For all Kyousuke’s resistance to Tena and her bossy ways, he seems to have settled in quite nicely to being a sort of househusband to her and the other tuners. But while Mezzo and Sopra have agreed not to collect Kyousuke’s viral notes, there’s no telling what might happen if he meets yet another tuner! So when Kyousuke runs into Arun, an elite tuner at the top of her class, could this spell the end of his musical aspirations . . . and his life!? By Sesuna Mikabe Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Seinen Price: $10.99 Sesuna Mikabe’s Tena on S-String revolves around a tuner named Tena and her “slave” Kyosuke. Tena is a spoiled and bossy tuner that has Kyosuke wrapped around her little finger. Kyosuke is Tena’s “slave” and essentially takes care of her and two of her other tuner friends. Kyosuke, the male lead, is an aspiring musician and composer. In this 2nd volume of the series just when Kyosuke thinks he has enough dealing with tuners 24/7, dealing with the bratty Tena both in and out of his home, he runs into another tuner! Despite what the quick synopsis may claim I didn’t…
A new volume of Black Jack means another volume filled with stories of our favorite medical mercenary saving lives, fighting against corporate greed and cover-ups, family betrayals and “legitimate” doctors pitting their pride against Black Jack. By Osamu Tezuka Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Medical Drama Price: $16.95 Some of the stories that exemplify these themes are “The Two Pinokos”, where Black Jack meets the girl who he modeled Pinoko appearance from. She and the people of her village are dying from beryllium poisoning, and the corporation responsible will do anything to keep that fact from getting out. In “Hurricane”, a young wife wants Black Jack to keep her old husband alive, but only until she can get him to make her his beneficiary. Comeuppance theater ensues. And in “Black and White”, a “reputable” Doctor takes a patient away from Black Jack, believing he is saving him from a quack, but gets in way over his head. The main theme of this volume though, seems to involve animals. In several of the stories, Black Jack is either working on an animal to save it directly, or saves a person important to an animal. “A Cat & Shozo” has…
Global warming, animal rights, organic foods, military conflict, school funding, balanced national budgets, urban development; all of these buzz word topics cause a lot of discussion and argument in political circles. I imagine that many others, like me, have said, “What would I do differently if I were in charge and could make decisions?” It’s a daydream that I visit constantly. The struggle for power is one that dominates people’s lives and fills their imaginations. As Tears for Fears so eloquently puts it, “Everybody wants to rule the world.” By Megumi Osuga Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Mystery/Drama Price: $9.99 But what would you do to rule the world? What is right and wrong, and what sacrifices will you have to make to ensure your vision reaches completion? That question is the central theme that runs between the covers of Viz Media’s latest Shonen Sunday book, Maoh: Juvenile Remix. Longtime residents of Nekota City are troubled by rapid modernization. It threatens old ways, promises to destroy current businesses. Progress is correlated with corruption. Up until now, though, no one has stood against the strip-mall building, profits-checking businessmen who threaten to destroy the traditional Nekota City way of life….
Kaname Otonashi is gifted with a super-hearing ability, so much so that he can even hear voices from the “other side”…the dead. Having once worked as a top-notch detective specializing in Sound Engineering Investigation, Otonashi resigned to work as a private investigator. His partner, Yasuhide, aka Hide, collaborates with the police department to take on unsolved and mysterious cases. Surrounded by a string of mysterious deaths, the police turn to Kaname’s findings to identify suspects…but can Kaname handle the non-stop screaming of the dead? By Youka Nitta Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Drama Price: $12.95 Otodama: Voices of the Dead is a detective buddy story with a supernatural twist. It’s premise of the voices of the dead remaining behind long after the deed has become a staple in ghost investigations, but to this title’s credit, the voices of the dead don’t solve the cases as much as Otonashi’s abilities and Nagatsuna’s determination do. Otodama is about two men. Kaname Otonashi is a former researcher at the National Police Research Institute where he specialized in aural forensics. He analyzed sounds and recordings for clues to help in cases. Otonashi has very acute hearing. He can hear things others…
There are some comics that defy example and expectation. Take for example, Chew, an American book written by John Layman with art by Rob Guillory. It has a fairly simple premise, but it manages to be a book of suspense, mystery, action, and sometimes a bit of horror. And it’s freaking hilarious. All these different traits make it a great comic book, but don’t necessarily make it easy to classify. In some sense, that’s the same way Sumomomo Momomo is, except, that where Chew manages to mix these ingredients up into a great comic, the result from Sumomomo Momomo is a bit more schizophrenic and pervy in its final presentation. By: Shinobu Ohtaka Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action/Comedy Price: $10.99 Sumomomo Momomo follows the lives of Koushi Inuzuka and Momoko Kuzuryuu, two children of the greatest martial artists in Japan, and heirs to martial arts techniques of great power. Momoko’s father, fearing her to be too weak to continue the bloodline of the Kuzuryuu clan, decrees that she should be married to the son of the Inuzuka clan. Koushi, unfortunately, is no martial arts fanatic. Having given up the ways of the fist, Koushi attempts to lead a “normal” life by…
Now that the terror of their first meeting has subsided, Irel begins to wonder if his fear of Lamia is unfounded. Despite her troubling diet, she doesn’t seem to relish the experience of gnawing Irel’s flesh any more than he does. Both share a common goal: to uncover the mysteries surrounding the blood of Christ. If they work together, they might be able to find the answers they seek. But traveling as a pair might only serve to make a bigger target for even greater terrors… By: JinJun Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $10.99 Volume 2 of Raiders tried to introduce more plot and less zombie munching with a government conspiracy, some actual tomb raiding, and an attempt at character development. Unfortunately, it’s all just too little, too late. This volume picks up right where volume 1 left off, with the massive fight in the middle of London. The four-way battle is short-lived though, and ends with a realignment of several of the main players. Lamia and Irel are working together now, with Clarion joining them. Irel has decided he would rather Lamia munch on him than on innocent bystanders. They continue the search…
On a city night lit up by beautiful fireworks, office worker Megumi strolls the streets of Seoul without a care in the world…until she senses a stranger following her every footstep! When a greedy old woman named Gyouanja suddenly appears and tells Megumi to seek out a mysterious dancer at a pavilion, she heeds the crone’s words and finds herself in the midst of a ghastly showdown between light and darkness, shadow and substance. Does Megumi play a key part in this freakish and fantastic pageant…or is she simply losing her grasp on reality? Written by Hideyuki Kikuchi; Illustrated by Shin Yong-Gwan Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Horror Price: $9.95 I’m not normally a fan of horror manga. I get squeamish seeing gore and internal organs spilling everywhere. But, I will make some exceptions. The work of Hideyuki Kikuchi is one such exception. I’ve been enjoying the Vampire Hunter D manga (for the most part), and this new title, Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist, seems to be heading in the same direction. This first volume centers on ordinary office worker Megumi, who is being pursued through the streets of Seoul. She seems to have stumbled into the…
Penny-Rose, a stone mason in the Principality of Castaliae is summoned by the Queen. She asks Penny-Rose to marry the prince… but only for one year. To succeed the throne, the prince needs to marry a woman of “unimpeachable virtue.” Startled by such a sudden request, Penny-Rose hesitantly accepts. Despite knowing he is to marry another after her, she is slowly drawn to the prince, and eventually falls in love… By Harumo Sanazaki Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Romance Price: 400 Points eManga / $3.99 Amazon Kindle Price This manga adaptation of Marion Lennox’s A Royal Proposition is brimming with roses and all the romantic clichés one is to expect from a Harlequin title. Working to help her siblings back in her homeland Australia Penny-Rose lives up to her name as being presented to the reader as a hard-working poor woman, she may not have much money her beauty and her kind heart is a truer measure of her value. While working as stone mansion for the royal manor she is approached one day by none other than the royal highness herself! This first meeting will turn Penny-Rose’s life upside down and take her from being a…
Publisher’s description: She’s cute. She’s a barrel of fun. She’s irrepressible. And…a bit of a klutz. She’s Haruo Hattori, and now she’s leaving her little country farm town, her boyfriend, and her loony family for college in the big city. Before she leaves, she makes a pledge that she’ll remain true to her boyfriend, despite all the temptations a big city can throw at her, and the temptations pile up like cordwood when the need for a few yen to rub together nets her a job at Club 9, a hot hostess bar. The charming country girl lights a lot of fires in the hearts of the club patrons, and her short skirt is fanning the flames! How ya gonna keep `em down on the farm once they been to Club 9? Collecting the story-arc from issues #13-19 of the Super Manga Blast! ongoing series. Club 9 is raucous slice-of-life, fish-out-of-water comedy as only What’s Michael? creator Makoto Kobayashi can craft. By Makoto Kobayashi Publisher: Dark Horse Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Comedy Price: $15.95 A week or so ago was Free Comic Book Day, and I took my kids to the comic book store to get free comics. I also…
Thus far, Arai has successfully concealed her true identity from Kentarou, who doesn’t suspect in the least that his huffy housemate is actually his dearest childhood friend, Shi-chan. But Kentarou’s little sister sees right through Arai’s disguise when she makes a surprise visit. Now Arai is at the mercy of the little devil’s whims, lest anyone else find her out! But when Karen’s future at Wakaba-Soh is threatened, Arai may be forced to expose herself as Shi-chan to Kentarou. Can his feelings for Shi-chan ever apply to Arai? Or has Karen already claimed his heart? Find out in the final volume of Welcome to Wakaba-Soh! Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Chaco Abeno Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance/Comedy Price: $10.99 The second, and final, volume of Chaco Abeno’s Welcome to Wakaba-Soh is a light read of a romantic comedy, harem style. This last volume focuses on Arai who is trying to keep her secret from Kentarou that she is actually his beloved childhood friend. This slice of life manga’s protagonist Kentarou seems innocently clueless about the true identity of Arai. The lack of focus, or plot at all, makes it hard as a reader to know…