Manga Village

Yako Hoshino, a young man with spiritual powers of his own, comes to the agency seeking help with a possessed book.  He’s seen a lot of strange phenomena in his day, but the last thing he expects to see is Rasetsu bearing a striking resemblance to his old love Yurara! By Chika Shiomi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $8.99 Another group of quirky characters come together for more ghost-busting action.  Shiomi’s knack for combining comedy, romance and supernatural scares brings us another great title, with a few old faces thrown in with the new. Rasetsu is about a girl by the same name, who is haunted by an evil spirit.  Three years ago, she was attacked and marked by him, with the promise that when she turned 20, he would be back.  Instead of giving in to the evil spirit, Rasetsu finds the strength to fight back and becomes an exorcist, working for a company in Tokyo.  Enter Yako Hoshino, grown up now, and working in a library.  His blunt personality gets him on Rasetsu’s bad side, but his power and her resemblance to Yurara’s guardian spirit brings them to work together, though not necessarily getting…

It’s not every day that someone stops reading Fullmetal Alchemist and gives it up for two years. I probably already sound like an idiot for giving up this series a few years ago, but Lori gave me the chance to check out the latest volume of Fullmetal Alchemist, and I grabbed on without thinking. Reading it has been a bit of a shot in the dark; understanding the storyline from that long ago to now has taken a few leaps of faith on my part, but it’s easy enough to put the pieces together. So, in this review, and in a few of my next reviews, I’ll be hoping into a series mid-way and giving my impressions of how well the book manages to introduce the readers to the current story. By Hiromu Arakawa Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Fantasy Price: $9.99 Volume 18 is a continuation of the events that occurred last volume, and it gives up more information about the Homunculi, and perhaps what their plans are for the near future. Al and Ed are as crazy as ever, and the deadpan humor of the series retains its quirky charm. It is amazing how Hiromu Arakawa…

Kaguya doesn’t remember who she is or why she has a huge scar on her back.  Six months ago, she was found injured and unconscious in a field of bamboo.  Now she works as a housekeeper and babysitter at a brothel, living her new life simply as “Kaguya”. By Rinko Ueda Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen (16+) Genre: Historical, Romance Price: $8.99 Kaguya’s real identity is entwined with two men–Hanzou, a handsome bodyguard of Okazaki Castle, and Hanzo, a leader of the ninja village of Iga.  Between amnesia and mistaken identity, no one knows for sure what kind of person Kaguya is.  Only her distinctive scar will lead her to the truth… Tail of the Moon Prequel has a heroine just the way I like them; smart and in control.  As either Kaguya or Princess Sara, this female lead is never clueless, a klutz, or unable to act on her feelings.  This, plus the historical drama, makes this volume a real pleasure to read. I read the preview of this in Shojo Beat, and really enjoyed it. So I was thrilled at the chance to read the whole volume.  It’s essentially two stories about Kaguya, a worker in…

Series Description: By night, junior high student Yoshimori Sumimura is a “kekkaishi”–a demon-hunter who specializes in creating magical barriers around his prey. By day, Yoshimori’s got some other demons to battle: an addiction to sweets and a seriously crotchety grandfather! Yoshimori’s pretty 16-year-old neighbor and childhood friend, Tokine Yukimura, is also a kekkaishi, but their families are feuding over who is the true practitioner of the art. Volume Description: Yoshimori and his elder brother Masamori are trapped inside a magical realm… The site’s guardian wants to steal Yoshimori’s body, and a renegade council member pits brother against brother! Which of the two will escape? And what will become of the other…? By Yellow Tanabe Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action Price: $9.99 Short and sweet this week, this being the last (for now) of my “drop in the middle of a series to see what I find” reviews. And a little wrap-up on this experiment–but more on that later. For now, let’s talk about Kekkaishi, a series I’ve been wanting to check out for a while now, based on the recommendation of Shaenon Garrity, an awesome person whom we should all obey, should she ever take over…

Yurara finds herself drawn to Mei, but her guardian spirit prefers Yako! Can Yurara sort out her true feelings?

Shiki loses control of his senses and reveals his true “monster” nature within him as he goes on a mad killing spree. Subsequently, Shiki begins to recall fragments of his childhood memories, which reveal some important secrets of the Tohno family.  Just when Shiki collapses from his killing spree, Roa appears with the intention of killing him, but Akiha tries desperately to protect Shiki. Ciel later joins the fight against Roa, and more secrets of Ciel’s painful past are revealed. By Sasaki Shonen Publisher: DRMasters Age Rating: 18+ Genre: Horror/Thriller Price: $9.99 This volume is all about the flashbacks.  While these are often thought to disrupt the flow of a story, in this title, they are vital.  They give essential pieces to the puzzle that connect one part of Shiki’s past and open up a whole new section to piece together.  Ciel’s past is explored as well, with pieces connecting her to Roa is a rather surprising way. The first flashback happens just before the appearance of Roa and does a lot to explain the snippets of memory that Shiki has been seeing over the last several volumes.  They fill in the gaps and answer some of the questions about…

I’ll arrange for them to play a special song for you.

Ozunu is the top student at Kusanagi School of Magical Architecture, a national polytechnic high school dedicated to raising professional magical architects of the future.  Their job is to apply feng shui and other spiritual methods in architecture to exterminate fiends and demons in Tokyo, where the protective feng shui seal has been broken due to wars and urban development.  Being raised by a spider fiend, Ozunu has always tried to purify or return monsters to where they came from.  He clashes with his rival Tsugaru, the heir to a magical architecture corporation, who believes strength is the key to everything. Story by Midori Natsu; Art by Haruka Shoji Publisher: DRMaster Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Supernatural Price: $9.95 Feng Shui Academy is based on a series of light novels, and was serialized in a seinen magazine, facts that are glaringly obvious while reading.  The stories and characters are typical for a supernatural adventure story, but the whole book seems to be missing that special “something” that makes it memorable. At first glance, Feng Shui Academy has an interesting premise.  Students training to be starcrafters, learn to use feng shui to fight and exorcist spirits.  And the chapters where we see…

The School sports festival is coming up, so everyone’s gearing up for some fierce competition!  Even affairs of the heart become a competitive event when Yoh suspects his friend Asaoka may truly have feelings for Haruna…

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…