Manga Village

Natsume Ono is one of my favorite creators in comics today. Her distinct style and charismatic writing have filled many of my evenings with beautiful imagery of Italy and feudal Japan, and her characters have sparked my imagination and wanderlust. When Ono’s first works were brought to the USA, we started somewhere in the middle – Ristorante Paradiso and not simple were a progression of sorts from La Quinta Camera, which is some of Ono’s earliest work. The series started as a webcomic, and was brought to print in one volume through Viz Media’s IKKI COMIX imprint. Of all the creators popularized by the IKKI format from Viz, Natsume Ono is the most complex, and most wonderful. La Quinta Camera is certainly an expression of that – but Ono has learned much between her initial comics debut in 2003 and her currently running series House of Five Leaves. By Natsume Ono Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Sig IKKI Age Rated: T for Teen Genre: Slice of Life Price: $12.99 La Quinta Camera is a series of vignettes focusing on four men who live in a five-bed apartment in Rome, and how they use that fifth room; or rather, who they rent…

Let’s face it – every single person reading this review right now has seen a sitcom. These shows are a pervasive part of TV culture in the United States, and the reason that they do well is because they are very easy to relate to. But sitcoms come and go. There are only a few names that stick out when I think about sitcoms, because the shows are a dime a dozen. Sitcom pitches happen each season, and only a few manage to make it. The reason for this is that it takes a special type of writer to understand what makes a sitcom tick. There have to be plenty of zingy one-liners, sure. But what makes a sitcom a powerful show as opposed to a string of laugh tracks is its human interactions and family dynamics. Written and Illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga Publisher: Viz Media Signature Series Age Rating: OT for Older Teen Genre: Slice of Life/Josei Price: US $12.99 ISBN: 1421532409 I would like to say that the reason why All My Darling Daughters by Fumi Yoshinaga is so wonderful is due to its strength in these areas. It does have zing, it does have great interactions and…

New maid Keiko Kinoshita enters the Ashida household under the guise of helping out, but she’s actually a spy for the vice president of Soichiro’s company. As Sumi struggles to keep her past a secret, will Keiko’s insidious schemes destroy the couple?

I’ve been fairly candid in the past about mentioning my love for Bunny Drop, a Yen Press title with a twice-yearly release. The series so far has been an absolute delight to read. I’ve neglected reviewing the first two volumes, so I will try to rectify that issue with a review of the third volume.

When it comes to Fumi Yoshinaga, I’m fairly used to excellent manga. You could make a convincing argument that Ooku: the Hidden Chambers is one of the best titles, if not the best title in Viz Media’s Sig IKKI line (I might argue that Children of the Sea is better, but I digress). Likewise All My Darling Daughters and Antique Bakery offer a lot of great stories from one of the best mangaka currently in print in English. By: Fumi Yoshinaga Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Food Price: $10.99 Yoshinaga is also one of the few writers that is licensed by multiple publishers here in the US. Digital Manga Publishing was the first to pick up her work, while Viz followed shortly behind. Now, Yen Press has joined the crowd to bring us a one-shot volume of foodie manga titled Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy. Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy is part autobiography, part restaurant review.The main character, Y-naga (yes, really) is a mangaka who draws BL comics, and spends almost all the time she isn’t sleeping or working out eating food with friends. Her fellow mangaka, foodie friends, assistants, and previous roommates all…

College student Ayame’s boyfriend is the handsome police detective Koichi.  After what seemed like a destined meeting, Ayame and Koichi are a couple who want nothing but a lovey-dovey relationship with plenty of hot sex to spice it up.  However, having a police detective for a boyfriend naturally implies that constant troubles won’t be far behind.  Between battling injustices in society and indulging in sexual passions in bed, there is never a dull moment in their relationship.  Though wanting some peaceful time together is understandable, can you really complain when you have to settle for hot and spicy sex? By Takane Yonetai Publisher: Aurora (LuvLuv) Age Rating: 18+ Genre: Romance Price: $10.95 Make Love and Peace reminds me very much of Cotton Candy.  It’s light and fluffy, and fun while it lasts, but I wouldn’t want to eat it all the time. The plot of this series is pretty light.  It’s a slice of life that shows the ups and downs of the relationship between a college freshman and a cop with lots of sex scenes thrown in for no real apparent reason other than to titillate. The actual plot and execution isn’t bad.  College freshman Ayame is dating police…

This is a collection of five romantic, hot and sexy stories about modern women and the men they love.  All of the stories depict romantic and physical relationships with nothing held back.  The title story is about a relationship between young teacher Mika Tsukahara and Naokazu Kuga, an 18-year-old student at her school.  Some say forbidden fruit is the sweetest! They’re neighbors too, and can’t control their attraction to each other.  Love thy neighbor! From Luv Luv with love! By Kanae Hazuki Publisher: Aurora (LuvLuv) Age Rating: 18+ Genre: Romance Price: $10.95 Voices of Love is a collection of 5 different stories with very different leads but all with a happy ending for the women.  Even though these are ladies comics, not all of the stories are told from their perspective, adding to the variety. The first story is also the title story, “Voices of Love”.  It’s about a young teacher and her next-door neighbor/student.  They seem complete opposites, as she the responsible type, and he is more reckless, especially with is relationships.  They have tentative relationship that is cemented when she is assaulted by a fellow teacher.  The story was told well enough, but I don’t care for the…

Ayu still can’t give up on her love for Mayama, even though his relationship with Rika seems to be deepening.  Nomiya’s growing interest in Ayu might be a balm to her broken heart, but he’s moving to Tottori for six months! Is Ayu cursed to suffer hopeless love affairs forever? By Chica Umino Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 This volume is all about the love polygon of Mayama, Ayu, Rika and Nomiya.  Ayu seems to be deliberately torturing herself by working with Mayama and Rika, and seeing their relationship grow.  Rika is preparing for the Valencia Art Museum Annex, a project she and her late husband submitted for and won, and seems prepared to also make it her last, something Mayama’s not prepared to let Rika do.  And Nomiya, the player, finds himself doing something he never thought he would, falling for Ayu. There’s a lot of drama going on in this volume, especially with Rika.  She still haven’t been able to get over her husband’s death, no matter what kind of face she puts on.  A flashback from Hanamoto shows what a difficult time she had after the accident, and how she became…

“You won’t last one step on that catwalk. And do you know why? Because you can’t see your true self.” By Chihiro Tamaki Publisher: Aurora Publishing Age Rating: OT/Older teen/16+ Genre: Josei/drama Price: $10.95 (or $5 direct from Aurora’s website) Of the four key manga demographics — shoujo for girls, shounen for boys, seinen for men, and josei for women — josei is the least well represented in the English-language market. You could fit the titles of all the josei manga available in English on one side of a postcard, and still have plenty of room for the address — so every new addition to the list is worth a look, and Walkin’ Butterfly is worth a lot more than that. The heroine of Walkin’ Butterfly is more of a scorpion than a butterfly, at least at first. High school dropout Michiko Torayasu has always been tall, and at 19 she’s 6’0″ and sick to death of being stared at and teased. She’s so tall that no boy will go out with her, and all the rejection and mockery has given her a fiery temper and a desperate sense of being freakish and outside everything, “like a monster built by…

Music has always been a powerful source of stimulation. Kyoichiro is a hot new pianist known as “The Conjurer of Melody” who possesses an extremely arrogant “bow before my greatness” attitude. So it’s no wonder that Kazune, Kyoichiro’s manager and lover, can’t help but feel she is nothing more than his erotic plaything. Will she be able to prove to Kyoichiro rhar she is more than just an instrument of pleasure? OR will she continue to be swayed by his intense melodies of desire? An erotic romance that will stimulate your senses with the rhythm of passion! By Rin Tanaka Publisher: Aurora Publishing – LuvLuv Genre: Romance/Josei Age Rating: M/Mature/18+ Price: $10.95 Arrogance that matches his musical talents, Kyoichiro is a popular pianist in this sensual tale of romance. Kazune, the ever doting girlfriend, has to manage both Kyochiro’s professional career and her adoration for a man who at first seemed to care more about making beautiful sounds in the bedroom than making the beautiful maiden truly happy. For me this was a great transitional title from the sometimes overly sappy shojo titles to a much more mature series that is geared more towards women. Within the first volume one…