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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.
PET (which stands for polyethylene terephythalate, a type of plastic) was a simple plastic bottle until nine-year-old Noboru Yamada recycled him. Now PET’s a SUPER ROBOT programmed to protect Noboru at all costs! Whenever Noboru’s in trouble, PET transforms, plugs in, and jets to the rescue! Unfortunately, PET’s “help” usually does more harm than good, proving time and again that just because you call yourself “super” doesn’t mean you have a clue. By Kenji Sonishi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Comedy Price: $7.99 Another entry into the “manga for young kids” category, Leave it to PET hits all the right places on a kid’s funny bone. The short, simple stories and cartoonish art will pull them in, but don’t expect any meaningful environmental messages just because there’s a recycling theme. Leave It to PET is about a boy named Noboru and his recycled robot “friend” called PET. When Noboru took the time to recycle a drink bottle he found, that bottle came back to repay Noboru’s thoughtfulness by doing good deeds for him. This volume is a shining example of the phrase “No good deed goes unpunished”. Noboru’s single act of thoughtfulness has plagued him with PET,…
Yuri returns to Ugarit along with the news that Nefertiti, the queen dowager of Egypt, has fallen from power. Kail is relieved that the dire threat posed by the covert communications between Nefertiti and Nakia is now over, but feels certain this development will only fuel the war between the Hittite Empire and Egypt. What neither he nor anyone else on either side of the conflict realizes is how hot things are actually going to get! By Chie Shinohara Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Mature (18+) Genre: Historical Romance Price: $9.99 With Egypt’s internal problems solved, they turn their attention back to the Hittite empire. Kail is well aware of this and moves to face their challenge head on. But all the fighting doesn’t slow down the behind the scenes intrigue, as the fruits of Yuri’s labors in Egypt are endangered from the inside. This was another fantastic volume of historical drama. Picking up where volume 22 left off, we see why this title has a mature rating, but it’s done tastefully, and full of emotion. Then it’s off to battle as the Egyptian army, led by Ramses and the pharaoh himself, Horemheb, who intend to take back Byblos. Kail…
When I was a kid, there weren’t any Japanese comics to be found—I think the first manga I ever saw was a 48 page pamphlet version of Keiji Nakazawa‘s Barefoot Gen called “I Saw It!” that was collecting dust in a quarter bin in some comic shop somewhere. There weren’t any comics from outside the U.S. period, except those found in the pages of Heavy Metal magazine. Chock full of sexy, muscular heroes and beasts, the stories in the magazine-sized European import stunned me with their raw power and lithe, sweeping energy. The magazine reprinted for an American audience some of the most exciting comics to come out of continental Europe from the previous decade or so, but to my eyes they might as well have come from another world, one where half-naked men and women wrestled monsters and spirits and each other for supremacy in strange, alien landscapes. By Katsuya Terada Publisher: Dark Horse Age Rating: Mature (18+) Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy Price: $14.95 So imagine my surprise and confusion and excitement when I first beheld Katsuya Terada’s The Monkey King: this book is like the best, most lavish collection of comics from some lost, kick-ass, alternate world Heavy Metal…
But trust me, kid. You don’t want to hang around me. You’ll get hurt.
When Hikari finally asks Kei out, it seems like a dream come true. But they weren’t counting on a double date with Sakura and Jun! And when Kei and Hikari finally get a moment alone, who shows up but the dreaded Yahiro? Throw Megumi, Takashi and Akira in the mix, and it’s another troubled day in paradise! By Maki Minami Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance Price: $8.99 This is the way you keep a romance from advancing. You throw everyone else’s romantic troubles at the burgeoning couple! Sakura and Jun start what ends up being a rollercoaster rider for not just Kei and Hikari, but the other members of SA as well. Aoi’s pressures from Kei’s grandfather grows, so that it requires Hikari’s intervention, and finally, it’s Kei’s birthday. Not that he’s got much time to celebrate with his SA friends, with crisis after crisis at the company keeping him away. Less focus on just Kei and Hikari’s relationship has made this a much more enjoyable volume. Hikari doesn’t show her density as much as she and Kei try to help Sakura and Jun work out their problem. Or when Aoi tries to pressure her once…
Manga that share the same content matter with Sundome are normally considered erotica; While Sundome isn’t exactly a manga with sex in it, it’s definitely all about sex. More specifically, it’s a manga that, in the midst of a really twisted relationship, tries to discuss the concept of sexual arousal without sex. Basically, Sundome tries to explore what it is that turns you on, what arouses you. By Kazuto Okada Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Mature (18+) Genre: School Drama Price: $12.99 It does this through the interplay of Hideo Aiba, your regular boring dweeby kind of guy, and Kurumi Sahana, a girl who is far from ordinary. Everything about her turns on Hideo, and she notices as soon as she sits down next to him in class. In the first chapter of the book, she makes a deal with Hideo – I’ll be with you, but I’ll never have sex with you. In pure twisted fashion, Hideo says yes, and from this agreement, a relationship takes shape, as cruel and strange as that shape may be. Sundome explores the crevices and dirty nooks and crannies of the human mind, and as it does so, it intrigues me and infuriates…
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…
Cai-Sheng is a celestial fox demon raised by a group of wild fox demons, who hope she will master the ability to transform into a male and same them from extinction. One day, she befriends a little boy and girl, who save her from a dog attack. Her caretaker marks them with symbols that will not disappear until Cai-Sheng repays her debt. Two hundred years later, Cai-Sheng meets the reincarnated boy and girl and decides to repay her debt by match-making them, but things get complicated when the girl falls for Cai-Sheng’s male form! By Yi Huan Publisher: DR Masters Age Rating: Teen (13+) Genre: Romance/Gender Bender Price: $9.95 Divine Melody is a Chinese manhua that is filled lots of romantic possibilities, but still manages to keep them from getting convoluted. It lays down a good foundation in this first volume, introducing a lot of characters without overloading the reader with too much information. The main romance in this story is the love triangle between Han Yun-Shi, Su Ping, and Cai-Sheng’s male form. I-Huan is taking her time with it, just introducing all the players in this first volume. Su Ping is under a demon’s curse, and Han Yun-Shi is…
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,…