I wasn’t impressed with the initial release of Yen Plus when it debuted last year, but the last couple of issues of the second volume has really started to turn me around. I really enjoyed this latest issue, quite a bit more than the latest Shonen Jump. The issue starts off with an editorial about light novels and how and why the covers have been different than the original releases. It’s a reason that makes perfect sense for a publisher; appeal to a wider audience. Pure and simple. Maximum Ride was missing again this month. The artist, NaRae Lee, has been sick. I don’t mind Maximum Ride. It’s a good title, just not for me, so I didn’t miss it all that much.
Getting to Know You Manga Views, the website that brings manga reviews all together in one place has started a feature about the people putting up the reviews. They will be posting profiles of manga bloggers. Just answer a few questions and the whole world will know about you! The first has already gone up. It’s Ed Sizemore of the Manga Worth Reading Blog. Check it out and all the other great things going on there!
Eagle: The Making Of An American President Volume 5 By Kaiji Kawaguchi Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Political Drama Age Rating: Older Teen (16+) Price: $22.95 Rating: The final volume of this series starts out with Yamaoka and his team trying to find a way to turn the leaders of the World Machinists and Aerospace Union into his supporters. The President of the Union, Michael Kozlov, has a chip on his shoulder about Yamaoka, and any other immigrant who had it “easy”, and is determined to back the Republican Grant. By playing Kozlov against the Union Secretary Zamal, both men break the other with secrets they had been keeping, and in the end, Yamaoka is able to win another supporter in Kozlov and in turn, the Union. Then, the series finally turns to the great white elephant in the room. Racism. With Yamaoka winning so much support, the question starts to turn if a non-white can really become president. All the kooks come out, such as neo-nazis, rallying against Yamaoka, and violence breaks out in the south, which culminates in not one, but two assassination attempts on Yamaoka, neither of which succeed, and ends with Yamaoka winning more widespread support.
This month’s Shonen Jump, January 2010 marks a lot of changes for the manga magazine. Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the few remaining titles from the magazine’s launch (One Piece is the only other one left), finishes it’s 7 year run. It was quite a ride, and I will miss Yusuke and friends, but not all that much. Yu Yu Hakusho has become a typical fighting manga with characters I lost interest in. I was glad to see none of the big demons won in the last tournament, but in the end I was just “meh” about it. The series ends with a whimper instead of a bang. The last few chapters were actually kind of a let down and really pointless (IMHO). It seemed like they were just thrown together to tie up loose ends.
Yu* Must Go The January 2010 issue of Shonen Jump USA marks another change in the magazine. Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the first 5 titles to debut with the magazine ends in this issue. This makes it the only other title from the debut line up to complete it’s full run. Sandland, a single volume title by Akira Toriyama was the other. Yu-Gi-Oh GX “graduates” from SJ this month as well, going graphic novel only now. So much for “there’ll always be a Yu-Gi-Oh title in Shonen Jump.” And of course, the long awaited One Piece jump starts in this issue. I haven’t cared for some of the changes to SJ in the past, but a natural end like Yu Yu Hakusho is the way it should be.
Gareth writes: Hi, I am a library assistant from the UK (Liverpool), and I would be very happy if you could answer a quick question for me. I had a couple of ten-year olds playing in the library yesterday, and one of them, a young girl, said she only reads comics. My question is, is all ages Manga suitable for a 10-year-old, or if not could you perhaps recommend some graphic novels and comics for 10 year olds. Having read the recent Carol L. Tilley study finding that comics have no disadvantage compared to traditional prose, I am really keen to develop Manga and graphic novel resources especially for younger children.
In the last years of the 20th century, a cult has been growing in power and popularity, led by a mysterious man known only as “Friend” This has little bearing on convenience store owner Kenji, until a childhood friend of his seemingly commits suicide. A closer look into it reveals that there may have been more to it, and it could have something to do with the cult. As Kenji looks further in, he finds that the cult and it’s leader is following a story he and his friends wrote when they were just kids, about an evil power trying to take over the world and the heroes who stop them. Kenji decides to try and stop The Friends with only the help of his childhood friends. By Naoki Urasawa Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Mystery/Thriller Price: $12.99 Rating: [May contain spoilers] 20th Century Boys is a mystery/thriller story, something of a specialty for it’s creator, Naoki Urasawa. The story spans 45 years, from 1969 to 2014. These first five volumes cover mostly the 1969-1997-1999, and only touch on 2014 at the end of the fifth. The story isn’t told linearly. It jumps from 1969 to 1997…
Here a new set of auctions of manga I’ve put up on eBay. Christmas is coming. Get some great manga for gifts. Lunar Legend Tsukihime vol 1-6 Case Closed (Detective Conan) vol 1-5 Case Closed (Detective Conan) vol 6-9 Good Witch of the West vol 1-3/Densha Otoko – CMX – Complete Good luck and happy bidding!
November 29 marked the 5th anniversary that Godzilla, the walking warning from nature about the harm of nuclear weapons, got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was given to the Japanese kaiju eiji as part of his 50th anniversary and the release of his 28th and final movie in the US, Godzilla: Final Wars.
It’s hard to believe, but this week marks Manga Xanadu’s second anniversary. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my posts from the last year. I set myself a schedule of 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday & Friday, and with the addition of the This Week In Manga, one on the weekends, and have actually kept with it! I’m rather proud of that. It can be hard to be consistent, especially with RL and other commitments. But, I’ve done my best and I hope you’ve been able to take away something from all my random ranting. Over the past year, I think I’ve fallen behind on reviews for this site, concentrating on more commentary. E-books and related technology have gotten a lot of coverage and remain among my most popular hits from search engines. I will continue to cover this ever-evolving topic. There is a definite future in e-books, one we shouldn’t ignore. Searches for All Ages books have also remained high on the list. Hopefully more teachers, librarians and parents are looking at manga as another avenue to get kids reading. Manga is still misunderstood, and people still need to be educated about it. Libraries have been under fire,…
After the NYT posted a graphic novel gift list now with manga on it, David Welsh sent out a call to action on Twitter, for manga gift guides. This is my response to that call. I’ve decided to put together a manga gift guide for 10 different possible types of people in your life. I really could have kept going with this list. There are so many good titles to recommend, but I’ll leave those to my fellow bloggers who also answered the call.
07-Ghost Volume 2 By Yuki Amemiya & Yukino Ichihara Publisher: Go! Comi Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price: $10.99 Rating: Teito Klein, inheritor of the Eye of Mikhail, has found refuge from the military in the Sanctuary of the Barsburg Church. But dark forces are conspiring to return Teito to the ruthless hands of Chief Ayanami, the manga who killed his father, when Teito’s best and only friend arrives at the church under suspicious circumstances, Teito warmly embraces him, only to discover to his horror that Mikage has been turned into a tool of the military, and is bent on capturing Teito – even if it means his own destruction. The story continues to move along as a steady trot in this second volume of 07-Ghost. Teito must deal with tragedy again, one that could easily break him, but with Frau and Castor’s help, he is able to find the strength to go on. This volume introduces some new characters, while increasing the danger to Teito in his supposed sanctuary.