Manga Village

While searching for Alice in a dimension made up of her memories, Oz stumbles on the Sablier tragedy of 100 years ago and discovers some secrets about Alice, Gil and Vincent Nightray, as well as a secret about himself. Then it’s off for some lighter moments as Oz goes to visit his younger sister who he hasn’t seen in 10 years, before an old villain re-emerges; the Baskervilles, who are looking for Oz to find the truth of Sablier from the spirit inside him; Jack Vessilius, the “Hero of Sablier”. By Jun Mochizuki Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Fantasy Price: $11.99 I had read the first few chapters of Pandora Hearts when it debuted in the print version of Yen Plus. While I had mostly enjoyed chapters, it wasn’t enough for me to keep following the series. I’m glad I checked in with these two volumes. The delving further into the mystery of the abyss was interesting, and the introduction of two new characters helped lighten things up after some grim chapters. It was a bit of a shock to jump back into the series at a pretty horrific moment. The scenes of the Sablier tragedy start…

Legend speaks of seven heroes, each one bearing the bower of one of the stars of the Big Dipper.  Two of these stars are constantly in conflict, destined to battle and throw the world into chaos… Not that Taitou has ever paid much attention to old stories.  Headstrong and defiant, he is the last in his village to complete his coming-of-age ceremony– a fact his sister Laila incessantly teases him about.  When he is presented with the Kenka Ranbu, an ancient sword that can only be drawn by a true hero.  As the frustrated Taitou struggles to unsheath the sword, a mysterious thief appears, making off with the blade and citing the legend of the Big Dipper.  The starts have been set in motion, as Taitou sets off after the Kenka Tanbu and the truth of his own destiny… By Hiromu Arakawa; Story by Huang Jin Zhou Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Historical Fantasy Price: $10.99 Hero Tales is a title I’ve been looking forward to.  The artist, Hiromu Arakawa, also does one of my favorite titles ever, Fullmetal Alchemist.  So I had high hopes for this title. While I really like the premise and historical setting…

High Schooler Ji-Hae is desperately in love with her classmate Seung-Hyu.  She has done all she can think of to win his affection, but to no avail.  When her latest scheme crosses the line, Seung-Hyu decides he’s had enough…and inadvertently pushes her down a staircase! Ji-Hae awakens in the world beyond, only to learn that it’s not her time to die.  But why go back when the love of her life hates her to death!  Touched by her passion, the keepers of heaven send Ji-Hae to her past life to mend the rift between her former self and Seung-Hyu.  But can Ji-Hae keep up the act long enough to find Seung-Hyu and set things right? By Ryu Ryang Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Historical Romance Price: $10.99 No, not really…  Sarasah is a modern-girl-gets-sent-to-the-past story combined with girl-dresses-up-as-a-boy-to-be-near-boy-she-loves story.  Neither of these plots are usually appealing, but Sarasah adds a karmic twist to the Ji-Hae’s dilemma. The reason Seung-Hyu hates her some much is because of something that happened in their past lives, and Ji-Hae is given the chance to correct it.  Though, the more I read of this series, the more I wondered if it wasn’t a…

The manga market is fairly saturated with books about ninjas. Ninjas are the latest craze for boys, just like vampires are the latest craze for girls. It’s no surprise that plenty of people are trying to get in on the ninja bandwagon.  Yen Press’ entry into ninja fiction, Nabari no Ou, has been publishing monthly in its Yen Plus anthology for more than a year now, and it’s picked up a lot of steam, but only recently has the compiled trade paperback (manga fans call them tankobon) been released. By Yuki Kamatani Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price:  $10.99 The first volume introduces us to Miharu Rokujou, a completely apathetic schoolboy who wants nothing more than to take over his family’s restaurant and make sure that he never has to care about anything. Unfortunately for him, he is the carrier of hidden ninja world’s most powerful secret – the Shinra Banshou, and a faction of ninjas called the Iga Grey Wolves wants it bad enough to kill him for it. Members of the Banten and Fuuma villages don’t want that to happen though –his classmates Aizawa, Shimizu, and his strange teacher Kumohira have all decide to…