Manga Xanadu

Firefighter academy student Nanase Takemine is a promising rookie fire investigator who is haunted by her parents’ fiery death. Three years ago, she saved a man from a burning building. But he was no innocent victim–he turned out to be the arsonist responsible for the death of her parents. Now this serial fire-starter has started help her solve fire-related crimes. His intentions seem good, but how can Nanase reconcile his willingness to help with his role in her own personal tragedy?

Only one name strikes fear into the hearts of evildoers everywhere: Phoenix Wright, ace attorney. Join Phoenix Wright and his adorable assistant Maya–plus Miles Edgeworth, Detective Gumshoe, Franziska von Karma, and others–as they investigate twenty intriguing cases. And find out why Phoenix Wright has devoted his life to fighting injustice! By CAPCOM Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: Teen Genre: Mystery;Video Game Adaptation Price: $14.95 (OOP) Rating: I think it is safe to say my kids can influence my reading habits. Some people might say it’s good that I’m looking into what my kids are reading and playing. I’ve been reading the web comic Homestuck after they told me about it. And now, after my oldest daughter discovered the Phoenix Wright Nintendo DS video games, and basically told me the whole plot of them, I am now reading the Phoenix Wright manga. I read the first volume of the ongoing series of Phoenix Wright, and didn’t find it appealing from a mystery-lovers perspective. But having gotten this title for her, I decided to read it and see if it could win me over as the ongoing couldn’t. And it did so, in spades! This volume is a thick 304-page anthology…

In Victorian England, a young girl named Emma is rescued from a life of destitution and raised to become a proper British maid. When she meets William, the eldest son of a wealthy family, their love seems destined. But in this world, even matters of the heart are ruled by class distinctions. By Kaoru Mori Publsiher: CMX (OOP) Age Rating: Teen Genre: Historical/Drama ISBN: 978-1-4012-1132-5 Price: $9.99 Rating: I didn’t expect to like Emma. I have a split track record with Kaoru Mori’s work. I loved A Bride’s Story, but wasn’t impressed with her short story collection Say Something and Anything, especially the maid stories. But as I started reading, I couldn’t help being enchanted by the charming characters she populates the series with, and sets up so simple an obstacle, but it still seems just as insurmountable. Emma starts with the unceremonious meeting of Emma and William, the former student of Kelly Stownar, who was William’s governess, and is Emma’s employer. William is immediately smitten with Emma, which Kelly picks up on, while Emma seems not to notice. But William is not the first or only man to be drawn to her, as the pile of love letters she…

Yokai are mysterious, troublemaking spirits and demons that have tormented Japan for centuries. Kotoko’s grandfather exorcised them for a living, but Kotoko never thought that her family lineage was an asset. Then she meets Kuro, a yokai doctor. Yokai have doctors? Now Kotoko is learning firsthand that healing the yokai is a lot more challenging than getting rid of them! By Yuki Sato Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Comedy/Horror Price: $10.99 OOP Rating: When I first ordered Yokai Doctor back in 2009, I was hoping for a more serious look at yokai. So imagine my disappointment when I read it and found out it featured a perverted protagonist and fan service galore. I was ready to pan it back then. With three years to get over my expectations, I find the title isn’t quite so bad, but the pandering is still annoying. The protagonists of this title are Kotoko, the granddaughter of a powerful and well-known exorcist who inherited some of his powers, and Kuro, a yokai doctor. The introduction to these characters is handled in an unusual way. The first chapter is told twice, once from Kotoko’s perspective and once from Kuro’s perspective. While this…

Senju is a “Mitedamashi,” an agent with the power to summon or seal Gates, and save people’s souls. He is a guardian to Hijiri, a boy whose life he once saved. After Hijiri discovers his own hidden powers, he begins a journey of self-discovery where the distant past comes back to haunt him and his choices determine life and death, not only for those he cares about, but the whole world! By Yukiko Sumiyoshi Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy Price: $19.99 Rating: When I got Black Gate, I didn’t know anything about it other than it was a series about the supernatural, so it was an easy book to put off. But seeing it take up the space of three potential volumes, I decided to dust it off and see if it deserved that bookshelf space. While it’s not a bad series, it does take some turns, especially that the end that doesn’t make it deserving to remain on my limited bookshelf. This series is about Hijiri, the son and last living Gate Keeper, a person born with the ability to open or close the gates that draw people’s souls out of this world and into another. His…

Tohru Honda recently lost her mother, and through certain circumstances, is living alone in a tent in the woods. The same woods, as it happens, as her classmate and school “prince” Yuki Sohma. Through a strange twist of fate (and her own clumsiness) she discovers that Yuki, and other members of the family, have been cursed, and through weakness or a hug from a member of the opposite sex, change into one of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Tohru ends up living with Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo Sohma, and is soon meeting more members of the zodiac. By: Natsuki Takaya Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99/OOP Rating: I wasn’t interested in shojo at the time that Fruits Basket started to come out, and didn’t develop one until the series was already well into the teens. But, like so many other titles, the Manga Movable Feast has given me an opportunity (and excuse) to finally check it out. I wasn’t really impressed after reading the first volume. I took the ending of volume 4 to really get me to give the series a chance and continue on with it. I didn’t really care for the characters at…

Like a lot of people, I can’t keep up with all the titles I want to read, so some have to fall back and wait to be caught up on. Usually this isn’t a big deal. If it’s a recent series, within the last two years or so, and the publisher hasn’t gone under, or lost the license, catching up is usually as easy as getting online to Amazon or some other online retailer and ordering the missing volumes. In trying to do this though, I’ve run into some stumbling blocks, and it is absolutely perplexing to me as to why.

Saiyuki is among the first few manga I started to read. Having been a fan of the original Dragon Ball manga and knowing how it was based on the Chinese story Journey to the West, I was interested in seeing other takes on the story. While I came to Saiyuki for the story, I definitely stayed for hot guys. This title is a perfect blend of action, bishonen and angst, that it’s no wonder is was such a big hit with the ladies when it was released. By Kazuya Minekura Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action/Fantasy Price: $9.99 Rating: The basic premise of Saiyuki is simple. In the land of Shangri-la, humans and demons known as youkai live together in peace. But the peace is threatened when someone attempts to resurrect Gyumaoh, a youkai known as the Ox King using a combination of demon magic and human science. The forbidden practice causes a Minus Wave of negative energy to spread across Shangri-la, and causing the youkai to lose their minds and attack humans. The gods summon a monk, Genjyo Sanzo, to travel to India in the west to find out who is attempting the revival and stop them….