Manga Xanadu

Momoka Sendou (nicknamed “Dragon Girl”) and Ryuga Kou are childhood friends. Momoka is a martial artist, and Ryuga is a Chinese magic master who banishes demons. In order to increase his power, Ryuga calls on the spirit of a dragon to possess him, but the spirit enters Momoka instead. Now the two must unite forces and fight demons together! By Natsumi Matsumoto Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 Rating: St. Dragon Girl is a title that has two things going for it. Dragons and a couple that denies their feelings for each other. While the second thing is a bit of a trope for shojo titles, I can’t help having a soft spot for their kind of relationship; the childhood friends who tease, bait and strike back. The female lead of this story, Momoka, has a lot of tomboy traits. Her father is the head of a kenpo dojo, so she is constantly practicing, and is even an instructor. She will take on anyone who threatens her friends, spirits and demons, and even teachers! But she has one weakness; pandas. Ever since she received a stuffed panda as gift from Ryuga, she has…

Christie Holmes is a prodigy. At ten-years-old, she’s as familiar with the sciences and classics as any older student at Cambridge or Oxford. And her facility with logic is reminiscent of her uncle, the eminent Sherlock Holmes himself. So, what’s a brilliant young girl to do when her parents are away in India, leaving her behind in the care of maids and servants? Why, solve mysteries, of course. Along with her giant hound Nelson, Christie’s implacable curiosity leads her from one dangerous adventure to another, often joining forces with Uncle Sherlock and Doctor Watson on their famed investigations. Christie may look pint-sized, but her clever mind is never to be underestimated! By Kaoru Shintani Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Mystery Price: $16.99 Rating: I was really excited when I heard about Seven Seas’ acquisition of Young Miss Holmes. I love mysteries and Sherlock Holmes, but have also lately acquired a taste for stories about female relatives of Holmes also solving mysteries. First, his sister Enola Holmes in novel form, and now his niece Christie. Young Miss Holmes takes classic Sherlock Holmes stories and makes changes to them, mostly to add Christie to the story, but also…

Mystery and intrigue, crime and punishment, uncovering the truth–all in a day’s work for the ace defense attorney Phoenix Wright and his beautiful assistant Maya Fey. Based on the hit game series, Ace Attorney brings new adventures to the games’ colorful cast. Can Nick successfully swing the gavel of justice or will he be crushed by the weight of incriminating evidence? Story by Kenji Kuroda; Art by Kazuo Maekawa Publisher: Kodansha Comics Age Rating: Teen Genre: Mystery Price: $10.99 Rating: There’s not a lot of mystery manga available in English (unfortunately), so when a new series does come out, I like to check it out. Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright is based on a video game of the same name, and features many of the characters from it. It’s a decent police procedural, but the goofy characters, both in design and personality throws it off-kilter for me. This first volume of Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright features one-and-two-thirds cases, which serve to introduce most of the characters. The first case has Nick defending his old friend from elementary school who doesn’t have the best luck with the ladies, as he is accused of murdering his new girlfriend’s old boyfriend. The second is…

From on high, the gods make sport of the mortals who toil below them. None knows the cruelty of these beings better than Ganymede, a beautiful prince who was torn away from his family by the gods’ divine hands. Granted immortality, Ganymede now whiles away his days in an inescapable miniature garden for the amusement of the gods, particularly Apollo. But the gods themselves are no stranger to the boredom of eternal life, and as Ganymede quickly discovers, they will do anything to keep themselves entertained, both at his expense and at one another’s… By Aki Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Fantasy Price: $18.99 Rating: I love mythology, so anytime there’s a series that comes out that has to do with some myth or legend, I want to check it out. This made Olympos a must for me to read. While I wasn’t too sure about the title at first, it had completely won me over by the end. Olympos brings up some interesting ideas about gods and immortality. Olympos starts by introducing the reader to Ganymede, a beautiful prince who it trapped in a miniature garden. His current plight is shown, and then it flashes back…

Moritaka and Akito’s newest series Perfect Crime Party does well enough that they can start working on other things, such as beating their rivals. But some unexpected news sends them back to try to come up with a second series. But as each of them works on their specific talents individually, will it break up the team of Muto Ashirogi? Story by Tsugumi Ohba; Art by Takeshi Obata Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Comedy/Drama Price: $9.99 Rating: Now that Moritaka and Akito have a series running in Jump again, the story can go back to their personal lives, as well as those of their rivals and assistants. While I do enjoy seeing process of making a successful manga through Moritaka and Akito, I’ve really come to like the other manga artists and assistants, and I do enjoy seeing what’s going on with their lives and titles. The artist we see the life most of in these two volumes is Shun Shiratori. He is an assistant to Moritaka and Akito. His mother, who wears the pants in the family, doesn’t approve of Shun working on manga, so he runs away so he can work on creating his own title….

Yozo Obo seems to have finally found happiness with his wife Yoshino, and his job as a mangaka. But one single event sends him spirally back down into the darkness, farther than he’s ever gone before. One by one, he loses everything, even his sanity.

An innocent sightseeing trip to Kyoto opens up a magical realm to shy high schooler Chikahito Takamoto. Visiting a legendary shrine, Chikahito stumbles into the mystical world of Hana and her comrades–and his immunity to their powers leads them to believe that he’s no ordinary awkward teenager! Protecting our world from violent supernatural creatures, Hana and her team welcome the confused Chikahito–who isn’t quite sure that he wants to be caught in the middle of their war! By CLAMP Publisher: Dark Horse Manga Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy Price: $10.99 This series is my third attempt to find a CLAMP series I like. The first volume of xxxHolic didn’t thrill me, but I did enjoy the last two volumes of Kobato enough to want to find the rest. Gate 7 is CLAMP’s newest series  and one I thought would have a lot of potential for me. It’s fantasy, the cover is very pretty with flowers and a pheasant, and it takes place in Kyoto. And I might still like it, but while this first volume makes the introductions, I really don’t have any idea what is going on. Gate 7 starts by introducing Chikahito, a high schooler with an overprotective…

Rinne once again has his hands full as he has to take care of the young Shinigami Shoma during the boy’s homestay, but if Masato the demon has anything thing to do about it, it won’t be easy. Tsubasa’s failure to exorcise the evil spirit of a beautiful girl brings him more misfortune, and as usual, it’s up to Rinne to bale him out. By Rumiko Takahashi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural Price: $9.99 Rating: I kind of took a short break from Rin-ne, ie, I stopped reading the chapters online. The series has been all hit or miss for me, but since I’ve enjoyed so much of Takahashi’s work, I want to keep giving the series another chance. So when these two latest volumes became available for review, I decided to give the series another go. Nothing has really changed. Rinne is still helping spirits to the afterlife, pining for Sakura and being dirt poor. He’s also still fending off Ageha’s advances and battling Tsubasa for Sakura’s affections. The demon Masato still tries to make Rinne’s life hell with more debt, and his father continues to try to take the souls of his classmates. The stories…

Two very different volumes are featured in this Shonen Jump edition of Mini Musings. We complete a trip to the past in Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, while Moritaka and Akito fight for their future in Shonen Jump in Bakuman. But only one of these titles gets my recommendation. Read on to find out which.

Shinmen Takezo is destined to become the legendary sword-saint, Miyamoto Musashi-perhaps the most renowned samurai of all time. For Takezo is a cold-hearted killer, who will take on anyone in mortal combat to make a name for himself. This is the journey of a wild young brute who strives to read enlightenment by way of the sword-fighting on the edge of death. By Takehiko Inoue; Based on the novel “Musashi” by Eiji Yoshikawa Publisher: Viz Media/Viz Signature Age Rating: Mature Genre: Historical Price: $12.95 Rating: I’ve heard a lot of good things about Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond. I had read an excerpt of it a few years ago in a Viz Signature sampler I got at SDCC, but it didn’t really interest me then. Based on recommendations however, I picked up volume 1 to see what everyone was talking about. It’s filled with a lot of great action and drama, but I think I have to go with my original reaction and say this is not a series for me. Vagabond starts out at the end of the battle of Sekigahara, a pivotal battle in Japanese history that gave the Tokugawa control of the shogunate. Shinmen Takezo and his childhood friend…

Mizuki Ashiya is no slouch when it comes to a challenge. She’s a star of track and field at her high school, after all. So When she falls for fellow athlete Izumi Sano, she figures out an ingenious plan to get close to him. Now she’s moved to Japan, enrolled in the all-male high school Sano goes to, and becomes his roommate! How? She’s disguised herself as a boy! Whatever happens next, things are about to get seriously complicated! By Hisaya Nakajo Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romantic comedy Price: $14.99 Rating: I’ve tended to avoid gender-bending, or cross-dressing titles, because on the whole, they haven’t sounded interesting to me. A girl dressing up as a boy to go to the all-male school where her ideal mate goes seems prime for lots of comedy and hi-jinx, just not the type that I enjoy. Hana-Kimi really surprised me. It plays the comedy aspect well, but it’s not the focus of the story. It’s really about the characters and the love triangle the is created by Mizuki’s presence. I really liked the characters in this story. Mizuki Ashiya is very earnest about just wanting to see…

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…