Series Description: Azuma Kazuma, an energetic and dense young man, was introduced to the art of bread making when he was six. He decides to take the path of bread-making and become a baker right after graduating from middle school. Through his travels, he encounters many rivals and found work at the branch store of the most famous bread maker brand, the Pantasia. By: Takashi Hashiguchi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Food/Comedy Price: $9.99 Volume Description: Kazuma Azuma’s team Pantasia is one defeat away from losing their shop as they enter round six of the Yakitate 25 baking competition. Their opponent is Mokoyama, a man in a panda suit whose silly exterior belies his great baking power…and otherworldly baking powder. If that weren’t enough to bear, Azuma must teach a lesson to a spoiled mini-gourmand who insists on having his bread and eating it too. Will Team Pantasia rise to the occasion or run out of steam? November begins the holiday season, both here in the US and other countries around the world. As such, I’ve been undertaking a month of cooking manga reviews. Last time, I made this comment about cooking manga: When somebody tastes great…
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…
Though Elle wants nothing to do with fighting, her grandfather has different ideas and betrothes her to an up-and-coming boxer from his own gym. She hates the idea and doesn’t want to marry him. One day she meets a handsome street brawler who intrigues her, but her jealous fiancé finds out and goes after the guy! What will happen when a trained boxer goes a couple rounds with a scrappy street fighter? By Rie Takada Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: OT Genre: Shojo Price: $8.99 Cheerful and energetic Elle Nagahara just wants to find a normal boyfriend. Sounds like any teenage girl except she is already engaged so the ever so handsome Ruo. Though she views her betrothed as a brother figure and tries to break off their relationship by seeking other boys that often fall victim to Ruo’s fellow gym members. And her grandfather just so happens to be the owner of the gym. After growing up in an environment of seeing bloods and guts on the ring Elle no longer wants any part of any violence. Though her stance begins to change when she encounters a street fighter named Kizuki at the mall one day. Now she begins…
Yura Onozuka is the daughter of the stars, and she’s not very happy about it. Always being compared to her parents at school, she hates being average and hates that they make her life harder just by being around. On television, the star couple make their family seem perfect. In fact, you could call it anything but that. Yura’s mother, Yukari Shiraki, is a beautiful actress who treats her daughter like dirt, and her father, who is living in New York, is a world-famous composer. After coming home after being away for two weeks, Yukari drops a bomb on Yura -that she and her father are getting divorced, and that Yura is being kicked out into the street. To make matters worse, Yura’s mother is having an affair with Yura’s only friend and crush, Shin. By Miki Aihara Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Drama/Romance Price: $8.99 What a first chapter! When Yura tells the paparazzi surrounding her home that her parents can eat shit and die (that’s a paraphrase, but I’m sure that’s what she wanted to say), her father’s manager swoops in and decides that he wants to make Yura into an actress. Add a pair…
Haruna Nagashima is not your average high school girl. She never devoted any time to romance when she was in junior high. She never thought about any of that stuff. She was fully focused on one thing: sports. As a softball player, she only cared about softball. But now that she’s moving from middle school to high school, she’s having a change in priorities. By Kazune Kawahara Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance Price: $8.99 Who doesn’t want to fall in love? Little bumbling Haruna tries to follow advice in magazines and shojo manga to pick up a boyfriend, and ends up a train wreck. So, she decides, that just like when she was a softball player, she’s going to need a coach to get better at love. A fairly silly premise, it seems. I was initially skeptical about where the book was going, but that’s when you meet Yoh – the guy that Haruna gets to be her coach. The primary relationship is right there staring at you, right in the face, but adding this grumpy male lead as the bounce board for ridiculous Haruna turned the story into a real charmer. Yoh tries to show…
After the gripping, eye-opening revelations of the 19th volume of the series, volume 20 has been given the unfortunate task of having to follow all of that up as the series begins to wrap things up. This volume can more or less be considered a set-up volume, as plenty of things are brought to light and loose ends are tied up from the previous volume, but the plot is nigh at a standstill. Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Hiromu Arakawa Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Adventure, Mystery Price: $9.99 The previous volume finally revealed the origins of Hoenheim Elric, and one of the key moments in volume 20 is Alphonse encountering his father in the city Lior. Alphonse finally is able to ask Hoenheim about the mysterious figure lurking beneath Central, and Hoenheim proceeds to tell Alphonse the whole story. Hoenheim also brings up the subject of the “Day of Reckoning.” This “Day of Reckoning” is the major revelation of this volume, though to call it a “revelation” is a bit of a stretch. Not all that much information is actually divulged and readers are left waiting for future volumes to learn more. Edward also learns…
Series Description: Winning isn’t everything in the game of basketball, but who wants to come in second? It takes dedication and discipline to be the best, and the Shohoku High hoops team wants to be just that. They have one last year to make their captain’s dream of reaching the finals come true-will they do it? Takehiko Inoue’s legendary beloved basketball manga is finally here and the tale of a lifetime is in your hands. Volume Description: Shohoku’s (somewhat) friendly game against Ryonan finally gets underway. Old rivalries reignite with captain Akagi going toe-to-toe with Ryonan’s center, Uozumi. Hanamichi has flat-out declared that he will personally shut down Ryonan’s ace, Sendoh, but will Kaede Rukawa take care of things before Hanamichi even gets a chance to hit the floor? Either way, this is bound to be a game to remember. By Takehiko Inoue Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $9.99 This was a tough one for me because of expectations. You see, everyone on the planet adores Slam Dunk. I mean, this series is venerated, legendary even. And Inoue’s two other series that are translated into English are awesome. I mean, have you seen Vagabond? It’s phenomenal….
Not knowing it’s the solution to her curse, Yako thinks that Rasetsu’s quest for a boyfriend seems frivolous. Nothing’s trivial about Rasetsu’s next exorcism, however, especially when she’s suddenly overpowered by the emotions of the spirit! By Chika Shiomi Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Supernatural Romance Price: $8.99 This volume has more ghostly exorcisms that serve to bring Yako and Rasetsu together, despite themselves. Kuryu’s introduction and first day at the agency is shown, and another glimpse of Yako’s guardian spirit makes an appearance, this time for Rasetsu. The romance between Rasetsu and Yako takes a few more small steps forward in this volume. An exorcism that hits Rasetsu too close to home leaves her vulnerable, but Yako says just the right words to bring her back. The attraction between them seems to be growing, despite the verbal barbs they still toss at each other. These feelings become more evident when the whole agency goes to an amusement park for another exorcism, though it seems to be more about play than work. I really prefer this kind of romance, with the couple getting to know each other and their feelings developing through their experiences together,…
A robot may not harm or kill a human being. Article 13 of the Robot Laws. Adolph, a member of a robot hate group, is being used as a pawn and hunted down by the members of his own brotherhood. He must now turn to his worst enemy for protection–Gesicht, the robot who he believes killed his own brother. Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Naoki Urasawa x Osamu Tezuka Publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature Age Rating: Older Teen (16+) Genre: Mystery, Thriller ISBN: 9781421525839 Price: $12.99 Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto is beginning to show signs of winding down. With a mere three volumes to go after the conclusion of volume five, things appear to be headed towards the climax as Urasawa’s continues to peel layers off of his multi-layered plot. Inspector Gesicht’s past really begins to unravel here as Urasawa finally sheds light on the gaping hole regarding Hans’ brother and Gesicht’s involvement in the whole affair. Gesicht’s recollection of his horrid memories further blurs the line between human and machine. Apparently robots can harbor feelings of true hatred, a concept that is fascinating on its own. It is also Hercules’ turn to face the mysterious enemy and this…
Before a certain orange jump suited ninja came onto the scene people were reading about a very different ninja in the pages of Shonen Sunday. I remember many years back one of my coworkers mentioning that Flame of Recca was his favorite anime but that is sort of just ends in the middle of a storyline after being canceled. He lamented the fact that from what he knew the manga had a proper ending but he knew of no plans to pick up the license in the US. Then about a year later came the Tokyopop revolution and the manga boom. Many titles that have been on wish lists for licensing for the longest time became realities and Flame of Recca was one of those titles. So I decided to read what had been recommended to me so long ago. Originally reviewed by Alain Mendez By Nobuyuki Anzai Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Action Price: $9.99 Recca Hanabishi is the son of a fireworks manufacturer who is a self-styled ninja that he mentions quite often in the least ninja way possible. He has made it known that anyone who defeats him in a fight will gain his services…