Mistress Fortune
Reviews / March 22, 2011

Mistress Fortune is a light-hearted shojo one-shot that makes for a quick afternoon read. 

Crime and Punishment: The Bilingual Edition
Reviews / March 16, 2011

Russian student Raskolnikov is so fed up and desperate for cash that he resorts to pawning his possessions to a stingy old woman.  When she cheats him out of money again and again, Raskolnikov decides that she doesn’t deserve to live and murders her with an axe.  He gets away with the crime, but is so wracked with guilt that his manner and outlook on life change, though he never admits to his guilt even when questioned several times by Judge Porfiry.  He winds up entangled with his sister’s evil fiancée and the wife and daughter of a poor alcoholic man who dies the same day he met him.  By the end of the book, he also finds himself on the wrong side of a revolution, and his guilt has still not left him. Manga by Osamu Tezuka, adapted from the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Publisher: The Japan Times Age Rating: n/a Genre: drama Price: 1,000 yen While many fans of Tezuka are familiar with the 6-volume bilingual edition of Princess Knight, I have almost never seen this book discussed.  I was worried that the translation would be a little spotty, as it was in Princess Knight, and that a…

The Story of Saiunkoku Volumes 1-2
Reviews / March 8, 2011

I have been reading quite a bit of shojo lately. I don’t think that my interests have changed all that much, to be honest. I still love Takahashi, and I am impatiently waiting for the next volume of Negima! to be released by Kodansha USA. Still, after putting off a few shonen series that I haven’t been following too closely, I realized that the bulk of my reading material was actually comics for girls. Which is fine with me, because, in the case of The Story of Saiunkoku, whatever sword-fight or display of power I could find in a shonen action/adventure, I also get in a more appreciable, subtle way with this odd-ball shojo love story. Written by Sai Yukino; Illustrated by Kairi Yura Publisher: Viz Media’s Shojo Beat line Age Rating: T for Teen Genre: Historical/Shojo Price: US $9.99, CAN $12.99, ISBN: Vol. 1 – 1421538342, Vol. 2 – 1421538350 The Story of Saiunkoku is a period drama based on light novels written by Sai Yukino, and it focuses on the headstrong and wily Shurei. Born of a noble family, her intelligence and strong will have made her a perfect candidate for public office – except she is ineligible…

AiON Volume 1
Reviews / February 28, 2011

A mediocre supernatural shoujo that has the potential to be much more.

Saturn Apartments Volume 1-2
Reviews / February 23, 2011

What happens if the entire Earth becomes a nature preserve, and humans create a ring around it to habitate? This unusual question is the basis for the quiet and reflective Saturn Apartments.

With the Light Volume 5-6
Reviews / February 15, 2011

Sachiko’s trials continues in volume 5 as Hikaru moves into his final year in elementary school that comes with changes in both his teacher and classmates, neither of which he takes well, causing problems at home. Things only get harder when school administrators disagree with the family’s choice of junior high. In volume 6, Sachiko must deal with changes in Hikaru’s behavior, getting Kanon ready for elementary school, her mother-in-law who still doesn’t understand Hikaru, and her own mother’s falling ill. It’s a lot of stress for one woman to take.

Tegami Bachi Volumes 1-3
Reviews / February 14, 2011

Having moved all over the country for the better part of a year working one-month stints as a pharmacy student, I have come to appreciate the postal system. It has often been a physical link to family and friends when I was in an unfamiliar location…