Manga Village

Manga that share the same content matter with Sundome are normally considered erotica; While Sundome isn’t exactly a manga with sex in it, it’s definitely all about sex. More specifically, it’s a manga that, in the midst of a really twisted relationship, tries to discuss the concept of sexual arousal without sex. Basically, Sundome tries to explore what it is that turns you on, what arouses you. By Kazuto Okada Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Mature (18+) Genre: School Drama Price: $12.99 It does this through the interplay of Hideo Aiba, your regular boring dweeby kind of guy, and Kurumi Sahana, a girl who is far from ordinary. Everything about her turns on Hideo, and she notices as soon as she sits down next to him in class. In the first chapter of the book, she makes a deal with Hideo – I’ll be with you, but I’ll never have sex with you. In pure twisted fashion, Hideo says yes, and from this agreement, a relationship takes shape, as cruel and strange as that shape may be. Sundome explores the crevices and dirty nooks and crannies of the human mind, and as it does so, it intrigues me and infuriates…

You’re the ones who’re horny every freaking single day of the year! By: Jun Yuzuki Publisher: Del Rey Genre: Comedy Romance Age: OT 16+ Price: 10.99 US As I stated in earlier reviews, I tend to be a reader of seinen manga, and as an adult male, that is the demographic that I fall into. However I try and read all genres and give them a fair shake, or at least an alternative perspective. Although I have found plenty of gems outside of the seinen genre, there are also plenty of head-scratchers as well. Unfortunately Gakuen Prince falls more into the second catagory than the first. Just like the schools in at least 50% of shoujo manga, Jyoshien Gakuen Private High School used to be an all-girls school, but not long before our story begins boys were admitted for the first time. Rise Okitsu is a plain jane (until she removes her glasses) who just wants to survive high school life. She is hazed by her more fashion and make-up conscious classmates, and Rise just tries to shrink and hide. However, this is the first day of school for the tall, dark and brooding Azusa Mizutani. All boys like Azusa…

Cai-Sheng is a celestial fox demon raised by a group of wild fox demons, who hope she will master the ability to transform into a male and same them from extinction.  One day, she befriends a little boy and girl, who save her from a dog attack.  Her caretaker marks them with symbols that will not disappear until Cai-Sheng repays her debt.  Two hundred years later, Cai-Sheng meets the reincarnated boy and girl and decides to repay her debt by match-making them, but things get complicated when the girl falls for Cai-Sheng’s male form! By Yi Huan Publisher: DR Masters Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance/Gender Bender Price: $9.95 Divine Melody is a Chinese manhua that is filled lots of romantic possibilities, but still manages to keep them from getting convoluted.  It lays down a good foundation in this first volume, introducing a lot of characters without overloading the reader with too much information. The main romance in this story is the love triangle between Han Yun-Shi, Su Ping, and Cai-Sheng’s male form.  I-Huan is taking her time with it, just introducing all the players in this first volume.  Su Ping is under a demon’s curse, and Han Yun-Shi is…

I have read and enjoyed a few reviews of Mizutaka Shihou‘s Samurai 7. However, none of the reviews I have read have been written by people who have seen Seven Samurai, the Akira Kurosawa classic movie the manga is based on. I hope here to give a different perspective on what potentially might be a great manga. By: Mizutaka Suhou and Akira Kurosawa Publisher: Del Rey Age Rating: OT 16+ Genre: Action Price: 10.99 USD Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is one of the best movies ever made in the history of cinema. It stands with Citizen Kane and The Godfather as one of the three best films ever made…ever. Maybe this is the general opinion, or maybe this is my opinion, but this is the opinion I took when cracking open the first volume of Samurai 7. And I broke the seal of the first volume of Samurai 7 with nothing short of reverent fear. I love Seven Samurai. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. However I was not disappointed by Samurai 7. It took a modern approach at retelling a perfect movie, and that may be its undoing. Seven Samurai is Akira Kurosawa’s swan song,…

Something you should know about me: I like shiny new things. Given the choice between having something I know behind door number one and knowing what’s behind door number two? Curiosity wins. When my wife and I get ice cream, I’m the guy who has to taste like, 10 different flavors before I settle on something. And, if you regularly read our weekly picks, you’ll see I am always drawn to the new manga, even when it means overlooking incredible, established series. By: Gosho Aoyama Publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Sunday Age Rating: Older Teen (16+) Genre: Mystery Price: $9.99 When it comes to manga series, I’m not a distance runner. The longest I’ve kept with a series? 15 volumes, and even that was because I got a great deal on buying them all at once. Now, it’s not always a matter of choice—the incredible Dragonhead has wrapped up, but I haven’t read more than half of the books because bookstore and comics retailers in town don’t carry it except in spotty numbers(I know I could special order them or get them online from a place like Powell’s, but that—for some inexplicable reason—sticks in my craw. And I work in…

The Kokusen Academy Culture Festival is here and the Special A crew is making sure it runs smoothly. But chaos erupts when Kei’s grandfather tries to haul Kei off to London! Worse, when Hikari tries to intervene, she gets abducted! But the worst part of all is that amidst all the drama, Hikari is starting to realize her true feelings for Kei… By: Maki Minami Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $8.99 This is another series with female protagonist that’s as dense as a neutron star with a love interest that is cold yet popular with the girls.  I suppose this isn’t bad if you don’t mind female protagonists that act like dumb blonds, but it really kept me from getting into the story. Kei’s grandfather sends his assistant Aoi Ogata to bring Kei back again. He kidnaps Hikari, thinking if he can get her out Kei’s life by seducing her. Hikari’s obtuseness makes it easy, but Kei runs to her rescue. Hikari then tries to get Aoi and Kei to be friends again, but throughout this, she finds it hard to look Kei in the eye and doesn’t know why. When she finally…

“And then you didn’t bring me my tea! Do you know how disappointing that was?” By: Hisami Shimada Publisher: Aurora/Deux Genre: BL/yaoi Age rating: M/mature/18+ Price: $12.95 Usually I cringe when I see a character in drag on the front cover of a BL book. All too often it means the character’s going to be humiliated by being forced to wear drag (as if dressing like a woman were an inherently shameful thing), or that he’s going to be “feminised” in a way that has more to do with stereotypes of femininity than actual female traits. So I was pleasantly surprised to open up Maid in Heaven and find that main character Midori wears a maid’s outfit because… he’s a maid, and the outfit’s a practical one to wear while he’s working. It isn’t treated in a fetishistic way at all… at least, not at first. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The story: Midori is the grandson of Akane, an experienced maid to the rich Kosaka family. Akane falls ill, and Midori takes her place in the household, only to find that Asagi, the master of the house, is not only cold and bossy, but is only 18 —…

The old cliche is that pictures are worth a thousand words; The cover of DearS volume 1, is the epitome of the cliche. One look at the tight rubber suit-like clothing, gratuitous bosoms, and the giant dog collar around the girl’s neck, and you get a pretty good idea about what this manga is about. By: Peach-Pit Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Comedy Price: $9.99 We start of with this loner, kind of losery guy named Takeya, and he lives by himself in an apartment. Everyone is obsessed with DearS, these  aliens that crash landed on Earth one year ago. They’re beautiful, strange, and, well, actually, they’re slaves. Great plot, right? It doesn’t get any better, I assure you. Takeya, in his own way, comes across one of these DearS and in saving her life, she becomes his slave forever. Of course, you don’t get that at the beginning of the book, but later on, it becomes readily apparent.. What isn’t apparent is why anyone would read this drivel. There is not a speck of plot to it; just a girl in a skin-tight plastic suit walking around and buying groceries in an apron. It’s like 7 different…

Life couldn’t be better for Keiichi Maebara. Sure, he’s moved to a sleepy, little town where nothing happens and high school consists of a one-room schoolhouse — but his new friends and fellow students are all cute girls! When he happens upon a story about a grisly local murder, however, his contentment turns to uneasiness as he finds himself drawn into a web of silent intrigue that involves his newfound friends . . . and threatens his very existence. By: Ryukishi07 and Karin Suzuragi Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen + Genre: Horror Price: $10.99 A few months ago, the manga reviewers here at Manga Village were discussing our review grades. John Thomas awarded a grade of 10 to the first volume of Eden: It’s an Endless World! Now, I’ve read Eden, and John’s right, it’s a fantastic series–but I don’t know that I’d grade the first volume with a 10. Here’s the thing–this grading thing, it’s an imperfect beast. How do you compare the excellence of books miles apart from one another? And I’m not talking subject matter or genre–no, I’m talking about how various manga approach storytelling and format. For instance, the first volume of Drifting Classroom is…

Written by Antony Johnston; Illustrations by Wilson Tortosa Publisher: Del Rey Manga Genre: Superhero OEL manga Age Range: T 13+ Price: 12.99 USD I am not generally a fan of OEL manga, but have been a fan of X-Men for longer than I am willing to admit. This is probably the opposite of the audience Del Rey and Marvel had in mind for this retelling this origin story of the X-Men’s certainly most well-known and crotchety member. The blurb on the Del Rel homepage was not encouraging: “The gripping, all-new adventure of the x-men’s greatest icon, comletely reimagined in the Manga style This is not the Wolverine you know.” Despite the lack of a proofreader (like I am any position to cast stones), what worried me here was the term “Manga style” (capitalized, when “x-men” is in lower case). As we discussed in the last Manga Village round table, the question becomes, “who are Del Rey and Marvel trying to sell this to?”. Are they trying pull X-Men readers to manga? Manga readers to X-Men? Probably not the latter, as this is released just weeks before the Wolverine Origins movie hits theaters. But also, probably not the former, as this…