Manga Village

Gen is a new monthly manga magazine that is an experiment in many ways. It doesn’t go through any of the big publishers, or have any big mangaka as a draw. The manga serialized in Gen comes direct from the artists and would fit more in the category of doujinshi, or fan created manga. But this isn’t doujinshi as it is usually thought of in the US, parodies, or porn. These are serious, original stories and characters written for older readers, or seinen. Gen debuted with 4 titles in a variety of genres. “Wolf” is a sports manga featuring boxing. “VS Aliens” is a high school mystery. “Kamen” is a fantasy-drama and “Souls” is supernatural mystery. Of the four stories, I have to say I enjoyed most of them. “Wolf” didn’t interest me too much at first. The main character Naoto is just a bundle of anger, trying to beat his father with one kind of punch, while his father, a former pro boxer doesn’t really seem to care about the wife and son he left to pursue his boxing career. There was too much anger, not enough plot. The last chapter in issue 3 showed some improvement. I was…

Black Jack is back with a wide array of new challenges. An animator with cancer want to see his work move as he envisioned it just once. A fading actress wants to take the stage one last time. A modern-day Cyrano goes to Black Jack for help with his Roxanne, and Black Jack helps some young people determined to commit suicide that there is something in life worth living for. These are just a few of the cases Black Jack takes on in this volume. By Osamu Tezuka Publisher: Vertical Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Medical Drama Price: $16.95 Each time I read a new volume of Black Jack, I keep an eye out for several stories that I can relate as a theme. This volume comes out swinging with a strong sports theme. The first two chapters are about athletes, the first is a swimmer who loses the use of his legs, and the other is a boy that does well in gymnastics but loses his arm. Both suffer from losing their abilities to play their selected sport, but both are also redeemed by girls, though their paths to it couldn’t be more different. A third chapter is about…

As Hikaru hits his teens and puberty strikes, Sachiko and Masato have to deal with his growing sexual awareness and rebellious attitude. But it’s Kanon that really needs the help as her entry into elementary school leads to teasing over her brother. There’s no rest for the weary though, as on top of these problems, Masato is transferred and the decision is made to move into the Mother-in-Law’s house, which comes with its own set of problems. By Keiko Tobe Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: True to Life Drama Price: $14.99 Normally, problems that involve Hikaru’s disability affect him directly and in turn those around him. In these two volumes though, Hikaru isn’t affected as much as those around him. Kanon feels the effect the most at the beginning. Hikaru’s growing sexual awareness causes her unease when her friend comes over, and then she has to deal with teasing that borders on bullying from classmates who see Hikaru, but don’t understand. It’s nice to see that Kanon isn’t going to take the bullying, though she does try to hide it from Sachiko and Masato by pretending nothing is wrong. Sachiko isn’t so lucky in dealing with her bully…

Case Closed Volume 40 By Gosho Aoyama • Viz Media • Mystery • Older Teen • $9.99 Conan and his friends have more cases to solve, though only one murder in this volume. First he gets dragged into disrupting a date that ends up involving a drug deal, a suicide that looks suspicious, and a search for Dr. Asaga’s first love. After reading so many shonen, shojo and thriller titles lately, I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the chase of a good mystery manga, so it was great to get back into a volume of Case Closed. The cases in this volume are mostly light fare, involving the relationships of supporting characters Sato and Takagi and Dr. Asaga. The mysteries involve solving puzzles and reading people. It’s a lot of fun watching the deduction process with Conan and the Junior Detective League. The one murder is fairly obvious about who the culprit is, it’s the way the murder is committed that is the mystery. This was a fun, light read, with three complete cases, and the last chapter being the hook for the next volume. If you need a mystery fix, Case Closed is sadly your only option at the…

Hikaru’s evolution continues, now as the host to both Horizon and Maelstrom. A new cosmic entity has come to Earth, sensing a disturbance in its evolution. The Moderator sees a macro-evolution for the Earth, but with Horizon and Maelstrom not doing their jobs, it’s up to him to see it through, or else wipe all life from Earth, and let it start over. It’s up to Hikaru, Horizon and Maelstrom to find the solution, and the next step in the Earth’s evolution. By: Nobuaki Tadano Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Sci-fi Price: $10.95 Volume 3 starts by showing how much Hikaru has changed from the first 2 volumes. She is no longer a loner, nor does she try to shut out the world. She spends time with her friends Saya and Nao, and acts more like a normal girl. She also starts to notice their classmate Chika, a girl who seems to have the same problem Hikaru had, but reacts in the opposite direction. She doesn’t want to be alone. She is desperate for friends, and to have a place to belong. That no one really wants to be alone is a theme that runs throughout the…

It’s Yen Press’ week as they release the majority of their titles this week, including the first volume of their 3rd James Patterson series Witch and Wizard, and the very different take on zombies series, Raiders. Viz Media sees the end of one of their Signature titles with the final volume of Detroit Metal City, as does Kodansha which realease the final volume of Shugo Chara.

It’s a new month with a whole new slew of manga to check out! Kodansha makes another strong showing with several volume 1s including the all ages title Animal Land, and the sci-fi title Mardock Scramble. Vertical releases their requisite zombie title Velveteen and Mandala, and Viz releases their monthly wave of shonen and shojo titles including Black Bird, One Piece, Naruto, and the next Pokemon: Black and White.

Irel, Lamia and Clarion fight off assassins, but soon after, Lamia takes off on her own. Irel and Clarion continue to follow the chrism bottle trail, which leads them to the secret society Crossline. Irel’s power grows and it’s enough to get Crossline agents to question their leader, Ian. Lamia goes to an “old friend” and learns the truth of her origins, and it’s relation to Ian, Crossline, and Christianity. Detective Chris and Grace also find Crossline, and, joined by Chris’ partner Aileen, are recruited to try to stop Crossline’s plans. By JinJun Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action/Horror Price: $11.99 There is plenty of confusing “zombie battle action”™, but an actual plot does start to show itself in these 5 volumes of Raiders. Lamia’s past is revealed, as is the reason for Chris’ obsession with conspiracies, and most startlingly, the true origins of Christianity, and how it relates to the secret organization, Crossline. I can’t say that I really enjoyed these volumes, but I was fascinated with the way the history/mythology/beliefs of the Christian church was used in the story as well as its references to the use of science. After three volumes of mostly…

The rogue doctor Black Jack is back with more stories of strange diseases and amazing feats to cure them. These three volumes feature stories that move away from the “corruption of the medical system” and focus more on Black Jack’s patients, both the two-legged and four. We also get another glimpse into Black Jack’s past with the appearance of his father and his new family.

San Diego Comic Con is this week! What news will publishers bring us this year? They bring out some good volumes for those of us not attending the Geek-fest. Kodansha has more former-Del REy titles. Udon Entertainment finishes their final kid’s line title. Viz releases a new Natsume Ono title, La Quinta Camera: The Fifth Room, and Yen rounds things off with the last of the July releases.