Manga Xanadu

At the beginning of 2012 I decided I needed to do some catch-up reading. I had so many series’ sitting on my bookshelves unread, many of which I never read more than the first few volumes. I decided in 2012 I would try to weed some of them out. Well, that lasted about 6 months. And actually, I didn’t do too bad. I got through 100 volumes of manga covering 18 series’. I even resolved to give away 11 of these, though I haven’t quite done so yet. I’m still debating if it’s worth trying to sell them, or if I should just give them to my local library. This also constituted about 1/2 of all the books I read this year.  I’ve still got less than a week, but my tally at the moment is 215 of a commitment to read 200 books. Not to shabby, I think. I got distracted from my Manga Wrap-Up due to a growing review pile. Another distraction I discovered this year is Homestuck. I know a lot of people dismiss this webcomic as dumb or silly, but it’s actually a very good comic. It’s deeper than it appears, and gets longer with each…

After a short break with a series of short stories, the action starts back up with Hikaru hungry to climb the Pro ladder and start competing at the same level as Akira. Hokuto Communications, a telecom, decides to sponsor a Go tournament for young pros from Japan, Korea and China called the Hokuto Cup. Akira is a shoe in, but Hikaru has to fight for a place on the three-man team. When the tournament finally starts, it’s a battle of wills, ego, and pride. Written by Yumi Hotta; Art by Takeshi Obata Publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Jump Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Game Price: $9.99 Rating: While I really enjoyed the previous six volumes, these six volumes which also finish the series were not as strong. It was really great to see Hikaru get his fire back, but the short stories, while cute, took away from the building excitement of seeing Hikaru play again, and the Hokuto Cup was too much drama and not enough intense play, which is what has been so addicting about the story. After the end of volume 17, the story doesn’t pick up immediately. Instead, we are treated to 5 stories that feature mostly…

Hikaru has passed the Pro test, and is waiting to hear about his official schedule. In the meantime, Sai pesters him to let him play more, and Hikaru relents, allowing Sai to play Akira’s father in the Shindodan series with a handicap, and then again on the internet in an even game. Hikaru’s skills are growing fast, and Sai worries he won’t be able to remain with him for much longer. Just as Hikaru’s pro games start, something happens that causes him to have a crisis of faith, and nearly gives up on Go. But the return of Isumi, a fellow Insei from the previous year, shows Hikaru he hasn’t lost anything. Hikaru returns, more determined than before to not only be Akira’s rival, but to surpass him. Written by Yumi Hotta; Illustrated by Takeshi Obata Publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Jump Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Gaming Price: $9.99 Rating: I started reading Hikaru no Go when it debuted in Shonen Jump back in 2004, and read it religiously until it was “graduated” out in 2008. Once it went to graphic novels, I stopped reading, as my acquiring of volumes was sporadic. I only finished collecting my missing volumes…

I had finished reading Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning a few weeks ago actually, but I’ve been distracted by other things lately (Manga Movable Feast, National Pet Month, etc.) But now that those are over with, I can finally sit down and finish this series up. Spiral turned out to be nothing like I had hoped it would be, and the ending just continues that trend. I found the ending disappointing in a lot of ways. With these last five volumes Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning is complete. The final arc, Hizumi, acts as a kind of “answers” arc. Who and what the “Blade Children” are is explained, as well as Kiyotama and Ayumu’s relationship to them. I didn’t like the implications that were made with the explanation, as it went into the realm of the supernatural. This series, as even by its title own admission, is based in reality and reasoning, not appealing to the supernatural to explain itself. The answers that come lately work just fine, and don’t need a creator/destroyer god/demon. The author Shirodaira tries to explain why he went down this path, but it’s a weak justification. Just as weak is Ayumu’s sudden “enlightenment.” We are supposed…

It’s been quite the jugglefest for me lately. I’ve read 5 volumes of Spiral, finished Black Gate (review coming soon), and started The Drops of God volume 3 for the MMF next week all this week. I’m actually shocked I got so much done! I guess not going out to lunch everyday with co-workers helps productivity a little bit. But those days are over for a while, so I should be able to get though more volumes. It would be so much nicer if my work didn’t block Jmanga.com so I could read more of my digital manga. The website filter has it marked “sexual.” Not what I want to read though!!!! Anyway, on to Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning. I really enjoyed the first five volumes of this series. At the beginning, it seemed like the series would be another “boy detective” series. Narumi had everything; the seemingly impossible cases, the mind to pick up the clues and put them together, and ever the catch phrase when he had solved the crime! “So this is the melody of the truth…” I was really looking forward to more mysteries being solved and more information about the Blade Children being revealed. Instead,…

The Wallflower got off to a rough start with me, but by the end of volume 10, I was starting to warm up to the series. I still had 5 volumes left to get through, and these were going to make-or-break the series for me. I have to admit, this series is really starting to grow on me. The problems I had with the first five volumes are gone. The stories in these volume vary quite a bit, as the boys get their own spotlight instead of focusing solely on Sunako. Takenaga and Noi’s relationship takes some baby steps forward. Ranmaru continues to try to come to terms with his new fiancée Tamao. He continues his womanizing, but can be made to feel guilty about it by her honest and naive personality. There is definitely potential for them. Yuki’s younger siblings are introduced, and he is shown to be a good older brother. He also gets a boost of confidence, but of course, at the wrong time. Kyohei just keeps being Kyohei, and that’s just fine with me. Sunako starts to show some progress as well. She makes some friends at school outside of the boys and Noi. She’s able…

I’ve had The Wallflower sitting on my bookshelf unread for 3-4 years now. I didn’t know anything about the manga until the anime was announced. Having watched and enjoyed the anime, I started to pick up the manga. I mistakenly picked up volume 7 first, and finding the first 6 took a little longer, so I put off reading it for while. Of course, after that, it was easy to continue to put it off. Even after collecting up to volume 15, I continued to put it off. But now, with space becoming a premium, a title that had 15 volumes of that I hadn’t even read the first volume of became an easy target for culling. Since I was also preparing for the MMF this week, I only got through the first 5 volumes. The Wallflower is about 4 incredibly handsome boys, and their quest to live rent free in the mansion of an eccentric woman who is constantly traveling, and always with a new male companion. To reach this goal, all they have to do get their landlady’s niece to look an act like a proper lady. This is easier said than done, since said niece, Sunako looks…

Wow, how oddly appropriate that I not only have week 13 of my Manga Wrap Up happen during a week with a Friday the 13th in it, but the title I read also dealt with bad luck and curses. I didn’t think I would get through all ten volumes of Antique Gift Shop in one week. I thought I would have to break it up over two weeks. But it proved to be a hard title to put down, even if I didn’t enjoy it all that much. The Antique Gift Shop is about a girl named Bun-Nyuh Cho. She is the owner of said shop. In order to escape her destiny of becoming a shaman, she must sell all the antiques from her grandmother. She has one employee, Mr. Yang, a bishie beyond belief. Bun-Nyuh doesn’t believe in the supernatural despite being good at telling fortunes and being able to see and hear spirits of the dead. She does believe in science and money. Because of her denial, she doesn’t realize that all of the antiques in her shop are haunted. Mr. Yang does seem to know this, as he is always ready with some cryptic words to help…

I’m working to get back on schedule after my 2 week manga break. I decided to take it easy and finish up a couple of Shojo Beat titles that I’ve only have the last few volumes left to read. Honey and Clover and Sand Chronicles are two titles I associate together, since they started in Shojo Beat very close together. I enjoyed reading both in the magazine, and decided to continue getting the volumes after the Shojo Beat was canceled. They both went 10 volumes, but I only have the ones starting after the end of the magazine. I’m only going to talk about Honey and Clover here, and will give Sand Chronicles its own review, for reasons that should become clear. I had previously reviewed Volume 8, which I really liked. The unicorns that stood guard over Yamada’s virginity were hilarious! And that was one of the things I really liked about Honey and Clover; it had its share of drama, punctuated with moments of humor. A lot of that light-heartedness disappears in these last two volumes. An event at the beginning of volume 9 really changes the tone, and most of the rest of the chapters revolve around…

I almost didn’t get through my next series this week. I had two things working against me. With the Jiro Taniguchi MMF coming up, I had Samurai Legend to read, and I received The Quest of the Missing Girl, a volume didn’t think I would get on time, so I had to read that too. And then I was on vacation with the rest of the family, and we had to find a car to replace our 15-year-old car as well as hit Wondercon on the weekend. It was a busy week! But since we commuted to Wondercon, I had the evenings to read Shiki Tsukai. I’ve had the first four volumes for a couple of years now, and after reading the first volume, I thought it had potential. After reading all four, I now know I was wrong. The thing that attracted me to this series was the use of the seasons as an ability and the cards each Shiki Tsukai use. I like game manga, especially those about trading cards, so this series seemed to be right up my alley. I also thought the use of the seasons, birthdays, and birthstones was a unique idea. It really seemed…

Week 10 comes to an end, and I almost didn’t make it. Fortunately, I chose a short series this week and could easily catch up. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to read this series, but my kids are on spring break, and it meant a week where I could go walking, and catch up on some podcasts, and not worry about their homework. Well, my youngest anyway. I don’t have to worry about my oldest. The series I finished this week is Kiichi and the Magic Books. It is from the now-defunct CMX and is sadly out of print. It was part of the Flex Comics deal that CMX made in 2007. This same deal brought such titles as the all ages Suihelibe, the incomplete Deka Kyoushi and Break Blade (Broken Blade). Kiichi and the Magic Books is a five-volume series that’s rated for Teen, but is also appropriate for Tween readers. Kiichi and the Magic Books is about teenage orphan Kiichi. He lost his mother to disease when he was young, and has live alone ever since. He is shunned by the villagers of his home for the horns growing out of his head, and called an Oni….

I really liked Dazzle when I first started reading it, but I was starting to lose interest by volume 5. Unfortunately volumes 6-10 didn’t do anything to reverse the course. Any charm that I may have felt at the beginning was not only gone by volume 10, it had been stomped into the ground. With these next 5 volumes, I was really hoping to seem some real plot development. You would think with 10 volumes under its belt, the reader would have an idea where the story is going. Sadly, that isn’t so. These next 5 volumes has more tragedy, especially for Rahzel, but still little in plot development. There has been no explanation for Kiara’s interest and subsequent frienemy treatment of Rahzel. As the series’ villain, you would think his motives would be the most important to understand. But I have yet to see any rhyme or reason for his actions. It’s implied that he is seeking away to try to get back a life that was lost with the death of Natsume, but that doesn’t even begin to give a hint as to what that has to do with Rahzel. So far, the only connection between the two…