Yamaoka and his father, Kaibara Yuzan, have never enjoyed an ideal father-son relationship. In fact, it’s about as far from ideal as possible, and when they start arguing about food–which they inevitably do–the sparks really fly. In this volume of Oishinbo the subject of dispute is fish, starting with the question of whether mackerel can ever be truly good sashimi. Later, things come to a head during the “Salmon Battle,” which pits father against son in an epic contest to develop the best dish before a panel of judges. Will Yamaoka finally defeat Kaibara? Or will he once again be left in his father’s shadow? Written by Tetsu Kariya; Illustrated by Akira Hanasaki Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Food Price: $12.99 The overall premise of Oishinbo is that Yamaoka and his partner Kurita are compiling the “Ultimate Menu” of Japanese cuisine for the 100th anniversary of the publishers of Tozai News. Each volume of Viz’s compilation of this long running series is centered around a type of food. This volume is all about fish. The stories are episodic, and can be broken down into two types; Yamaoka helping someone out or putting someone in their place about food,…
The School sports festival is coming up, so everyone’s gearing up for some fierce competition! Even affairs of the heart become a competitive event when Yoh suspects his friend Asaoka may truly have feelings for Haruna…
When Yurara’s guardian spirit picks up a ghostly stalker, she vanishes, leaving Yurara to deal with the paranormal pervert on her own! By: Chika Shiomi Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Genre: Romance/Supernatural Rating: Teen + Price: $8.99 Not much of a volume description, is it? It doesn’t even come close to describing what’s going on in this volume. There is some serious character development going in here. The description only acts as a lead in. This volume starts off with two self-contained chapters that work to lead into the heart of the book; Yurara’s relationship with Mei. Mei is a serious flit, so Yurara doesn’t want to take his advances seriously, especially when it seems he’s really only interested in her spirit guardian. But when Yurara goes to the school rooftop to investigate the spirit that seems to be following her, Mei gets very upset with her. Yako explains to Yurara about Mei’s past and being in love with another woman who was killed by a spirit by pulling her off a rooftop. Yurara then meets that spirit when she possesses Mei and it’s up to Yurara to get rid of the spirit before it manipulates Mei into taking…
PET (which stands for polyethylene terephythalate, a type of plastic) was a simple plastic bottle until nine-year-old Noboru Yamada recycled him. Now PET’s a SUPER ROBOT programmed to protect Noboru at all costs! Whenever Noboru’s in trouble, PET transforms, plugs in, and jets to the rescue! Unfortunately, PET’s “help” usually does more harm than good, proving time and again that just because you call yourself “super” doesn’t mean you have a clue. By Kenji Sonishi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Comedy Price: $7.99 Another entry into the “manga for young kids” category, Leave it to PET hits all the right places on a kid’s funny bone. The short, simple stories and cartoonish art will pull them in, but don’t expect any meaningful environmental messages just because there’s a recycling theme. Leave It to PET is about a boy named Noboru and his recycled robot “friend” called PET. When Noboru took the time to recycle a drink bottle he found, that bottle came back to repay Noboru’s thoughtfulness by doing good deeds for him. This volume is a shining example of the phrase “No good deed goes unpunished”. Noboru’s single act of thoughtfulness has plagued him with PET,…
Yuri returns to Ugarit along with the news that Nefertiti, the queen dowager of Egypt, has fallen from power. Kail is relieved that the dire threat posed by the covert communications between Nefertiti and Nakia is now over, but feels certain this development will only fuel the war between the Hittite Empire and Egypt. What neither he nor anyone else on either side of the conflict realizes is how hot things are actually going to get! By Chie Shinohara Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Mature (18+) Genre: Historical Romance Price: $9.99 With Egypt’s internal problems solved, they turn their attention back to the Hittite empire. Kail is well aware of this and moves to face their challenge head on. But all the fighting doesn’t slow down the behind the scenes intrigue, as the fruits of Yuri’s labors in Egypt are endangered from the inside. This was another fantastic volume of historical drama. Picking up where volume 22 left off, we see why this title has a mature rating, but it’s done tastefully, and full of emotion. Then it’s off to battle as the Egyptian army, led by Ramses and the pharaoh himself, Horemheb, who intend to take back Byblos. Kail…
When Hikari finally asks Kei out, it seems like a dream come true. But they weren’t counting on a double date with Sakura and Jun! And when Kei and Hikari finally get a moment alone, who shows up but the dreaded Yahiro? Throw Megumi, Takashi and Akira in the mix, and it’s another troubled day in paradise! By Maki Minami Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance Price: $8.99 This is the way you keep a romance from advancing. You throw everyone else’s romantic troubles at the burgeoning couple! Sakura and Jun start what ends up being a rollercoaster rider for not just Kei and Hikari, but the other members of SA as well. Aoi’s pressures from Kei’s grandfather grows, so that it requires Hikari’s intervention, and finally, it’s Kei’s birthday. Not that he’s got much time to celebrate with his SA friends, with crisis after crisis at the company keeping him away. Less focus on just Kei and Hikari’s relationship has made this a much more enjoyable volume. Hikari doesn’t show her density as much as she and Kei try to help Sakura and Jun work out their problem. Or when Aoi tries to pressure her once…
Cai-Sheng is a celestial fox demon raised by a group of wild fox demons, who hope she will master the ability to transform into a male and same them from extinction. One day, she befriends a little boy and girl, who save her from a dog attack. Her caretaker marks them with symbols that will not disappear until Cai-Sheng repays her debt. Two hundred years later, Cai-Sheng meets the reincarnated boy and girl and decides to repay her debt by match-making them, but things get complicated when the girl falls for Cai-Sheng’s male form! By Yi Huan Publisher: DR Masters Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance/Gender Bender Price: $9.95 Divine Melody is a Chinese manhua that is filled lots of romantic possibilities, but still manages to keep them from getting convoluted. It lays down a good foundation in this first volume, introducing a lot of characters without overloading the reader with too much information. The main romance in this story is the love triangle between Han Yun-Shi, Su Ping, and Cai-Sheng’s male form. I-Huan is taking her time with it, just introducing all the players in this first volume. Su Ping is under a demon’s curse, and Han Yun-Shi is…
The Kokusen Academy Culture Festival is here and the Special A crew is making sure it runs smoothly. But chaos erupts when Kei’s grandfather tries to haul Kei off to London! Worse, when Hikari tries to intervene, she gets abducted! But the worst part of all is that amidst all the drama, Hikari is starting to realize her true feelings for Kei… By: Maki Minami Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $8.99 This is another series with female protagonist that’s as dense as a neutron star with a love interest that is cold yet popular with the girls. I suppose this isn’t bad if you don’t mind female protagonists that act like dumb blonds, but it really kept me from getting into the story. Kei’s grandfather sends his assistant Aoi Ogata to bring Kei back again. He kidnaps Hikari, thinking if he can get her out Kei’s life by seducing her. Hikari’s obtuseness makes it easy, but Kei runs to her rescue. Hikari then tries to get Aoi and Kei to be friends again, but throughout this, she finds it hard to look Kei in the eye and doesn’t know why. When she finally…
Journey back to the Jurassic…and sneak a peek at your favorite dinosaurs as you’ve never seen them! Dinosaur Hour is a collection of comics about dinos who are bullies and ghost-believers, pranksters and bungling little brothers. With such goofy antics, it’s no wonder these guys went extinct! By: Hitoshi Shioya Publisher: Viz Media – Viz Kids Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Comedy Price: $7.99 Starting this year, Viz has reinvigorated it’s VizKids line with many new titles. This title is among the first wave of books Viz is releases for younger readers. It also has the potential to reach beyond it’s intended audience by being just plain and funny and entertaining to anyone who likes a good laugh. Dinosaur Hour is a collection of stories, so there are no main characters or on-going stories, though it does seem that the mangaka had a thing for the Protocertops, as they appear several times throughout the book. Each story is about two or three dinosaurs interacting. When a new dinosaur is introduced, their name, length, and eating preference is given. You can learn things such as the power and stamina of different dinosaurs, or about the Stegosaurus’ unusual brain arrangement. But don’t…
Saving Kyoko from Reino’s attack has finally knocked some sense into Sho’s head, and he realizes how much he cares for her. But before he can declare his devotion, Ren shows up to ruin the moment. Both men realize that Kyoko has no idea of their true feelings for her and begin a secret battle for her affections! By: Yoshiki Yakamura Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance/Drama Price: $8.99 This volume is dedicated to the romance side of Skip Beat. Picking up the aftermath of a stalker attack on Kyoko from last volume, both Sho, Kyoko’s rival, and Ren, Kyoko’s mentor, realize their feelings for her. Kyoko, so wrapped up in her mission to become more famous than Sho, doesn’t see beyond the surface. This of course leads to a lot of melodrama. Kyoko didn’t tell Ren that Sho protected her from the stalker, Ren gets upset, Ren and Kyoko thinks they are hated by the other, and when they start to recover, Sho shows up and makes a challenge/declaration of love to Kyoko. But, all that drama isn’t so bad actually. It all plays as a natural progression as Ren has been working…