Manga Village

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…

Nobara’s drive to get the girls’ volleyball team ready to qualify for the next Spring Tournament has tensions running high. Have Nobara’s dreams finally outgrown those of her teammates? By Mitsuba Takahashi Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Genre: Sports/Romance Rating: Teen Price: $8.99 ISBN: 1-4215-1014-6 After having so much time spent on the romance, it’s a relief to get back to the sports aspect of this story. Even though I don’t care much for the sport, the drama created by it is so much better than the teenage angst from boys and girls sorting out their feelings. Both volleyball teams at Crimson High are having player problems. Nearly all the 2nd years have quit the boys team, leaving the first years on their own. While the girls, after an emotional fight after losing in the Summer Tournament have decided to get serious about training. Their new coach pushes them hard, but the focus soon falls onto Nobara. She gave up the chance to improve individually to play with her teammates. As a result, she shows no ambition to better herself, even when she makes an impossibly high jump of 9 meters. So, it up to her teammates and the…

Though it isn’t much of a confession, sometimes I am surprised at how many people assume I read a lot of manga in Japanese. Because I spend most of my days (and nights) translating works into English, it is (I hope) understandably hard for me to spend my free time reading manga in Japanese. As a reader of Japanese let me say we are so lucky to live in an era where the talent translating manga into English is second to none (present company excluded). Actually more important than that is the way the fans have convinced the publishers to give the most authentic retelling of their newly beloved series. It wasn’t so many years ago when stories were simplified, for lack of a better word, to be understandable to native-English speaking audiences. What that means is that instead of talking about the “Hamburg steak” a character had for lunch, she would talk about a cheeseburger. The fans got more savvy to Japanese culture, however, and the publishers followed suit. Translators rejoiced and editors had to start learning about Japan. By Kiminori Wakasugi Publisher: Viz Media/Viz Signature Age Rating: Mature Genre: Comedy/Music Price: 12.99 USD Fast-forward to 2006 when during…

For centuries, a far-off kingdom has been protected by the nightly singing of the Utahime.  This powerful voice is only passed down from one female songstress to another within the Utahime’s bloodline.  Then the impossible happens…a male songstress has been born.  What follows then is a bitter-sweet and tragic tale revolving around this reluctant Utahime. By Aki Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Genre: Fantasy/Drama Age Rating: 16+ Price: $12.95 While the description goes on about the male songstress, this title is actually about three friends, Kain, Maria and Thomas.  Fate ties them together, but misunderstandings tear them apart.  It is only through the realization of the truth that they are brought back together, though not in time to prevent tragedy.  But regret can become hope if one tries. Utahime begins in the present, where we meet Kain, the male songstress who has taken over for his sister, Maria, who died suddenly, and Thomas the village head who helps to keep Kain’s secret.  The power of the songstress is supposed to be passed down from mother to daughter, but with twins Kain and Maria, it somehow passed on to Kain.  The story then jumps back in time to when Thomas, Maria and…

It appears that Justin and I are on the same road these days when it comes to manga reviews. I recently picked up the 18th volume of Fullmetal Alchemist to review as a standalone and introduction to the series, and here I am again with the 8th volume of Gin Tama. By Hideaki Sorachi Publisher: Viz Media/Shonen Jump Advanced Age Rating: Older Teen (16+) Genre: Comedy/Aciton Price: $7.99 Gin Tama starts off with the usual “What’s been happening since we started” page, and shows off the characters. There are a lot of them, and throughout the manga, they make a lot of appearances. It seems that all of them have very distinct personalities, but vol. 8 doesn’t seem to be that great of an introduction to any of the characters. We start in the middle of a story arc that gets finished within the first 5 lessons (chapters) of the book, and move on from there. Gin Tama is set in Edo at around the same time as Perry’s opening of Japan. Instead of Americans, though, Hideaki Sorachi has used Aliens instead. This lends the setting both a grasp on both past and current events, and allows Sorachi the ability…