The Rain Goddess Sora is back and she has help in Gimmy and his friends in trying to get her tree spirit back. The group travels to an annual festival, where they think they will be able to meet the amefurashi of the land. Hopefully that god will be able to assist them in their quest to get Sora’s tree spirit back. Originally reviewed by Dan Polley By Atsushi Suzumi Publisher: Del Rey Rating: 13+ Genre: Action/Adventure Price: $10.99 Unfortunately, things to go as expected for Gimmy, Sora and their group. (Do they ever?) Not only is the amefurashi quick to dismiss the validity of Sora’s claims, but she’s inclined to leap to judgments before learning the truth. Eventually, though, the group learns of a ship that crosses the desert. By crossing the desert, they could make their way to a capital where they have greater hopes of obtaining more information on the one who stole Sora’s tree. The trip through the desert and the fallout from it consume most of the volume. And it brings about in infusion in the plot, which gets an assist with a new character, although it’s somewhat predictable how that character is connected to…
Brave Sowil wields the power of mysterious runes that can bend nature to his will and even fill his pockets with unlimited riches. But can the cryptic tiles help him unlock the many secrets surrounding the identity of his long-lost father? He’ll have to contend with both angels and demons as he winds his way through desolate deserts, a hidden spring and shape-shifting forests on his quest. Who will help Sowil discover his lineage…and legacy? By Makoto Tateno Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Fantasy/Drama Price: $12.95 Angelic Runes seems like your typical “on-a-quest” story with the usual “monster of the week” challenges and a search to find a long-lost father. But with delicate art and well conceived and written characters, the story becomes something more and well worth the time to read. The basic story is straight forward enough. Sowil is a mage of sorts. He uses an ancient magic that has been all but forgotten in the world. He is searching for his father to find out how and why he has this power. In the first chapter, he comes to a village that is about to sacrifice to children in an effort to save themselves. …
There was much talk about Kodansha’s decision to open offices in the US many months back. We know several publishers lost their licenses with Kodansha, and there was fear other Japanese publishers might follow suit. So far the sky hasn’t fallen yet, but in the meantime Kodansha has not flooded the market with titles, but has fairly quietly released what will be one of the biggest re-releases of the year. By Katsuhiro Otomo Publisher: Kodansha Comics Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Sci-fi Price: 24.99 USD Along with Ghost in the Shell, we recently had the re-release of the first book of the six-volume Akira series. Both of these titles were many Americans’ first introductions not to manga, but anime cinema in the late 80s and early 90s, but both originated as manga in the 80s in Japan. There is little point in giving a synopsis of the first volume of Akira. If you have read it (and chances are you have) you don’t need one and if you haven’t read it (and chances are you will) you won’t want one. Dark Horse released what looks like almost the exact same book in 2000, but it has been out of print for…
A police detective goes undercover in this series, but he becomes a fifth-grade teacher, replacing the role left when the previous fifth-grade teacher was murdered. Now he is set to investigate what happened. Originally reviewed by Dan Polley By Tamio Baba Publisher: CMX Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Drama/Suspense Price: $9.99 However, the plot is pretty fun and interesting. Toyama comes into the classroom and finds fifth-graders with some interesting quirks. But one in particular is Makoto, who is shunned by his classmates and left alone in social circles. He’s a target for the other kids’ mockery, and he takes it and doesn’t engage back with any of the other students. Toyama ponders whether the bullying of Makoto could have a connection to the murder case, and he begins to investigate. When he begins to investigate, he finds out that the young boy Makoto has previously said he could see visions of monsters. Eventually, Toyama comes to understand Makoto a little bit better, and the two of them form an alliance of sorts to help sort out the mysteries of the murdered teacher. Despite that set-up, there are quite some hiccups. For one, Toyama, the detective, is quite the chatterbox when…
The vampire-slaying hunter known only as “D,” with a reputation of taking care of business by way of the sword, is on another bounty run– this time to resuce the beautiful daughter of a wealthy village elder, kidnapped by the vampire Noble, Mayerling. But what happens when another group of bounty hunters have taken up the same assignment? Head of the notorious mercenary clan, the Marcus family, older Borgoff leads his not-so-merry band of ruthless renegades not only on a mission of pursuit and retrieval, but also on a path of destruction that’ll hopefully wipe out anything that gets in the way from their payday, including D. By Saiko Takaki Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror Price: $13.95 In this adaptation of the third novel, we get to see more the world D is living in, which in this case, isn’t necessarily a good thing. Hideyuki Kikuchi continues to build on D’s background and mystery, but his misogynistic portrayals will only turn away women with any self-worth that might enjoy a good sci-fi/horror series. This third volume in the Vampire Hunter D series was the basis for the anime Bloodlust, which was popular in the US. The…
High Schooler Ji-Hae is desperately in love with her classmate Seung-Hyu. She has done all she can think of to win his affection, but to no avail. When her latest scheme crosses the line, Seung-Hyu decides he’s had enough…and inadvertently pushes her down a staircase! Ji-Hae awakens in the world beyond, only to learn that it’s not her time to die. But why go back when the love of her life hates her to death! Touched by her passion, the keepers of heaven send Ji-Hae to her past life to mend the rift between her former self and Seung-Hyu. But can Ji-Hae keep up the act long enough to find Seung-Hyu and set things right? By Ryu Ryang Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Historical Romance Price: $10.99 No, not really… Sarasah is a modern-girl-gets-sent-to-the-past story combined with girl-dresses-up-as-a-boy-to-be-near-boy-she-loves story. Neither of these plots are usually appealing, but Sarasah adds a karmic twist to the Ji-Hae’s dilemma. The reason Seung-Hyu hates her some much is because of something that happened in their past lives, and Ji-Hae is given the chance to correct it. Though, the more I read of this series, the more I wondered if it wasn’t a…
It should be like a dream come true. Chae-Kyung grew up living a normal life, but now she finds herself as the betrothed to the Crown Prince of Korea. The only problem? The Crown Prince, Shin Lee is a royal jerk. Chae-Kyung is taken away from her family and her life as she knew it and thrown into the strange world of the Royal Palace, where she struggles against loneliness and her growing feelings for the Crown Prince amidst the political and romantic background of the Royal Palace. By Park SoHee Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance/Drama Price: $10.99 Goong takes place in an alternate reality, where Korea still has a royal family, and the government is a constitutional monarchy, like the United Kingdom. Chae-Kyung is from the ordinary world, where she lived an ordinary life, and is suddenly thrown into the turmoil of learning the traditional and customs of the Korean royal family as well as deal with political and romantic intrigue. This is a title wrought with melodrama and a crisis of some sort at every corner. It’s a title that you know you shouldn’t want to read, but just can’t help getting drawn into. Starting…
Bacteria to School Just when you thought you have seen it all, Del Rey brings one of the most original and funny stories to English this reader has read in a long time. The first Moyasimon is the tale of university student Tadayasu’s opening days at a Tokyo agriculture school. He is joined by his buddy, Kei, the son of sake brewer. What makes Tadayasu special is his secret ability (that everyone seems to know about) to see microscopic organisms with his naked eye. Any bacteria, fungi, germ, or other microbe appear as tiny (and cute) little guys floating in the air. Since each microbe has its own qualities, each looks different (for example, a microbe beneficial for making sake appears to Tadayasu as a little smiling ball with a top-knot like a samurai). By Ishikawa Masayuki Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Comedy Price: 10.99 USD Despite Tadayasu’s truly unique ability, he is one of the most down-to-earth characters in the book. Between his eccentric professor who takes Tadayasu under his wing and bad sake-brewing classmates, Tadayasu’s special talents come into play again and again in some often bizarre and always entertaining situations. What makes Moyasimon…
The giant robot has already been built and now awaits the Great Awakening… With the Friend’s identity still a mystery, the countdown to the apocalypse continues, day by day, minute by minute–for on December 31, 2000, humanity will meet its final hour. Hoping to get as many people who knew about their group’s emblem involved in their clandestine efforts, Kenji’s crew reaches out to their childhood antagonists: the twins Mabo and Yanbo. Back when they were kids, Yanbo and Mabo terrorized Kenji and company to no end. As adults, and with a crisis looming, will the evilest brothers in history now fight on the side of good? Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Naoki Urasawa Publsiher: Viz Media – Viz Signature Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Mystery ISBN: 9781421523408 Price: $12.99 20th Century Boys has been an engrossing read from the very beginning, as Naoki Urasawa is great at feeding readers just enough information to keep them guessing. However, in the more recent volumes things seemed to be unraveling too fast. Volume 5 fixes this problem, as Urasawa throws a wrench into his story that changes its entire scope. As the fateful 31st of December rapidly approaches, Kenji is gathering…
Yen Plus is Yen Press’ monthly manga magazine. It’s about 450 pages of mostly pure manga, and divided into two sections. One side reads left to right (western style) and is composed of OEL and Korean titles. The other side reads right to left (Japanese style) and is all Japanese titles. The magazine carries between 10-12 titles, some titles occasionally taking a month “off”. For example, in this issue, Maximum Ride and Sumomomo Momomo did not have chapters, making for only 10 titles. By Various Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action/Romance/Supernatural/Horror/Slice of Life Price $8.99 On the OEL/Korean side, the titles that ran this month are Nightschool: The Weirn Books, Pig Bride, Time and Again, Jack Frost and One Fine Day. These are all strong titles, making this side of the magazine most enjoyable. Nightschool by Sveltlana Chmakova is a supernatural adventure story about a girl named Alex who is a weirn, a kind of witch who seems tied to some sort of dark future. Sveltlana’s art is beautifully done and her story remains intriguing month after month. Pig Bride is a romantic comedy. Si-Joon Lee, when he was young, got himself engaged to Mu-Yeoh Park, a…