Manga Village

Sanshiro’s chances of having an adventure are slim to none in his tiny island hometown, until the day a mysterious stranger invites him to play a game… Without warning, Sanshiro is taken to a backwards universe to play BakeGyamon-a game pitting monsters against monsters.  Along the way he meets other players who have a particular reason for being there-to obtain the wish that is granted to the winner.  But how far can Sanshiro get when the monsters he’s been paired with are a bunch of little mud balls?! By Mitsuhisa Tamura Publisher: Viz Media – Viz Kids Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Game Price: $7.99 In the great tradition of shonen protagonists, Sanshiro is over enthusiastic but not too bright.  He craves to be just like his father and go on adventures all over the world.  So, when he’s invited to play in the BakeGyamon, he accepts without really knowing what it is.  Just as long as he can have an adventure, that’s all that matters.  His enthusiasm annoys some people at first, even Fue, the one that invited him to the game.  But it’s this same enthusiasm that gets him through the games and makes him endearing to the…

Students at Imperial Academy are lining up for the “Confess Your Love” rally, during with students announce the name of the person they love to the entire student body in hopes of winning over their beloved’s heart. Maora wants to confess to Maguri, but Maguri already has plans to confess to Shizumasa! By Arina Tanemura Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Genre: Romance Rating: Teen + Price: $8.99 Unless you’ve got a score card and have read the last three volumes, this volume will seem like a jumbled mess to you too. Imperial Academy is having the school festival, and one of the events give students an opportunity to confess their love for another student in front of the whole student body. Confessions and attempted confessions run amuck. But the focus of this volume is on the ball, held on the second day. Haine, the heroine of the story, must attend as she is the Shizumasa’s “girlfriend”, but she has nothing to wear, and she won’t ask Shizumasa for help. The mysterious postman comes to her rescue and helps to create a beautiful gown for her. She goes to the ball, and dances with Shizumasa, but, like a Cinderella, she…

The Straw Hats are keeping the Officer Agents preoccupied while Vivi makes her way to the Palace.  Sanji’s got his hands full with Mr. 2 Bon Clay while Zolo battles mano a mano with Mr. 1-or rather sword to sword body in this case!  That leaves Nami on her own with Ms. Doublefinger-a prickly predicament with only her wits and Usopp’s special weapon to depend on.  Can the Straw Hats prevail against the best of the Baroque Works?! By Eiichiro Oda Publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Jump Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Adventure Price: $7.95 The fight for Alabasta is in full swing as the rebels charge for the capital, and the Straw Hat Pirates battle Baroque Works, giving Vivi the time she needs to try to stop them.  The boys do their usual best, but it’s Nami finally stepping up to fight for herself that really makes this volume shine. This volume pits the best of the Straw Hats against the best of Baroque Works, which is fine for Sanji and Zolo.  Both are skilled fighters and can handle their opponents.  Sanji and Mr. 2 Bon Clay are fairly evenly matched with their hand to hand techniques.  Mr. 2 Bon…

Nobara’s drive to get the girls’ volleyball team ready to qualify for the next Spring Tournament has tensions running high. Have Nobara’s dreams finally outgrown those of her teammates? By Mitsuba Takahashi Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Genre: Sports/Romance Rating: Teen Price: $8.99 ISBN: 1-4215-1014-6 After having so much time spent on the romance, it’s a relief to get back to the sports aspect of this story. Even though I don’t care much for the sport, the drama created by it is so much better than the teenage angst from boys and girls sorting out their feelings. Both volleyball teams at Crimson High are having player problems. Nearly all the 2nd years have quit the boys team, leaving the first years on their own. While the girls, after an emotional fight after losing in the Summer Tournament have decided to get serious about training. Their new coach pushes them hard, but the focus soon falls onto Nobara. She gave up the chance to improve individually to play with her teammates. As a result, she shows no ambition to better herself, even when she makes an impossibly high jump of 9 meters. So, it up to her teammates and the…

Though it isn’t much of a confession, sometimes I am surprised at how many people assume I read a lot of manga in Japanese. Because I spend most of my days (and nights) translating works into English, it is (I hope) understandably hard for me to spend my free time reading manga in Japanese. As a reader of Japanese let me say we are so lucky to live in an era where the talent translating manga into English is second to none (present company excluded). Actually more important than that is the way the fans have convinced the publishers to give the most authentic retelling of their newly beloved series. It wasn’t so many years ago when stories were simplified, for lack of a better word, to be understandable to native-English speaking audiences. What that means is that instead of talking about the “Hamburg steak” a character had for lunch, she would talk about a cheeseburger. The fans got more savvy to Japanese culture, however, and the publishers followed suit. Translators rejoiced and editors had to start learning about Japan. By Kiminori Wakasugi Publisher: Viz Media/Viz Signature Age Rating: Mature Genre: Comedy/Music Price: 12.99 USD Fast-forward to 2006 when during…

It appears that Justin and I are on the same road these days when it comes to manga reviews. I recently picked up the 18th volume of Fullmetal Alchemist to review as a standalone and introduction to the series, and here I am again with the 8th volume of Gin Tama. By Hideaki Sorachi Publisher: Viz Media/Shonen Jump Advanced Age Rating: Older Teen (16+) Genre: Comedy/Aciton Price: $7.99 Gin Tama starts off with the usual “What’s been happening since we started” page, and shows off the characters. There are a lot of them, and throughout the manga, they make a lot of appearances. It seems that all of them have very distinct personalities, but vol. 8 doesn’t seem to be that great of an introduction to any of the characters. We start in the middle of a story arc that gets finished within the first 5 lessons (chapters) of the book, and move on from there. Gin Tama is set in Edo at around the same time as Perry’s opening of Japan. Instead of Americans, though, Hideaki Sorachi has used Aliens instead. This lends the setting both a grasp on both past and current events, and allows Sorachi the ability…

Yako Hoshino, a young man with spiritual powers of his own, comes to the agency seeking help with a possessed book.  He’s seen a lot of strange phenomena in his day, but the last thing he expects to see is Rasetsu bearing a striking resemblance to his old love Yurara! By Chika Shiomi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $8.99 Another group of quirky characters come together for more ghost-busting action.  Shiomi’s knack for combining comedy, romance and supernatural scares brings us another great title, with a few old faces thrown in with the new. Rasetsu is about a girl by the same name, who is haunted by an evil spirit.  Three years ago, she was attacked and marked by him, with the promise that when she turned 20, he would be back.  Instead of giving in to the evil spirit, Rasetsu finds the strength to fight back and becomes an exorcist, working for a company in Tokyo.  Enter Yako Hoshino, grown up now, and working in a library.  His blunt personality gets him on Rasetsu’s bad side, but his power and her resemblance to Yurara’s guardian spirit brings them to work together, though not necessarily getting…

It’s not every day that someone stops reading Fullmetal Alchemist and gives it up for two years. I probably already sound like an idiot for giving up this series a few years ago, but Lori gave me the chance to check out the latest volume of Fullmetal Alchemist, and I grabbed on without thinking. Reading it has been a bit of a shot in the dark; understanding the storyline from that long ago to now has taken a few leaps of faith on my part, but it’s easy enough to put the pieces together. So, in this review, and in a few of my next reviews, I’ll be hoping into a series mid-way and giving my impressions of how well the book manages to introduce the readers to the current story. By Hiromu Arakawa Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Fantasy Price: $9.99 Volume 18 is a continuation of the events that occurred last volume, and it gives up more information about the Homunculi, and perhaps what their plans are for the near future. Al and Ed are as crazy as ever, and the deadpan humor of the series retains its quirky charm. It is amazing how Hiromu Arakawa…

Kaguya doesn’t remember who she is or why she has a huge scar on her back.  Six months ago, she was found injured and unconscious in a field of bamboo.  Now she works as a housekeeper and babysitter at a brothel, living her new life simply as “Kaguya”. By Rinko Ueda Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen (16+) Genre: Historical, Romance Price: $8.99 Kaguya’s real identity is entwined with two men–Hanzou, a handsome bodyguard of Okazaki Castle, and Hanzo, a leader of the ninja village of Iga.  Between amnesia and mistaken identity, no one knows for sure what kind of person Kaguya is.  Only her distinctive scar will lead her to the truth… Tail of the Moon Prequel has a heroine just the way I like them; smart and in control.  As either Kaguya or Princess Sara, this female lead is never clueless, a klutz, or unable to act on her feelings.  This, plus the historical drama, makes this volume a real pleasure to read. I read the preview of this in Shojo Beat, and really enjoyed it. So I was thrilled at the chance to read the whole volume.  It’s essentially two stories about Kaguya, a worker in…

Series Description: By night, junior high student Yoshimori Sumimura is a “kekkaishi”–a demon-hunter who specializes in creating magical barriers around his prey. By day, Yoshimori’s got some other demons to battle: an addiction to sweets and a seriously crotchety grandfather! Yoshimori’s pretty 16-year-old neighbor and childhood friend, Tokine Yukimura, is also a kekkaishi, but their families are feuding over who is the true practitioner of the art. Volume Description: Yoshimori and his elder brother Masamori are trapped inside a magical realm… The site’s guardian wants to steal Yoshimori’s body, and a renegade council member pits brother against brother! Which of the two will escape? And what will become of the other…? By Yellow Tanabe Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price: $9.99 Short and sweet this week, this being the last (for now) of my “drop in the middle of a series to see what I find” reviews. And a little wrap-up on this experiment–but more on that later. For now, let’s talk about Kekkaishi, a series I’ve been wanting to check out for a while now, based on the recommendation of Shaenon Garrity, an awesome person whom we should all obey, should she ever take over…