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Yurara finds herself drawn to Mei, but her guardian spirit prefers Yako! Can Yurara sort out her true feelings?
I’ll arrange for them to play a special song for you.
When Yurara’s guardian spirit picks up a ghostly stalker, she vanishes, leaving Yurara to deal with the paranormal pervert on her own! By: Chika Shiomi Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Genre: Romance/Supernatural Rating: Teen + Price: $8.99 Not much of a volume description, is it? It doesn’t even come close to describing what’s going on in this volume. There is some serious character development going in here. The description only acts as a lead in. This volume starts off with two self-contained chapters that work to lead into the heart of the book; Yurara’s relationship with Mei. Mei is a serious flit, so Yurara doesn’t want to take his advances seriously, especially when it seems he’s really only interested in her spirit guardian. But when Yurara goes to the school rooftop to investigate the spirit that seems to be following her, Mei gets very upset with her. Yako explains to Yurara about Mei’s past and being in love with another woman who was killed by a spirit by pulling her off a rooftop. Yurara then meets that spirit when she possesses Mei and it’s up to Yurara to get rid of the spirit before it manipulates Mei into taking…
Master and Jade don’t get along very well. They’re always fighting. But when they do… See? Yuto rains fire and brimstone down upon them. Yuto’s a sweet kid… most of the time.
But trust me, kid. You don’t want to hang around me. You’ll get hurt.
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…
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…
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…
An advocate for robot rights and a renowned European robot have been murdered. Gesicht, the detective assigned to the case, has deduced that the killer is targeting the great robots of the world–which means that he too is one of the targets. Gesicht takes it upon himself to warn the potential targets, and Atom, the famous boy robot from Japan, is next on his list. Elsewhere, the Turkish robot hero Brando sets out on his own to take on a mysterious challenger. As the robots traverse a labyrinthine path edging toward their own souls, the question remains: Who is the killer and what is his motive? Originally reviewed by Charles Tan By Naoki Urasawa Publisher: Viz Media – Viz Signature Genre: Science Fiction Age Rating: Older Teen Price: $12.99 This manga continues the story established in the first volume–and you should have been hooked to this series by then–but there’s a different vibe going on here. Whereas volume one had a balance of action scenes combined with heart-wrenching drama, there’s more of the latter to be found here. Which isn’t to say this is a bad thing, mind you. But Urasawa’s beats are clearly the character-driven moments, and there’s a…