Manga Village

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

Shall the son suffer for the continued sins of the father?  Alexis hatches an evil plan involving a beautiful girl with a sick fascination for his son.  And could Jizabel’s hatred of Cain also stem from their father? Step into the past as we learn more about the tortured early life of Dr. Disraeli! By Kaori Yuki Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Drama/Horror Price: $8.99 If the last volume was about betrayal, then the theme of this one could be said to be about love.  It can be twisted from infatuation into obsession, and independence into servitude.  But, in the face of a pure heart, such manipulations can be broken. Alexis Hargreaves is the master of manipulation. He uses the emotion of love and twists it from something beautiful to something dark and evil.  We watch him pull both Mikaila’s and Disraeli’s strings to get them to do his bidding, but the puppet he needs most has already cut his strings.  Cain is no long under his father’s spell, and can not only refuse him, but one-ups him!  It was very refreshing to see Cain be one step ahead of his father for a change. Throughout this…

Cain stumbles on a secret that will change his life forever.  It’s not only the Hargreaves who harbor skeletons in their closet.  To whom can you turn when the only person you every trusted betrays you beyond your worst nightmares? By Kaori Yuki Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror/Drama Price: $8.99 Betrayal is an act that can either destroy a person or transform them.  This volume is dedicated to the build up and reveal of a major character as a betrayer.  But the real drama begins afterwords, with Cain’s reaction and resolution to the betrayal. The betrayal revealed in this volume was probably very obvious to a lot of people.  But because it is so obvious that it’s the last person you think of.  Yuki-sensei is a master of creating red herrings to steer the reader off, in this volume she did a supremely good job of it.  She had me guessing all the way to the end.  But, once it was revealed, there was no doubt, because she is careful to lay the path before hand.  In this case, it goes back to the first series, The Cain Saga. Cain’s father, Alexis, expects…

It is time for the truth to be told.  At last, all the secrets of the Hargreaves family are brought from the dark into the harsh light of day, as Cain’s epic adventures draw to a close.  Is Cain ready to find out who he truly is?  Are you ready? By Kaori Yuki Publisher: Viz Media Rating: 16+ Genre: Drama/Horror Price: $8.99 This is it. After 12 volumes of mystery and intrigue (including the Cain Saga), we finally have a resolution to all the main characters fates.  It is the end of Delilah and the evil mastermind behind all the suffering of the Hargreaves family, but the villain isn’t who you’d expect. This volume starts off with Cain saying his final goodbyes before going to try to stop Delilah and have his final confrontation with his father.  He still must struggle past Delilah’s Cards as his father prepares for Judgement Day and the resurrection of the soul of his dead sister Augusta and Cain’s mother.  When Cain finally reaches the Delilah’s headquarters, each confrontation ends in a resolution for each character.  Cain is able to face his father, and finish what he started in the Cain Saga, as well as…