wagner Fukuhara Publisher: Tokyopop Genre: Action Rating: 13+ RRP: $9.99 Rating: Reviewed by Brian Henderson I’ll do this review, even though I don’t really consider Project D.O.A. to be a manga. To me, and some may disagree, it needs to be written and published initially in Japan in order to be a manga. Graphic novels that come from Korea or China or France or the United States, while they may be generally modeled after the manga artform, are not manga, any more than animation that comes from anywhere but Japan is not anime. That said though, Project D.O.A. is from one of the minds that brought you the wonderful Cartoon Network show Venture Bros.and in a lot of ways has that kind of vibe. In other ways, it strikes me as similar in feel to Buckaroo Banzai and maybe a little bit like Crusher Joe although officially, Jeff Nodelman attributes his inspirations to films like Indiana Jones, Flash Gordon and the works of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. In any case, it’s a not-quite-serious romp around the world, adventure-style. Meet Dr. Dylan Oliver (also the name of Jeff Nodelman’s real life son)…
It’s another Shonen Jump edition of my Mini Musings. Expect to see a lot of these, as I read a lot of Viz. I’ll try to mix it up a little with some other pubs and some Shojo. But a look at my shelves will show more SJ than Robofish. Reviews after the cut.