Manga Village

When Roman architect Lucius is criticized for his “outdated” thermae designs, he retreats to the local bath to collect his thoughts. All Lucius wants is to recapture the Rome of earlier days, when one could enjoy a relaxing bath without the pressure of merchants and roughhousing patrons. Slipping deeper into the warm water, Lucius is suddenly caught in the suction and dragged through the drainage at the bottom of the bath! He emerges coughing and sputtering amid a group of strange-looking foreigners with the most peculiar bathhouse customs…over 1,500 years in the future in modern-day Japan! his contemporaries wanted him t modernize, and so, borrowing the customs of these mysterious bath-loving people, Lucius opens what quickly becomes the most popular new bathhouse in Rome — THERMAE ROMAE By Mari Yamazaki Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Historical/Comedy Price: $34.99 When I first heard about Thermae Romae, I thought the premise was ridiculous, and couldn’t sustain itself for more than a few chapters. I have never been more wrong about a title in my life. It turned out to be a funny story with fascinating cultural elements. Thermae Romae is the story of Lucius Modestus, a bathhouse engineer who…

Reira Bandou is an ordinary, average college student, until a group of strangers tell her she is the reincarnation of Ashura, the Buddhist god of war and a member of the Hachi Bushu. Demons are invading the world, so the other members must be found, while Reira must learn to control her powers and regain her past life memories. As her memories return, the truth about the past comes to light, which could tear the Hachi Bushu apart just as the final battle with the demons is about to begin. By Yuriko Matsukawa Publisher: Digital Manga Guild Localization: Translated by Todd Gunn; Edited by Angela Eastman; Lettered by Phileas J Fogg Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $6.95 eManga/$7.95 Kindle/Nook/Wowio Having recently read the CLAMP manga RG Veda, Late Advent, which also features Ashura, the Buddhist god of war, interested me. The first volume started out with a lot of potential, but the rushed ending took a lot of wind out of its sails, leading to a less than satisfying story. Late Advent started out fairly strong. Reira is introduced as she is in Art History class, learning about the Hachi Bushu, lower gods who came to earth to protect…

Madoka Kaname is a happy, normal high school girl. She has a loving family and good friends. There’s nothing to cause her harm, until Kyubey, a strange, cat-like creature comes stumbling into her life, and introduces her, and her friend Sayaka, to the world of magical girls. It seems exciting at first, as she and Sayaka go on missions with Mami, the magical girl protecting their city. But it’s not all fun and games, as the girls quickly learn, but Kyubey’s offer of granting any wish becomes too tempting to Sayaka. But not everyone is cut out to be a magical girl. Story by Magica Quartet; Art by Hanokage Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action/Fantasy Price: $11.99 Being a magical girl sounds exciting. You get magical powers, a cool transformation, an awesome weapon and a cute mascot. You use all these things to fight the powers of darkness and protect the people around you. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be for magical girls. Puella Magi Madoka Magica takes all those expectations and turns them completely on their head. I first heard about the anime that this manga is based on, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, back…

For once, it looks like the Chikubushima High soccer team might heave a shot at the national tournament (provided all their players actually show up to the matches)! Rakuichi may have the raw talent that makes him an invaluable asset to this bizarre mess of a team, but his enourmous ego interferes with his ability to make good decisions on the field. (Seriously, dude. Just pass the ball.) As Rakuichi continues to irritate the heck out of his teammates, the foundation on the team, Azuchi, is out of commission, and captain Matsuri is losing interest as teh power of the principal’s bribes wane. With even tougher opponents to come, will the stars and supporting players of Chikubushima manage to pull together and secure victory? By Ryuji x Gotsubo Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Sports Price: $20.99 I’m not a masochist by nature, but I am a skeptic. So when I saw so many reviews reviling the first volume of Sasameke, I had to see the horror for myself. I was given such a chance when I received volume 2 for review. Let me just say, the reviews of volume 1 were not exaggerating. If anything, volume 2…

I’ve never enjoyed Vampire Knight. Not from it’s first appearance in Shojo Beat magazine to its final issue. But with two volumes sitting the review pile and the Vampire Manga Movable Feast coming up, I decided to give the series another try. I didn’t have any real hope that I would change my mind, but it couldn’t get any worse, right?

Haruka is a young girl who is able to predict the future with incredible accuracy–an ability that has made her a target. When she is kidnapped, Haruka uses her power to seek out someone who can help her, fixing upon a blind man amid the crowded streets of Tokyo. Though seemingly odd choice, Haruka’s powers have not led her wrong, as her chosen protector draws a sword from his walking stick and deftly takes out her captors. Knowing she will always be pursued for her gift, Haruka begs the mystery swordsman to keep her safe… “Until Death Do Us Part.” Story by Hiroshi Takashige; Art by DOUBLE-S Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price: $18.99 I was interested in Until Death Do Us Part when it was first announced at NYCC/NYAF last year, though now that I think back, I can’t seem to remember why. That is unfortunately a common theme with this title. It isn’t very memorable in story or characters. The best thing it’s had going for it is its similarity to other stories that I did enjoy. Blind Swordsmen are nothing in Japanese story telling. Zatoichi, a character created by novelist Kan Shimozawa is…

Born into a family of “Hunters,” Takamichi’s destiny is to pursue and slay demons. When her twin brother is killed, she is saved from despair by a pair of Jiu Jiu–shape shifting familiars–in the form of two wolf pups named Snow and Night. Now Takamichi is in high school and an active Hunter. Snow and Night can’t wait to attend school in their human form to “protect” her. But are they ready to go off leash…? By Touya Tobina Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Supernatural Price: $9.99 On first reading, I didn’t really like Jiu Jiu. I didn’t like Takamichi and Snow and Night were so clingy and annoying. It really took a second read for the story to sink in and for me to understand why they had to be like that. I’ve come to like the story now, but I am still shaky on the characters. Takamichi, the protagonist of Jiu Jiu, starts off as rather dis-likable. She is cold and seemingly abusive of her two charges. She always yelling at them or hitting them on the heads. It was very difficult to see anything to like about her. As the story…

Much to Akira’s dismay, his lecherous tutor from middle school, Sho Kasuga, has suddenly reappeared. Akira has a secret from his past that he doesn’t want Mizuki to know, and he’s terrified Sho will reveal it!

Sho’s plans to plunge the world into chaos continue as he targets the Eight Daitengu, hoping to strip his brother Kyo of all his protectors. And now Sho has Hoki, whose secret past makes him easy prey. Can Hoki stand up to Sho, or will his efforts to aid Kyo backfire?

As Kobato starts to fall for the dour Fujimoto who works at Yomogi Kindergarten, she puts her mission of helping the broken-hearted and filling her magic bottle in danger. Helping to heal him becomes her sole mission, as she puts herself and Iorogi and his allies in danger. As the deadline looms, will Kobato be able to make her wish come true?  By CLAMP Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy Price: $11.99 I haven’t had a lot of luck with CLAMP titles. Even though I hear a lot about how great they are, I haven’t felt any interest in reading any of them. I tried xxxHolic, but the first volume didn’t do enough for me to want to keep reading. But I don’t think it’s right to write them off based on one volume of one series, so with this Movable Manga Feast, I wanted to give a few more titles a try, I just happened to have these two volumes lying around. I was pleasantly surprised by Kobato, and may have found my first CLAMP series I like. It took a chapter or two to catch on to what was going on, but once I had a…