This is a collection of five romantic, hot and sexy stories about modern women and the men they love. All of the stories depict romantic and physical relationships with nothing held back. The title story is about a relationship between young teacher Mika Tsukahara and Naokazu Kuga, an 18-year-old student at her school. Some say forbidden fruit is the sweetest! They’re neighbors too, and can’t control their attraction to each other. Love thy neighbor! From Luv Luv with love! By Kanae Hazuki Publisher: Aurora (LuvLuv) Age Rating: 18+ Genre: Romance Price: $10.95 Voices of Love is a collection of 5 different stories with very different leads but all with a happy ending for the women. Even though these are ladies comics, not all of the stories are told from their perspective, adding to the variety. The first story is also the title story, “Voices of Love”. It’s about a young teacher and her next-door neighbor/student. They seem complete opposites, as she the responsible type, and he is more reckless, especially with is relationships. They have tentative relationship that is cemented when she is assaulted by a fellow teacher. The story was told well enough, but I don’t care for the…
Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona are returning to the Kingdom of Clow–and toward an ultimate showdown with the ruthless Fei-Wang Reed. But entering a world that is cut off from time endangers the very existence of the once-happy villagers, as the final story arc of the Tsubasa epic begins! Review written by Dan Polley By CLAMP Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Fantasy/Adventure Price: $10.99 The two Syaorans face off while the rest of Princess Sakura’s group until Sakura unexpectedly shows up in the middle of the fight. But one of the Syaorans cannot act how he wants to act. The dream world fight intensifies as both Syaorans vie for the princess’ feather. And then, the unthinkable happens. It’s hard to imagine the outcome of the battle hinging on such a move, yet that is exactly what happens. In flashback form, Fei explains part of his mission and how Princess Sakura and one of the Sayorans factor into the plan. All of this planning and scheming for power that “goes beyond space and time.” In the aftermath of the fight in the dream world, Sakura and Syaoran begin to understand how the events that have unfolded have brought…
I’ve got… nothing to say. Huh. Who knew? Being a manga artist is pretty darn hard…
Welcome to the Happy Café, where romance and happiness are the specials of the day! Meet Uru: She’s a little short, a bit disorganized, often is mistaken for an elementary school kid, and lives by herself after her mother gets remarried. When she decides to pay the bills by working part-time at the Happy Café, she meets Ichiro and Shindo, two of the most unsociable guys she’s ever met! And to make matters worse, it turns out that Uru is not exactly meant for the waitress world, as she’s a HUGE klutz. But as this hilarious shojo tale unfolds, 1 happiness–and even true love–might be lurking just around the corner… By Kou Matsuzuki Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 Kou Matsuzuki’s Happy Cafe takes place in Café Bonheur where little, height wise, sixteen year old Uru decides to seek employment after witnessing customers the day before leaving the cafe in such lifted spirits. Little does she realize the two men that work there, Ichiro and Shindo, are not the rays of sunshine she thought the customers sought after. Given the premise I was half expecting it to be loaded with slap stick humor of a ditzy girl…
Ann’s junior high school reunion is coming up, and she hasn’t seen Daigo in two years. How will their reunion go? Then finally the story behind Ann’s engagement. Who is her fiance…? By Hinako Ashihara Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance/Drama Price: $9.99 This volume picks up where the series left off in Shojo Beat. It covers just two time periods in Ann’s life; at age 20, and 26. At her junior high school reunion, she and Daigo have a heart to heart that leaves her as cold as the winter weather. And then when she is proposed to, she finds out she more like her mother than she ever thought. At age 20, Ann and Daigo meet at their junior high school reunion. Ann is nervous about seeing Daigo again, but he doesn’t seem any different. They meet after the reunion, and Ann confesses she wrong to break up with him, but Daigo thinks it was right. Even though it probably wasn’t what he meant, but Daigo’s words live Ann cold and more alone than before. She makes a promise to herself that sets her on a dark path, though that isn’t apparent yet. The next…
Rumiko Takahashi is a big name in manga – creator of the immensely popular Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha, she knows what it takes to write an enjoyable story. Arguably one of the most influential manga writers still writing today, she is the one manga-ka who could pull off the feat that is Rin-Ne.
One of the most used, and possibly most cliché phrases in the English language is “Hindsight is 20/20,” that is, that everything is clearest when looking back on it. There are parts of a situation where you have missing information, where decisions that seemed like good choices turned out to be catastrophic. Even more frustrating, there are scenes, moments of our lives where we’d like to use our perfect hindsight to change. That fight in elementary school, that comment in high school, that one night stand in college. These moments that changed who we are for better or worse are some of the most vivid in our minds, and are the ones we’d most like to manipulate. By Jiro Taniguchi Publisher: Fanfare/Ponent Mon Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Drama Price: $23.00 While this idea has been toyed with in film (most notably, in the dreadful Butterfly Effect), nothing brings the concept to life more realistically than Jiro Taniguchi’s A Distant Neighborhood, a two-volume affair that has been co-published by Fanfare and Ponent Mon. In this sweeping childhood tale, we meet Hiroshi Nakahara, a middle-aged man who, under the influence of a nasty hangover, misses his train from Kyoto to Tokyo…
I will grant you any wish. But its outcome depends on you. Tokyo Mew Mew creator Mia Ikumi takes a break from that title to bring a one shot that may be worth a look, especially for newcomers to manga or those wanting to get a decent read without feeling forced to buy into a whole new series. By Mia Ikumi Publisher: Del Rey Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Shoujo Price: 10.99 USD As I began reading Only One Wish I didn’t realize it wasn’t only a one-shot, but was a collection of short stories. By the end of the first story I wasn’t wild about the characters, but finding out their story ended there made me warm up a little more to this title. If you know the special way to get a hold of her, the “Dark Angel” well grant any individual a single wish. But if it was just that simple, what would be the fun? The clear underlying theme is “Be careful what you wish for.” We are also reminded that no one lives in this world alone, and a wish that affects another might be countered. Only One Wish feels a little like “The Monkey’s Claw”…
Ayu still can’t give up on her love for Mayama, even though his relationship with Rika seems to be deepening. Nomiya’s growing interest in Ayu might be a balm to her broken heart, but he’s moving to Tottori for six months! Is Ayu cursed to suffer hopeless love affairs forever? By Chica Umino Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 This volume is all about the love polygon of Mayama, Ayu, Rika and Nomiya. Ayu seems to be deliberately torturing herself by working with Mayama and Rika, and seeing their relationship grow. Rika is preparing for the Valencia Art Museum Annex, a project she and her late husband submitted for and won, and seems prepared to also make it her last, something Mayama’s not prepared to let Rika do. And Nomiya, the player, finds himself doing something he never thought he would, falling for Ayu. There’s a lot of drama going on in this volume, especially with Rika. She still haven’t been able to get over her husband’s death, no matter what kind of face she puts on. A flashback from Hanamoto shows what a difficult time she had after the accident, and how she became…
After my rave (possibly raving) review of Kimi ni Todoke, I was excited to pick up the second volume in the growing series. We venture on our way with our extremely shy heroine Sawako (who constantly gets teased and mistreated because she looks like the girl Sadako from The Ring) as she continues to clumsily maneuver through social situations she doesn’t fully comprehend. Her awkwardness causes more than a few problems for her in this volume, which focuses on two of the background characters from last edition – Yano and Yoshida, girls in Sawako’s class that become friends with her. Due to a misunderstanding, rumors start flying around the school about the pair of brash, confident friends, and Sawako is at the center of it all.She of course, in her simple way, has to make things right, which provides most of the drama of the volume. By Karuho Shiina Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 In a wonderful way, Sawako’s appeal as a manga heroine stems partially from her social anxiety and awkwardness, which I feel is something that many people can relate to. I wasn’t necessarily socially inept in my formative years, but I do…