Manga Village

The Manga Village reviewers have covered a lot of manga over the years, and Naoki Urasawa and his titles are no different. It is interesting to note which titles are reviewers chose to review for the site. You’ll notice a lot of 20th Century Boys and Pluto, and a strange absence of this first big title here in the US, Monster. It could just be a case of choosing the new and shiny over an older series. Let’s take a look at what our reviewers have said about Urasawa’s titles over the last 5 years. Charles Tan was one of the founding reviewers for the site. While some of his reviews have been lost over site moves, some of his feelings could still be dug up. He summed up Volume 1 of 20th Century Boys as: Complex and intricate but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Has the same vibe as Old Boy and Monster. For the 1st volume of Pluto he said: Revitalizing Astro Boy for an adult audience. Not all of his reviews were lost. In his review of Volume 2 of Pluto he tackled the sci-fi elements of the series: There’s an old school science fiction flavor…

I’ve never enjoyed Vampire Knight. Not from it’s first appearance in Shojo Beat magazine to its final issue. But with two volumes sitting the review pile and the Vampire Manga Movable Feast coming up, I decided to give the series another try. I didn’t have any real hope that I would change my mind, but it couldn’t get any worse, right?

Born into a family of “Hunters,” Takamichi’s destiny is to pursue and slay demons. When her twin brother is killed, she is saved from despair by a pair of Jiu Jiu–shape shifting familiars–in the form of two wolf pups named Snow and Night. Now Takamichi is in high school and an active Hunter. Snow and Night can’t wait to attend school in their human form to “protect” her. But are they ready to go off leash…? By Touya Tobina Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Supernatural Price: $9.99 On first reading, I didn’t really like Jiu Jiu. I didn’t like Takamichi and Snow and Night were so clingy and annoying. It really took a second read for the story to sink in and for me to understand why they had to be like that. I’ve come to like the story now, but I am still shaky on the characters. Takamichi, the protagonist of Jiu Jiu, starts off as rather dis-likable. She is cold and seemingly abusive of her two charges. She always yelling at them or hitting them on the heads. It was very difficult to see anything to like about her. As the story…

Getting halfway through a series and finding things to talk about can sometimes be quite challenging; with Natsume Ono’s work, it’s a fairly simple matter. It may be my love for her characters, her designs, and her writing, but the complexities are fascinating and are great for discussion.

Much to Akira’s dismay, his lecherous tutor from middle school, Sho Kasuga, has suddenly reappeared. Akira has a secret from his past that he doesn’t want Mizuki to know, and he’s terrified Sho will reveal it!

Sho’s plans to plunge the world into chaos continue as he targets the Eight Daitengu, hoping to strip his brother Kyo of all his protectors. And now Sho has Hoki, whose secret past makes him easy prey. Can Hoki stand up to Sho, or will his efforts to aid Kyo backfire?

For the Shohoku High players, the past echoes in the present as Rukawa learns something about Coach Anzai that leaves him determined to be the best high school player in Japan. With ten days remaining until the start of the national tournament, Coach Anzai send the Shohoku High team to Shizuoka for a week of practive with another local team. But Sakuragi stays behind for a special practice session that will push him to the limit and improve his individual skills for the crucial games ahead. By Takehiko Inoue Publisher: Viz Media/Shonen Jump Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $9.99 Slam Dunk isn’t a series I read regularly, but I do like to check in on it from time to time. With the Inoue Manga Movable Feast being this month, this was the perfect time to check out the latest volume. This time the action is off court as Shohoku prepares for the national tournament. Preparations are both physical and mental, and inspiration comes from some unexpected places. Rukawa has really stepped up his game, both mentally and physically, as in practice he shows his determination to be the best. He finally shows Sakuragi the real difference in their skills,…

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor, one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man! Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces! By Ayuko; Original Concept by Mizue Tani Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy/Romance Price: $9.99 I first heard of The Earl and the Fairy when the anime was announced in 2008, but didn’t give it much mind until Viz announced the license last year. The way the premise for the anime was presented didn’t sound too interesting to me, I decided to give the manga a try. I’m glad I did. It’s a story filled with plenty of action, but what really makes this volume shine is the characters. The…

Shonen Jump is entering a new era – with Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha coming down the pipeline in only a few short weeks, it appears that we are headed towards a place where the legitimate publisher can beat the scanlator on the terms of his or her speed. Sadly, the content on Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha isn’t the most impressive of what is being published under the Shonen Jump label. Of the six titles in the original offering; Bakuman, Bleach, Naruto, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, One Piece, and Toriko, only Toriko and Bakuman really interest me in some way (even if it’s only a guilty pleasure kind of way). The one gem of a series that isn’t being published in Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha which I really enjoy is Kazue Kato’s Blue Exorcist. (Perhaps that’s because it runs in Jump Square, but honestly, if it’s being published as a Shonen Jump title in the USA, that shouldn’t exclude it from a USA-centric anthology.) By Kazue Kato Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Supernatural/Action Price: $9.99 I bought the first volume of this series on a whim at the VizManga.com webstore and read it on a combination…

The supreme beings that created the ogres have a problem. They are responsible for maintaining the delicate balance of nature, but they may have to eliminate the human race to do so. If mankind disappears, will a new order of sentient beings claim their sovereignty over the planet? Either way, Zakuro holds the key to the future of the world! By Yoshinori Natsume Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Supernatural/Action Price: $9.99 It really shouldn’t come as any real surprise that I enjoyed this volume. I liked Togari, Natsume’s previous series released by Viz, and I discovered it the same way, by reading a volume in the middle of the series. Even though most of this volume is fighting, Natsume still manages to get enough story through to keep me interested throughout the volume. The volume starts in the middle of a fight with Lacey, and ends with a fight against Akebi and the discovery of the supreme beings’ plan. One of the things I liked about Togari was the way Natsume blurred the line between good and evil. Good characters are shown to have dark sides, and the characters thought to be evil might not be so bad….