Orange Crows Volume 1 By: James Perry II and Ryo Kawakami Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Fantasy Price: $10.99 Rating: Five years ago, a young witch named Cierra broke the one unforgivable law of the witch society: attempting to create her own magic. Her unlawful tampering burned down a research room and injured the Mayor’s daughter, Cierra’s best friend. As punishment, she was exiled to the Wilderness, a barren wasteland crawling with witch-devouring Fairies and the bloodthirsty Forsaken…After surviving for five ruthless years, her exile has now ended, and she has been ushered back to civilization, only to discover that the world around her has changed greatly. Will Cierra be able to adjust back to a society that abandoned her? And if her freakish new ability that links her to the terrifying Fairies is discovered, she may not be let off with mere exile this time… Orange Crows is a new OEL manga from Tokyopop. I really knew nothing about it, and the cover didn’t intrigue me in anyway, but with a link to read the whole volume for free coming in my email, I decided to check it out.
I really enjoy Matsuri Akino’s manga. Pet Shop of Horrors is what hooked me. Then I checked out the other titles by her available from Tokyopop, and I got a wonderful surprise when I read Genju no Seiza. In volume 4, Count D from Petshop of Horrors made a cameo appearance! I loved the cross over. It worked perfectly with Count D being friends with Sohki, the mythical Kirin. I really enjoy stories with shared/extended universes, as long as I can read ALL of the stories. So now, I’m reading Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo, and I get to volume 3. The last story in the volume, Dalsegno, features a cat named Femto who comes to stay at Count D’s Pet Shop for a few days. While there, he meets another cat, a Sphynx named Amon. Count D explains to Amon who Femto is, and in that frame is the charactiture of Akino, a kappa, holding a sign saying “Please read the details in the Reisha manga series.” AHHH! There’s another Akino series in the PSoH universe?! The full title of the series is Reikan Shouhou Kabushikigaisha, or Psychic Business Corporation. It’s about Kanenari Tokiwa, a man that deals with…
I don’t hang out at Tokyopop.com anymore, but I still get all their newsletters, just to keep abreast with what’s going on. In the newest newsletter, there is a poll about e-books. Which would you prefer? Apple iphone, Sony e-Reader, Amazon Kindle, or none, reading paper books. Accompanying this in the newsletter is a video of a comparison review of the e-Reader and the Kindle. Viewing the video shows Tokyopop’s bias for the e-Reader (as that is where they have OEL manga available). The influence of this video seems to be reflected in poll, as the e-Reader has the second most votes, and most for a digital device. I have to hand it to Tokyopop for continuing to show some support for ebooks and the e-Reader. With it’s recent problems, publishing books electronically can be a good call to keep the fanbase happy while Tokyopop struggles through these tough times. It could also help to grow ebooks, in the same way that they did with OEL. If they would keep their books updated and make them easy to get, they might just make ebooks successful.
“On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, Eleven Band Member Battle,” Rin Amami has a dream of becoming a singer like his mother, but it’s an impossible dream. He has the voice of a frog. He has all but given up on his dream until a chance meeting with a new boyband, the Beatmen and their manager rekindles his hopes. He may possess the legendary Dragon Voice. He begins training with the Beatmen, his abrasive personality causing problems, but some how they keep on climbing up the charts. Dragon Voice is a series I was late coming to, but I’m really glad I did! A “male version of Jem and the Holograms” doesn’t even come close to doing it justice. The characters have great personalities that don’t always mesh well, which only increases the fun. The situations are a little outrageous, but with some of the Tokusatsu shows that have been seen recently, could a Voice Rangers really be that far out? Dragon Voice also has one of the best volumes I’ve ever read. In volume 7, there is a big battle of the bands between three groups; The Beatmen, Privee, and Baby Naked. They…
It’s that time of year again when ghosts and goblins come out to play. Do you want to get into the Halloween spirit, but just don’t know what to get? Well, here’s a list of manga that I’ve either read, or know something about enough to recommend (or warn you away from). I first posted this on my Tokyopop blog, but I’m bringing here with a few updates. Well, I thought it was going to be just a few, but every time I start to think I’m done, I come up with another book! I tried to keep the books in this list to more appropriate to a Halloween theme, than just ghosts, vampires and monsters, etc. It would take forever to list ALL manga with those in it!
Lissa of Kuriosity did some searching of Amazon for Tokyopop titles, and while she spotted some new licenses, I’m more concerned with the fates of older series. Some of my favorites that show their staying power such as Chibi Vampire and Petshop of Horrors: Tokyo appear frequently on the list. Manga based on properties such as TV, video games and Harper Collins YA novels also seem to be doing well for them as they alot as well. But what really caught my eye was the relisting of Dragon Voice Volume 11! The final volume was cancelled from it August 2008 listing, and I thought it was gone for good. I don’t think it sold all that well, so to see it listed for a July 2009 release raises my hopes some what. I won’t have to live the rest of my life not knowing how it ends! I was also surprised to see that Lupin III: Most Wanted also appeared on the list. I didn’t think that one sold well either, but it’s got two volumes over a six month period, which appears to complete this series as well. Perhaps then there is hope that Kindaichi Case Files might get…
Mail Order Ninja Volume 1 Story by Joshua Elder; Art by Erich Owen Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: 8-12 (Youth) Genre: Comedy, Action Price: $5.99 Rating: What is the story about? It is about Timmy ordering a ninja from a catalog named Jacques Co. Industries. What did you like about the story? I like the drawings. I also like the ninja. And I like the comic ad for Jacques Co. Industries. What did you dislike about the story? Nothing. Would you recommend the story to kids your age? Yes.
Warriors: The Rise of Scourge Written by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley Art by Bettina Kurkoski Publisher: Tokyopop (Harper Collins) Age Rating: Y (10+) Genre: Fantasy Price: $6.99 Rating: Storyline: Tiny, a small kit with a loving mother and two siblings that dislike him, at one point, visited the forest. He was attacked by the patrol from Thunderclan (Tigerstar attacked him) and Bluefur pulled them away. Tiny went to the city in fear of being thrown into a river. He then stuck a dog tooth into his coller, and told a lie, which made him change his name to Scourge. Review: I liked this side-issue. It completely changed how I thought about Scourge. Before, I thought of him as an ugly cat with hatred but from this manga, I learn that it was his bad past that shaped him and he’s actually kind of cute. Did I like it: 100% sure. I definitely like it, Scourge is cute, but his past shaped him into what he had become. He may be small, but he proved his littermates wrong. He killed Tigerstar nine times over and Tigerstar deserved it. Could there be anything changed: Nothing, not from my eyes. The manga…
The Mysterians Volume 1 Story by Jay Antani, Art by Matt Hentshel Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Sci-Fi Price: $9.99 Rating: My name is Vox. I am the last surviving member of an underground resistance. Our mission: Expose and destroy a vast and sinister plot to take over planet Earth. Aliens have infiltrated the Earth’s entire political, industrial, military and socio-industrial complex. They are determined to extinguish life on our planet. Since birth, the five of you were fated to receive this message. You are possessed of extraordinary abilities… Logan, you have superior strength and superhuman intuition. Leelee, no Olympian has ever had your level of agility. Jenna and Jamie, your parents knew of your telekinesis and ESP when you were still children. Tony, your intellect is off the charts. The entire world needs you. You must use your talents to join together and stop this invasion…And in doing so, the five of you will become…The Mysterians! Science Fiction doesn’t get nearly as much love in manga as it should, but this title seems to be trying to make up for lost time, and does a pretty good job of it! Even with the fairly generic plot of…
Dark Metro Volume 2 Story by Tony Calen; Art by Yoshiken Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $9.99 Rating: Terror awaits the people of Tokyo, with gruesome lessons only the dead can teach. In this second collection of shorts, a waitress at a maid café sparks jealousy. A mother who can’t handle the responsibility of raising her child commits a horrible crime. An ancient sword awakens a psychotic samurai. And finally, the solemn guide Seiya reveals his own tragic past and the nature of his gifts that are his curse. Things don’t get any better with this second volume of this series. Following the same unsuccessful pattern of the first volume, there is some slight improvement story-wise, but technical issues with the formatting wipe it out.
I just got this in my email today. I’ve been buying stuff from Deepdiscout.com ever since they were Deepdiscountdvd.com. But they’ve expanded, starting last year to include books, cds, games and even cell phones! But it’s mostly dvds I buy, with the occasional manga when the price is right. Starting today, until 8/17/08 (Sunday, 11:59PM CST), they are having a 5-for-4 sale on select (very select) Tokyopop titles. Deep Discount already slashes their prices by 20% (on average), but there selection can be hit and miss. This sale is no different. You can get volumes 1-3 of Cherry Juice, but only volumes 1 and 5 of Bizenghast. There are only 41 titles on the list, (including quite a few Fruits Basket) but a lot of volume 1s. So, if you want to check out a series or two, this is a good way to pick up some samples cheap.
Dark Metro Volume 1 Story by Tokyo Calen; Art by Yoshiken Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $9.99 Rating: What lies below Tokyo’s subway system is more frightening than you could have ever imagined…in its subways there exists a boundary between this world and the next–the land of the dead, and the mysterious young man Seiya is its guide. In this collection of bone-chilling shorts, follow the twisted tales of death and hauntings that inhabit this horrifying underworld, where innocent youth fall victim to the ghosts who inhabit Tokyo’s underground. Dark Metro is a title in a category all it’s own. It’s not a come-uppance theater title, as the main characters in the stories aren’t bad. They are just ordinary people experiencing the supernatural in Tokyo’s subways. But it’s not like the Twilight Zone, as Seiya, the guide to the underworld, doesn’t narrate the stories either. He possesses the power to decide who lives and who dies in the subway, just appearing somewhere in the story to save the protagonist from whatever horror is after them. This title falls through the cracks of horror genre and should probably stay there.