Manga Village

Nuclear war has ravaged the future, and the result is the last remnants of humanity fighting against other species. One of those species arose to become nobility: Vampires. Originally reviewed by Dan Polley Story by Hideyuki Kikuchi; Art by Saiko Takaki Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror Rating: Young Adults (16+) Price: $12.95 It starts with D, who is riding around the countryside to Ransylva, but is confronted before he can get there. Instead, he faces a woman who refuses to let him pass. The two battle briefly, but D seems to handily defeat the woman. But as he starts to leave, she pleads with him. She realizes he is a vampire hunter, and that’s just the type of person she needs. The woman, Doris Lang, successfully convinces D, who then says he is a dhampir, to help her. Doris has been bitten by someone in the nobility, which means she is cursed to become a member of the undead. The villagers continue to provoke her and fear her for being bitten. Doris tells D about her interaction with Count Magnus Lee, who was the vampire who bit her. That night, Larmica and her minion, werewolf Garou, try to…

Recently I ran a comics camp for boys and girls ages nine to twelve. For one week, these kids dove into comics like you wouldn’t believe. They drew and drew and drew, and drew some more. We talked about character, plot, action, but also visual elements like panels, word balloons, speed or emotive lines, and how to draw eyes and mouths to show what your character is thinking. By Shinji Saijyo Publisher: DRMaster Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Cooking Price: $9.95 Now, I’ve taught comics to kids off and on for fifteen years. Whenever I start, the first thing I ask is “What’s comics?” At first, I always got “Spiderman!” or “Batman!” or the like. About a decade ago, I also got some “Dragonball!” answers, maybe a “Sailor Moon!” or two. This time, it was only at the very end that I got the superheroes. Their initial answers were newspaper comic strips and Manga. A big part of comics camp is reading. I pull out dozens and dozens of graphic novels, comics, manga, and collections of comics published over the last seventy-five years. And the kids are voracious readers—I had to bring in extra material midway through the week just to…

Recently I ran a comics camp for boys and girls ages nine to twelve. For one week, these kids dove into comics like you wouldn’t believe. They drew and drew and drew, and drew some more. We talked about character, plot, action, but also visual elements like panels, word balloons, speed or emotive lines, and how to draw eyes and mouths to show what your character is thinking. By: Shinji Saijyo Publisher: DR Master Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Cooking Price: $9.95 Now, I’ve taught comics to kids off and on for fifteen years. Whenever I start, the first thing I ask is “What’s comics?” At first, I always got “Spiderman!” or “Batman!” or the like. About a decade ago, I also got some “Dragonball!” answers, maybe a “Sailor Moon!” or two. This time, it was only at the very end that I got the superheroes. Their initial answers were newspaper comic strips and Manga. A big part of comics camp is reading. I pull out dozens and dozens of graphic novels, comics, manga, and collections of comics published over the last seventy five years. And the kids are voracious readers—I had to bring in extra material midway through the week…

Convinced that finding the jewel of the Dragon God will release the Kuroishi family from their curse, Megumi and Suzuka travel to China together.  Will they succeed in their mission and finally break the captive spell? By Matsuri Hino Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen Genre: Comedy/Romance Price: $8.99 In this final volume of Captive Hearts, Megumi and Suzuka go to China to fulfill the Kogami family’s contract with the Dragon God, which will hopefully cancel out the Kuroishi family’s curse.  But it turns out the Kuroishi weren’t the only ones to have been cursed by the Dragon God, and this new group isn’t as understanding about things as Megumi. The comedy and hijinks continue in this last volume of Captive Hearts, though the burden is taken off of Megumi and is transferred to a group of villagers who were cursed by the Dragon God to turn into animals at night.  Their bumbling efforts to get Suzuka make for some laughs, as so their transformations, as not all villages turn into animals.  Some just gets ears and tails. The majority of the volume takes place in the village, as the leader and fortune-teller, Granny, tries to get…

When the kingdom of Arbansbool is invaded, the prince escapes with a handful of his closest attendants. But these aren’t just any attendants. They’re all maids whose job is to pour tea, not raise an army and help the prince reclaim his throne. Now chief maid Cacao Sardonyx and her five colleagues must take up arms and save a kingdom in this skirt-slashing, tea-spilling epic! Originally reviewed by Dan Polley By RAN Publisher: Del Rey Manga Genre: Adventure Rating: Older Teen (16+) Price: $10.99 The Prince of Arbansbool, Alex Arbansbool II, is a really pig-headed and selfish boy. Yet, for some reason, Court Maid Cacao seems to help him when in need. It’s a bit weird because she was a performer in a circus but took a shop to serve as a maid when she was selected to do so. She did so because the money would be good and she could then choose to fulfill her life’s dreams afterward. Instead, a neighboring kingdom invades Arbansbool, forcing the prince and his close attendants, most of whom are maids, to escape through a back and secret way. The prince’s bodyguards were killed, so the maids are forced to care for this…

Short Tempered Melancholic is a series of one-shot shojo stories. Unlike many manga, which span multiple volumes with twisting and turning plot arcs, ever evolving characters and increasingly complex storyline additions, Short Tempered Melancholic is a piece of work that stands on its own – more importantly, it is 4 separate works that all stand on their own. By Arina Tanemura Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Romance Price: $8.99 To then review Short Tempered Melancholic, each of the stories in the collection must be looked at.  The title story is actually in two parts, and involves a young girl ninja who battles between her training and giving up her ways for a boy she likes. It’s a cute, saccharine sweet tale, and the action breaks up some of the storyline, giving it air to breathe. This is most definitely the best of all the stories, and especially for a mostly shonen reader, the action gives it less of a learning curve than the other stories. The rest are fairly typical plot lines. The second story is “This Love is Non-Fiction,” and is probably the second best of the 4 stories in the book. It unfortunately…

Negima! started as a popular manga by Ken Akamatsu that was then made into a popular anime that has been made back again into a popular manga with the title Negima?! neo. From reading about the breakdown of this new title’s history it sounds a little like a back translation. In the translation business a back translation is sometimes requested by a client and it means that after a translation is done (say Japanese to English) the client wants to pay for a translation (obviously by a different translator) back into the original language to compare how accurate the translation is. By Ken Akamatsu Publisher: Del Rey Manga Genre: Shojo Range: OT 16+ Price: $10.00 From what I understand Negima?! neo is directed to a wider audience (read: younger) than Negima!, though in English it is still rated for older teens. I have never read the Negima! manga or seen the anime series, so Negima?! neo is my first exposure to Negi Springfield’s universe, and this seems to allow me a perspective (or lack of perspective) that is different from other reviewers. Our story starts at the end of one journey. Magical child prodigy Negi Springfield is just finishing his…

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…