Manga Village

By all appearances, Soichi Negishi is a sweet, well-mannered boy who loves Swedish pop music, trendy boutiques, and all things fashionable. But at the same time he’s also Krauser II, front man for Detroit Metal City, an indie death metal band whose popularity increases by the day. Once the DMC makeup goes on and Soichi takes the stage, his natural talents as a death metal god can’t help but flourish. Is this the band he’s truly destined to be in? By Kiminori Wakasugi Publisher: Viz Media – Signature Age Rating: Mature Genre: Music/humor Price: $12.99 When Detroit Metal City was first announced, there was a lot of excitement for the series, and reviews of the first volume were well received. By Volume 5 though, some of that excitement waned, and the cursing and jokes got tiresome. Now at volume 9, and not even having read the first 8, the jokes still come off as tiresome, but by the end, some plot-ty stuff leading up to the end of the series breathes back some life. DMC comes off as the same joke told over and over with some profanity to up the shock value. The series started with jokes about Soichi…

Raiko, the demon hunter who has been staying at Misao’s house, is determined to save her–even if that’s the last thing she wants! Kyo won’t allow a threat to Misao to go unchecked and plans to take care of the problem in his own special way. Misao, however, hopes that she can broker a peace between Raiko and Kyo before things get out of hand. But when Raiko’s attempts to “free” Misao fall, he hatches a devious new plan that will use Misao’s bond with Kyo to destroy him!

New maid Keiko Kinoshita enters the Ashida household under the guise of helping out, but she’s actually a spy for the vice president of Soichiro’s company. As Sumi struggles to keep her past a secret, will Keiko’s insidious schemes destroy the couple?

Since the death of her father, Hikaru has been withdrawing from the world, hiding being her headphones drown out everything around her. While on a school trip, she sees a shooting star that seems to turn right for her! What seems like a dream becomes a horrible reality as she learns that she died, and is only alive now because of an alien entity called Horizon, who needs Hikaru’s help to find Maelstrom, another alien intent on destroying all life on Earth. But the only way to help Horizon and get her life back is to reach back out to the world she’s been trying to escape from. By Nobuaki Tadano Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Sci-fi Price: $10.95 7 Billion Needles is a sci-fi story that was inspired by a classic sci-fi story, Needle by Hal clemet. It uses Needle‘s basic premise of a human and alien having to work together to stop a different alien threat, but then branches off in its own direction. while having plenty of action and suspense, this story really examines what it means to be human through Hikaru and Horizon’s interactions. When we first meet Hikaru, she is pretty much…

Some of my critics are quick to point out that I don’t give very many high scores on my reviews. I generally don’t have nice things to say about the books I read, and I don’t really give out high marks on my reviews at Manga Village. I don’t know if this is because I have a high standard for the materials I read, or if I just want to be as honest as possible about the content so that people can get an opinion before they go out and buy the manga. I think it is probably a mix of these two personal factors and one key point I constantly fail to remember: the manga I read and review oftentimes are not written with me in mind. By: Mitsuru Adachi Publisher: Viz Media – Shonen Sunday Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports/Drama Price: $19.99 When I received the Cross Game omnibus a few weeks ago, I worked through it with a bit of trepidation. I love baseball, so I was worried that the manga would either be too preachy about the rules or have large errors in gameplay that would make my enjoyment suffer. My misgivings were buffered by the…

Shoyo’s ace, Fujima, drops himself into the lineup and quickly helps his team retake the lead from Shohoku, and despite struggling with fatigue, Mitsui stays on the floor as well. Realizing that they are the keys to winning the game, Coach Anzai focuses on both Mitsui’s scoring finesse and Hanamichi’s monstrous rebounding, but with only five minutes left on the game clock, Shohoku will need to deliver, and fast. Which player will ignite the spark that will carry Shohoku on to victory? And does Mitsui have enough stamina left to hit some crucial three-pointers? By Takehiko Inoue Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $9.99 I first read Slam Dunk during its short stint in Shonen Jump. While there was nothing wrong with the story, I just couldn’t really connect with the characters, and I don’t care about basketball, so I didn’t keep following it. Ten volumes later, I’ve picked it up again, and while I find the characters during play compelling, and all the basketball action entertaining, it’s not my cup of tea. Though I think I might have an idea who should. After ten volumes, the Shohoku basketball team seems to have really come together. The…

Manga authors’ notes are usually self-deprecating and full of “oh God this is awful I can’t bear to look at it”, and usually I disregard them as the typical perfectionism of artists, not a true indication of the quality of the work. Not so in the case of Amnesia Labyrinth. At the end of this volume, there is a writer’s note that says “I sort of ran out of things to write, and therefore I admit there are a number of lazy, phantom passages scattered throughout.” And sure enough, Amnesia Labyrinth is a frustratingly uneven manga. Story by Nagaru Tanagawa, art by Natsumi Kohane, character design by Hinata Takeda Publisher: Seven Seas Age rating: OT/Older Teen/16+ Genre: Shounen/fantasy Price: $10.99 The story concerns a boy named Souji who moves back to his family’s home from boarding school after his older brother disappears. There’s no sign of his parents; his family seems to consist of his three sisters, who are all more-or-less creepy; all three of them are excessively devoted to Souji (in Saki’s case the devotion leads her all the way into incest). There are hints and overtones of the supernatural that remain mysterious and vague; over and above the…

The demon Naraku’s true intentions are finally revealed! Then, Kagome is swallowed up by the Meido. Is she finally beyond her friends’ reach? And will the final battle over the Shikon Jewel draw Inuyasha and Kagome together…or pull them apart forever?!

With No-Ah’s childhood friend/tormentor added to the mix, all sorts of new adventures are brewing at the green-roofed house. Nanai the dog, Guru the cat, and Rang the mouse have cooked up even more fun this time around: visiting the library, searching for treasure–and tailing Rang on her first date?! But life isn’t always strawberries and cream — it’s all kinds of experiences that make happy times taste even sweeter.

Manji the bodyguard is known as the Red Dog because of his red hair and fierce temper. When he runs into a boy named Kal fighting the dangerous creatures known as “toys”, Kal tells him to keep away because he’s no match for them — but Manji takes that as a challenge. Soon he’s swept into the battle between the creator of the toys and the mysterious group known as “Cards”.