It’s hard to not expect great things from Rumiko Takahashi. Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha are some of the most well-known manga series around, and her fame for these series doesn’t even touch how awesome some of her more romantically inclined work like One Pound Gospel, Mermaid Saga or more importantly, Maison Ikkoku is. So, when things weren’t automatically awesome in the first volume of Rin-Ne, I get a little fidgety. You might call it prejudice, or InuYasha syndrome, or whatever, but while Rin-Ne was interesting in the first volume, it didn’t sparkle like other Takahashi manga.
Darren and Mr. Crepsley embark on a dangerous trek to the very heart of the vampire world. Will a meeting with the Vampire Princes restore Darren’s human side or turn him further toward the darkness? Only one thing is certain — Darren’s initiation into the vampire clan is deadlier than he ever could have imagined! Written by Darren Shan; Illustrated by Takahiro Arai Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Horror Price: $10.99 Cirque Du Freak is based on a series of young adult novels of the same title. It’s a vampire story, but with a difference, it’s geared more for boys than girls. So there’s more action and adventure, and next to no romance and angst. This volume gets into the background of the Vampire race; their history, politics, and the Vampaneze problem. This volume doesn’t waste much time in getting to the action. It’s been six years since the last volume, and Darren and Mr. Crepsley, his mentor, are on a perilous journey to Vampire Mountain, the home of the Vampires, where the leaders, the Vampire Princes meet once every 12 years. The trek is difficult, and must be done with no tools, simple clothes and not even…
Now that the terror of their first meeting has subsided, Irel begins to wonder if his fear of Lamia is unfounded. Despite her troubling diet, she doesn’t seem to relish the experience of gnawing Irel’s flesh any more than he does. Both share a common goal: to uncover the mysteries surrounding the blood of Christ. If they work together, they might be able to find the answers they seek. But traveling as a pair might only serve to make a bigger target for even greater terrors… By: JinJun Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $10.99 Volume 2 of Raiders tried to introduce more plot and less zombie munching with a government conspiracy, some actual tomb raiding, and an attempt at character development. Unfortunately, it’s all just too little, too late. This volume picks up right where volume 1 left off, with the massive fight in the middle of London. The four-way battle is short-lived though, and ends with a realignment of several of the main players. Lamia and Irel are working together now, with Clarion joining them. Irel has decided he would rather Lamia munch on him than on innocent bystanders. They continue the search…
It’s been a bitter few weeks in the manga industry here in the USA. CMX and GoComi! were closed up, and Viz laid off 40% of its workforce. It’s a tough economy, and while some of this is definitely expected, it hits sort of hard. Likewise, Itazura na Kiss is something of a bittersweet story. DMP managed to get the rights to it and start publishing it after news of the author’s death was delivered to American fans. The series, at 23 volumes, is currently unfinished. Kaoru Tada had an unfortunate accident while moving in 1999, and died shortly after of cerebral hemorrhage. I use the phrase bittersweet because, while the series is unfinished and the author died at a young age, DMP is giving us the rare opportunity to experience this classic manga. I’m ready for my clouds to have some silver linings. By Kaoru Tada Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Comdey Price: $16.95 Kotoko, the sweet, kinda dumb, and klutzy lead girl of Itazura na Kiss, starts out our series by confessing her feelings to the brilliant and icy Naoki, and after being roundly rejected by him in the first few pages, and I’m…
On a city night lit up by beautiful fireworks, office worker Megumi strolls the streets of Seoul without a care in the world…until she senses a stranger following her every footstep! When a greedy old woman named Gyouanja suddenly appears and tells Megumi to seek out a mysterious dancer at a pavilion, she heeds the crone’s words and finds herself in the midst of a ghastly showdown between light and darkness, shadow and substance. Does Megumi play a key part in this freakish and fantastic pageant…or is she simply losing her grasp on reality? Written by Hideyuki Kikuchi; Illustrated by Shin Yong-Gwan Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Horror Price: $9.95 I’m not normally a fan of horror manga. I get squeamish seeing gore and internal organs spilling everywhere. But, I will make some exceptions. The work of Hideyuki Kikuchi is one such exception. I’ve been enjoying the Vampire Hunter D manga (for the most part), and this new title, Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist, seems to be heading in the same direction. This first volume centers on ordinary office worker Megumi, who is being pursued through the streets of Seoul. She seems to have stumbled into the…
Penny-Rose, a stone mason in the Principality of Castaliae is summoned by the Queen. She asks Penny-Rose to marry the prince… but only for one year. To succeed the throne, the prince needs to marry a woman of “unimpeachable virtue.” Startled by such a sudden request, Penny-Rose hesitantly accepts. Despite knowing he is to marry another after her, she is slowly drawn to the prince, and eventually falls in love… By Harumo Sanazaki Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Romance Price: 400 Points eManga / $3.99 Amazon Kindle Price This manga adaptation of Marion Lennox’s A Royal Proposition is brimming with roses and all the romantic clichés one is to expect from a Harlequin title. Working to help her siblings back in her homeland Australia Penny-Rose lives up to her name as being presented to the reader as a hard-working poor woman, she may not have much money her beauty and her kind heart is a truer measure of her value. While working as stone mansion for the royal manor she is approached one day by none other than the royal highness herself! This first meeting will turn Penny-Rose’s life upside down and take her from being a…
Canary Darlberg is the princess of the Linaria kingdom, and she’s just received some life-altering news: She’s set to have an arranged marriage begin soon. Her father tells her that she is to marry Prince Heath of Gazania, but he is renowned to be, well, an idiot. Originally reviewed by Dan Polley By Asuka Izumi Publisher: CMX Age Rating:Everyone Genre: Romance/Fantasy/Comedy Price:$9.99 Canary does not think very highly of the prince, but her father insists. Fortunately, her father offers a deal: Meet him once and if she doesn’t like him, the marriage is off. But the prince, who has a pet lizard that talks, asks a favor of the lizard. He wants the lizard to take some magic medicine that would make him switch bodies with someone — the prince — and live out that person’s life. (But just for the day, the prince says.) The date went well for Canary and the lizard. But when he changes back to lizard form and Canary encounters the real Heath, Canary is less than enthused. Immediately she knows it is not the same person she met before, even if they both look like Prince Heath. But the two cannot remain separated for…
Publisher’s description: She’s cute. She’s a barrel of fun. She’s irrepressible. And…a bit of a klutz. She’s Haruo Hattori, and now she’s leaving her little country farm town, her boyfriend, and her loony family for college in the big city. Before she leaves, she makes a pledge that she’ll remain true to her boyfriend, despite all the temptations a big city can throw at her, and the temptations pile up like cordwood when the need for a few yen to rub together nets her a job at Club 9, a hot hostess bar. The charming country girl lights a lot of fires in the hearts of the club patrons, and her short skirt is fanning the flames! How ya gonna keep `em down on the farm once they been to Club 9? Collecting the story-arc from issues #13-19 of the Super Manga Blast! ongoing series. Club 9 is raucous slice-of-life, fish-out-of-water comedy as only What’s Michael? creator Makoto Kobayashi can craft. By Makoto Kobayashi Publisher: Dark Horse Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Comedy Price: $15.95 A week or so ago was Free Comic Book Day, and I took my kids to the comic book store to get free comics. I also…
Thus far, Arai has successfully concealed her true identity from Kentarou, who doesn’t suspect in the least that his huffy housemate is actually his dearest childhood friend, Shi-chan. But Kentarou’s little sister sees right through Arai’s disguise when she makes a surprise visit. Now Arai is at the mercy of the little devil’s whims, lest anyone else find her out! But when Karen’s future at Wakaba-Soh is threatened, Arai may be forced to expose herself as Shi-chan to Kentarou. Can his feelings for Shi-chan ever apply to Arai? Or has Karen already claimed his heart? Find out in the final volume of Welcome to Wakaba-Soh! Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Chaco Abeno Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance/Comedy Price: $10.99 The second, and final, volume of Chaco Abeno’s Welcome to Wakaba-Soh is a light read of a romantic comedy, harem style. This last volume focuses on Arai who is trying to keep her secret from Kentarou that she is actually his beloved childhood friend. This slice of life manga’s protagonist Kentarou seems innocently clueless about the true identity of Arai. The lack of focus, or plot at all, makes it hard as a reader to know…
Getting a book in the mail that you didn’t order or didn’t think you wanted to have can end up being a mini-Christmas. I love Christmas. That is why, when Daniella Orihuela-Gruber threw out the idea of having a manga exchange, sort of like a pen-pal arrangement, I jumped right on it. Having someone decide what you’re getting is a thrilling experience. I sent Ed Sizemore the first volume of Aishiteruze Baby, and received the One Piece vol. 1-3 omnibus from Jammer of Jammer’s Animovie Blog. By Eiichiro Oda Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action Price: $14.99 I’ve heard stories about One Piece. I’ve seen the rave reviews. I’ve read how some of my favorite manga bloggers are in love with the book. Yet, up until Jammer sent me the first three volumes of the series, I had never thought of picking it up, or even borrowing it from the local library. Where One Piece should be a part of my “manga awareness,” instead there was a blank spot. With Jammer’s help and Daniella’s guidance, I’m getting a chance to finally see what the hype is about. One Piece starts by introducing the main character, a one Monkey…