“There’s just…dead bodies everywhere.” By: Eiji Otsuka and Shou Tajima Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Genre: Horror Range: Mature 18+ Price: 12.95 USD I have spent much of the last few months comparing MPD-Psycho to a roller coaster ride. A lot is asked of the reader the first couple volumes, a little like loading into the coaster and easing up the first big drop. At about Volume 3 and 4 we start getting payoffs, and by the bucket loads. The faithful reader who dug deep into the tale of the Multi Personality Detective Amamiya in the first volumes found quick twists and breath-taking spirals as the size and scope of the world of MPD-Psycho slowly began to reveal itself. In expert fashion, Eiji Otsuka gives us a ride on a roller coaster on it’s fatal last run. Buckled in and barrelling straight ahead, we look forward to what’s ahead as we hear the girders and steel collapse behind us. Everything in the most recent volumes indicates that no character still alive is returning to any sort of normal world after the story ends. The twists and turns get bigger and more frightening, but at the same time insanely satisfying. Like the…
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…
Hated by humans and demons alike, Cat Eyed Boy dwells in the shadows of the human world. Cat Eyed Boy continues his battle with the Band of One Hundred Monsters, a group seeking revenge upon the corrupt humans who have made them outcasts. By: Kazuo Umezu Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen+ (16+) Genre: Horror Price: $24.99 Take Twilight Zone like stories about the human condition and combine them with a Tales From the Crypt horror factor and Crypt Keeper narrator, and you have Cat Eyed Boy in a nutshell. Even though Cat Eyed Boy is often a character in the stories, his outsider point of view allows him the luxury of commenting on the action as well as participating. I was skeptical of Cat Eyed Boy when I received it. I’m not a big horror fan, leaning more towards the supernatural (except in very rare cases, such as Hellsing). But, I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading that the horror element wasn’t repulsively horrific. Like most Japanese horror, the monsters were creepy and scary, but there wasn’t a lot of hack ‘n slash. I found reading it was easy for my weak-stomach to take. The only truly disturbing…
It’s where Mom and Dad were supposed to go… Art by Natsumi Ando; Story by Miyuki Kobayashi Publisher: Del Rey Manga Genre: Shoujo Age: T (13+) Price: 10.99 USD Ask anyone who has spent any time in Japan what they miss the most, and without a doubt the food will be in their top three choices. Naturally, native Japanese cuisine won’t be better anywhere else, but many are surprised to hear how many delicious breads and desserts can be found in Japanese bakeries invariably found on any shopping street or decent grocery store. I believe the reason for this is triple-fold: 1) throughout history Japan has scoured the world for the the most delicious recipes and adapted them to Japanese tastes, 2) Japanese cooks know less is more, and a sprinkle of dark chocolate has a more subtle and palatable finish then cup after cup of sugar, and 3) bakers take so much pride in their work (and there is no shortage of competition) that every bite a customer eats should be nothing short of perfection. Though the results may not be perfection, Manga writer Natsumi Ando brings these sensibilities to her best abilities in Kitchen Princess‘s ninth volume. Shoujo…
An advocate for robot rights and a renowned European robot have been murdered. Gesicht, the detective assigned to the case, has deduced that the killer is targeting the great robots of the world–which means that he too is one of the targets. Gesicht takes it upon himself to warn the potential targets, and Atom, the famous boy robot from Japan, is next on his list. Elsewhere, the Turkish robot hero Brando sets out on his own to take on a mysterious challenger. As the robots traverse a labyrinthine path edging toward their own souls, the question remains: Who is the killer and what is his motive? Originally reviewed by Charles Tan By Naoki Urasawa Publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature Genre: Science Fiction Age Rating: Older Teen Price: $12.99 This manga continues the story established in the first volume–and you should have been hooked to this series by then–but there’s a different vibe going on here. Whereas volume one had a balance of action scenes combined with heart-wrenching drama, there’s more of the latter to be found here. Which isn’t to say this is a bad thing, mind you. But Urasawa’s beats are clearly the character-driven moments, and there’s a…
On Valentine’s Day, it’s no surprise that playboy Atsu gets plenty of chocolate from fawning girls. But everyone’s shocked when a heart-shaped box is found on Macharu’s desk-especially since it’s not from Haruna! Does Macharu have a secret admirer? By: Shouko Akira Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance Price: $8.99 It’s another collection of trial and error episodes for Haruna and Macharu. First, it’s Valentine’s Day, and a heart-shaped box of chocolate appears in Macharu’s desk. Does Haruna have some competition? Then it’s the end of the school year and the class of 1-2 want’s to have a party on the same day as Haruna’s birthday. School starts back up, and a girl Haruna knew from her old school has transferred in and can’t believe Haruna is going out with Macharu, which leads to a basketball competition between Macharu and Atsu. Finally, Haruna is asked to run for Student Body President. Will she? After 2 volumes, jaded Haruna and baby-monkey Macharu are still together. However, through these chapters we see Haruna is a little less jaded, and Macharu has grown some thanks to their relationship. There is still plenty of push and pull though. Even though Haruna…
A Samurai during Japan’s Warring States period (1467-1573), Daigo Kagemitsu wants complete control over Japan. He promises his unborn son’s 48 body parts to demons in exchange for that control. When the baby is born deformed, Daigo throws the newborn into the river to die, but it is miraculaously found by a doctor, Jukai, who makes prosthetics for the child and adopts him as his own. When the boy Hyakkimaru is grown, he leaves home and begins a journey to recover his body parts. Along the way he runs into a brash young thief, Dororo, whom he teams up with; together they battle demon and monster on their adventure to reclaim Hyakkimaru’s wholeness. By Osamu Tezuka Publisher: Vertical Inc. Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Adventure Price: $13.95 Dororo, first serialized in 1967, can be seen as a proto-shonen story. It has many of the elements we now see in shonen titles today, though these were new at the time. Tezuka spins a memorable supernatural action/adventure tale and characters that really draw you in, and only disappoints at the very end, though not in story, but lack of it. The first volume of this title is the introduction. Tezuka jumps from past…
No deceased manga authors have received near the attention in the English-speaking manga world as Osamu Tezuka has, especially in the last couple years. It’s funny that his more adult and obscure works have received most of the attention, and only recently have his most popular works finally been issued (or reissued after being long out-of-print). Dark Horse recently released a huge double-volume Astroboy trade, and now what may be the most anticipated manga of the year (at least for “older” readers) is finally available. Black Jack is probably Tezuka’s most popular comic ever for adults. Vertical Inc. has promised 17 volumes of Black Jack to be released every other month over the next three years. That seems like a bold commitment, until you start reading the stories. By Osamu Tezuka Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Genre: Medical Drama Age: 16+ Price: 16.95 USD The series title character is a brooding doctor who is introduced as all the best mysterious characters are: with no back story and no introduction. (Think Clint Eastwood from the spaghetti westerns of the 60s and 70s.) Quiet and brooding this unlicensed doctor is a slave to his skills on the operating room table. That alone is not enough to carry the 12 individual stories that appear in Volume 1, and…
Shall the son suffer for the continued sins of the father? Alexis hatches an evil plan involving a beautiful girl with a sick fascination for his son. And could Jizabel’s hatred of Cain also stem from their father? Step into the past as we learn more about the tortured early life of Dr. Disraeli! By Kaori Yuki Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Drama/Horror Price: $8.99 If the last volume was about betrayal, then the theme of this one could be said to be about love. It can be twisted from infatuation into obsession, and independence into servitude. But, in the face of a pure heart, such manipulations can be broken. Alexis Hargreaves is the master of manipulation. He uses the emotion of love and twists it from something beautiful to something dark and evil. We watch him pull both Mikaila’s and Disraeli’s strings to get them to do his bidding, but the puppet he needs most has already cut his strings. Cain is no long under his father’s spell, and can not only refuse him, but one-ups him! It was very refreshing to see Cain be one step ahead of his father for a change. Throughout this…
Cain stumbles on a secret that will change his life forever. It’s not only the Hargreaves who harbor skeletons in their closet. To whom can you turn when the only person you every trusted betrays you beyond your worst nightmares? By Kaori Yuki Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror/Drama Price: $8.99 Betrayal is an act that can either destroy a person or transform them. This volume is dedicated to the build up and reveal of a major character as a betrayer. But the real drama begins afterwords, with Cain’s reaction and resolution to the betrayal. The betrayal revealed in this volume was probably very obvious to a lot of people. But because it is so obvious that it’s the last person you think of. Yuki-sensei is a master of creating red herrings to steer the reader off, in this volume she did a supremely good job of it. She had me guessing all the way to the end. But, once it was revealed, there was no doubt, because she is careful to lay the path before hand. In this case, it goes back to the first series, The Cain Saga. Cain’s father, Alexis, expects…