Manga Village

The manga market is fairly saturated with books about ninjas. Ninjas are the latest craze for boys, just like vampires are the latest craze for girls. It’s no surprise that plenty of people are trying to get in on the ninja bandwagon.  Yen Press’ entry into ninja fiction, Nabari no Ou, has been publishing monthly in its Yen Plus anthology for more than a year now, and it’s picked up a lot of steam, but only recently has the compiled trade paperback (manga fans call them tankobon) been released. By Yuki Kamatani Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price:  $10.99 The first volume introduces us to Miharu Rokujou, a completely apathetic schoolboy who wants nothing more than to take over his family’s restaurant and make sure that he never has to care about anything. Unfortunately for him, he is the carrier of hidden ninja world’s most powerful secret – the Shinra Banshou, and a faction of ninjas called the Iga Grey Wolves wants it bad enough to kill him for it. Members of the Banten and Fuuma villages don’t want that to happen though –his classmates Aizawa, Shimizu, and his strange teacher Kumohira have all decide to…

Cai-Shen tags along with Yun-Shi to his next job and secretly helps him out since he does not realize how hopeless he is at exorcising demons.  However, the exorcism is a trap set up by an old enemy of Cai-Sheng.  Just as Cai-Sheng appears to be in trouble, Zi-Qiu the deity-in-training, comes to her rescue.  Afterwards, she assures Yun-Shi that it is he who had scared the demons away.  On the other hand, Zi-Qiu does not think much of Yun-Shi, and they engage in a heated fight! By Yi Huan Publisher: DrMaster Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 Even though two hundred years have passed, and Cai-Shen’s powers have grown, in many ways, she has not.  In this second volume, we see just how immature Cai-Shen can be, and the consequences her childish behavior bring now just for herself, but for those around her. Two hundred years isn’t enough time for a deity to grow up, and we see this in many of Cai-Shen’s actions throughout this volume.  Yun-Shi is sent by his Shifu to find an ingredient to the elixir of immortality, Yun-Shi decides that immortality is not for humans and throws it away, but Cai-Shen, who wants…

In the fifth volume of Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk, the “friendly” match against Ryonan High is beginning to wind down. With captain Akagi out of the game momentarily, Hanamichi Sakuragi has finally been given his chance to strut his stuff and prove that he is a bona fide ball player. Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Takhiko Inoue Publisher: Viz Media/Shonen Jump Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $7.99 Like a rookie in most any professional sport, Hanamichi’s play is wildly erratic. At times he shows flashes of brilliance and shows off his raw athletic ability, but most of the time his greenness, combined with his inflated ego, steals the show. In this volume, Hanamichi has his hands full. Not only does he have a tough task in defending Ryonan’s center Uozumi, but Rukawa has become exhausted from having to defend the talented Sendoh. Still, Hanamichi has managed to give Shohoku a spark, and thanks to his efforts they have decimated Ryonan’s previously big lead by the time Akagi returns to the court. Hanamichi is one of those characters who, despite being unbelievably dense at times, is one who is all the more endearing thanks to his relentless energy and…

In the fifth volume of Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk, the “friendly” match against Ryonan High is beginning to wind down. With captain Akagi out of the game momentarily, Hanamichi Sakuragi has finally been given his chance to strut his stuff and prove that he is a bona fide ball player.

Everything changes one day when Misao is attacked by a demon. Her childhood friend Kyo suddenly returns to save her and tend to her cuts–with his tongue! It turns out Misao is the bride of prophecy, whose blood gives power to the demon clan who claims her. But most demons want to keep her power for themselves–by eating her! Now Misao is just trying to stay alive…and decide if she likes it when Kyo licks her wounds. By Kanoko Sakurakoji Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $8.99 I was really looking forward to this title when it was announced. I loved Backstage Prince by the same mangaka. The characters were great, and the setting, kabuki theater, was different. It was a lot of fun. This title also features Yokai, Japanese monsters, which I also love. So, I had high hopes for this title. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite measure up, with too many cliches, 2-D characters, and a romance that doesn’t really do it for me. The plot to this title is almost like a checklist of cliches. Girl who is the only one at her school who can see demons. Check. Girl yearns…

Jin is a typical high school kid who lives with his chiropractor dad and homebody sister. But one day he discovers that he has abnormal martial arts powers (great fighting, leaping and running skills). Mysteriously, however, he only has these powers one day a month. Jin has a core group of friends: an attractive girl named Fusano (who likes Jin but would never admit it) who’s also good at martial arts; former bad boy Choji; and brainy computer nerd Tomonori. After school one day, Jin and his friends go to an arcade, where he is called outside by some tough guys posing as cops. It seems they were hired to test his abilities, but unfortunately he doesn’t have any of his special powers on this day, so they beat him up until his friends come to help him. Almost more mysterious than his occasional powers is the truth about the gang of bullies…who were hired by his estranged older brother. Originally reviewed by Dan Polley By Shoko Fukaki Publisher: CMX Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Adventure Rating: Teen+ Price: $9.99 Jin and his female friend, Fusano, both have very good fighting skills. But Fusano is a much more adept student while…

Sawako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine…for a horror movie.  With striking similarities to a haunting movie character–jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor–she’s mistakenly called Sadako by those around her.  But behind her scary facade is a very misunderstood teenager.  Too shy to fit in, all she wants to do is make some friends.  But when the most popular boy in class befriends her, she’s sure to make more than just that–she’s about to make some enemies too! By Karuho Shiina Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Romance Age Rating: Teen Price: $8.99 I liked the first chapter preview of this title in Shojo Beat, and was glad that it lasted for the whole volume.  Sawako is a victim of misunderstandings, which, thanks to Kazehaya, an outgoing and popular boy in her high school class, she starts trying to rectify.  Her tentative reaching out to fellow classmates meets with some success, not everyone likes the attention she keeps getting from Kazehaya. The plot of this title seems cliché.  The misunderstood shy girl who makes friends with the popular boy, and suddenly she’s popular too.  But that’s not the draw of this title.  It’s all about the characters.  Sawako doesn’t try to be…

Kenji wrote “The Book of Prophecy” in his boyhood. Now this childish fantasy has become the scenario for the Friend’s fiendish plot to destroy mankind. Kenji goes underground and waits for a chance to fight back.Meanwhile, the evil organization is closing in on a man called Shogun in the ganglands of Bangkok. The mystery grows deeper, the fear more intense, as we near the final battle at the turn of the century… Is there really any way to save the world from annihilation? Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Naoki Urasawa Publisher: Viz Media-Viz Signature Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Mystery/Drama ISBN: 9781421519234 Price: $12.99 Volume 4 of Naoki Urasawa’s suspense thriller 20th Century Boys continues to chug right along, delving further into the exploits the Bangkok-residing, grizzled Japanese man known only as “Shogun.” Who is he really? What is his role in all of this? The answers are contained within. It is now summer of the year 2000. Wait, what? It is 2000 already? The world is supposed to end in December 2000, right? [The time skip from 1997 to 2000 happened in the latter stages of volume 3.] Four volumes into the series and there are supposedly only…

Weight loss is the American ideal. It stands as one of the few things that all Americans look up to, and has the same “American-ness” to it like apple pie and baseball. People are always trying to lose weight in America, because many people in America are obese or health-crazed. Weight loss tends to be an almost magical thing, and people will try all sorts of absurd things to remove pounds. They eat nothing but protein, drink soymilk and vegetable juice three times a day, and exercise insane amounts just to fit into that smaller dress size or waist measurement. By Toshio Okada Publisher: Veritcal Inc. Genre: Memoir/Health ISBN: 9781934287422 Price: $14.95 So, here it is – I received Sayonara, Mr. Fatty! at a pretty critical time. My doctor had just informed me that I needed to lose weight to keep my blood pressure down and to make sure that my organs continued to function well. He had warned me about the long-term consequences of being overweight, including heart disease and diabetes. I was at 215 lbs, and I knew that I could lose weight, but I didn’t know how. I’m not super athletic, and I don’t care for stupid…

Kekkaishi is one of the more under appreciated titles when it comes to shonen manga. With wildly popular series like Naruto and Bleach out there, it is not surprising that other quality titles will get lost in the pile, and Kekkaishi is an unfortunate example of this. With crisp, attractive artwork — some of the best artwork one will find in a shonen manga — endearing characters and a rock-solid plot, what is keeping people from giving this series the recognition it deserves? Now that Viz Media has licensed Sunrise’s anime adaptation, perhaps Kekkaishi will finally fulfill its potential to be a real hit. Originally reviewed by Matthew Rozier By Yellow Tanabe Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Shonen, Fantasy, Supernatural Price: $9.99 In usual shonen style, volume 18 picks up directly where the cliffhanger ending of volume 17 left off and quickly resolves the previous story arc. Before moving on to the next arc, Masamori assigns Sen to spy on his younger brother Yoshimori. Sen enrolls at Yoshimori and Tokine’s school. Yoshimori soon becomes concerned about Sen’s standoffish attitude, while Sen is more concerned about succeeding at his mission. Just when both of them are beginning to make the…