Manga Village

Gimmy, along with his younger twin brother and sister, lives in a desert town. But this desert town is unique: It is overshadowed by a humongous tree that is the home to a town’s rain goddess, who provides water to the town. Originally reviewed by Dan Polley By Atsushi Suzumi Publisher: Del Rey Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Action, Fantasy Price: $10.99 Every so often, the town must provide an offering to the deity so that she continues to bless the town with rain. This time, Gimmy is tasked with that. So he sets off to create a doll, only he faces tremendous difficulty. But while he is trying to create a doll, his kid twin siblings overhear him, and they create a plan. Instead of Gimmy’s doll as an offering, they wrap themselves up and hide in a wooden box and the villagers and village head mistake them for the offering. Gimmy eventually realizes what has happened and insists upon journeying to the top of the tree — it’s a really long climb — and bringing his twin siblings back home. But when he gets to the top, he is met by a rude girl, and the two of them…

One of the announcements made at this year’s Comic-Con International was the live-action production of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Dark Horse and Universal. (Actually, I seem to remember some talk of this a couple of years ago, but regardless, it is good news.) Does the story of a rag-tag group of Buddhist diviners and dead talkers trying to make a living delivering corpses to their proper final resting places merit a big screen release? Written by Eiji Ōtsuka; Illustrated by Housui Yamazaki Age Rating: 18+ Genre: Horror Price: 10.95 USD I didn’t expect so much blood…Did you? Summarizing it like that, it seems like it might, but I am even more hopeful that the news of the big screen production will bring people to this excellent manga series now. Nine volumes are available now from Dark Horse Manga, but I realized that we have only a spattering of reviews here at Comics Village, so I am going to try to fill in the blanks as I painstakingly reread some of the earlier volumes of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. The first volume of Kurosagi is not my favorite, but it is the necessary introduction of thankfully small band…

The great Mongolian tribal leader is shown in this series, which follows the Genghis Khan from boyhood through to adulthood. Khan, whose name was Temujin, is shown at the beginning of the volume as a baby. Originally reviewer: Dan Polley By Seiichi Morimura Publisher: CMX Rating: Teen + Genre: Action/Adventure Price: $9.99 In the next sequence, he is shown as a young boy, and he embarks on a hunting trip by himself. But his father talks to someone else in the clan and confesses that there are others who doubt the bloodline of the young Temujin. There are those who claim he is an “outsider” and that he will eventually become a great leader. Meanwhile, on the hunting trip, Temujin encounters another boy from a different clan, and the experience will forever change his life. As the boys confront each other, wolves appear to attack. The boys save each other from the wolves and a bond is born — but the fact remains that the boys are from different clans. Later in Temujin’s life, once he has grown up and assumed the mantle of Ghenghis Khan, he engages in battle with the boy he swore as a blood brother, and…

Karin continues to come to terms with her feelings for Kenta, but her flirting will have to be put on hold for now. Karin’s grandmother is in town, and that’s enough to put her entire family into a panic. Elda Marker is no silver-haired, cookie-backing matriarch. She’s a hot and heavy vampire vixen with a taste for blood, but a distaste for everything else having to do with the human race. So how can Karin possibly tell her about her new human almost-sorta-not-quite boyfriend? It’s going to be one freaky family reunion! By Yuna Kagesaki Publisher: Tokyopop Rating: Older Teen Genre: Comedy/Horror Price: $9.99 After 4 volumes of almost all comedy, Chibi Vampire is starting to get some real drama going.  The awakening of Elda Marker works as an introduction into the more vampiric side of this series.  Up until now, it has mainly been about Karin living the human world.  With this volume, we start to see more of the issues vampires have to deal with. Elda’s awakening of course brings lots of troubles for Karin.  Elda has a taste for young blood, and hates humans in general.  So no one wants to tell her about Karin’s “condition”.  And…

Blurb from the back cover: “Haruhi holds the fate of the universe in her hands…lucky for you she doesn’t know it! “Meet Haruhi–a cute, determined girl, starting high school in a city where nothing exciting happens and absolutely no one understands her. “Meet Kyon–the sarcastic guy who sits behind Haruhi in homeroom and the only boy Haruhi has ever opened up to. His fate is now tied to hers. Meet the S.O.S. Brigade–an after-school club organized by Haruhi and Kyon with a mission to seek out the extraordinary. Oh, and their second mission? Keeping Haruhi happy…because even though she doesn’t know it, Haruhi has the power to destroy the universe.” Written by Nagaru Tanigawa; Illustrated by Nozi Itou Publisher: Little Brown Books/Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Sci-fi/comedy Price: $8.99 So, I know this is not manga, but it is the light novel (a term used in Japan for something like YA lit) that the manga is based on. I work in a kidlit bookstore, so when I saw this come in, I couldn’t help checking it out. This is an insanely popular book in Japan, spawning something like eight sequels, a manga adaptation, an anime adaptation, and translations…

In the darkness stands a girl draped in pure white. Don’t let her innocent appearance fool you; her hands grip a glistening scythe. Momo is the dark messenger of death who, along with her wise cracking cat named Daniel, is tasked with releasing humans from their mortal bonds and delivering their souls to the great beyond. First encounters with Momo always end in farewells. Originally reviewed by Dan Polley Written by K-Ske Hasagawa; Illustrated by Asuka Izumi Publisher: CMX Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Supernatural Age Rating: Older Teen Price: $9.99 (OOP) Momo is dead. She’s a shinigami, actually. But there’s something different about her. Unlike the other shinigami, Momo is not dark and scary; instead, she seems to visit those who are struggling in their lives. And she provides a sort of guidance counseling as only she can. In the first of three short stories, a young man is so self-involved in his depression that he can’t see the world around him for what it truly is. But Momo drops by and imparts some wisdom with him, and he tries to understand what she means. The second showcases a brother who has eternal regrets from something his sister did. And the…

Meet Noh-A Joo, a brand new student at Amityville North High School. We’re barely introduced to the girl when suddenly we get to watch Noh-A get her head chopped off in a gigantic battle between Jack Frost, the only surviving student of North District, and the head guidance councilor of the West District, Hansen. Jack, armed with two sword-like blades attached to his arms brings the heat on Hansen, who wields what appears to be a gun that has been blessed with holy power. A few beautiful fights scenes, some perverted comedy, and ridiculous and disturbing panty-shot scene later, and Noh-A is alive, in a neck brace, in the hospital wing of the school. By JinHo Ko Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $10.99 It turns out that Noh-A is a “Mirror Image,” an immortal in the realm of Amityville, whose blood can be used to heal any wound. While the origin of her special power is not explained, the comic does explain that Amityville is a place where people who fall out of the reincarnation cycle go, to live and then die for good. Amityville is a world that is writhe with battle. Different districts…

After the finish of Monster tongue wagging Naoki Urasawa fans were begging for something new, and earlier this year both Pluto and 20th Century Boys started their runs in English. Urasawa’s popularity is no fluke, and these titles are huge sellers in Japan, as well. In fact, a three-part movie adaptation is happening now in Japan. (Part 3 comes out later this year.) By Naoki Urasawa Publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature Age Rating: T+ Older Teen Genre: Mystery, Drama Price: 12.99 USD A series of bizarre deaths reconnects a group of school-age chums from who have been friends since the late 1960s. Half of the book is flashbacks to childhood days as recollections of stories between the reunited friends which often read like scenes from “Stand by Me” or “The Wonder Years”. The boys made a secret clubhouse out of a mound of grass in an empty lot, and there hide from “enemies” like the “evil twins” Yanbo and Mabo. Childhood games are epic in proportions, even if they have no real significance in everyday life, but what makes 20th Century Boys fascinating and mysterious is the symbol the boys created as a sign of their club starts showing…

“I used to sell myself. I’d do whatever anyone wanted for money. And that’s normal for me! This guy you just slept with here… he’s disgusting!” By Kazuna Uchida Publisher: Aurora Publishing – Deux Press Genre: BL/yaoi Rating: 18+/M/Mature Price: $12.95 The BL genre is relatively new, having first come into existence in the 1970s with pioneering works by artists such as Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya, but not really taking a stable form until the 80s; this is how Deux Press can get away with calling I Shall Never Return “early yaoi” even though it’s less than 20 years old. For all that the 90s are more recent than the 70s, though, there’s definitely something distinct about I Shall Never Return that sets it apart from more recent BL series. Both the art style and the content bear the marks of the era in which the book was created. They don’t make ’em like this any more. The story concerns the tumultuous relationship between Ritsuro the glasses-wearing neat-freak and Ken the smouldering bad boy; they’re friends in childhood, but when Ken turns thirteen, his parents get divorced and he starts going off the rails, and Ritsuro tries to “console”…

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 Match” 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 – Viz Signature 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…