Manga Village

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…